Engage the audience. I remember watching a high school playoff game as a kid and one player was running around with his hair on fire stealing the ball. I wanted to be that guy.
Be a PEST. Do you enjoy watching relentless ball defense? Did you enjoy playing against it?
An unorthodox style works for Beverley. Few defenders have Beverley's quickness, instincts, and will.
Do you teach stealing the ball on the downbeat or upbeat of the dribble? I got it on the upbeat.
Marcus Smart is another NBA defender with a physical style.
Move the ball. "Movement kills defenses."
And like Magic, Mozart is timeless...Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Get the ball. Possession and possessions. (Get possession and use possessions well.)
"You can't win without the ball." - Red Auerbach
Lagniappe: Anything can happen in Game 7s.
Bill Russell had a career with 10 Game Sevens. 8 were played in Boston. Only two of the games were decided by more than 5 points. Six games were decided two points or less or in overtime. His average for the ten Game 7’s was 18.8 points and 29.3 rebounds. His victims were all the greatest players of his era, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. He won when it mattered and he changed the game.
Part of his success derived from his play as tool for creative self-expression. Give that gift to our players.
Lagniappe 2: "They help us build...more elaborate world models."
Will Wright's MasterClass supports the idea that our world experience evolves from play and story. He points out that gaming produces an array of emotions - guilt, pride, joy, teamwork.
