Basketball: 10 Recent Lessons

Steal something every day. I'm re-sharing lessons from ten recent posts that can make us better. 

1. "No frustration fouls." A player commits a turnover or a bad shot, then doubles down within seconds with a stupid foul. We see it every game. Discipline determines destiny. 

2. Coach Randy Brown looks at the fingerprints of elite coaches (below). 

3. Make practice hard so games are easier. Design toughness. Everything translates. Almost fifty years ago, we practiced "pressure free throws," four rounds of ten. The pressure? Your partner could say anything, do anything except interfere with the shot. The artistic genius of high school boys runneth over. Usually it took 38 or 39 to win. The winner faced off against the coach for team suicides or not.

4. Get 7s to win (from T.J. Rosene)

Understand shot selection. Levels 1-10. There is no 10 (perfect shot) or 1; discuss 3-5-7-9. 3rd grade shots lose. 9s are great shots and obvious. 5s are so-so; get 7s. In range, in rhythm, with room. Get 7s to win. 

5. Change is good from Jeff Van Gundy. "People are slow to change if they've won. All of us should evaluate what we can do better."

6. "Do more of what works and less of what doesn't." Don Kelbick "Principle #1 - Focus and practice on the things that happen most often during the game. NBA study from 82games.com showed that only 19% of shots came after three or more dribbles... That means the majority of shots come with two or fewer dribbles." Think about the adage, "Good players need two dribbles; excellent players need one; elite players don't have to dribble." 

7. Respectfully disagree, from Eric Spoelstra. Be caretakers for the culture with our staff - honesty, commitment, loyalty, consistency, diversity, "idea machine" and positive 
culture of disagreeing.

8. Rescreen the PnR selectively to beat certain coverages.  



9. From the GSW Playbook. 

Sequential screen into back screen (useful as SLOB as well) 

10. Billy Donovan teaches early offense. 

What works at the NBA level may not work at lower levels. Different games, different spacing, wider lane.

Low post shots are inefficient at every level, unless you have a powerful player. 

Match your system to your personnel.

In transition: most efficient are early (7 seconds) shots. 

Not enough guys run hard. 

Lagniappe: Summer League half-court action (via Coach Daniel) 

Pin - Delay - Pin (three-point shooter set) or curl the second pindown.