Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Basketball: A Dozen Commandments. A Brief Catalog of Bad Plays



Coach killers. Bad plays and mental mistakes make us lose our minds. Endured these? You know you have. "Make a mistake ONCE." There's no comprehensive list of mindkillers. But off we go. 

 Zak Boisvert's framework describes mistakes as either decision-making or execution. 

1. The double down. A player commits a mistake, usually a turnover, then immediately doubles down with a bad foul, commonly a reach in. A mental mistake compounds a previous physical or mental mistake. 

2. Whiffing the block out. Some mistakes immediately translate into opponent points - bad fouls, blown assignments ("she's not mine," and failed block outs. Not blocking out in the opening moments matters just as much as a poor play in crunch time. 

3. "Steal me" passes. Games are literally "thrown away." 

Youth and high school games often have the stolen "wing to top" pass where the point defender "sits on" the pass to the top. Top to low post passes traverse the "Bermuda Triangle." 

4. Playing in traffic. Excellent players win in space. Poor spacing asks for traffic violations. Everyone's parent told them "don't play in the traffic." Don't drive into traffic. Don't pass into traffic. 

5. Shot turnovers. Bad shots. Forced shots. $#@& shots. Doc Rivers calls them "shot turnovers." A player went 0 for 8 on three-point shots with four airballs in the first half. She had to be the coach's daughter. You don't need a green light for parental love. You need permission to shoot from the parking lot. 

6. "The ball scores." The off-ball defender thinks, "I did my job. My girl didn't score." When you fail to help or rotate, you're either the problem or part of the problem. 

We never double the post across. I've seen a sectional championship game lost partially because of failed rotation (above). 

7. Dead Man's Defense. Pressure and contain the ball. Playing "six feet under" the ball means dead man's defense. You're not bothering the ballhandler, just the coach. "Don't back down." Get in their face. "Crawl up into them, nose on the ball." 

8. "My turn." There is no my turn shot. If you want your turn, play chess, checkers, or cards. Coaches "see" the wheels turning in a player's head when her eyes get big. There is no my turn. 

9. Shorten the pass. Step to the receiver and to the passer. How many stolen passes result from players waiting for the ball, allowing defenders to step in. Go to the ball. 

10. A Sprinting Game. "Basketball is not a running game. It's a sprinting game. When you don't sprint back in transition or on the break, you're cheating your teammates and yourself. The coach can easily find someone who will. 

 11. Situational Failure. "Play the game not the scoreboard." Coaches want you to play hard, but always smart. There are times to run clock, to use the shot clock strategically, and not to shoot.

 12. Gone Sideways. Sports and games preach strength up the middle. Chess, checkers, baseball, football, and certainly basketball favor controlling the center. Yet some players and teams habitually want to run the offense from the edge. 

Offense is hard enough without allowing defenses to play us 5 against 3. 

 Lagniappe: Empower players in decision-making. It's better to GET TO than to HAVE TO. 


at