"Do more of what works and less of what doesn't."
Basketball Friday focuses on a productive drill, time-honored concepts, and a set play.
Steal from other disciplines. Learn from education, science, dance, psychology, journalism, and more.
Drill. "32" There is no substitute for shooting. Compete at three scoring levels with yourself and teammates. Work with a friend adds competition (and rebounding). Five radians with 6 points (3-pointer, pullup, and layup) and finish with a pair of layups. Track your personal best and add time limits for difficulty.
Concepts. "Easy does it."
Cut urgently. "Basketball is a game of separation." Drifting, "banana cuts", and standing don't separate. "Give-and-go" often fails because of lack of deception (set up) or lack of sharp cutting. UCLA cuts are a prime example of give-and-go, abetted by a high post screen.
Make it beautiful.
Slip screens. The pick-and-roll challenges the best defenders. When the screener defender becomes overextended, "slips" create great opportunity.
Screen-the-screener. Screening is opportunity, first, as "the screener is the second cutter." Flex is the classic screen-the-screener action. "Set one, get one."
Cut against head turners. "Out of sight, out of mind." Catch defenders ball watching.
Screening against zones.
Set Play. Penalize aggressive defense with screens and back door cutting.
Coach Oliver shares a variety of actions. Above, an Iverson cut morphs into a back screen, requiring solid timing.
Lagniappe: Gordon Chiesa reminds us how top defenders set up the offense.
Disciplined "on ball" guardians remain true to their D technique. These protectors are staying down and not, wildly, gambling. Timely, defenders set up dribblers, 4 steals by 1) ball containing, B4 utilizing strike hands.
— Gordon Chiesa (@gchiesaohmy) November 19, 2020