Basketball: A Dozen Ways to Be Hard to Play Against

“What was addressed after the second period was essentially, ‘We’re too easy to play against offensively.’ We’re hard to play against defensively, I think we’re willing to play the right way. But offensively, we’re too easy to play against,” Cassidy said. (Boston Bruins coach)

What teams were hard to play and hard to coach against? Why? That's the team that we want to become. 

1. Relentlessness. "They run the floor hard every time." 

2. Communication. ELO. Early. Loud. Often. "Silent teams lose." With no fans, we can hear NBA defenses. Last night against the Bulls, you could hear a Celtic defender tell a teammate guarding an iso, "You're all alone." No screener to worry about. 

3. Maturity. Strong teams don't beat themselves with bad shots, foolish turnovers, and breakdowns in transition defense.  

4. Connection. Teamwork. Collaboration. Unity. Ubuntu. Being on the same page. "Circling the wagons." 

5. Skill. There's no unitary statistic for skill but shooting approximates. Tough teams often shoot a higher percentage via skill/shot selection. 

The "Lady of Victory" rewards many of the top shooting teams. 

In the Celtics win last night, they shot over 50 percent from the field and on threes. They won the rebounding battle (by 3), the turnover battle (by 6), and made more free throws (16/20 versus 4/10) than the Bulls. 

Basketball IQ. "It's like having a coach on the floor." The player who reads the play and makes the best decision at the right time earns time and respect. The Playmaker's Advantage suggests playmakers often (6) "take the first" good choice they identify, (7) attacking space to create advantage. Remind players that excellent players win in space.

8 Capitalize on mistakes. Teams commit mistakes and make errors of omission. 9 Turnovers are lost opportunity AND often become opponent easy shots. Bad and excessive fouling reward opponents. 10 "Shot turnovers" are no different than regular turnovers. 

11 "Play longer and harder." Teams with great intensity string together stops and make opponents work for every opportunity. A combination of conditioning, resilience, and knowing how to stay engaged defines them. They maintain focus on winning this possession.

12 Ball pressure. Win the one-on-one matchups starting with ball pressure leading to ball containment. 

None of these are secrets. How many define us? 

Lagniappe. Ball movement. Multiple actions. Own the zone.