"Necessity is the mother of invention." And mistakes are the father of defeat.
Spacing. Spacing opens driving and passing lanes, draws defenders away from the basket, and limits double teams. Bad spacing makes offensive life difficult, favoring bad shots, double teams, and turnovers. Generally, NBA spacing is elite...but not always (below).
Remind players not to clog a driver's lane and "never cut to an occupied post."
Standing. If "movement kills defenses" then standing elevates them.
Or more accurately, "sit by me."
Shot turnovers. Non-ROB shots are not in RANGE, not OPEN, and not BALANCED. Equate poor shots with turnovers. And situationally inappropriate shots can be even worse. Bad shots lower EFG%, points per possession, and winning percentage.
Good players take bad shots, too. They become better by reducing them.
Passing /receiving. Passing sums VDE - vision, decision, and execution. Bad passes are obvious but less evident are quality passes inadvertently or intentionally not made. Cut the subtle turnover of the receiver with stone hands or not shortening the pass, not stepping to the pass.
Rebounding. Two major unseen fails of rebounding are missed blockouts and lack of toughness, showing up as disengaged rebounding and "alligator arms."
Never rest on defense. Bad transition defense reminds me of "The Family Circus" or "guilty dogs." Who did that? "Ida Know."
Ball containment. Some defenders are turnstiles. Others play "dead man's defense" six feet under the ball. Play disruptive defense not disturbing defense.
Lack of help/rotation. "My guy didn't score." The ball scores. Help, rotate, and recover.
Left, proper loading to the ball (Helpside I) not in a "no help" position (x2). Right, cover 1.5 (yours and half of another player). Impact every possession. Take screenshots during possessions to see who is shrinking the court and who is lost.
Failure to contest shots. Unchallenged shots and fouling enhance your campaign for bench duty. Fouling three-point shots make you as popular as ants at a picnic.
Bad fouls. Bad fouls come in many flavors - fouling bad shots, bad shooters, and my favorite, the "double down," turning a turnover into a turnover and a frustration foul.
Time bandits. Players, learn about using tempo to shorten or lengthen the game. Use time, our constant companion, as an ally. Don't give opponents extra chances by ignoring the clock and situation. Doug Brotherton's even, odd, zero system for out of bounds plays is genius.
"One bad play - bad play. Two bad plays - bad player. Three bad plays - bad coaching."
Summary: Reduce the bad plays
- Lost in space?
- Stand by me.
- Shot turnovers
- Passing VDE failure
- Whiffs and "alligator arms"
- "Dead man's defense"
- Helplessness
- "Doubling down" on mistakes
Lagniappe. Challenge ourselves to think better every day. Invest in our process to think better.
