Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Points Per Possession Progress - What Hinders You?

Screen writer David Mamet has a phrase engraved on the back of his watch, "what hinders you?" 

Better offenses generate more points per possession (duh). Examine what makes or destroys possessions (possession enders).

  • Turnovers equal failed possession and may "bleed into defense" resulting in high quality chances at the other end.
  • "Shot turnovers" are Doc Rivers' label for terrible shots.
  • Poor passing - "the quality of the pass impacts the quality of the shot"  
  • Lack of offensive rebounding (possession ended)
  • Poor cutting (cuts into shots often high point/possession actions
John Leonzo suggests ways to become efficient (Follow the Twitter thread)

Priority #2: Focus On Shot Generation Over Shot Selection 

Priority #3: Play Inside-Out

Priority #4: Play Faster

Priority #5: Be Process Focused

Study who takes the shots, where they take them, and where the shots arise. That includes opportunities for free throws and prioritizing "doing more of what works." Open three-point shots are great if we have players who can make them.

Even "good scorers" may have shots to improve or eliminate from their portfolio.

Quoting NBA or NCAA data on pick-and-roll scoring by the ball handler or the roller is meaningless to execution by our team.

How would we measure progress?

- Offensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions)

- Effective field goal percentage (FG + 0.5 * 3P) / FGA

- Turnovers

- Shot charts (who's taking shots and where)

Years ago I coached a team that was so small (middle school) that we had a better chance of scoring from mid-range than inside. 

Lagniappe: Identify your needs to grow your game. Cecilia recognized a need to get stronger and more explosive and time in the weight room is paying off. She's looking to build on an All-Scholastic freshman year in her sophomore campaign. 

She rebounds and scores off of a pick-and-roll.


Moments later she cuts urgently and gets rewarded. 
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