Fast Five: Missing Actions: What Isn't There?

Puzzle solvers find answers from clues present and absent. In the series, Inside Man, Stanley Tucci asks what 'missing' clue solves the case?

Basketball can resemble that. What ingredients don't show up in the box score or on the 'eyeball test'?

We know the relevance of Dean Oliver's "Four Factors," differentials in shooting (e.g. EFG%), rebounding, turnovers, and free throws. Score, crash, protect, attack. 

But what "missing" links relate to better results? And can we do anything about them? You'll have your own.

1. Talk on defense. "Silent teams lose." Guards get blown up on hard screens, straight line drives happen when nobody says "help left" or "help right." Talk intimidates. Getting teams to talk is a challenge for every coach. 

2. Assists. Princeton Coach Pete Carril said, "the quality of the shot relates to the quality of the pass." Some teams cannot or will not pass. Assists make three people happy - the scorer, passer, and coach. Maximize happiness. Be willing passers. "Only the penitent man will pass." 

3. Toughness. "The game honors toughness." Tough teams are first to the floor, set great screens, hold their block outs, take charges. Avoid the dreaded S's - softness, selfishness, sloth. 

4. Touch. NBA teams that touch won more. Just as verbal and nonverbal communication matter, so does 'tactile communication'. The headline summarizes it. 

5. Multiple actions. "Great offense is multiple actions." Teams that struggle aren't doing enough multiple actions. 

• Pass and cut
• Screen and roll
• Penetrate and pass

Summary, Look for What Isn't There:

• Talk on defense.
• Toughness is a skill.
• Touch and energize. 
• Pass willingly. 
• Make multiple actions the norm. 

Lagniappe. Passing tips.

- Throw behind. 

- Throw ahead. "Water the flowers...the running big." 

- Throw one more. "The ball has energy."