"You need to spot talent that whispers, not just that which shouts." - Rasmus Ankersen, Football Director in "Making Decisions" by Ed Smith
Some players add more than their "numbers." They energize, they understand how to use and to shrink space, and impact winning in ways invisible to some eyes.
They may be 'glue guys', sticky defenders, and more. For the Celtics, despite the excellence of Tatum and Brown, the "swarm harmoniser" is Marcus Smart.
Ed Smith describes the disrupted harmony he experienced in a 2007 match. All proceeded swimmingly until the opposition brought in a left-handed bowler who put him out of sorts into a virtual fog. That moment taught him the old adage, "variety is the spice of life" and team.
In baseball and cricket, the batter's reaction time is around 0.4 seconds. Experimentally, batters are less able to predict pitch location when delivered by port-siders. Lefties have a natural advantage.
Smith notes, "Coaches own the practice ground." We can be biased in favor of players who are superior in practice, making us look good. But under the bright lights, do we want to cultivate appearance or the production of the 'gamer' who shines reflecting those lights?
Smith distinguishes practice's 'subjectivity' versus competition's 'objective' performance. And still more, his selection of Curran, the left-armed bowler, improved the performance of a pair of teammates by about a third. In effect, the lefty was a 'swarm harmoniser' for his right-handed teammates.
How can we apply to basketball?
- A player creates space through both initial and adjusted positioning.
- Players impact passers by screening and cutting, and cutters by passing.
- Players can be energy givers or energy takers.
- Players can be usage heavy or usage light. As a high school senior I averaged 10 points with eight shots/game. I wasn't taking shots away from primary scorers.
- Players can absorb defensive responsibilities covering scorers and lightening the defensive load for others covering non-scorers.
- Players can have positional versatility both offensively and defensively.
