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Sunday, April 16, 2023

Basketball: See What Isn't There

Benefit by seeing the invisible. Deduction involves assembling a series of clues to develop a logical hypothesis.

The Netflix series "Inside Man" follows the criminologist Jefferson Grieff in prison, solving a missing person case. Using limited resources, Grieff deduces the story by asking "what isn't there" during his investigation.

Studying unsuccessful teams may not bring much satisfaction. Instead of looking at what is, look at what is not. In other words what 'absences' hold back a program?

Bossidy and Charan wrote The Discipline of Execution. They share concepts that apply for program management.  

Examine personnel, strategy, and operations. 

Personnel includes the entire operation. "This is who we are."
  • Administration
  • Coaching 
  • Players 
  • Infrastructure 
Key applications. Do we have periodic appraisals? Using what metrics? Do players improve during the season and year to year? Does the program develop "possession enders" players who can score, rebound, assist, and end possessions defensively?

Strategy means tactics in its entirety. "This is what we do."
  • Practice and player development
  • Game play 
  • Game management
  • "Editing" how does a team self-assess and correct?
Key applications. Does the team execute its strategy? If not, why not? Does it score in transition? Does it use hard-to-defend actions (e.g. pick-and-roll)? Defensively do they have issues with transition, ball containment, fouling, defensive rebounding? 

Operations means "this is how we do it." 
  • Attention to detail
  • "Rewards" of minutes, roles, and recognition
  • Education and training 
  • Strength and conditioning 
Key applications. Do more of what is working and less of what is not. Identify the causes of most turnovers, e.g. traveling, poor entry passes, not coming to the ball. Do we throw too many difficult passes or take low percentage shots? Fall in love with easy. 

Good players take bad shots, too. Better teams score more points per possession, have higher effective field goal percentage, and better turnover differential. They allow fewer easy baskets (transition, layups, open threes, put backs, free throws). 

Our analysis and player development should impact winning. 

Summary: 
  • Look both at what is and what isn't
  • "This is who we are." (People)
  • "This is what we do." (Strategy)
  • "This is how we do it." (Operations)
Lagniappe. Driving Tips 


Lagniappe 2. 
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