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Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Basketball Unforced Errors

“90 percent of success is avoiding unforced errors.” - Sahil Bloom

That echoes Bob Knight's belief that "basketball is a game of mistakes." That's "simple" but not sufficient. 

Committing fewer turnovers and reducing bad shots improves our math and gives us hope. Mitigating negatives doesn't create positives. 

Crafting sustainable competitive advantage demands both creative and critical imagination. Creative to develop a program and critical to cull as many limitations and errors as possible. 

And sustainability means not a "flash in the pan." Sahil Bloom shared that Seinfeld's rise paralleled his understanding that he needed to maximize his writing game. That spans a lot of territory in coaching. 

Let's focus on defensive overview today. 

  • "No easy baskets." 
  • Easy baskets include transition hoops, layups, fouls, and second chance points.
  • No missed assignments. "Be off book." Know the details 100 percent.
  • Limit what opponents want to do most. That could be pick-and-roll, threes, transition, et cetera. 
  • Talk. Talk energizes, recruits, and engages teammates. 
  • Develop and value "possession enders..." guys that get stops and defensive boards. Blocks, deflections, and forced errors add value. 
  • Cover 1.5. Be responsible for your cover and half of another. 
  • Be good at what you do a lot. Better to play a couple of defenses well than many poorly. 
Here's a thread with a summary and link to an exceptional podcast. 

Excerpted highlights:

Extra points of emphasis:

1. Don't beat yourself. 

2. Excel at fundamentals. 

3. Communication inspires intensity which inspires physicality. 

Additional notes:

  • Simplicity is powerful. 
  • "Stars have multiple solutions."
  • Be louder than opponents.
  • Give honest feedback. Mediocre isn't good.
  • Play the possession, this play. 
  • Effort! 
  • Don't ignore "secondary producers"...it's not enough to stop stars
  • Passing to open opportunity is a winning strategy. 
  • Trust is a must.
  • If you're a role player, you still need "core skills" that allow you to contribute. 
Lagniappe. "Pistol keep" early offense. 
View on Threads

Lagniappe 2. Stay humble. 

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