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Friday, October 31, 2025

Basketball - What Mistakes Are You Willing to Tolerate?

Read and study across domains. Ray Dalio, formerly of Bridgewater is famous for his task-oriented approach and rigid accountability. He emphasizes what might be called "mission critical" mistakes.

The problem for basketball coaches and players is that about a third of games are decided by two or fewer possessions. That creates a small margin of error and a large need for accountability. 

Where do coaches 'recover' from errors, two or three scoring possessions that help win close games? Return to the Four Factors. 

  • Avoid "shot turnovers." They're "no hope" shots. My coach labeled them "sh** shots" over fifty years ago. 
  • DME (defensive mistakes and errors) such as beaten in transition Example
  • Reduce turnovers (zero percent possessions) and live-ball turnovers that cause high points/possession chances. Example
  • Stop failed or non-existent blockouts. Second shots score 50 percent and third shots 80 percent. Not blocking out the first possession of the game counts as much as the final. One coach claimed that stationing a guard at the free throw line averages three rebounds a game. Example
  • Bad fouls (perimeter shots, poor technique, retaliation fouls, late shot clock fouls that bail out opponents) Example
  • Prioritize free throw shooting. Practice under fatigue and pressure (we used partner shooting with verbal harassment of the shooter.) 

Highlight videos generally don't show "stupid shots", "bad fouls", "lack of effort" or "bad turnovers, e.g. driving or passing into traffic." Watch film of youth or high school games and the decision-making is dramatically worse...some of which is not in the coach's control. 

"Stamping out bad basketball" includes attention to detail, knowing your job, and execution. 

Lagniappe. Leaders drive culture. 

Lagniappe 2. "It's our universe." Add constraints in practice.  

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