"Always improve your fighting position." - Jack Carr in "True Believer"
What does that mean for basketball players in theory and in practice? In battle, many factors go into "fighting position" - access for entry and egress, elevation, cover, vision, and field of fire are some.
Our fighting position in basketball includes:
Conditioning
Poorly conditioned teams lose both territory and resilience.
Individual defense
Stance, on ball versus off ball positioning, proximity to assignment, quickness, communication, anticipation and reaction, decision-making, and ability to cover yours and help (cover 1.5) separate a valuable defender from a jag - just another guy.
Offense
Spacing opens driving and passing lanes, makes double teaming harder, as well as providing headaches for help and recover defenses.
"Basketball is a game of separation." Improve separation with technigue - urgent cutting, setting up cuts, using teammates (screens), alertness (is our defender a head turner?), and with the ball separation using footwork, change of direction (e.g. crossovers, between the legs) and change of pace (hesitation, extra gear).
Rebounding
Excellent defensive rebounders leverage position and toughness. Offensive rebounders excel at anticipation and quickness to the ball. Rebounding prowess helps end an opponent's possessions and prolong ours.
Transition
Teams create advantage with rapid conversion (offense to defense - defense to offense) and know how to get numerical advantage (offense) and prevent easy baskets by stopping the ball, protecting the basket, and delaying initiation of opponent offense.
The analogy is clear that the military mandate to "improve fighting position" applies equally to basketball, although with different stakes. An old saying goes that "Basketball isn't a matter of life or death. It's more important than that."
Lagniappe. Zoom action into an elevator/sandwich screen.
Lagniappe 2. Zoom stagger from Chris Oliver
Run zoom actions? Here is an effective way to blend in some pick the picker actions. pic.twitter.com/RPCrKvMwqq
— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) December 10, 2025
Lagniappe 3. Pro sports have embraced Stoic philosophy. Stoic principles...much suffering is self-inflicted.
4 brutally honest reminders from Seneca:
— Daily Stoic (@dailystoic) December 7, 2025
1. Most suffering is self-inflicted
2. Stop putting things off
3. Stop acting like you’re going to live forever
4. Seek out challenges
