Basketball: Clinic Summary: NBA Trends, Jimmy Bradshaw

G-League assistant Jimmy Bradford shares an overview of NBA offensive trends. I can't do justice to the presentation which has a lot of video. An exceptional lecture helps the viewer collate the concepts.  

Basic actions design execution to get to the rim, open 3s, and free throws. Work backwards from the intended shots. 

Quick decisions cause defensive indecision. 

NBA spacing/labels.

Longer NBA 3 moves defense out, opening the middle. 

Sprinting to dead corner opens slot driving (above). 

Note how the spacing of the weak side high slot (above) makes life hard for his defender. 

Rescreens potentially have a lot of value for younger players for whom defenses may go under the ball screen. If they choose to go under twice, the dribbler will be a lot closer. Similarly, going under the corner pick-and-roll tends to produce shorter shots. 

The NBA prioritizes quick decisions, "SHOOT IT, DRIVE IT, MOVE IT." 

Coach points out that the smaller guy in the double team (8, above) should leave and cover the weakside corner (as it turns out, the ball is passed out, a series of "one more" passes ensues, and swung to the corner creating a long closeout because nobody got there. 

When the point guard 'declares' a side, he will often get a step up pick-and-roll with weak side "3 in a row alignment" sometimes generating additional

screening. "Get players at lower levels used to running PnR with spacing away." 

When the initial action (e.g. DHO) is well-defended, keep playing with other actions. 

"GET action" (above) is similar to DHO in creating a PnR-like situation. Another variation will be DHO into a top PnR with a third player. 

Simple pindown gets many options, critical to get x1 to come over the screen. We've seen so many NBA teams run these sets. 

Strategy to put X2 into a quandary whether to cover the roll man or defend the corner 3. Again, the NBA spacing opens up more options and forces long closeouts. 

Critical takeaways for players and coaches:

- Core actions like PnR and DHO are hard to defend at every level.

- Most players are ROLE PLAYERS. Winning their roles is vital. 

- Running hard in transition stresses the defense with rim runners and filled corners.

- Elite spacing separates the NBA (EuroLeague is also exceptional).

- NBA teams don't send three to the offensive boards (much) because transition offense has dynamic athletes.

- Details like forcing the DHO defender or off-ball screen defender OVER the screen gets key separation. 

Basketball: What Makes Up Our "A" Game? Show and Tell.

Set clear expectations. We need a common language to get better. "We brought our "A" game." I'm sure our team wouldn't reach a consensus. That's my fault. 

Have a mood board for "show and tell." 

The "A Game" is more than draining shots. Great defense leads to turnovers, transition, and easier shots. Top execution reveals:

- efficient offense 

- dominant rebounding

- crisp conversion 

- defensive specifics - communication, proximity, and ball containment 

- players making each other better on and off the court

Players need clear eyes on a vision to approach that goal. That's a tall order. 

Character defines players. No great player is a bad teammate. Becoming a good teammate is a choice. "We make our habits and our habits make us." 

Be positive. Positives includes Bob Woodward's "FAA" (focus, act aggressively) and few mental and physical mistakes. 

Offense reflects what we teach, players absorb, and can execute. Breakdowns in any area derails the offense. Be specific and realistic. 

"Unrequired work" has to be the standard. Teammates push each other. Remember Urban Meyer's 10-80-10 rule, designed for top ten percenters to drag eighty percenters up. Nobody deserves praise for punctuality. Praise the praiseworthy; look to "catch people in the act of doing something good." 
.
Players who CARE (concentration-anticipation-reaction-execution) get deflections, steals, and force turnovers. 

Our "A" game features quality decision-making, getting the hockey assist (the pass leading to the assist), and shot discipline. 

Execution is the final domino in the chain of commitment, discipline, energy, positive habits, and deliberate practice. Willingness to be uncomfortable gives players a chance to succeed with their TODAY plan. 

Lagniappe:  Play around with FastModel Xs and Os, I call it Box Stagger Corner. 

Numerous options including multiple three-point options, postup against a switch and late backscreen for the point guard. 

Basketball: What Inspires Us?

"When did you get into basketball or did basketball get into you?" 

Wonderful stories inspire us. Seek and share great stories. Film directors get two hours to tell a story. Advertisers have thirty seconds. Exceptional coaches tell a great narrative over decades.

Underdogs inspire.

Eric Spoelstra tells us to "remember great plays." 

 

Tigers and bears, oh my! The Princeton final play was deceptively simple. The high post to wing backcut (at 0:56 of the video) was the only action happening. It looks as though a double screen formed on the help side, but without a cutter. That's all they needed, execution with one defensive error. 

Creativity is the "rage to master." Dawn Stover writes, "Practice, training and exposure to unfamiliar ideas and experiences play essential roles in shaping creativity."

Persistence inspires. 



You can't catch in a "shot ready" position? Believe in yourself through your work. 

Great teaching inspires. 

Ron Finley teaches a MasterClass on gardening. In Candide, Voltaire tells us, let us cultivate our garden." Coaches tend our gardens.

Cross domain principles inspire. "The bigger your roots, the healthier your plants." Great plants need:

- Fertile soil (team culture). 
- Planting the seedling before it's root bound (fundamental growth). 
- Spacing between plants.
- Attention (light, water, fertilizing) for each plant.
- Protection from the elements and pests (negative influences). 

Execution inspires. 



Play and coach to inspire our teammates, families, and fans. What inspires you? 

Lagniappe: "How do we define a good shot? The amount of defensive pressure, length of shot, and individual player characteristics...much depends on the shooting skill of the individual player. For some players, a lightly guarded twenty-foot jumper will be a higher percentage shot than on taken at close range among a number of defensive players." - Dean Smith, in Basketball: Multiple Offense and Defense. 

Easily relatable as Billy Donovan recently said the same (about contestedness) in his Coaching Clinic.

Lagniappe 2: I've never done this. What if, at the first parent meeting, parents bring in an index card (anonymously) with the answer to this question, "what are your expectations for your child and family from this experience?" In her MasterClass, Designer Kelly Wearstler creates a program around the client's likes and wants. 

Lagniappe 3: In Lee DeForest's lecture on Princeton offense, he shows complex and simple options. The "elbow entry" allows the guard to cut off the ball handler for a layup. Larry Bird's 1986 Celtics would run this simple action with Bird and Bill Walton. 

  

Basketball: What Do We Have to Show?

Productivity means winning the day and refining our process. Lyndon Johnson was a tireless worker, obsessed with better execution. At the end of the day, he reviewed what didn't work, seeking a better way. Sean Achor teaches us to reduce the "activation energy" to follow good habits and extinguish bad ones. James Clear says, "don't miss twice."

Wilferd Peterson messages readers in The Art of Leadership, "The leader uses his heart as well as his head. After he has considered the facts with his head, he lets his heart take a look too." Balance management skills with humanity for our people. 

Every day creates timeframe tests and opportunity: 
- "Win the morning" with a consistent routine. Define and refine. 
- Adjust when the process isn't working. Simplify. 
- Practice thankfulness at the end of the day (Shawn Achor's gratitude exercise). 

What went wrong? 
- "It's a guy thing." Directions? I 'presumed' that I knew how much yeast was in a package. Except, I didn't, short by half. That meant longer (doubling) the proving of my dough. Read the directions. Reread. Get readback on messages. One out of eight messages is miscommunicated without readback. Some of the biggest tragedies in the aviation industry occurred because of misunderstanding (language) or deference to pilots who read the situation wrong. Trust but verify. 

What went right? 
- I had the chance to thank a National Guard representative for performing an important service. "Thanks is the cheapest form of compensation." Find a way to thank someone(s) every day. 

Be Patient. 
    Wooden's Pyramid of Success has "faith" (belief) and "patience" (time) flanking the top. 

For six days, sourdough starter had bubbles but no volume expansion. 

The elastic marks the prior evening's level. On the seventh day, the batch is rising. Persist and stay patient. 

Make specific plans for personal improvement as a player or coach. Write it down. 

- Reread excellent books/articles. Abandon bad ones.  
- Reread Dean Smith's Basketball: Multiple Offense and Defense
- Watch >= 3 Coaching Clinics/week at CoachTube 
- Commit to mental resilience with daily mindfulness training. 
- Write a daily educational piece to learn and share. 

Lagniappe: Shawn Achor's Happiness Advantage

I'm grateful for reasonable health, family, and the basketball community. 

Lagniappe 2: Smorgasbord of Offense via Coach Mac 

Find something that fits our level players and that we can teach. Implementing something like Princeton offense for middle schoolers isn't appropriate without the skill and practice time available. 

Lagniappe 3: The introduction to Coach Smith's book shows his analytic ken. He talks about tempo as being the major determinant of points per game allowed, with ball-control offense producing low scoring. He defines possessions in terms of "losses of ball" (remember those jump balls) and insists that turnovers (loss of ball) be reported not as a number but as a percentage of possessions. An offensive foul showed up as a "loss of ball." 

Lagniappe 4: Nerds have been around a long time. The article will give most an ice cream headache, but this 2006 article rates the best ACC player Wins Over Replacement Player from 1982-2006. Celtics' fans know the cruelty of ping pong balls. 

Basketball: Rational Methods to Increase Shooting Percentage

"Everybody wants to go to heaven; nobody wants to die." Improving individual and team shooting is a basketball Holy Grail.

What is important to you? Is it winning, minutes, role, prestige? Players decide which is more important, themselves or the team. If it's the team, then shot discipline matters.

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." - Jim Rohn

Shooting percentage reflects discipline and detail. What processes might raise shooting percentage? 

Accountability. First, what's the hard thing? Holding everyone accountable, starting with the coaching staff to develop a plan, implement, track, and revise it. 

Priority. Get everyone agreed (buy in) to an emphasis on good shots. Prioritize good shots and accept that the distribution of shots will be unequal. Everyone won't get the same amount of ammunition. Emphasize the Billy Donovan 95, too. (95% of the time, everyone except the point guard won't have the ball.) 

Tracking. Without tracking, we don't know. "Measure what we treasure." The plan requires everyone to buy in. Every shot in every game needs evaluation based on range, openness, situational appropriateness. Shots off the catch have higher percentages than shots off the dribble. "Contestedness" counts. Close to the basket shots with defenders draped over you may be far worse than open 3s, even for mediocre shooters. Film doesn't lie.

Consistency. "Stick to standards" across all shooters and all opponents. "A forced shot is a forced shot." Good habits against bad teams turn into good habits against all teams. 

Practice. Practice under pressure with defense, time, and score pressure. Practice starts with form. Dean Smith asked youngsters to "shoot the ball to each other initially rather than at the basket...concentrate on suggestions regarding their form when...not disconcerted by the end result of the shot." 

Warm up your shot. I love Villanova's "Get 50" warm up.

UCONN's top group hit 175 shots in four minutes. 

Shooting 3 x 3 x 3 is another terrific shooting/conditioning/communication drill when players fully concentrate, communicate, and run hard. 

Use Kobe Bryant's "Imaginative 1 on 1" and track. If you want to be a "cleaner" then you have to practice cleaning. 

Use part of scrimmage as "paint scoring only." Constraints put "iron sharpens iron" into place. 

Make it count. In his book, Basketball: Multiple Offense and Defense, Dean Smith discussed scrimmaging with shot-quality dependent scoring. Count open layups as two points, open jump shots one, contested shots zero, and turnovers minus one. 

Carril rule. Princeton's Pete Carril, author of The Smart Take from the Strong, wrote "the quality of the pass determines the quality of the shot." Better passing yields better shots. Take pride in the pass.  

Board masters. I've recently shared the advantage of using the backboard at angles and inside twelve feet. Excellent shooters practice using the window. 

Results rule. Points per possession ultimately reflect results, the gold standard. As an assistant, I didn't track possessions, but tracked shooting percentage. We shared TEAM shooting percentages, looking to increase percentages by calling attention. Over the course of the season our percentage increased about twenty percent into the thirties. Not great but acceptable for middle schoolers. 

Success demands unrequired work, shared sacrifice, and strict accountability. Excellence in team activities isn't for everyone. Neither is winning.

Lagniappe: Hat tip, Coach Brooklyn Kohlheim 

Focus on the main thing and simplify. "I see technology as a good thing, that is where we are going and it is a good thing. But you will probably screw it up first before you get it right." Doc Rivers had a '13 clip' rule. 

Lagniappe 2: Death of Expertise explores the disrespect for expertise.

people no longer respect the opinions of ex-

‘’: the

A New York Times review states, “To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they’re wrong about anything. It is a new Declaration of Independence: No longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident, even the ones that aren’t true. All things are knowable and every opinion on any subject is as good as any other.”  Another review shares, "the emotions of the demand-group have become more important than facts of reason...and debate is dominated by "fake experts." 

The expression we've heard is, "any idiot with a whistle can coach." 

Basketball: Coaching Our Dream Girls

One sign hangs in the New England Patriots locker room. ‘Every battle is won before it is fought." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Whom do you want to coach? In 2017, Bill Belichick also said, "At this point in my career, I want to coach guys I like. I want to coach guys I want to be around and that's it and 'I'm not going to coach anybody else."

What makes us excited to coach our dream girls? 

Be excited. I start tryouts with a brief comment about separating yourself, standing out. Two minutes before tryouts last year, a sixth-grade girl with a squeaky voice came up and told me, "I'm really excited to be here." She got the memo early. 

Listen. Don't be a crocodile, all mouth and no ears. Years ago, "Susie" was always the first person at off-season workouts. She wasn't the biggest youngster but was among the best listeners. And she was pound-for-pound a terrific rebounder. She went on to be a three-sport captain in high school and carried Coach Wooden's laminated "Pyramid of Success" in her gym bag every day. She's entering her fourth year at her dream school in Annapolis. 

Make eye contact. "Heidi" made the best eye contact ever. That may seem like a small point, but isn't. Be present, fully engaged. 

Get after it. "Katie" brought intensity with size, skill, and athleticism to the end of the rainbow. She practiced every rep like it was her last. You only get so many chances for a bite at that apple. 

via GIPHY

Energize. Pete Carril called them lightbulbs. Be fortunate to have the player who radiates energy to her teammates. "Valerie" had the skill and the passion to bring out the best in teammates. 

The notebook. Each new group got composition notebooks. Don Meyer kept three - one for basketball knowledge, one for general information, and a third of appreciation for his wife, that he gave her each year. One player stands out as a habitual notetaker. Writing it down conveys memory. She's going places. 

Raw athleticism. As an assistant, I used to get the "last" pick each season. "Sandy" was a tremendous athlete but very raw as a player. She showed the most improvement of any "bottom of the roster" player I've ever seen, with a tremendous touch around the basket with either hand. She became one of our top players. 

Out for blood. And not everybody gets to coach their twin daughters. 

I can only dream about coaching this little one. 

Coaching Notes: Developing Your Play, Chris Dial

Chris Dial, Founding President of Basketball Embassy, shares his process. 

"I'm constantly learning from all of you guys." Amen.

The slide provokes, "what are we doing now? How can we do it better? 

"You've got to practice the tempo you want to play!"

"Every drill emphasizes footwork." 

"Be efficient in movement." (No wasted steps, film review)

"Every player should know what a good shot is for her and for her teammates." That returns to Bilas' "it's not your shot, it's our shot." 

What is needed (ideally) to score early? 

- Control the boards.

- Safe outlet.

- Ideally second pass crosses half-court. 

- Spacing (run wide). 

- Beat the transition with numbers. 

Chris: 

- Use "landmarks" and find outside lane runners

- PG to control "middle third" (width) of court (get to the middle)

- Rim runner has to beat the opponent

- Would like to score in the first ten seconds. 

- A "paint touch" is not the same for everyone (Rockets want rim.)

- Define not only good shots but great possessions (great shot, missed)

This reminds me of Kirby Schepp's mandate for paint touches and ball reversal.

"Popovich always talks about the ball has energy...shared energy among players." 

Effective teaching often with 1 v 1, 2 v 2, 3 v 3. 

Via Kobe, "Imaginative 1 on 1" - your childhood buzzer beater scenarios: 
- Shot fake, jab, shot. 
- Jab, crossover, one dribble shot.
- Step back. 

2 on zero development (give-and-go, penetrate and pitch out, etc). Add defense.
May or may not use area constraints.

"3 v 3 is the best way to teach." (Agreed!)
They practice specifics (e.g. side PnR) for specific needs. 
Can have automatics, "dribble at = backdoor, dribble inside = drop down, slot into DHO"
"Ensure guys constantly moving with purpose" 

Key points:

- Footwork as foundation
- Use film to improve efficiency of movement
- Score early in the possession by establishing an edge
- Define great possessions
- Go back to your childhood for "imaginative 1-on-1"
- Share the ball to raise the energy 
- All paint touches are not equal (get to the rim)
- 3 on 3 (devote time to it every practice) 

Lagniappe: Spurs show how it's done. 

Basketball: Start with the Ending

See the ending. Write a story to get there. That's the formula for a joke, an advertisement, a two-hour movie. It's the game plan for a possession, a game, a championship. Craft a beginning, a middle, and the end. 

(Beginning) - What did George Washington last tell his men before crossing the Delaware? 

(Middle) - <Pause>

(End) - "Get in the boat." 

The coach's difference is that we have years to write the narrative. Or not. What is our "discipline of execution?" 

I don't know if there will be a season. And should I coach? When medical office activities resume with higher levels of patient care, will I be permanently in quarantine? The current estimate of transmission with patient and provider "masking" is about one-percent. 

Script the ending and look for players willing to see the story from that ending. 

Eric Spoelstra summarized his Heat goals: "Be the toughest, nastiest, best-conditioned, most professional, least-liked team."

Personnel. We are only as good as our people, our administrative support, our coaching staff, and our players. What would the end state of players look like? 

1. High basketball IQ. Be curious; become a learn-it-all. #KevinEastman
2. Effort is a given. Coach execution, not effort. #DeanSmith
3. Core skills arise from commitment. "Repetitions make reputations."
4. "All in." Shared sacrifice. If you're not in, better to leave. Aim high. #SaraBlakely
5. Engage fully on the same page. 

Strategy. "This is who we are. This is what we do." 

1. "Win this possession" mindset, over and over. "Pound the rock." #GregPopovich
2. Defend "one bad shot." Take away the opponent first intent. 
3. Attack with player and ball movement, get 7s (high quality shots). #TJRosene
4. Be good at what we do a lot. Packer sweep mentality. #PeteCarill
5. Attack with hard to defend actions (PnR, give-and-go, off-ball screens, back cuts)
6. All good teams apply and defeat pressure. 

Operations. 

1. High tempo with "excellence is our only agenda." #AnsonDorrance
2. Consistent process. Accountability adheres to high standards. #BillWalsh
3. Teamwork first priority. Simplify. #BillBelichick 
4. Highly conditioned through drills. #PeteCarril
5. Relentless, tough, and resilient. #TimSGrover #JayBilas

Lagniappe: Feinman Technique. Name, define, research, simplify the teaching. What are we going to teach and why? 

Friday 1-3-1 (Episode 4) Becoming a Champion: Drill, Concepts, Play

Engage the truth across domains. Legendary Washington Post report Bob Woodward teaches reporters to get the best available version of the truth. Coaches "get the juice" by revealing the player inside the block of stone. 

In his book, The Brethren, Woodward revealed the Supreme Court. A court clerk denied a quote attributed to him. Woodward told him to come to his home. He pulled out a handwritten note from the clerk with the exact quote. Woodward reports the facts and separates facts from opinion. 

Part of his process includes a "Big 6" facts in each piece, unpacked truth.

The "Friday 1-3-1" reports a drill, three concepts, and a play that worked. 

Drill: Celtics 15. One-minute shooting to make 15. The Spurs do something similar with groups of three, where each player must make five, then rotate spots. 

Concepts: 

1) Study coaches you admire. What makes Dean Smith, Pete Newell, John Wooden, and Bob Knight great? 

Dean Smith: shot quality-based scoring in practice lead UNC to high ACC field goal percentage.

Pete Newell: teach the primacy of footwork, balance, and maneuvering speed.

John Wooden: the ultimate "attention to detail" example... Practical Modern Basketball spends pages on the roles of managers.

Bob Knight: in a positive world, he wrote The Power of Negative Thinking. Here's a quote, “Before you can inspire your players to “win,” you have to show them how not to lose.”

2) Study great players. What separated them from their peers? 



Billy Donovan describes the 95%, owning your play without the ball 95% of the game. 

3) Study great leaders. Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote Leadership in Turbulent Times, focusing on Lincoln, the Roosevelts, and Lyndon Johnson. "Leadership is elusive because one size does not fit all." How did they overcome setbacks and leave legacies? Lincoln embraced empathy.Teddy Roosevelt had great curiosity. FDR bathed himself in optimism. Johnson mastered legislative process and outworked everyone. 

Great communicators work to become relevant. Great communicators share credit. In his Coaches Clinic, Billy Donovan emphasized leaning on players' expertise. NBA players have a wealth of knowledge to be tapped. Similarly, in his podcast Brendan Suhr shared the amazing collaboration between professional coaches and players. 

Play: David Blatt, Hammer 

"Great offense is multiple actions." Opposite the ball screen, the helpside flare screen sets up a corner three. 

Lagniappe: Judd Apatow (Trainwreck, Knocked Up, Bridesmaids) describes the grind of writing jokes that he learned from Jerry Seinfeld. 

Apatow says you have to write a lot of jokes to find good ones. Young coaches discover that. A lot of stuff doesn't work. The best coaches constantly evolve. 

Lagniappe 2: Study the world. Spend five times as much time looking as we do teaching and writing. 

Lagniappe 3: "You've seen yourself holding up that trophy." Becoming a champion.