Basketball: Notes from Coach Triano's Analytics Clinic, Cooking Up a Plan

"There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies, and statistics." - popularized by Mark Twain, origin uncertain

Statistics usually reflect action. In Moneyball, Michael Lewis wrote that Billy Beane asked, "if he's such a good hitter, why doesn't he hit better?" 

A firehose of statistics overwhelms us. Too selective misses the big picture.  

Stats are like highlight video. Small sample size distorts their value. And we should evaluate statistics in context of the era. Baseball's 'dead ball' era produced few homers and lower ERAs. 

Use analytics to "do more of what works and less of what doesn't." 

Coach Jay Triano expounds on using analytics. 

"Keep sharing." 

"Use this time to grow as a coach...what are we going to do that's different?" 

"The game has changed...the Bulls of Jordan would have ranked 25th today in points/possession."

Timberwolves' practice floor includes points/possession... "get fouled and get to the free throw line" and "get to the rim" and then "shoot from the corners." (Caveat, data will be specific to our players and age group). 

In 2004-2005 seven seconds or less high pace of play began. PPP in transition is 1.23, much higher than in half-court. 

Getting the ball over half court quickly presents an edge. 

Paint touches promote productivity. "See if we can get fouled; see if we can get to the rim."

Ball reversal data is less compelling, but only because if it didn't happen, you likely had an edge on the ball side. 

Ball movement creates shots AWAY from the handler. Spacing = success. 

Cutting creates chances. But the low frequency needs work. 

All threes are NOT alike. 

In 2014-15, if you shot 33% and took ALL threes, that would put you in the top five offenses. Things have changed. 33% threes is bottom ten offense. 

Why the midrange is becoming extinct. 

It's complicated. Good teams let poorer shooters take more 3s.

Analytics say send three to the glass. 

Get the first big to the rim and flatten the defense with filled corners. 

Attack the defense before they're established and force long closeouts. NBA spacing will usually have both high slots and corners occupied. Players know where teammates will be. 

Getting to the free throw line facilitates a lot of options on the defensive end.

Emphasis to "cut urgently." It is tough for defense to defend the cut off the pass, OR a DHO, or an off-ball screen. It gets the big away from the hoop. It sets up chances for them to make mistakes. He calls this ZOOM ACTION. It would be easy to drill this 2 v 2 with high post entry and passer option for cut or DHO or add a third player (above). 

Lagniappe: Don Meyer's translation of basketball to business reminds me of the wisdom of Michelin 3-Star Chef Thomas Keller. I applied his precision cooking and refinement recently to make Chicken Tikka Masala. 

Basketball: Identity, "This Is Who We Are."

Other sports teach us a lot about identity. Branded cheaters, the Astros revisit the ALCS for the third year in the past four. On Sunday Night Football, the Vikings depart their running game and Seattle turns the game around. Rugby's All-Blacks dynasty preaches, "leave the jersey in a better place." 

"This is who we are. That is who we are not." 

When our local high school girls' team won ten consecutive league titles, another league coach told me, "they put so much pressure on you with five skilled girls running." 

Identity grows in a culture blending freedom and discipline and with team goals transcending individual agendas. 

The Heat didn't win a championship but showed their identity of toughness and persistence despite injuries. Strong teams play harder for longer than most opponents. 

The Heat identity comes from leadership, GM Pat Riley and Coach Eric Spoelstra. 

Identity extends off the court. Model excellence in all things - family, sports, academics, career. 

Identity includes character, commitment, discipline, energy, positivity, and toughness. Skill spans breadth. 

If you are unhappy with your minutes or role, take initiative to soar not be sore. 

In "Ten Minute Toughness" Jason Selk advises an identity statement as part of his pre-game routine. "I am a prepared, resilient, and tough player. Focus on the process and let the results speak for themselves."

Players extend this attitude with their daily routine and habits. Who are we? 

Coaching Identity. How do coaches construct and modify identity? My daughters' AAU coach, Shawanda Brown set high expectations. 

• "Don't back down (defensively)." 
• At a hint of selfishness, she reminded a player, "that is not how we play." 
• Foster competitiveness and toughness. She brought in boys for scrimmages. 

We often hear coaches say, "we got away from playing (team name) basketball." Restated, we lost our identity. 

"This is who we are" asserts philosophy, culture, and identity. 

Lagniappe: Spurs use a variation off a zipper cut to set up multiple actions. 

What Basketball Coaches Should Know About Asthma

"I'm a basketball coach, not a doctor." Regardless, we usually have at least one player on our team with asthma. This article is not designed to be comprehensive but a primer on asthma for coaches. Medical staff have the final decision about fitness to play. 

Asthma is a syndrome, a condition of unknown origin, of airway hyperresponsiveness (irritability) that produces some combination of cough, shortness of breath, and wheezing. 

Genetics, development (frequent respiratory infections in childhood), allergy, sinus disease, poor air quality, acid reflux (heartburn), occupational exposures (e.g. isocyanates), exercise, and other factors can contribute the clinical findings. 

Asthma is not a "one size fits all condition." 

I tell patients that asthma management is a partnership between them and their health care provider. Like diabetes, you have a choice - "you take care of your asthma or your asthma will take care of you." 

Some people have simple asthma, where they seldom have symptoms, less than a few times a week. Avoiding triggers and as needed (p.r.n.) inhaler use can work well and they have no limitations. These players won't present much of a problem. For the coach, neither will patients with severe asthma, as they usually won't be participating in high aerobic demand sports. 

It goes without saying that smoking or vaping don't work with asthma or any underlying conditions. 

Triggers include allergens (dust, pollen, animal dander, mold), fumes, respiratory infections (e.g. the common cold), exercise, and rarely psychological factors. 

Although much of the pathophysiology of asthma relates to limitation of airflow expiration, this results in faster breathing (tachypnea) and respiratory muscle fatigue. With dynamic hyperinflation (lung overinflation), patients also breathe less efficiency as the breathing muscles suffer with suboptimal length. (Take a deeper breath, then only breathe in and out from there. That's the feeling a patient with overinflated lungs has.)

With exercise-induced asthma, loss of heat and moisture from the airways results in symptoms, most commonly shortness of breath and wheezing. Outdoor running in cooler climates and ice skating can be especially problematic, while swimming can be less of a problem. There is often a "warmup phenomenon" where release of preformed airway chemicals is a trigger, so that warming up reduces the symptoms. 

"All that wheezes is not asthma." Most coaches obviously aren't doctors, aren't respiratory specialists, and aren't trained and published in exercise physiology. If players aren't doing well on their treatment, they need evaluation by their physicians or a respiratory specialist. It's not the coach's job to make medical diagnoses, but to recognize when players are struggling. Treating heart problems, anemia, sarcoidosis, kidney disease, and other conditions with inhalers predictably won't work. 

Many patients don't use inhalers properly. Spacers and breath-activated inhalers can limit this problem. It's also NOT television; inhalers don't work in ten seconds. For exercise-induced asthma, I usually recommend the athlete use the inhaler at least twenty minutes before exercise. 

All medications have side effects. Inhalers cause faster heart rate (tachycardia), tremor, and sometimes anxiety and insomnia. 

What's a coach to do? 

• Get the most from our players. 
• Get our players in condition to play harder and longer than our opponents. 
• Communicate with players to know they're ready to go. 
• Remind them to "pre-pack" their gear including whatever medical supplies they require for prevention or treatment of their asthma. Practically, I've seen players use each other's inhaler when someone forgets. 
• The player is responsible for knowing what allergies she has. Our program asks players for allergy lists, especially food allergies. 
• If a player is struggling medically, sit her and get medical authorization before return to play. 

Lagniappe: "Basketball is a game of winning or preventing separation." 

Win separation with speed and power or change of direction and change of pace. Drew Hanlen instructs. 

Basketball: Reducing Turnovers, Real-World Strategies

Small edges decide outcomes in sport and society. Warner Brothers got 50,000 letters protesting the selection of Michael Keaton as Batman. 

Turnovers and shot quality often decide possessions. Turnovers hemorrhage opportunity as one of Dean Oliver's Four Factors. 

How can we stop the bleeding? 

1. Jawboning. Reduce turnovers as a high priority. "Value the ball." "Take care of the ball." Or as we heard over and over, "the ball is gold." 

2. Tracking. When I was an assistant, I measured turnovers and reported them as team statistics. Thirteen year-olds didn't need personal blame. After tracking, we reduced turnovers about 30 percent. 

3. Consequences. Some coaches exert running penalties or substitution during practice for turnovers. Habitual "bakers" lose minutes. "One mistake, bad play. Two mistakes, bad player. Three mistakes, bad coaching." 

4. Teaching choices. Pivoting and footwork practice helps. Some coaches favor the permanent pivot foot to reduce traveling. But turnovers originate from poor decisions, poor execution, and lack of awareness. Driving or passing into traffic, ignoring help defenders, and not shortening the pass (going to the ball) contribute. There are no excuses for violations like three-second calls and catching the ball out of bounds. 

5. Passing fancy. Sometimes showboating leads to turnovers. If you intend to throw behind-the-back passes or higher risk passes, you better not miss. Red Auerbach discussed the worse loss of his career, when a prep player inbounded a pass behind-the-back leading to a steal and final second loss. 

 

IF and when I coach again, we need to do this drill more. Remember Carril's quote, "the quality of the shot relates to the quality of the pass." 

We use Kirby Schepp's passing drill INSIDE the volleyball lines. We call it "volleyball lines passing." Force movement and use constraints. 

Lagniappe: hat tip, Brook Kohlheim

Use improv tricks to build our team, like 1) ensemble, 2) thank you, and 3) follow the leader. 

Basketball: Ten Hard-Won Epiphanies

Epiphany - "A sudden insight or intuitive understanding."

Play and watch the game for a lifetime and epiphanies stick. Epiphany implies openness to find better ways. 

1. The beauty of the NBA flows from the brilliant spacing. Winners win in space. Great defenses take it away. 

2. Seek out great mentors and become one. Mentoring is the only shortcut to success. 

3. The future is player development. 

4. Team play cannot overcome the inability to win individual matchups. 

5. Follow the colors. At a glance, see defensive proximity on the catch. Bad teams play "neighborhood defense" and good teams play in your face. 

6. Get past bad - bad decisions, bad shots, bad passes, bad defense, bad blockouts. Every player must know what good shots are for each other. 

7. So many great players around make the ability to score to win imperative. 

8. Get players to understand how destructive fouling is. The amount of fouling of three-point shots is absurd. Mediocre free throw shooters make two of those three shots. Plus you build up individual and team fouls. 

9. When you can't apply and defeat pressure, you fail. 

10. "Don't beat yourself up; there will always be someone else to do it for you." There are millions of 'geniuses' who never accomplished anything. The better the players, the better the coaching looks. 

Lagniappe: Teach young players that "great offense is multiple actions" and "great defense comes via multiple efforts." 

Lagniappe 2: Are you about getting yours or getting ours?

Basketball Friday 1-3-1: One Drill, Three Concepts, One Play. Prioritize Your Compensation

My basketball compensation is priceless...autographed basketballs, team pictures, works of art (basketball wreaths, sculpture), books with pithy quotes (which I often don't remember). 

And one summer, a player's mother gave me some fantastic, giant garden fresh BEETS. 

Roasted, they were fantastic. 

Drill. "Good teams apply and defeat pressure."

As I recall, Shaka Smart uses the "Circle Trap" drill to encourage both aggressive trapping and quick ball movement. Four players defend with those closest to the ball trapping and others are interceptors. Turn the ball over and move to defense. 

You can run it with three aside (above). 

Concepts. What do you want from your defenders? 

1. Overarching priority. #NoEasyBaskets or #Hard2s
2. Limit your opponent's best action.
3. Do not beat yourself. 

           a) <= 3 transition baskets/game 

           b) Contest all shots

           c) Foul strategically not lacking discipline 

- Stopping transition demands specific assignments and shaping up. 

- Without scouting, coaching must identify the biggest threats (i.e. player or action, e.g. pick-and-roll, back cuts). 

- We beat ourselves departing from fundamentals of stance, position, communication, help, rotation, and recovery. What is second nature to coaches is foreign language for youngsters.

Play. The Spurs have among the most creative actions. 

They inbound the box set SLOB with screen-the-screener action, then get a 3G action, give-and-go to Ginobili. 

Lagniappe: Persist.

Lagniappe 2: Think about thinking. From Zak Boisvert

From Farnam Street pic.twitter.com/E0lmID6TOe

— PickandPop (@PickAndPopNet) October 8, 2020

What seems obvious may have serious unintended consequences. Ask second level, "What if?" questions. 

 

Basketball: Coaching Girls Versus Coaching Boys

"Basketball is basketball." That's the argument that coaching boys and girls is the same. I've coached girls over the past twenty years and share my observations. 

Transparency is essential for men coaching girls. We invite parents to practice, pre- and post-game conversations, and pass communications (e.g. email) through parents. Transparency doesn't mean ceding decision-making but maximal parental awareness of the intent, style, and substance of your coaching. 

Positivity adds value throughout coaching. Positivity promotes energy, confidence, and belief. Reinforce positivity in how we meet, how we prepare, how we talk, and how we watch video. When possible, communicate with 'sandwich technique' with criticism between positive comments. Language matters. "You played smart, aggressive ball AND you can grow your game" differs from "You played smart, aggressive ball BUT..." One word changes everything. 

Recognize differences. The women's game is not the same as the men's. It's played mostly below the rim, has less physical explosiveness, and often relies more on technique than athleticism although both count. Winning the first step often wins the play. Women have narrowed gaps in athleticism, skill, and in creating separation both with and without the dribble. Within women's pro ball, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Diana Taurasi, A'ja Wilson, and many others play at consistently high levels. 

Physicality varies a lot. One size doesn't fit all players. Elite girls' and women's teams have no shrinking violets, with hard screens, fierce rebounding, aggressive defenses, and 'first to the floor' mentality. Some girls relish the contact. But with younger players, we encounter girls who literally fear the size, athleticism, and toughness of their opponents. That holds them back with "alligator arm" rebounding and layups fading away to avoid contact. It's real. We can love the kids yet feel frustrated at the same time. 

I reverse the foot placement, with the offensive player straddling the spacing line and the defender with both feet outside. We require the offensive player to score on one dribble. As the players get older, I disallowed contact to prevent injury. Keeping players healthy is critical and I never ran this drill on the asphalt. 

Touching matters. Teams that touch more, win more. Encourage players to express their joy with high fives and hugs. Male coaches can use fist bumps and head taps. During practice, demonstration replaces touches. We are like Caesar's wife. 

Listening. Many girls have watched less basketball than boys. There are exceptions like Emily Tay, featured in "No Look Pass" (above) who learned by watching Allen Iverson tapes. The language is NOT appropriate for young girls to watch. When I emailed Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, she explained, "I'm working on it." 

Few girls think they "know-it-all." Most are more attuned to fundamental skill than showboating. "Average" boys are distinctly different in receiving coaching. Exceptional players thrive on coaching. 

Psychology. Girls are competitors who want to do well and who want to win. But they can form cliques more readily than boys. Social relationships matter for players of both sexes. Cliques can lead to social isolation and in extreme cases to bullying, especially online via texting. Coaches need to have our finger on our teams' pulse to promote positive cultures and teamwork. 

Coaching both girls and boys will always be rewarding and challenging. Recognize and celebrate the differences of both. 

Lagniappe: 

Once girls and young women struggled to get separation to pass or shoot. Players like Sabrina Ionescu changed that. 

Basketball- Defensive Delay Game

Good teams prepare for many situations, including a "comeback" game. 

We led by eight with three minutes left. Our opponent played a 2-3 zone for twenty-nine minutes. "Hold the ball out." The opposing coach screamed, "play basketball." Over a minute later, he instructed his team to play man. 1) Too late. 2) No comeback game. 

When? I've "heard" a rule of thumb to multiply the deficit by two minutes and start there. Enough? Too much? If we're down eight, how much time do we need to erase the lead. We scored about 42 points/game (eighth grade girls), ten points a quarter. If we're down eight, a quarter long may not be enough. College or the NBA are different animals. 

Who? We may not choose the "best five" as they may not be the best defensively or play well at a higher tempo (extend the game with extra possessions). Don't equate athleticism with defensive ability, but it helps. CARE - concentration, anticipation, reaction, execution. 

How? How much do we extend the defense? Do we pressure man, zone, trap, trap and go (run-and-jump)? Each coach decides what they teach well and what fits their personnel. "Stops make runs." I grew up playing "run-and-jump" and had zero success with it and young players. 

One advantage of full court man defense is easier accountability. 

Keys to comeback defense: 

• Maximal ball pressure (attack weaker players, be the cheetahs)
• Off ball denial 
• Strategic (not undisciplined) fouling
• Offensive efficiency (more possessions, more passes, more points/possession)
• You cannot erase a ten-point deficit in one play. Win this possession. 

To Foul or Not? Kevin Sivils' advice, "foul for profit," always applies. Obviously, fouls stop the clock. Don't foul jump shooters and foul poor shooters whenever possible. Taking some fouls to get into the bonus adds strategic value. 

Lagniappe: Good advice from Coach Mason Waters:

1) Be your fundamentally sound self.

2) Compete.

3) Invest your time don't spend it.

Mason Waters

3 tips to get better 💪🏀 1) Be the first player to practice and be the first one to break a sweat. Don’t fool around or waste time during the 15 minutes before practice. Use it for form shooting. Aim to make 100 shots before practice. Practice your role in the offense. Break a sweat. Use that pre-practice time to get better. 2) If you’re a competitor you are going to agitate average teammates. Bad players don’t like to be challenged or pushed. Great players love to compete. Part of being a competitor means you’re going to upset and anger your teammates at times. Not on purpose, but because being a competitor and high performer is going to reveal laziness and poor performance out of other teammates. When lazy people are exposed and challenged, they get annoyed. If you’re annoying your teammates for the reason that you are competing and challenging them, then you are a leader. 3) Don’t try to play like Harden, KD, Steph, or Kobe. It’s fun to look up to the pros and imitate their moves. But more importantly, if you want to be a better play, pour all your focus on getting better at the fundamentals. Build your skill set. Ball handling. Shooting. Footwork. Cutting. Moving without the ball. Master the basics and fundamentals. Prioritize building fundamentals and skills over trying to be like Harden or Kyrie. Drop a comment or “💪💪” below if you made it this far These tips will help you get better!

Basketball: Where Do Our Plays Come From? GO TO Actions for Close and Late Play

Each of us has hundreds of plays and concepts from which to choose. Where do they come from? 

Of course you want he hundred dollar cheesesteak. If you had a "generic" team of capable but not exceptional players, what concepts would you want to score to save your life - BOB, SLOB, versus Man, versus Zone, ATO? Why? 

I'd start with a blank sheet of paper (old school), folded lengthwise. The left side holds the list and the right weighs the pros and cons. Start with a mental or physical list of five or six actions that have worked for you (and others) in the past. 

Here are five actions that have worked well over time. 

BOB. Are they playing Man or Zone? Have you "set up" your 'ace in the hole' with a similar alignment and action in the past? 

"Screen the screener" action out of a box formation has worked repeatedly. 

SLOB. Most teams have "divided loyalties" about taking away the three point shot and protecting the basket. "Corner Rip" action often yield an uncontested layup. 

A cross screen helps get the ball in. The initial screener then sets a second diagonal screen for a finisher. 

MAN. 

"Pistons" capitalizes on the "switch everything" mentality many teams employ, especially late in the game and late in the shot clock. A small on big cross-screen is simple and underutilized at every level. 

ZONE. Stay with basics - DRIVE into gaps looking to pass. REVERSE the ball. FLASH to open spaces. POST UP. SCREEN the zone. 

Use the element of surprise with the Wisconsin "Stack Jam." Multiple screens set up an overload for an inside shot. The key is toughness setting the screens. 

ATO. Core principles work for good reasons. Take advantage of aggressive defenses with screens and back cuts. 

Carla Berube has moved on from Tufts to Princeton, but brought her playbook into the Top 20 with actions like this quick hitter. 

Lagniappe: Billy Donovan calls it "95" - what you're doing the 95% of the time you don't have the ball. Chris Oliver shares a three minute feature on Otto Porter's cutting. 

Basketball: Book Smart - Coaching Approaches to Blending Success

Coaches are smoothie baristas. I don't like bananas. But the first 'smoothie' I had during college was a "banana sun," a frozen concoction of orange juice and bananas. The small cafe on Cambridge's Arrow Street served a potassium bomb. I couldn't afford to go there often. 

Our blend sums size, athleticism, skill, knowledge, toughness, resilience, teamwork, and more. And when the drink refreshed and satisfied you, did you credit the blender, the ingredients, the milieu? Would you accept one poor quality ingredient and expect great taste? 

Few players have it all. Manufacture better players. 

• Do we fit players to a system or our system to the players? It's a matter of taste. Small, quick players control the middle of the court. Giants control the ends. 
• How much offseason contact/coaching is permissible? In our state (MA), at the high school level, it's been none. Post-COVID, adjustments were made, subject to league approval (and disapproved by our league). It's still none. 
• What "minimum" personnel requirements are needed for antifragility? I contend that we need at least two ball handlers, three scorers, and two rebounders along with credible defense. 
• Share our teaching video library with players. 
• Encourage players to study video for at least fifteen minutes a day. Chris Oliver, Coach Zak Boisvert, Coach Nick, Coach Daniel, TeachHoops, and many others share outstanding videos either on their own platforms or YouTube. 

Coach Boisvert does longer and short video.

Coach Daniel's videos are often a little longer but always engaging. 

Lagniappe: Share several of the best-written books you have read, books compelling us to reread part or all. In no particular order:

Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales

“The word 'experienced' often refers to someone who's gotten away with doing the wrong thing more frequently than you have.”
― Laurence Gonzales, Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why

The Boys in the Boat by Dan Brown 

“It is hard to make that boat go as fast as you want to. The enemy, of course, is resistance of the water, as you have to displace the amount of water equal to the weight of men and equipment, but that very water is what supports you and that very enemy is your friend. So is life: the very problems you must overcome also support you and make you stronger in overcoming them. —George Yeoman Pocock”
― Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle by Madeleine Blais

"The college kids stroll down the main drag, South Pleasant Street, with an air of entitlement; souls afloat in the ocean of knowledge." - Madeleine Blais

The Peregrine by J.A. Baker

“Fear releases power. Man might be more tolerable, less fractious and smug, if he had more to fear. I do not mean fear of the intangible, the suffocation of the introvert, but physical fear, cold sweating fear for one's life, fear of the unseen menacing beast, imminent, bristly, tusked and terrible, ravening for one's own hot saline blood.”
― J. A. Baker, The Peregrine

Basketball: What Does "Do Your Best" Mean? MasterClass Professors Share Insights.

"Always do your best." What does that mean? Control what we can control - attitude, choices, effort. 

Doing our best can't be a 'sometimes' habit. That includes academics, relationships, planning, practice, work, and competition. Brad Stevens said he never met a great defender who wasn't an excellent student. "Don't cheat the drill." 

Compliance (e.g. taking your medicine) produces better results (e.g. blood pressure control, cholesterol, diabetes, et cetera). Duh. Why would we think that shoddy focus, preparation, and malingering would get positive results? James Clear reminds us to develop systems to guarantee process. For example, practice our Morning Routine. We will fail. Clear adds, "don't miss twice." 

Self-regulation impacts how others see us. Our energy level, positivity, compassion, and efficient use of time and resources are palpable. The most contagious conditions are behavioral health problems, because they affect everyone around the patient. 

When we "react" physically or verbally, we may briefly feel better but longer-term we damage ourselves in addition to others. Hold fire, as Lincoln did with his "hot letters," written not sent.

 

Our best varies with our situation. MasterClass professors offer some tips. 

• "Show up on time. Don't be an @hole." - Helen Mirren
• "Hard work is a talent." - Garry Kasparov
• "Leave an impression." - Samuel L. Jackson
• "Keep your mental palate in mind." - Massimo Bottura
• "Be more engaged in the endless process of exploration." - Garry Kasparov
• "Read, read, read, read, read." - Werner Herzog 
• "Be remembered for what is funny and beautiful." - Jeff Goodby 
• "Create a folder with the winning idea and start filling it with content." - Ken Burns
• "Aim high." - Sara Blakely
• "Reading is the most participative of the arts. There is more brain activity..." - Margaret Atwood
• "Be dynamic, direct, aggressive." - Garry Kasparov
• "I read incessantly." - Samuel L. Jackson 
• "We're in the business of making things that you want to see." - Jeff Goodby 
• "I know I'm the baddest drummer...once I get on stage, no one can mess with me." - Sheila E. 
• "Be free to imagine, to dream, to transfer emotion." - Massimo Bottura
• Tell better stories. "Storytelling is at the core of every art form." - Dan Brown 
• "Find your own way." - Mira Nair  Find a place that allows you to dream. 
• "The heart of a poet and the skin of an elephant." We need toughness and the ability to elevate others. - Mira Nair 
• "There is power in the poetry of your story." - Mira Nair
• "Cooking is not just the quality of the ingredients but the quality of the ideas." - Massimo Bottura

Be open to the world around us to find our basketball and life muses. 

Lagniappe: When do we switch? As a matter of course or when we must? 

Emergency Switching = When you’re beat and can’t catch up, an emergency switch is an effective solution. This is called a “fix it” situation. Here are two examples from the #NBAFinals where the Lakers fix it for the initial action and some possibilities for recovering. pic.twitter.com/I1iBR2Q17Y

— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) October 3, 2020

Lagniappe 2: Make it happen. John Stockton is said to have won every sprint at every practice. Eric Spoelstra recently explained Tyler Herro's progress as reflecting his will to endure the grind. John Wooden said Bill Walton never tired of paying attention to the fine details of footwork. Writers like Dan Brown, James Patterson, and David Baldacci write daily. 

 

Basketball: Collaboration, Finding the Right Direction

MasterClass.com offers courses by directors from Ken Burns and Ron Howard, Mira Nair and Werner Herzog, and Martin Scorsese to Jody Foster. It also lends expertise in many other domains. 

I've shared some of their offerings like Howard's "the director is the keeper of the story." Coaches are a lot like directors, supervising the wide range of players from youth to experienced. 

The best teams are player-led where mature players have input, accountability, and self-motivation. Young players generally lack physical, emotional, and basketball maturity. 

Jody Foster discusses similarities between directing and parenting, balancing control and freedom. One actress with an overarching career needs little direction, while a newcomer needs more. Yet, Foster wants the 'players' to be organic. If a youngster's first response is to put the ball on the floor, we need to redirect that habit and explain why it limits her options. The same could go for exclusive use of the dominant hand, excessive gambling on defense, or 'sophisticated mediocrity' instead of refined hesitation and crossover dribbles. James Harden is elite, yet not the prototype for young players. Don Meyer called for mature simplicity. 

Jackie Chan's instruction is pure. "How can you fill your cup if already full?" 

A player can only be as good as she believes she is. Avoid try and can't, failure words. Emphasize do and will. Although your "role" is scorer, when your opponent doubles you repeatedly, have the vision and passing skill to find the best option under the circumstances. 

Collaboration finds solutions not blame. The current NBA coaching carousel is the opposite. You can't fire all the players, so replace the coach. Organizations without stability can win big, but they are the exception. 

What behaviors foster collaboration? 

• Disagree agreeably. Create conflict without acrimony to find better ways, an Eric Spoelstra strength. 
• Speak last. Nelson Mandela listened and processed before sharing his opinion. 
• Take the hard truth. Zak Boisvert encourages an exercise of asking players, "what does it feel like to play for me?" What's good, what's bad, what could be better? The answers can make us better, but won't always make us feel better. 
• Network. Ken Burns advises filmmakers to find a team of allies. Doris Kearns Goodwin shared Lincoln's different approach, bringing together a Team of Rivals, whose unique skills added strengths. The pandemic has brought coaches closer together to share ideas and concepts willingly. 
• Sacrifice. The 2008 Celtics of Pierce, Garnett, and Allen saw each sacrifice shots and numbers for a championship. Director Werner Herzog required Christian Bale to eat maggots in his film. First, Herzog volunteered to show him how to do it. 

Lagniappe: 

Coach Daniel breaks down the Laker defense. Be CLEAR.

C - Clarity. Everyone is on the same page, whether it's PnR or switching.

L - Length. The is size everywhere.

E - Effort. The Lakers are on a mission.

A-  AD. The Lakers have him and he's awesome at both ends. 

R - Rim protection. There's no roll and lob available with the Laker bigs. 

Basketball Friday: 1 Drill, 3 Concepts, and 1 Play. Emphasis on The Currency of Coaching

"You own your paycheck." - Kevin Eastman

Economics studies the allocation of limited resources. Early societies used barter, trading goods and services...my fish for your vegetables. But small groups (communities of 150 or so) couldn't develop specialists. And if they could, how could specialists exchange with each other? That fostered the development of units of exchange, money.

The more we understand economics, the better our coaching. 

Concepts: What does that have to do with basketball? The best known coach with a degree in Economics is Bill Belichick. Brad Stevens is another. As coaches, we fight for more and better resources, the better gymnasium, equipment, practice time, uniforms, scheduling. 1 Our universal currency is minutes. Chuck Daly's quote is famous, "every player wants 48, 48 minutes, 48 shots, and 48 million." Minutes are the precursor to role and money. Control of minutes is power. 

What is the most sensitive nerve in the body? The money nerve... touch it and everyone jumps. 

Coaches "assign" minutes and roles. "Are you ready to do that?" 2 Minutes breed conflict. Everyone is unhappy with lesser roles. 

Coaches allocate roles, furthering conflict. Shots are not a democracy but a commodity. Everyone doesn't get the same number of bullets. Bob Knight's scarcity comment lives forever, 3 "just because I want you on the floor doesn't mean I want you to shoot." 

Our job won't make everyone happy. Economics force us to make choices. My high school coach, Sonny Lane, is in the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. During his third season, Coach cut a politician's son. The pol made it his mission to find reasons to fire him. A thirteen game winning streak and sectional title derailed that mission. The rest is history including two nominations as National High School Coach of the Year.

Drill: "Three passes, everyone shoots." 

Play: What comes to mind first when you think "staggered screens?" Iverson actions? BOB with staggers to a corner three? 

This Iverson action from a high school playoff game turned a close game into a decisive victory.

Screens are another way to create separation with multiple actions. 

I think about Horns with multiple options including isolation, cuts, and perimeter shooting. 

Lagniappe: from Chris Oliver, Staggered Screens and More

Basketball and Life: Engaging Players and Fans, "I Contact"

Coach Ralph Labella told the players, "Entertain me. Play basketball that your parents and I want to see."

Borrow from the entertainment world. Teach players to connect with the fans. Stars like Freddy Mercury and Bruce Springsteen always brought "it." The Showtime Lakers and the 1986 Celtics played electrifying, high-octane basketball. 



Reba McEntire tells artists to start with a song that the audience wants to hear. "Here's your one chance, Fancy. Don't let me down." 

How do we start the game, bring energy, get energy? Can we get sound and fury? 

1. Can we get the old fashioned pep band? Need more rules? 

2. Unadulterated showmanship. Shaka Smart showed his team how it's done. 

3. Multiple actions, get loud. "One More" drill, Calipari style, can work as a pre-game drill. 

4. Movement and finishing from TeachHoops.com 

5. And then, there's this. I guess that Greece has no words for "fire marshall." 

Lagniappe: "Reps make results." 

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on rookie Tyler Herro (37 points in ECF Game 4 win over Celtics): “Everybody overestimates what you can do in a day and they underestimate what you can do in months of work, sweat and grind when nobody is watching.” pic.twitter.com/kqsh8jFXjE

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 24, 2020