Keywords: Late game situations, Iverson cut, Corner rip, Separation
Purposeful play gets quality shots in crunch time. Imagine a situation such as tie score, ten seconds, advancing the ball, no timeouts.
Tailor the plan to team strengths and exploitable weakness of opponents. Show your club film of model execution.
Have a specific plan to get a quality shot by whom you want, where you want, and when you want. You probably don't want the shot taken "early" giving your opponent another opportunity. Perhaps you favor a drive to setup a foul, a spread ball screen ball screen, or a back door cut against pressure defense. Our team needs an automatic or default action.
Fall back to "great offense is multiple actions." Why not use an "early offense" that has multiple options? If we practice a "default" regularly, we should perform it at a higher level than freelance.
Think of 1-4 high as "horns like" with good spacing and no default help side. Entry to either post sets up cutting, screening, and isolation.
Give-and-go with the point guard
Helpside screening
Back cut from the ball side
Isolation for the post
Locate your point guard at the post if she is the best driver, passer, finisher. The coach knows the strengths and preferences of her team.
When we've prepared to do our best, we have less room for regrets. "We got the look we wanted."
Have an "ace in the hole" set you haven't shown.
The Iverson action scored five points (one three-point play) in two possessions.
Iverson too obvious? Apply corner ripaction in search of a layup. Hat tip to Zak Boisvert.
Lagniappe: "Let the hype begin." Payton Pritchard.
Adam Spinella informs viewers about the guard's strengths, weaknesses, and potential opportunities with second unit teammates.
Basketball defense isn't a monolith, especially against ball screens. Defense evolves to efficiency, much like capital flows to its most effective use.
3 Concepts. Define your top priority...defend at the rim or defend against the three, and accept mid-range shots.
7 of the top 10 defensive rating teams are also among leaders in defending the rim.
Develop coverage to achieve your priority. Coach Daniel's great video illustrates different philosophies. The Celtics switch, the Raptors fill the gap, and the Sixers priority is defending the three.
Coach Daniel's video breakdown clarifies the how and the results.
Know what our players can do. Last year, we had a superb rim protector, so we used drop coverage preferentially.
Drill. "Cartoon" version of a basic PnR drill.
Communication is key but we've had success at times attacking the dribbler. Stepping up makes life harder for the screener and easier to get over the top. The choice of coverage (hedge/"fake trap," switch, blitz, under, et cetera) is less important than everyone being on the same page and execution.
Set Play. From FastModel
Lagniappe: Finding edges. Zak Boisvert shares video illustrating the primacy of spacing, how "movement kills defense" and a cut for a score when a defender loses sight of his man "head turning."
The winter sports season starts December 14th in Massachusetts. It's a long run for the proverbial short slide. At least one community (Westford) voted to cancel the basketball and hockey season. Why?
Some contest the data. Incontrovertible facts come from the state's Wastewater processing (MWRA).
Wastewater viral loads from 43 Eastern Massachusetts communities predicted the surge in clinical Coronavirus disease. Ignore science at our peril. The virus sheds in stool before clinical cases rise.
The normal twenty game season is cut in half, with no statewide post-season tournament. Rumor has it that one spectator will be allowed per player.
The "traditional" Tuesday and Friday doubleheaders are nowhere to be found.
Home teams are responsible for filming.
Some rules and policies can be viewed as arbitrary.
Basketball update: Rosters can stay at 15, but only 12 allowed in the pregame warmups. If a school has 15, three kids would be stretching under the hoop. That can be rotated, but 12 is the max number in the pregame layups.
As I mentioned previously, BOBs are gone for this season, replaced by SLOBs from the foul line extended. Getting into offense from SLOBs comprises a possible edge. Creativity and execution matter.
Horns-like set with high entry can pressure the heart of the zone.
A modified box set can open the help/weak side with a screen.
Lagniappe: Why can't A stop B? It's easy for fans to say, "take that away." ScoutwithBryan's YouTube channel is another analysis gold mine.
Reality says:
1) NBA players are great at exploiting edges.
2) Defenses can't take away everything.
3) Teams have to "live with" certain shots (e.g. mid-range jumpers).
4) Brad Stevens, the Celtics coaches and players surely watched a lot of Heat film looking for solutions if not kryptonite against the Heat pick-and-roll.
5) The points per possession on the "live with it" shots (1 to 1.2) are going to be less than lobs and layups (probably 1.6 - 1.8)
We hold belief systems with a variety of names - toughness, transition offense, zone defense, shot selection, analytics. Coaches study our nature including belief systems. Apply the best parts from any belief system for our ethos, earning the right to succeed.
Religions are codified belief systems. Three universal truths of Buddhism are change (anicca), unsatisfactoriness (suffering/dukkha), and not self (anatta).
Buddhism identifies five personal elements - the body, emotions, perception, thoughts, and awareness. All are in a state of flux, an impermanence argument against a fixed 'self'. We constantly evolve, for better or for worse. Instability of any impacts performance...imagine an emotional or thought disabled list, a rut.
Change is obvious. We are not the same person as we change moment to moment, aging, learning, evolving. Viktor Frankl advised understanding suffering as part of life in Man's Search for Meaning. Dissatisfaction with life, performance, lack of control are known to us. But self versus not self is vague. The Self (ego) limits us through selfishness, possessiveness, pride, anger, and hate.
Do these "truths" describe basketball?
Change. We're here to change, to improve. But within the game we change speed, direction, tempo of play, style of play, strategy. How does each player and the team function possession to possession, quarter to quarter?
Unsatisfactoriness. Coach Sonny Lane taught us, "I'm pleased but I'm not satisfied." Celebrate a victory while recognizing flaws, even in a blowout win. In Why the Best Are the Best, Kevin Eastman explains that in a winning NBA Finals game the Celtics allowed 32 Laker points off defensive mistakes. But 'unsatisfactoriness' impacts players during the game. Some sulk or quit without touches and shots. "Get past bad, sad, and mad."
Not self. Maybe not self is reality, truth, and vision of the game. That which is outside of us. Better ensues as we work as a whole, connected and selfless.
Collaboration among the players and coaching staff creates a harmony and joy that produces the best results. Every coach knows that each team is different and some teams can't find oneness on the court.
Lagniappe: Game changing...
Lagniappe 2. I'm devoting extra attention to SLOBs this season as in Massachusetts BLOBs are eliminated this season and entries occur at the foul line extended with the closest defender six feet from the passer. Special situations have always been a strength for us as we initiate play during O-D-O (offense-defense-offense) three possession games during practice.
"Great offense is multiple actions." Break this Lakers' play down as - Z - I - E
Young students face a firehose of terms. Help them get on the same page by sharing words that work.
Terms evolve over time. For example, once the common expressions were strong and weak side of the court. More often in 2020, we hear ball side and help side.
The point guard has cutting options from the top. Bury in the ballside corner and go thru to the helpside.
With "Elbow get" the offense creates a pick-and-roll with a cross-screen. Coach Nick illustrates. Defenses may not anticipate ball screens set up from this configuration.
No law says you must locate both bigs at the top.
"Basketball is a game of separation." Teams use a "ram screen" to screen for a ball screener, perhaps leading to chaotic switching. In the video below, the Bucks use multiple screens to set up a three-point shot.
Zak Boisvert explains the Celtics "Scram Switch" below to contest mismatches created by perimeter small onto big switches. It takes awareness and communication to make this work. When Marcus Smart is at the one, they do this less because of Smart's size and physicality.
As a young player, develop an edge by learning the nuances of the game. Level the playing field by developing more skill and raising your basketball IQ to neutralize some of the size and athleticism deficits you face.
Lagniappe: Grow your basketball IQ with video study and take it to the court. Mason Waters shares Steve Nash video. The details define the difference.
"Remember...obsession with the quality of the ingredients." - Massimo Bottura, 3-Star Michelin Chef (His restaurant in Northern Italy was voted best in the world. I've made his grandmother's pesto - note the bread crumbs, pasta water adds creaminess, and he favors a touch of mint).
Obsess over player development. Obsession carries a negative connotation, but elite performers obsess over planning, preparation, and performance. A highly regarded investment professional summarized, "I like to win."
Help players become their own coaches, "performance-focused, feedback-rich." What does that take?
Attention to detail. "Plan your trade; trade your plan."
Define goals and expectations for workouts. "Make at least 80 percent of free throws."
Practice shooting under fatiguing conditions.
Track and trend results. Is my plan making me better?
Practice with a partner to elevate competition.
For example, I recommend elbow shooting with a rebounding partner. Shoot, sprint to the sideline and back, catch and shoot. Make as many as possible in one minute. It's far more game-like than standing, open catch-and-shoot.
"Every day is player development day." That includes athleticism, skill, game understanding (including video and situation review), and a segment dedicated to "closing." For example, get the ball on the wing or elbow with the score tied and ten seconds left, what's your go to and counter action? Practice your winning moves every workout. When the moment arises, you will rise to it because of your preparation.
Read, read, read, read, read. Read to become well-informed, to become a better leader, and to understand human nature. Surround ourselves with great books.
Seek understanding not validation. For example, how will teammates respond to wins, losses, struggles, and your success as a younger player? During media opportunities, deflect credit to teammates and coaches.
Video is the truth machine. Study truth. What did you see? What did you do? What could you do better?
Recognize success elements.
Great players make teammates better and the team better.
Great players are great teammates.
Be confident yet humble. Be more concerned about doing right than being right.
Obsess over becoming the best ingredient.
Lagniappe: "The Wright stuff," Penetrate, pass, pass.
Use every tool at our disposal, learning and extracting from other cultures, like Genghis Khan.
Regular readers know the value of learning across disciplines. I've shared the concepts of "Beginner's Mind," "Empty Your Cup," and "No Mind."
Playwright David Mamet clarified in Redbelt, "a man distracted is a man defeated." Success without commitment, discipline, and focus doesn't exist.
Chinese history informs the Thirty-Six strategems, too many for one meal. Let's dissect the first six using the Wikipedia outline, using analogies.
Chapter 1: Winning Stratagems
Deceive the heavens to cross the sea.
Mask one's real goals from those in authority who lack vision by not alerting them to one's movements or any part of one's plan.
Admiral Nelson won at Trafalgar, sailing perpendicular to the Franco-Spanish fleet, using two columns to cut their forces in three.
Indiana Coach Bob Knight recommended setting up defensively in zone and then reorganizing into your chosen defense. Initially, the opposing offense would think zone and then have to adjust.
Besiege Wèi to rescue Zhào
When the enemy is too strong to be attacked directly, attack something they cherish. The idea is to avoid a head-on battle with a strong enemy, and instead strike at their weakness elsewhere.
General Sherman avoided large battles and mass casualties by attacking Southern infrastructure during the Civil War, a war on property and resources.
The prep/private schools attract top players which simultaneously strengthens their forces and weakens the public schools.
Kill with a borrowed knife
Attack the strength of another when in a situation where using one's own strength is not favourable. For example, trick an ally into attacking them or use the enemy's own strength against them. The Ideas is to cause damage to the enemy via a third party.
In professional sports, trading deadline acquisitions augment a team's forces and become difference makers (although usually not).
Wait at leisure while the enemy labors
It is advantageous to choose the time and place for battle while the enemy does not. Encourage the enemy to expend their energy in futile quests while one conserves their strength. When the enemy is exhausted and confused, attack with energy and purpose.
Historically, sieges worked, sometimes augmented by unconventional warfare. Attackers would catapult plague-infested bodies over a defender's walls.
We regularly lost (middle school) to a rival who waited for our top player to substitute out and then capitalized by scoring inside or being fouled attacking the basket. In our final season playoffs, we increased her playing time and their inside game evaporated while she dominated at both ends.
Loot a burning house
When a country is beset by internal problems, such as disease, famine, corruption, and crime, it is poorly-equipped to deal with an outside threat. Keep gathering internal information about an enemy. If the enemy is in its weakest state, attack them without mercy and annihilate them to prevent future troubles.
In Greek mythology, the Greeks held a protracted siege of Troy (see "Wait at leisure"), which suffered the deaths of two heroes, Paris and Hector. The Greeks feigned withdrawal, and left a gift from the carpenter Epeius, the Trojan horse. The rest is mythic history.
A strong team entered the postseason optimistic. But one girl "stole" another's boyfriend, the team fractured, and they were eliminated in the first round. Dissent determined destiny.
Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west
In any battle, the element of surprise can provide an overwhelming advantage. Even when face-to-face with an enemy, surprise can still be employed by attacking where they least expect it. Create an expectation in the enemy's mind through the use of a feint.
General Robert E. Lee commanded inferior forces at Chancellorsville in May 1863, defeating Union forces twice their size using unexpected flanking maneuvers. General Stonewall Jackson lost his life in the battle.
Basketball uses a myriad of options for deception, including false cutting (e.g. backdoor), complex screens like screen-the-screener and Spain pick-and-roll (screen-the-roller), and hammer sets with ball reversal.
Lagniappe: Slappin' Glass presents great content each week, focused today on "The Art of the Roll."
Lagniappe 2. Spend more time teaching passes actually used in games.
10 seconds of exquisite basketball beauty.
Yes. The chest pass within the body is basically non-existent in game play. Chest passes, 2 to 1 hand passes & other passes outside the body are the norm. https://t.co/0n5LkrcBCo
Everyone enjoys a good motto. A motto embeds the triad of organizational philosophy, identity, and culture. Some make us laugh, cry, or ask why? Let's survey the best, the brightest, the weirdest.
UNC Women's Soccer shares, Excellence Is Our only Agenda. Anson Dorrance's slogan suppresses ego, hubris, and selfishness.
The All Blacks rugby squad reminds players to, leave the jersey in a better place among their many mantras. If you haven't reread James Kerr's Legacy, you're missing out. “Aim for the highest cloud.”
"Take the stairs.""I want our team to know that we're not taking any shortcuts to building this program, and we're going to do it the right way. We're going to attack each day and take the stairs."
Coach Popovich reminds the Spurs to pound the rock. You have to pound the rock a hundred times to break it. Don't skip steps.
"Do your job." The Patriots' simple slogan reminds players to take care of their business.
"It's not who starts, it's who finishes." Be a closer, part of the group the coach wants on the floor in crunch time. It served as one of our hoop mottos almost fifty years ago.
Upstart Coach Ted Lasso kept it simple, "BELIEVE."
"Ubuntu" (translated above) the Swahili word encompasses identity and community. The Celtics rode it to a championship.
I used this Kingsman quote before each game for one of our girls' teams.
"Our goal is stopping yours."
The Replacements shared this odd tricolon.
Weird slogans are out there.
"Intensity is not a perfume!"
"We drink the tears of our enemies."
Find a slogan that fits your team.
Lagniappe: Haruki Murakami on running failure.
Lagniappe 2. It's not the tools, it's the workman.
Basketball Friday promotes the search for advantage. Successful players, coaches, and specialists in any field find edges. They become their own coaches seeking and developing tools of refinement.
Nolan Ryan overcame a propensity for blisters by plunging his pitching hand into salt. Bo Jackson did pushups and situps. As a child, Cuba's volleyball standout Mireya Luis jumped to pick fruit out of trees.
Her only fear was catching a foot in the net with her nearly 48" vertical.
Drill. Alan Stein's Stronger Team shares video drills to improve lateral quickness.
Lateral quickness helps ball containment...but don't neglect one-on-one against the live dribble.
Concepts - Find training edges. Bargain basement tools work. "Necessity is the mother of invention."
1) Kyrie Irving worked on his handles dribbling a ball in a plastic bag.
2) I worked on shooting during cold Boston winters shooting while wearing gloves.
3) To simulate shooting over a defender, I duct taped a tennis racquet to a six-foot step ladder.
4) You don't need cones. Clear plastic milk bottles filled with water are good substitutes. Coming off a screen to catch and shoot? Use trash cans.
5) Build your own jump boxwith stacked newspapers and duct tape. Girls can jump, too.
Set Play. The pandemic changed the landscape of Massachusetts high school basketball this season. There won't be baseline out of bounds plays., Coaches should work on developing scoring options off sideline out of bounds (SLOB) actions.
Basketball Immersion shares a plethora of SLOBs including returning the ball to inbounders for threes (above).
Coaches have the same problems. Whether we coach sixth graders or professionals, the problems are the same. But they're different, too, as my dad would say, "small children, small problems. Bigger children, bigger problems."
"ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don’t hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody."
- Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
"Tommy won't play with me" becomes "Billy won't pass the ball." "Jimmy's eating all the cookies" becomes "I'm not getting my touches and my shots."
STRAYED: When we boil it down, we only have really about five or six problems (laughter). I mean, honestly, I could take all of those letters and divide them into about six buckets.
And so, you know, I do see that - you know, not just the pattern or the kinds of problems we have with family, with romantic partners, with children, with work, with ourselves, with those voices in our heads that say we're not enough or we can't - you know, those are the kinds of problems that come up over and over again.
I find it far more uncomfortable to turn away from the difficult emotions than I do to turn toward them.
Our teams are our extended family. And every family struggles. There's no Don Meyer to write for advice. Crowdsourcing advice helps. Better, find mentors.
We struggle with egocentrism. "Egocentrism refers to someone's inability to understand that another person's view or opinion may be different than their own." When a parent tells me they don't like our offense, the message is, "I'm unhappy with my child's minutes, role, and shots." That doesn't make him wrong.
At our best, find solutions in our courtly classrooms, like Fulghum did.
Share everything. Model excellence. Get everyone on the same page. Add value.
Play fair. Create opportunity. Develop everyone. Make sportsmanship matter.
Clean up your own mess. Clear the clutter in your mind. Leave the gym better than you found it.
Lagniappe: "Tactics are what you do when there is something to do; strategy is what to do when there is nothing to do." - Garry Kasparov For many of us, we have nothing to do, so study and plan for when we have something to do.
Lagniappe 2: Art imitates life. Lessons from Ted Lasso (Apple TV)
Keywords: Stem cells, arthritis, arthroscopy, knee anatomy, Luka Doncic
Reports say Celtic guard Kemba Walker recently underwent a stem cell knee injection. As a physician, I'm in my "lane" but no expert on stem cell injections. Let's go under the hood.
First, a little about knee arthritis, a source of pain, joint swelling (effusion), warmth (from inflammation), and loss of function. Severe arthritis is common with about 700,000 total knee replacements performed annually in the US.
The femur (thigh bone) sits on two "cushions" of cartilage (the lateral and medial meniscus) and is stabilized by crossing (anterior and posterior cruciate) ligaments and outside (collateral) ligaments. Wear and tear, injury, advancing age, and other factors (e.g. obesity, heredity) contribute. (Image from Gray's Anatomy)
This brief video shares an arthroscopic "tour" of our knee.
Here's an x-ray image of the right knee. On the right image, see the loss of the "joint space" (cartilage is invisible on plain x-rays) and the "subchondral sclerosis" (white stuff/bone hardening under the cartilage) on the abnormal (bone on bone) knee.
What are stem cells? Stem cells are immature cells formed in bone marrow and other tissues that transform into "more specific" tissues. We are NOT talking about embryonic stem cells.
Stem cells are being used or studied in over fifty diseases, ranging from cancer, to immunologic disorders and deficiency, anemias, heart disease, neurologic conditions, and arthritis.
How are they harvested? Depending on the intended treatment, stem cells can be "harvested" from the bone marrow, blood, fat, and other tissues. They can be from the patient themself (autologous stem cells) or other individuals (allogeneic). Most commonly they are obtained from bone marrow (drilling into the bone) or blood samples. They are then processed from bone marrow with a variety of separation techniques.
How is it supposed to work? The theory is that stem cells decrease inflammation, slow damage, and repair cartilage. That's a euphemism for we don't know. Studies show effects on cellular (T cell immunity), antibody formation, and on dendritic cells that participate in immunity. Doctors don't know the best dose, frequency of treatment, or overall effectiveness of the treatment. "Most studies have suggested that MSCs primarily regulate local inflammation, apoptosis and proliferation of cells through paracrine mechanisms, rather than directly differentiating into chondrocytes to participate in tissue repair." In lay terms, they reduce inflammation, yet don't magically allow cartilage to heal itself.
What are the side effects? The treatment can cause pain and swelling. Because most of the time they are from your own supply, there shouldn't be "rejection" risk. Any time you pierce the skin, infection risk exists.
What do studies report? First, we should be aware that there is a general bias to report studies that show effectiveness, not failure. We should also know that stem cells are injected with "other stuff," like hyaluronic acid (a lubricant), platelet-rich plasma, and/or fibrin gel. Just as in a "pill" there is 'active ingredient' and filler, but the filler may exert effects, too.
Promising yet early results in small numbers of patients.
Note these are small observational studies with short-term followup not blinded, controlled studies with comparison to alternative treatments.
How much does it cost? The cost varies and is not reimbursed by insurance for joint pain management as it is considered experimental. The cost is said to be between $5,000 and $50,000 dollars. That said, it's not likely to be something for most of us.
...from the underrated Finding Forrester.
Will it work for Walker? "Not exactly a soup question."
Lagniappe: SLOB 'diversion' from Chris Oliver.
Simple can be more effective. The stagger makes it seem like the action is going high but a ball side flash to the low corner with everyone spaced high creates an isolation on this sideline inbound play that worked. pic.twitter.com/GYkvovcVS6
Finding a common language or terminology advances player thinking. "Seeing the game" makes for faster hands and feet. This includes knowing historical offense and defense.
For example, a defender familiar with a UCLA cut anticipates what is coming, just as 'Princeton' might foretell backdoor actions. Don't rediscover 'fire'; use it.
Coach Nick illustrates common cuts. For example, in our SLOB series, we initiate many actions with "Zipper" cuts. He explains why the cuts do or don't work, often related to setting up the cut or cutting urgently.
Here, we enter the ball on the SLOB with a Zipper cut. But instead of the screener setting a high ball screen, the receiver returns the ball to the inbounder who finds the screener for a layup.
Youth coaches telegraph spread offenses with terms like 5-0, 50, "Open" or Spread. Expect give-and-go, backdoor cutting, pass and screen away, and a cutter going through to open a gap for dribble penetration. You reply, "everyone knows that." Most of our players and many of yours do not.
What defense are they playing? Dean Smith advocated a two number system including the specific defense and the extent. 14 could indicated man-to-man full court, 1 for man and 4 for all four quarters of the court. Some coaches use a "hundred" system where the court is divided into percents, so '50' is half-court defense.
"Lock and trail." Defenders must contain the ball AND cutters. If the defender plays tight and follows closely around an off-ball screen, that's "lock and trail" defense. Some coaches prefer its use more on the ball side but that's a matter of preference.
If a defender doesn't lock and trail quickly, the offense has a huge advantage. Pentucket used this Iverson action versus Melrose (below) in the postseason to open up a tight game.
"Execute the coverage, trust the protection." Under, Weak, ICE/blue, Drop, Switch, etc.
Coach Shaughnessy shares some of the ways the Celtics defend the pick-and-roll. It begins with communication and defensive calls. Videos like these help inform players about clarity of communication and coverage options.
"Spain." If I hear Spain, I'm anticipating screen-the-roller action, devilish to defend, opening up layups or inducing confusion to find uncontested perimeter shots.
Chris Oliver shares video at BBallImmersion.
Lagniappe: And this doesn't include the signature moves of players - McHale (Up and Under), Sikma (baseline drive or pop), Dream Shake (Olajuwon), Abdul-Jabbar sky hook, Iverson crossover, and many more.
Iverson wide, quick crossover was a nightmare for even elite defenders.
Fan favorite Evan Turner returns to Boston as a player development coach.
