My favourite anecdote from Todd Spehr’s book about Dražen Petrović and how he established the team culture for the first Croatian Olympic Basketball Team: Radja admired Petrović most for his work ethic. Invariably, when Radja would show up for national team practice, there would be Petrović, before him, already working out. There were constant reminders to Radja and the others that Petrović’s devotion forced the others to evaluate their own efforts. There was a practice session during the first Coratian team training camp that had ended what Petrović perceived as too early. He promptly went to the team’s physician, Dr. …
Follow Your Shot
“Don’t get caught watching the paint dry.” Wilbur “Shooter” Flatch A screen and roll play continues after the shot is released. The defense must still secure the ball and the offense still has some high percentage scoring opportunities on the offensive glass. Defense: Cory Joseph goes over the screen so Facundo Campazzo cuts back and uses Luis Scola as a rescreen. Anthony Bennett stunts to stop the drive and Campazzo must pass the ball. Scola pops and Kelly Olynyk, who was playing under the screen closes out the shot but does not make contact on the box out. After the …
F.I.B.A. World Cup Trends
The United States S.M.N.T. won their second consecutive F.I.B.A. World Cup, behind Kyrie Irving’s adroit ballhandling, tremendous outside shooting, intense ball pressure and countless dunks by Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried. Pundits may have expected the U.S.A. to struggle against Spain in the final but like 2010, Spain was upset earlier and a young American squad captured the title. The team struggled at the beginning of the final defensively but DeMarcus Cousins helped recapture the paint and Irving began penetrating the Serbian zone and getting to the rim or finding open shooters. What may have been an upset actually showed how …
Weak Side Duck-In
In the 2002 Euroleague Championship Game, Dejan Bodiroga backs down his defender in the post and pivots to the middle. A quick ball fake gets the help defender in the air so Bodiroga dishes to Lazaros Papadopoulos for the dunk. Often, players crowd the post player with the ball, bringing an extra defender into the paint. Papadopoulos keeps his distance and waits until the defender shifts before ducking in to receive the ball.
Movement
When a squad is outmatched, they need to play the game better than the opponent. The simplest way to do so is to create continuous movement: not only the ball but the people on the court as well. When C.S.K.A. Moscow led the Toronto Raptors at halftime during a 2008 exhibition game, it was not entirely due to the Raptors’ poor skill level; the Euroleague Champions Cup holders never stopped moving. The patterns were simple but ceaseless (flex, pass/screen away, and other basic sets). C.S.K.A. ran their offence throughout the shot clock until Toronto committed an error. On the pick-up …