The Play Since the Rudy Gay trade, the Toronto Raptors have improved their offensive efficiency to 107 and – according to Zach Lowe – pass the ball thirty more times per game. In their most recent outing, a win versus the Indiana Pacers, Terrence Ross and DeMar DeRozan converted several quick hitters off BLOBs and pindown screens. There were several plays involving multiple ball reversals, secondary assists and more passes than dribbles. This High Ball Screen / Pin-down combination gashed the Pacers throughout the game.
Learning from Three Upsets
Certainly, there is a great deal of excitement during the N.C.A.A. Tournament, especially when the lower seeds overcome the odds and wins. There is also a tremendous amount of information that players can absorb and add to their repertoires when the games are over. The upsets don’t occur by happenstance but because the underdogs create a solid gameplan – usually based on a favourable match-up or exploiting a team strength – and execute it effectively. Talent can be defeated with team play, tactics and tenacity.
End of Game Situations
Coaches spend a great deal of time planning each possession in the last two minutes because these plays are closely scrutinized. Control that cannot be wielded throughout the game is certainly exerted as the clock winds down. “Clutch situations” define players and coaches and even though players perform at the levels consistent with their season-long statistics, they especially want to be known as someone who can succeed in these memorable moments. The free hand of basketball means that what a coach emphasizes when preparing for the last possession of a game will trickle down into the rest of the team’s …
The Dangers of Coaching, Part I: Teaching a Motion Offence
Introducing a motion offence provides many benefits to a basketball team. Offensive efficiency relies primarily on precise execution of individual skills and team systems and it is easier to master a small number of concepts than a wide array of plays. Instead of memorizing a pattern for every possible defence, players apply the same principles and take advantage of opportunities as they arise. Individual abilities are free to shine and the entire exercise will improve performance under pressure. However, coaches must be mindful of a number of issues while instructing such an organic system. Above all, it requires the support …
Skills We Should Teach More, Part I: What Should the Point Guard Do After Passing the Ball?
What should the point guard do when they have made a wing entry pass and instigated the half-court offence? Sit in quiet contemplation: if one’s role is to handle the ball, what are they without it? Are they still a player or merely an observer? Does giving up the rock entail giving up one’s self? Is their performance a result of their effort or the position in which they have been placed? Atlas was still a man (actually a Titan) before the world was placed on his shoulders and retains his identity despite his onerous burden. Cut through the key and… …
A Bad Game for the Raptors
The Raptors delivered another atrocious performance tonight, a 113-106 loss to the Pistons that is respectable because Sam Mitchell left the starters in for the entire game. There was no need for Chris Bosh to play forty-four minutes tonight, although he set a career high in points and keeps adding elements to his game. From what I saw, Detroit torched Toronto with their signature play, the Circle Play. First of all, this play and all of its counters should be in any Association scouting report about the Detroit. Didn’t anyone read it? Bump Rip Hamilton off those cuts and force …