The first half the N.B.A. season has demonstrated the progression of offensive basketball at the highest level. Young players can develop their own game by playing with focus and patience and applying some of these elements. When young teams run discipline sets, the ball moves, everyone looks good and the team takes advantage of good looks. If that same team rushes, disjointed basketball unfolds and teams look their age. Any team can play hard, play smart and play together on offense. Coaches should study the best teams in the league because they are applying concepts that work against the most …
Every Play Counts
The intensity of playoff basketball manifests itself in the significance of each play. A team cannot take a play off without consequences – ranging from points which impact the final margin, a change in momentum that triggers a critical run or a lasting impression that defines a reputation. In both N.B.A. Conference Finals, the team that won the first game has lost the most recent contest because all four teams have altered how they have approached every play at either end of the court. Initiative, collaboration and attention to detail have triumphed almost all of the time. It is not …
Can OKC Win without Serge Ibaka?
On the eve of the Western Conference Championship series, the announcement that forward Serge Ibaka would miss the remainder of the playoffs was an inauspicious announcement for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Although the number two seed behind the San Antonio Spurs, the team possessed a certain edge, evidenced by their win in the 2012 Conference Final and a 4-0 sweep of the season series this year. The explosive athleticism of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Ibaka was a factor that the experience and execution of the Spurs could never match. Despite a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, the Thunder can still win, …
Game 5 Preview
Hopefully, OKC makes some adjustments in terms of sharing the ball more and playing with more tenacity on the glass and at the defensive end. All four of the games have been close so far and although no team has come back from a 3-1 deficit in the N.B.A. Finals, the Thunder can send the series back home by turning a few small disadvantages in the box score into advantages.
Good Shooters
Don’t give a great shooter time and space to get a good shot off and don’t help off a great shooter and let them take an open shot. It seems as if the Lakers had not read the scouting report – as not only did Metta World Peace give Kevin Durant enough room to do whatever he wanted but left other viable options like James Harden and Russell Westbrook open – but were unaware of the time and the score. World Peace could have lowered Durant’s shooting percentage by making him dribble and rush a shot, or, even better, made …
What Metta Saw
Given the time (five seconds running down), space (defender six feet away, not looking) and difficulty of the pass (open passing lane), hitting Steve Blake was Metta World Peace’s best option. Unfortunately, Blake didn’t hit the shot like Steve Kerr or John Paxson did. The lob to Andrew Bynum or skip to Bryant (who had turned his back to the inbounder) would have required challenging passes.
Building and Developing Great Teams
As the season ends for the Toronto Raptors, they are faced with the fact that success may be multiple drafts away. Consistent winners have built their teams through the draft, selecting talented athletes and developing them into great players.
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