Michigan State’s Pressure Release Play

In a recent NTL Boston Advanced Clinic, we set-up a high 1-4 offense to introduce players to the “UCLA cut”. The point guard passes the ball to the wing and then cuts off a high post screen to the block. That cut is the UCLA cut. We talked about the issue of getting the ball to the wing if the defender was overplaying there. What to do? What to do? Here’s what we said:

“Bounce pass it to the high post and on the catch, the wing goes backdoor to get a bounce pass for the score. This ‘pressure release’ play is a play that has been around a long time and it’s one that teams like to use coming out of a time-out, if the other team has been overplaying or are all jacked up, for some reason. You make them pay for taking away your pass to the wing.”

So, there I was last night, watching the Michigan State/Carolina game in the 2nd round of The Tournament. Carolina, of course, is pressuring Drew Neitzel and all the other Spartans everywhere and, then, time-out with about 2:30 left in the first half. Feeling somewhat drugged from the previous six hours of watching hoops, I open one eye to see MSU go 1-4, bounce pass to the high post, bounce pass to the cutting wing backdoor for the score. I wanted to email and phone everyone in the clinic and say, “did you see that? Did you see that? That’s how it works!” Instead, I high-fived my wife, low-pawed the dog, got back into the game. State ran the same play at least three more times, all with varying degrees of success (and with an eventual new wrinkle or two). That play brought to mind the Michigan State/Princeton match-up in the first round of the NCAA’s in 1998 when Michigan State turned the table on The Tigers, and in the process totally demoralized them, beat them at their own game, by scoring off that same high post pressure release play backdoor for the last play of the half.

“Who Then is the Basketball God?”

In yesterday’s post, I posed the the question” who is the basketball god?”, knowing the answer was obvious.

In “Comments”, the last responder postulated: Bill Russell?

My reply: DZ - - Close. Russell is Moses. (This Moses not That Moses). Russell, Auerbach, those early Celtics laid down the basketball commandments: Thou shalt not walk the ball upcourt; Thou shalt not rely on half-court defense; Thou shalt not rely on one big scorer to bail-out the team; Thou shalt believe in one another (ball movement on offense, pressure defense into help-defense); Thou shalt learn, understand, practice and assiduously apply the fundamentals of good basketball; Thou shalt mentally and physically wear down the other team; and last but not least and, as the best way of spreading the word of this gospel to all the basketball land, Thou Shalt Win.

To find the true basketball god of gods, one must look within. (But good guess.)

Technorati Tags: BillRussell, RedAuerbach, Celtics

Doc Rivers, The Basketball Gods, and Getting Back on Defense”

A week or so ago, Doc Rivers commented on the “winning by losing mantra seemingly embraced by many fans”. The losing, of course, leading to the wishful-thinking via the luck-of-the-draw landing of Greg Oden or some other savior of the franchise. He said, pointedly, “I think the basketball gods punish you” (scroll to bottom of linked page) if you try to lose, or don’t try to win. So, who are these basketball gods and how does he know them? Well, Doc Rivers played a lot of basketball in his life, thousands of hours on the playgrounds of Chicago, many more in schools, at Marquette and in the pros. He was very talented and hugely sought after coming out of Proviso East High School and left Marquette early for the pros. He played 13 years in the NBA, including an all-star year. In the pros, his talent alone could not always sustain him; he had to work very hard. Sometimes things went right, sometimes things went wrong. When things go wrong for no apparent reason, even after you feel as though you’ve done everything right, where do you to turn for answers? To the basketball gods.

Which is a kind of a joke. Because, in reality, nobody knows anything about no gods. But since basketball’s a sport, a game, it’s cool to talk about those gods, and even take them semi-seriously. Since the gods are, in reality, the imagined and, therefore, real manifestation of integrity (the honor that you give to proper effort) they must be respected at all times. Respecting the basketball gods means respecting effort and the inviolate principle of team play. That’s how Doc Rivers played and that’s how Doc Rivers coaches. That’s why, if able, you always give it your all in drills. That’s why you always make the extra pass. That’s why you always, always, always get back on defense to help your teammates. And that’s why you never intentionally don’t try your best, right up until the last moment, to win each game. And, finally, that’s why, if given the chance, Doc Rivers will turn the Celtics franchise around.

Technorati Tags: DocRivers, Marquette, GregOden

“Going One-on-One”

NTL Photo Library

I can still hear my eighth grade coach, Bill Tweedy, yelling, “you’re going one-on-one”! That, the going one-on-one, used to be a bad thing. Basketball was, and is, first and foremost, a team game. So, the idea, back then, was if you weren’t completely relying on your teammates, then you weren’t playing the game right. In the late 60s and early 70s, the game made a big turn; the game went modern. Pete Maravich, Earl Monroe, Dean Meminger and a host of new breed basketball wizards brought a dazzling array of never-before-seen offensive skills and therein expanded what was possible. Behind the back, between the legs, inside-outs, spins and fallaways went from being “showing off” to part of the standard repertoire. Players copied what they saw the great ones doing and coaches saw that one-on-one, if it was the right “one”, was indeed an offensive advantage. Now coaches scheme to create those situations where players can be isolated with a solitary defender. Moral to the story: work on your one-on-one skills and hope that someday, somewhere, someone calls you “Pistol” or “Pearl” or “Dream”.

Technorati Tags: One-on-One-Basketball

1-800-GO-MAN-GO

I believe in playing fast, as fast as your skills allow. (Practice fast and let your skills catch up.) One of the ways to get a game going is make sure that when the other team scores, you get the ball in right away. If you are the one nearest the net as it goes through, sprint out of bounds with the ball, ready to get it in as quickly as possible. Sprint! Of course this takes teammates who are ready to catch the inbound pass and ready to run. (Hit a couple in the back of the head to get their attention.) Fast break basketball is a mentality and one mentality that you can develop is to take it out and get it in and see if you can beat the other team down floor before they are set. (Rick Pitino developed this attitude when he was head coach of the New York Knicks. I can still see Charles Oakley firing fastball outlets to half-court after scores. Tommy Heinsohn was and is a huge proponent of this. And, of course, Paul Westhead’s Loyola Marymount teams in the late 80’s epitomized it. Dial 1-800-GO-MAN-GO! Don’t actually dial that…just play like it’s toll-free!)

“Playing Loudly”

I have always liked the idea of “playing loudly”. By this I mean, simply, make some noise out there, and by making noise, show confidence in yourself and make your presence felt. I don’t just mean “talk” either, although, communicating on the basketball floor is critical. Defensive talking, yelling “outlet”, calling out fast break numbers, etc., are all fundamentals and contribute to good basketball and to what “loud” playing is. But, I also think that dribbling hard off the floor or smacking the ball with your off-hand on rebounds and on post catches and dribble pick-ups in the post, or letting loose with primal screams when securing a rebound or even letting a ref or teammate or opponent know how you feel about a particular play can focus some player’s energies, raise the stakes, and motivate you to play even better basketball.

I remember going to a Celtics’ game a few years ago when M.L. Carr was coaching them and they were a terrible team. The Fleet Center was empty and they were playing the Orlando Magic. Scott Skiles was running the point for the Magic and because the place was empty, you could hear every little thing. He, literally, did not shut-up the whole game; he directed the team and every player on almost every play on offense AND defense. He pounded the ball into the floor and grunted on rebounds and when he took charges. It was impossible to ignore the impact of the smallest, slowest man on the floor. In fact, I left the “gym” that night thinking Skiles actually won that game with his mouth (and his head) and all his loud actions. Play loud and play a big part in the game.

“Catch a Saved Ball Being Fired 100 mph at your Knees”

Thinking ahead on a basketball court, or making plays on the basketball court that seem as though you are thinking ahead, are deeds that get you much recognition. Now here’s a tip that gets you thinking ahead of the thinking ahead person. (Imagine the “love” you’d get for that!) Okay, the ball is flying out of bounds, you are very nearby but someone on the other team gets there first, jumps out of bounds, catches the ball and throws it – fires it at 100mph - at your knees or at your head or somewhere even more vital to your future as an attractive human being. The ball caroms off you, their ball. The player is much applauded for a good play, a thinking ahead play and you are left there as victim, as dolt. Never let that happen again: Think way ahead. As the person is going out, as the person is winding up, bend your knees, get your hands up and ready and . . . just . . . catch . . . the thing. Just catch it. Get psyched and catch it! Your ball. The only thing left to do is think ahead to your Hall of Fame speech (and what you do with all that love.)

“Never Catch a Deflected Pass”

This is another Thibodeau-ism. (For those of you who didn’t read last week’s “Tip”, I referenced Tom Thibodeau, long-time NBA assistant, now with the Houston Rockets, with whom I worked for four years when we were both assistants at Harvard University.) When we’d play, and a pass that was deflected then deflected off my hand and went out of bounds, he’d always say “never catch a deflected pass”. I never debated this with him but would think, “Isn’t that like nearly impossible to decide?” I suspect that what T was saying was – if you have a choice or have a chance - don’t try to catch a deflected pass because the very fact that it is deflected means that its path or trajectory has been altered, that it may not be what it seems to be, and may cause a second deflection, this one off of you.