Ball Screen Defense: Analyzing Effective Methods

Experimenting with a new ball screen defense in addition to your primary strategy could have huge benefits for your team. What is your team’s primary method for defending a ball screen? I asked that question via Twitter poll.

Two 5-Out Ball Screen Adjustments

5-Out Offense is all the rage these days. With today’s players’ skills and an overall emphasis on spacing, ball movement and player movement, 5-Out Offense provides opportunities for every player on the court to contribute on the offensive end. Here are two adjustments to make as defenses evolve to take away actions within your normal […]

ATO Specials: Burn Cuts

Old timers, like myself, would tell you, “You don’t need a play call to back door somebody. When your defender turns his head or overplays the passing lane, back cut.” Even in today’s game, that’s a read every player should be taught to make. However, with many teams today moving away from denial, in-the-passing-lane defensive […]

Contesting Shots Matters and Here’s Why

Earlier this season I listened to Eric Mussleman speak to his team on the importance of contesting shots.  He referenced the 2015-16 NBA season to explain why the distance of your closeout on a shot makes all the difference.  He said that defensive FG% was lower as shots were contested closer.  You can hear him […]

Building Your Basketball Playbook: Inverted Offense

Flip the traditional setup – Inverted Offense posts up a guard, running actions above to create huge advantages and tough covers. While attending the NABC Coaches Convention a few years back, I was intrigued when I saw the session titled, “The Analytical Edge: Underutilized Strategies to Increase Win Percentage,” presented by Frank Dehel of Dribble Handoff.

Building Your Basketball Playbook: Multiple Actions

There is incredible value in running sets with multiple actions, and the options are nearly endless – here’s a few to get you started. For those who read the companion blog post on plays with consecutive actions, you may have already begun tweaking your playbook to include a few more of these types of sets. Before you get too […]

Building Your Basketball Playbook: Consecutive Actions

String together consecutive actions to creates advantages by forcing the defense to make back-to-back quick decisions. During my second year as a college assistant coach, we had a Division I point guard transfer into our small program. His skill in the pick and roll was quickly apparent, not just to our staff, but also to our opponents. […]