Skills We Should Teach More, Part II: The Mental Side of Passing

The ballhandler sees a teammate down court and throws a chest pass to his outside shoulder. The defender, having read the point guard’s eyes, closes the gap and times his jump to steal the ball. The opponent goes the other way and scores, finishing an and-1. A bad pass led to two points, a team foul, and a baseline inbounds.

During N.F.L. Kickoff Weekend, commentators prattled endlessly about the need for quarterbacks to estimate the distance between the defender and the receiver. One speculated that newly unretired Brett Favre would incorrectly evaluate the strength of his aging throwing arm and force a pass into a dangerous, not understanding that the risk of such a play had risen as his skills have fallen as his career advanced.

The same principles are present in basketball: correct spatial visualization, accurate risk-reward analysis, and the execution of correct passing techniques under pressure.

• Is there a defender in the way? Call the player’s name or make eye contact. Tell the teammate to pivot and seal or cut and come to the ball. Ask the receiver to give a target. Make an entry pass to change the passing angle or reverse the ball and attack the other side.
• Is there a defender nearby? Pivot, ball-fake, or head-fake to keep the opponent off-balance. Put some mustard on the pass so that it can’t be intercepted. Assess whether the offensive capabilities of the receiver on that spot of the floor balance the risk of a dangerous pass.
• Is there a defender pressuring the ball? Stay calm. Pivot around the defence and step into the pass. Choose the right pass for the right situation. Keep the dribble alive until you can run another play. Hold it as a last resort and wait for an opportunity to hand it off.

Coaches should devote more time to these skills. During scrimmages, they should stop the run when somebody obviously ballhawks and teach the team how this can be avoided. Players should learn all of the options available in a given predicament. The little things, like ball-fakes (along with moving the head and especially the eyes), half-a-second hesitation dribbles to read the defence, and pivoting belong in practices.

It is a fallacy to teach players that any pass to a teammate is an equally valid option. Coaches should be frank and pragmatic about the strengths and weaknesses of each team member so everyone knows the best option and what type of pass is appropriate.

It’s a more difficult task to teach players how to improvise and make good choices. Dehydration and fatigue reduce decision-making skills. The Israeli army incorporates math exercises at the end of training, effective teachers drill students under the pressure of time; coaches should do likewise and simulate pressure with game-like situations.

Why Are You Trying Out for the High School Team?

Not to criticize daily physical activity, nor playing for fun, nor a lifetime of good health. Not to demean those who shoot hoops in the school yard or play pick-up with friends, nor those who swim run, or play another sport to keep fit. Seeking instead to address those wishing to tryout for the next level (high school, Ontario Basketball, AAU, university or college) and excel. Anyone considering that step should ask themselves one question:

Why am I doing this? Anyone can see the fans at the game more clearly than the name on the jersey.  Anyone can play for individual glory. Anyone can take unlimited shots. Anyone can quit when it starts to hurt. But nobody should play at the next level if they can’t play:

• For the Name on the Front of the Jersey: To make four years in high school mean something more. To represent your teammates and your peers with pride. To play team defence. To create memories. To participate in something greater than oneself.
• For Teammates: To make friends for life. To be the first to pick a teammate up off the floor. To make a pass as the clock winds down because it was the right thing to do. To achieve something together that was impossible individually. To help defensively. To take charges. To set screens. To be positive.  To encourage.
• For Improvement: To set goals and accomplish them. To improve. To encounter obstacles and overcome them. To avenge earlier defeats in the playoffs. To practice hard daily. To acquire skills, both physical and mental, and use them on and off the court. To train.
• For Self-Actualization: To be the best. To think. To anticipate the next play. To focus. To stay calm under pressure. To challenge the opponent’s best player. To stop the ball. To be tough. To fight through screens. To rebound. To hit the floor.  To compete.

It is a privilege to play for any team. Canadians like Jermaine Anderson love to play for their country. Sometimes the twelfth man is the staunchest teammate. Players have dreamt for years about being on the court when it matters. Even those on the bench are essential to making any good team better.

It matters whenever any team plays, any collection of players selected because of their skill, strength, speed, and - most significantly - their soul. That team and those players are important. Anyone can be one-dimensional but elite teams and elite players are those who develop all aspects of the game.

Even if this is not the year that you are playing varsity or it is not the month when the season officially begins, it can still be the day to start training. The day to set personal standards. What will you accept from yourself? Everyday, student-athletes can make a difference. Anyone who can’t meet that challenge doesn’t belong on an elite team.
 
Michael Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame yesterday and chose David Thompson to introduce him. He didn’t chose Dean Smith, Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson, or Phil Jackson but a player who inspired him when he was younger. Jordan saw Thompson succeed in college and as a professional but he also saw him fail. It was the manner than Thompson overcame his drug addiction and knee injuries that inspired Jordan to become so determined.

This entire entry may seem clichéd but the crux of the message is this: elite players separate themselves from the masses not because of athletic gifts or a single event but by the choices and habits they display on a daily basis.

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...

• ...post-up: useful against a smaller opponent and when using one or two “go to moves.”
• ...fill the near corner: crowds the wing if they intent to penetrate but provides an immediate outlet and possible high percentage shot if the player currently holding the ball cannot create their own shot.
• ...fill the weak-side corner: a thoughtful choice if they wing will be penetrating and drawing a help-side defender.
• ...set a screen: the low exchange or the flex cut may provide a post with a half-second of freedom from their defender and room to operate.
• ...curl around to the weak-side wing: this initiates a perimeter rotation away from the ball and may lead to a scoring opportunity (shot, pass, dribble) if the ballhandler can get into the paint or makes a skip pass.  The point guard can use the weak-side post and run a circle cut.
• ...give and go: an aggressive manoeuvre if the defence is not playing closely and a an option that can be used in any offence. A U.C.L.A. screen could involve the high post player in the action.

Screen away and set a...

• ...shuffle screen: the opposite wing can enter the high post and curl towards the hoop for a quick pass.  A simple away screen enables a different player to come to the top of the key and facilitates the ball reversal.
• ...downscreen the help-side defender: if there is a penetration, this will lead to a wide open shot when the wing kicks the ball to the shooter. The action also permits a post who can shoot or another forward with scoring potential to come to the top of the key and execute their best skill.
• ...backscreen: the point guard would need to fake a cut into the paint for a step or two before coming back to the perimetre to back-screen the weak-side wing.  The defence might be caught off-guard and the athletic wing could receive a lob pass.

Participate in a swift ball reversal: if the point stays at the top and receives a reversal pass from the wing, they must not hesitate to make a decision. The first look should be inside, to see if the strong-side post has sealed their defender with a drop-step. The next look would be to the weak side to determine if any shooters are immediately open. If the point was comfortable with their offence, they could attempt a fake (jab-step, shot-fake, head-fake) and attack but I think that the prompt reversal opens up so many more options.

Fake a cut and return to the top of the key: suitable if the point guard is a skilled player who is tightly defended. They may have lost their dribble or need a quick break from their manic defender in order to reposition and better attack the defence.

Use a flare screen: this will open up the court for the point should they receive a skip pass. The screen will also be in a good position should they choose to roll or pop after setting the screen.

Swiftly cut behind the ballhandler and receive a hand-off: if the point guard can create their shot succinctly, this hand-off screen may provide all the space that they need. When the wing rolls to the basket, they can seal the defender and create a good passing lane to the block.

Set a ballscreen: I don’t care for this play because it does not create a mismatch. When a big sets the ballscreen, the other players normally have cleared out and formed a weak-side triangle. If the two defenders cannot handle the screen, a help-side defender must rotate, opening up an opportunity for the perimetre players. When a guard sets the screen, there is no mismatch if the opponent switches the screen and the screener is most likely to N.B.A. roll. A big can roll to the hoop or slip the screen, two high percentage options.

Get back on defence and stop any run-outs: at least the point guard won’t be in the way and should give the team a head start on defence.

Walk towards the ball or stand in place without being ready: two horrendous choices, displayed in the worst pick-up games, which badly clog the half-court offence. Any of the other above options would help the team more.

There are dozens of options for the point guard after they have passed. If a point guard does not have the nerve or intensity to force the action with a rapid and aggressive play, they should not be on the court.  Even though they do not have the ball, it is still an opportunity for the point guard to take leadership.

Basketball≠Moneyball?

A friend asked me to comment on this article, which was published by Michael Lewis in the New York Times. It is related to this article, published on by Howard Bryant on ESPN.com.

The first article discusses how teams use statistics to assess performances. There are definitely methods to evaluate effectiveness beyond points, rebounds, steals, blocks, and assists. Plus/Minus, Player Efficiency Ratings, Points-Created, and Win-Shares all offer a more balanced approach. Billy Beane decided to eschew batting average in favour of on-base plus slugging percentage and other statistics, which was catalogued in Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball.

Given the success that the Oakland Athletics experienced with a limited budget, Beane and Lewis experienced sudden fame. The term Moneyball became part of the vocabulary of sport to describe any situation where a team relies heavily on statistics. Other General Managers refused to deal with Beane because they felt that he knew something which they didn’t. A film was in production.

Now, the public perception of Moneyball is different and the film has been cancelled. First of all, it will likely be revealed that the Oakland clubhouse from 1999 to 2003 was the one of the most juiced in the majors. Drafting low-ceiling college players pays off when they increase their potential artificially. Secondly, even during their peak, they never won a playoff series (maybe if Jason Giambi had slid into home plate). Thirdly, after the initial crop of stars left, Beane has been unable to replace them.

Is an overreliance on statistics to blame? The Boston Red Sox have won two World Series since 2004 and they also use statistics. However, they also draft elite talent to stock their minor league system who can be called up (Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellesbury) or traded to acquire needed players (Josh Beckett, Victor Martinez).

But like the balance between quals and quants in financial analysis, there is not a single correct solution. A junior gold company may have a great chart but not enough gold in its mines. As New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said: "You need someone with a high degree of common sense that surrounds himself with a strong team to run an efficient business. You have to have a blend, and he'll gravitate toward the best possible solutions.”

Inbreeding of ideas and conservatism are to blame. Taking one idea to an extreme is problematic. According to the Howard Bryant article, some believe that the Moneyball emphasis on walks leads hitters to become more concerned with seeing pitches than hitting pitches. It’s like if a coach told Allen Iverson that he had to pass first because that’s what point guards do.

Red Auerbach was one of the most open-minded coaches ever. Auerbach didn’t care how Bob Cousy made the pass, as long as it got there. He never discussed statistics with Bill Russell, only winning percentage. Those were the best approaches for those particular players.

Michael Lewis wrote about the Houston Rockets and their use of statistics. According to the Houston front office, Shane Battier is one of the most effective players in the Association in terms of how he plays defence and contributes to the team offence. Trevor Ariza is a good signing and I am sure that his high effective shooting percentage and tipped passes were part of the reason that he was signed. However, the Rockets will go nowhere without someone who can take over the game, since it appears that Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady will not play much next year.

When you are allocating the mid-level exception or signing complimentary pieces, Moneyball is a good idea. But eventually, they will need a player who can create his own shot. The Triangle Offence worked well for the Los Angeles Lakers’ second unit but in the playoffs, the team had to relied on the weak-side two-man game or isolations for Kobe Bryant to score.

Using Moneyball in basketball is not a new idea. I’m not sure if the Oklahoma Thunder still employ the idea under Sam Presti but they are in a good situation with a promising young roster and plenty of cap room. Still, they needed to draft an elite player such as Kevin Durant to lead their team.

Any coach should define their own set of statistics that suit their systems and the skill set of their players. Aside from statistics which track points created and chemistry among different combinations of players, these criteria should be revised and updated with each season. After the season, there should be some sort of evaluation to determine if the outcome validates the process.

Interesting stats for basketball include: fast-breaks initiated, moving the ball to the open man, effective shooting percentage, turnovers caused by dribbling or passing in a rushed manner due to overdribbling, ball reversal speed, forcing a pass on an odd-person transition, (1) forcing the dribble and (2) forcing the dribble to the left, tipped passes, help and rotation speed, hedging/shocking the ball screen, boxing out, and low shot-clock situations.

Not all of these situations can be recorded with hard data (such as a shot chart); others are more subjective (like defensive communication). To play up-tempo basketball, there are decision making criteria to watch (initiating the fast break, moving the ball to an open man) but they are mood if the player cannot execute basic skills at high speed. The A’s have guys who can take pitches but not necessarily the bat speed or the eye to hit a cutter into the gap with runners on base and two outs. They reached they have reached their ceiling for 2009 and their record and attendance ($) shows.

The goal is not to do the best you can with less but be the best. The Oakland Athletics and Houston Rockets are not the models to follow but the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Why Not?

One can record a maximum break in snooker in less than five and a half minutes. So why not make 147 every time? Since the balls are always arranged identically, how did the first player in this clip botch the break so badly, without potting any balls, so that Ronnie O’Sullivan was able to easily run the table, averaging one shot every nine seconds?

Why does a curler slip pushing off the hack at the Brier and therefore compromise their release? How does a collegiate wrestler lose their first match against an unranked opponent when expected to win the national championship?

The key characteristic is the formation of good habits. Whether the situation occurs during the General Preparation phase or a Peak during the Main Season, an athlete’s mentality should be the same.

The Carleton Ravens never overwhelm a team with skill. Winners of six of the past seven Canadian National Championships, it seems logical that they would have a much higher talent level than their opposition but they rarely win in a rout and often put forth poor shooting performances. However, the Ravens’ defence is always consistent and carries them through tough games.

It is evident throughout the game - from warm-up to post-game, during all of the huddles - that they don’t find the circumstances out of the ordinary. Even after they won a tough National Semi-Final against Western on a buzzer beating shot, stars Aaron Doornekamp and Stu Turnbull still took the time to clean up their bench area, showing respect and responsibility.

Coaches should continuously promote Intensity and Quality in practice in order to simulate games. Athletes must always display this work ethic during workouts (individual or team). Coaches should instruct effective emotional and attentional control in addition to sport-specific physical performance factors. Athletes should spend time finding their Ideal Performance State before all competitions, from the N.C.A.A. Tournament to Intramural Playoff Games.

Coaches could call timeout and tell athletes to “calm down” but both groups have responsibility. Mike Krzyzewski, in his cursory work Beyond Basketball, talks of the importance of visualization for himself as a youth growing up in Chicago and for players at Duke. Some of the advice in that particular book may be incredibly obvious to anybody with a quantum of common sense but the anecdotes may inspire fans with higher aspirations.

For example, Krzyzewski relates how diligent Michael Jordan was regarding his individual workouts during the preparation for the 1992 Olympics. Although Jordan was the best player in the world, he was still respectful and allowed the college coach to work him out at game-like Intensity and Quality. Even the best must invest time to maintain their physical and mental levels so that they do not slip or stumble during a critical moment.

Fate Helps Those Who Help Themselves

Smokey the Bear persistently preached that “only you can prevent forest fires.” He understood that he could preach until he was blue in the fur about fire safety but he could only succeed if everyone did their part. A coach can make speeches, review game tape, prepare scouting reports, or employ coaching gimmicks but the team can only succeed if every player on the court contributes.

After a Toronto High School Senior Boys Basketball championship game, a West Hill player was heard to remark that the game was “easy.” One teammate concurred but another remarked that “wait, we lost.” Some athletes can’t separate process from outcome or recognize the differences between each definition of success. It is another issue entirely when team can’t figure out that both the process and the outcome are wrong and does not make adjustments.

Maybe the other team isn’t intense or applying pressure but let that be their problem. Beth Mende Conny once said that “if you can’t take control of your life, don’t complain when others do.” Or don’t sit there in the locker room afterwards wondering what happened.

Like work ethic, fear is an emotion that athletes can only conquer themselves. Jim Valvano remarked that “there are 86,400 seconds in a day. It’s up to you to decide what to do with them.” Well, there are 1,920 seconds in a high school game and it’s up to you to perform and leave it on the court without regrets.

O'Neal and Moon for Marion and Banks

The Toronto Raptors acquired Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks from the Miami Heat in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon. Bryan Colangelo has made his team much more like the Phoenix Suns, obtaining an upgrade in speed and scoring at the expense of defense and rebounding.

On Wednesday, the Raptors beat the San Antonio Spurs with above-average half-court execution and satisfactory defence. Led by Roko Ukic, Toronto was much less predictable; although they mostly alternated Flex-Ball Screen-High Rub, it seemed that the ball ended up in different hands and that there was more penetration. I’m not a fan of Chris Bosh holding the ball as the shot clock winds down before shot-faking thrice and shooting a fifteen foot jumper so I that that this was a positive development. Another difference between O’Neal and Bosh is that screens were set more solidly and post defence against Tim Duncan appeared tougher.

Now, the team will certainly run more and play more athletically. Marion’s numbers have continued to decline this year although he is an above-average rebounder from the wing. Down the stretch, the team will likely put the ball in Bosh’s hands and I’m not sure how that will work out. The Raptors don’t need to put the ball in Parker’s hands as much so he can focus more on creating his own offence. As a corollary of that, I suppose Jason Kapono will get less run unless his shooting heats up.

Post defence has improved - which is good because it was previously horrendous - but post defence is very shallow and soft. The Raptors have some options to prevent players like Manu Ginobli from dropping 37 points on them. Instead of size, the defence has more speed. Hopefully Bosh and Bargnani never foul anyone and never injure themselves.

The Raptors have some cap flexibility to get a free agent this summer and convince Chris Bosh to stay. Banks’s contract is as bad as his point guard play but it’s only five million a year, which is manageable. Moon was gone for sure anyways and needed to be moved to clear minutes for Marion. In a perfect world, it would be good if Kapono started shooting well; maybe he could be moved for a back-up post.

Potential Rotation: there are a lot of guys to whom Jay Triano can turn to for contributions. Not that there are a lot of great players but there are a lot of players with similar PERs on the bench. They are very much a European-style team. These guys should help Triano run more of his sets.
PG: Calderon/Ukic
SG: Parker/Kapono/Banks
SF: Marion/Graham/Kapono
PF: Bosh/Humphries
C/F: Bargnani/Voskuhl

The Raptors better start scoring about 85 point in the first three quarters because they will be holding on for dear life down the stretch. And fans need no longer fret whilst nervously awaiting the imminent explosion of Jermaine O’Neal’s knee.

My Bad

Taking responsibility and finding ways to improve team performance is entirely different from taking responsibility and repeatedly making the same mistake. Saying that it is your bad doesn’t make it better. We’ve all been coaching for years and know it’s your bad. Furthermore, anyone who has been playing the sport for more than twenty minutes should know it’s your bad.

The phrase has become cursory and trite like cocktail party conversation; on some teams, it is as incessant as a broken record. Coaches don’t say that it is their bad when the bench is uncomfortable.

David Frost: President Nixon, do you regret the invasion of Cambodia which may have triggered the militarization of the Khmer Rouge?

Richard Nixon: My bad.

Self-evaluation is an important part of mental training and the first step to serious improvement. But self-evaluation without follow-up is nothing. Serious people take steps to improve every day.

Coaches should help players realize that there is a problem, show them how to identify ways to correct it, and plan practices with quality repetition at high intensity. There are limits to what coaching can accomplish (extrinsic motivation). Players should buy into the process (intrinsic motivation), instead of putting another coat of primer on a cracked foundation by saying that it’s their bad. Of course it is and it is also their bad that they aren’t taking initiative to get better.

Player Development, Part II

The Toronto Raptors held a career forum last week at the Air Canada Centre. A panel of various employees represented different aspects of the organization: concessions, sponsorships, ticketing, facilities, and other jobs. Whilst the speakers were genuine in their desire to inspire the many high school students in attendance, they largely failed.

The seminar was a complete contrast from the hullabaloo of an Association game, which was a bit of a surprise, like seeing all the McDonald’s employees in line at Harvey’s in Union Station before the game. The Raptors promised an interactive and interesting event and fell quite short.

The speakers droned on (to a degree) about what they do each game day. The ticketing manager bragged about courtside seats that she had secured for a Torontonian at a Lakers game. When I attended the Raptors-Pacers game later that evening, it became apparent that many students had not attended a live game before. Discussing the luxury services offered by the company furthered the disconnect with their audience.

For example, a video documenting a game day at the A.C.C. would have supplemented the verbal explanations nicely. The footage would have permitted the students to visualize what the speakers described. Also, the speakers did not discuss how they obtained their jobs. The mantra “maybe someday you’ll be up here giving the speeches” was often repeated but few details were given about the education, experiences, and choices required for a career in sports.

In his book, Understanding Media, Marshall McLuhan cites the case of a high school principal in a destitute neighbourhood in New York City who gave each student a photo of themselves. The school also installed multiple mirrors in each classroom. Given the ability to see themselves as they learned, the students increased their academic performance.

The students didn’t believe what the teacher was saying about their habits until they saw it themselves. On the court, a coach may tell a player that he is fundamentally unsound, does not contribute to the team, or makes bad decisions but if this contrasts with the player’s self-image, he won’t buy it. A tirade may have the same effect as giving the player a dissertation to read.

If a player is good enough, and experiences some success - however superficial - they will begin to think of themselves as an excellent player. There are enough cheerleaders and hangers-on to reinforce that view. Why confront the truth, which is negative and entails hours of work to change, when one can look on the bright side.

The level of discourse has generally fallen recently; the successful politician is the one who lowers himself and communicates at the level of the voting public. Likewise, a coach must show the player simply and surely how his performance affects the team, for example using video of games or practices. Chris Bosh may not realize his body language and actions with his mouthguard leaving the huddle Monday night are unprofessional but hopefully he would be regretful if shown the behaviour later.

A player on the Varsity team or an alumnus can serve as a role model for how to get things done. Also, teaching a player how to critically watch the game provides examples of great performances. Encouraging players to develop an athlete’s vision can be a critical component of mental training before games and practices.

Coaches can’t simply demonstrate the drill like it is part of a lecture. They must connect with players so that all team members see themselves executing the skill correctly, in the context of a winning team with good chemistry.

Another Way to Die

A door left open: Bo Schembechler said “prepare, prepare, prepare.” John Wooden said that “failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” You can’t get upset on the court or in life when you are let down by something you should have foreseen and prepared for.

A woman walking by: In every life, short-term pleasure can’t overcome long-term pain. Treat the source, not the symptoms. Correct the player’s attitude so that they buy-in and become willing to correct their technique.

A man on your side: Another inch of your life sacrificed for your brother. If it impedes productivity, deal with it immediately; otherwise avoid getting caught up in the paperwork. Coaches should remember that they need to get paid too. The team can only go so far. In the hospital, there is plenty of paperwork so you won’t miss it.

A look in the eye: Essentially, John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” is nothing but a set of very high standards. If you compromise your own standards, looking at yourself in the mirror every morning becomes the most unbearable part of each day.

A phone on the table: Finding passion on your own is immensely difficult. Not everyone is interested in pushing the boundaries of quality. Finding coaches and players who share the same philosophy is critical.

Someone that you think that you can trust: Undeserved self-satisfaction is the timeless rival of self-actualization. If you are doing something interesting, challenging yourself, why bother? There are so many tiers in sport. Anyone can win a game at some level but not everyone can reach their potential.

Another way to die: Toiling through routine, repeating the same mistakes, wondering why we’re here; we’ve all been in one situation or another. When a person ceases to better themselves, they stagnate and die. Even little steps, made each class, prep period, practice, and game in the hopes of making a substantive change over an entire term or season can forestall a slow and ignominious death.

Talent Myopia

In 1960, Theodore Levitt published Marketing Myopia, a seminal article for the Harvard Business Review that highlighted how a narrow understanding and a refusal to accept change doomed a number of business empires. Companies ranging from electric street car manufacturers that didn't understand the effect of the automotive industry to dry cleaners who did not cope with the development of new synthetic fabrics were criticized. The same problems also manifest themselves away from the business world, on the basketball court, where players get caught up with their own abilities and misunderstand their role in the sport.

Self-Deceiving Cycle: There is a certain groupthink among today’s ballers, ideas and opinions taken as given, facts ignored, despite all common sense. They follow the hoop culture vicariously via NBA.com but don’t follow the example of their role models. They watch an And1 mix tape and assume that they have the all the skills they need. E.O. Wilson once said that “Blind faith, no matter how passionately expressed, will not suffice. Science for its part will test relentlessly every assumption about the human condition.”

The Cycle develops as players forget how their heroes made the Association, ignoring examples like Steve Nash shooting free throws in the rain on Vancouver Island and disregarding the countless others who wanted to be him but failed in a blaze of glory. From where they are now, focusing only on their narrow range of skills and not the entire game, it might serve them well to read the signposts.

Production Pressure: It can’t be denied that young players are pressured by countless others. There’s pressure to keep the baskets coming at the Bantam level, rather than shoot correctly (irrespective of the outcome). There’s pressure to win by any means necessary rather than do it the right way (you don’t get paid for winning club games). There’s pressure to talk about Brandon Roy’s three-point buzzer beater against Houston, rather than the player who allowed him to get open (Travis Outlaw set the screen). There’s pressure achieve the coach’s definition of success, rather than John Wooden’s (As Coach Wooden would say, you can’t shoot if you can’t move and get open). Coaches should pressure players to improve, not just perform.

Population Myth: Some excellent student-athletes have always been recruited because they standout at their level. There are countless youth teams but very few professional leagues, and very few professional leagues that pay well. It’s hard to make a living playing ball. Agents serve dozens of clients and most of them are not Scott Boras.

Sooner or later, the number of buyers will shrink and the number of sellers will remain the same. Coaches will not only assess players on their physical abilities but their mental and social abilities as well. Some players will reach a certain point based on talent alone but others will be held back. Some players will less talent will surpass them because they play the game well.

Student-athletes must accept that they are basketball players, not ball handlers or scorers and learn the about the entire game: accept advice, rebound, set screens, give help, take leadership, move the ball, pass and cut, etc… Even Trajan Langdon is getting paid to play basketball these days.

Basketball Relativism

Seeking to avoid the tendency to move players around like Stratego pieces but still recognizing that the basketball season is like a game of Labyrinth. Balancing the motivation of a group of student-athletes towards meaningful goals while encouraging them when they falter. Generating elite performance from the team on the court and inspiring personal improvement away from it.

Coaching becomes much more challenging than diagramming a sideout play down two with two seconds left on the clock.

As a moderate Platonist, I try to avoid moral relativism. I think that there are standards of success, of good performance, that shouldn’t be shunned. But then what is success? John Wooden defines it as “the peace of minds that comes from the self-satisfaction of knowing you did your best to be the best you are capable of becoming.” Rick Pitino says that “success is a choice.” Certainly their records convey empower their words with a degree of credibility. I definitely think that every team member should be constantly striving to improve themselves, including the coach.

For a coach to provide extrinsic motivation that is as powerful as a player’s own intrinsic motivation, the player must share the coach’s ideals to a point. If a coach holds one concept of success close to his heart and the player another, conflict erupts. A common error is assuming that one’s personal views are the only reasonable view and that they are very common; therefore, anyone who takes an opposing viewpoint is wrong and expressing an absurd viewpoint.

So when a player confronts a coach (metaphorically, not physically), the coach should evaluate the viewpoint that led to the conflict. Players are people, after all. To live a personally satisfying life, the coach should never sacrifice his personal values but to experience a collectively satisfying season, the coach should be willing to change.

Beyond wins and losses, success could mean instilling individual pride in group accomplishments, promoting attendance and punctuality, inspiring student-athletes to do better in class. With younger students, even small steps should be encouraged and although it is a struggle for coaches, they should congratulate the progress, slow as it may be.

“It is not the purpose of war to annihilate those who provoke it, but to cause them to mend their ways.”
- Polybius

Player Development, Part I

Today, Ettore Messina held a clinic at the University of Toronto regarding the development of the young post player. I thought that it was a very insightful presentation and included some technical elements which are not usually covered in North American coaching literature.

First of all, Messina spoke of developing trust with players. I agree with his point that players will respect you once you prove that you can help them improve. To me, it’s highly logical and creates relationships based on respect, not the one-sided interactions that have become prevalent in schools and teams in North America. As I am focusing on my personal connections this season, I will try to keep this intuitive point in mind.

Coaches must give athletes opportunities to succeed, in order to build confidence and build relationships between coaches and players and between teammates. When an athlete succeeds at a simple task, they feel confident about trying something more difficult. When players see that coaches are helping them, they buy into the system. When a guard sees that a post is helping them defensively, they will trust them by passing them the pass at the other end.

Messina also discussed the instruction of specific skills to make things easier for players. Skills should be challenging at first but not impossible. During the Summer Olympics, Mark Tewksbury stated that Canada should have specific skill benchmarks for athletes at all levels (for example, how well should a fifteen year old swimmer be able to perform the dolphin kick) and Messina’s coaching philosophy supports Tewksbury’s claim. Both athletes and coaches are responsible for making consistent progress and keeping standards realistically high.

I Wrote this While Waiting in the Airport

Like 1999, the Toronto Raptors have made a draft-day deal, exchanging their draft pick for a big from the Indiana Pacers. Like 1999, a (relatively) new General Manager is hoping that this is the move that helps the Raptors exchange their “Participant” ribbons from the past two years for real playoff glory. Trading the seventeenth pick, Rasho Nesterovic, T.J. Ford, and likely Maceo Baston for Jermaine O’Neal should do the trick.

Rasho is fundamentally sound, defends reasonably well, cares for the team, and is a nice guy … but there are also reasons why he’s always the second or third best big in his draft year, his free agent year, or most of the deals he has been involved with. He lacks athleticism and dominant post moves. No qualms with Rasho’s toughness but he doesn’t demand a double-team and won’t take over games in the fourth quarter.

T.J. Ford needed to go, sooner rather than later. Despite all of his positives, Ford’s injury risks balance with O’Neal’s concerns. Ford was also destroying the team’s chemistry and making this trade now allows Colangelo to firmly commit to Jose Calderon. With any luck, Colangelo will also commit to someone who can teach Calderon how to handle a double-team during the screen and roll and penetrate and kick against a large centre; foiling Tom Thibodeau and Dwight Howard should be two of his main goals this year.

Jermaine O’Neal is a great fit for the Raptors although the $44M contract over two years is not so good. Chris Bosh likes to work from the wing or the high post and O’Neal should complement him inside. He will be an excellent option on the block down the stretch of games and will be double-teamed, opening room for Jason Kapono, Anthony Parker, and Carlos Delfino. And O’Neal will post an enormous “Stay Out” sign near Toronto’s basket.

The Raptors must decide whether to start Kapono, Delfino, Jamario Moon, or Andrea Bargnani at the 3. I think that Kapono will be the best fit, as his shooting will benefit tremendously from the Raptors’ inside presence. But Sam Mitchell will have options down the stretch. Bargnani should come off the bench as the sixth man, also as the first forward back-up, until he proves he deserves otherwise and Delfino should back-up the guards.

Colangelo needs a P.J. Brown/Udonis Haslem/Nazr Mohammed-type to fill a forward spot in the rotation (unless Primo Brezec or Kris Humphries show that they have improved) and should use the mid-level exception to fill this role. Or he could split the mid-level and also sign the back-up point guard required, since Darrick Martin won’t do this year. Jamario could get some burn, but it’s imperative that he attack the rack much more. Under this scenario (two players remaining to be signed), Joey Graham is expendable but he might be the twelfth player on the roster.

Of course, O’Neal’s knee could still be problematic, Bosh’s plantar fasciitis might flare up, and Calderon could be horrendously injured at the Beijing Olympics. Irrespective of all of those possibilities, I think the deal will work. Toronto will not surpass Boston as the Atlantic Division Champion but they have a good shot at the fourth seed in the playoffs and they should take care of the Orlando Magic if they meet again in the post-season.

(Kidney issues aside, if I were Bryan Colangelo, I would have spent picks 25 or 26 trying to trade-up and get Darrell Arthur because I think he’s a nice fit for the bench or picks 28 to 33 trying to get Mario Chalmers for that back-up point spot.)

Ifs and Buts

If he were alive, Red would be proud: a Boston Celtics squad that sacrificed individual glory for team success and when faced with adversity knew no other recourse that to turn up the defensive intensity won the Association title. And they smoked the Los Angeles Lakers to do so.

Certainly the team had talent - a modern triad to match Russell, Cousy, and Havlicek - but they came closer to the Auerbach intangibles than any other recent champion. These Celtics didn’t necessarily run the court but Pierce and Garnett dominated the screen and roll at both ends of the court. Boston didn’t control the paint by force but their teamwork shrank the court and controlled the glass, five peers working together. Their offence didn’t score consistently in the hundreds but they made key outside shots and constantly moved the ball.

If he weren’t such an avid Zen follower, Phil would be frustrated: towards the Lakers team that he coaches for their lack of toughness and also towards himself because he didn’t make adjustments down the stretch. Jackson shouldn’t be upset in a destructive way but motivated to make positive, proactive changes.

It’s not a time for the L.A. organization to overreact and panic but players must improve their performance under pressure. The return of Andrew Bynum will increase defense and rebounding but the team must add a veteran defensive small forward and depth inside. Pau Gasol can still play the Pinch Post to attack Tom Thibodeau’s defence but the Triangle Offence needs to evolve, adding new sets like Slice Passes, Backdoors, and Screen and Roll Counters and emphasizing principles like more motion away from the ball and better team ball movement.

If both teams repeat their successes, they should meet again in the Finals next year. But, like 1985, the outcome should be the opposite of the previous season.

The Right "Stuff"

Kobe Bryant said that if he’d been told in training camp that Los Angeles would have to win three straight games to claim the Association title, he’d take it for sure. On the other hand, Phil Jackson felt that the Lakers hadn’t grasped the significance of their situation between Thursday and Sunday. In a sense, both were right.

Boston was laying their bodies on the line, playing through pain. Doc Rivers told them to play every minute of Game 5 like it was their last. The Celtics had bought into a season-long philosophy of team play and personal sacrifice for a long-term goal. You can only rely on short-term goals like “not in our house” for so long. Eventually, a team has to play hard, play smart, and play together consistently.

Finally the Lakers got the line more frequently but there is work to be done defending the screen and roll and Paul Pierce’s subsequent penetration.

Kobe has the right perspective. It’s not the end of the world if the team loses because they will be in good shape next year. After losing to the Detroit Pistons in five games in 2004, the Lakers experienced an annus horribilis followed by two mediocre seasons before acquiring the players to get to this point. Kobe’s dissatisfaction did not prevent him from winning the most valuable player award and he has always been able to overcome tribulations on and off the court.

Kobe understands that it’s only basketball and he has a record of performing under pressure. The Lakers need to get him the ball more often in isolation situation.

Likewise, Rocco Mediate understands that it’s only golf. From his performance on the back nine of the U.S. Open and following interviews, Mediate seems to have a good sense of perspective. He is honoured to play with Tiger Woods, not intimidated by him. Mediate also understands that he can’t control how his opponents play and said that it’s pointless to root against someone in golf. He added that he had tried to win with his putts on the eighteenth green, having assumed that Tiger would make his putts.

Balancing that calm attitude is Tiger’s intensity and determination. A new Nike campaign features Earl Woods speaking about how his son will be the most focused golfer in the world. It’s important to keep things in perspective but it’s also important to have a little bit of attitude.

Before Game 7 of the 1969 Finals between the favoured Lakers and the aging Celtics, L.A. owner Jack Kent Cooke ordered some Lakers championship balloons to hang from the ceiling of the L.A. Forum. Bill Russell - who wanted to win his last game as a player more than anything - walked over to Jerry West and told him that “those f----- balloons are staying up.” West averaged 38 points per game and won the Finals M.V.P. Award but Boston beat L.A. one more time, claiming their eleventh title at the time.

Rocco Mediate has a fair chance and I don’t think he’ll shoot himself in the foot today but generally speaking, it’s important never to bet against Tiger Woods.

Experience Matters?

Like the 1983 Edmonton Oilers lost the Stanley Cup to the New York Islanders and the 1998 Brazil team lost the World Cup to France, it appears that the 2008 Los Angeles Lakes will lose the Association title to the more experienced Boston Celtics. The gifted Oilers and Brazilians won the subsequent championships in fairly dominating fashion; it remains to be seen whether the 2009 Lakers will do likewise.

Thursday’s Game 4 was disastrous for L.A.: the first half the manifestation of every possible lucky bounce followed by the second half which showcased Boston’s outstanding focus. Often, older teams rely on intelligence and intensity more than their athleticism. For example, the San Antonio Spurs will make countless adjustments until they regain the upper hand whilst the Celtics turn up the heat defensively.

Athletic teams, such as the Lakers cope better with opponents that adjust because they possess a natural advantage anyways. When young players meet a squad that is outworking them, they have trouble processing that superior performance. They should be better but they aren’t and the reasons for the discrepancy are highly intangible: fighting through injuries, battling for every rebound and loose ball, not stopping until the ball is through the hoop.

Assistant Coach Tom Thibodeau’s defensive is essentially a match-up Man-to-Man, with plenty of help and rotation. The team may trap screen and rolls or shrink the court with a sagging defence but they don’t make a lot of changes. When behind, they pick up the energy and play harder. Even Head Coach Doc Rivers out-coached his counterpart by picking up a T at the right time and reminding the veterans who play for the team that he coaches to pick up their intensity.

Is Phil Jackson the same person who previously won titles in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles? The fact he has (probably) twice coached a more talented team to defeat against a more passionate defensive team in the Finals raises the question.

The current Lakers squad can still win. I think that it’s a matter of getting their star post Andrew Bynum back, adding a couple more veteran threats to the bench and teaching Pau Gasol and Vladimir Radmanovic how to defend and rebound with their heads and hearts. I thought that they had enough talent to get the job done but apparently I was mistaken.

Kobe, Derrick Fisher, and Jackson had been there before and should have better helped their teammates prepare but they seemingly haven’t. This first hand experience should teach L.A. how to defend, stop the ball, rotate and recover, get to the rim, and rebound as hard as they can throughout the championship series. Like Wayne Gretzky and his young teammates losing to the hardened Islanders dynasty, the Lakers will have the edge when these two teams meet again in the 2009 Association Finals.

Best Seat in the House

Spike Lee’s “basketball memoir”, Best Seat in the House, provides a unique perspective on the sport and frank commentary. Despite his film background, Lee is tremendously knowledgeable about basketball and how it is intertwined with New York City’s culture.

He has attended hundreds of games, from Game 7 of the 1970 Finals when Willis Reed emerged from the locker room to deflate and defeat the Lakers to Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Finals when the Knicks returned to the Finals for the first time in twenty years, and he describes the city’s euphoric reaction to these moments. Thousands of citizens, young and old, play ball - few succeeded in the Association while most few short - and they (wrongly) indentify themselves with the sport.

Lee comments on the role that psychology played in Michael Jordan’s career. Jordan always had an edge over his opponents, gained by repeatedly owning them on the court while befriending them off of it, and he would not hesitate to take advantage. To him, winning was paramount. Jeff Van Gundy called Jordan a “con-man” (and the Knicks were subsequently lit up [repeatedly]) but Lee admired this tactic, despite what Chicago did to the Knicks over the years.

Lee also discusses how General Managers do not pay enough attention to a free agent’s environment while tripping over each other in order to sign the latest superstar. Salaries are spiralling out of control but nobody asks “why is that guy so good?” or “who made that team so great?” in enough detail. Consequently, players like Larry Brown (1996 Dallas Cowboys) and Troy Glaus (2002 Anaheim Angels) sign huge deals and never duplicate their performance because the players who protected them are no longer around.

Legends were interviewed and said that modern players possess a sense of entitlement. George Gervin claimed that they wouldn’t take anyone’s advice, from college and professional coaches to former players, and few reached their potential. Others, like Bill Bradley, commented that overall skill and team play have disappeared as players become more one-dimensional. Michael Jordan never stopped listening to Dean Smith and Phil Jackson and continued to improve. The Association may have become bigger and better over the past twenty years but the level of play has not followed suit.

Tourney Concerns

Last night’s narrow victory over Belmont exemplified the glaring weaknesses of Duke since J.J. Reddick was recruited in 2002. The lack of penetration and interior presence become severe obstacles when the game becomes a halfcourt contest or the Blue Devils are faced with an athletic team.

Television views have seen this situation unfold twice, during the final regular season game versus North Carolina and the 71-70 First Round victory. When pressured, Duke’s two guard front is neutralized. When Jon Sheyer and Greg Paulus dribble or pass the ball back and forth, several turnovers seem imminent. On the other hand, due their poise, the Blue Devils don’t throw the ball away often. They still throw possessions away when they force low percentage shots.

If the team does not score in transition and make a three-point shot, they have difficulty creating their own shots. Even DeMarcus Nelson and Gerald Henderson get stuck and appear not to maximize their quickness and athleticism. Kyle Singler is not a dominant big-man and would rather shoot from the outside. If outside shooting abandons the team, their motion offense is very stationary, a departure from past championship teams.

Interior defense and rebounding are question marks and the team is vulnerable to bigger opponents (losses include Pittsburgh, North Carolina, and Wake Forest). West Virginia, Purdue, and U.C.L.A. pose similar threats and Duke will not beat all three teams. This year, almost any team in the country with a winning record can beat the Blue Devils.

Yet, the demise of the Duke Men’s Basketball Programme is greatly exaggerated. Coach Krzyzewski and the team still lead the N.C.A.A. in tournament and regular season wins over the past ten years. A core of talented recruits (Brand, Williams, Battier, Dunleavy, Deng) rebuilt the team after the 1994-96 debacle and reached four Final Fours in seven seasons. Strengthening inside and wing play in order to curtail reliance on the outside shot will permit Coach Krzyzewski to repeat that accomplishment.

Carpe Diem

Brock University’s C.I.S. Men’s Basketball National Title victory on Sunday - following Acadia’s 82-80 double-overtime defeat of five-time defending champions Carleton in the semi-finals - proved again how anything is possible, in sport and life. Any Canadian team would have won out and claimed the W.P. McGee trophy. In fact, the dark jerseys won seventy percent of games played at the Final 8 Tournament.

The odds finally caught up to the Ravens. At once they faced an intransigent opponent, shot poorly, saw calls go against them, and did not recover every lucky bounce. A team can often overcome one or two critical obstacles but beating a great team while playing poorly is usually unfeasible.

Association media pundits would describe Carleton’s match-up with Acadia as a classic “trap game”, a surprisingly tough challenge to face before the main goal. The Axemen’s natural motivations to win the game were supplemented with a desire to avenge a blowout loss from the 2007 tournament. Even with the most physically talented and mentally tough team, playing at home, the Ravens fell short.

Other squads, those who can’t say that they executed every single aspect of the season to the best of their abilities have no recourse to blame but themselves. A number of teams beat the shocking champion during the regular season but none when it counted. Anyone could have won this past year but to attribute the result to fate is a mistake.

Like the N.C.A.A. Tournament, some teams lamented their exclusion from the Final 8 (some more on the Monday afterwards than before). Some teams learnt the hard way how national rankings are meaningless when not supported by wins at the end of the season. But also like the N.C.A.A. Tournament, no team with a legitimate claim to winning the entire bracket was excluded

Coaches, players, administrators, and supporters should look inward and evaluate whether they succeeded in terms of recruiting, skill development, team defence, rebounding, moving without the ball, perimeter shooting, attacking the basket, and strategies and tactics. Winning at the highest level demands severe commitment and there is always room for improvement (certainly balance is important in life but this blog entry is about self-actualization and personal development). Coaches should be at Humber College’s Lakeshore Campus for the U15 and U17 tryouts this weekend, followed by O.B.A. championships and summer leagues.

2008’s remorse and regret should fuel off-season training and in-season motivation throughout the next year. Carleton will certainly be driven to reclaim what they perceive to be their crown. Shouldn’t all teams share this mindset?

The More Things Change...

San Antonio beat Dallas 97-94 last week. Same as usual (except for 2006). Tim Duncan scored the crucial points while Dirk Nowitzki fell short at crunch time. Each team demonstrated how the keys to success lie in the details.

During the penultimate play, Bruce Bowen blocked Jason Terry’s shot. Duncan immediately took the ball out of bounds because he is the Spurs’ worst free throw shooter. He inbounded as soon as possible and since the Mavericks were ill-prepared, more time elapsed and San Antonio had the best chance for points from the line.

Bowen deliberately missed the second shot with 0.4 seconds remaining and Duncan tipped the ball towards midcourt. This action started the clock and increased the time it would take to recover the ball so the concept could have been just as effective had more time been on the clock.

Not all was well-executed by the defending champions. Michael Finley overran a hot closeout, permitting Josh Howard to drive by him and dunk before help arrived. Duncan changed his pivot foot in the paint but a foul was called due to his reputation. Bowen climbed all over Terry but the official passed.

Dallas still shows many of the same flaws. When Tony Parker guard Nowitzki on a switch, Dallas’ star forward did not back down San Antonio’s point guard and post him up. Instead, Nowitzki shot a contested a fade-away jumper with a low chance of success. Dallas still lacks crunch-time shooters and needed to bench newly-acquired Jason Kidd in order to put more scorers on the court.

I don’t blame Avery Johnson for this game but it is clear that he still stands in Pop’s shadow. San Antonio knew exactly what they wanted to do and executed each play fairly well. On the other side, it seems like nobody on the Dallas team wants to take responsibility for making plays in critical situation. Despite ostensibly improving their team, the Mavericks have fallen from first overall to a fifth or sixth place team and can look forward to another long off-season.

Trades

Whether Dallas improves their current playoff hopes by trading Jason Kidd for Devin Harris, they may have sacrificed their long-term outlook. Within a couple of seasons, Harris would have supplanted Jason Terry as the Maverick’s primary point guard. As the formed Wisconsin guard reaches his prime, Kidd will be entering his decline.

Furthermore, Harris should have led a lineup featuring Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, along with a shooter and formidable bigman, who would have been drafted with the ’08 and ’10 draft picks sent to New Jersey or signed with the cap room now consumed by Kidd. As Dallas bemoans a deal made under pressure, New Jersey will be thankful that they dismantled their overpriced backcourt in 2008. The consequence of each choice is that the Nets will likely return to the Finals before the Mavs (who blew their chance with this lineup in ’06). Like the 1999-2005 Sacramento Kings, Dallas could discover how Association glory is fleeting.

The Mavs needed a true point guard, in addition to a knowledgeable coach, a tough post defender, consistent inside scoring, and tenacious wing defence. This recent swap solved merely one of many problems, and only for the time being. The natural development of Harris would have achieved likewise, with patience. The team is third in their division, behind New Orleans and San Antonio. Chris Paul and David West are better than Jason Kidd and a mystery centre; the Spurs recently acquired Kurt Thomas to defend inside, ensuring they possess all the parts mentioned above.

When constructing a team, General Managers must correctly evaluate relative value. Trading for a top point guard to combine with a so-so back-up might be worth less than focusing on the development of Harris and a younger player like Brandon Bass, who could significantly contribute to the team’s chances next year. A superstar with a weak supporting cast may lose to a well-balanced rotation, like previous Maverick teams or the current Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz. After all, the San Antonio Spurs beat Jason Kidd’s New Jersey Nets during the 2003 Finals.

A lesson for all sport participants is to avoid the influence of pressure, whether double-teamed on the court or inundated by the media in the office. Thoughtful choices needn’t equate with the delay and indecisiveness some equate with taking too much time. In fact, careful consideration can still be achieved in a timely manner.

P.S.: Creativity (Sam Presti’s ability to create three first round draft picks, Francisco Elson, Brent Barry, and an eight million dollar trade exception simply by holding Kurt Thomas for half a season during a rebuilding year), timing (Atlanta’s decision to get Mike Bibby for next to nothing during the season when he would contribute the most towards making the playoffs), and resolve (Los Angeles’ stout refusal to give up Andrew Bynum in any trade offers) also help.

People Who Play Sport

When asked about Bill Belichick’s coaching success, analyst Chris Schultz said that New England’s coach understood the difference between football players and people who play football. When asked about Sam Cassell’s potential as a coach, Sam Mitchell said that Los Angeles’ point guard must learn what to do when players don’t see what he sees.

Major-General Isaac Brock was appreciated for the charisma he employed while commanding British forces in Upper Canada. Colonel Roger Sheaffe was equally disliked for his aloofness and occasionally cruel management style. The critical trait was to treating the 49th Regiment of Foot as a group of people, not mindless soldiers.

Criticism of the Phoenix-Miami trade ignores that the Suns are people who play basketball. What if the Marion-Stoudamire rift was destroying team chemistry? Or what about Phoenix’s increased confidence playing with Shaq? Opponent reluctance to attack the basket? And Shaq’s drive to prove doubters wrong? All personal factors that cannot be easily measured.

Shawn Marion’s steals on the wing and finishes on the break can be measured, as can the disappearance of easy baskets in the playoffs. Boards mean more than strips because of the opportunities they provide. Teams can win games with 85 points in the postseason if they allow only 80. Halfcourt sets must generate high-percentage shots. All areas where Shaq succeeds and Marion does not.

Shawn Marion brought multiple positives to the Suns but the positive reaction of the people involved in the trade is a prominent reason why it might push the team to new heights. Nevertheless, Steve Kerr should sign the best wing defender in the C.B.A. in case Phoenix must stop Kobe Bryant in the second round.

Tom Coughlin changed his philosophy after New York started the N.F.L. season with two losses. Self-assurance and poise defined the Giants’ championship run. Execution improved on both sides of the ball, not because of fear of discipline but due to increased focus and reduced stress.

In the Superbowl, New England proved fallible after all. Tom Brady - the person, not the image - was pressured throughout the game and made mistakes. The Patriots faced tremendous adversity; New York’s awareness of this fact supplemented the confidence that the Giant’s gained from their Week 17 experience against the Pats.

People are not perfect and it is consequently extremely difficult for teams to do likewise. Had Belichick followed Schultz’s characterization more closely, he would have done more to eliminate outside influcences on the Patriots and coached more actively. New England seemed to need more external motivation to energize the older and tired team whose intrinsic motivation had faded after eighteen consecutive wins.

Players from the intramural to the professional levels are always affected by emotions which are as difficult to master as elite sport. Accepting that players are fallible individuals is an essential criterion for successful coaches.

Coach People, Not Players

Joe Gibbs retired for a second time Tuesday, six weeks after an ignorant timeout decision costing a November game in Buffalo brought critics out of the woodwork only to be silenced by Washington’s determined four-game winning streak to make the playoffs. Gibbs will be remembered for controlling the line of scrimmage with brutal line play, amassing yards and points with innovative offensive sets, and making the most of each player’s talents. The most recent stint with the Redskins proved that Gibbs could connect with a new generation of players, despite conventional wisdom purporting that such team building was irrelevant in today’s era of the salary cap and free agency.

When the Reskins needed to come together and raise their game to the next level, to salvage the season, to overcome the death of Sean Taylor, Joe Gibbs convinced the team to play tenacious defence, execute offensively with great precision, and focus every play. Unfortunately, they could not raise their game an additional level in the playoffs but a team without a real starting quarterback succeeded a fair amount.

The Detroit Pistons play tenacious defence. The San Antonio Spurs execute offensively with great precision. Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, and Tim Duncan focus every play. The Toronto Raptors do not. Toronto beat Philadephia handily but excellent teams do more than kick other teams while they are down (they don’t have letdowns either); they play hard, play smart, and play together consistently. It’s best when the fire comes from within but coaches can provide the spark at critical times.

Finally, Sam Mitchell decided to use Anthony Parker more. (The Raptors should also post him in New York tomorrow.) Jose Calderon’s penetration and judicious passing created an efficient offensive system. (I’d like to see the team try a high rub with him and Bosh against the Knicks.) But the rebounding and defence was still lacking. (Eddy Curry will eat Andrea Bargnani if he doesn’t watch himself.) Most of the team still neglected to attack the basket. (I wish Mitchell told the players to drive, draw fouls, and finish - or take a seat.)

Calmness in the face of adversity is a commendable attribute but astute analysis accompanied by appropriate action is even better. Letting the team bend and stretch the offensive and defensive systems works if you are Phil Jackson running the Triangle Offence but it can lead to a lot of bad shots in the wrong situation.

Until points in the paint and shooting percentage improve, I’d like to see the team presented with a number of quality options and be forced to stick to them (Delfino the penetrator should come off the bench, not Delfino the three point shooter). Outside shots should follow kick outs (Kapono could have a bigger role, if he earns it in practice). The team just needs to get after it on the glass (I don’t know why Humphries resolve has not yet rubbed off on some of the other forwards, besides Bosh.)

Consistency, needed to reach the next level in the Association, must be found somewhere and a laissez-faire attitude won’t do it this season.

Patience is a Virtue (Most of the Time)

The Globe and Mail reports that Sam Mitchell has been keeping an even keel lately, amid the Raptors’ uneven performances. Somebody once told me - as I was raising my voice in a team huddle - that you can only feel embarrassed if you choose to feel that way. The observation was astute and memorable but all seasons reach a point when the coach needs to rise above modeling the way and make things better, as soon as possible.

Intensity has its time and place. Players’ inner motivation is far more effective than any external forces exerted by the coach. But when the inner flame is extinguished, it is the coach’s role to get the fire started again.

As regulation ended against the Spurs in Game 7 of their 2006 series, Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t be denied. It was a different story a year later in the first round versus the Warriors: Golden State was out to prove themselves and could not be denied. Perhaps Avery Johnson could have lit a fire under Dallas and rediscovered that lost desire. Likewise, Sam Mitchell could light a fire under Toronto and inspire the team to attack the basket, D-up, or crash the boards harder.

Creativity and ingenuity would immediately benefit the Raptors’ stagnant offence. (It’s stagnant because of the lack of scoring caused by the lack of movement: the ball, players, and players with the ball remain far too stationary.) But the team’s main flaws could be remedied regardless.

Mitchell could cut somebody’s burn; Delfino, Moon, and Kapono could compete in practice for fewer small forward minutes. Mitchell could make Bargnani’s role contigent on rebounding; it’s not fair for the coach to be forced to choose between skilled players and Kris Humphries in order to get minutes. Mitchell could redistribute touches on the offensive end; give Anthony Parker more opportunities to read the defence, like in that set when Bosh screens away for AP and the secondary option is an iso for Bosh.

Maybe it’s necessary for the coach to scream at the used car salesman until he attacks the rack. Everything must go, including that overused fade away jumper. Once, last season, Bosh got the ball in the high post, turned, and crammed it on Zach Randolph. It was spectacular -- a rare explosion of energy and determination resulting in two points and a win.

It’s time for Sam Mitchell to generate a similar explosion. It’s not necessary to wear the lines of the Air Canada Centre practice court to do so but it is imperative to act proactively. It’s nice to radiate an “all is well” aura when all is well. Last season, the ship seemed to right itself on its own, leading to a franchise-best record. But consistent winning requires consistent change and improvement. Right now, the Raptors need an infusion of energy to push them past this obstacle and towards the playoffs.

Posts Do More Than Merely Hold Up Stop Signs

Down the stretch last night in Portland, the Toronto Raptors’ offence sputtered and stalled, ultimately failing. Aside from Anothy Parker’s awesome dunk (plus the harm) off a dribble-pick, execution was disastrous.

José Calderon bounced the ball off his foot. I see the benefit of surprising the opposition by eschewing the timeout and subsequently exploding in transition to split two defenders but it’s a risky move that - given the situation - should only be attempted with supreme confidence and a high chance of success.

Jason Kapono traveled while spotting up. I hate the quick score and foul play; eventually shooting skill improves to a level where at least 1.2 points is the expected outcome of two bonus free throw attempts. A team down three with 2-3 defensive possessions remaining needs to score at least seven points to win, if they are fouling for the ball. Whether the three was appropriate or not is irrelevant since Kapono appeared totally bewildered and unprepared. Instead of getting his hands ready to catch the ball and shoot after inbounding, he shuffled his feet and walked.

Lastly, Chris Bosh did not receive any touches inside during the last few possessions before the game was decided. On YouTube, Hakeem Olajuwon demonstrates how a great post can transform a team (Dejan Bodiroga does likewise for great footwork). I don’t sense that Bosh is an elite post but he has the potential to be quite effective when he attacks the rack. Bosh needs to believe in himself and forget the easy jumpshot in favour of the drive. The team needs to believe in him and give him the ball at critical junctures.

Inside-outside jumpshots have a much higher percentage than when Carlos Delfino or Andrea Bargnani force something up. Close but no cigar; fourth in the East is far from an Association title. Play hard, play smart, play together.

Take Initiative

Sam Mitchell and the Toronto Raptors let the Phoenix Suns take a 139-123 victory last night. Earlier in the day, Mitchell boasted in the Fan 590’s morning show that the team had three ways to stop Steve Nash and the Suns.

None of them worked.

Help Defence

José Calderon - and later Anthony Parker - guarded Nash relatively well. But the double-team to stop dribble penetration was disastrous, leaving deadly shooters like Leandro Barbosa open to make three pointers all night. Phoenix is tough to defend because every player possesses unique weapons. Perhaps Grant Hill is the best starter to leave open since he shoots triples so rarely but surely someone could have defended Barbosa after he dropped twenty-two in the first half.

Screen and Roll Defence

The Raptors switched screens - creating openings upon which the Suns immediately capitalized, such as when Amare Stoudamire threw down an alley-oop dunk on T.J. Ford. Other times the team rotated well, three players switching and forcing a bad shot; exaples of the persistent defence that could have won the game if it were more consistent.

Substitution Pattern

Jamario Moon played the first three quarters, then sat for a few minutes, playing a few more minutes before the benches were finally cleared. To me, that’s an illogical rotation. If a player receives that many minutes to start the game, they should be good enough to play the fourth quarter. Moon changed several shots and totally owned Shawn Marion on a block but his thirty-nine minutes were perplexing.

I believe in planning substitutions ahead of time: taking advantage of the fact that daily practices provide a larger sample size than one quarter, keeping track of good combinations and team chemistry, and avoiding incidents were a player might be forgotten.

Lastly, Kris Humphries played fourteen minutes when he should have been riding the pine. Humphries is not skilled enough to compete with Phoenix for an entire game (he did go off for a couple of possessions after his technical foul) and was responsible for many ill-timed switches.

Three Strategies to Consider for the Next Time

The Raptors should have attacked their opponents. They did not generate enough offensive pressure to affect what Phoenix did at the other end. The one successful element that Toronto possessed that the Suns (sans Kurt Thomas) could not handle was Rasho Nesterovic inside. After a strong first half, they ignored the Slovenian and his ornate post offence, attempting to play a second rate version of the PHX game.

Carlos Delfino and Jason Kapono missed countless shots too. Had Toronto played a screen and roll game with Calderon and Nesterovic, they would have generated countless pull-up Js, post-moves, and open threes for Anthony Parker.

From the opening tip, basketball teams have to come out and take the victory. Accentuating strengths, playing physically, and showing confidence combine for victories, now and in April, May, and June. The Raptors played passively, allowing the Suns to control everything. How many times do you shoot 55%, score 123 points, and lose?

Never (if you play great transition D).

K.I.S.S.

Basketball is often overanalyzed, needlessly complicated searching for an elixir of life that will transform hardwood into championships. A slew of factors affect performance and their identification is paramount.

Changing tactics hastily, without justification, courts disaster. The play might flounder - despite its suitability for that particular moment - because players are not executing correctly. Use timeouts to seek room for improvement before obfuscating the issue with new sets. Don’t jump to conclusions and adopt a zone merely to feel better about doing something. Ensure the shift is required because there is no worse sensation than losing due to gratuitous coaching.

Basic cuts (like the Backdoor, Shuffle, and Hawk) are the most common because they are the most effective. Don’t forsake a fundamental option because it didn’t succeed once or twice. The cut may have been open but the ballhandler missed it, wasn’t skilled enough to get the ball there, or felt there was a higher percentage target elsewhere.

Good players read defences but imagining opponents or making decisions based on limited information doesn’t make one any smarter. Good players should rely on their skills first and foremost. If the game is still in doubt, basketball I.Q. may come into play but don’t make the sport harder than it needs to me.

Good coaches should apply their judgment most of all. Keep their toolbox fully stocked but only open it sparingly. Likewise, there’s no need to say anything just to fill the air. Positive body language is infinitely more valuable than idle instructions. Bad decisions bring a leader back to the back; discretion remains the better part of valour.

So What Do You Think You Know?

Two ideas that I have been recently mulling over:

Spin: A three-point shot, released with backspin, is tipped by a defender who is closing out desperately, hands up. The ball, deflected from its intended path, heads towards the short corner. Is the clockwise vector - applied to the bottom of the ball - strong enough to overcome the shooter’s finger flick? Does the ball have any rotation? If so, is it material enough to influence the ball’s trajectory (beyond the linear forces pushing the ball towards and away from the basket)?

If nothing else, the block should augment the ball’s forward bounce when it hits the court, according to specular reflection. Or perhaps a 4,700 sq. ft. piece of hardwood is too small to seriously consider the impact of physics.

Timeouts: The season’s hottest trend is to call timeout just before the opponent attempts a late-game field goal. Scarcely moments before the ball is to be snapped, the coach signals timeout to the side judge, who blows his whistle but cannot stop the play so the kick must be attempted again. Mike Shanahan and Lane Kiffin succeeded; the second kicks were missed and blocked respectively. Dick Jauron failed; the do-over was good and Buffalo lost the game.

How much physical recovery is necessary after the strenuous exertion of a long field goal attempt? Should the offence call a timeout (if they have one) to ensure that the kicker is rested? What about the mental aspect? Does the outcome of the first attempt or perceived feelings of fatigue alter the kicker’s confidence, positively or negatively? Does the defence gain additional insight concerning the offensive line’s blocking schemes?

Or is the late timeout an idle gesture, an ineffective tactical maneuver executed in order to keep up appearances, avoid accusations of coaching like Marty Schottenheimer? Since results count, Shanahan and Kiffin are judged to be right, because if they had done nothing, they would have lost. To me, it’s dubious that these coaches are pulling the strings and altering percentages. What if the first kick went wide right and the place kicker was able to correct his mistake on the second try?

Food for thought. x2.

Crashing the Borders

Harvey Araton, sports columnist at The New York Times argues a two-fold thesis in his latest basketball work, Crashing the Borders: How Basketball Won the World and Lost Its Soul at Home. On one hand, basketball has reached incredible heights of popularity world-wide, becoming second to soccer as international players take up the sport and professional leagues thrive across the glove. Meanwhile, basketball in the United States is deeply troubled.

Television ratings barely reach a third of the highs recorded by Michael Jordan in 1998 and less than a half of what “Magic” Johnson attained in 1980. Fundamental skills are lagging and poor performances abound in international competition. Most importantly, the game is wreaking social havoc across the country: taking advantage of poor communities, ignoring the education of student-athletes in order to promote the “Next One”, and casting aside skill development in favour of winning games.

As outlined by David Halberstam (and countless others), Michael Jordan was one in a million. Jordan ushered in a new age, pairing sport with media to sell products and earn unimaginable sums of money. Most people, including players, see only the riches. “Magic” Johnson has said repeatedly that what separated Jordan from his peers was his mastery of the fundamentals and intense competitive spirit, attributes lacked by many young American players. However, European teams practice six hours daily, a work ethic fuelled by the players’ desire that permits all team members - from guards to posts – to develop exceptional skills, especially shooting, ballhandling, and footwork.

In many ways, basketball is exemplifying trends that can be found throughout modern pop culture. Poor players are exploited and cast aside in a manner similar to what happened to Britney Spears at the 2007 M.T.V. Video Music Awards.

College isn’t for everyone and there are definite questions regarding whether student-athletes receive and education and learn critical life skills while playing collegiate basketball. Certainly, many don’t graduate. Araton quotes observers, like Spike Lee, who argue that the system is racist. To some degree, that is an easy answer which is also inflammatory. The system is definitely elitist, a description that I feel better explains a number of the book’s examples.

As summarized in Breaks of the Game and Playing of Keeps, a sense of entitlement has evolved among players who want the benefits of success without the requisite work. When the U.S. National Team falls short at the 2004 Olympics, excuses pervade the subsequent press conferences. Few take responsibility for their short-comings, blaming bad F.I.B.A. officiating instead of bad outside shooting.

This sentiment has fostered a lack of respect for the opponent, demonstrated by taunting behaviour at the 1994 World Championships or complete dismissal of George Karl’s scouting report of Argentina in 2002, arrogance that may have contributed to a very ignominious loss.

Araton hopes that the November 2004 brawl at the Palace of Aubrun Hills between the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, and fans is rock bottom, a nadir that inspires everyone begin improving themselves and the sport. There are a number of highlights in the Association today, showcasing the joys of the game and its ability to bring people together.

The Detroit Pistons - built by Joe Dumars as a true team of complementary players - defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 Finals, team defense overcoming a collection of individual stars. The San Antonio Spurs paying tribute to Red Holzman by excelling at both ends of the court, adept at all manners of play. The Phoenix Suns, led by the enthusiasm and creativity of Steve Nash, winning with great skill and also having fun.

Practice Makes Perfect

Discussing a number of basketball topics at the corner of Yonge and Eglinton and in the Athletic Centre Fieldhouse led me to reflect about why coaches do certain things the way that they do.

For example, apparently the former coach at the University of Tennesse didn’t care for behind the back passes. Throw one on his watch and you were done for the rest of the practice. I disagree because although the behind the back passes are a low-percentage play on average, there are specific situations when it is the highest-percentage option.

If two defenders go to the ballhandler after a side screen and the screener rolls to the baseline, the best pass is one thrown behind the back. This bounce pass requires tremendous arm strength and precise technique. Players need to be taught how it should be executed and how it is not for everyone.

“There are three reasons we make mistakes: don’t know, don’t care, or not able (ignorance, apathy, ability).”
- Mike Davis

Coaches that avoid “flashy” plays are not teaching players necessary skills. Bob Cousy believed strongly in this point; he threw “fancy” passes on the fastbreak because he was skilled enough and knew it was the best play for that particular play. Furthermore, if players are forced to sit out after making a bounce pass in Knoxville, they are missing out on anything else taught during the remainder of the practice.

I think that it’s important to incorporate advanced skills into everyday practices. From a short-term perspective, these skills are a change of pace and break up the monotony of a long-season of practices. Considering the big picture: these teaching sessions allow players to better understand their limits and the strengths and weaknesses of their teammates. Even if it’s a fact as simple as “don’t throw this particular player a tough pass in transition” it’s information that players must know.

Teaching players to read on the court is easier said than done. Cousy’s thought process on the break included decisions like (i) where are my teammates? (ii) can I make this pass? (iii) can my teammate catch this pass? (iv) what pass leads to the best scoring chance?, all made and executed in less than a second. Repetition is required to build that type of quick recognition.

“Truth is knowing that your character is shaped by your everyday choices.”
- Vince Lombardi

Learning how to handle pressure is a critical skill for young basketball players. Relative to the high intensity level of intercollegiate competition, there is not much pressure in high school sport for the supremely talented prospect. Sometimes, it’s necessary to learn the hard way, by trial and error in practice.

I think that coaches must instruct players in this decision-making. It’s crisis management in a microcosm, the development of intrinsic motivation one step at a time, and self-actualization in the face of adversity. Coaches should use the game of basketball to build positive habits.

“We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey no one can take from us or for us.”
- Marcel Proust

Note: It’s true that some players are stubborn about their abilities and won’t listen despite repeated “lessons”. Others don’t realize that while the Association overflows with creativity and inspiration for everyone who follows the game, professional basketball is for entertainment purposes only and any skill should only be executed with due care in the proper context. Sometimes you have to put your foot down for the sake of the team. I dislike conflicts that get to this point and fundamentally believe that there is by and large a better way to get that message across.

The Breaks of the Game

During his career, David Halberstam wrote two books about the National Basketball Association: The Breaks of the Game and Playing for Keeps (concerning the break-up of the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers and the construction of the 1990s Chicago Bulls respectively). Halberstam’s two works - written roughly seventeen years apart - cover a dramatic shift in the game of basketball, a change from a marginal sport without a full television contract to the second most popular sport in the world.

The 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers may have been the last true team (greater than the sum of its parts) to win the N.B.A. Championship. At the time, the Blazers were so popular in the Association’s smallest market that thousands of fans would pay to watch the team’s home games at a Portland cinema. For a period lasting a little longer than a full season, the Trail Blazers were one of the best teams of all-time.

Bill Walton, between foot injuries, was one of the most talented players in the league, leading the team with defence and sparking the offence with his rebounding and passing. Maurice Lucas and Lionel Hollins were two other great players who played their best for Coach Jack Ramsay. Other role players, like Dave Twardzik, Larry Steele, and Lloyd Neal complemented the stars perfectly.

In 1977-78, the defending Association champions possessed a 50-10 record; by the end of the decade, the team had been dismantled. The team lost its superstar to a stress fracture injury, rebounding and ball handling to contract disputes, and other vital cogs to retirement. A team once known for exceptional chemistry and court-vision became a group of players that played one-on-one offence.

The breaks of the game that destroyed the Portland Trail Blazers affected the entire league. There is something to be said about playing for the love of the game, which was the case when all four North American professional sports leagues were founded. Players maintained part-time jobs in the off-season and didn’t expect to make a living a basketball stars. As salaries increased, a divide emerged between the older generation of players who had experienced the Association’s modest beginnings first-hand and the younger players who felt entitled to six-figure contracts as rookies.

Now, professional sport is a business, to be enjoyed for entertainment purposes only. Decisions are influenced as much by putting the ball in the basket as dollars and cents. The Association grew tremendously in the sixties and seventies but still lacked a viable television contract. As the 1980s began, professional basketball was not the cash cow that it is today. Owners who operated teams at a loss, subsidized by their small businesses, were forced to sell to larger companies.

In time, the Association rebounded, David Stern replaced Larry O’Brien as commissioner and began expanding basketball’s presence in the media. Michael Jordan was drafted in 1984 and dovetailed nicely into Nike’s plan to push a new line of basketball shoes. A new sports cable network, ESPN, was launched and needed programming. Globally, the popularity of the game exploded.

Jordan’s Chicago Bulls won six Association titles but still faced some of the same obstacles that the Trail Blazers did. Halberstam chronicles how Jerry Krause put the team together only to destroy it in 1998 because of ego. The Bulls were a unique team because of Michael Jordan’s tremendous talent and competitive nature and Phil Jackson’s unique coaching philosophy that valued creativity and individuality, allowing Jordan’s gifts to flourish. Krause may have made a number of key signings but he is - rightly - not perceived as the Bulls’ architect.

Michael Jordan is a one of a kind talent who pulled basketball ratings out of the basement and set records for endorsements. He only got paid extremely high salaries during the last few years of his career. Other players expect his salary from the beginning of their rookie season, without the financial and professional accomplishments, and this has thrown the economics of the game out of whack.

One of Halberstam’s insightful themes is the number of players who have short-changed their career on the court, in order to make more money in contracts and endorsements. Jordan re-invented the game, but he deserved to. Fundamentally, Michael Jordan would not let money get in the way of winning.

Another interesting topic covered by both books is how the Association evolved from a close-knit group tied together by the love of the game to a series of adversarial relationships: players vs. media, agents vs. owners, coaches vs. players, fans vs. management, and more. One isn’t automatically worse than the other but if players resent others in the basketball family without understanding the context, they create a negative influence for no good reason.

The goal is to play and win. At a certain point, it’s necessary to make money and get paid and pay rent etc. but if there is not self-actualization or improvement, life and sport are ultimately unfulfilling.

Irrespective of exceptional talent, it’s imperative for teams to be led by a highly-skilled coach, like Dr. Jack Ramsay or Phil Jackson. Coaches help teams execute systems but the anecdotes in David Halberstam’s book cannot underscore enough how important coaches are to a team’s chemistry over the course of a long season. Ask Bill Walton or Michael Jordan.

Identity, Choices, and Perspective

“No man can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which one may be true.”
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Regrettably, I played on a summer league team that was absolutely blown out in the playoffs; fortunately, I was able to reflect on the outcome and develop some good rules for handling this situation in the future.

Establish and maintain a consistent identity: Once a coaching career is underway, every time one steps on the court they must determine beforehand whether they will play or coach that game. It is not possible to do both well and I don’t think it’s possible to have fun performing poorly, irrespective of the number of middling performances.

Select a role and define goals before beginning. Whether leader or part of the whole, execute responsibilities as best as possible.

Establish whether the team will be comprised of friends or players: It’s fun to run with friends just for laughs but it’s frustrating to play with teammates who hold different motivations. Once again, goals and responsibilities must be clearly defined and team objectives and obligations must be outlined collectively. The pursuit of glory and self-actualization can stress even the best relationships so prevent potential conflicts when choosing team members.

Establish a sense of perspective: Most of time, basketball is merely a game. Wishing for an entire guard rotation taller than 6-2 is vain because whilst that would be a boon when confronted by athletic teams, it’s not happening in a summer league.

It shouldn’t take an Ignmar Bergman film to understand that the hardwood is not paramount and that while the game is seductive, it should never wreak meaningful consequences, whether it is cross words among friends, clichéd aphorisms during the huddle, or stress after the game.

Comedian: “Aren’t there special rules for actors?”
Death: “No, not in this case.”
- The Seventh Seal

Rising to the Occasion

Criticisms abound regarding Bob Delaney’s pass on the contact between LeBron James and Bruce Bowen during Cleveland’s last three-pointer Wednesday. Whilst Bowen’s physical defence straddles a fine line between fair and foul and his persistence on the perimeter is certainly a challenge that his opponent must overcome, the play in question was not particularly relevant to the outcome of Game 3.

• The Cavaliers’ poor execution throughout the encounter, including the three and a half minute scoreless stretch between 5:28 and 1:54 of the fourth quarter, is mostly responsible for their loss. The Spurs provided countless chances but the home team was neither calm nor composed enough to take advantage.
• James could have redeemed his teammates down the stretch but missed a number of shots (“It’s a make or miss league,” said Jeff Van Gundy). The game’s penultimate shot was unlikely to succeed irrespective of any contact. Beyond the arc, James shot 31.1% during the year, including 31.8% at home and 27.9% in the playoffs. Cleveland had converted 3/18 three point shots to that point, buzzer beaters tend to fail three quarters of the time, and - thanks to the end-out Mike Brown diagramed which called for an outside shot off the dribble - James had a lot of momentum going to his left. All things considered, James had less than a fifteen percent chance to make that shot before the intentional attempt to foul.

The previous play, when James passed out of a double-team to Anderson Varejao, who missed a lay-up, was the Cavaliers’ last chance to win the game. James could have attacked the trap, drawn a foul, or received a return pass from Varejao and taken a mid-range step-back jumpshot. Teams must seize opportunities when they occur, a task that Cleveland was not ready to achieve.

Ball Movement

Movement makes basketball players and teams succeed: move yourself, move the ball, and help teammates do likewise. As a result of this movement, the ball will get inside with quality shots and possessions abounding.

Phil Jackson and Tex Winter believe that the Triangle Offence is not effective without penetration. Obviously neither are screen and roll plays, motion sets, nor zone offences which is why San Antonio blew Utah away in the fourth quarter of Game 4 Monday night.

Jackson believes in a 60-40 split between possessions devoted to guards and posts. According to the Lakers’ coach, offences are more productive when bigs take sixty percent of the shots in the first half and littles take sixty percent in the second half. Depending on the pace of each squad, this equates to a difference of 9.0 to 10.2 possessions each half between the two groups.

Ideally, the Spurs and the Jazz will respectively establish Tim Duncan and Carlos Boozer early in tonight’s game before relying and Manu Ginobli and Deron Williams down the stretch. Teams should practice post moves, lay-ups against contact, and one dribble pull-up jumpshots in order to establish a rhythm of high percentage scoring plays for posts. When defences become extended as the game progresses, players should be prepared to find quicker ways to score.

The benefits of establishing a post presence in the first and second quarter include:

• Posting and re-posting (after a kick out the best look is often right back inside)
• Passing out of double-teams (tall players can pivot and have excellent passing lanes to find open cutters and shooters)
• Screening and rolling (all team members should learn how to read the play and execute the appropriate counter)
• Team building (anyone can learn post moves and gain confidence from scoring early and often)
• Forcing the opponent to adjust (defensive moves may open up the perimeter)

Keep feeding the posts when they succeed but keep moving. Now that the a double-team is demanded inside, there are more opportunities for guards to get their sixty percent: curl shooters, cut backdoor, post big guards, throw skip passes, penetrate and kick, set dribble picks, get to the line, fill the high post (wouldn’t LeBron be an awesome threat in the high post?), hand off the rock, get to the hole…

Phil Jackson - despite what Kobe may say - wasn’t advocating that a coach ignore their wings but by focusing on the posts first, everyone has an equal opportunity for high percentage shots when they really matter. As Gregg Popovich and the Spurs demonstrate nearly every game: movement and feeding the ball inside lead to quality shots, excellent possessions, and wins. If the Jazz figure this out they have a good team too.

2005 Redux

Both opening games of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals demonstrated the importance of mental training. I’m disinclined to blindly use the term “experience” but feel that a large component of the differences between the respective winners and losers can be described as the “mental training that comes from being there before and making use of that experience appropriately.” Self-confidence, team chemistry, pre-game planning, and court-sense are among other elements constituting the mental training.

Utah was totally taken to the cleaners by San Antonio; like the 1998 Lakers, the Jazz were unprepared as to what to expect when playing a seasoned playoff opponent. Gregg Popovich employed a post rotation to contain Carlos Boozer and sicced Bruce Bowen on Deron Williams. It’s unfortunate that the role players on Jerry Sloan’s team were unable to execute the coach’s and take advantage of a tired open.

Cleveland’s cavalier attitude in the fourth quarter was contrasted by Detroit’s intensity when the game was on the line. LeBron James and company seemed to treat winning the game as a bonus whereas the Pistons thought it was a necessity. The Cavaliers - with the exception of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, nobody wanted to get to the line or the rack - lacked determination at both ends of the court. An unwillingness to drive to the basket lowered the quality of the shots they took down the stretch.

LeBron James is the most talented player on the court, faces the largest expectations, and has been promoted as the future of basketball. He must take the ball to the basket. It seemed as if LeBron was looking to pass the ball in the last few minutes.

The pass to Donyell Marshall was not the worst decision: LeBron passed out a triple team to an open teammate in his highest shooting percentage zone. Michael Jordan would have taken the ball to the rim, made the shot, and drawn the foul, but LeBron’s decision to pass was not atrocious.

The previous play, when LeBron received the ball in the post, waited until the double-team arrived and kicked the ball to Ilgauskas for a twenty-foot jumper that they could have taken at any time. It was an utter abdication of leadership.

Firstly, Dwyane Wade showed last year how much the referees would reward the superstar and send him to the line, whether the rules called for it or now. Secondly, Magic Johnson and other elite players possessed an array of post moves that could be used with the back to the basket or facing the hoop. Thirdly, the entire play was designed to get LeBron the ball, which took about fourteen seconds -- Lebron exhausted another eight ticks jab stepping repeatedly. A rocker step would have been wholly appropriate.

A final comparison between LeBron and the superstars of the 1980s was the missed corner three point shot with 1:34 remaining. It may have been an awkward shot following a loose ball, falling out of bounds, and from behind the backboard but Larry Bird would have drilled it while LeBron merely threw it off the side of the backboard.

On the Subject of Basketball, Generally

I Am a Role Player: I understand that I have eight to twelve minutes to commit four fouls (five if there’s a particularly urgent play and I need to disqualify myself). I know that I commit lots of fouls and don’t need to be repeatedly told: “Brock, watch your hands,” because my preference is that all hacks are called, whether it’s my once-per-game stupid reach-in or somebody punching me when I attempt a putback. Everyone deserves free throws when there is contact and an advantage, not just Tim Duncan.

On the Subject of the Association, Generally

Rules Are Affecting My Enjoyment of the Game: Beyond the suspensions of Stoudemire and Diaw, which were preposterous. Bill Simmons wrote a great column and I share a number of the views that he expressed. Irrespective of flagrant fouls (if they were enforced correctly, Bowen would have about a dozen points in 2007), consistent application of the rules is becoming a huge problem.

1. Offensive Fouls: it’s too easy to draw a foul on contact that is chiefly incidental and should be a pass (see the call Bell drew against Ginobli for the push off). The responsibility should fall on the defender to show that the ballhandler has gained a clear advantage as a result of the contact. The offence should have the benefit of the doubt on close calls; I feel it’s slid too far the other way.
2. Illegal Screens: when one team is penalized for an illegal screen, it seems like there is a forty percent chance that their opponents will be nailed for the same thing on the following possession. The referees can turn their shirts inside-out if I’m wrong, but I feel they should be monitored more closely to avoid tit-for-tat situations. I think that the standards for screens could be clarified. It seems like crashing into players and going flying is an art form for certain players. I think the Association could adapt a more FIBA interpretation and permit more creative offensive plays.
3. Hand-Checking: is not applied consistently. If it impedes the ballhandler, it should be called. Some possessions this post-season have been curtailed because the dribbler was assaulted and everyone looked the other way. If offensive fouls will be tightly called, hand-checking rules should be just a stringent.

Association Rules Are for Entertainment Purposes Only: The Sports Guy thinks the league is trying to prevent another Kermit Washington-Rudy Tomjanovich incident, which was a nearly deadly fluke among a decade of constant in both the Association and the A.B.A.. As a result of the crackdown on fighting, I don’t think one player will almost kill another on the court again.

Nevertheless, David Stern is missing the big picture by not enforcing rules consistently. If the mantra is “rules are rules”, then all rules must be treated as such. Rules have three components: a definition, a set of interpretations, and a penalty. These should be clear and understood by players, coaches, and spectators. Currently, this is not the case.

One of the few positives with the way the Association has handled this series is that is now widely know that Bruce Bowen is a dirty player and will eventually hurt someone seriously. But since most of his crimes go unpunished, they are copied by both professional and recreational basketball players. The level of play will continue to plummet until the rules are rebooted and treated consistently - during the game and afterwards - and this will hurt the sport worldwide.

On the subject of Phoenix and San Antonio’s Game 5, Specifically

Bruce Bowen Drills Baseline Threes: So do Morris Peterson, Joe Johnson, and Donyell Marshall. Given how awkward Bowen is from the wing or the top of the key, he must shoot very well from corner in order to maintain his 38% overall three point percentage. In fact, the baseline three Bowen attempted in the last minute of Game 5 provided the Spurs with a higher expected point value (1.26) than had any of the other four players on the court attempted a two-point field goal (1.04).

Mike D’Antoni Occasionally Mismanages His Rotation: The Suns largely played six players, in light of the suspensions to Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw. Defensively, Phoenix conceded some open looks or fouled unnecessarily. Offensively, there were some atrocious possessions were Steve Nash dribbled endlessly into the defence while shooters and cutters stood still. At both ends of the court, it seems like fatigue contributed to questionable decisions.

The go-ahead three-pointer succeeded because San Antonio moved the ball away from the defence and Nash could not get to Bowen in time. I propose that if the Suns had played a deeper rotation, using Marcus Banks to spell the guards briefly and Jalen Rose to carry some of the scoring load, they would have had more energy for defence during the Spurs decisive run

The Suns Work Very Hard on Defence but their Execution Is Sometimes Lacking: Phoenix should have doubled the post entry to Tim Duncan and left Tony Parker open outside the arc, as they did. Parker was the best option out of a set of bad choices for the Suns: Manu Ginobli was en fuego, Michael Finley was draining shots from the line of 45º - when he passed on his shot, he was swinging it swiftly to Bowen in the corner - and Duncan and Parker were consistent as usual.

Why did Leandro Barbosa make such a looping turn after the ball left the double-team? The fastest guy on the court could only recover to Parker and box him out in the Russian Spot during the shot. Maybe he could have reached Bowen if he had more energy. How did James Jones, guarding Finley, get awkwardly tangled up in the strong-side with Barbosa? If Raja Bell and Nash had not played 47 and 46 minutes respectively, could they have run and jumped Parker’s penetration better? Could Nash have closed out Bowen effectively with fresher legs?

It will never be known whether the Suns too tired to close out correctly down the stretch or if they were unaware of where the San Antonio threats were positioned during the critical play.

It’s Important to Mentally Prepare for End-Game Situations: D’Antoni should have given more thought to the rotation after the initial double. It was highly probable that Parker would penetrate after receiving the pass. Had Bell plugged the foul line, Nash quickly stepped up to Ginobli, and Barbosa switched to Bowen, I think they could have prevented Parker from getting to the rim, Ginobli and Finley from shooting, and gotten to Bowen in time to change his shot, Barbosa’s physical limitations aside.

Many complicated issues would have arisen. Shawn Marion would have probably bared the onus of stopping Duncan one-on-one in a low shot clock situation. Duncan tough to stop on the block and may have gone to the line. All five Suns would have to box out. All things considered, I think that that scenario yields an expected point value of 1.02, although that figure is more art than science.

Don’t Go Small(er)

I’ve heard that the Phoenix Suns will adjust to the suspensions of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw with a very small starting line-up (Nash, Bell, Barbosa, Ja. Jones, and Marion) for Game 5. I think this would be disastrous for a number of reasons and feel they should use some of their bigger players (Thomas and Rose) instead.

Bench Scoring: If the best sixth man in the Association starts, Phoenix will not have any players remaining to provide a scoring lift off the bench. I’ve always felt that Leandro Barbosa is most effective as a reserve, although he has started in pressure situations and performed admirably.

This is the type of game where Jalen Rose could contribute by scoring, like Tim Thomas did last year. Like Tim Thomas, Rose can’t guard anyone but Phoenix’s success is contingent on playing at their tempo - a variable that is even more critical tonight - so some sacrifices can be made at the defensive end in order to maintain their points-per-possession.

Post Defence: Kurt Thomas is the Suns’ best hope of stopping Tim Duncan, who will go off for forty and twenty if covered by Shawn Marion. Furthermore, Marion will be in foul trouble throughout the game, Duncan will find cutters and shooters like he did during Game 4’s third quarter, and the defensive rotation will still be slow as molasses (due to a lack of anticipation among inexperienced players).

Covering Duncan with Thomas and mixing traps and double-teams when San Antonio penetrates with the dribble or enters the ball into the post is the best course of action. Multiple defenses have kept the Spurs off-balance and there will be an opportunity to play some zone. If Mike D’Antoni doesn’t keep two forwards on the court, Fabricio Oberto will also hurt them with an efficient contribution.

Offensive Execution: Sparing Marion the defensive assignment of Duncan will save his energy for the offensive end. A two-man game with Steve Nash should be the primary focus of Phoenix’s offense. The Suns must attack the basket - the officials will give them the benefit of the doubt due to the controversy - in order to take high percentage shots and put the Spurs in foul trouble. Bell, Barbosa, and Jones will have plenty of time to shoot when the defence collapses but outside shooting should not be a primary goal.

Kurt Thomas screens and rolls well with Nash. Nash will have to hit his pull-up jumper with a good percentage in case he can’t get to the rack and Thomas must make Duncan, Oberto, and Bowen pay if they don’t step out to guard his shot.

Mike D’Antoni’s Worries

It is not the end of the Phoenix Suns’ world if Amare Stoudemire is suspended for Game 5 of the Conference Semi-Finals. The actions of Bruce Bowen and others that the Association Head Office has permitted during the first four games of the series should provide some context to any suspensions assessed as a result of Robert Horry body checking Steve Nash into the scorer’s table and the subsequent melee. Suspending Stat for leaving the bench during an altercation would be neither consistent with restorative justice nor crippling to Phoenix’s chances to beat San Antonio.

First of all, the Suns would have to play Kurt Thomas more; they acquired him to defend Tim Duncan in a series like this. Thomas is a superior man-to-man defender and commits fewer fouls than Stoudemire, who has been in foul trouble frequently. The Spurs’ offence was disrupted in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game because of the multiple defences that Phoenix employed to stop the screen and roll and post play, irrespective of whether Stoudemire was on the court or not.

Thomas is smarter and quicker to rotate than Stoudemire. He can cut off Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker’s penetration in order to force a pass out without fouling as much. Thomas also possesses ten years more experience in diverse post-season situations that Stoudamire does not.

At the other end of the court, Thomas can screen and roll excellently with Nash. While he cannot create his own shot (neither can Stoudemire at this point in his career), Thomas can hit the fifteen foot shot that San Antonio will give him. Although Stoudemire is a tremendous offensive rebounder relative to Thomas, Shawn Marion is more than capable to pick up some of the slack at in that area.

When the Spurs physically pressure the ball in the halfcourt, the Suns’ man-to-man offence breaks down and all that remains is created by Nash’s ballhandling. For example, Carlos Boozer’s low-post moves drive the Utah Jazz’s inside/outside game. Phoenix lacks such a presence on the block so losing Stoudemire would be an enormous obstacle but he is not irreplaceable. Nash could continue to penetrate under defensive pressure and get the ball to other teammates in scoring positions.

Boris Diaw’s suspension is cancelled out by Big Shot Rob’s ban. Diaw’ lackluster play won’t be missed offensive but the combined absence of two players 6-8 and taller will strain Marion and Thomas on the defensive end, forcing them to expend more energy playing additional minutes. This is not a feat that those two have not performed before. Should anyone get into foul trouble inside, Phoenix will have severe problems as Game 4 demonstrated how even Fabricio Oberto can succeed in the right situations.

Mike D’Antoni’s team has many options: Four out, one in (if that). Transition baskets. Penetrate and dish/kick. Screen and roll and Circle Play options. Double-team and rotation. Run and jump. Stop the guards’ penetration off the dribble and screens. Force a lower percentage shot and starting the fast-break.

It will be exceptionally challenging if Phoenix must play without Stoudemire; hopefully the Suns won’t have to.

Performance under Pressure, Part III

The Association Playoffs have provided a number of interesting moments regarding how decision-making, self-actualization, creativity, and aggressiveness come to the surface on the basketball court and in life.

First of all, ESPN Page 2 is entirely correct to congratulate “the Golden State Warriors for making us watch the N.B.A. again.” The Warriors - led by Baron Davis and playing with a five-second shot clock - provided one of the few surprising moments in an Association that had been mundane and predictable for the past eight or nine years.

As Bill Simmons wrote, at least Golden State took chances. A number of the team’s acquisitions were plagued with injuries or off-court troubles but the players provided excellent skill, speed and athleticism, and experience. Don Nelson’s strategies defied conventional wisdom: the team chose to play with a small line-up at an aggressive tempo and multiple defensive alignments disrupted the opponent’s plans. John Hollinger commented that a key difference between Don Nelson and Sam Mitchell is Nelson’s willingness to trust veteran players and leave stars on the court despite foul trouble if the team needs them.

General Manager Chris Mullin rolled the dice and hit the jackpot with his biggest move: re-hiring Don Nelson. Mullin had assembled a team that could play with energy and tenacity but needed someone to provided that extra bit of aggressiveness and confidence on the court. Despite the proximity to the basketball season, Mullin replaced Coach Mike Montgomery with Don Nelson in late August. Mullin knew it was the right move and felt he had to take initiative, even if the team was disrupted in the short-term.

Gambling is inherently risky -- Golden State could have missed the playoffs, Stephen Jackson could have been incarcerated, Baron Davis could have injured his knee, and Don Nelson could have exploded. But they didn’t. By taking chances, the Warriors took control of their destiny and put the pressure on their opponents.

On the East Coast, the Toronto Raptors illustrated some truths about ball and life. Unlike the Golden State, they did not seize control of their series with New Jersey and there were a number of awful performances under pressure.

I think that the Raptors did not do a good job evaluating and focusing on their strengths. There was an opportunity to attack the Nets inside, with Chris Bosh’s drives from the high-post or the screen and roll game with Bosh and Andrea Bargnani. When Toronto trapped New Jersey’s ballscreens, it pressured the Nets and forced some bad decisions. On the whole, the Raptors made the series too easy for their opponents by not playing with enough aggressiveness and confidence.

This was clearly displayed on Toronto’s last two possessions of the game: a missed fade-away jumpshot and a stolen lob pass. The experienced player will drive to the basket and go to the line in crunch time: this is what Michael Jordan did over six championships and it’s what stars like Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan do today. Chris Bosh’s made a poor decision to shoot a long jumpshot when he could have penetrated into the lane and gone to the line to increase Toronto’s lead.

Chris Bosh possesses a number of very good moves from the high post. His decisions to rely too much on a square-up jumper and the occasional Rocker Step are frustrating to watch because he is choosing to limit his game.

The last possession, which was stolen when Richard Jefferson dropped to collapse on Chris Bosh, was poorly constructed. Apparently, Jose Calderon felt that the pass was “six-inches” short from being successful. Perhaps, but the pass could have also been three or four feet closer to the basket with a different spin.

The play lacked dynamism: from a stationary position it was very difficult for Calderon to complete the lob pass to Bosh. Due to the pressure of the moment, most of the Toronto team was very static, as was customary during tense offensive possessions throughout the series. More dribble penetration and weak-side action would have provided addition distractions for New Jersey’s defence and given Calderon greater options as time wound down.

Individual and Team Honours

“I think back to the people who would drop by my office and say, ‘keep your head up’ when you’re feeling down. Publicly, when I was out and about, I kept my head up, you’re never going to show people that you’re struggling with things on the inside, but when you’re sitting in your office by yourself and you’ve lost three or four in a row and people come by and say kind words, you remember those times.”
- Sam Mitchell

The Toronto Raptors bested the New Jersey Nets 89-83 in Game 2 of a first-round series and Sam Mitchell claimed the Association’s Coach of the Year Award today. The former far supercedes the latter because it is the first playoff win in five seasons but Mitchell’s citation is also meaningful because it is significant of team effort and was earned because Toronto’s coaches and players kept their heads up and succeeded despite adversity, illustrating a number of clichéd verses written over the years.

April is the cruelest month. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry he could not travel both, Sam Mitchell finds a thrill in bucking fate and riding down the endless odds. Il a mis son manteau de pluie, parce qu’il pleuvait, et il est parti sous la pluie. His is not to make reply, his is not to reason why.

Oh, all the places he’ll go. If he can dream - and not make dreams his master, if he can think - and not make thoughts his aim, if he can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same, his is the Earth and everything that’s in it.

“It is the eye which makes the horizon.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Preparation and attitude are two of the few things that a coach or athlete can control on game day. I’ve found the offensive sets that the Raptors run to be completely anemic occasionally (Tuesday’s win was encouraging because it shows that Toronto can compete with New Jersey and won’t settle completely for a perimeter game if faced with a combination of a zone defence and crucial no-calls) and Mitchell’s brief experience means that he has much to learn about coaching.

H.A. Dorfman comments on the fine line between athletes who are focused on accomplishing goals and those worried by negative self-talk. Greg Maddux’s mantra is to “execute pitches”; Dorfman believes that pitchers should try to “control the strike zone” or “attack the hitter” because those who fret that “they don’t have good stuff” are doomed to be hit hard.

Likewise, Sam Mitchell has been instrumental in helping this younger team come together and reach their potential. Mitchell has modeled how to remain positive and self-evaluate correctly and the team has benefited from his perspective. Coaching in the Association is exceptionally difficult, as Bob Hill demonstrated when he got a pink slip as Mitchell was getting the Red Auerbach Award.

There is room for improvement throughout the organization and it’s possible that the best path through the yellow wood is the one that Sam Mitchell is traveling. Also, props to my 2007 Championship pick, the Phoenix Suns, for not repeating last year’s mistakes and running the Los Angeles Lakers off the court during the first two games of their first-round series.

Basketball Is My Life

Reading books by Red Holzman or Bob Cousy describe playground basketball before World War II and the early days of the Association with enough detail to provide one with an excellent appreciation of the game’s history.

Basketball Is My Life: Quaintly narrated in a conversational tone, Bob Cousy’s first literary effort was written after the Boston Celtics’ first Association title in 1957. The book lacks meaningful insight into basketball but the key theme is work ethic: in basketball, business, or life. Obviously, Cousy devoted significant time to the sport but basketball is not his life. Nevertheless, given the obstacles that he faced, his drive was as critical to his success as his skill.

Cousy - one of the greatest ballhandlers of all-time - struggled to make his high school team because of his size and experienced difficulties catching on with a professional team after his career at Holy Cross. Boston passed on Cousy in the draft and Tri-Cities traded him to Chicago which folded, allowing the Celtics to draw his name out of a hat in a dispersal draft.

He also experienced a number of failures in the business world before starting a successful sports camp. One chapter describes the trials and tribulations faced by the nascent N.B.A. Players’ Association -- initially the idea was opposed by both players and owners. Without the efforts of Cousy and his contemporaries, today’s players would not have the salaries and lifestyle that they do.

The Loud Last Roar: Cousy recounts his final game, Game 6 of the 1963 Association Finals vs. Los Angeles. The text is somewhat dated and not as memorable as his first book. The point guard makes several astute points about the importance of reading the defence and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of teammates.

After winning the championship in his final game, Cousy would coach at Boston College for six years successfully and would later coach the Cincinnati Royals franchise with inauspicious results, although he did originate a number of strategic tactics that are now commonplace, for example using timeouts to save possessions.

La Dolce Vita

I’ve been told that you need to watch the adjacent Fellini films - The Nights of Cabiria and 8½ - to truly appreciate it, but I didn’t have a problem with the loose narrative of La Dolce Vita. In fact, the plot, seemingly unconnected at times, is essential to the themes that Fellini wishes to address.

“Rome: a tranquil jungle where you can hide.”
- Marcello Rubini

Uttered by at the opening of the film by Marcello, a tabloid journalist, these words endeavour to explain the motivation of the protagonist Marcello and the director Frederico Fellini throughout La Dolce Vita.

Marcello wanders from one distinct event to another, seeking a purpose for himself in life. In the end, he discovers that despite his attempts to find love, religion, or family, he is still alone, unable to connect with anyone in a meaningful manner. Trite sexual encounters, flamboyant parties, and a pretentious circle of friends and acquaintances seem to illustrate success on the surface but he is empty inside.

Disparate adventures explore the definition of beauty and the meaning of life. Marcello maintains his casual attitude when meeting his father despite knowing that he is falling short in life.

“I should change my environment; I should change a lot of things.”
- Marcello Rubini

Juxtapositions abound throughout the film, as in life. Chaos follows peace and quiet, love succeeds hate and vice-versa. The real world that Marcello struggles to navigate is replete with voyeurism and scandal; what caused controversy during the 1960 release is now commonplace.

Encounters are marred by miscommunication or a total lack of communication. The characters may interact often but they rarely understand each other.

Religion is often rejected in favour of the material world. Marcello and his friend are following the delivery of a sculpture to the Vatican yet stop in order to try to pick up some women sun-bathing on a rooftop. Leaving a party at dawn, the group encounters a procession heading to mass.

What can be learnt from a prescient black and white film? It’s difficult to find oneself and what passes for self-actualization for one person may be entirely unfulfilling for another.

La Dolce Vita was certainly worth the rental price and late fees. Considering I paid twenty-five dollars to watch an appalling display of basketball by the Toronto Raptors and the New York Knicks, Bay Street Video provides exceptional value.

Three Lessons from Red Holzman

Red Holzman coached the New York Knicks during the 1970s, an era when the team won two Association titles. Knicks players included Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Willis Reed, and Earl Monroe - among others - and they were one of the first squads to utilize pressure defence throughout the entire game. The team is also fascinating because a number of very intelligent players executed a motion offence selflessly and because of Willis Reed’s comeback in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals. It seems like everyone on the team wrote books so naturally the coach has written four, of which I read two: Defense! Defense! and Red on Red.

One of the books’ most attractive traits is Holzman’s frank commentary, using real players and teams to describe real systems and situations. The realism enhances the books, which contain many intriguing coaching ideas, such as:

Using Film to Study the Opponents: Holzman was one of the first coaches to review tapes when scouting. Knicks coaches held private film study sessions with individual players and optional team sessions before games, often screening game tape in the locker room as players dressed. This proved to be very influential, as the role of technology in sports has increased exponentially since.

Holzman also made use of a scouting network, similar to what Red Auerbach did with the Celtics, to evaluate players. At the time, many coaches did not devote much time to scouting, a field that has become an entire industry today.

Handling Pressure: Holzman adopted a casual attitude when dealing with officials, the media, and other influences in the Association. “Final is final,” he would say when he explained how he would deal with a tough loss or a bad call. It’s not that he abandoned his team on the court or didn’t reflect upon games afterwards but he had played enough basketball over the years to know not to dwell on one particular moment.

Teaching Players to Think: The Knicks were fortunate to have many smart players, like Bradley, Reed, Jerry Lucas, and Dave DeBusschere who put a great deal of thought into their games. The coaches encouraged this by allowing players to make suggestions that were honestly considered. For example, after Willis Reed suffered a hip injury in Game 5 of the 1970 Finals, Bill Bradley proposed that New York use a 1-3-1 set with him in the pivot (perhaps inspired by Princeton) to draw Wilt Chamberlain away from the basket. The Knicks came back to win that game and the series.

The Knicks also structured their offence to allow for opportunities to read and so that players could use their mental skills in two-man and three-man situations. As a result of the unique collection of basketball I.Q., the seven players from the rotation and the coach of the 1972-73 Association champions have been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

A Note for Lakers' Fans

Irrespective of Kobe Bryant’s scoring average, the Los Angeles Lakers are in deep trouble because the team offence is completely gridlocked. The Triangle will not work without post entries and dribble penetration, which are two techniques that the Lakers are not currently practicing. The Lakers must establish themselves in those areas for the following reasons:

1. It will create opportunities for Luke Walton, Andrew Bynum, Brian Cook, and the rest of the bench to contribute that are not available in the current man-to-man offence. If the entire team is a threat to score, opponents cannot collapse on Kobe and Lamar Odom. Odom will also be more effective in a team offence because his torn labrum limits his one-on-one effectiveness.
2. Kobe is one of the best defenders in the Association but he cannot defend as well if he expends too much energy creating his own shot, especially in the second half. Generating easy chances in transition will help the impotent set offence.
3. Kobe and Odom will get better quality shots in penetrate & dish/kick and catch & shoot situations. Sam Mitchell believes that the shooting percentage for shots taken in the last ten seconds of the shot clock is thirty percent (similar to Phil Jackson’s view that buzzer beaters have a twenty-five percent or less chance to succeed), so the Lakers team shooting percentage and scoring rate will increase.

The Lakers will get smoked in the playoffs in five games in a series they could otherwise force to go the distance or win. If Kobe Bryant scores some fantastic figure, like sixty points, he can still carry the team to victory but it is becoming progressively more difficult for him to do this when scoring forty-something points.

Los Angeles still runs some nice cuts occasionally. They have the potential to improve because the players can make good decisions and have sharp court vision. They also have the talent to play good team defence although transition defence has been appalling lately. However, the team has lost seven out of the last nine games and nothing much has been going right.

There have been constant comparisons between the scoring feats of Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain. Aside when surrounded by smart players who helped run a team system, such as Jerry West with the Lakers or Billy Cunningham with the 76ers, Chamberlain never won. Kobe won’t either as long as he continues to go at it alone - at the expense of his teammates.

Touch of Evil

Apparently, Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil is an unappreciated masterpiece. I am not that sure. There are some masterful shots and excellent performances, but I found the plot to be a bit of a train wreck. It’s like watching the Los Angeles Lakers attempt to execute the Triangle these days, extremely skilled at times yet missing some basic fundamentals.

As usual, there was a dispute between Welles and the studio which led to the mangling of the original print. A DVD was released containing some of Welles’ requested changes, but it doesn’t surpass above average. Perhaps the film is an illustration of the importance of teamwork and how Welles would have gone much further had he been able to work well with others.

Touch of Evil also explores the battle between good and evil and how individuals from each side of the divide can be capable of acting like their counterparts, even if only briefly. A review described the film as partially a battle between the moralist and the pragmatist. Although some characters may act immorally, the actors’ performances still provoke the audience’s sympathy, an event that occurs to this day, even in real life.

Like Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing, Touch of Evil doesn’t match the its supposed potential. Both are excellent examples of the film noir genre but they demonstrate how superb ‘A’ talent doesn’t always succeed when it tries to make a great ‘B’ movie.

Reality Check

Stanley Kubrick died shortly after completing the final edit of Eyes Wide Shut, a modern adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s novella Traumnovelle. Both analyze the juxtaposition of dreams and reality, the conscious and the sub-conscious, differently. Schnitzler’s work lacks the sexuality that smolders throughout Kubrick’s film but the written word offers a medium to communicate all of the protagonist’s thoughts - expressed and repressed desires, future plans and regrets - accurately depicting how he is no different from any other person.

Eyes Wide Shut delves into what is real and what is not. Is Bill’s sequence of unsuccessful sexual adventures more real than Alice’s fantasies? Did any of the experiences actually occur? Bill (or Schnitzler’s Fridolin) says: “no dream is just a dream”; to some degree the film is a two and a half hour grey area.

Kubrick utilizes several common elements, such as the telephone or the doorbell, to interrupt the tension at critical times, as if to portray how the morning always disrupts dreams. Whatever manifests itself overnight, the real world always continues unabated.

There is the question about where does one reveal their true self, which neither work truly exposes. If one mismanages a six-point lead and calls two timeouts at inopportune times, does that make them likely to do so in the real world? Where can one draw the line? According to Kubrick and Schnitzler, such a line can’t exist. At least the two end-outs diagrammed will work in either subconscious or conscious thought.

Fridolin devotes extensive time to second thoughts and hypotheses that Bill does not. He is possibly a more realistic character as a result of that reflection. In Citizen Kane, Bernstein tells Thompson about he woman that he briefly glimpsed on a ferry sixty years previously, yet he has not gone more than a month since without thinking about her. So what the subconscious decides to keep and discard to often an arbitrary question that nobody can answer.

Little Things Make All the Difference

Recalling the time when Homer made a bookshelf out of four planks and six cinder blocks:

Marge: Homer, we have a perfectly good bookcase.
Homer: Yeah, but this is what they’re doing on campus. Besides, it isn’t costing us: I swiped the cinderblocks from a construction site.

Meanwhile, at the construction site:

Worker: Sir, six cinderblocks are missing.
Boss: There’ll be no hospital, then. I’ll tell the children.

Neither passing nor cutting are what they used to be and motion offences are suffering as a result. But there’s a nice bookcase next to the bench by the pick-up court.

Performance under Presure, Part II

Congratulations to the Raptors and their Association playoff berth. After Andrea Bargnani’s appendicitis, Jorge Garbajosa’s broken leg, and an underwhelming performance versus Kevin Durant’s next team, the Boston Celtics, Toronto regrouped and won the next two games, clinching a playoff berth. Many players shouldered the load and the team executed well under the pressure caused by the recent adversity.

Michael Ruffin, on the other hand, did not execute well under pressure. On Friday, Washington was leading by three points with seconds remaining. After Ruffin intercepted a sixty-foot pass by Anthony Parker, he simply needed to dribble out the clock and wait to be fouled. However, Ruffin tossed the ball into the air, directly to Morris Peterson, who made the game-tying shot at the buzzer.

Clearly, neither Ruffin nor the Wizards visualized the situation ahead of time in order to mentally prepare themselves. Peterson had prepared himself, practicing half-court and other trick shots at the end of practice each day (skills that can help win both H.O.R.S.E. and real games). As a coach, Eddie Jordan could have also done a better job of envisaging his substitutions for the end-of-game situation and communicating instructions to the Washington players.

Nevertheless, it is always a pleasure to watch athletes execute well under pressure. A similar - but more light-hearted - example would be the performances of WWE superstars at last night’s Wrestlemania. For the most part, the wrestlers laid out well-conceived matches and performed to their athletic potential. Ideas like mental training, planning, and visualization apply to all sorts of performances.

Go Up for Glory

Go Up for Glory - Bill Russell’s precursor to Second Wind (a frank and honest account of sport and life that I thoroughly enjoyed) and Russell Rules (a seemingly clichéd book about leadership that I hope to avoid as long as possible) - is a fascinating account of his youth and career with Red Auerbach’s Boston Celtics.

One particularly remarkable theme is the idea of an incredibly thin line between success and failure: choosing a collegiate scholarship instead of a job in a shipping year because of a chance encounter with a scout, focusing on the game of basketball skills instead of juvenile delinquency because a coach made Russell the sixteenth member or his fifteen player team.

This theme is exemplified by Russell’s account of the 1965 Eastern Conference Final seventh game. Leading Wilt Chamberlain’s 76ers 110-109, Russell simply needed to inbound the ball for the Celtics to run out the clock and win. However, the inbounds pass deflected off of one of the support wires connecting the basket to the ceiling of the Boston Garden and Philadelphia was awarded possession.

Russell fronted Chamberlain in the post, forcing Hal Greer to chose another target. John Havlicek rotated down and stole the inbounds pass, guaranteeing the Celtics a trip to the Association finals. Boston had gone for a comfortable position, to dire straits, back to victory in a matter of moments, all based on one or two inches.

Another popular concept with Russell is the desire to win. Russell has won two N.C.A.A. championships, eleven Association titles, and an Olympic Gold Medal. Everything that Russell, Auerbach or the rest of the Celtics did was designed to help win another title. Despite their serious goals, there was also a sense of humour in the Celtics’ locker room and this helped relieved the tension of a long season immensely.

Obviously, Auerbach also possessed a phenomenal ability to motivate the team with his intensity and his basketball knowledge enable him to able to meld a diverse group of players into a solid unit. Since every player accepted their role and stayed within it, the 1956-69 Boston Celtics were the definition of a successful team.

Three Lessons from Joe Lapchick

Lapchick chronicles the life of Hall of Famer Joe Lapchick, who links the barnstorming Original Celtics to the explosion of college basketball in New York City and Madison Square Garden to the New York Knicks and the origins of the Association to the introduction of television to the sport. Despite the fact that Lapchick last coached St. John’s when the teams were known as the Redmen - as opposed to the Red Storm - the book remains relevant to today’s player and coach.

Placing Value in People: Many commented that Joe Lapchick was not the most technically astute coach but coaches such as Bob Knight applauded his skill in handling people and situations. Former players still remember how Lapchick demonstrated confidence in their abilities. His gestures may have been small but the thoughtfulness behind them was encouraging and memorable.

Lapchick was also one of the first coaches to delegate significant duties to the assistant coaches, a strategy now employed throughout college basketball. Assistant coach Lou Carnesecca was allocated responsibilities concerning defence and scouting; later he succeeded Lapchick as Head Coach at St. John’s and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Character: Lapchick maintained his sense of fairness irrespective of the circumstances. Once, during the infancy of the Association, after home-town officials missed an obvious goaltending violation by the Knicks, he stopped the game and told the scorer to add two points to the opponents’ tally.

He was also a key part of the integration of basketball, likely due to the respect engendered by the rivalry between the Original Celtics and the New York Rens. Lapchick and Ned Irish signed Sweetwater Clifton from the Harlem Globetrotters and persuaded other teams to do likewise.

Development of the Game: Joe Lapchick, Nat Holman, and the rest of the Celtics were integral to the development of the game. As players, they pioneered expert dribbling and quick ball movement. Afterwards, many became coaches and shared their skills and knowledge with others. Lapchick won four National Invitational Tournaments and Holman claimed both the N.I.T. and N.C.A.A. Tournament in the same season at C.C.N.Y..

It’s appropriate that Lapchick rests next to five Bobby Knight volumes on my bookcase. Knight was one of many younger coaches and players Lapchick helped and the Texas Tech coach still refers to his mentor as “Mr. Lapchick” to this date. Lapchick would counsel others even if it was against his best interests if his advice would help the person or the game of basketball.

Do the Right Thing

So Reggie Evans put his foot under Chris Bosh as he released a jumpshot, rolling his ankle. In response, Rasho Nesterovic punched Evans the next time that he attempted a lay-up.

“Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.”
- Arthur Conan Doyle

Do the Right Thing depicts Mookie - a pizza delivery boy - as he tries to balance his employer, family, partner and son, and community. He eventually tosses a garbage can through the pizzeria window. After being told how he would always be welcome at the restaurant, Mookie instigated a riot that destroyed the place.

“Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals.”
- James Naismith

Spike Lee’s film illustrates how those who are the victims of intolerance are often quite intolerant themselves. Sal’s use of ethnic slurs during an argument with Radio Raheem instigates a brawl which leads to the destruction of Sal’s pizzeria in a fire and Raheem’s death in a police beating.

“I just try not to offend anyone, set a good example, and watch what I say because words can cut deeper than a punch to the mouth.”
- Sam Mitchell

The Rivalry

Can determination trump talent? Apparently so, according to The Rivalry by John Taylor. The battles between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain and their respective teams are detailed within the context of the growth of the game throughout the 1960s. Chamberlain was one of the most prolific post scorers in the history of basketball yet during the ten seasons that their careers overlapped, Russell and the Celtics claimed the Association title nine times.

The book delves into the psychological warfare waged between the two. For example, once Russell blocked Chamberlain twice on the same possession. When Chamberlain recovered the loose ball, Russell told him to “take it” and let him score. Over the years, Russell appeared to have gotten inside his adversary’s head and controlled their match-up despite less talent.

Russell and the Celtics put individual accolades aside in favour of winning. Boston dominated the Association for over a decade because players focused on what they did best; Russell was not offensively gifted but prided himself on playing defence, rebounding, and starting the fast break. Whilst Chamberlain accumulated statistics, a reputation as a coach-killer followed him from team to team.

It’s unlikely that another team will ever exhibit the same selflessness that Bill Russell’s teams displayed. But his career demonstrates what can be achieved in the right circumstances: two collegiate titles, eleven professional championships, and an Olympic Gold Medal.

Minimalism

I was coaching a team that won a league title on Sunday and I didn’t do anything. The credit - as usual - belongs to the team and I was fortunate to coach a team where all the players contributed. Aside from getting one of the referee’s attention and touching my shoulders once midway through the first half, I made sure that I stayed out of my team’s way.

Screens permitted ballhandlers to get to the key, traps and pressure forced turnovers, and the team won the rebounding battle. In the previous round, the team had started slowly and needed to make up a thirteen point deficit in the second half. In comparison, maintaining a double-digit lead for most of the game was almost relaxing.

I regret not distributing the playing time more evenly. That was an egregious oversight that I will not have a chance to rectify. I think that everyone played at least eight minutes and nobody more than thirty-two but I relied heavily on the starting five. Personally, knowing that I could have done better puts a damper on the occasion.

When asked why he left his starters in the game during the 1998-99 season, Mike D’Antoni said that he’d “rather be the a------ who won by a lot than the idiot who blew the game.” Fair or not, that accurately describes a reality of coaching. Having erased the opponent’s large lead during the semi-finals, I was sensitive to the chance of a comeback and wanted to win. Consequently, I will be apologizing later this week to a number of players.

That Championship Season

Myriad films have employed basketball as a plot device (Hoosiers), a Sisyphean obstacle for the protagonist (Hoop Dreams), and an outlet for a character’s creativity (Finding Forrester); That Championship Season utilizes the sport as a symbol of what has been lost.

Four high school teammates reunite with their coach twenty-four years after their state championship triumph. During the intervening years, they have married, pursued their careers, and gone their separate ways.

“We lost something boys.”
- Coach Delaney

Subtle changes were made to the Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same title. For example, the play emphasizes how compromising their personal values in the pursuit of winning is largely responsible for the characters’ dysfunction but this is only introduced late in the film. On the stage, greater blame is laid on the actions of Coach Delaney but he appears to be the glue that keeps everything together on screen.

The key theme is unchanged: glory fades but the people remain. The former teammates can recreate the last-second play that won the final game but interactions off the court later than evening illustrate how they are no longer a team. The Fillmore H.S. team was successful because it accomplished goals that they players could not have reached independently.

As adults, lacking the focus provided by participating in something significant, the players have hurt themselves and each other. The players’ names may be engraved on a silver trophy but a high school title that they won when they were teenagers cannot carry them through life.

That Championship Season illustrates the affect a coach can have on a player. The final member of the starting five hasn’t been seen in a quarter century because of resentment over the methods used to achieve victory. While extreme representations were necessary to keep the play and film dramatic, coaches should still be mindful of their influence, even on a smaller scale.

“Never accept anything less than success. It’s a philosophy.”
- Coach Delaney

Tex Winter said that one is only a success at the moment they are performing a successful act. Afterwards, it’s time to more on to the next target. Only after Coach Delaney brings the players together again and inspires them to work on George’s mayoral campaign are they able to put aside their differences, move forward with their lives, and become a team again.

Four Lessons from Lute Olson

Reading Lute!, an autobiography by the longstanding coach of the Arizona Wildcats, provided interesting food for thought. First of all, the calm and composed appearance of Lute Olson belies an insatiable enthusiasm for basketball and unwavering loyalty towards those who play on the teams that he coaches. Olson’s fifty-year career links the game’s past to its present, from Pete Newell and John Wooden to Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski, from the Pacific Coast to the Mid-West and back.

The book is typical of most sports autobiographies and will not contend for the Pulitzer Prize. Yet the text remains capable of imparting several lessons from Olson’s coaching philosophy. If I were to highlight one critical concept from the entire book, it is that creativity -along with the flexibility to adapt - is an essential coaching attribute.

Thinking Outside the Box: Once, while coaching the U.S. National Team, Olson ordered Mugsy Bogues to guard Drazen Petrovic because he felt the 5-3 guard would disrupt the Croatian’s propensity to dribble immediately after receiving the ball.

Adapting to the Team’s Personnel: Olson has always practiced a fast-break, freelance offence and recruits players with skills suited to that style of play. While remaining trye to the fundamentals, he doesn’t hesitate to adjust some of the details to make the most of the roster, for example introducing a three-guard offence when required, a set that is now common throughout the game.

Helping Players: Both of Olson’s wives have provided guidance to the players he has coached. Recognizing that players and coaches can’t become friends until after graduation, Olson ensured that the players knew that they had a network that supported and cared for them.

Managing the Little Things: Olson analyzes the game tirelessly, looking for any little edge. For example, when Steve Kerr played for the Wildcats, Olson insisted that he catch the ball in a jump-stop in order to accelerate Kerr’s release for occasions when he was guarded by opponents who were taller and quicker.

The Basketball Gods

Tex Winter says that a team must pay tribute to the basketball gods in order to succeed, his metaphor to inspire players to practice solid fundamentals and teamwork. According to the 1958 National Coach of the Year, the team that executes at both ends of floor the best will be rewarded.

Fortunately, I was coaching a team that was able to benefit from this today, directly and indirectly. Directly because poise and control resulted in quality scoring chances and defensive pressure produced turnovers and indirectly because fate assessed the opponent with a bizarre technical foul when a player removed their jersey on the bench.

The team could thank Tex for his figure of speech and his offence. First of all, the players deserve all of the credit for their win, a thirteen point comeback in the final minutes of the game and an overtime win. When they focused their determination by playing hard, playing smart, and playing together, the momentum shifted entirely. Secondly, switching to the old reliable offence - the sideline triangle - created opportunities for selfless passing and dribble penetration, which led to excellent shot selection.

Unlike the last overtime game, I stayed out of the way and allowed the team to play. It was satisfying to see every player contribute and to be involved in a game that told a fascinating story. I kept it simple, emphasized our strengths, and other intervened when specific situations permitted me to give the team and advantage. The basketball gods rewarded everyone’s effort with a result that was a polar opposite of the last time.

This isn’t the first time that Tex or the basketball gods have saved me. Tex’s insightful work is timeless, as illustrated by his travels from Kansas State to Chicago to Los Angeles. The basketball gods are not demanding in terms of quantity (or complexity) but are very particular regarding quality.

The Last Season

I am sorely disappointed with Phil Jackson. Irrespective of the tremendous work he has performed during the current season, he took an enormous step back in the coaching profession due to the publication of his fifth novel: The Last Season.

Jackson’s chronicle of the 2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers season seems to break several confidences. What happens in the huddle, the locker room, the team bus, the plan, training camp, the video room, or an office should stay within the team, despite the dollars a publisher may promise. Apparently, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson have a very tenuous relationship; how will detailing the conflicts between them help the two reconcile?

Secondly, several key situations are detailed where Jackson makes a decision in the face of enormous reservations. The cynic hater might say that Jackson sabotaged certain games in order to bruise Bryant’s credibility in the war of public opinion. The novel acts as a more of a tool to get a ten million dollar salary than clear the air or discuss coaching philosophy.

These Lakers are a perfect example of dysfunction, from the top down. However, Jackson does convey several useful pieces of information: the sensitivity needed to relate to fragile egos, subtle refinements to the sideline triangle, and interesting game management ideas. Perhaps most importantly is the strong case he makes for flexibility in a world that is constantly changing.

Having read Jackson’s work from Maverick to More than a Game, I sincerely hope that The Last Season is The Last Novel.

Assertiveness and Coaching

Different coaches have different personalities, which contribute to the diversity of sport. Some display more energy than others, some have a stage presence, and some have a sense of humour about their job. Nevertheless, there is more than one way to coach successfully.

Coaching and control are synonymous in the minds of many individuals inside and outside the profession but that is not an accurate description. Coaches motivate student-athletes to reach their potential as a group. Crafting systems that best suit the team is part of that task, managing every single detail of the team is not. Creating accountability among the players for their actions on the court will bring everyone together.

In practice, coaches should teach the team how to make decisions. If the coach only instructs a set of rules and guidelines - insisting that they game be played "the right way" - they curtail the enthusiasm of the players. In games, players own their decisions and they deserve as much input as possible - if they have earned it. Over the years, Larry Brown has been fired many times compared to Phil Jackson who has only been given the axe once (in Puerto Rico in the 1980s).

A coach is ultimately responsible for the outcome of each game and the entire season so many feel that they need to be "harder on this group on seniors than any group before them," as the coach at Niagara said after qualifying for the N.C.A.A. Tournament. But there are many occasions when a passive personality is very effective.

Recently, I coached a game where I hardly did anything. The players won the game and I didn't screw it up. Not that I would have screwed it up had I been more involved but they basically ran the entire show. I could have intervened if necessary but there was never an urgent need to do anything.

The team used the usual offence and defence to take a seven point lead. Although we lost the lead briefly at times, we controlled the tempo of the game. The players suggested a switch to a match-up zone, which I didn't really agree with, but I value their input. After pressuring the ball well, the other team hit a few shots over the defence so we switched back to person-to-person defence. Players made shots down the stretch to win the game; all I did was make sure the five players on the court were the five that were playing the best together.

I worry at times that I do not display enough emotion on the bench. Coaches should be a mirror image of the character that the team should be showing. Remaining quiet was likely a disservice to the team but the bench was enthusiastic, so that overcame my shortcomings.

Afterwards, I watched a YouTube clip of Don Nelson receiving a technical foul with no time on the clock. Gilbert Arenas had already been sent to the line with a chance to tie the game with two free throws and he made those plus the T, winning the game for the Wizards. Nellie probably went over the edge, but it's a subjective line. His active involvement cost his team the game insteal of inspiring the team to play better defence or whatever. Perhaps the team leaders should have handled the situation themselves.

Phil Jackson tries to take two technicals per season. Other coaches, like Gregg Popovich and Pat Riley get nailed far more often. Some coaches are loath to call timeouts, others bail out the teams they coach constantly. It's a superficial illustration of the different levels of assertiveness that are effective on the sidelines. All things considered, it's mature teams that can handle the ups and downs of the game and work things out together that win.

All-Star Game Notes

Although nothing could top Charles Barkley outracing Dick Bavetta, I thought that there were other interesting moments during the Association All-Star weekend worth noting:

Dwight Howard took advantage of opportunities during Sunday's game and Saturday's dunk contest to make a name for himself. Howard's athleticism and power are possibly beyond peer in the Association. Nevertheless, the weekend's results highlight that there is still room for improvement for the top pick in the 2004 draft.

If Howard acquires post moves - on the block and elbow - and a greater range for his jumper than he will truly become unstoppable. Even a thorough understanding of the basics, such as a reliable drop-step or the ability to rip through and drive anywhere on the court, would be a great improvement.

Chris Bosh performed as expected, playing under control and deferring to other scorers. A few rebounds and a good, but unremarkable, shooting percentage illustrated how Bosh earned his spot in the United States National Team. Bosh contributes solid play for a complementary post player and has no pretensions regarding his role. Hopefully, he is able to earn additional all-star game appearances in the future.

Despite the artificial nature of the game, the fundamentals still apply. The West won because they had more rebounds, fewer turnovers, and most importantly, a much higher shooting efficiency. The West dropped 52 dimes compared to 29 by the East, although this was more a sign of less turnovers and higher percentage shots rather than a symbol on their own. Even when the goal is entirely entertainment, playing smartly led to a huge victory for the West.

In addition to scorers, the All-Star Game included many excellent rebounders. Howard, Bosh, Amare Stoudamire, Kevin Garnett, and Shaquille O'Neal all demonstrated a variety moves to secure both offensive and defensive boards. Rebounding is largely effort but there are other little tricks that permit a player to use their hands and feet to their advantage.

Overtime Reflection

When faced with a choice between a book about Crime and Punishment and another about screening and rolling, perhaps only the mentally ill would choose the book about ball. Coaches and players can get stuck in the details like they are the lightning sand. Although he could write an essay on the subject, Bill Bradley only needed a sense of where he was to succeed on the court.

Recently I was coaching during crunch time of a game and I made things too difficult for the team. Basketball should be simple. In the final minute of overtime, I wanted to use a timeout and fouls to go two-for-one. In retrospect, I should have called timeout and diagrammed a three point play and told the players to play defence.

I was counting on too many variables to work out in my team's favour. Had I relied on less, it would have been easier for the team to succeed.

Although I have an entire bookcase full of basketball coaching books, it still doesn't read a screen and roll any better than the Chris Bosh and T.J. Ford bobbleheads on the coffee table.

The Wages of Wins

Reading The Wages of Wins by David J. Berri, Martin B. Schmidt, and Stacey L. Brook raised interesting questions regarding assessment and evaluation. Factions contributing to victories and the rational behind coaching decisions were studied among other issues. Statistics are more prolific than ever before but whether the numbers are correctly applied remains to be determined.

Scoring and wins

Fortunately, the authors scrutinized the Association extensively, finding that scoring is highly correlated to winning. Therefore coaches should play the five players who contribute to the highest scoring rate (who also limit the opponent's scoring rate).

A player can affect points per possession by scoring more points and maintaining possession of the ball. Shooting efficiency, rebounding, steals, and turnovers are key variables. To keep the issue simple, I will deal with offensive factors and assume that the same issues are relevant on defence, but in reverse. A good defensive team should force the opponent to take tough shots, rebound the ball, and steal the ball when possible.

Apparently, rebounding (maintain possession with an offensive rebound and ending an opponent's possession with a defensive rip) is better correlated to winning that actually putting the ball in the basked. Likewise, when calculate individual Win-Shares, preventing turnovers or causing opponents to turn the ball over permits a player to compensate for below average scoring ability.

Decisions

When awarding minutes and contracts, the authors found that coaches and general managers tend to view basketball as five 1-on-1 games instead of one 5-on-5 game and attribute too much weight to scoring. I thought that Berri, Schmidt, and Brook ignored the elements of leadership and chemistry. When variables become intangible, analysis becomes incredibly complicated.

Lingering questions that are not addressed by The Wages of Wins:

1. What about the player who inspires teammates to work harder?
2. Points lead to Win-Shares but who gets the Win-Share when a ball screen leads to a basket?
3. Are there elements that permit a team to become greater than the sum of its parts?

I've studied this issue somewhat and found that it is possible to isolate successful combinations of players. The impact of leadership and player chemistry on a game that is played 5-on-5 in its finest form but can be isolated but film review, software like Dartfish, and comprehensive statistics are imperative.

Assists

Surprisingly, the assist statistic is largely negligible and not correlated to winning. I think it is still a positive occurrence because an assist or a pass that leads to an assist is unlikely to result in a turnover and will probably move the ball into a location from where a higher percentage shot can be taken.

Scoring "runs"

The authors dismiss the idea of momentum but a team that shortens oppoentn possessions by rebounding well, maintains control of the ball, and takes a good shots is likely to curtain runs by the opponent while simultaneous being predisposed to making runs of their own.

Irrespective of offensive skill the numbers and empirical evidence reveal that a team cannot give an opponent too many easy first (bad shots and turnovers that feed the fast break) and second (offensive rebounds) chances. "One and done", "the ball is 24K gold", "we're fighting an uphill battle", and other coaching aphorisms are entirely apropos when a team is losing control of the ball and the game.

The increased role of numbers and details guys

" Guys are sharing the ball and it looks good."
- Mike D'Antoni

On the Phoenix Suns coaching staff, Mike D'Antoni often makes decisions by "feel" whereas Marc Iavaroni provides more tangible analysis and facts. Like the heroes of The Princess Bride combined the cunning of Westley, the strength of Fezzik, and the speed of Inigo Montoya, a multitude of perspectives are present on successful teams.

Watching the Association on ESPN

"How can you give up a wide open three followed by an offensive rebound on the other side of the court?"
- Bill Walton, during the Spurs-Rockets game on 24 January 2007

Team defence is getting worse and worse in the Association and beyond. Conversely it seems like the screen and roll play is getting better and better.

Inbounding under their basket with few seconds remaining on the shot clock, the Spurs set a double screen for Ginobli on the foul line. Ginobli curled the screen, received a pass, and made the lay-up.

Earlier in the evening, Marion set a ballscreen for Nash in the corner. While the two defenders converged on the ballhandler, the Matrix rolled to the hoop, received a pass, and made the lay-up.

Both times, one could ask: "where's the help?" Even if the screener's defenders are caught up, help-side positioning and communication should prevent the easy basket. These principles could have enabled the Rockets to box-out Elson properly and earn praise from Bill Walton instead of scorn.

"Excellence is doing a common thing uncommonly well."
- Booker T. Washington

Inevitably - irrespective of the quality of the defence - it is execution of the little things that contributes of the success of the offence. Phoenix keeps it real, leading the league in transition baskets, slipping the screen, and pull-up jumpers. Coaches can lose their teams (and often themselves) when basketball becomes too complicated.

Many teams just suck at one end of the court. Emphasizing the basics leads to improvement. Rob Smart at Queen's has been doing a good job in this regard. The Golden Gaels' offence is a series of downscreens run for forty minutes. San Antonio ran something similar for Ginobli and Bowen. The teams execute, talk, and read, taking the opportunities the defence provides.

Three Lessons from Jack Donohue

Recently, I read Dream Big Dreams: The Jack Donohue Story by Mike Hickey, a thoroughly entertaining biography that is required reading for Canadian Basketball coaches. Both Andy Higgins - who knew Coach Donohue personally - and I found the book to be very insightful and had difficulty putting it down. I've listed three lessons any coach can take from Jack Donohue's life and coaching career.

Helping Players: Jack Donohue helped the Canadian Senior Men's National Team, the College of the Holy Cross, and Power Memorial players, among others, lessons about teamwork, responsibility, sacrifice, and enjoying life, that they remember to this day. He exemplified the potential of the coach to shape the lives of young people. Although the players may have questioned Donohue at the time, they now appreciated how much he helped them improve themselves.

Players must understand their role on the team, receive an opportunity to do what they do best, and know that that someone on the team cares for them (source: Author Unknown). In the coming months I will try to follow Coach Donohue's lead and stress these aspects of my coaching philosophy.

Donohue never abandoned a friend when they were down, including acquaintances who were incarcerated, Al McGuire during his illness, and Steve Konchalski when he was fighting Basketball Canada (successfully) over his wrongful termination. He maintained his relationship with players and coaches from New York City like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jack Curran, and Lou Carnesecca for the rest of his life.

Technical Fouls: While coaching Power Memorial as an opponent was shooting foul shots, Donohue strode onto the court and took the ball from the player's hands. He refused to give it back until the official listened to his concerns. (I once had to call timeout to speak to an official about a technical foul that he assessed to a U.T.S. player for using profanity; perhaps I should have been more forthright.) When the U.S.S.R. was taking Canada to the woodshed, Donohue entered the court, assumed a defensive stance, and began guarding the Soviet ballhandler.

After the "T", Donohue exclaimed that "someone on this team has to play defence." Like my colleague Kash stated this afternoon: "different players are motivated in different ways and a coach must know what buttons to push." Caring for players means standing up for them during games.

Supporting Other Coaches: Donohue was known and appreciated for the help that he provided to other coaches and the Coaches of Canada organization. Many coaches in Canada are part of the Donohue family tree (Ken and Kathy Shields, Steve Konchalski and Doc Ryan, Jay Triano, Olga Hrycak, Leo Rautins, and Chris Critelli). Coaches must not only mentor players but others in their profession, a responsibility Donohue never shirked.

Once, Donohue and a friend were volunteering at a local high school practice when the school's Athletic Director walked into the gym and asked them to identify themselves. Donohue introduced himself as the former coach of Canada's Senior Men's National Team. The A.D. asked them to leave because they didn't have the "proper qualifications" to coach at that school. I know another Athletic Director who forbade a former Canadian Olympic coach from making an appearance at his school but illuminating the error of his ways will inspire neither a critical self-evaluation nor spur the school to improve their methods.

Leadership Failure

After losing to the Miami Heat 99-77, T.J. Ford commented that “Being out there with Chris, I don’t have to make plays all the time. And now I’m finding myself having to make a lot more plays and sometimes trying to make too many plays. And I think that’s what happened tonight with so many turnovers.”

Disappointing comments from a disappointing player during a disappointing season. Not to mention irresponsible, idiotic, and irritating.

A team’s point guard should want to make plays, not shy away from them. To demonstrate good leadership and improve performance under pressure, T. J. Ford - or any of the Raptors’ key players - should have said: “Chris is an important contributor to the team and the team will miss him. Nevertheless, it’s my role to take ownership and make more plays to help my teammates.”

As the Rock would say, players should know their roles -- and when they their roles change. Although professional basketball players are held to a different standard than pick-up players at the AC, the fact that the Raptors can’t pull themselves together lately remains a coaching failure too. It reflects poorly on the coaching staff that players did not want to step up to increase their roles or were unable to do so, mentally or physically.

Nevertheless, Ford was acquired to run the offence, distribute the basketball, and lead on the court (i.e. make plays). He may have a different leadership style than Chris Bosh and the team may display a different character when Bosh is absent. Naturally, he controls the ball less when Chris Bosh plays but when Ford is required to step up and make more plays, it should not result in disaster.

Little Things, Part III

The Michigan Basketball All-Stars defeated the Toronto All-Stars over the weekend. It was a boring game to watch -- there was a lot of one on one with four players watching. Toronto started the game with a really cool PHX set. Yonas Berhle came off a high rub going to his right, looked to turn the corner, and kicked to Jessie Simmons for a wide open three. That was a really good read but it was all downhill from there.

Michigan killed Toronto with defence and rebounding. At times, Toronto was effective in transition; other times the ballhandler would jack a three with no rebounders in place or someone who shouldn’t have handled the ball on the break would receive a pass.

In the eyes of the post-secondary coaches, everyone looks best when the team players together and wins, irrespective of individual glory. Those slow one on one moves to get an off-balance jumper won’t work at the next level so it’s better to try a passing game set or something uptempo.

Endings and Beginnings

Watching the bookends of two practices this week, I thought about work ethic and attention to detail. The middles may have been the most intense and focused practices one could imagine but since I didn’t see them I can’t write about them.

I thought about how one starts and finishes something is a tremendous barometer of how they will complete the whole. Consistency shouldn’t take days off. Execution counts and there’s a reason that coaches harp on it. I don’t think it bodes well when bigs eschew running in their lanes, littles neglect to read their defenders, and many stand around too much, perhaps looking for a place to happen.

When is it time to take things seriously? When the regular season begins? During the playoffs? Or earlier than everyone else, during off-season workouts? In my mind - at least for exceptional teams - the sooner, the better. Working hard matters; little things make a big difference. Play hard, play smart, play together; from the first practice of the year to the last game in the playoffs.

Villanueava-Ford Trade

Torn regarding the Raptors. Villanueva for Ford helps significantly in theory. Creates a direction for the team that could result in fifty wins in the Eastern Conference.

On the other hand: Trade has about a 20-50% chance of backfiring horribly due to the relative health and shooting ability of Villaneuva and Ford.

Skeptical of a deal that inspires sixty percent of Bucks fans to vote "I love it!" in an online poll. It could work out well and set the tone for Toronto’s resurgence. Think that the trade is more likely to succeed than not but less enthusiastic than other basketball addicted friends due to the risk involved.

One circuitous way to evaluate the trade is to ask if Toronto will be better than Milwaukee in 2006-07? Considering the rosters of both teams, the answer is no (on paper). But the Bucks are capped out and the Raptors are playing for the future. Playoffs are possible for both teams next year but Toronto must make more moves.

Replacing Villanueva: Villanueva’s shooting (Fred Jones, Eddie House?) and rebounding (Reggie Evans?) must be replaced and the Raptors need a guard who can defend to back up Ford (Marcus Banks?). Why not try for all of them? The lack of rumours is discouraging.

Nesterovic has played besides two of the best power forwards in the league; six points and five boards per game -- along with a seat on the bench for the second half of the last two seasons -- is his potential. Ford won’t score more than a dozen points per game. Since Toronto will lose James for nothing (Marquis Daniels was a bad contract anyways), who will score next season? Also, the Raptors must add defenders to the roster.

What’s Next: Toronto boasts half of a good team; Colangelo must find a back-up 4, a 3 who can shoot, and a 1 who can defend (a 2 with height would fit in nicely too). The Raptors are at one of those spots in a choose your own adventure book where one choice is the path to a happy ending and the other leads to total catastrophe.

Right is its own defence? Right…

At some point, athletes and teams need to make a stand. What represents all of the sacrifice and toil that got you to this point? Whatever it is, that is what you must work the hardest to defend. Is it the off-season where you will take your skill set to the next level and really hit the weight room hard that represents your desire to win? Is it the goal-line stand that represents all the parties that you skipped during the season because you had practice scheduled the next morning? Is it Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals that represents every time you played hockey since you were six years old?

For the Dallas Mavericks, that time is now. For the Miami Heat, it was Game 3. For the Carolina Hurricanes, it was last night’s game. Unfortunately, the Edmonton Oilers waited until the third period to step up and play for all that they had invested over the years.

Miami’s certainly slowed the game down. The Heat offence is still stagnant. Dwyane Wade is excellent but nobody else is moving without the ball (like a run I saw last night, except none of the players were Dywane Wade so it took thirty three minutes to play a game to eleven). PHX, San Antonio, Dallas, and the Los Angeles Clippers were much more exciting to watch. Game 5 was still tense, but the interest is gone and there wasn’t much that could be learned from it. The Mavericks still run some neat set pieces, due to the creativity of Del Harris and the recent improvement of Dirk Nowitzki.

The Finishing Flourish of the Brush or the Canvas?

Vince Carter are his dunks are featured in a new add where he says that "Coach says a dunk is only worth two points" before disagreeing. "Coach" is presumably Dean Smith, winner of two National Championships and an Olympic Gold Medal. It's true that dunks can change the game in a way that a lay-up cannot but their effect is over-rated by players with limited skill sets.

After VC crowned Fréderic Weis in the 2000 Olympics, France was not coming back to win the game (they weren't going to win in the first place). However, Lithuania wasn't intimidated in the least. Basketball players are professional athletes whose success is defined by whether they are still playing in June, not just their commercials. No matter how many second round series that Vince Carter loses, he will still have less credibility than Coach Smith.

Dean Smith doesn't care whether you dunk or not, just whether you score two points. When Dywane Wade or Manu Ginobli steal the ball, they finish with a simple dunk that always goes in the hoop. Fancy dunk attempts that don't go in are as practical as the avocado green in the sports coat that Amare Stoudamire has been wearing on the sidelines lately: nice as a colourful accent, atrocious when passed of as the main feature. The benefits of creativity aside, both show how some players should leave art to the real artists and focus on winning. Many athletes forget to establish their credibility before establishing their style.

Stream of Consciousness, Part IV

Phoenix: Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom shot the Los Angeles back into their series with Phoenix (29 and 21 points respectively). The Suns have to respond in Game 3 and need better performances from their forwards to do so. The Lakers don’t have anyone who can guard Tim Thomas, Shawn Marion, or Boris Diaw, who must put up more than about ten points of 5 for 10 shooting each. Steve Nash needs more help. Furthermore, Phoenix can’t play any defence and will have trouble winning games in this series if they don’t score triple digits.

Detroit: I don’t feel that Detroit is the overwhelming favourite to win the championship. However, they are a good team with experienced players who play hard, play smart, and play together. They also won’t face a challenging opponent until the Eastern Conference Finals (or perhaps the Association Finals).

The Pistons had started the same five players all year - dodging serious injury - but it appears that this streak of good fortune is over. Since changing direction and cutting is critical to Richard Hamilton’s game, the Pistons should consider benching him until his sprained ankle is fully healed. In the Detroit system, Tony Delk or Lindsey Hunter can pick up the slack. The Bucks may win one game, which won’t be that important in the grand scheme of things; the Pistons should ensure that Hamilton is on the floor at 100% vs. Miami and the Western Conference Champions.

Is Mike Brown a better coach than Phil Jackson?

According to Mark Stein, Phil Jackson chose to downplay Kobe’s offensive role in Game 1 of the Phoenix-Los Angeles series in order to allow other Lakers to score more - at the risk of losing the game - therefore increasing individuals’ feelings of self-actualisation and the team’s chance to win the series. Interesting idea.

Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom, and Luke Walton went off and the Lakers lost the game. Since the supporting cast played well, does that mean that L.A. is now more likely to win four out of the next six games? Perhaps, but I think it was an unnecessary exercise.

Jackson is smart enough to know that the coaching staff must determine what key goals must be achieved in order to win the championship. "Winning a title" is too abstract and players must focus on concrete objectives instead. Once these "tipping points" have been selected, it is up to the coaches to create the incentives that will drive players throughout the playoffs.

A team must receive contributions from all 7-9 players in the rotation in order to succeed in the playoffs. Happy, motivated, and satisfied players are more likely to play well under pressure. I would hope that an N.B.A. player does not need to score to be happy; they are professional athletes, not eight-year old children. Players at the highest level must have some level of self-motivation and gaps should be filled in by coaches and teammates.

Bill Russell, who won eleven Association championships in his thirteen seasons didn’t need to score to stay motivated. If Havlicek, Cousy, or the Jones "brothers" went off, Russell didn’t care as long as the Celtics won. Playoff wins are too valuable to throw away. Teams built around a superstar must give their guy the ball and ride them as far as they will take them (e.g. LeBron James’ triple-double vs. Washington). Necessary contributions will be made due to the skill, professionalism, and worth ethic of the other players. It would be nice if everyone were happy, but in the end everyone has to perform, on demand, under pressure.

Players Win Games

On Wednesday night, Dwyane Wade dropped 37 on the Raptors and LeBron James lit up the Mavericks for 46 points. Underlines the idea that players win games and explaining why college coaches recruit.

According to Albert Camus, the essential concept of existence is the struggle against mortality, a world not particularly suited to humans, and perhaps even mediocrity. Camus might have enjoyed the game, although it may have been frustrating to watch, it was probably a good effort for the Raptors, given their talent and the injury to Chris Bosh -- is putting a ball in a hoop any less absurd or Sisyphean than devoting hours towards writing the perfect sentence or reading the train schedules even though one never travels?

Which is why the Raptors badly need a wing player. The heroics of Wade and James show that the Association is a league for guards and existential posts. If Mike James is the Raptors’ key free agent signing, nothing much will change. Bryan Colangelo will be condemned by the gods and Maple Leafs Sports and Entertain to roll a giant boulder up the hill during the day, only to watch it roll down at night and repeat the process the next day, until he acquires a 2 or 3 who can play with Bosh.

A point guard is nice, but not critical since you can fill the third point of the triangle with lots of different options. Mike James is a satisfactory point guard and spaces the floor well but he is not the only player who can fulfill this role, especially if he’ll cost a lot of money.

Unless the Raptors undertake something drastic to augment the current core (which is promising but ultimately limited), re-arranging the current players or replacing them with similar players will be rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Not that the franchise is going under but if M.L.S.E. wishes to improve the experience of the Raptors’, they need to think bigger.

Perhaps missing the playoffs and competing for the last few playoff spots every few years is the best the Raptors can hope for. The Association isn’t really suited for them. Examples of this are the lottery rules from the mid 1990s, player stereotypes about Canada, and the value of the dollar (although the last one has improved and will continue to do so). Maybe the team should give up chasing abstract goals such as winning and focus on defining and improving themselves. This philosophy probably wouldn’t sell tickets (although the Leafs have proven otherwise since 1967) but it might be very rewarding.

Stream of Consciousness, Part III

The second weekend of the 2006 N.C.A.A. Tournament provided pertinent coaching lessons, good and bad. Ben Howland, Jim Larranaga, and John Brady made their first Final Four and one coach (and team) will grab the brass ring for the first time.

Duke: The Blue Devils were burnt by their seven-player rotation. They rolled seven guys all year and it seemed as if they were tired and flat when they played L.S.U.. Perhaps they won a few more games in the regular season by shortening the bench but they might have been more prepared had they entered the Tournament with a 22-7 record and nine experienced players.
I thought that Duke ran some nice out of bounds stuff that kept them in the game when their half-court offence totally disintegrated when faced by L.S.U.’s shot-blocking and their own shooting woes.

L.S.U.: Coach John Brady recruited some athletic players that play well together. The team’s chemistry and the players’ talent create the energy that propelled a good (but not great) team to the Final Four. The Tigers defend well, but their offence is horrible. Excellent college players like Glen Davis (Tyrus Thomas will be a better pro) generate opportunities but the system is stagnant. They would be on a 1997 Arizona roll if they could score better.

UConn: Jim Calhoun blew Sunday’s game vs. George Mason and it had nothing to do with what happened on the court. Calhoun went on and on about George Mason’s "home court" advantage (since George Mason is located in Fairfax, Virginia). This was inaccurate; George Mason has a student population of six thousand so even if the entire school attended the game, they would not fill more than a third of the twenty thousand seat Verizon Center. No matter what the situation, Connecticut should have been a double-digit favourite against George Mason.

Due to his complaints, Calhoun gave confidence to the underdog Patriots and deflated his own team. Calhoun’s message echoed themes put forward by the media affected the mental preparation of the Huskies.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers played to the best of their abilities against Texas. Although they lost at the buzzer, they defended the last play well. Texas made a wise decision to push the ball after West Virigina’s basket. In these cases, defenders usually converge on the ball and someone stepped up to stop the ballhandler’s penetration. The ball was passed to Kenton Paulino and he made an off-balance N.B.A. distance three pointer. West Viriginia chose not to cover a shot that had a twenty percent chance of going in (which it did, one of the risks if you choose to help from the strong side) instead of a higher percentage shot by Daniel Gibson, P.J. Tucker, or LaMarcus Aldridge.

Gonzaga: Mark Few’s team gave up the last eleven points of the game and lost by two. Nice run but an unfortunate ending. Why was a post handling the ball in the back-court against pressure? J.P. Batista (or any player who coughs up the ball against pressure like that in a late-game situation) should have given the foul. There was no way Gonzaga would have recognised that turnover and been able to defend U.C.L.A.’s possession five on five. Putting U.C.L.A. on the line would have been a better option, even in a one point game.

Washington: The Huskies missed one key lesson of the 2005-2006 N.C.A.A. Men’s Basketball season: Rashard Anderson is an assassin. How could he get those two looks late in regulation? Washington lost some of their focus when Brandon Roy picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and totally collapsed as the clock wound down. Although Roy might have fouled out, sometimes you have to play a player in foul trouble because the team needs them.

The New York Knicks Are Bad

Recently, the New York Knicks acquired Steve Francis from the Orlando Magic for Anfernee Hardaway and Trevor Ariza. On the surface, it seems like Orlando got a great deal. Digging deeper - and watching the performance of the Knicks - it seems like Orlando got a great deal. I'm under no illusions that the Ariza-Milicic front line will win any titles but they aren't in salary cap hell for years to come.


If I were playing Risk with Isiah Thomas, I'd ask him to trade me Ukraine, which is strong (unlike New York's D), for Madagascar.

Steve Francis can theoretically ball but doesn't play well with others, two attributes which he shares with the rest of New York's roster. I'm glad he's fond the strength to carry on after Cuttino Mobley was traded to Sacramento, when he commented that "[Mobley] not being here is going to be tough for me. I don't know what I'm going to wake up for."


The Knicks have the most expensive starting backcourt in history (number of playoff series wins by Francis and Stephon Marbury: 0). Things have fallen a long way since the 1970s when Clyde and Earl the Pearl were winning Association titles. Back then, Larry Brown was beginning his coaching career with the Carolina Cougars, who have a higher liklehood of winning the N.B.A. title than the Knicks.


Along with Jalen Rose, New York starts three max contracts next to each other. Does any other team do this? Is anyone else this bad?


This off-season, Orlando can use their cap room to sign a second-tier scorer and a shooter who will fill the Triangle will Dwight Howard. They'll compete for spots 5-8 in the 06-07 season, when Larry Brown will be wishing he was still coaching Kansas ("Stephon, have you considered transferring?).


Talent and chemistry are critical elements of winning. Isiah Thomas can evaluate talent. He drafts well. He cannot evaluate chemistry. How are the Knicks supposed to function? What about Q-Richardson, last summer's acquisition? Why would anyone agree to a sign-and-trade with the Knicks knowing they might be overlooked so hastily? Jamal Crawford?


Playing four-out around David Lee and running all game would be an effective strategy with a pass first guard like Jason Kidd or Steve Nash. If only Larry Brown cannot push a magical button that will turn Stephon Marbury into Chauncey Billups or Steve Francis into Rip Hamilton. If ifs and buts were candy and nuts…

A Week Later

Mother Teresa won Ontario’s 4A Senior Boys Basketball title. Last week, they lost their conference title to Father Henry Carr and it seemed to be like they may have trouble handling a team with a lot of size. Nevertheless, Teresa possibly had the two best players in the field - Justin Dennis (Justin has been one of my favourite players to watch during the past few years) and Papa Oppong - and they excelled in the final rounds. Many games were close, especially a 31-30 round of sixteen game against Toronto Northern. Northern starts a 6-8 centre, Andrew Pennycook, who made the Toronto Star’s G.T.A. All-Star Team.

Teresa may not have been the best team from October to March but they were consistent, experienced, skilled, and performed on demand, under pressure, at O.F.S.A.A..

T.D.C.A.A. Final Miscues

I watched the T.D.C.A.A. Senior Boys Championship game this week. The passing was terrible. Father Henry Carr beat Mother Teresa 63-51. Players knocked balls down with one hand, threw the ball out of bounds and passed into traffic.

Setting effective screens, good footwork on offence and defence, and accurate passing critical skills at the high school level. Henry Carr is probably the best team in Ontario but if they turn the ball over that frequently at the provincial championships, they could be upset by anyone. Good high/low post play is better than lackadaisical five out play. Pass. Cut. Replace.

Local Basketball

Lost in the playoffs Saturday, 67-60 at York. Perhaps a call could have gone the other way or a basket not rimmed out but athletes make plays. Must get fitter, happier, more productive over the off-season so we are in a position to make more plays down the stretch next year.

Raptors blew a massive in Dallas. Bosh and James went off to a certain degree. However, it was Darrell Armstrong (defensively) and Dirk Nowitzki (offensively) that made plays in crunch time.

Indiana beat Michigan State on Sunday. Michigan State had overcome a large lead but after Paul Davis fouled out, the Spartans didn’t make plays and the Hoosiers won.

In the Toronto District 4A playoffs, the top two teams (Eastern Commerce and Emery Collegiate) lost in the semi-finals, creating a final between Northern S.S. and West Hill Collegiate. West Hill was a huge favourite but they got smoked. Northern stopped with a 2-3 zone and scored with excellent outside shooting.

There are multiple ways to make plays, from the opening tip to the final horn. Mistakes are never final and the game is never over until the final buzzer. Student-athletes always have the opportunity to make plays to win the game.

The Raptors badly need a perimeter defensive stopper, a shooter, and a wing who can take the ball to the basket. Getting Bryan Colangelo is a good start. Conventional wisdom said that Steve Nash was too old when Phoenix signed him in July 2004 and most pundits believed that the team was in deep trouble when Joe Johnson wanted out and Amare Stoudamire was injured. The speculation was wrong; Phoenix is not too expensive, very athletic, and very good. Hopefully sunnier days are ahead for the Raptors.

Too Much Burn

So Chris Bosh made the Eastern All-Star team as a reserve. He deserves it. Position scarcity, attitude, and talent make him one of the most fifteen valuable players in the Association. He's not a true post but he goes down there occasionally and exemplifies good post play. Once his shot becomes a little better and he learns to set screens, look out.

So why does Sam Mitchell want to kill him? He should not play fifty minutes in a game. The Raptors lost to the Spurs 125-118 in overtime because Michael Finlay blew up and their two best players played 94.3% of the game. The Raptors aren't a deep team but they aren't that shallow either. James and Bosh should average about forty minutes. Spreading out the shots and minutes will develop the third option the team sorely needs.

A Bad Trade for Both Teams

The Raptors traded Jalen Rose, a first round pick, and cash to the Knicks for Antonio Davis. Wayne Embry commented that it’s helpful to have cash room when rebuilding. Not to disparage Embry, but that’s in a situation when players want to play for your team. If players don’t like playing in Toronto, the Raptors need talent to rebuild. I would be surprised if there is a large free agent signing this summer and it may have been a better idea to wait and trade Rose for younger players next year.

Larry Brown said that the Knicks needed a veteran guard who could score. They shouldn’t -- what about Stephon Marbury and the fourth and fifth year guards on the team? Given that everyone drops a hundred points on them, they need a lockdown wing defender. Jalen Rose dislikes stopping people as much as the rest of the Knicks roster. New York’s management is incompetent, I suspect the coaching is poisonous, and the players are terrible yet somehow they are horrendously over the salary cap and according to Bill Simmons have screwed up their lottery picks for the next five years.

Davis won’t really help the Raptors. Bosh doesn’t need him. Davis is an upgrade over Pape Sow and Rafael Araujo but he’s still not a true centre. The benefit of the expiring contract is that there is plenty of cap room to resign Chris Bosh and Mike James. It’s relevant to note that Mike James is not a second option and the team should not be constructed under that premise. The Raptors still require a wing who can ball and some role players who can defend. According to the Spurs’ model, they have Duncan and Parker but they still need Ginobli, shooters, and defenders.

In summary, the trade is largely a wash and helps neither team. The Raptors’ future will be determined over the summer. The Knicks are in rough shape no matter what. Some of their younger players play hard and have talent, but the roster must be cleaned up before they go anywhere.

Firing General Managers, Part I

Rob Babcock got canned today. Was it the right thing to do? I don’t know.

Although still negative, my feelings for the embattled general manager have mellowed. Obviously, recent games have highlighted that the Raptors lack the wing scorer to share load with Chris Bosh and be complemented by Mike James. But I’m reluctant to re-start the rebuilding process again. All things considered, the team was improving.

Best Four Moves: I listed an additional good thing because it’s important to focus on the positive.

• Acquiring Mike James: This was a tremendous trade. Guys like James, Damon Jones, and Tony Parker complete good teams. Dealing Rafer Alson for him was a steal. However, James is not a secondary scorer and is trying to do too much lately. He needs help (via a trade) so he can focus on filling the Ron Harper spot in the Triangle (if the Raptors ran that set).
  
• Drafting Charlie Villanueva: I thought this was a reach at the time but I was wrong. Charlie V provides shooting, depth, and energy. I’d like to see his role increased so that he becomes a bona fide sixth man.
  
• Signing Chris Duhon to an offer sheet: Chicago matched this contract but it showed a keen eye for talent. A backcourt comprised of Duhon and James would be superb. He is the type of young player Toronto should target in the second round of the draft or in free agency.
  
• Hiring Sam Mitchell: Firing Kevin O’Neill was a mistake. O’Neill knew the game and would be great for a young team. However, I’m impressed with the development of Chris Bosh; Mitchell and his staff deserve credit.

Worst Three Moves

• Trading Vince Carter: The Raptors start Rafael Araujo at centre. Alonzo Mourning is a key contributor for Miami. Eric Williams cannot play defence. Where is Aaron Williams? When trading an elite player, you must get an elite player in return (Los Angeles made this mistake in the Shaquille O’Neal trade -- Dwayne Wade was the only player who had close to equal value and they didn’t get him). One of the worst trades ever. Maybe Vince was soft and cancerous but he can light it up. The Association is a players league. Make it work (see Phil and Kobe).
• Drafting Rafael Araujo: Since the days of Oscar Robertson, Bob Cousy, and Jerry West, guards have dominated the Association. What use is a 6-11 dude who loses jump balls to a 5-9 guard? Passing over Andre Igoudala, Chris Duhon, and Trevor Ariza was a giant mistake that sits on the end of the bench during crunch time.
• Matching Morris Peterson’s offer sheet from New Orleans: Overpaid ($5M/yr) and over-rated (only makes baseline jumpers). This was valuable cap room the team could have used during the 2005 and 2006 summers.

Overall Grade: C+

My question is: given the performance of the Maple Leafs, will Richard Peddie hold another news conference in the near future and announce what a tough decision it was to let Pat Quinn go?

Chris Bosh and Improvement

I updated the Post Moves of the Month for January and February 2006. February’s move was posted early because I saw Chris Bosh do it down the stretch vs. Portland and was fairly impressed. He came high ball side, drove the lane, and finished with his left hand. Bosh is continually in the process of improving himself and has become one of the top forwards in the league.

Bosh’s game isn’t perfect; he sets mediocre screens and needs to add range to his jump shot. In crunch time in the Trailblazers game, he committed two faux-pas: neglecting to box out Zach Randolph and failing to get open on the game’s final play.

(By the way, Sam Mitchell should have used a play with more options -- the Raptors almost committed a five second violation and settled for a low percentage shot. For example, if Bosh had down-screened for Mike James on the weak-side, Morris Peterson flashed to the corner, and Matt Bonner flared to a shooting spot, the Blazers would have needed to defend the entire court and could not have doubled Bosh inside. Secondly, Jalen Rose was shooting well and would have been a viable option for a return pass after he inbounded the ball and stepped on the court. Hindsight is 20/20 although at the time I was confident that Rose was going to take and make the shot.)

Chris Bosh’s name is floated in discussions about the Eastern Conference All-Star team, Team U.S.A., and possible Los Angeles Lakers free agent signings (and desevedl so). It won’t happen but four of the top 5 picks in the 2003 N.B.A. Draft may represent the United States at the Olympics. It was considered a weak pick at the time but the Detroit’s selection of Darko Milicic looks absolutely terrible now. I don’t think Toronto made a poor pick -- choosing Bosh over Dwyane Wade is reasonable due to what the team needed and position scarcity.

One can only assume that when he selected Darko as the second pick, Joe Dumars was taking the same bad acid that Rob Babcock dropped when he chose Rafael Araujo in 2004. Carmelo Anthony is better than Milicic (because he actually plays) but perhaps Dumars felt that Tayshaun Prince filled the 3-spot better for defensive and chemistry reasons. Maybe Dumars passed on Flash because he wanted Rip Hamilton to be the man. OK. But if Detroit had taken Bosh, they would be unstoppable (they may be unstoppable now). No team in the league could match up with a frontcourt of Bosh and Rasheed Wallace in the fourth quarter (San Antonio can match up with them now but would be unable to touch that lineup). Furthermore, the upcoming free agency of Ben Wallace would not be a problem. Truly, it was an atrocious selection that should go down next to choosing Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan among the worst draft picks of all-time.

In closing, I really appreciate how Chris Bosh rolls. It seems like the career of Alvin Williams has reached its conclusion so I need a new favourite player in the Association. Bosh hasn’t reached the level of Alvinsanity yet, but he has potential.

Bad Trades

The Raptors lost 105-104 to the New Jersey Nets today. Vince Carter made a three point shot with 0.1 seconds left, highlighting three points:

The Raptors were generally hosed in last year’s Vince Carter trade. Stats by Vince Carter today: forty five minutes and forty two points -- stats by players traded for Vince Carter: DNP-CDs and fifteen minutes, seven points by Alonzo Mourning in the Heat-Blazers game. Key Lesson: Trade quality for quality. The Lakers also made this mistake last year by trading one of the top twenty players in the game (Shaquille O’Neal) and neglecting to get one in return (Dwayne Wade). Don’t trade quality for garbage. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Shooters make shots. Many players do not realise that not all players are shooters. Anyone can take shots, but shooters put the ball in the basket. Key Lessons: If you aren’t a shooter, don’t take shots you can’t make. Also, when up two in a last-second situations, don’t let a shooter spot up for a three; make them put the ball on the deck.

Morris Peterson horsed around with Vince Carter and got ejected. Key Lessons: Mind your manners next to Steve Javie, don’t call the officials’ attention to yourself, and do your talking on the scoreboard, like Vince did with 0.1 seconds left.

A Basketball Rant

On Friday night, my friend accused me of going on a “basketball rant”. I was only responding to his questions about the Pistons, Spurs, and Suns so he could have stopped me at any time by stopping his questions.

Those three teams are arguably the three best in the Association. My friend’s point was that they more or less play a motion offence with a few exceptions.

Recently, Phoenix has been using this “diamond set” often, signalled by Mike D’Antoni, in addition to their transition and pick and roll games. The “diamond set” gives Steve Nash some options by setting ballscreens (do not go under the screen -- the Timberwolves hedged with Kevin Garnett, an excellent option for teams with athletic seven foot tall players). Detroit has their Circle Play for Rip Hamilton and San Antonio has been running a lot of side screen and rolls with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

Tony Parker has been very effective lately. His high shooting percentage makes him one of the most effective point guards in the world. Apparently, he devotes significant time to practicing the difficult shots that he attempts in the paint.

Since these three teams have talent, they don’t need as many plays. They can set their three core players (Detroit: Billups, Hamilton, Prince/Wallace; San Antonio: Duncan, Ginobli, Parker; Phoenix: Nash, Marion, Diaw) in a triangle and let them play. Since they have excellent supporting casts, defences must respect the shooters (R. Wallace, Finley, Jones).

Chris Bosh has been as effective as Tim Duncan recently. Bosh is playing a lot of minutes and taking a lot of shots. However, he’s making a good percentage and getting to the line often. Duncan has been awful from the line lately, which drags down his effective field goal percentage.

Basketball on Paper (or on your PC)

I was researching a small essay that I was going to write regarding the efficiency of Chris Bosh, Tim Duncan, Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash, and Tony Parker and found an interesting article which concisely summarises the recent work in basketball statistics that we (coaches) are attempting to incorporate into the game.

Just as the technical analyst would argue that a stock’s price reflects all possible information, the statistician would claim that a player’s contribution to the team’s winning percentage can be entirely distilled into numbers. I disagree -- stats can be tremendously helpful when used intelligently but must eventually take a backseat to the coach’s discretion. Technical analysis doesn’t always foretell events such as innovations or federal indictments (although these stocks are usually overbought when they turn south) and using statistics to identify truly effective players is much more difficult than it seems.

I’ve always found that statistics can never properly analyse how players contribute to a team’s personality. If Team X needs to play at a high level of intensity and Player Y drives intensity but jacks up questionable shots frequently, what should a coach do? Should a coach play the intense player and write off the errors as part of the game or should the burn go to a player with a higher efficiency rating?

Billy Beane possesses an excellent payroll-to-wins ratio since 1999 but has been unable to win any post-season series. The Los Angeles Angels, Florida Marlins, and Chicago White Sox have all won the World Series playing small ball and getting “hot” at the right time (although the statistician would claim the hot hand doesn’t exist and the Chicago’s performance could be attributed to other factors, such as Phil Garner). I think that the coach should play Player Y, keeping them on a short leash and focusing on the core team statistics that contribute to winning.

Why Do We Coach?

Paul J. Meyer once said: “You never work for someone else. The truth is someone is paying you to work for yourself.”

Someone recently suggested that coaching for the purposes of self-actualisation was possibly selfish. In the end, don’t all humans choose their actions in order to satisfy a need (physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation)? Even those employed in an altruistic occupation do so because helping others meets their belonging, esteem, or self-actualisation needs.

The suggestion was made with a somewhat negative connotation. I couldn’t disagree more. People are free to act as they wish and no one can tell someone else how to make the most of themselves. Conventional wisdom is very popular and a revelation that all action is incentive based (economics is merely a model to understand life) can be hard to accept.

Why do we coach? Obviously, we love the game and the people - players, coaches, referees, and fans - who play it. But don’t coach to indulge ourselves; there are many ways to satisfy our basketball jones without affecting the lives of young people. We chose to assume positions of influence in the lives of student-athletes because we wanted to give back and make a difference.

Basketball (or any sport) is the vehicle, personal best sand self-actualization are the destinations. Since we coach because we want to help players become the people they aspire to, how do we make the biggest difference?

New Coke

I finished a coaching journal in four months. Usually, the journals take a little longer to fill out. It seems like I really have a lot of ideas at the moment. All dressed up and nowhere to go, so to speak.

You can fall into a bit of a trap when you’re constrained to a wholly theoretical framework. I have confidence in these ideas, but I would like to see them on the court. Reality checks can be swift and harsh. For all I know, what I’ve been creating the last three months is the basketball equivalent of New Coke. Basketball isn’t a chess match between coaches; players have to go out and execute. What they execute plays a relatively small role in the outcome compared to how they execute it.

I made a presentation at the National Coaching Institute regarding positive changes I have made to my coaching style. The presentation was well-received and I appreciated everyone’s feedback. Making these changes - and knowing there are more changes I can’t wait to make when I coach again - has really reinvigorated my enthusiasm for coaching. Yet here I am.