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.

Nurturing Nature

Last week, during a Cleveland win over San Antonio, Mike Brown and Gregg Popovich left three timeouts each on the table. Confident in the ability of veteran players to execute quality possessions, the coaches allowed the play to flow back and forth. The Spurs lost 90-88 but Manu Ginobli released a steady, open, and transition jumper from the foul line as time expired.

After a 6-5 shootout win over Pittsburgh, Bruce Boudreau commented that one of the first moves that he became Washington coach was to make the Capitals a four-line team. Rather than over-emphasize match-ups - dumping the puck to initiate line changes, losing puck possession while focusing on the other team - Boudreau felt that all eighteen skaters should know how to play against everyone and understand that the coaches believe in their abilities

Subtle coaching strategies may pay dividends when motivating apprehensive players like Andrea Bargnani, who according to Sam Mitchell is still learning his position and probably according to Leo Rautins needs to learn that he can succeed in the Association. After scouting, drafting, or recruiting nature, the trick is to nurture a Caron Butler, not destroy a Kwame Brown.

According to the Harvard Business Review, the two most important managerial behaviours are enabling people to move forward in their work and treating them decently as human beings. The latter was evidenced by the coincidence of ‘progress events’ with ‘interpersonal events’ whereas the former was driven by multiple factors. Good managers provide direct help and adequate resources and time, react to success and failures with a learning orientation, and set clear team goals.

Maybe Tom Coughlin’s sideline tirade towards New York kicker Lawrence Tynes was not an example of a learning orientation. But it didn’t bother him, unlike Michael Jordan’s legendary tirades towards Kwame Brown in Wizards practices, because of Tynes’ personal constitution and Coughlin’s awareness of this. The Toronto Raptors’ coaches should set clear goals and follow-up while players and peers monitor his mental attitude and provide personal support.

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.

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.

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.