THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING OFFENSE (AND THE IMPORTANT OF SPACING)

I've blogged a few times over the last couple of years on the book "Attacking The Zone Defenses" by Del Harris and Ken Shields.  It is simply the best book I've read on attacking zone defenses.  It is over 300 pages and breaks down zone offensive principles but simply and with great detail.  If you are a basketball coach, this book is a must for your library!

One of the topics they went over in detail was spacing (or lack there of):

Most of the winning coaches over the last 70 years thrived on three aspects of the game -- spacing with ball and player movement.  There are not new concepts and will never go away.

The more spread the scoring area becomes, the more territory the defense has to cover.

However, many players, constantly do the defense a favor by crowding in closer to the goal, the longer the possession lasts. We call that "the Incredible Shrinking Offense."

The reason spacing is a problem is likely due to each player's subconscious desire to get himself into the easiest shooting range; therefore he creeps in from the weak side or mashes down from the top of the cricle.  While this may seem to carry the player player into a better range, it actually does three things to limit his team's offensive potential.

1. It allows his man to sag in on the inside players and render the inside game less effective.

2. It gives the weak side defender a shorter run back to his assigned man when the ball is reversed, actually making the player less open by moving in.

3. It compacts the cutting and driving lanes, making it much more difficult to penetrate the compacted defense with dribble penetration or good cuts for catches.

One obvious problem posed by proper spacing concerns the perimeter player who has limited shooting range.  Defenders will not respect this player's shooting range so will sag off him anyway and take a chance on the outside shot.  However, by being well spaced, he may become a better ball mover as a quick relay man, and can look for opportunities as a cutter and/or a screener.  Still, if he has the ability to do so, he may be able to catch out wide and then back his way into a scoring or playmaking situation closer to the goal. Or, he may be able to attack a man seeking to close him out with a dribble penetration.

DRIBBLE USAGE VS. THE ZONE

Today we are sharing a small excerpt from the book "Attack The Zone Defenses" by Del Harris and Ken Shields.  It is simply the most thorough book I've read on Zone Offense and is a must read for all coaches.  It has great detail to simple concepts with over 300-pages that without question will improve you Zone Offense.

There are six positive functions for the dribble against the zone defenses.  The first three actions are fundamental and well recognized.  Dribble Rotation and its value as noted in points four and five are more advanced and lesser understood.

1. Drive the ball to the goal for a score, with four teammates moving into positions to complement the attack on the basket, according to our bailout rules.

2. Punching (penetrating) into a defensive gap to shoot or to create a shot for a teammate by drawing defenders to the ball, thereby creating more space for him to operate when receiving a pass.

3. Using the drag dribble to improve a passing angle by bouncing once or twice laterally for a post entry, or to shorten the angle and distance for a perimeter pass, and especially to key popping a high post player out for a catch as an entry into a potential high-low post action.

4. Dribble Rotating the defense down to stretch or distort the defense.  This is done by dribbling while guarded by a defender out of one zone into an adjacent one toward the sideline or baseline in a non-penetrating angle.  The ball handler dribbles the ball one slot over on the perimeter to pull the ball defender to the edge of his area or into the next primary zone area.  This intelligent use combined with reading the defense creates excellent open space options.

5. Dribbling Rotating the defense up or across the top.  Dribbling up away from the baseline, or near sideline, in a non-penetrating angle involves the same process as the Dribble Down, but offers different space openings.

6. Freeze dribbling a defender to make him engage the ball. This clever action Ken has specialized in serves to have the effort of helping to pull a low wing defender out of his preferred position.  It is also a tool used often at the top of the zone to allow better timing for cutters to get into place.

10 CONCEPTS THAT HURT A ZONE VIA MIKE DUNLAP

Earlier this week I spoke of a great resource. Brooklyn Kohlheim is an assistant coach at Nova Southeastern University.  She puts out an email blast periodically every few weeks -- AND IT IS OUTSTANDING!!! It includes PDFs of plays and drills, links to great articles and videos.  Doesn't matter what level you coach on, there is something outstanding in each mailing. Click here to see how you can sign up.

Here is yet another example of some of the stuff you can receive via email:


10 CONCEPTS THAT HURT A ZONE FROM MIKE DUNLAP

 

1) Quick and consistent ball reversal.

 

2) The inside-out attack with ball movement.

 

3) Dribble penetration, which makes two defenders guard one. Additionally, when this

occurs, pitch for open 3's.

 

4) Teams that pound the boards to either finish, kick out for open 3, or get fouled.

 

5) The full reversal, which means that the zone doesn't mind the quick reversal from wing --‐ point--‐ wing, but hates the same reversal and the ball is passed to the corner? Why? This flattens the zone out, frequently exposes the 5 man, forces zone to bump, and opens up the top of the zone for a shot or penetration.

 

6) Cut and replace. I believe excessive cutting is easier to guard than a well timed cut and replace action. My point here is the players need to think "attack" instead of multiple cuts....give me a quality set (e.g. 1-3-1 versus 2-3 zone), big spacing, and quick, "full" reversals over a continuity attack any day....too much cutting numbs the player and does not allow him to really see and think about scoring!

 

7) Screening. I always say one quality screen is worth three poorly executed screens. The zone does not like to be screened, especially the weak side.

 

8) Set Plays. Always nice to know you have a package to use for a specific shot from a certain player. It is important to remember that offense is only move and countermove.

 

9) Dribble chase. A dribble at forces the zone to bump and this involves communication, which is exactly what defense does poorly in most cases.

 

10) 4 around 1 or 5 out. A big box set, get ball moving...NO CUTTING ....same with 5 out....show a 2-1-2 set with 5 at nail/free throw line and just pull him/her straight out, above 3 point line.....and get the ball moving...then go to your attack set.

 

 

BASKETBALL THOUGHTS FROM COACH DON MEYER

The following came from Don Meyer during his three sessions at the LSU Lady Tiger 2004 Coaching Clinic.
 
4 THINGS YOU NEED TO BE GOOD OFFENSIVELY
#1  Inside Game (can get this through the following means: fast break, posting,           flashing, driving the basketball, and on the offensive glass).
#2 Outside Game (important to have in order to open up the inside game)
#3 Penetration Game
#4 Pull-Up Game (very few have a good pull-up game)

5 PHASES OF GREAT TEACHING
#1 Tell them what to do
#2 Show them how to do it
#3 Have them show you how to do it
#4 Correct them
#5 Repetition (Proper & Quick)

 

4 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT POINT GUARD
#1 See the entire court and do what needs to be done.
#2 Go from dribble to a pass or dribble to shot quickly.
#3 Passing = timing, accuracy, quickness, deception.
#4 Masters the pass fake, shot fake and change of pace.

 “The overriding principle in our program is ‘team attitude.”  We want to be the best team on our schedule.  We want to play in such a way that when we win, we lose.  We want people to say ‘they play hard.’  We want to win when the ball doesn’t bounce right.”

“It’s OK to be angry.  It’s not OK to be quick to anger.  Don’t go to sleep angry.”

 

4 AREAS OF TEAM BUILDING

#1 Shared Ownership…”our” team!

#2 Shared Suffering...you learn more at a funeral than a wedding.

#3 Individual Responsibility...we never use the word ’individual’ unless it’s followed by the word ’responsibility.’

#4 Collect Pride

 

COACH MEYER ON SHOT SELECTION

1st Bad Shot = Bad Shot

2nd Bad Shot = Bad Player

3rd Bad Shot = Bad Coach

 

KEY ZONE PRINCIPLES

#1 Run...take advantage of mistakes

#2 Rebound...it is more difficult to blockout from a zone defense

#3 Attack the Rear of the Zone

#4 Keep your ball handler between two shooters

#5 Stretch the zone...it opens up the middle