I believe strongly that there are things that can be learned watching the NBA and WNBA games. I know there are a lot of critics of the pros, but you are watching the best players and in many cases some of the best coaches in the world.
It is easy to say that the pros are a different game than the high school game. That is true, but what the pros are doing this year will be done by colleges in the next 2-3 years and then it will be done by high schools 2-3 years after that. Like it or not, the game evolves from the pros to college to high schools.
Things that you see in the NBA play-offs this year:
1- Elbow post ups by posts and by good one on one players. Get your best players the ball in the middle of the floor with chance to go one on one.
2- Good guards are relocating off their own drives. You see countless players pass out off the drive into the lane area, and immediately people are screening for them to come out or they are just passing and cutting. Teams are running actions off the end of drives.
3- Guard- Guard ball screens to pass to a good ball handler on short rolls.
4- Post- Post ball screens where the defender on the dribbler is not used to defending.
5- Not new, but posts are more and more effective operating out of the dunker spot.
6- On long close outs vs shooters, they do not ever breakdown. It is obvious that they work on running the shooter off the arc with a close outs, and work on rotations off the close outs.
7- Golden State and Denver in particular have used a lot of zone. They have probably used it because of problems covering the star player on the other team. I am sure there are nuisances to each team’s zone but it would seem that they both start in a 1-3-1 where they morph into 2-3, mm, or 1-2-2. Whether they have stolen the matchup concepts from college, we will probably see more of this zone going forward.
8- As teams spread the floor offensively, it is tough to play two players who cannot shoot threes.
Thoughts on what you have seen watching the NBA…
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