How to handle end-of-game "special situations"

  With the first half of the season pretty much complete, you’re probably in the following position:  Your base offense and defense are in.   Your players know your out of bounds plays.   You’ve worked on change of pace defenses.   In other words, the foundation has been laid and you are now finetuning those things.  But as you get into the back half of your season, you must navigate a fine line. On the one hand, you have to keep your players engaged. Monotonously doing the same thing over and over again can lead to stagnation and boredom.   On the other hand, you must fight the urge to always be adding some new play. This can overwhelm your players and prevent you from ever getting good at anything.  That’s where Special Situations come into play!  Every year, you will coach at least a handful of games that come down to the last few minutes. How your players handle those situations will go a long way towards determining the quality of your season. And how your players handle them will be largely determined by how you handle them.  What are Special Situations?  Special situations is a term used to describe parts of a game that require individualized attention and consideration, especially at the end of close games.   On offense (which will be covered in another article in the near future), special situations could include things like last second plays from various situations (baseline out of bounds, sideline out of bounds, full court plays), or missing a free throw on purpose and attempting to offensive rebound the miss.  Most content out there about special situations in basketball addresses offense.   However, half the game is defense.   That’s why today I want to give you 2 defensive special situations to consider putting in your arsenal for the stretch run.  (Note: There are 5 defensive situations in total, so we’ll start with the first 2 today, and then I’ll share the remaining 3 next week).  Quick Disclaimer - You MUST Practice These Special Situations  These situations MUST be practiced. As a young coach, I made the mistake of trying to draw up plays or implement defensive strategies that we had never practiced on the board during late game timeouts. I can tell you that very rarely were they successful.   When you factor in the pressure of the situation, players will be much more successful doing something they’ve practiced.   Practicing special situations is a great way to lessen game time stress. While practice will never be the same as games, it gives players confidence to know they’ve worked on these situations previously.   This is also a great way to keep practice fresh later in the year. Players enjoy practicing these situations as they are mentally stimulating and make practice competitive.  I would suggest setting aside 20 minutes 1-2x a week throughout January and February to practice some of these scenarios.  Defensive Special Situations to Consider  1 - Sideline out of bounds double team  Here’s the scenario: you are down 2 and your opponent has the ball sideline out of bounds with less than :10 remaining. You can all out deny and then immediately foul. You can have the inbounder follow the first pass and trap.     Those are both good options. But let’s consider one that’s a little bit more outside the box. In many ways, a sideline out of bounds is similar to a dead dribble. The inbounder cannot move or dribble. They are pinned to the sideline in what would be a great trap spot if they were on the floor.   Take advantage of that by trapping the inbounder. Take your two tallest and most active players (x4 and x5. Have them trap the inbounder and make the inbounds pass as hard as possible. Put three of your quickest players (x1, x2, x3) in a triangle zone to cover the four potential offensive receivers.  [play diagram 1]  These three defenders should be reading the eyes and shoulder of the inbounder and reacting accordingly. The goal of the two on ball trapping defenders is to deflect the pass or generate a 5 count. The goal of the three defenders covering the court is to steal the inbounds.   If you get a steal, great! Go score. If not, you can try for a quick trap with the two closest defenders or can immediately foul.  This strategy is unique and can cause panic for the inbounder. It also takes away the effectiveness of the screens the offense might plan to set, since you have three zoned up against their four.  2 - Baseline out of bounds trap - 1-3-1 Trap  Here’s the scenario. You are winning by one possession or the game is tied. Final minute of the game. Your opponent is inbounding on the baseline under your basket. They call a timeout to set up their best baseline out of bounds play.  You could try an all out deny to make the entry hard. You could play 2-3. Either has its merits. However, a good team and coach will have plays for both of those scenarios.  At the end of a close game, consider blowing up your opponent’s play. Force them to MAKE plays, not RUN plays. I love this philosophy all the time, but it’s especially effective at the end of the game when stress rises.  To spring this trap, you are going to run a version of a 1-3-1 versus their baseline out of bounds.  You will position your 5 player (x5) on the ball side block. They are responsible for that area, preventing direct passes.   Put a longer, athletic forward (x4) on the ball. Their job is to make the inbounds pass hard and to force the ball to the same side corner.   Put another longer player on the ballside wing (x3). They will face the ball and invite the pass to the ball side corner. It is crucial that they not deny this pass. This is where you want the ball to go!  Put a guard (x1) who is quick and reads well on the ballside elbow. They are responsible for any passes above the free throw line. They need to anticipate and be aggressive and are looking to steal long passes.   Finally, put your other defender (x2) on the weakside block. If you have to hide a weaker defender this is the spot. This player is responsible for the backside block to corner. They need to deny those passes and attempt to steal any pass to those areas.  [play diagram 2]  Once the ball is inbounded to the corner, x4 and x3 will immediately trap.   [play diagram 3]  x5 has to front any player on the ballside block.   x1 denies the reversal pass.   x2 sprints to the ballside elbow to take away a middle pass. This leaves only the deep diagonal pass unguarded, which a good trap should negate.   [play diagram 4]  I’ve used this tactic numerous times to great success. It has led to steals and easy baskets. Even when we don’t get a steal, it serves the purpose of preventing your opponent from running their play, a worthy goal late in the game.  So there you have it…  The first two defensive Special Situations that we’ll cover.  Like I said at the beginning of this email, next week I’ll share the remaining 3 situations, so keep your eyes peeled.  And if you have any questions about this first part, feel free to reply and let me know.  All the best,  Joe Haefner Breakthrough Basketball  This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you indicated that you'd like to receive emails and updates from Breakthrough Basketball on 2016-12-16 05:42:39. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please [Change Your Email Preferences]( or [Unsubscribe All]( Copyright © Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. All rights reserved. Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. | 5001 1st Ave. SE, Ste 105 #254 | Cedar Rapids | IA | 52402 [email.gif] . 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