A Coach's Diary

Steven Adams is a very solid big in the NBA.  He is not flashy, and he doesn't not have myriad of post moves, but he can be effective, especially receiving passes rolling to the block off of pick and roll action.  The video below shows the different options Adams has rolling to the basket. For our girls, we want them to be able to execute the following moves on rolls for either a layup or to draw a foul: On The Roll - Regular layup - Reverse layup - Power layup (with or without a shot fake) - Power reverse layup (with or without a shot fake) - Step across and finish (with or without a shot fake) - Catch into up and under - Dribble into up and under - Catch and shoot On the Pop - Catch and shoot - Catch and rip through for pull-up or shot - Jab baseline into drive - Rocker series

Lawrence Frank gave a really good Pick ‘n’ Roll Offensive breakdown in the video below.   Frank says the objective of pick and roll is to create 4 on 3 advantages, so you want to be aggressive, attack, and make the defense pay for however they guard you. One of the key points that he makes is the importance of being able to counter-punch.   Each team you play will have a plan for how they want to guard, or attack your ball-screens.   This video identifies several different defensive options and how to exploit them. At the end of the day, no matter what offense you have, it is important to teach, grow, and develop your players so that they can make the right reads at the right speed and so that they have the skill set to beat their man when they make the read.   This breakdown outlines ‘what’ you need to do.   Every day in practice you must teach ‘how’ to do it. Frank also says that, as a coach, you want your players to know who you are and wha...

Portland Trail Blazers NBA Summer League This is a GREAT way to get an easy basket, and could turn into one of your better back screen plays that we like to use to start the game off with a lob or an easy basket.   You can also use this play to get your best player a look in an end of quarter/half/game time situation. I saw this play while watching the Portland Trail Blazers play the New York Knicks.  Portland ran this play several times to get shots for guard CJ McCollum and they also ran it for a lob to athletic guard Will Barton. What I love about NBA sets, along with them being the best sets in basketball, is that each play has so many options, and they always have a setup for the ‘play after the play,’ as I have heard Lawrence Frank call it. It is important to have built in scoring opportunities or options for if the play breaks down or doesn’t work.  In the NBA, that often means a ball screen look, and this set has a few different options at different...