A Coach's Diary

Duke ran a couple of good 'Floppy' variations.  Butler had its chances to tie or take the lead, including a great look at the final 3 from Gordon Hayward, but Duke held on for the win and the National Championship.

'Be Warm and Demanding' As Brad Stevens states here, the most effective leaders teach athletes how to persevere and to have more grit, and to do so, it is important to find the balance between being warm and demanding.  These leaders are approachable, but on the court, there is a demand and an expectation that everyone is going to work and perform at a high level. Demand excellence, but remember, we are still dealing with human beings with human emotions, and we have to be receptive to that. via: positivecoach.org

Brad Stevens is a rising star in the NBA.  His ability to draw up plays, especially in special situations late in game, are well talked about in coaching circles.  Here is a good video showing the Celtics running a nice 2-3 defense in late game SLOB situations. One way I see to beat this is to flood the backside.  Send a player to the backside block, one to the backside wing, one to the top of the key, and one to the high post.  The middle and backside forward would have to make a decision on who to leave open, and I would think they would leave the back side wing open, giving you a long close out to attack. Thanks to Half Court Hoops for the video breakdown and pdf breakdown:   https://www.dropbox.com/s/jf5n0ospn80...

After watching the Boston Celtics hit a big game winning 3 in an ATO situation, head coach Brad Stevens is beginning to get more and more recognition for his ability to draw up late game special situation plays.  Upon seeing this play, in which a guard curls the first screen of a staggered set, and the 1 st screener comes off the 2 nd screen, I began to do more research into this particular Celtics action.  I have found that Stevens loves this action, and the Celtics have used it throughout the year in various situations, including as a set play, a sideline out of bounds play (SLOB), as shown against the Cavs, and as a baseline in-bounds play (BLOB). Half-Court Hoops is one of the best, most in-depth basketball pages on YouTube.  He does a great job of breaking down so many of the NBA's offenses.  He originally called this action: 'Horns Double Staggered Twirl,' but has since renamed it 'Elbow Boston' because it was used and popularized with Ray Allen ...