GAME TEMPO

ETTORE MESSINA

After having talked about the tactical components of a half court offense, I'd like to address the concept of rhythm, which is quite different from the timing to which I

have made reference more than once.

With the timing of the action of a player, I refer to making the action coordinated

with the teammate's one, so that, for example, a screen is set for another player, while this one is getting open and a teammate is in position to pass the ball. Or, as

is illustrated in diagram 1, the step-in move in the low post, must occur when the

ball handler is in a position to pass him the ball, and not when the ball is still on the help side (diagram 2).

The concept of the rhythm of the action, particularly when referring to a game action in the half court, points to the speed at which the offensive player and the

defender move. The most evident case is a particularly aggressive and overplaying

defense, to which a frenetic uncoordinated offensive game is counterpoised. In this case the offense suffers from the rhythm of the defensive action, resulting in a loss

of control, and thus making mistakes caused by a lack of precision.

As can be seen in the execution of 2v2 drills in the construction of any offensive

philosophy, I think it is essential to explain that the offense must never move at the same speed as the defense.

If the defenders overplay and put too much pressure on the ball, it is vital that the offensive players slow down their moves, use their body to make contact with the

opponent, and so change speed to cut, get open, etc.

If they do not do this, the defense has the opportunity to overplay, forcing our

players to move away from the positions in which they are more dangerous. An

evident consequence, above all among young players, is that the 5 offensive players move away from the basket more and more, instead of using a back door

cut or getting open. When they catch the ball, they are very far away from the basket, and therefore they need more dribbles to play 1v1, favoring the defense

(diagram 3).

The need to not adapt your speed to that of the defender is even more obvious

when setting screens away from the ball. In lesson 03, we stressed how important

it is that the player who receives the screen goes first in the other direction and then cuts back, giving their teammate the time to set the screen. Usually an

overplaying defense pushes the player to be too fast in his first movement, making

the screen ineffective and even faulty.

Generally, I think it is necessary to teach players, especially the younger ones, that the speed in which they execute the fundamentals is not the only important speed,

but also the change of speed in going from one position to the other. It is not so

important to pass from a high speed to an even higher speed, but to pass from a medium speed to a higher speed.

If an execution or an attempt at execution of the fundamentals with or without the ball at a speed that does not allow us to control the ball or the body or that does

not allow us to have a coordinated game with our teammates harms our precision

and balance. It is far better to be precise in the details, because if we continuously look to execute at speed, we increase the number of mistakes exponentially.

Having seen a lot of both junior and senior games, we sometimes notice that one of the two teams is “out of rhythm” that is to say that often it forces offensive

solutions, being too fast in taking the shot and causing an increase in the number

of mistakes. Or, one might get the idea that one of the two teams “is controlling the tempo better”, proposing quick actions alternated with more controlled ones,

finding balanced shots and therefore converted with an effective percentage, or

guaranteeing frequent occasions of offensive rebounds or easy defensive recoveries without risking an opponents fastbreak.

At a very young teams level it is not rare to observe the case in which both teams are unable to control the rhythm of the game and consequently the game becomes

frenetic and full of mistakes.

The concept of tempo of the game has always been very clear for the most expert

coaches and to explain it to our players is of fundamental importance to help our team to play better.

When we say that a team has controlled the tempo of the game, we refer to some concepts that are well linked. Let us try to sum them up:

1. The team has played defense, fastbreak and half court offense without pauses, with considerable fluency, passing naturally from one phase of the

game to another

2. The team (that is to say the players) have correctly chosen when to shoot during the break and when to play a half court set

3. In the half court set the team has been to obtain good shots without anticipating, but all teams must work in practice to reach a good level in

handling the tempo of the game

These three points are the answer that our team gives to three exact questions:

1. When should we run the fastbreak and when should we play half court? 2. When should we shoot in our offense?

3. If we want a up-tempo game, how can we obtain it?

The answer to these three questions, are combined helping us to give a complete

interpretation of the concept of tempo of the game.

To find some effective answers, I'll ask the help of three great coaches of modern

basketball, who, with their theories have surely had a major influence on the development of the game.

1. When should we run the fastbreak and when should we play half court?

Dr. Aza Nikolic, one of the greatest European basketball experts, often pointed out

the need to play long offensive actions after having played a long defensive action. Or even better, try to hit immediately with the primary break and, in case there is

not a basket, force the opponents to work on their defense.

This idea now consists of shooting in the first 8” of ball control during the fastbreak,

or in the last 8” (after 16 seconds), is common to many coaches and gives the players a general principle about how to control the tempo.

In this way, we often avoid that the team, after having worked a long time on defense, gets anxious to score at all costs, forcing an offensive situation and

obviously making mistakes, then being forced to come back on defense for another

24 seconds.

This often happens in the confrontation between two teams: a weaker but more

experienced one, and the other potentially stronger but less self confident. The first one will try to prolong the offensive actions, and not suffer the opponent's

fastbreak, trying easy solutions towards the end of the 24”. If the opponents do

not have a good feel of the tempo of their action, the game could change into a never ending hunt for the easy basket using the fastbreak, resulting in the loss of

control of the game.

To improve the link between defense-fastbreak-offense, in practice I often combine

these aspects of the game: for example playing 3v3 or 4v4 in the half court, with a

fastbreak off a missed shot or off a turnover. The team that defended and runs the fastbreak (diagram 4), will have to score or at least draw a foul to keep the ball,

else they rest, replaced by another four players. So, by simply taking care of this, a great stress is put on the real value of a steal: the four players who run the

fastbreak know that they must distinguish between a fastbreak and work in the half

court, with a single goal that values ball possession. The four players who steal the ball know that even if they have made a mistake on offense, with an effective

transition defense, and a concentrated half court defense, they can regain the right

to restart on offense, or they can rest.

For this reason in practice, during the drills, I always use a rotation offense-defense

rest, because in a game after offense there is always a moment of defensive recovery. We would not be working on concentration is we used drills where the

team can rest after the end of an offensive action, as for example, the common 4v4v4 drill.

It is necessary to remember that after a long defensive action, often the team which steals the ball runs into an opposing team that has recovered in balance; and

therefore the tactical attitude of the team which has decided to play “a long action”,

has conditioned the tempo of the game.

We will see under “3.” how important it is to have some tactical choices to speed up

the tempo. For now it is interesting to notice that some coaches often stress the use of the fastbreak if there is a stolen ball (consequently taking advantage of a

possible defensive imbalance of the opponents), or if the rebound has been taken by a guard who can dribble very quickly into the offensive half court.

These coaches therefore take for granted that if the opponent has kept a good defensive balance, a traditional fastbreak with a rebound, outlet pass, running, is

seldom organized. They prefer to pass into a transition offense or a secondary

break, instead of trying to force the situation.

2. When should we shoot in our offense?

The very famous Bobby Knight, former head coach of Indiana University and the

Gold Medal winning USA team at the 1984 Olympics, often teaches his players to

make four passes before shooting, in order to move the defense and then to try to beat it.

The number of seconds available for the offensive action, is certainly an element to

keep into account to value the rhythm of the action in the half court: in NCAA

basketball teams have 35” available, a great deal more than the 24” of the NBA and FIBA Rules.

Generally, I think that if the ball is reversed at least once from one side to the

other, the defense is forced to move and so it becomes more vulnerable. In the same way, I think it is important to play one time, as an alternative, the inside-

outside game, that is to say to pass the ball to a low post and the to reopen the

game if possible on the help side (diagram 5). This, as mentioned, forces the defense to collapse and then to spread out, giving the offense some spaces to drive

to the basket or to shoot from outside.

Executing a certain number of passes, playing to change side, playing with the post

“inside-outside”, it should not be simply to keep possession of the ball. It is

essential that the five players continue to attack, being ready to exploit a defensive mistake or an opening created after however many seconds. We ask the team not

to force anything, especially in the first seconds of the action, but certainly not to

renounce to any valid chance to score.

A typical example of this mental approach occurs when attacking a zone defense. We ask our players “not to take the first shot”; that is not to take it at the first

pass, preferring to move the zone with some passes and/or dribble penetrations to

make it unbalanced and thus creating better shooting or offense rebounding opportunities. Some coaches have their players always make a certain number of

passes before shooting, allowing only the lay up as an exception.

Each of us may have particular ideas about this subject: the fact therefore is that to

combine fastbreak and half court offense is not a simple thing, and often we could

force a solution too early, or making the opposite mistake, i.e. not exploiting a valid chance, while waiting for the time to pass. It is still my idea that a change of side

of the ball, or the “inside-outside” game, are more than enough to move a defense, and from that moment on, every good solution must be exploited.

I am absolutely against, forcing 1v1 immediately – the equivalent of wanting to knock down a wall with one’s head.

3. If we want an up-tempo game, how can we obtain it?

Dean Smith, legendary former coach of the University of North Carolina helps us.

Playing a defense that forces the opponent to make frequent mistakes from which we can start our fastbreak.

It is necessary to delve deeper into this topic: often playing a very strong defense

in the half court is not enough: teams with good fundamentals and organization, if

they don't want to suffer from an opponents fastbreak will play long actions of at least 20”, actually decreasing the number of possessions for each team, and

therefore opportunities to fastbreak. Against teams that have this tactic, it is

necessary to have defensive means good enough to force the opponent, either with a double team or other action, to increase the rhythm of the action, more risky for

the defense but for the opponents too.

The University of North Carolina is famous for its “scramble defense”, that often

tries to double team the man with the ball, both if he receives a pass (diagram 6)

and if he drives to the basket along the baseline (diagram 7). This is not the place to get into details on similar defenses with double teams. For us it is enough to

know that Coach Smith's goal is to try to steal the ball, cause a dribbling or passing mistake, or forcing the offense to take a hasty shot, if possible with players who are

not the first or the second offensive option on the team. In any case we at least

obtain that the offensive team decides to shoot sooner, giving back the ball to our team to go on offense.

Decreasing the average duration of plays, the number of possessions would

increase for the team that wants to play the game with a higher tempo: an aggressive defense with double teams would have at this least secondary effect.

The same result can be obtained with an aggressive full court defense (man to man or zone) or with a half court pressing zone like for example a 1-3-1 with double

teams (diagram 8).

What I want to stress once more is that it is impossible to solve the question

concerning the tempo we want to have in the game if we do not consider in a

general way the relation among defense, fastbreak and offense. This relation of these three elements is circular, that is to say that each one of theses elements is

linked to the others (diagram 9).

If we produce many steals, or we force the opponent to make a mistake, we will

have fastbreak opportunities with easy baskets. If we do not score easily, playing a half court set without forcing anything means that we will shoot balanced shots

under control, guaranteeing ourselves, in the case of a miss, a good defensive

transition without risking an opponents fastbreak.

At this point, the circle closes again, because without giving up any easy baskets,

our opponents will have to attack with much more psychological pressure in our half court.

The control of the tempo is therefore a combination of technique and the psychological approach to the game, where confidence and self-control are decisive

elements to be better than the opponent.

REMEMBER

Individual action rhythm: never move at the same speed as the defender. It

is better to use the change of speed to get open and catch the ball.

(Video of 1v1 with a clear change of speed)

Tempo of the game is a concept that includes the offensive fluency in the half court, offensive and defensive transition, and defensive aggressiveness.

To decide which kind of tempo we want and how can we control it, we need to:

a. know when to run and when to maneuver in the half court

b. when we think it is useful to shoot during the half court offense We must have an aggressive defense taking risks if we want to speed up the

tempo against a team that wants to keep it slow.

(Video of a full court press)

The fastbreak is born out of a strong defense. A valid defensive balance comes out of a balanced offense.

Diagram 1 Diagram 2

Diagram 3

Diagram 4

Diagram 5

Diagram 6

Diagram 7

Diagram 8

Diagram 9

GAME TEMPO AITO GARCIA RENESES

As we have already mentioned in previous lessons, I always work with my teams

looking for the highest level of intensity and game tempo possible. This is both in all of the individual and team plays that the team will execute. Speaking about a

constant high level of intensity does not in any way mean executing every move

at full speed.

Once this premise has been defined, I have to clarify that it is not productive for

a player to execute every move at full speed (or the same speed) nor that a team is constantly pressuring at the same level and running the same plays. If this is

the case, our opponents will become accustomed to our play and will adapt, rendering most of our work unproductive. It is necessary to differentiate two

aspect of game tempo: the tempo of the move and the tempo of the game

(global).

MOVES - CUTS

The moves or cuts that our players develop and that will eventually define our

team play both on offense and defense, must be executed in the appropriate

tempo and speed so that they are coherent with those of their teammates: both for the player in possession of the ball and those without.

The change of pace in individual moves both technical and tactical, allow good

timing to exist in or teams plays. We will achieve a maximum global intensity in

our play (defensive and offensive) by applying a correct speed in coordination with the rest of our teammates when executing the various individual moves.

GAME TEMPO

Once the appropriate speed is applied correctly to individual moves and cuts, we

have to work using drills to help define our philosophy. This philosophy will be applied globally to everything that we do, whilst reserving the capability to make

minor adjustments when necessary but never in an involuntary fashion.

I believe that if you demand the best it will always be possible in certain

moments to use certain tactical details that are related to a slight “reduction” in our maximum intensity. I am in no doubt that doing it the other way around is

impossible: if your team is not accustomed to working at the highest intensity

every day, then they will b incapable of doing so on the day that you ask them to.

As I have mentioned, our players will play at the highest level by using drills on a

daily basis that encourage this style of play and reinforcing our philosophy in practices, games, player substitutions, and what we specifically ask from each

player.

In this manner we define the style of play that will enable us to dictate the game

tempo that we wish to play at. It will never be possible to do this 100%, as the opponent also plays and will try to impose his own preferred game tempo.

We will come across opponents who wish to slow down the game as much as possible, other who only wish to run and shoot the three, and finally some who

are capable of playing at different tempos. The ability to play at a high intensity

will be decisive in order to impose the game tempo which is most convenient in each moment and it is the great teams who are capable of achieving this.

DECISIVE FACTORS IN ORDER TO CONTROL THE GAME TEMPO

1. Overall philosophy

2. Intensity

3. 24 seconds rule 4. Offensive rebounding

5. Transition Defense 6. Defense

7. Defensive rebounding

8. Fastbreak / transition

OVERALL PHILOSOPHY

We must make the basic philosophy that we wish to apply during the entire

season very apparent to our players, and also to our league, the general public,

referees, and to all organizations that are involved in the competition

This philosophy can vary between that of a team that wishes to play with high intensity, with short possessions based on a high tempo to that of a team that

looks to take advantage of the opponent’s errors and playing long possessions.

The definition of the philosophy does not mean that we must play the same way every game, but it is a clear declaration of our intentions.

INTENSITY

Once we have our philosophy set we will define (using drills at practice and then

executing this during games) at which level of intensity we will play. Substitutions, defensive rotations, change up defenses, the tempo at which

players execute, decision making on offense and defense etc will be the keys to

decide this.

24 SECONDS RULE

The 24 seconds rule sped up the game tempo in general and increased the

number of possessions per game. At the same time the fear of excessively speeding up the game tempo and therefore expose the technical limitations of

players caused many teams to look to find tactical reasons for slowing down the

game tempo.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING

We can start to create the game tempo from whichever side of a circle which

describes the team play. Going aggressively after the offensive rebound and obtaining good positions before doing so will be one of the ways in which on the

one hand the capture of these rebounds will guarantee more offensive

possessions, and on the other will stop our opponent from starting his fastbreak in the way he prefers.

Putting some pressure on the opponent’s point guard, if he is good at leading the break and is the only player who can bring the ball up the floor, would also be a

good way of taking the opponent out of his preferred game tempo, and therefore

have their more under our control.

TRANSITION DEFENSE

Going aggressively after the offensive rebound cannot adversely affect our

defensive balance which, will also be one of the keys to taking our opponent out of their preferred game tempo and will initiate our defensive work.

In order to have a good defensive balance this does not only mean running back quickly to defend. If our five players on the court have their roles very clearly

defined, we can go after the offensive rebounds and also pressure the outlet of the ball so that when our opponents arrive in the frontcourt they have already

exerted energy physically and mentally. You will see some examples in the video

(Clip 01).

TRANSITION DEFENSE

Our defense begins at the moment we fail to capture an offensive rebound and in

my opinion we should try and tire our opponent with constant pressure on their

transition. After this we try and prevent the ball from arriving in the hands of their preferred players and if it does we do not want them to play 1v1. We

achieve this using defensive rotations and if necessary double teaming their go to players in their preferred positions.

This defensive aggressiveness can be applied when playing man or zone defense, as well as either quarter court, half court, three quarter court or full court. You

will see examples in the video (Clip 02 & 03).

DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING

The defensive rotations and double teams make it difficult for the opponent to create the scoring opportunities for their go to players, but it is also true that

they create certain mismatches when defensive rebounding and this has to be

solved by a great deal of communication amongst the five players on court and a lot of movement by all of them.

It must also be clear that the rebound is not the responsibility of the inside

players (3 / 4 / 5). The outside players have to participate in a very proactive

manner, bearing in mind also that a defensive rebound by one of these players (1 / 2) leads to a much quicker and usually more efficient fastbreak, looking to

score.

FASTBREAK / TRANSITION

Once we have the rebound my teams always try to bring the ball into the front court as quickly as possible for three main reasons: we are looking to score

quickly and easily, not lose any time transitioning to our half court offense if the fastbreak has not finished with a score, and also very importantly it does not

allow our opponent to rest between their offense and defense.

Creating a constantly high amount of pressure on our opponent we can, despite

whatever limitations our team may have, control as much as possible the game

tempo. Evidently doing the opposite by slowing down the game and waiting for our opponent to commit a mistake can reduce the game tempo, and if this is

what we are looking for allow us to have control of the game tempo.

USING THE SHOT CLOCK

ETTORE MESSINA

In the summer of 2000 the shot clock was reduced from 30 seconds to 24, and the

time in which it was necessary to cross the half court line was reduced from 10 seconds to 8.

With this new rule many coaches decided to extend their defense to at least three

quarter court with the aim of taking away some time from the offense. If the

defense was able to make the offense work hard for 6-7 seconds to bring the ball up the court, this left only some 16 seconds in which to run an offense.

The choice then to either defend half court man to man or zone brings more problems to the offense as they have to “read” the defense and run an appropriate

play, creating difficulty in maintaining the desired game tempo. Finally the use of a

denial defense forces players who may be the fourth or fifth options on their team to shoot the ball, with the obvious results this brings about. The alternative to

using a full court defense is to increase the use of zone defense.

Having less time available to penetrate the defense creating holes where attackers

can go is something that affects the offense and the successful conclusion of such, with teams often resorting to taking the first available shot, particularly if this is a

three point shot. This way many zone offenses have become entirely dependent on

shooting a high percentage, foregoing the possibility of patiently looking for opportunities at the high post or inside the restricted area.

Contrary to what we saw prior to the shot clock rule change, coaches have been using more tactical resources, forcing their opponents to think about controlling the

game tempo even more. Having less time available to find a good shot emphasizes

the need to be a threat from the very start of each offense.

When the shot clock was 30 seconds, the first two or three passes in the offense were only introductory passes that only resulted in a basket had the defense made

a big mistake. Only after these “approximation” passes would the ball find its way

into the hands of the most dangerous players. A classic example is the use of staggered screens, something that was very popular in the 90s to get a specific

shooter open (diagrams 1-3).

With the 24 second shot clock it is very dangerous to make five passes before then

looking to get the ball into the hands of your best scorer. This is more so the case

because if we have the ball in a great shooting position after a few seconds, where is it written that we will get a better opportunity later in the possession? Also, due

to the denial defenses used by many coaches to freeze out strong players, it is important for us to get the ball in the hands of our better players early in the

offense. This way we will have the time not only to finish the play but also to

create an advantage over the defense which eventually will allow a teammates shot in the best possible conditions.

People often comment that the 24 seconds shot clock has given increased speed to the game. It is understood that this is not so much in reference to an increased

use of the fastbreak but to a different approach to offensive philosophy. Plays have

become more simple looking for an advantage, often using a ball screen (diagram 4), with the intention of finishing the play immediately or following ball reversal

(diagram 5).

Offenses are based more on concepts than on specific set plays as was the case in

the past. Knowing how to feed the ball into the low post to take advantage of a possible double team (diagram 6), taking the correct position on the court in case

dribble penetration occurs (diagram 7), knowing the correct choice between a shot

or a pass after a ball reversal are some of the most used offensive concepts in the last few years compared to the set offenses used prior to 2000. Another aspect

that has developed since the 24 second shot clock came into vigor is that of

baseline out of bounds plays.

Many coaches have looked to achieve a more fluid transition between the fastbreak

and the half court offense, allowing all five players to advance up the court rapidly and take positions from where they are an immediate threat (diagram 8). The

positioning of the five players should be such that if met by an aggressive defense

they can attack it without being surprised (diagram 9). If the players are well spaced the ball can be moved rapidly around the court against any defense, and at

the same time allow spaces for dribble penetration to occur.

An offense that is well structured throughout the entire length of the court can be

dangerous after having beaten the first line of defense without having to re-organize itself, an action for which there probably is not enough time anyway.

A good example of this can be seen in diagram 10 where the first line of the press is beaten using three outside players. Once the ball crosses the half court line, if

the defense has successfully recovered the offense immediately look to get the ball

into the low post in order to create spaces for players to cut and dribble penetrate into. If the rapid ball movement has forced the defense to collapse into the

restricted area and prevent O4 to play 1v1, it is possible to create another 1v1 opportunity this time for O1, with the ball coming outside and the trailer O5 setting

a ball screen for O1 (diagram 11). The efficiency of an offense based on concepts

and reading the defense is based on having good fundamentals and recognizing space and time; the introduction of the 24 second shot clock has had a significant

impact on the improvement of the game.

REMEMBER

Having 24 seconds available with which to shoot the ball it is wise to

aggressively attack the basket from the first available opportunity.

(Video of a quick cut by an outside player)

Look to get your best players involved early in the offense, who in the case

of having an advantage over the defense can also create a scoring

opportunity for one of their teammates.

(vides of an early feed into the low post leading to 1v1)

Today offense is based more on concepts and correct execution than on set

plays. Because of this it is very important that all players have strong

fundamentals.

Diagram 1 Diagram 2

Diagram 3

Diagram 4

Diagram 5

Diagram 6

Diagram 7

Diagram 8

Diagram 9

Diagram 10

Diagram 11

GAME TEMPO USING THE 24 SECOND SHOT CLOCK AITO GARCIA RENESES

There is no doubt that the rule change from a 30 second shot clock to a 24 second

shot clock brought about many changes in FIBA basketball. We will go into these in detail but it is worth noting that almost all teams that in the past played passively

waiting for their opponents error rather than aggressively looking to steal the ball, and on offense played a very tentative game fell down from the leading positions in

their national league tables, as well as from competing for honors in Europe.

MORE SUBSTITUTIONS

The new 24 and 8 second rules meant that the rest periods between playing offense and defense disappeared completely. If coaches wished to maintain a high

intensity for their players on the court they had to increase their substitutions and

the number of players participating in the game.

As well as this, the players who were on the court were more tired and so therefore committed more fouls and more mistakes both on offense and defense. Another

reason for an increased frequency of substitutions.

Following the rule changes many coaches chose to increase the defensive pressure

on the point guard bringing the ball up the court, something which tired out his own

team as well as the opponent. Another reason for increasing the number of players participating in the game.

Finally the go to players on offense who with a 30 second shot clock were able to rest on court now found it a lot more difficult to stay on the court for 40 minutes.

This forced coaches to read the game in another way, looking for the best moments

in which they could rest so they could be on the court, rested and without foul trouble in the key parts of the game.

DEFENSE

We can start with defense in order to demonstrate the changes that the new rules brought about. As I have already mentioned the general tendency was an increase

in pressure defenses to delay the start of the opponents offense.

Once the opponents primary and secondary break was stopped, half court defenses

would double team the low post, rotate and switch between man and zone defenses

with more frequency.

FULL COURT PRESSURE DEFENSES

Regardless of whether teams would use a man or zone defense (or even just put

some light pressure on the ball handler coming up the court) the 24 second rule has increased the number of full court pressure defenses used. The goals for this

may be:

1. Steal the ball

2. Delay our opponents offense

3. Tire both physically and mentally the players who control the game tempo and handle the ball for our opponents

LOW POST DOUBLE TEAM

If the offensive team is able to pass the ball into the low post this is usually a

success because it is a position from which scoring opportunities can be created and it forces the opponent to take decisions to avoid playing 1v1 without any help.

Playing with a 24 second shot clock, forcing this ball to be passed back out again, ideally using the most complicated passing lane is one of the main goals. It is for

this reason that helping in the low post or double teaming are quite common.

DEFENSIVE ROTATIONS

Defensive rotations are the next unavoidable step after having helped in the low post and their goal should be to make the pass out as difficult as possible in order

to further delay the opponents offense as well as make the ball arrive in the hands

of one of the opponents least dangerous offensive players.

Defensive rotations cause players to tire very quickly. Years ago the defensive players on the help side did not work very hard and took advantage of the ball

being on the opposite side to recover from their offensive efforts. Defensive

rotations force all five players to be on high alert during the entire possession both mentally and physically and do not permit any recovery time.

Because many teams now play with 4 players on the perimeter, defensive rotations that in the past only involved 3 perimeter players now also affect a fourth player.

ALTERNATING DEFENSES

Switching on all off ball screens, changing between man and zone defense, different types of zone defense and other tactical resources have become more effective with

the 24 second rule because when executed correctly they can surprise our

opponents, forcing them to lose a few vital seconds when attempting to run their offense.

TRANSITION

Once our team has gained possession of the ball either through a good defensive

effort (steal or defensive rebound) or following a basket, the majority of our team makes a big effort to get the ball in the frontcourt therefore creating the highest

amount of pressure on the opponent both physically and mentally.

The primary break is no longer sufficient as a method to score easy baskets. It is

equally important to put pressure on our opponents forcing them to sprint back and get balanced defensively by transitioning smoothly into our half court offense

without any interruption.

A few years ago the interruption (to recover or get organized) took place when

transitioning from defense to offense by brining the ball up the court more slowly.

Once the point guard had the ball there he would signal the play and then the half court offense would begin.

Nowadays many teams combine their break with their half court offense (which could be a set play or a motion offense) without any interruptions. If this offense

does not create a scoring opportunity for one of the go to players then the ball is kicked back out (normally to the most creative player) who will play pick & roll or

1v1 to create an advantage for himself or for a teammate in a better position. It is

when the ball is kicked out and the team gets ready to play pick & roll that there is a stop in the game tempo.

HALF COURT OFFENSE

As we have already mentioned the most common characteristics in half court

offenses are the following:

1. It tends to be interwoven with the fastbreak and with transition

2. The amount of time between the transition and the half court offense has

been significantly reduced 3. The time spent on running a set play has also been reduced and so the

offense tends to be a single action or a motion offense that if it does not

succeed allows time to find a quick and direct option 4. The ball is often passed into the low post so that a 1v1 situation exists or an

advantage is created if the low post is double teamed and the ball is kicked

out followed by a defensive rotation 5. The quick hitter (direct option) often consists of a pick & roll. The ball

handler tends to be the most creative player on the team

OFFENSIVE REBOUND & DEFENSIVE BALANCE

The offensive rebound has become a new way to put pressure on the opponent.

Sending two or three players after the rebound (depending on the characteristics of

the opponent and your own team) not only will lead to some easy putbacks or new possessions, but also to begin defensive pressure as soon as possible and prevent

easy transition baskets by our opponents.

Defensive balance following the attempt to capture the offensive rebound is used to

avoid the opponents fastbreak. If defensive balance is achieved, then teams will also put some pressure on the opponent’s point guard to delay his arrival in the

front court and to avoid an easy basket.

As we can see, the different concepts that we have highlighted as key factors in

order to control the game tempo are factors that at a higher speed and intensity

become essential in order to play comfortably using the 24 second shot clock.

(Video 1)

(Video 2)