“I loved the game so much I would just go out there and play all day and night. Whatever I was carrying groceries, or running an errand for my mom or dad, I always had one hand free dribbling that basketball.” -Magic Johnson
Last night the Portland Trailblazers and the Dallas Mavericks were involved in a Foul or Defend in Portland. The Mavericks were up three and on defense.
LaMarcus Aldridge came up big on a sweet sideline out-of-bounds play to tie the game with a step-back three from the right corner. Aldridge was 0-for-9 from 3-point range this season until hitting the shot with 4.5 seconds left to tie the score at 104-104.
A few seconds later, after an offensive foul was called on OJ Mayo, Aldridge nailed the game-winner. (Aldridge’s shot comes at the :25 mark of the clip)
This is the third time this season the Dallas Mavericks have been involved in the Foul or Defend. The Mavericks have now given up three’s in two different Foul or Defend situations and have lost both.
Blazers win, thanks for coming, arrive home safely.
Please keep in mind in no way am I questioning anyone’s strategy or philosophy on the following study. There are way better coaches than me out there who do what they feel is best for their team. This is just a research study to see what coaches prefer to do in this late game situation.
Last night in high school, college and the NBA we had eight Foul or Defend situations. (If I missed one, please let me know)
Let’s start in the Big Ten with the Michigan State Spartans. This is the third time this season MSU has found themselves with a Foul or Defend.
Tom Izzo, one of the best we have seen the past 20 years decided to defend and it worked…once again. MSU has always been a tough defensive club. Izzo’s decision to “check” worked.
In the “League” the Dallas Mavericks were up three on the Sacramento Kings. Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle decided to defend. Well Isaiah Thomas made them pay with a three pointer off the glass with :09 to play. Some may think that is too much time to foul but…The game went to overtime and Carlisle found himself in the same position, again with :09 to play. What’s he do? Well he relies on his defense. “Flipper” was a very good defender at Virginia. This time Thomas came up short with his three-point attempt.
There were two other men’s college games in which Montana State elected to defend against Northern Colorado and they got the stop. Also Seattle was up three on New Mexico State, decided to defend and BOOM! New Mexico State makes a three to force the extra session.
Here’s something interesting; New Mexico State, who made a three to force a second OT is on defense, up three with :03 decides to defend. Seattle misses a three.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the ladies. (I wish more women’s coaches would contact me with their Foul Or Defend situations). Last night Kentucky had a situation where they defended against Texas A&M. The Wildcats got the stop and in girls high school basketball, St. Clair FOULED! Yes, they tried out the situation that has worked 27 out of 28 times this season against Port Huron and what do you know; it worked!
Numbers:
263 total “Foul Or Defend” situations
Teams that have fouled have won 27 of the 28 games.
235 times a team has defended and 44 have given up a three-point shot. (18% success rate)
Came across this article from my friend Jared via Real GM on Darren Collison and how he responded when Derrick Fisher joined the Mavericks. He was benched but what did he do?
“When we got Fisher, some guys would have put their head down and sulked,” Rick Carlisle said. “What [Collison] did was he started getting up earlier in the morning and getting here earlier and working harder on his game, being more vigilant about having film sessions with the coaches, and he’s a guy that’s going to succeed.”
“Success, in large part in life, is a choice. And he decided when we got Fisher it wasn’t going to be a thing where he was going to fade into the abyss. He worked harder.”
The Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics at home 120-107. Miami is the defending champions and they have improved their roster; scary, right? Ray Allen did very well last night coming off the bench scoring 19 points. D-Wade led all scorers with 29 points. LeBron James had 26 and pulled down 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. Paul Pierce led the C’s with 23 points. Rajon Rondo had 20 points and dished out 13 assists.
Dallas Mavericks went into LA and beat the Lakers 99-91. Lakers newcomer Steve Nash summed it up after the game. “We’re thinking too much instead of just playing.”
Lakers head coach Mike Brown: “We’re going to have to defend with multiple efforts until our offense catches up to our defense.”
LA shot 12-31 from the free-throw line. Dwight Howard was 3-14 while teammate Jordan Hill added 1-6 from the line.
Many of the sport’s top athletes are paying thousands for private off-season shooting workouts, raising the profile of shooting instructors. “The players working with us in the off-season strengthens the argument that there should be more of us with the teams,” the Pacers’ Keller says.
But most teams remain unconvinced. So basic is shooting that hiring a coach to teach it would be akin, some veterans suggest, to employing an expert to tie their shoes. As an assistant coach, the veteran Bob Hill recalls feeling briefly threatened by the idea of a shooting coach. “I can teach all that stuff myself,” Hill recalls thinking.
Then there are the New York Knicks, the oldest team in NBA history, who last month hired shooting coach Dave Hopla. Jason Kidd, who recently signed with New York, is an advocate of the instructors. He attributes a significant late-career jump in his three-point shooting percentage to help from the shooting coach in Dallas, along with a personal shooting coach Kidd hired.
“These guys are breaking down film of your shot, seeing it on tape,” said Kidd. “When you have a guy who knows your shot and sees your tendencies and can say, ‘Hey, you’re dropping your left hand—that’s why you’re not making them’—that’s valuable.”
