FOUL OR DEFEND? GIVE ME A T.O. BABY!

Since the beginning of the 2012-2013 basketball season I have been tracking the foul or defend situation at the NBA, college and high school levels.

301 late game situations have been analyzed since Nov. 1 where a team is up by three points, on defense with less than :07 to play.

Having talked to many coaches at all levels and watching a ton of games/highlights, and scanning websites for play-by-play, I have come away with some interesting and rather surprising numbers.

I have decided to use a “time out” and take a break from the study. I was thinking of picking it back up later in the season when we come down the stretch. Quite possibly for the conference tournaments and of course the NCAA tournament and the NBA playoffs. Just to see if anything changes in terms of numbers.

Here are the final numbers as of Jan. 12, 2013

301 total situations

On 30 possessions a team has fouled – 29 of those 30 have won the game without going to overtime. The only team that lost was Kent State. And that’s a story everyone needs to know. I’ll get to that later.

That leaves 271 defend situations: 48 times the team on offense made a three-point shot to tie the game and force overtime (17%).

I will have the results from overtime very soon. But as my guy Coach Lok likes to say, “results in OT are irrelevant, the decision was made…”

NBA Updated: (As of Jan. 12, 2013)

57  total situations

7 have fouled all 7 won the game (Celtics 3 x’s, Warriors 3 x’s and Blazers)

50 defended

10 gave up a three point make.

College:

201 total situations

13 fouled – 12 won the game

188 defended

28 gave up a three point make.

High School:

43 total situations

10 fouled – all 10 won the game

33 defended

10 gave up a three point make

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

FOUL OR DEFEND?

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 Lawrence, Iowa State was leading by three points late in the game against Kansas. A pair of free throws by Korie Lucious put the Cyclones up three with 8.9 seconds to play.

The Jayhawks pushed the ball up the floor, ran a dribble hand-off into a screen. On the weak side Ben McLemore came off a flair screen.  And well, the freshman banged a three to send the game into overtime.  (As we know, Kansas won the game but like my guy Ray Lokar says, “it’ doesn’t matter, the decision was made in regulation.)

I have been studying this late game situation where a team is up three points, on defense and less than :07 to play.

Since the beginning of basketball season I have found 232 situations at the high school, college and NBA levels.  (I’m sure I have missed a few so if you are reading this and your team encountered this situation, please contact me ASAP).

When a team decided to foul they have won 25 of the 26 games. In the one loss thus far, Kent State fouled a Valpo player who made the first free throw, missed the second and got the offensive rebound for the put back. Upon further review, a Valpo player ran in the lane too early but was not called for a lane violation.  Valpo wound up winning the game in overtime. Now you can say well they didn’t box out very well and should grab that rebound, I understand all that. Bottom line is Valpo got the offensive rebound.

The 206 situations where the team decided to rely on their defense, well 40 of the teams on offense banged a three-point shot sending the game into overtime (that’s 19%, not very high).

Each day I will update the numbers and include the previous night’s situations.

Please feel free to contact me with any situations you know of this seasons or have been involved with.

I’m going to conduct the study until the last game of the NBA finals is complete in June.

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

THE HOCKEY ASSIST

The Miami Herald on the Miami Heat sharing the puck, oops, I mean sharing the basketball and getting the hockey assist.

All the pundits who dislike LeBron James and shout that he should shoot the ball at the end of the game, this article is for you!

As a coach you want your players playing unselfish basketball. You want everyone sharing the ball, not hogging it. The defending champs are all about playing the right way.

“[James] could have had more [assists] if he was ego-driven, hunting for his own,’’ coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think he had three to five hockey assists where he knew it would be a rotation where the next guy would be open. He’s looking at the play after the play after the play.’’

“We’re playing at a high level offensively and it’s because we have unselfish guys,’’ James said. “We don’t care who shoots, we don’t care who passes. We’re finding the open guy and everyone on the floor is making plays. That’s all that matters.’’

“We talked about hockey assists in high school,’’ James said. “I come from a very unselfish brand of basketball as I grew up. That’s how my little league coaches taught me up through high school. It’s just stuck with me.’’

“It was a big thing at Marquette to get a hockey assist,’’ Wade said. “Coach rewarded us for it more than regular assists. You would come in and say, ‘Ten hockey assists tonight,’ and there would be something on your locker. If you didn’t have any you would have a big doughnut on your locker.’’

HOOPS135@HOTMAIL.COM

TWITTER: @CoachFinamore

DO IT FOR LOVE

Quote of the Day

“What drives most players is not the money or the adulation, but their love for the game.”

-Phil Jackson

Back in the day the National Basketball Association used to have a slogan, ‘I Love This Game’. I wish they would bring it back.

I’m not sure if basketball players love the game. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few out there that love it, but my point is not enough players love it. There seems to be so many different things to do these days for players.

“I lived there that summer (Schoolyard).  I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but there was just something about the game.  I loved it instantly.”

-Billy Cunningham

Those were Cunningham’s words after he received a basketball for his fifth birthday. Many players have that same feeling Cunningham had that morning he went over to St. Rose of Lima’s schoolyard to play basketball.   Does playing basketball make you come alive? Do you look forward to working out?  Do you play for the glory of the game and not the awards or the money?

When and where does the love for basketball begin? Does it start on the dirt patch farm, with a basket nailed to the side of the barn where you shoot hundreds of jump shots each day?  Does it start in the driveway shooting with your mom, dad or sibling? Maybe you’re alone, just you, the ball and the basket. Or maybe you’re in the schoolyard or your local playground? Perhaps it starts in your bedroom with a coat hanger bent into the shape of a round hoop wedged between your door and the doorway using a rolled up pair of socks for the ball?

Regardless of how or where it starts the feeling is the same for the kid in Brooklyn, New York playing in a schoolyard as it is for the kid in Plymouth, Indiana working on his jump shot in his backyard.

Your height or weight is irrelevant; basketball players come in all shapes and sizes. It doesn’t matter what ethnicity or which country you come from, basketball is without borders.  Whenever and wherever it begins, it’s the start of something special. When a young boy or girl falls in love with basketball, it becomes a bond that’s hard to break.

“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

When you watch basketball players out on the street, in the rec center, high school, college or even the NBA; you know the guys who love the game.  You can see the passion, the enthusiasm and the motivation displayed by the ones who truly love the game.

I had signed a contract for X amount of dollars and was obligated to play for that. The thing I value, that Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and all your other older, great players ever valued, is our love of the game. I mean that if you took money out of the game, we’d still play it somewhere for free just as hard.”

-Michael Jordan

Do you love the game or just like it?

HOOPS135@hotmail.com

TWITTER: @CoachFinamore

“ISO” WITH LAWRENCE FRANK

I came across an interview with Detroit Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank in ‘Detroit Pistons Courtside Quarterly: Summer of 2012 Issue.

On what he does in the off-season:

“I meet with high school, college and International coaches.”

Frank’s his hardest critic; oftentimes pointing jokes at himself:

“You don’t need to toot your own horn. I don’t take myself too seriously.

If he’s not at the Pistons practice facility he can be found?

“At Starbucks early in the morning.”

On watching the NBA playoffs and using plays he sees other teams run:

“Never be prideful that your way is the only way.”

On his path in coaching:

“Every stop has been the best job I’ve ever had.”

Coaches he admires outside of basketball?

“Bill Parcells. Any coach you reach out to for guidance and advice is always very helpful. If you make the call, they are willing to help.”

Routines that help him get over a tough loss:

Consistency. You can’t let the wins and losses get to you. You need to study film to see what we did well and what we need to work on. Then present the good, bad and ugly to the team the next day.”

The origin of his catch phrase “Earn Your Way Everyday”:

“No matter what your job is, there are no shortcuts.”

On what stat he thinks his team needs to improve on this year?

“There is not one stat to improve upon. Everything we do has to be towards building a championship culture and we need to continue doing that.”

HOOPS135@HOTMAIL.COM

TWITTER: @CoachFinamore