Pick & Roll Defense

A "Must Master" Part of Your Defense 

With the Pick & Roll being such an important part of all offenses in today's game, it has become imperative to have a consistent and simple defensive plan so your team can go into every game knowing there's a great chance to consistently stop the opponent's Pick & Rolls.

The system has to be sound in the five basic parts of the defense:

1. the player guarding the ball and how he adjusts his position to be the aggressor
2. the player guarding the pick setter so that he is always in the proper position to re-route the ball
3. the communication system
4. the protection behind the two players in the Pick & Roll -- so critical to the success or failure
5. the rotations out of the Pick & Roll action -- but how to keep from having to rotate so that like sizes stay on like sizes

I have seen teams try to employ 5 and 6 different coverages, often resulting in their being average in all of them.  Most detrimental is being tentative because there's no consistency.  

I want to introduce you to the system that most all championship calibre NBA teams employ.  It's the most detailed Pick & Roll Defensive DVD out there, and the beauty is that all levels will find it useful, from high school up to the highest level NBA teams.  It is based on soundness, simplicity and success.

BOOK QUOTE

"Pratice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better"

BY: by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway, and Katie Yezzi

"The enemies of practice are pride and fear and self-satisfaction. To practice requires humility. It forces us to admit that we don’t know everything. It forces us to submit to feedback from people who can teach us."

What Separates "The Best" from "The Rest"

Observations from Training Camp

One of my favorite books is Training Camp by Jon Gordon.  Whenever I speak to groups -- whether basketball or corporate -- I tell them this is a "must read" for players and coaches, and from young grads to corporate leaders.

I'm writing this late at night after two days in Istanbul, Turkey, with our Boston Celtics team at Training Camp for the upcoming NBA season.  The NBA has a great program that sends different teams to compete against pro teams from other countries.  It's not only about competition, but also about sharing of the game with kids over here. (another of the many NBA initiatives that's not always known by the public but is such an important part of what the NBA believes in.)

Since we're in the midst of training camp, I thought it would be appropriate to share a passage from Jon's book:

"Because if you want it you’ll be willing to pay the price and invest the time, energy, sweat, and dedication that greatness requires. People think it’s all about talent. But talent isn’t enough anymore. Everyone here has talent. It’s about infusing talent with heart, soul, spirit, and passion. It’s about doing the things that make the best of the best better than everyone else. And these things have nothing to do with talent."