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END OF GAME SITUATIONS
For coaches, being able to manage the game late can mean the difference between
winning championships and being considered a "genius" or being labeled an
"idiot" and being fired. Great coaches are able to manage situations late
and put their players in a position to win games.
All you have to do is think about what happened in 1983 with North Carolina
State and Houston. The ability of Jim Valvano to manage the game late
against Guy Lewis was the big difference in deciding the conclusion of one of
the most exciting games in basketball history. Valvano managed the last
five minutes better than Lewis and NC State came from behind to win the national
championship.
I want to address three situations based on the score and some ideas on how you
can improve your team's handling of situations late in the game. What else
do you have to lose except more games?
Playing with a Lead Late
Depending on where you are late in the game, you have to determine whether or
not you need to score points or run the clock. If you can get a
double-digit lead in the last three minutes, you can then think about trying to
run the clock. If you have a single-digit lead and more than one minute
remaining, you need to think about scoring points and expanding your lead.
If you have a one-possession lead with the ball inside of one minute to go, you
need to do both. You need to run the clock down as much as you can and
score at the end of the possession with either free throws or a made basket.
Your offense cannot afford to play not to lose the game. You need to work
to avoid making mistakes late and find ways to increase your lead by any method
possible.
From a defensive standpoint, the best thing for you to do is to take away two
types of shots: lay-ups and three-pointers. You want to take away the
lay-ups because they are the highest-percentage shots any team can get. If
a team is able to get to the rim and shoot lay-ups, chances are they can get
points quickly thanks to the high-percentage nature of a lay-up.
By comparison, the three-point shot has the ability to propel a team back into
the game at a faster rate because of the value of a made three point shot.
It take fewer three-pointers to cut a lead than lay-ups. If you are not
allowing lay-ups or threes, then you can force a team into low-percentage
two-pointers. You will then need to grab the rebounds and get into your
stall game.
Also, you should consider switching all of your screens. This will allow
you to avoid off-the-ball fouls. The last thing you want as a coach with a
lead is the other team with the opportunity to score with the clock stopped.
Playing from Behind Late
When you fall behind, you need to find a way to go to a catch-up offense.
There have been several talented teams that have no ability to come from behind
for a myriad of reasons. You need to put some plays together that get the
ball in the hands of your most efficient scorers.
If you don't have a set offense at your disposal, you can designate certain
players to get certain shots within the framework of your freelance offense.
One example would be to have a designated three point shooter who your players
have to get open for three-point shots. This can be worked on in practice
by designating a specific player to only shoot jump shots during a scrimmage.
Also, you should have designed plays ready for the last possession of the game.
You should have a baseline inbounds play, a sideline inbounds play, a half court
play and a full court inbounds play at your disposal that you can call and run
to get a last-second shot to either tie or win the game. Have one play for
each situation a practice it as often as you can so that when the time comes,
you will be ready to run it successfully.
Defensively, you will need to consider pressing or trapping the half court to
force some turnovers. Understand that this method is not without risk.
If you do not defend the basket properly when pressing or trapping, you run the
risk of giving up easy baskets and the lead getting even bigger. When you
press, you need to focus on taking the ball away or even fouling if you get
desperate enough.
If you have to foul, there are two ways to go about doing it. The first is
to foul players that you have determined to be bad free throw shooters.
The advantage of this is that . However, this method can be unreliable
because coaches on the other team should also know who their worst free throw
shooters are so they will be on the bench.
The other method is to foul the first available player. While this method
typically doesn't work as well as the previously mentioned method, a team can
get lucky on occasion and find players who cannot hit free throws under pressure
late in the game. You can also stop the clock sooner and give yourself
more time because you are not waiting around for a specific player to get the
ball in his hands. Here, you are attempting to foul whoever has the ball.
Playing in a Tie Game
In this situation, you have some major decisions to make. You will be
making these decisions based on whether or not you have the basketball.
The strategy is different when you have the ball versus that of not having the
ball.
If you have the ball and anywhere between one and five minutes remaining, you
need to think about scoring to get the lead. Once you have the lead going
into the final minute you can then start referring to the defensive strategy
about playing with a late lead. If you have more than a minute remaining,
stay with what you are doing defensively until you get to that last minute.
If you don't have the ball and you are inside of five minutes remaining, you
need to focus on finding a way to get the basketball back. Your scouting
report will be critical in that you can find ways with your defense to get the
ball in the hands of the players you want it in so as to put yourself in an
advantageous position on defense. Here are some ideas on the kinds of
players you need to possess the basketball late:
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Somebody who is turnover prone.
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Somebody who is a weak free throw shooter.
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Somebody who has the ball outside of their shooting
range.
If you can get someone to possess the basketball the
other coach is not comfortable possessing it, you can take advantage by
either trapping them, pressuring them or even fouling them. The
bottom line is that these are the kinds of players that you have to
force the opposing coach to beat you with on a given night.
Useful Organization
There are two items of statistical information that are absolutely paramount in
handling end of game situations. The first list are three-point shooters.
When you have a lead, you will need to determine which players you have to guard
so that a team does not come from behind so quickly. Typically, I have a
list put together based on statistics determining those who shoot three pointers
the most frequently, and the best thee-point shooting percentages (minimum three
attempts). If you cannot get statistics, you should refer to the scouting
report or to the in-game shot chart so that you can determine who are the most
frequent three-point shooters and the most accurate ones.
Second, you need to know which players you need to foul. If you are privy
to statistical information before the game, you should have some idea as to
which players you want shooting free throws the moment you step on the court in
pre-game warm-ups. If you do not have that information, you need someone
to track free throws during the game so that you can foul the people who have
been struggling at the line that particular night. When I was a college
assistant, I kept a list of the players we needed to foul and their percentages
from the foul line so that we would know which players we should foul. The
players you want to foul are those who shoot 60% or less.
You should also have situational line-ups depending on where you are in a given
situation. If you have a late lead and you need to close the game out, you
need to get your best free throw shooters on the floor and force the opposing
team to foul you. If you are behind, you need to know which players you
can put in the game to foul and put the other team at the free throw line
(hopefully, you will be able to foul bad free throw shooters). If you are
in a late game situation where fouling and free throw shooting are not germane
to the situation at hand, you need to get five players on the floor who won't
make mistakes, aren't tired and won't get scared easily.
Use with Scrimmages
To be better prepared for these situations, you need to practice them.
When your players know what to do late in the games, there is less in-game
coaching required on your part and you can relax knowing that your players are
ready. These two types of scrimmage situations should help you and your
team work on closing out games and making the big plays that win big time games.
The first is the Overtime Scrimmage. In this situation, you will keep time
and score according to the rules and have a tie game to start the scrimmage.
For college and pro coaches, this game will last five minutes. For high
school coaches, this will last four minutes.
Start with a center jump just like a normal overtime period and play the period
through. As a coach, you can work with your players on how to handle an
overtime situation. Some high school teams will go years without an
overtime game while some will have a handful in a given season. It is
better to be prepared for it and not have to play an overtime than to not be
prepared and to play several overtime periods in a season.
The other scrimmage is to do a Time-and-Score Scrimmage with a predetermined
time remaining in the game and a score on the scoreboard. One team will
have the objective of closing out the game (the team with the lead) while the
other will have the objective of coming back to tie the game or to take the lead
(the team trailing). Be reasonable with your time and score situations
because you are trying to get your players confident in coming from behind and
get your players to work on their level of concentration with a lead.
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