A Running Team should Know How to Finish the Fast Break
by LaoTzu on Feb 3, 2012 12:37 AM PST
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PrintI was lucky enough to take "Advanced Basketball" at Chemeketa Community College when Rick Adelman still coached those pre-eminent Chieftan teams. When we weren't playing full court, five-on-five on assigned teams, Coach Adelman had us running drills.
He ran us through different full court passing weaves until we were good enough to bring them off against pressure. And when we failed to make the right pass or missed lay-ins, there might well be hell to pay.
We practiced 3-on-2 fast breaks, with the third defender entering the play from out of bounds through the jump circle at mid-court. And if you didn't score in transition, that counted as a turnover, and the ball went the other way.
[As an aside, Adelman liked to defend 3-on-2's with one man picking up the ball above the foul line while the other man defended at the basket, ready to deny either wing man the easy lay-up. I don't know why I don't see more teams defend it this way.]
We used what we learned with our teammates in a season-ending tournament. By then we knew where our teammates wanted the ball, and we knew how to finish at the rim.
The Blazers are supposed to be a running team this season. But how can you be a running team if you don't know how to finish a fast break?
Others might tell you different. But of all the mistakes and missed shots down the stretch, the mistakes that cost the Blazers the Sacramento game were made in transition with numbers. Where the Blazers, if they are going to be a running team, have got to learn how to finish.
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We practiced 3-on-2 fast breaks, with the third defender entering the play from out of bounds through the jump circle at mid-court. And if you didn’t score in transition, that counted as a turnover, and the ball went the other way.
This is my all-time favorite basketball drill.
by Oden Mad, Oden Smash! on Feb 3, 2012 12:58 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Coaching can only do so much when it comes to finishing in transition.
For all the good that Rick Adelman has done in Minnesota, it’s not like he’s turned Wes Johnson into a strong transition player. Same thing applies in Portland, as no coach will turn this team’s Wes, Wesley Matthews, into a guy who can finish strong at the cup.
"I Am Mine"
What the he'll is going on?
Last year Wes was converting shots around the rim about 64 percent of the time. This year he is taking one less shot per game around the rim and is converting those attempts at a about 47 percent. That is truly awe-inspiringly terrible. That is Marcus Camby like efficiency around the rim.
by Oden Mad, Oden Smash! on Feb 3, 2012 1:42 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
If your in the NBA
You should be able to finish at the rim, I thought these were the best players in the world?
Watching th Ducks or Beavs they dont even have trouble with 3-1 fast breaks.
Can someone please explain why it looks like we are running Babbit X3 in the fast break. Dose the opposition spike the blazers water with Nyquil on the away games? Maybe there is a co2 leak in their airplane and they are getting all confobbeled.
by DonttrashCrash on Feb 3, 2012 8:01 AM PST reply actions 7 recs
there's no excuse for it
I want to make an excuse for it, but there’s no excuse for it
"If I had a dime for every basket I made today, you'd still suck!" - from the book 'John Dies @ the End'
by sammymohawk on Feb 3, 2012 9:11 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Its an honor to deliver the 5th Green rec to this hilarious statement
Dose the opposition spike the blazers water with Nyquil on the away games? Maybe there is a co2 leak in their airplane and they are getting all confobbeled.
"We gotta get this $#!^ together guys!" - Phil
Couldn't agree more...
And it’s not even about finishing at the rim. There are little speedy 5 feet dudes at my gym who with finish a fast break as smooth as you have ever seen with three 6 foot dude chasing right after them. There’s absolutely no excuse. You don’t see any other team in the NBA right now that can’t finish a three on two fast break layup without AT LEAST getting fouled. It’s embarrassing.
by thorfio on Feb 3, 2012 9:36 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
In previous years...
…there were always legitimate excuses why The Blazers didn’t run. A team based around Zach Randolph, later Brandon, were teams NOT designed to run.
Supposedly we brought Felton in, because we recognized that with Aldridge, Wallace and Batum this was a team that could and should run more.
Yeah, it’s disheartening. I don’t believe there is much of an excuse. If you are going to call yourself a team that wants to push the tempo? If you are going to call yourself a team that runs? You need to be able to finish on breaks. It’s basic.
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
by Krang on Feb 3, 2012 10:01 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Supposedly we brought Felton in, because we recognized that with Aldridge, Wallace and Batum this was a team that could and should run more.
I wish that LMA, Wallace, and Batum were running those breaks last night. Seemed like Wes and Jamal and Ray were the guys and no one could or wanted to try and finish
"If I had a dime for every basket I made today, you'd still suck!" - from the book 'John Dies @ the End'
I thought Ray did alright
I think he got blocked once, but other then that I saw him dish it out when he was leading the break, and we got some buckets. We$ and Wallace I thought struggled, probably tired, this game will probably act as a good reminder to them. I bet we see smarter fast break moves in the future.
The tensions are so high because the stakes are so low!
Agree. Ray ran the court and no one was there for him. Much of the second half was Ray having to pull up.
His shooting is awful, but he’s running the floor really well.
I was disappointed in Wes and Jamal and Gerald more than Ray for sure
that being said, if Ray was shooting the 35% from 3 he shot last year, what’s our record right now?
"If I had a dime for every basket I made today, you'd still suck!" - from the book 'John Dies @ the End'
If Gerald was Gerald Wallace on the road...
how many more wins would we have?
Unless Wallace is by himself
ala the windmill dunk, I don’t want him trying to finish near the rim. He is terrible with lay ups under pressure. Same goes for Matthews. I cringe every time I see him on a fast break, because you know he’s going to take it all the way, regardless of how many wide open teammates he has next to him. I’m actually looking forward to Felton and Aldridge getting some more time together. I like that Felton keeps looking to dump to Aldridge as the trailer on the fast break (as in the botched play during the Bobcat game). When they finally get that pass down, it’s going to be a thing of beauty.
The thing with Wes is
he seems to finish the harder ones…we have all seen him drive on two or three guys and bank home a reverse or some other nifty move….then the next play get rejected by that midget from Udub
When he has to involve other players, it isn't natural for him.
When he has to take it himself, he just goes.
LaMarcus "Macrohard" Aldridge
Sometimes this year the Blazers look breathtaking on the break
Other times they look like the Pee Wee League
I know less than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
by haildablazer on Feb 3, 2012 10:32 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
mostly depends on whether there is a convenient dump off to a forward
rather than guards having to take it themselves
"Say his NAME, Portland. Gerald Wallace is...awesome." -Dave, 4/9/11
That's the point of having numbers on the break
You run it right, it’s always a lay-in or an open shot in the middle of the lane.
LaMarcus "Macrohard" Aldridge
Mike Rice actually makes a few good points on this.
1) a lot of the players aren’t looking around to see if they have teammates. They just barrel straight for the basket not realizing that they’ve got a numbers advantage. Heck, I think I saw two separate botched 3v1 fast breaks last game. One was because the ball handler (Wes I think?) didn’t even know he had teammates and the other was because the spacing was rotten (Wes handed it off to I think Wallace but kept running right next to him, essentially letting one player guard both of them)
2) The smaller players aren’t trying to dump it to the taller players. Guards are usually the first ones guarding a break. Easier for a Tall Guy to score on a Short Guy than it is for a Small Guy….
3) A lot of the players aren’t converting their momentum upwards to the basket. Players tend to brick the layins when they’re careening past the hoop rather than jumping upwards and laying it in.
Rice has said these things a few times and they’re spot on. Just really simple individual skills that a few Blazers (Wes especially) haven’t seem to grasped somehow.
It was nice to hear these sentiments repeated
It’s not that these guys can’t learn it, it just has me wondering if the basics are being emphasized.
LaMarcus "Macrohard" Aldridge
its discipline AND PRACTICE....... we dont run hard all the time also how many times have you seen Wallace and Nic push the ball hard but do it along the sideline
You could say we are undisciplined because we dont have the practice time needed to perfect a running style …with a full training camp prior to this year it wouldve been very interesting to see what would happen .
Ive lost track of how many times ive screamed get it to the middle of and fill the lane and nearly every game I completely forget just how old Camby and Kurt are and expect them to change ends like they were rookies lol
by Willie Beamon on Feb 6, 2012 11:01 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
They are not a running team.
LA, Wallace, and Batum are okay finishers. Wes, Crawford, Felton, Camby – not so much. You also need guards that are good dribblers and have good timing. Blazers don’t have those. Wes and Felton are poor dribblers.
LaMarcus & Wallace
are among the best at their position at finishing on the break. Batum hasn’t had enough chances for me to decide either way. Our team would really benefit from an elite point guard. We have an average point guard in Felton & our fast break is average(or worse, when our defensive pressure fails). Times like this make me really miss Andre & his “I’ll get there eventually, young fella & you will get an easy shot” slow style break.
"We gotta get this $#!^ together guys!" - Phil
Consider
we don’t have the true dominant lead guard to revert to the Isolation style offense we used to play with Roy(though we see it at times with Crawford on the 2nd unit). I commend Nate for his change & he has been slapped in the face with average guard play from Felton, Matthews & Crawford.
"We gotta get this $#!^ together guys!" - Phil
The last thing that this team needs to do is run recklessly and miss shots at the rim.
On the contrary, this team needs to acquire a shot creator on the wing — which is easier said than done — and also slow it down on offense.
"I Am Mine"
I am reccing this
didn’t need to read past the title to know I would agree 100%
we can still win........
Right on!
It became so apparent during the disaster in Sacramento that Mike Rice made the problem a focal point of his commentary during the Denver broadcast.
LaMarcus "Macrohard" Aldridge
Yeah this was a good fanpost.
I don’t remember freaking out about a fast break the past few weeks. Not sure if that’s because I’ve become numb to it or if we’re getting fewer awful fast break fizzles.
BATUUUUM SHAKALAKA!
We also pass it out way too earlier
Repeatedly Felton & Matthews are passing the ball in a 3 on 1 break right around the half court line. Even IF you’re trying to pass the ball back you never pass it that early. Sad to see an NBA team doing this when HS and College teams execute it much better..
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