Changes Don't Help if Players Can't Shoot

The "Basketball for Thought" is a commentary by Kris Gardner.

October 1999

Now that the NBA pre - season has begun it's time to take a look at how the coaches and players will adjust to the new rules changes adopted by the NBA's Board of Governors. The no hand check rule; the "Charles Barkley / Mark Jackson" rule; no clutching and grabbing in the low post or on screens; the zone on the strong (ball) side of the floor; etc. All these rules were adopted in order to improve the fluidity of the game and, hopefully, increase the scoring as well. People have begun arguing for and against the new rules; however, one basic tenet still remains: players cannot shoot! If players can't shoot, then it won't matter what rules are adopted. Shooting is, after all, one of the most basic fundamentals in basketball.

Today, coaches love to spew out the reasons for lower scores are a result of increased and improved scouting techniques and video which allow players and teams to study and prepare for opponents much more thoroughly than previous years. What a crock! It's almost like the coaches are trying to justify the large salaries they are finally receiving.

I don't need to study hours of video to realize the Utah Jazz are going to run pick and roll with John Stocktonand Karl Malone a lot of the time on offense. I also don't need to watch a lot of video to realize that practically every team runs the same basic philosophy on offense: throw the ball down low; draw the double team; pass the ball out to the perimeter and shoot. (Gee, that offense sure is difficult to learn.)

I love defense. Defense does win championships; however, team defenses have very little to do with the consistent drop in team scoring over the last ten seasons. I believe great defense consists of forcing your opponent into taking shots they don't want to take and / or taking more contested or difficult shots and then grabbing the defensive rebound.

However, a team can play great defense and still get scored on by great offense. Teams knew the Bulls would go to Michael Jordan when the shot clock was winding down and they knew where Mike was going to get the ball. Plus, Mike would draw two, three, and sometimes four defenders; but, he would still manage to score despite the tight coverage. Great offense beating great defense.

Shooting is an art. Players have to work on shooting everyday. Great shooters can shoot with a hand in their face which further proves today's players cannot shoot. A lot of ball players today throw up worse bricks with an uncontested shot than they do with a hand in the face.

The toughest part of coaching is to get players to play as a team. Good team chemistry is more difficult to obtain than designing Xs and Os.

Players have been running fast breaks and scoring in transition since their days of playing pick up ball in junior high school. So, why are coaches forcing players to play stall ball in those boring half court sets?

Obviously, a team cannot be successful running for an entire game; but, half court basketball is not going to get the job done either. Hell, even the half court offenses no longer emphasize player movement or ball movement. Spread the offense; go one on one; and either dunk the ball or toss up a brick.

I'm glad to say more teams (the Rockets and Pistons to name two) are running more fast breaks this pre - season. Let's hope it lasts through the regular season.