Play on the Ground
Eight games that help players finish under control
After watching a countless number of games the last few days, the same thing kept happening at the rim. Players leaving the floor too early, throwing up off balance shot attempts, and getting nothing from the official. There was contact on a lot of them. The whistle stayed quiet because the player looked out of control. When you are out of control, you do not get rewarded.
The main issue was one foot takeoffs. A one foot takeoff is easily knocked off balance and easy for a shot blocker to time. There is a time and a place for it, when you have a speed advantage and the defender is trailing. The rest of the time you want to get to two feet. If it is a shoulder/chest read with the defender, you go off two feet, because there is going to be contact.
You would think that after watching Jalen Brunson average 32.6 points a game in the NBA Finals, take Finals MVP, and carry the Knicks to their first title since 1973, every young player would take notice of how he scored. None of it was above the rim. He plays on the ground. He plays out of pivots. He plays at his pace and never gets sped up. Whether it is a shoulder/chest or a chest/chest situation, he has an answer for the defender every time.
For basketball purists it is pure poetry to watch his feet. The feet are the foundation for everything you do in this game. Watch his foot get outside the defender and force a reaction. Most of it never makes the SportsCenter highlights. In the Game 5 clincher he went 13 of 15 from the free throw line. He earned every one of those trips by staying on the ground and absorbing contact under control.
At the high school level everyone wants to play fast. Fast without control puts you in off balance situations. The eight games below break finishing down into pieces. Each one isolates a single part of staying on the floor and getting to the rim with options still open.
Adjust the intensity dial on every one of these based on age and skill level. Start with a guided defender and build up to live. You can also add constraints to the defender to bring it down a notch. Put their hands behind their back or at their side, or give the defender a basketball to hold so the hands are taken out of it. As the finisher grows, take the constraints off and let the defender go live.
Game 1. Block Finish
Offense and defense start at each block with outside foot on block. Offense says “Go.” Looks to pound and power slide with outside/inside footwork. Inside shoulder is lined up with rim. Shoulders parallel to basket. Defense is trying to block shot. Offense is looking to draw contact first lock defender in jail. 10/2 o’clock with arms. After a few reps on each side. Move back to 1st hash mark after a couple of reps.
Game 2. Rip Finish
Defense holds ball on platter. Offense rips ball out of defender’s hands and severs the angle for finish.
Game 3. Facing Finish
Offense and defense are facing each other. Offensive player is dribbling. Can go at anytime. Offense looks to sever angle and get defender on their back. K.O.B. Keep Off Back
Those first three set the feet. The next five turn the defender loose, from guided all the way to live, with contact, cutoff decisions on the move, and finishes off the skate and the help. Paid subscribers get all five below.
