THERE ARE NO SECOND CHANCES

Basketball is a game of details. And as they say, “the devil is always in the details.” Most players don’t worry too much about details early in a game. But not paying attention to details [especially early in a game] leads to uneccessary mistakes, and ultimately mistakes become the difference between winning and losing.

Scenario #1

A player takes an ill-advised shot early in the game. “So who cares. The other team gets the rebound, and besides, it was just one wasted possession right?” Okay, what if there are only 5.3 seconds left in the game and the other team has the ball… and your team is down by two or three-points? How much is that one extra possession for your team worth right now?

Scenario #2

You throw a pass to a wide-open shooter (the best shooter on your team) that is just a little too soft or slightly off target. “Yeah, yeah I know. So what… our best shooter had to adjust a little to catch it and no longer has the advantage of having an uncontested shot opportunity. Big deal, it was only one pass right?” Okay, what if there are only 5.3 seconds left in the game and the other team has the ball… and your team is down by two or three-points? How much would you pay to get back that one wide-open uncontested shot opportunity for your best shooter?

Scenario #3

You go for a steal and end up committing a foul rather than playing solid position defense. “Big deal… I picked up an early foul and allow some chump with little or no game to shoot two easy ones because they were in the Bonus.” Okay, what if there are only 5.3 seconds left in the game and your opponent has the ball… and your team is down by one-point. Will those two-points from the free throw line you gave your opponent, be the difference between winning and losing?

It’s not be the missed shot with 5.3 seconds left that really lost the game for your team [as most players would probably think]. Instead, it was probably the six or seven ill-advised shots taken early in the game. Or maybe the three or four sloppy passes to wide-open shooters early in the game. Or maybe even the lazy defense that resulted in a couple of trips to the free throw line for your opponent. Those types of mistakes ultimately determine the difference between winning and losing.

The team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins.

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