Coaches often preach to their teams about how “every possession counts” and it surprises me how few players really understand what the coach is trying to get across to them.
Players usually assign tremendous value to a possession (for a shot) when their team is down by two-points with just a few seconds left on the clock. Well of course those possessions are important. But at the end of a close game, the wasted possessions in the first half of the game are probably the reason the game is so close at the end of the game.
For our team, last season’s Lakeside game (link) drove the point home about how every possession (especially free throws) is absolutely critical in a close game. Up by one point, we miss five free throws in the final 47 seconds and Lakeside hits two free throws with 5.3 seconds left to beat us by one point.
In addition to placing value on every possession (especially free throws), it is important to never give up until the final buzzer sounds. Reggie Miller proved that time and time again in his career. With 18.7 seconds left and his team down by six points, Miller scored six points in 3.7 seconds and ended up scoring eight points in the final 18.7 seconds.
Never give up!
4:13
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