1

8 Powerful Cures for a Basketball Team That Has Gone Cold on Offense-

hoopskills.com

8 Powerful Cures for a Basketball Team That

Has Gone Cold on Offense

-by Coach Andy Louder Http://www.hoopskills.com

All basketball teams go through periodic

stretches where the offense sputters. There

are various reasons why it happens but that is

a topic for another day, what I want to focus

on with this articles is how to get out of that

funk once you are in it. Too many teams lose

games simply because they go through too

long of intervals where there is no rhythm or

flow to their offense. It's unrealistic to think

that your team should never go through one

of these periods, if you hold that attitude

you're setting yourself up for failure because it

happens to everyone. It's not a matter of if it's a

matter of when.

The difference between winning teams vs. mediocre teams is the winning teams

quickly recognize when their offense is stale and they quickly do something about

it. Losing or mediocre teams just try to weather the storm. They may realize

something isn't right but instead of being proactive about it they think of it almost

like they caught a nasty virus and all they can do is wait until it's out of their

system. Don't be that team! The following is a list of 8 very effective things you

can do to stop the bleeding. These are small and simple things that you need to

consider doing whenever you find your offense sputtering. You'll be surprised at

how quickly your team can get back on track just by implementing one or a few of

these remedies.

2

8 Powerful Cures for a Basketball Team That Has Gone Cold on Offense-

hoopskills.com

It's important to note that some of these will be more effective for your team

than others. It's up to you to analyze the situation and make the best decision

based upon the strengths and weaknesses of your team. It also goes without

mentioning that the first step before any of this is to call a time-out. A time-out is

crucial because it stops the other team's momentum and it brings your entire

team together so you can discuss what approach you are going to take to get back

on track.

1. Make the Extra Pass

A very common reason teams struggle offensively is that of selfish play. Players

are more concerned about their own stats and so they take quick shots before the

defense has to work. In these situations I've seen a lot of coaches demand that

there be a certain number of passes after the ball passes half-court before a shot

goes up. Moving the ball around forces the defense to work and eventually it

creates open shots. You'll be amazed at how many easy baskets you'll get if you

make the defense work hard by fighting through picks, chasing the ball and

closing out.

2. Force a Turnover

Forget about offense and do everything in your power to force some turnovers. I

see a lot of players get so caught up in how poorly they are playing on offense

that it causes them to be less effective on defense because they are so consumed.

A better option is to put all your energy into making something happen on

defense. A turnover usually results in an easy basket and easy baskets build

confidence.

3. Get to the Foul Line

This is a strategy many great NBA players like Steve Nash, Deron Williams, Kobe

Bryant, etc. use whenever their teams are struggling on offense. Instead of trying

to hit a long jumper (a lower percentage shot) they take the ball to the basket

with every intention of either getting a lay-up or getting fouled. More times than

3

8 Powerful Cures for a Basketball Team That Has Gone Cold on Offense-

hoopskills.com

not they get fouled and get to calmly take two uncontested shots from the free

throw line. In a lot of cases this is all it takes to get the entire team's rhythm and

confidence back.

4. Take Advantage of the Mismatch

There are times when you need to forget about the offense and attack wherever

you have the advantage. Maybe you have an extremely quick guard on your team

that can get around his defender every time, or maybe you have a tall post player

that has a major size advantage. Whatever it might be use it! It drives me crazy

when I see stubborn coaches force their players to run a certain system when the

best shot they can get every time down the floor is to just give the ball to a

certain player that has the upper-hand on a mismatch. The whole point of an

offense is to get the best shot possible, don't over-complicate things!

5. Crash the Offensive Boards

Offensive rebounds are devastating to the morale of opposing teams. When you

are getting 2 or 3 opportunities to score to every 1 opportunity the other team

has, good things will happen. The other good thing about offensive rebounds is

they often result in easy baskets. Easy baskets are the best cure possible to a

stagnant offense. Make it a point that every player (except the safety defender

that gets back) crashes the boards. Make substitutions for those that don't.

6. Stop Shooting 3 Pointers

I'm not against the 3 point shot. I think it's a very important facet of the game

today and teams need to use it. I do however think that it's a bad shot whenever

a team is struggling offensively. As I mentioned on the previous point, easy

baskets are the cure to a stagnant offense. A 3 pointer isn't what I would define as

an easy shot. I would prefer my team to work the ball around the perimeter, set

some screens and try to get an easy bucket by making the defense work. The

other negative thing about the 3 point shot is the fact that misses are often long

rebounds that can result in the opposing team getting a head start to a fast break.

4

8 Powerful Cures for a Basketball Team That Has Gone Cold on Offense-

hoopskills.com

7. Spread the Floor and Let Your Best Player go to Work

You see this a lot in the NBA. When a team is in a drought offensively they will

often spread the floor and let their best player attack. If you have a very talented

player on your team that can create his own shot, I think this is a great strategy.

Chances are good that he'll get something going by getting to the basket, hitting

an open jumper or setting up a teammate for a wide open look when the double

team comes.

8. Play Full-Court Pressure Defense

This is when you tell your team to forget about offense because you're confident

that their rhythm will come back. Stress that for now you want to see an all-out

war on defense. Go into a full-court press and stress that you want to see

deflections and turnovers. When executed effectively a pressure defense results

in the other team making bad passes or taking bad shots. It also creates turnovers

that result in easy lay-ups.

Summary

Basketball is a game of runs. It's very important to recognize early when your

team is in an offensive sputter and to be proactive about doing something to get

out of it. There are a number of things you can do to shift the momentum and get

confidence and rhythm back in your offense. Think outside of the box and use

whatever strength's your team has to get back on track.