Offensive and defensive assumptions behind Blitz Basketball

Last week, I re-formatted the diagrams in Blitz Basketball to make it available through Amazon Kindle. It was the first time that I had read the book since I wrote it in 2008 (originally in 2006, with the second version completed in 2008). After a decade, I was happy to see that much of the book has held up to the test of time. Specifically, I think many current offenses and defenses are based on the same or similar assumptions that I used when developing the offensive and defensive systems initially. The original 10 assumptions from Blitz Basketball were:

1. 1v1 in open space, the offensive player has the advantage.
2. Teams who make a lot of free throws win a lot of games.
3. When a defense is forced to scramble, more fouls are committed and more offensive rebounds relinquished.
4. Offensive rebounds lead to fouls, points, and free throws.
5. A turnover is a wasted possession.
6. Catching the ball squared to the basket greatly improves a shooter’s percentage.
7. Dribble penetration is toughest to defend.
8. Most teams rely heavily on starters and see a big drop-off after their fourth or fifth player.
9. Offensive players are ill-equipped to handle pressure for a full game.
10. Forcing players to make decisions at a faster pace leads to mistakes

There are definite similarities to SABA: The Antifragile Offense, which is based on my current beliefs and teaching practices with higher level teams.I don't think of myself as a system coach, and I remain flexible depending on my personnel, but it is evident through the two books, written 10 years apart, that there are certainly beliefs upon which I base my systems and style of play from year to year.By Brian McCormick, PhDDirector of Coaching, Playmakers Basketball Development LeagueAuthor, The 21st Century Basketball Practice and Fake Fundamentals