Start With Score & Situation
Spurs just pulled with 7 after Devin Vassell converted a free-throw after an And-1 drive. There are 5 minutes remaining which means plenty of time, particularly in the NBA for either team to come away with the win.
Coaching With The Lead
Focus on ball control and conversions: offensive execution and defensive rebounding.
Coaching With A Deficit
Again, the NBA 7-point lead is not quite the same as high school or college given the shot clock and professional ability to shoot from the perimeter, also notwithstanding the luxury of advancing the ball during time-outs. However, Kevin Durant & Co. currently has the lead, so stringing together consecutive stops will be a challenge and the pace of play has to be amplified with a bit more urgency on offense.
Alternating Defense
In previous possessions leading up to the 5-minute mark, the Spurs were playing man-to-man; after Vassell’s free throws Coach Gregg Popovich decided to mix in the 3-2 zone. This would lead to 3 straight stops, cutting the lead to a 3-point game after a layup and a couple of free throws.
Stops Add Tension
Do professionals playing an 82-game regular season get tense during late-game situations? I’d bet the majority still do, yet the point remains a string of stops from a defensive wrinkle can be the catalyst for momentum shifts. Even after the Suns hit a shot to stretch the lead to 6 points with 2:50 remaining, the Spurs stayed engaged in the mission by responding with a 3 of their own to cut it back down to a single possession.
How Many Possessions Will It Work?
There’s a reason you didn’t press or play zone for an entire game. The coaching staff lacks trust for sustainable success, right? So it works in spurts, and then there is a foul leaving 14 seconds remaining on the shot clock of a sideline out of bounds.
Decision is made to go back to man-to-man defense, and Kevin Durant does KD things.
A Sub, A Sense Of Urgency, & 2nd Chances
Victor Wembanyama had been out during this entire stretch. After the Durant runner, Spurs called a timeout to make a situation substitution to get the rookie phenom back in the game. This would ultimately lead to 4 pivotal points during the final minute of the game.
Shot Making
To earn a win from behind, players have to hit shots. It’s that simple. Wembanyama has a shot release nearly at the rim as it is, but a half-hearted switch between Durant & Grayson Allen virtually allows an uncontested shot here from the baseline inbounds play.
Shot Watching
Coaches shield your eyes if this has happened to you in an end-of-game situation.
It’s not the same game as 20 minutes ago. It’s not the same game from even 5 minutes ago. To avoid losing a game with the lead defenses must finish each possession with a rebound. The sense of urgency from offensive players to crash the glass is at a maximum, so it is the worst time for a mental lapse of failing to box out a matchup. It can, and in this circumstance did, change the outcome of this game in a matter of seconds.
Final Possession
There’s no question who the play would be designed for, just a matter of where. More often than not defenses rely on switching every screen to avoid anyone getting hung up for a wide open shot. NBA Staffs are also so good at designing decoys and false motions to create conflict.
Not sure if Durant was supposed to read chase or switch on the baseline screen, but the inbounder never made eye contact for a 2nd option so the ball was going to him no matter what. The only thing a coach can ask for outside of a wide-open perfectly executed play is a clean look. The eventual Hall of Famer got a shot off yet was unable to convert.
Coach's Climb 