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If the other team has a poor free throw shooter, think about fouling to force them to shoot from the line in hopes that they miss. Even if they make both, you are in the same boat as if they had scored, but you have at least saved the time of the whole possession. This stage should not be entered too soon, but at some point, you will recognize that the opponent is taking too much time during their possessions to allow you enough time to come back.
Once you're in this "foul mode" and you are going to foul anyway, don't wait for too much time to run off of the clock. If you score, you might give your pressure defense a chance to steal a pass or two and then foul. Once it gets really late in the game and every second matters, then your team should foul immediately upon the in-bounds pass. At this stage in the game, when your team misses a shot, they should go for every offensive rebound with the intent to get the rebound at all costs. If the referee happens to call a foul, you were going to do that anyway, and you'll stop the clock immediately. You'll be surprised at how many offensive rebounds the team gets where the official does not call the foul!
Guru Spotlight |
Ray Lokar |