Anatomy of an Implosion: How Michigan Rock-Knocked Kansas (And Paved the Way for a Final Four Run)

On Streaks and Such

As sports enthusiasts, it’s in our nature to get hyped about what we witness -- and believe contemporary events of triumph trump those parallel in history. “I saw the Blake over Kendrick dunk in person.” “I was there to see Terry get Knigthed by LeBron.” “I witnessed the greatest team ever.” Our drive to compete is embedded in how we watch sport unfold. How quickly we forget the past, and (sometimes) how quick we are to dismiss the now.

During the current Heat streak, LeBron has been performing in the clutch with unfathomable numbers. He has had the opportunity to showcase his scoring and playmaking skills to the tune of a cumulative triple-double over 48 minutes in crunchtime. Miami’s drive for the NBA all-time record (the 1971-72 Lakers won 33 in a row) is, of course, much dependent on the rest of the team and James’ partner in streak-setting, Dwyane Wade. While (leading up to Wednesday night's game) LeBron is shooting 57 percent from the field and averaging 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.9 assists over these 23 games, Wade (35.8 mpg, .546 FG, 23.5 ppg, 4 rpg, 5.9 apg) isn’t far behind. It’s safe to say they are a hot duo.

A fair comparison, of course, is the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls team who holds the best regular season record with 72 wins and just 10 losses, a mark that barely overtook those aforementioned Lakers. In all this talk of greatest players ever and what (may) become the best team of all time, we recount what those Bulls did (two separate streaks of 13 and 18 in a row) and how they did it.

Perhaps it’s not how many in a row that really matters, but the significance of the wins during the streak. People say that in order to be mentally focused and physically ready for the grueling playoff run it’s important to have critical rest. The NBA schedule doesn’t help matters -- it’s an uncontrollable part of the process. But coaches and players can help themselves by earning valuable recovery periods, albeit slim, during games. The memory I have of that Bulls team is Jordan and Pippen and other starters being able to take some time off during the fourth quarters because they were blowing teams out. Chicago won four games in a row by 24-plus points that saw Jordan and Pippen average just 68.5 minutes together (96 is max in regulation). The best Heat streak so far is a 4-game stretch of win margins by 10, 13, 19, and 24. Despite Miami’s widest point margin being Chicago’s lowest in those big wins, the tandem of LeBron and Wade still only played 69.8 minutes.

Though the Bulls bullied through another 3-game mini streak with wins of 20, 20, and 22, it didn’t alter the overall brunt of minutes Jordan and Pippen endured during the 18 game excitement. Coincidentally, Jordan’s average minutes during this time were the exact same as LeBron’s (through 23 games): 37.5 mpg. MJ shot 51 percent and averaged 31.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists during the stretch. Pippen? You guessed it -- practically on par with Wade at 35.9 minutes per game to go along with 21.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists.

The dilemma of when to rest and how to do it is much of a coaching staff’s dialogue. Being able to keep players fresh while helping them stay engaged is crucial, while forecasting for the long term (postseason run) digs deep in their minds. Much discourse can also be consumed in HOW teams play. Do players take plays off to rest? If so, does the offensive system limit pounding on the lower extremities? The Bulls triangle offense was a passing game, quite different than what Miami does. The latter consists of lots of dribble drives, pick and roll action, and isolations. It takes more energy to explode to the paint with the ball than it does to cut without it -- mental pace varies. Those Bulls were a tremendous passing team and Jordan, despite a stigma of shooting too much, was a fabulous set up guy (just go back and watch some of those late 90’s games). More energy consumption may lie in how a team collaborates, whether on the floor or not.

One would think it beneficial -- the more blowouts, the better -- so that the prime players can rest, but (for example) is an 8-minute differential (the difference between a 32-minute night and 40) really all that helpful? Perhaps more mentally than physically. LeBron has been willing his team to win in several close games, comebacks and overtime to boot. Jordan, however, didn’t regularly have to play in the closing minutes (the Bulls had only three single-digit wins of their 18; the Heat have had nine thus far). MJ could sit and smile and oversee his mastery, one that passed him by in many fourth quarters and left evidence of his (and Pippen’s) dominance. He, in effect, let himself out of work early. LeBron, however, has to muster the (mental) stamina to close these games out. Though playing time is similar it’s WHERE the minutes occur that really matter. Stats are harder to come by when the game is close, when teams are structuring every possession to get stops. It’s a grind, and in that scenario, LeBron is performing at one of the highest levels we’ve ever seen -- it’s also enabling him to produce those stats. (Haters will insert selfish stat production theory here, a broader scheme of missing bunnies intentionally to gather more boards.)

The intention here is not to compare players or even teams for the sake of winning an argument -- it’s just too difficult even with NBA2K simulations and all the advanced statistics available. (Though, do note, that Bulls squad was No. 1 in the League in both offensive and defensive efficiency in ‘95-’96.) It’s not even worth going into how those ‘71-’72 Lakers dominated in a completely different era. (They had only 11 single digit wins of their 33, and tallied three 30-plus victories, two 40 or more.) What’s significant is watching Miami dominate with dynamic teamwork and skills.

Let’s just sit back and enjoy the evolution.

One Man Wizadry

Is it just coincidence the Clippers haven't lost a game with Chauncey Billups back on the bench? Had he traveled with the team during the disheartening triple game road trip would there have been all the talk about L.A. threatening to denounce Vinny Del Negro as coach? Painting a picture of frenzy in the Clips locker room? Most likely. It's not as if the Clippers are blowing teams out of the water in these recent home wins, helping them to their first four game win streak since February.

But one thing's for sure. Billups makes them better. On the court. On the bench. Standing on the sideline. Just being there.

Chris Paul says it's no secret that Billups gives them an advantage. A sounding board. A winning presence. He needs to travel with the team.

Last night, towards the end of the tight battle between Portland and L.A., the ESPN camera caught a great angle of the Clippers huddle: Del Negro squatted in a typical coaching position, five players sitting in front of him.

But the one guy who was talking? Billups. And all eyes were pegged on him. The team was looking to him for advice -- and it's not the first time. At least once during each of the last several home games, it's apparent that he is a key cog in what L.A. is doing. (Hence a suggestion from Bill Simmons that Billups just take over as coach.) Billups is the Wizard of Lob City, only not hidden behind a giant curtain.

Kevin Arnovitz explains the scene on TrueHoop:

"In the preceding huddle (Clips down one with 13.9 seconds to play), Chauncey Billups, in street clothes and saddled with a boot, implored the team to forget about the preceding possession. With Randy Foye up in his face, Crawford launched a ... well ... Crawfordian, high-arcing contested jumper that gave Portland a one-point lead. With the Clippers' starting five and coach Vinny Del Negro listening intently, Billups also offered tips about how to free up Paul in the event the Clippers' point guard would be blanketed by the rangy Nicolas Batum."

Dynamics matter. One guy can very well make a difference between a win and a loss, whether playing or not. Much of it comes down to trust. Mutual respect for one another. A belief system within a team. It's great to see the Clippers execute strategy, but even greater to see them working together, particularly after a tough couple weeks of banter and cheap shots.

Oh -- It's nice to have Chris Paul, too.

Battle L.A.: Winning, Losing, and the Complexities of Teams

Attention Los Angeles: There is an intense psychological study happening right now. And its power is becoming more potent daily. We have the undeniable fortune of witnessing it first hand; not with one team but two.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of forming a cohesive unit under the guidance of a new coach in Mike Brown. Gradually, and with the help of one of the best home records in basketball (19-3 as of Friday afternoon), the Lakers have earned the second best record in the western conference and currently have a hold on the No. 3 playoff spot.

Meanwhile, the Lakers’ housemates, the Los Angeles Clippers, are unraveling as I write. After a legitimately strong start to the season -- which led to conceivably unfair expectations -- they have lost three in row and are on the verge of slipping even lower in the standings (currently No. 6 in west) after hovering at the top. There is banter of a lost team. The ribbing reeks of things like: Vinny Del Negro has lost the locker room. Chris Paul doesn’t trust his teammates. Why doesn’t Blake Griffin get in the post? Why isn’t DeAndre Jordan playing? None of these statements are surprising. It’s sports. And its professional sports. Players and coaches who make millions of dollars are supposed to win, and when they’re not, they’re supposed to find ways to win. And when they don’t? Fans and media, not to mention players, begin blaming everyone else.

The problem is finger pointing helps nobody. It makes teams turns into a hodgepodge of mixed emotions, hope and happiness gone awry. The Clippers are in a deep, dark hole now. Clipper Nation feels it and, as such, the easy answer, and something perceived to work based on the recent re-resurrection of the New York Knicks, is to say, “Off with the head.” Sure, getting rid of the head coach is simple. After all, with all of the perceived talent on the Clippers -- and the best point guard in the NBA -- there is no way they should be falling to the bottom of the playoff race. But when the pieces are analyzed and the situation spotted with some clarity, perceptions may change.

Down the hallway at Staples, the Lakers’ gold is shining brighter. Maybe Metta World Peace realizes Mike Brown is more than a “stat guy”, as he referred to him several weeks ago. Certainly, there is less weight on Pau Gasol’s frame as he made it past the trade deadline to remain a Laker. Despite the awkward farewell to Derek Fisher, there is a spritely young point guard in Ramon Sessions who has a higher PER (23.8) in his four games than any of his teammates. And let’s face it, Kobe Bryant runs the team. He acknowledges that he is going to keep taking his shots, and he’ll be the go-to guy in the clutch. That’s what he has always worked hard to do and that’s what he, admittedly, is paid to do. But more than the shooting talk, he is the leader. The culture of winning and him being the guy is in place. And this scenario shows itself even more in the extenuating circumstances of there being almost no practice time to formulate a solid system under a new coach.

The Clippers are like any other team in that they, too, had limited training camp time and now have no practice opportunities. But, who is the vocal leader of the locker room? Chris Paul is wonderful on the court: He directs traffic. He reads opponents’ sets and calls out to his teammates what they’re running. He makes it a point to get others involved and find his shot when necessary, frequently in the closing minutes. Blake is a beast, physically, and actions on the court are eye-popping, especially when he is hustling, getting deflections, and diving for loose balls (as he did much more earlier in the season). But the culture of winning doesn’t yet exist for the Clippers. Del Negro was given Paul and, for obvious reasons, has given him the ball. With Billups gone, the Clippers not only lost a gamer, a Finals MVP, and charismatic competitor, they lost belief and cooperation. When they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in late January, they had major moxy, and not just because of Griffin’s inconceivable slam on Perkins. Billups was on the floor. A pressure relief and pure baller. Lob City was in full effect, 3-pointers were soaking wet, and the folks on the bench were up and dancing. It was a true team, magnified by a 56.2 percent field goal percentage display aided by 28 assists. Fans were literally jumping out of their seats. Heck, I couldn’t help but be one of them.

At the same time, people questioned the Lakers’ system. What are they running? What is the rotation? Can Brown really coach offense? Is Kobe unhappy again?

Linsanity soon introduced itself and all attention turned to the east, particularly when Kobe half joked about who Jeremy Lin even is -- and then lost to the new Knicks as they put together an exciting stretch of team basketball. Soon after, however, New York’s unity altered. Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire were reintroduced, and unfortunately for Mike D’Antoni, chimed in as figures who confused the team’s newfound equation with Lin as the floor leader. What seemed like an easy route to take (saying goodbye to D’Antoni) has only appeared like the perfect answer as the Knicks have fired off five straight wins, fairly convincingly, under new coach Mike Woodson. The question we all have is: Will it continue?

The honeymoon stage doesn’t last forever. If it did, all coaches who have turned teams into contenders midway through grueling seasons would still have their jobs. Jeff Van Gundy said it best today on 710 ESPN. When he took over the Knicks, they beat the best Bulls’ team ever -- the one that went 72-10 -- handedly. For some reason, a new takeover relaxes players, gives them new hope. It’s the storming phase of psychology, when everything is fresh and exciting and hope has a way of injecting hustle and high-fives into players who once seemed apathetic and aged. But as Van Gundy discovered, it didn’t last for all of eternity, partly because adversity strikes, good opponents adjust and get better as the season goes on, and teams get comfortable.

Think of the psychological formations and transformations of teams like a weightlifting regimen. Starting out, one gets stronger and immediately sees results. Effects can be extreme. Intrinsic motivation is felt in one’s mind and body. Extrinsically, friends and colleagues comment on how good one looks all of a sudden. A new exercise is one’s best friend and makes one feel even better.

And then there is a plateau. After several weeks of hype, it’s not as easy any longer. Building muscle and increasing strength is more difficult. In fact, improvement becomes a struggle. The person has to change something within the routine; otherwise he or she quits. But here is the key point: He doesn’t go out and buy a new flat bench with new weights. That’s like assigning blame to a basketball because it isn’t going through the hoop. He figures out other ways to train, alters routines, talks to himself in a different way, communicates with others about new exercises, and attacks the training from a different angle.

Simply stated, he works through it with what he has available, and if possible, adds another exercise. The Lakers worked through early issues and then added Sessions to make them more powerful. The Clippers started strong, heightened expectations in the beginning, and now have to deal with what they have: A frustrated superstar, a really young but powerful forward, and other players who haven’t been around too much winning and consistency.

Don’t underestimate the significance of winners simply being around a team. Is it a coincidence that when Billups returned from his hiatus of surgery and recuperation this past weekend to sit on the Clippers’ bench at Staples that they won two games? It’s unfortunate he didn’t travel with the team this week on its devastating road trip. Perhaps results would have been different just by his mere presence, one that promotes winning by focusing on the process and attempting to communicate effectively. Del Negro and Paul both turned to Billups for advice on Saturday and Sunday.

Ploughing through mounds of muck can be done, but people have to want to make it happen. Words turn into strong statements. People remember those, whether they are encouraging or dismantling. When teams lose, players don’t want to talk to one another; on the other side, positive team culture permeates and energizes. At the very least, it makes people play hard and provides ambition and engagement.

The study continues this weekend...

Be Mindful of Coaching Speed and Structure

This article was originally posted on the HoopSpeak Coaches Forum on November 21.

As coaches constantly cultivating our craft, we start out the season with myriad ideas concocted from a long off-season of watching, debating and theorizing. Then we attempt to integrate possible new schemes and skills into our philosophy and overall vision.

Many coaches tend to move fast, not necessarily in their physical movements, but in their teachings. The John Wooden maxim, “Be quick, but don’t hurry” that was intended for player pace has applicability to coaches as well. Coaches who move too quickly – especially when it comes to the implementation of new plays and skills – may end up behind.

According to Dr. Justin Anderson, a sport psychologist for Premier Sport Psychology in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., groups often move too fast without understanding how to connect the dots, specifically between an individuals’ intrinsic motivation, team goals, and players’ roles and responsibilities. “If a team hasn’t thought of or discussed goals, and the coaches haven’t talked about what the overall process is, they are operating without purpose,” says Anderson, “and the team is being served an injustice.”

How well we teach, how organized we are, and how long it takes our players to “get it” varies year to year. No matter what, though, Anderson emphasizes that trust and understanding of purpose exist. Don’t run drills because they look cool or because you think you need a bunch of new ones each day. Those drills might not apply to your philosophy, program, or personnel. Don’t run an offense simply on the basis that it works great for another team. Think about values your players will grasp and how to instill camaraderie. “The team has to understand the ‘why’,” insists Anderson.

We spend hours brainstorming and creating practice plans – and we attempt to stick to the schedule. For many coaches, the plan is printed down to the minute, and their goal is to stay on task. Know that it’s okay to fill up the schedule with everything you hope to get to that day, but understand that drills may be trumped – and those should be noted – to stay on a particular skill set or play until the team is ready to move on. It’s most important, especially in the first month of the season, to make sure everyone gets “it”.

The “it” doesn’t solely refer to plays, moves, and drills, but also goals and roles. Anderson says teams need to have structure in place first, a key to building any organization. From a solid foundation, process goals (i.e., action items) are created which can influence outcomes. For example, rotating and recovering on defense effectively (process) will improve field goal percentage defense (outcome). “It’s all related to the old psychological theory of forming, storming, norming, and performing,” says Anderson. [Briefly, the season begins and a team is created; players jockey for position; a hierarchy related to roles and responsibilities is established; and, theoretically, a team gels and performs at a high level.] “By working with structure, processes, and people, trust is formed and teams operate more efficiently.” And depending on the make-up and experience of the team, these -ing phases are accomplished at varying rates. Teams with seasoned veterans may make it to the norming and performing stages more rapidly than less experienced teams.

Our current Caltech team is light years ahead of where the squad was a couple years ago. It’s early, so players are competing within our system – they’re storming – and some are using skills needed to perform at a high level while understanding their particular roles (norming). We’ve been quick to get to offensive and defensive team play rather than being forced to use practice time for individual development. We hope all of this translates to “performing” quicker than ever once games commence. This season’s roster includes nine juniors – all who were recruited by the current staff – and who the coaches know very well. Prior teams didn’t have that type of experience; therefore, we focused on fundamentals that would eventually become part of our system. One could say we were still storming at the end of the season.

In any case, we thought long and hard as a coaching staff with regards to where we wanted to be a month into the season and highlighted the “why” and “how” of teaching. With varying levels of experience, getting caught up in the execution of three different defenses and a dozen half court sets ignores the people involved and the team as a whole. If we haven’t grasped a concept in practice (e.g. how to screen and seal appropriately or where to go in transition), then we stay with it and save the next drill for the next day.

“Don’t undervalue the concept of team,” suggests Anderson. “A true team is one where all individuals, including coaches, sacrifice and know what works best for the group. It takes a great deal of humility.”