THE SIMPLICITY OF TIM DUNCAN
"Simple" is a word that you will hear about on this site day in and day out. Today, the popular thing to teach players are these "moves" that are performed by some of the best players in the NBA. Most are low percentage over dribbled usually ending in a step back or fade away.
Sometimes in situations where there is low game/shot clock I understand that a tough low percentage shot must be taken. In the flow of the game if you watch enough high level basketball you notice that uncontested/high percentage shots are the ones that the NBA's biggest stars like to take.
In today's game the ISO is something that you see less and less of especially with good teams. The game is about ball movement, screen & roll, cutting, fast breaks etc. One facet of the game that is getting less and less popular is throwing the ball into the post. Most of the big men in the NBA involve themselves more with rolling on screen rolls, rim running, cutting, and playing off of the high post. Very rarely do you see teams play with two traditional big men like the Lakers did with Bynum/Gasol, Memphis did with Gasol/Randolph, or Spurs Robinson/Duncan. Most of the teams play with a 5 man and a stretch 4 who spaces the floor with their shooting and ability to pick and pop in the half court.
Because most of the game is dominated from the perimeter, post players don't get the opportunity to isolate and take a lot of time creating offense for themselves. When they get touches on the low/mid post they need to make them count. When developing young bigmen I think it's important to give them a small package of siple moves in the post with some counters to go along with them. This will keep your bigs relevant enough on the block where they can score or get to the free throw line and keep defenders honest.
Tim Duncan is a name that everyone knows. He cut his teeth with the simplicity and high skill level of his game. Very rarely did he take a low percentage shot in the flow of the game. His fundamentals were second to none. His most popular shot probably was his face up bank shot. Since he was the master of that 10-12 foot bank shot defenders had to overplay him which opened up so many other reads and opportunities to score.
Duncan will go down in history as one of the best bigmen EVER to play the game. He is a player that every young big should try to emulate and every young bigman coach should try to take notes on. Our game today is about efficiency and trying to help our teams/players take the highest percentage shots possible. When watching and evaluating players that you want to learn from watch their shots that they take in the flow of the game, not just the buzzer beaters or shots that end up on Sportscenter.
In the videos below I will post not only his bank shots, but a full array of other simple shots that he would take in the post. Understand the importance of developing 1 thing that your players can do great to instill fear into defenders. Once they have that it will force defenders to scramble and get out of their comfort zone/stance opening up a number of possibilities for your players.
CLIP#1
The Bank shot is one of Duncan's Signature moves. It enabled him to get a great look at a high percentage shot which opened up many other possibilities. The ability to use the glass not only on face ups, but hooks and other shots on both blocks made him just that tougher to guard. This is a very short, but educational video.
CLIP#2
This video is much longer. This is more of a breakdown of Duncan's entire post package. What I want you to focus in on is the simplicity. Most of the early moves was of him facing up and shooting that jumper with/without glass. A lot of hooks, fakes and simple shots that didn't eat up the shot/game clock. #DominateSimple
CLIP#3
When showing players film on a specific player that I want them to emulate, I think it's important not only to show highlights over the course of a season but also the shots that a player get throughout the course of 1 game. In this film I want you to watch his ability to get great positioning on the block as he does all of his work early. Next how his rim running puts pressure on the defense and gets him some easy looks to the basket. Lastly, his activity on both ends of the floor.
