Every Play Counts

While watching college basketball this year, I was struck by how many teams fail to understand how important every possession is. Too many players make ill-advised passes, poor shots or fail to hustle. It seems as though they think that a basketball game provides lots of chances to make amends. With all the missed shots and turnovers, one more can't make much difference. We'll just get a stop on defense and be even. Wrong.

As a football coach, I found that the kids understood how any one play can be the difference in winning and losing. A lot of games are determined by a TD or less. You hustle on every block because you never know if it is the key to breaking one all the way. Same in baseball -- any pitch can end up in the seats and drive in the decisive runs of the game.

In hoops, every possession is worth a little over a point. That is the price of a careless turnover. Making the extra pass and working for a slightly better shot pays off. Forcing the opponent to work a little harder on offense and contesting every shot makes a difference by game's end. How much? Each percentage point increase in shooting percentage is worth about a point. Each offensive rebound adds better than a point.

By the end of the game, these points add up. How many bubble teams at 16-13 would have been a lock for the dance at 20-9? How many more wins would they have had, if they could have found an extra handful of points each night?