A is the Answer
Posted in New Posts, News on April 27th, 2010 by Troy Miles
I’ve been bombarded recently with questions on the distinguishing factors of top players in the NBA. Of course, top players are able to focus on what’s necessary for success in the moment of exchange. Looking around the league, there are so many players with physical and technical gifts. Why is it that some players - regardless of their talent, find it difficult to have consistent success. So many mega-stars lose their luster once they hit the league. There’s no denying environmental factors play a role. but all things equal (physically , technically and environmentally), why does player A find consistent success, while player B struggles. It all comes down to application or execution of skill sets… the A in PTAG. Physical and technical skills are great if properly applied… period.
I’ve said before that many of the top players in the NBA ( and all levels for that matter) do the same things. I’m going to list the top six amenities (default settings) successful players incorporate into their play.
1) Successful players are “stay first” artists, which means they understand the A-B-C’s of play. The Law of Leadership grants the offensive player the right the be A or first and thus force the defender to respond to an action as B; then the offensive player gets to “C” what to do and be continuous contrary to manipulate.
2) Top players typically have outstanding ROM or range-of-motion ( with the body and ball). ROM (body) is the range of movement forward with the shoulders and control foot without committing to actual movement. This mechanism slurs the motion of offensives players and gives them more time to process the “B” movement of the defenders. ROM (ball) is the range of movement with the arm towards the lane , without committing to the dribble.
3) Top players use “hover” and “false legs” maneuvers off-the-dribble and quick sticks and up-fakes off-the-catch to stay first and contrary.
4) Top players represent themselves with their shoulders or “Blades”during play and flex on contact.
5) Top players use “fractions-of-steps” to manipulate and play at a moderate to slow pace. These players are rarely out of control and exploit defensive foibles with explosive and decisive action.
6) Top players have a broad “scope-of-vision.“ This is the ability to see up from the floor and the rim at the same time. This provides early vision of the environment and slows the action of the game down (perceptively) making processing and decision-making much easier.
There are optimum-defaults for every part and facet of the game. Make a point to start identifying why certain players are having success and how certain situations are handled. The more you watch the more you’ll realize what I already know: OMG.. they’re all doing the same things!
