Late Offense

Coaches often talk about their Early Offense and how it can create easy opportunities for points off of the fast break.  An area that is often ignored though is the Late Offense, which has the potential to create even more easy scores.  By Late Offense, we mean the potential to score at the end of an offensive possession - Offensive Rebounding.

While a team is in defensive transition, it is not only vulnerable to giving up easy and open shots, but it is also very susceptible to allowing easy put-backs of missed shots.  Crashing the offensive boards makes sense for “running teams” because they can easily add to their offensive efficiency.  Not only can the offense have “numbers” on the transition, but they can have “numbers” on the offensive boards too, if they crash hard and intelligently.

If the #1 and #2 players are assigned to “get back” when an offensive shot goes up, a  team will be assured of having at least one safety for defensive transition.  If the #1 shoots, #2 will get back and vice-versa.  If a front-line player shoots, both #1 and #2 will be back, but at least two front liners will still be free to crash the boards.  By training a team to have the three front-line players always crashing, the offensive picks up the Late Offense that will make a difference in offensive production.  As a coach, you will need to train these players to do this every time, in every situation including practice drills, scrimmages, and games.  Insist that all drills end with a score, especially when there is no defense present as in 5 on 0 Offense, post player individual work, fast break drill, or other such training situations.

Teaching the front-line players about the “70% Side Rule” for offensive rebounding is also an important part of Late Offense.  This “rule of thumb” suggests that any missed shot taken from one side of the court will rebound across the basket to the other side of the court 70% of the time.  With this knowledge, a smart offensive player will run to the opposite side of the basket for any shot attempt and prepare for the higher percentage chance of a rebound.  By consistently stationing oneself on the side of the court where most missed shots fall, a player has a better chance of getting an offensive put-back.  The “70% Rule” also applies to shots taken from straight on too, as missed shots taken from in front of the basket will bounce straight back toward the shooter 70% of the time.

With the knowledge of where missed shots end up, the consistency of three front-line players crashing the boards, and the insistence of the coach requiring these tactics, teams will become even more efficient on offense.  Late Offense is a great concept for all teams that want to increase offensive production, but it is even more effective for fast breaking teams.