Situational Out of Bounds Plays

Coach, we are working on getting some of our older animations converted into viewable files where I may be enabled to demonstrate a few ideas.  I'll keep my eye on this question and forum track and add them as I am able.  For the time being I'm going to include the Intro to a written clinic I posted some years ago on the Highway called Inbounds Basics.  I hope this will spur some ideas for you prior to my being able to get some animations up for our Forum.  I know this doesn't directly address your question of time and situation but as my time allows I'll address that in a future feature clinic to the aid of many.

Inbounds Basics

Introduction 

Inbounds success is not something mystical or magical like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. A well prepared coach, who has thoroughly thought through their inbounds system, is more than capable of having their team pull the right play out of the hat at a critical juncture in a game.  While there is no data to support the following assertion, it would be my guess that a large percentage of coaches nab their favorite inbounds plays simply by copycatting the success their opponents have had against them.  While this is not necessarily the worst way to come by inbounds plays, too many coaches play musical chairs with their inbounds plays from year to year and simply do not take the time to analyze their inbounds attacks and why they use them.   Recently I read where inbounds play can amount to as much as 10 percent of the total offense for a team in a game.  Whether that percentage is accurate isn't so important as whether or not you are adequately prepared to meet your inbounds objectives.  You must prepare your inbounds system to give your team the best chance for inbounds success.  That is the purpose of today's Highway feature clinic.  

Establish a Clear Purpose on Your Inbounds

inbound system for a given year the first question you need to decide is how important is it for your team to score directly off of their inbounds plays. I have known several very successful basketball coaches who essentially take the approach to get the ball inbounds safely and go directly into their half court offensive sets.  For some this reduces the extra amount of practice time required of a large set of plays and simplifies the inbounds system for less court savvy players.  The other general approach is every inbounds play is a chance to score.  The latter of course requires much more preparation and practice but there are coaches who are also quite successful at breaking down their opponents on the inbounds.  I believe the good approach probably lies somewhere in-between these two extremes.  Too many inbounds plays poorly performed produce little results.  Too few plays which are predictable give the advantage to a defense who has well scouted their opponent. 
At the professional level less is better.  Because of the players experience and abilities to read defenses taking away specific players or cuts these simple plays have multiple reads or options.  This approach has it's advantages which I will discuss a bit later in this clinic when I talk about timing on inbounds plays. The best approach is to have two or three basic inbounds plays for under, sideline and back court which have numerous variations based on the defense shown, and game and time situations.

Location, Location, Location

Once you have established the goal of your inbounds plays (to score or not to score), the second question to ask is where do you want to inbound the ball.  If safety on the inbound is your primary concern often a deep pass into the backcourt, or away from the basket area may be your goal.  When scoring is your primary goal off the inbounds play consider whether the personnel on your team are better suited for vertical (inbounding the ball to a jumper above the rim) or horizontal (where quickness and the ability to penetrate might be your strengths). You should also take into account the individual skills of the players most likely to get the ball in scoring position off the initial inbounds pass. 
If you have one or more leapers on the team, having a vertical component on the inbounds play stretches the defense even more than an inbounds execute exclusively in one horizontal plain.  While Shaquille O'Neill may not be the best example because of his humongous size and athleticism, the Lakers run a simple inbounds play (see Pin and Spin animation below) where they open to the corners and force the lone defender on Shaq to completely deny him from cutting hard to the basket or give him the ball 3-5 feet from the basket.  When the defender plants hard in front of him to block his direct access to the ball and basket, Shaq seals, spins and they throw a lob about 3-4 feet out in front of the rim which he catch and easily slam dunk the pass.  This is a good example of using both horizontal and vertical components on a inbounds play.  Of course not many teams have a player of the size and strength of Shaq, however the concept can be used at levels where one particular player on your team is athletically much more superior than their defender.  The point here is whenever possible look isolate your best athletes when they have physical superiority over a defender.

Using Athleticism, Spacing, Location and Timing to Create A Scoring Chance
Pin and Spin-Inbounds Under versus Man
Timing- It's About Time Isn't It?

There are two concepts regarding timing on inbounds plays which I think are important to teach you and include as elements in every inbounds play.  The first has to do with running your plays from almost virtually the same court set each time.  The reason for this is that the human mind and body reacts slower to choices than to simple stimulus.  If your team is well scouted and you run a different formation for each inbounds play, a well prepared team is essentially going to know what you are going to run and anticipate and beat you to positions or break down the timing of your plays.  Different formations for different purposes make the defensive reaction time responses simple yes or no choices. However when you can run 3 or 4 cuts or variations of the same play from the same set, it becomes much more difficult for the defense to anticipate cuts and take them away.  When they do "over-anticipate" you have a counter (another choice) prepared to which they cannot quickly respond.  Multiple choices sets from the same inbound look reduce anticipation and keep the advantage of uncertainty in the inbounds teams court.  
The second important concept is to emphasize the importance of succinct timing and cuts in the execution of your inbounds plays. While most coaches know this, many of these same coaches have problems convincing their players of it's importance to successful inbounds execution.  The closer in proximity two consecutive actions are in time the less likely a defender quickly can respond to the second action.  This is based on the Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) concept of neuromuscular control which I have previously described in a Playground Pointer on our web site.

Structure- With Good Spacing, Defenders Get Lost In Space!

When considering the actual positioning players or structuring of the plays you select keep in mind that the rules which work well in your half court offense can be used to your advantage on most inbounds play sets as well.  Keep in mind these following points:

1. Remember the importance of proper spacing on inbounds plays.  While the stack was at one time an effective inbounds play I was never a big fan of that particular formation because it breaks the general offensive rule of good spacing.  Spacing off the inbounds play also makes it more difficult for defenses to double team, switch, or help down on a cutter without opening up a teammate for a score.  There may be situations where the stack will work for you, but I believe it works contrary to good offensive concept.  There are two exceptions to warrant using a vertical or horizontal stack.  First, would be if you use two big tall defenders to seal in a smaller defender for a quick pop out and shot.  The second would be against a zone defense where being able to seal in one or more zone defenders with little initial movement can free a shooter for a quick look.  I prefer a stack across the foul line versus the vertical one because it gives cutters better angles and provides more open space near the basket if are determined to use a stack.

2. Create screening actions that deters switching by the defensive team.  I see a lot of box sets where the post screens for the post and guards screen for one another. Simply switching these actions essentially nullifies the effects of these types of screens.  In your half court set it is becoming increasingly more popular to look for big to small or small to big screens.  These types of screens make it difficult to switch without creating an immediate mismatch the offensive team can take quick advantage of off the inbounds play.   Viola!, use big to small screens and vise versa in all aspects of your inbounds plays to minimize switching.  It also has the effect of reducing defensive pressure on the guard you may be attempting to inbound the ball if the defense is forced to or chooses to switch these situations.  Additional screening actions like staggered or double screens can also present problems for teams defending an inbounds play and cause unwanted switches, mismatches, or lead to open shots.

3. One element that should always be included in all inbounds plays is the concept of misdirection.  This means that the defense is strongly led to believe a given player is to get the ball in a specific location when in fact the goal is in another direction.  The importance of misdirection is in it's ability to take away help at the point of the inbounds pass reception, and that this kind of action often leads to switching which can itself create openings based upon poor defensive communications.  Switching also may lead to defensive player mismatches which can be exploited after the inbounds pass if you cannot score directly off the initial pass. 

4. Ball reversal following the initial attempt to score on the inbounds pass will create additional scoring opportunities by stretching the defense.  If your primary purpose is to score off the initial inbounds pass, the effectiveness of a second option can reduce the pressure on the initial option.  If defenders are mentally pre-occupied with a second option they are less likely to be prepared to defend the initial option, or vise versa.

5. Have a method of calling your inbounds plays that uses a hot signal that changes game by game to signify the play and option to reduce your opponents ability to scout and prepare for you.   The simplest form of this would be to use a two digit play calling system where either the first or second digit is used for the hot signal.  For example, you have 3 different inbounds plays.  You could call 22, 32, or 21 and it would be difficult for your opponent to immediately know you are calling the play based on the second digit.  This system of hot calls works only if you have players mentally alert and capable of recognizing and executing the correct play.
Here is a quick summary of the basic rules we have discussed to this point:
When developing your inbound system for a given year the first question you need to decide is how important is it for your team to score directly off of their inbounds plays.
The best approach is to have two or three basic inbounds plays for under, sideline and back court which have numerous variations based on defensive and game situations.
Take into account the individual skills of the players most likely to get the ball in scoring position off the initial inbounds pass. 
The point here is whenever possible look isolate your best athletes when they have physical superiority over a defender.
Run your plays from almost virtually the same court set each time.
Multiple choices sets from the same inbound look reduce anticipation and keep the advantage of uncertainty in the inbounds teams court. 
Emphasize the importance of succinct timing and cuts in the execution of your inbounds plays.
When considering the actual positioning players or structuring of the plays you select keep in mind that the rules which work well in your half court offense can be used to your advantage on most inbounds play sets as well. 
Remember the importance of proper spacing on inbounds plays.
Create screening actions that deters switching by the defensive team.
One element that should always be included in all inbounds plays is the concept of misdirection.
Ball reversal following the initial attempt to score on the inbounds pass will create additional scoring opportunities by stretching the defense.
Have a method of calling your inbounds plays that uses a hot signal that changes game by game to signify the play and option to reduce your opponents ability to scout and prepare for you.