Today is the aftermath of the Euro-challenge Final Four. It has been a long road back for me personally, from 4 torn hamstrings, to 1 and half seasons of sitting, therapy, and watching basketball from the sidelines. I can tell you this: sitting out and watching basketball when you are used to playing is an emotionally challenging task. Quite simply, it can be downright sad.
Sad in the sense that you know you can help, or you can do certain things on the court to help win a game; like watching your team turn the ball over in a crucial moment, or make a bad read, or not do a certain rotation on defense. All these small details really matter. Awareness of the small details matter, whether it is training, playing, or coaching. Getting perspective on the sideline for almost 2 seasons has confirmed this much.
The beauty of basketball is paying attention to the details. The small nuances of an offense, a defense, how to get a team out of its rhythm, how to change your approach to guarding a player, a team, doubling a big man, rotating from a double team, and things of this nature really affect the outcome of a game.
If you have teams that are equal in talent, then it comes down to these small things. That's what I learned at the European Final Four. It's the small things. The team that won didn't have the most talent, but they had the small details-- the guarding pick and rolls, the ball movement, the rotations, the hybrid zone that went man to man, the offensive rebounding because of their ability to move the ball and get defenses out of position, these small details all added up and helped them win, when realistically they weren't the most talented.
This is basketball to me.
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