What Does It Take to Be a Championship Caliber Team?
How to get your team playoff ready
Yes, a star player can put you in the running year after year. But just one or even two stars is never enough to consistently win championships. We’ve seen it year after year. The right pieces have to fall into place. If you’re not a championship caliber team, there’s no way you could come back from a 3–1 series deficit like the Cavs did last year. Championship caliber teams know how to band together and find a way to win. They depend on playing well-rounded basketball, but there’s a few areas where championship teams excel. It’s those areas of the game that not everyone regularly works on, but with the Hustle app, you can easily work on these areas with your team.
Breaking the press: When the game is coming down to the wire and your team has the lead, there’s a good chance that your opponent is going to try to speed the game up and come away with a steal or forced turnover in the backcourt. To break the press, check out this drill on the Hustle app. If the defense sets up to press in a 1–2–1–1 formation, you should be able to get the ball inbounds to a big man coming towards the ball. Next, the man set up towards the middle should shoot down the sideline to receive a pass. If the pass is successful down the sideline, the other players should fill the middle and take the pass to start a fast break. No matter which offensive player takes the inbounds pass, they should always look for their initial pass to be moving the ball ahead before the trap arrives.
Defensive Trap: Championship caliber teams also know how to create opportunities for themselves, especially if they are trailing at the end of the game. One of the best ways to create opportunities is to trap your opponent either in the full court press or after the opponent crosses half court. With the Hustle app, you have access to several drills that show this capability. For defenders, force the ball handler to the sideline while a second defender comes up to trap. Look to steal the ball or force a bad pass out of the trap. This should give your team opportunities to either increase your lead or come back from a smaller deficit.
Free Throws: When the game is on the line, a championship caliber team will sink the clutch free throws to close out their opponent. Everyone knows that practicing free throws is a critical part of every practice session, but how do you increase the pressure during practice to simulate the need for a clutch make? The Hustle app has a great drill that increases pressure on you as you practice. Play a game with yourself with the goal to get to 10 points. A swish is 1 point, a miss is -2 points, and a make that is not a swish is zero points. Increase the pressure by doing a few push ups between shots to simulate end of game fatigue.
There’s so many different ways to work on your game so that you can be part of a championship caliber team. But here are a few that separate the best teams because they focus on the types of capabilities that give a team the edge that they need to win championships.
If you’re looking for more guidance on specific drills to improve any aspect of your game, from shooting, passing and dribbling to rebounding, defending and conditioning, try out the Hustle app — it’s free!
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