It’s almost a running joke at this point. If you watch any coach’s introductory press conference, they are pretty much guaranteed to say they want to play fast on offense.

I understand why coaches say that. It’s an exciting brand of play for players and fans. For college coaches, it can help with recruiting too.

It’s okay to have a preferred style of play. You should have that. It’s your team’s identity. However, you also need to be wise enough to recognize that you won’t always be able to play the game the way you want to.

Thus, I think this fast versus slow debate is a false dichotomy. The question isn’t whether you should play fast OR slow, it’s can you play fast AND slow.

Playing fast allows you to… 

• Get a few easy baskets in transition offense
• Take advantage of a weak transition defense
• Push the pace against a less talented team

However, you don’t want to throw up a contested, low percentage shot just to be fast.

At times, you need to slow it down in order to…

• Find a good shot against a strong transition defense
• Grind down an extremely talented opponent
• Stop a scoring drought and end up with a high percentage shot

You can do this by utilizing cuts and screens and multiple ball reversals that distorts the defense. This often creates an opening to shoot or attack the basket.

That’s one of the major benefits to The Screening Game With Bob Martin. It allows you to win in multiple ways. No matter what style of game you find yourself in, your team will have the answers to emerge victorious.

Why You Must Start “Fast” 

To be able to play at multiple speeds, you must start fast. If you begin by coaching your team to walk the ball up the floor, you’ve eliminated the possibility of playing fast.

Playing fast is smart offense - just ask Steve Kerr. As he says, “It’s always easier to attack an offense that’s not set than one that’s set.” The defense is at its most vulnerable in transition. Points per possession go up.

You should constantly drill your team on playing with pace.

This is the starting point for The Screening Game.

Coach Martin’s transition uses a rim runner, 2 players sprinting to the corner, and a trailer.

As Coach Martin says in the video, they like to run for open 3’s and to get layups.

You should do the same. Just remember this - while it seems obvious that players should want to sprint the floor, you have to coach them relentlessly on it.

Even though sprinting the floor results in easy points, it is hard. If you don’t coach sprinting in transition daily, bad habits will emerge. But if you do harp on it, the results are tremendous!

When Speed is Taken Away, Can You Still Score?

It would be great (at least for your offense) if every game was a shootout. However, that’s not always the case.

You will play good defensive teams. Good teams do a good job getting back in transition and taking away easy shots. They will do things schematically to slow you down.

When that happens, can you still be efficient offensively?

In The Screening Game, transition flows right into half court offense.

Coach Martin does use a secondary break, where his team can run actions like dribble hand-offs.

When the secondary action ends, his team is in their half court offensive spacing.

This prevents them from having to “set it up.” They just continue to play.

At that point, they get into their screening and cutting actions. By utilizing hard cuts as well as down screens, flare screens, and back screens, they are able to wear teams down.

Offenses that have constant player and ball movement are miserable to guard. Even the best defenses will break down over time.

Coach Martin’s teams know this and that creates trust in the system. They are willing to turn down a so-so shot for a great shot that might materialize a couple passes later.

The Goal Of Every Offensive Possession

You can’t always control if you make a shot.

What you can control, and what should be your goal, is this: get a great shot every possession.

If you can do that in transition, great. If it takes 8 passes, great.

Making your players aware of that goal is critical. It allows you to measure every possession by that criteria.

Some games will have more possessions than others. If you get good shots, your chances of winning improves, whether the game is in the 40’s or the 80’s. And when your team realizes this, they’ll have confidence, no matter what the pace of the game!

To learn more great offensive concepts, check out The Screening Game With Bob Martin.

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