On Monday, we talked about the guiding principles behind The Zoom Offense With Nate Steege:

• Create the advantage
• Maintain the advantage
• Score off the advantage

But what does advantage actually mean? And more importantly, how can you create and enlarge them?

Brian McCormick, PHD, a well-respected basketball coach, world-renowned skill acquisition expert, and author, uses the phrase SABA, which stands for "Small Advantage, Big Advantage."

Thus, the goal of offense is to create a small advantage and then turn it into a big advantage.

Before we show you how the Zoom Offense does that, let's talk about what constitutes a small advantage.

There are 4 primary types of small advantages:

• Positional advantage - When the offensive player has an advantageous position relative to their defender. If the defender is on the offensive player's hip or behind them, the offensive player has a positional advantage.
• Numerical advantage - this is the situation that we most often think of. When you have a 5 on 4 or 4 on 2, you have a numerical advantage. The viral Drive-Kick-Swing Drill from the Zoom offense provides a great example of how to teach players to exploit this type of advantage.
• Matchup advantage - a matchup advantage occurs when you can create mismatches on the court. These could come from having players who are superior to the person guarding them. Often, though, they are created from mismatches created when teams switch, and you now have a post defending a guard or vice versa.
• Space advantage - this type of advantage exists when an offensive player catches with a little bit of space. Not enough to shoot an open shot (we’ll come back to that when we discuss big advantages), but enough to attack the defender. Generally, this happens when a defender is closing out, allowing the offensive player to use their momentum against them.

How The Zoom Offense Creates Small Advantages

Let's look at how the zoom creates each type of advantage:

Positional Advantage

In this scenario, x2 tries to stay with player 2 through the down screen from 3 and the handoff from 5.

When 2 receives the handoff from 5, x2 is on their side, giving 2 a positional advantage.

Numerical Advantage

Well coached players are often able to turn positional advantages into numerical advantages. Here, 2 is able to use their positional advantage to veer x2 onto their back.

That effectively takes x2 out of the play, leaving the offense with a 5v4 situation.

Matchup Advantage

Instead of getting through the zoom action, x2 and x5 switch.

This creates 2 potential mismatches. 2 is now being guarded by x5, often a bigger and slower defender.

5 is being guarded by x2, who is generally a smaller defender. Additionally, 5 should be able to seal x2 on their back, creating a passing angle and easy shot at the rim.

Spatial Advantage

Because the zoom action created a mismatch, the other defenders pull in as they realize they need to be in position to help.

When 2 attacks, x1 pulls in to help. 2 passes to 1. This creates a spatial advantage (small or big) as 1 catches with their defender in a closeout.

Turning Small Advantages Into Big Advantages

What is a big advantage? A big advantage is defined as an open catch-and-shoot opportunity or a quality shot at the rim.

How does the Zoom Offense do this? With constant ball movement, player movement, and consecutive actions.

Many offenses create a small advantage and then stall out. The Zoom Offense never stops applying pressure.

Sometimes, one zoom action is enough to create a big advantage shot. But if it's not, the ball immediately moves to the other side.

Now, the second zoom is being run with a small advantage already in place. That generally leads to a bigger advantage the second time through.

Repeat... repeat... repeat.

If the 1st or 2nd action doesn't result in the big advantage shot, the 3rd or 4th almost assuredly will.

And because your players have been taught the reads for every action, they seamlessly flow throughout the possession.

What are the results? Well, it's exactly what we shared on Monday:

• Increase in FG % → 39.8% to 48.5%
• Increase in 3-point % → 34.3% to 39.8%
• Increase in effective FG % → 48.3% to 58.3%
• Increase in assisted FG % → 51.2% to 64.8%
• Increase in points per game → 50.1 to 68.9
• Increase in points per possession → 0.92 to 1.12
• ...and a school record for 3's made in a season → 230

When your offense is producing those types of numbers, it means one thing - you are getting big advantage shots!

And you end up with a coach like Nate Steege who has made 10 state championship tournament appearances and won 2 state championships!

Now it's your chance to take advantage of what The Zoom Offense With Nate Steege offers and watch your offense take off this season!

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

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