The Art of Passing

The breakdown of the New 5 QIP theory will begin with the passing skill because it is the most under appreciated aspect of  offensive basketball. Out of all skills that make up an impact player (Passing, Shooting, Defense, Rebounding, and Ball Handling), a player’s passing ability is often the most misinterpreted by fans, players, high school coaches, and people who evaluate talent.  A big reason for this is the assist statistic.  Too often, people jump to the conclusion that “More Assists” implies “Better Passer”.  I’d argue that assists do indeed have merit in terms assessing a player’s passing ability, but not nearly as much as people might think.

A comparison can be made between assists in basketball and the Win-Loss record for a pitcher.  The Win-Loss record in baseball is an extremely misleading statistic because the talent level of the team as well as situations completely out the pitcher’s control often dictate winning percentage.   You could have a guy with a 2.65 ERA who hovers around .500 all season, while a pitcher on the mid to late nineties Indians could win close to 20 games while posting a 4.55 (That’s Right, I’m looking at you Charles Nagy) due to an offensive line-up consisting of Alomar, Lofton, Belle, Thome, Ramirez, Murray, and Sorrento.  Hell with that amount of fire-power and/or Performance-Enhancing Drugs in the line-up, even Coach Maley might have been able to get a couple of wins against a team like the ’95 Cubs (Had to find a way to take a shot at them) throwing 75mph heaters complimented by a poor-man’s Charlie Hough dancer.

The above analogy is a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea.  Assists are a statistic that are correlated with both the skill level of your teammates and the type of offense that your team runs,  both of which are out of the player’s control.  If  Steve Nash had to run the pick and roll with four guys with absolutely zero ability or skills (Think Smalls from the Sandlot, pre-Benny’s tutelage.  Now think of the kid that Smalls use to pick on prior to moving near the Sandlot.  THAT KID multiplied by four are Nash’s teammates.), he probably wouldn’t have an assist all game.  Does that mean Nash is a bad passer?  Of course not.  Passing ability involves so much more.  The new 5-QIP theory attempts to try to quantify the art of passing beyond the assist.

SKILL (Value of 1)

Passing (Value of .2)

1.  Velocity, Angles, and Accuracy (Value of .04)

One of my biggest pet peeves as a player, fan, and coach comes from the following situation:

Little Timmy beats his man and drives to the rim.  Johnny’s defender steps up to help in the middle of the lane.  Timmy, realizing the presence of Johnny’s defender fires a 55 mph shovel pass, from 8 feet away while looking in the opposite direction.  The pass hits Johnny in the hands and goes out of bounds.  Timmy throws up his hands in disgust and shakes his head because his highlight reel assist was ruined.  Timmy’s father gets on his feet and yells “Great Pass Timmy, C’mon Johnny you got to catch that,” He then proceeds to roll his eyes in the direction of another one of his fellow parents who “Get’s It.”  

This situation, which I’ve seen hundreds of times, absolutely drives me crazy.  Little Timmy wasn’t wronged by Johnny.  He threw a terrible pass.  It was thrown with way too much velocity leaving it nearly impossible to catch from that short a distance.   The angle of the pass was horrendous because it should have been a bounce pass instead of a shovel pass.  Doing so would have made it both easier to see and catch.  Sure it may have been accurate because it hit Johnny in the hands, but that ends up being a moot point considering how hard it was thrown.  The worst part about it was that Timmy thought it was a great pass which was then reaffirmed by his father and people in the crowd, all of whom, like Timmy, have no idea about the concept of velocity, angles, and accuracy.

I’m sure my thoughts on this subject are probably very similar to those that my wife has after she gives me certain chores to do.  The problem is not that I don’t complete those chores.  I do.  Every dish has made it’s way to the dishwasher.  The detergent was put in properly and the machine was set to the correct setting

“Spray Arm”?  Who would have thought

of “Normal”.  The problem is that I either forgot to rinse the dishes before I loaded it or I tried to sneak that unusually large glass baking pan in, blocking the rotation of the spray arms (google search replaced my previous version of “thing that spins”).  Ignorantly, just like little Timmy, I am blameless and think I did everything right.  “Katie, I don’t know what to tell you I think there is something wrong with the dishwasher” is my equivalent to Timmy throwing his hands up in the air and blaming Johnny.  In reality, an expert would realize that both Timmy and I displayed terrible technique which was the true cause of the error.  My bad Katie.  Even if Timmy or his father don’t get it, I do.

A great passer, unlike Timmy, knows the right pass to use at the right time.  They create proper angles with the dribble and the use of ball fakes.  They know when to pass the ball soft or when they need to put a little extra giddy up on it.  When they drive into the lane and kick to a shooter, the ball is exactly where it needs to be giving their teammate the best opportunity to score.  Great passers are able to change passing lanes by using their eyes as weapons of diversion as opposed to looking the other way AFTER the fact.  Most importantly as my dad once told me, a great passer understand that if their teammate does not catch the ball, then it is the passer’s fault, not the receiver.

2.   Pass that Leads to the Assist (.04)

Sega’s Tecmo Bowl Equivalent

Anyone who played NHL 94 on Sega Genesis as a kid understands the concept of the hockey assist.  “Wait, you’re telling me that after Larmer passes to Chelios who then feeds Roenick who then goes 5-hole on Patrick Roy, that  both Larmer AND Chelios get credited with an assist?”  When I was first made aware of this concept, I was ecstatic because I now had a much easier chance of having Roenick lead the league in assists when I played a video game season with the Blackhawks.  Fast forward a couple of years when I  became serious about basketball, and this concept had new meaning.  The hockey assist was just as important to the game of basketball as it was to Roenick winning  the digital-world Hart Trophy.

Great passers are brilliant at making the pass that leads to the assist.  They never force a bad angle from the top of the key to a post player.  Instead, they understand how to quickly swing the ball to a teammate on the wing.  This simple action allows their teammate to make a great post entry from the proper angle, resulting in a an easy two.  A great passer is able to make the outlet pass that leads to a fast break. They also can make the pass that dissects the middle of the zone that ends in a high-low score.  A great passer might drive the gap on the top of a two-three zone and instead of forcing a pass to a Big ducking in, they kick to the other guard.  This simple pass causes the low-guy closest to the sideline in the zone to step up, leaving an easy reversal to the corner for a wide open three.  These situations are just a few of the many examples of the beauty of the pass that leads to the assist.  It is a shame that players who excel at this rarely get recognized.

Value needs to be placed on the “Hockey Assist” to truly assess passing ability in basketball.  Average passers seek out the traditional assist at all costs, regardless of how many scoring opportunities it causes their team to miss out on.  As long as the average passer’s state line improves, they’re happy.  Great passers on the other hand make the right decision regardless of who gets credit.  They just want to win.  In a way, a great passer is like the kid who finds the wallet laying in the middle of the street and returns it to the owner without expecting any reward in return.  Average passers are like the kid who in the same situation, returns the wallet, but only after assessing the owners financial situation, credit history, and stock portfolio to determine whether they can afford to dole out handsome reward.  Although great passers would never think to ask for it, it is time that the basketball world adopted the “Hockey Assist”  to give credit where credit is due.  The 5-QIP Theory has adjusted.  So should basketball.

3.  Passing with Language (.04)

“Passing with Language” is an advanced-level skill.  This term describes a player who is able to throw passes that seem to speak to their teammates solely by the location in which they’re thrown.  “Passing with Language” provides directions that virtually eliminate a step in the decision making process for the receiver.  Not only does a player need to be fundamentally-sound and accurate, but they also need to have a high basketball IQ to recognize situations when they can use this non-verbal measure to communicate with their teammates.  The best way to understand a player that can pass with language is to take a look at the following examples:

a.)  An offensive player is posted up above the block.  The defensive player is playing behind the offensive player but shading heavily to the top-side.  A bad passer would throw the ball right to middle of his teammates chest which would eliminate any positional advantage the post player obtained.  An average passer would throw it directly to his teammates hand target closest to the baseline, leaving it up to the post player to be able to feel where his defender was at and make the appropriate scoring move.  The player who “Passes with Language” would pass the ball a little bit past the post player’s hand target on the baseline side which would speak to his teammate by saying “Dude, the guy behind you is favoring the middle.  You have decent position.  Go get this perfectly thrown ball, left front pivot, and score.  You’re Welcome.”  The post player in this situation doesn’t have to think about the next step. The language of the pass has already done that for him.

b.)  An offensive player is overplayed at the wing, free-throw line extended.  He sets up his man beautifully and makes a great backdoor cut.  A bad passer either doesn’t pass the ball at all or they it to where the offensive player vacated, resulting in a turnover.  An average passer sees the cut, throws the bounce pass with the right velocity, along the lane line allowing his teammate an opportunity to catch the ball a step before the help defender arrives.  This pass relies heavily on his teammate being able to react appropriately to the help without traveling or getting called for a charge.  A player who “Passes with Language” throws the bounce pass about a foot past the defenders back foot saying to his teammate “Dude, mad respect for the cut you just made.  However, this team we are playing is no joke and actually understands how to play help defense.  I know you are focused on catching this masterpiece of a ball and don’t see what is in front of you.  Be aware that someone is coming and be ready to make a move to the rim or pull up for the jumper.  You’re Welcome.”  The cutter in this situation loses vision on what’s in front of him, but the language of the pass is all the eyes he needs.

c.)  A defensive player comes up with a loose ball during the opposing’s team half-court possession.  One of the wings does a nice job sprinting the sideline, getting two steps ahead of the closest defender, and looks back for the ball just like his coach has instructed him to do.   A bad passer either doesn’t throw the ball or he passes it behind his teammate ultimately stopping the fast break.  An average passer sees the opportunity and leads the player up the sideline which allows a smart defender who takes a good angle to get himself back in the play.  Now, the offensive player is left with a one-on-one situation which hopefully he can convert.  The player that “Passes with Language” sees that his teammate has a couple steps on his defender, but instead of leading the offensive player up the side-line, he throws a lead pass about 12-15 feet inside the sideline.  In doing so, he is saying to his teammate “Dude, you are slow as hell and your one on one moves are suspect.  In order to catch this pass, you are going to have to change the direction that you are sprinting and start angling towards the rim.  As a result, the defender won’t have an opportunity to track you down and all you’ll have to do is lay the ball in.  You’re Very Welcome.”

4.  Passing Into and Out of the Post (.04)

As I mentioned before in “Where have all the Post Players Gone?“, passing into the post has become a lost art.  The argument was made that because guard play has become so anemic in terms of perimeter passing into the post, true post players have subsequently disappeared.  There is little incentive to do the dirty work if they aren’t going to get the ball on a regular basis  By the transitive property, because very few guys can play with their backs to the basket, big men who pass well out of the post are few and far between.

In order to be deemed worthy of a .04 on the 5QIP scale for Post Passing a guard needs to be able to……

a.  Fake passes before they make them to avoid deflections and create angles

b.  Use footwork and pivots to create windows for the entry

c.  Throw the hook pass, when the defense is 3/4 on the top side

d.  Use a dribble to the baseline to create better angles

e.  Put the ball accurately to a hand target

f.   Pass with Language when necessary

g.  Move after the pass by either laker cutting, screening away, or relocating

h.  Throw the ball in quickly on a reversal and post seal

i.  Do anything else that I forgot to mention

In order to be deemed worthy of a .04 on the 5QIP scale, a Big passing out of the post needs to be able to…

a.  Immediately turn over their inside shoulder on the catch to see the floor

b.  Stay calm in the face of double teams and crowding of the post

c.  Throw a drop pass appropriately to laker cutters

d.  Look opposite and pass accurately for a 3 vs. Double Teams

e.  Either make a move or get rid of the ball quickly

f.  Pass with either hand

g.  Recognize where double teams are coming from quickly

h.  Same attempt at a joke as i in previous example

 

5.  Passing Patience

Often times, the difference between either throwing or completing a pass is patience.  How often do players miss cutters because they either don’t look or only give a brief look?  How often is a cutter open late after a defender thinks their job is done?  How often does a turnover result because a player on a fast break gives the ball up too early to a non-ball handler instead of waiting until they are closer to the basket?  How often does a guard or post panic on either a double team or a blitzing of the ball screen?  How often does a player pre-maturely throw a wild out of control pass for fear of getting called for a ten second violation?  How often is Maley going to write often before he realizes that we get it?  (The correct answer is 8)

If you were all oftened out by that last paragraph, I’d probably be correct in saying that you lost your patience.  That’s fine as a reader, but if you wish to be a good passer,  you have to have the ultimate patience.  Sometimes that one hundredth of a second is the difference between a scoring opportunity or simply running time off the clock.  The number one example of Passsing Patience was mastered by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.  Rarely, do I ever see this nowadays as either a coach or a spectator.

 

Caption Not Necessary

Larry Bird has the ball on the perimeter after receiving a pass from Dennis Johnson.  Robert Parish is posting on the ball-side block.  Kevin McHale decides to dive to the weak-side block.  Kurt Rambis, who is guarding McHale, is playing great off the ball defense, ready to help Kareem on Parish if need be.  Bird, is staring down Parish acting like he is really trying enter it to the Chief.  In reality, he is waiting to see something out of the corner of his eye.  Not yet, Not yet, Not Yet. Rambis turns his head for a split second just to make sure that McChale is on the block and that his peripheral vision is not deceiving him.  NOW!!!!  Bird fires a line drive right past Rambis’s head nearly knocking of his glasses.  “Basket by McHale, from Birrrrrrrrrrrd!”  Rambis doesn’t even know what happened, but Bird does.  Patience Kurt. Patience.

The art of passing of the utmost importance to the game of basketball.  It is truly refreshing to see someone who actually gets it because a great passer has the ability to completely alter the fortune of a team.  On the flip-side, a player who can’t pass, is capable of destroying it.  For my money, you can have all your crossover dribbles, fade-aways, and 360 dunks.  I’ll take the guy that “Passes with Language.”  More often than not, the team with that guy will win.

 

NEXT UP:  REBOUNDING

 

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