Alright, so I was messing around with some basketball stuff online, and the name “Mike D’Antoni” kept popping up. I’ve heard of him before, you know, the coach with the fast-paced offense and all that. But I never really dug into what made his teams tick. So, I decided to spend a whole afternoon just trying to understand his system.
Getting Started
First, I watched a bunch of old games. I mean, a LOT of games. I started with those Phoenix Suns teams he had with Steve Nash. Man, those guys could run! I paused, rewound, and re-watched so many plays, trying to figure out how they got so many open shots.
Seven Seconds or Less
- It is fast. Really, I observed the Suns players.
- I noticed how quickly they got the ball up the court.
- They were always looking to push the pace, even after made baskets.
Spread the floor
I focused on their spacing. It’s seems very open, right? They had shooters everywhere, and Nash was a genius at finding them. I then tried to draw the simple play on the paper.
Pick and Roll
Then, the pick-and-roll. D’Antoni used it a lot, especially with Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire. I spent like an hour just watching those two work. How they read the defense, how Nash made those pocket passes… it was *’s really simple but difficult to guard, I realized it.
Copy and Rehearse
After I felt like I had a decent grasp of the basics, I grabbed a basketball and headed to the my home. I don’t have a team, unluckily, so I just imagined defenders. I practiced the spacing, the passing angles, and tried to mimic the quick decisions those Suns players made. I even pretended like d’Antoni shouting at the court.
Keep Learning
It was exhausting, it is not easy to play this way. But it was also super fun. I definitely have a new appreciation for D’Antoni’s system and how he changed the way the game is played. I’m still not an expert, of course, but I feel like I’ve got a better understanding of what “Seven Seconds or Less” really means. I think I’ll keep digging into this – maybe next I’ll check out those Rockets teams with James Harden.
