Transition defence: who sprints back and who goes to the glass

Every time a team shoots, it is simultaneously making a defensive decision. Players who crash the offensive boards might get a second attempt. Players who turn and sprint prevent an easy basket at the other end. Nobody can do both, so teams assign it in advance, usually sending two or three to the glass and keeping one or two back.

The player staying back is often the point guard, and he is not loafing. His job is to meet the ball somewhere around the opposite free throw line and slow it down long enough for teammates to arrive. He is not trying to steal it. He is trying to make the ball handler take one extra dribble, which is roughly the time three other defenders need to get past half court.

The second principle is to protect the middle before anything else. A defender retreating in transition should run down the centre of the floor, not toward the man he was guarding. Transition offence funnels through the middle, and a defender who chases his own assignment to the corner has left the rim open for a pass he cannot see.

Where this breaks down is on long rebounds and live-ball turnovers. A missed three often bounces out past the free throw line, which means it is collected by a guard already facing the right way with nobody near him. Teams give up more fast break points off long rebounds than off made baskets, and that is a direct consequence of shooting more threes.

The last man back has one additional job that nobody enjoys: taking a foul if the alternative is a dunk. It costs the opponent two free throws instead of two points and resets the defence. In the first three quarters, that is a sound trade. In the fourth, with the team in the penalty, it is often not.

Watch what happens in the two seconds after a shot goes up. You will see players turning away from the basket before the ball has reached it, and that is the moment the next possession is decided.