Charapter IV

In beating a defender the most important step you can take is the first one passed them. The faster you can take that step through, the less trickery you need to use getting the defender off balance.

The first step shares this importance in any sport with attack and defence, it shares this importance on and off the ball. A defender beaten with a pass past them is a defender beaten.

The easiest way to pass a defender alone is with momentum as that’s what makes the first step so potent, a difference in momentum between attacker and defender. So not losing that momentum on a fast break makes beating the defender as simple as possible, the challenge then is in the trickery if it’s needed. Often attackers will drop their momentum to think or try to set up trickery, forgetting that they already had what they are trying to replicate with their skills.

With a teammate around passing is the best way to get around a defender and the threat of the pass can lock a defender down, freeing up a direct shot. Having weapons in your tool kit creates more chances to use any one of your tools, a player with a dangerous shot will get more passing opportunities for having shown that their shot is a real threat. Taking passes sets up shots in more than one way, giving teammates more dangerous chances than what you have available and potentially opening up channels for your own shots once it is clear you will pass given an opportunity.

The essence of the first step is in momentum, using momentum you already possess is ideal but it can be hard to change directions, making things predictable. The most important part of momentum is the difference in momentum between you and the defender, deception increases the difference by sending them the wrong way, raw speed creates a difference despite them going the right way, a mix of both creates greater gaps than either can in their own.

The greatest weapon of Michael Jordan was his lightning fast first step from a stand still, in a stop start sport like basketball the first step is very literal, he could explode into motion faster than the best of the best could react and be around his defender before they could do anything. He is remembered for his flashy finishes and dunks but, those could only ever happen in such volume because of how slow he made his opponents look. When he learned how to pass he entered into a new dimension, who can defend someone faster than them while they need to also consider that they may pass somewhere even more dangerous and, who could dedicate their attention to those passes while in the face of the scoring threat he posed.