COACHING POINTS
It has been said that a player becomes effective in the paint, when his toolbox aligns with his athletic ability and individual strengths. So with that in mind, helping a player finish in the paint either helping them leverage their already existing strengths, or guiding them to it.
A paradox exists when finishing in the paint: We want to keep things as simple as possible, yet very rarely are two finishes ever the same. As a coach, we have to help the player find the fine line between keeping it simple and having enough options to finish in any given situation.
In keeping with our principle of giving players structure and than allowing them freedom to play to their strengths, we provide structure within our "circle reads" and their general guidelines.
1. DEFENDER NOT IN CIRCLE
When the help defender is not in the circle, the offensive player should look to score on his own man. If their is contact, he should finish off of two feet more often than not. If he can gain a step on his man, he should finish off of one foot, before the help can fully rotate.
2. DEFENDER IN FRONT OF CIRCLE
When the help defender is in front of the circle, the offensive player should SLOW.... down. This is where we want to see an old school jump stop. The player must stop his momentum, as to not draw a charge. From a jump stop, the player can find the open man, or pivot for a shooting angle.
3. DEFENDER IN THE CIRCLE
More than the other two areas, the individuals athleticism and skillset will determine what to do here. An athletic player should challenge the help at the rim and look to get fouled or finish. A smaller player should look for the floater or to "nash" around the help defender. All players can look to utilize the jump pass here.
FINISHING SERIES
A large collection of finishing moves appears at the bottom of this page. These videos can help guide a player towards finishing moves that fit their athletic abilities and strengths.
COMMON MISTAKES
1. LANDING OUT OF BOUNDS
Landing out of bounds is a reasonably strong indicator of poor paint finishers. This is because it is very hard to turn horizontal movement into vertical movement. Not only are these players not getting lift into their finish, they are shooting against a moving target. As a coach, players may need to be taught how to decelerate and jump vertically.
2. USING 1 FOOT AGAINST CONTACT
If the player has a step on their defender, they should finish fast, before contact can slow them down. However, most finishes will occur with contact from the primary or secondary defender. Players should jump off of two feet in these situations, as to maintain balance and eliminate horizontal momentum. Smaller players will certainly be an exception to this rule, however many times players will improve with this simple distinction.
3. PICKING UP THE DRIBBLE TO EARLY
In a live game, it is rare to finish from the three point line after one dribble. Players need to get used to taking two dribbles to get to the rim. The player that picks it up after one is left taking long strides that lead to off balanced shots. This is most often because a player doesn't know how to "gather" the ball. They are afraid of the ball getting stolen, so they pick it up early. As a coach, either teach them to identify better driving lanes, or how to gather the ball after the second dribble.
Video Examples:
1. Dallas Mavericks
2. Utah Jazz
3. Dayton Flyers
3. Northwest Missouri State
4. UC San Diego
5. Colorado Mesa
Finishing Series:
1. One Foot
2. Two Foot
3. Drag Stop
4. Stick Step
