Stall Ball or Attack
Your team is up 6 points and there is 2:25 left in the game. Do you milk the clock or attack to the basketball? Is Stall Ball the answer or Attacking?
If your fast break layup is not available you may want to consider running down some clock in some cases. If you are coaching in the NBA most teams will let you stand between the 3 point line and the time line and wait until the shot clock is running down. At the high school and college level sometimes teams will let you just hold it and play stall ball. In these scenarios you can feel free to run the clock down and then use your “go to” play in this situation.
Let’s suppose the other team is pressuring the ball which is likely to happen at the college and high level, do you stall or attack? Over time I have become convinced that we should attack. We are a running and gunning team that tries to get to the paint. Stalling has several side effects that are hard to stop:
During your stall ball, your players may become flat footed on offensive, especially if your bigs are not required to move. Spreading the floor creates much larger passing lanes/gaps for the other team to steal the ball. If you are in a pure stall that has no time limit or no specific shot to take, your team either runs out the whole 2:25 or turns over ball. Many teams even in the NBA do not possess the talent to throw the ball around for a long period of time. Turnovers are demoralizing when players are not trying to score.
The lower the level of play the more likely the stall ball team will also fall asleep on defense. You may think you don’t need to score again but just play solid defense but relaxing or changing the offense to a stall may also slow down the defense. When your team is not trying to score or playing great defense it will not take long for any team to catch up.
Continuing to attack the basket may have more advantages then running down the clock for over two minutes. When attacking, players will keep the same mindset as the rest of the game. Playing to win is much more natural than the playing not to lose. The stall ball is like the “Prevent” in football and it can become dangers. Without changing the pace of your team you can become more selective in your shots. Ask your team not to shoot any outside jumpers until they have made 3, 4 or even 5 attempts to get in the paint or after a certain time left on the shot clock. This keeps players moving at the same speed because they are still looking for a shot.
It can be hard to turn the attack plays back on. Early in my coaching career we were playing a team and got up 20 really quick. Trying to be a good sportsman, I asked our players to make 4 passes before they shot. Passes were horrible, movement was slower and possessions were lost. When we did get a shot it would be at the 4th pass even if it wasn’t a good shot. The “D” we played also became relaxed even though I never asked it to be. I sent the message to the team the game was over without realizing it and they played like it. With 2 seconds left in the game the other team threw up a wide open 3 pointer for the win that fortunately bounced off the rim and we won by 2 points. Lesson learned.
You can change your defense but make sure the defense you change to is not one you only use when you are way ahead. For example, if you press the whole game every game until you are up a certain amount of points you may be sending the message that you think the game is over. Switch up the defense every now and then. The other option is, if you switch the “D” and they become flat footed you’ll have to call a timeout and get all over them about defense. Sometimes that doesn’t work.
A few weeks ago I was watching a high school boys’ basketball game and the home team was up 26 points at the half. Starting the 3rd quarter the home team changed everything. Their stall ball offense was a different set and their defense changed. The intensity was gone. At the beginning of the 3rd the home team was up by 10. The coach used several timeouts in the 4th and went back to offense and defense of the first half. Too late, they lost by 3. If your team ever loses a game after they were way ahead because you were playing stall ball you’ll wish you attacked. In most situations continuing to attack the basket and score is the way to go.
Craig Shorey Bio:
Maricopa, Arizona
Graduated form Western Governors University and is currently pursuing a Masters from Grand Canyon University.
Coaching Experience: Craig is in his 6th season combined at the Middle School, and High School level. He also coached for the Phoenix Suns Basketball Summer Camp program. He has two middle school championships with one undefeated season.
Work: Currently he is teaching U.S. History at a middle school in Maricopa, Arizona. He was also his districts Coach of the Year for the 2013-2014 school year.
Favorite Quote: “Do not let what you cannot do get in the way of what you can do.” John Wooden
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