Share the Ball
“Share the ball,” sounds like advice a preschool teacher would give to one of her kids who is being a little too selfish at recess.
Do preschoolers have recess? Do they play with balls there? As a kidless adult, I realized I have no idea if that analogy was close to accurate.
However, kind of like the splitting of hairs between, “defend,” and “defense,” I believe what Monty is driving home here is active ball movement to get everyone involved, stay engaged, and get easy baskets. But that is much more of a mouthful than, “Share the ball.”
Regardless, share the ball is exactly what the Phoenix Suns did this season.
This team led the league in assists. That’s right. Led. The. League. They totaled 27.2 assists per game, crushing their total last season (23.9) that ranked 20th overall in that category.
One of the major reasons for that surge was the Spanish Maestro, Ricky Rubio, who averaged 8.9 dimes to contest, however not far behind him was Devin Booker at 6.6 per game. These two made their teammates better all season, and when they were clicking, it felt like this team could beat anyone.
Credit, too, goes to Monty’s 0.5 seconds system, which demanded the player either shoot, pass, or drive within a half-second of catching the ball. While this strategy was less-strickly adhered to as the year progressed, it made for some high-quality and entertaining basketball.
Consider Share the Ball a principle stood by.