Spacing

When I think of the term "Spacing", I think of how Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has structured his offense over the years. Yes, the Pick-n-Roll (Stockton-to-Malone) has been a trademark of Sloan's offenses over the years, but if you really look at their offensive sets, I am amazed by the spacing they have.

Spacing is a concept that many coaches and players talk about, but very few really spend time understanding. We utilize spacing so that we can put the maximum amount of pressure on our opponent's help defense. We feel we not only have to take advantage of defensive mismatches every game, we have to put as much pressure on the "help & recover" part of the opponent's defense as possible. We believe the key to accomplishing this is through our spacing.

Our goal with our Spacing are:

• Make it difficult for one man to guard two.
• Make them be in constant "close-out" game defensively.
• Give the ball room to make a play (do not crowd the ball).
• Distort their help, their recoveries, and their rotations.

Some guidelines of Spacing:

• Stay 18' - 20' apart.
• Stay on a string with the player next to you; be ready to fill an open spacing spot if he/she cuts or rolls.
• Be prepared to "drive the close out"; make a "decisive catch & read"
• Finish your spacing, e.g. after a cut to the basket and not receiving a pass - continue your cut outside of the tree point line to space the floor back up (good teaching term - "when in doubt...spread out")

Spacing is something that needs to be emphasized every day. Although it is a simple concept to explain, it is a difficult concept to master, even at the NBA level. With defenses today being so good, we feel we have to put them in situations where they have to make an important defensive decision:

• Do I help & risk not being able to recover or,
• Do I stay & risk us being driven on?

This is the state of hesitation we want the defense in. It allows us just enough time to make a higher percentage play, and put the defense at a distinct disadvantage.