Description
"Good players know the importance of not fouling. Except in very few cases, fouls are errors." — Dick DeVenzio
Fouling is not good defense.
You bump. You swat. You get a hand in. It feels like pressure. It feels like you're guarding.
Then the whistle blows, and you've just handed them the best deal in basketball.
The free throw line is the highest points-per-possession outcome in the game. Nothing they can run beats it, and you gave it to them for free.
It also compounds. Every "harmless" foul moves you one closer to the bonus. Once they're there, the next bump sends them back to the line, and now they're shooting your mistakes at the highest percentage there is.
The hardest one to resist is at the rim. You've been there. You want the block, and it feels great. But the second you leave your cylinder, the block you wanted turns into two free throws.
Pressure that ends at the free throw line isn't pressure. It's a payment.
This week in practice, count your fouls like turnovers. Every one is a point you chose to give away.