Basketball's fundamentals have constantly been evolving since it's inception such as peach baskets to mesh nets, adding a 3-point line, and adding a shot clock. But now that the rules of the game seem to be set, the 21st century has seen many tactical aspects of basketball change into what crafts the modern game. There is an obvious rise in 3-point shooting and going with smaller lineups, but another important change might be on its way and it'll be sure to excite those "pace of play" fanatics... don't call timeout.
The timeout has been used to give teams a breather, to talk over plays, or to just simply scream at your team for doing things wrong. Eric Musselman, head coach of the #5 ranked Nevada Wolf Pack, has been a trailblazer for this idea, calling less than one timeout per game. When talking to Musselman about the tactic, the fourth year head coach cited the great Phil Jackson for the strategy saying "We believe our team is in good enough condition to play through opponent runs". Musselman has the benefit of rolling out a deep senior class, a crop of players that he has condition and groomed for these exact moments.
The question then becomes, does it actually work? Well it sure seems so for Nevada, a typical middle pack team who is fresh off a good tournament run in 17-18 and primed to do so again this season. The idea is that if your team is in great shape they can outlast their opponent and force the hand of the other coach. Using less than one timeout per game, Musselman uses the mandatory TV timeouts to set up plays, trusting his team to otherwise get through tough runs or even step on the gas when already leading. A great stat that proves the worth of this tactic is "Free Throws Attempted", a field that sees Nevada rank 7th in all of Division 1. A tired opponent becomes desperate for any stoppage of play, eventually leading to a surplus of careless fouls and errors. As mentioned before, Nevada's plethora of seniors allows Musselman to trust his guys to use their experience and find a way through any difficulties, also using opponents runs' as important learning opportunities.
In an age where weight training is introduced to athletes at a young age, look for more coaches to take advantage of their in-shape athletes in the sport of basketball. All things considered this is a culture thing, Musselman does a great job of creating an exciting and up tempo environment for his team (it sometimes leads to him removing his shirt...), but without this energy the idea can't succeed. Players need to buy in and believe in the game plan given the physical and mental dedication it can require to play high level basketball for such long periods of time. At the end of the day this is better for basketball as a whole, it forces players to adapt and it puts an exciting brand of high speed basketball on the court which is exciting for everyone (even Chris Webber! I bet he would love a few extra timeouts).
The timeout has been used to give teams a breather, to talk over plays, or to just simply scream at your team for doing things wrong. Eric Musselman, head coach of the #5 ranked Nevada Wolf Pack, has been a trailblazer for this idea, calling less than one timeout per game. When talking to Musselman about the tactic, the fourth year head coach cited the great Phil Jackson for the strategy saying "We believe our team is in good enough condition to play through opponent runs". Musselman has the benefit of rolling out a deep senior class, a crop of players that he has condition and groomed for these exact moments.The question then becomes, does it actually work? Well it sure seems so for Nevada, a typical middle pack team who is fresh off a good tournament run in 17-18 and primed to do so again this season. The idea is that if your team is in great shape they can outlast their opponent and force the hand of the other coach. Using less than one timeout per game, Musselman uses the mandatory TV timeouts to set up plays, trusting his team to otherwise get through tough runs or even step on the gas when already leading. A great stat that proves the worth of this tactic is "Free Throws Attempted", a field that sees Nevada rank 7th in all of Division 1. A tired opponent becomes desperate for any stoppage of play, eventually leading to a surplus of careless fouls and errors. As mentioned before, Nevada's plethora of seniors allows Musselman to trust his guys to use their experience and find a way through any difficulties, also using opponents runs' as important learning opportunities.
In an age where weight training is introduced to athletes at a young age, look for more coaches to take advantage of their in-shape athletes in the sport of basketball. All things considered this is a culture thing, Musselman does a great job of creating an exciting and up tempo environment for his team (it sometimes leads to him removing his shirt...), but without this energy the idea can't succeed. Players need to buy in and believe in the game plan given the physical and mental dedication it can require to play high level basketball for such long periods of time. At the end of the day this is better for basketball as a whole, it forces players to adapt and it puts an exciting brand of high speed basketball on the court which is exciting for everyone (even Chris Webber! I bet he would love a few extra timeouts).
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