Beyond the Xs and Os and Jimmies and Joes, there are so many things to consider in basketball and football.
For instance, the pros and cons of a one-game series compared with a seven-game series or how the games have changed over time.
For casual and diehard fans, it’s important to understand athletes’ perspectives on why percentages aren’t everything to them or why they feel like their era was the toughest to play in.
Let’s dive in.
NBA and NFL
And One
In basketball, when a player is fouled on a shot and makes it, that is an “and one.”
Similarly, in football, when a team scores a touchdown, they generally elect to kick the extra point.
NFL Best of one vs. NBA seven-game series
In the NFL, the advantage of playing one game is that you only have to worry about beating your opponent once to advance to the next round.
Conversely, the disadvantage is that you only get one chance to win — hence the phrase “one and done.”
And in a one-game bout, it’s tough to bet against someone like Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady throughout his illustrious career. It’s tough to devise a game plan to beat them once.
Just once.
In the NBA, the advantage of a seven-game series is that you can lose three times and still win a playoff series. Conversely, the obvious disadvantage is that you must beat the same opponent four times.
And in a seven-game series, it’s tough to bet against Nikola Jokic or LeBron James in his actual prime. It’s tough to come up with a game plan to beat them four times.
Four times.
Let alone force a series to go seven games.
In addition, teams down 0-2 should treat game 3 like it’s a game 7 since no NBA team has ever won a series down 0-3.
In a one-game series, coaches can either make in-game adjustments (typically at halftime) or live and die with the same strategies for the whole game.
In a seven-game series, coaches don’t necessarily need to make in-game adjustments in game one. They can experiment early on before making adjustments later in the series.
Game on the line
In the NFL, as much as Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts going touchdown for touchdown is exciting, there’s the intensity of a defensive slugfest, waiting for an offense to break the scoring drought and get the game-winning score.
In the NBA, as much as Devin Booker and Paul George going bucket for bucket is exciting, there’s the intensity of watching Golden State and Cleveland go into a scoring drought, waiting for the next bucket to finally break the tie.
Decision making
In the NFL, the quarterback has the decision to either hit the open checkdown pass or trust his ability to make a tight window throw downfield.
In the NBA, a player that draws the defense in while driving into the lane has the decision to either hit a layup in traffic or kick it out to the open shooter and trust he will make the shot.
NBA-Specific
Shot percentage
Even though going 3-for-6 from deep versus 2-for-6 is only a one-shot difference, there is a variance of factors.
First, 2-for-6 is 33 percent, while 3-for-6 is 50 percent, so there is a significant percentage difference and meaning despite it being a one-shot difference.
Let’s take the 2-for-6 shooting. Two of the four misses could have been a near-perfect rep that resulted in the shots going in and out.
That’s why percentages are not everything.
Toughest NBA era?
One of the most common debates in basketball has always been which era was harder to play in.
As 90s basketball nostalgics think it is easier to play in today’s era, today’s league has new reasons why it’s so tough to play elite defense.
For instance, because of the elite shooting and floor spacing, it’s hard to play defense and help off because everyone on the floor can shoot above a 38-percent clip from deep.
Meanwhile, in the 1990s and early 2000s, it was much easier to defend driving lanes because it was rare for 5s to shoot, and the stretch four was developing when Dirk Nowitzki popularized it.
On the flip side, in the 90s and early 2000s, it was tough for scorers to find space because perimeter shooting was not as respected, nor was it encouraged.
In today’s era, scorers have plenty of room to isolate because help defenders must stay home on knockdown shooters. Otherwise, they will be in rotation.
Assists
When a shooter receives a pass with a perfect ball rotation, there’s no stress in finding the laces, and with the ball right in the shooter’s pocket, that’s a beautiful assist.
When a pass checks these boxes, some shooters are so good that they don’t even need to bring the ball down as they go into their shooting motion, also known as a “no-dip” shot.
In turn, if the shooter needs to find the laces or the pass is just outside their radius and the shooter still makes the shot, it counts as an assist for the passer— it’s just not as great of a rep.
Spacing
“Good spacing” in basketball usually refers to having good shooters on the floor.
It can also mean having physical space between two offensive players when a defender is trying to zone up two offensive players on the perimeter. Spacing out makes a defender cover tons of ground on the perimeter.
This usually occurs when a help defender helps on dribble penetration, leaving a perimeter defender left to contain two offensive players.
NFL-Specific
Second-and-short
Second-and-one and second-and-inches are the best down-and-distance combinations.
The offense has three plays to pick up a yard. On second down, they can take a shot downfield and if it’s an incomplete pass, they still have a third-and-short coming up, or they can run the football with three plays to gain short yardage.
In fact, in the four-minute drill, when the defenses face a second-and-short to defend, they will wisely jump offsides to reset the downs and give them more yards to defend.
Then the offense plays chess.
Normally, most penalties are accepted. The offense will decline the automatic first down and bet on themselves to convert a second-and-short to make the defense defend another play.
First-and-five (via penalty) also has a case for being the best down-and-distance combination because the team has four chances to gain five yards, allowing the offensive play-caller to get creative.
Kickers
One of the most interesting nuances in football is the kicker position and how little they’re on the field. Kickers average around 10 to 20 plays per game, which consists of kickoff duties, field goals and extra points.
While they are out on the field the least, it’s the position that typically leads the team in scoring.
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Wide receiver fatigue
When a wide receiver runs a deep route and creates at least a step of separation and either gets targeted but results in an incomplete pass or doesn’t even get a look, it can be discouraging to jog 40 yards back to the huddle, or even sprint in a two-minute drill if the clock is running.
Gameplans
“The coach makes no adjustments,” says the average NFL or NBA fan.
If you try to take everything away by mixing it up, you take away nothing. At times, you can mix it up. And when you commit to a particular strategy, that maximizes your chances to win because you are taking something away and living with giving up something else.
It’s a trade-off. Sometimes, the best move is no move.
A prime example is Game 1 from last year’s Western Conference Finals. Minnesota played Luka Doncic one-on-one the entire game and stayed home on role players like PJ Washington and Derrick Jones Jr. Minnesota eliminated the role players’ impact and let Doncic torch them.
If Minnesota starts doubling Doncic, they are vulnerable to being in rotation, and thus giving Washington and Jones wide-open looks. The result is that they end up taking nothing away.
It’s the beauty of sports: there’s always so much to think about.
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