Basketball 101 - Organizing The Bench

Basketball is a sport where ''riding the pine'' has a different meaning. Of all the major sports in America, basketball is the one where having quality players on your bench is the most important. The games are 48 minutes long, require tremendous endurance and as good as your starters might be, you can't expect them to play 48 minutes every game for a complete season.

When your stars get in their late twenties, early thirties (i.e Dwyane Wade), it's asking for injuries to do so. You need to strategize using your bench players in order to limit your stars and starters' limits, in order to have them healthy through a grueling year. The Grand Dooda of coaching Gregg Popovich has mastered bench strategizing for several years now, as Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker all turned the wrong side of 30 in San Antonio. So how does a perfect, strategical basketball bench look like? Let's see.

Basketball 101 - Center

Whenever non-fans think about basketball, they think about 7 foot tall people. Believe it or not, they're kind of a rare commodity in the sport. I don't have an expect number for you, but I believe this number to be well below 10%. 99,9% of these players play center, the most important defensive position in basketball. You don't need to be 7 foot tall to play center, but it'll be eerily easier for you to get a job if you do, something I've been disagreeing with. The most skilled centers often are 6'10 and 6'11. I believe the most skilled center in the NBA is 6'11 DeMarcus Cousins. But anyway, that's another debate...

Basketball 101 - Power Forward

We have completed our examination of the NBA perimeter. These are your high flying athletes, your poised scorers who test one another with speed, athleticism and precision. The front court or most commonly known as ''the bigs'' is a different game. This is where your typical NBA giant is playing. Front court players are titans, who more often than not influence the momentum of a game by rebounding, kickstarting fastbreaks and making second chances points. The most important offensive player in the front court is the power forward. Let's examine who he exactly is and what does he do on an NBA court.

Basketball 101 - Small Foward

One of the great existential question of basketball is : what is a small forward? It's the position LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are playing at, when they aren't replacing at power forward in a pinch. That doesn't answer the question, I know. But gien that we defined what is a point guard and a what is a shooting guard, let's lean on the definition of a small forward, both in the classical sense of the term and its applications in today's NBA. As you'll see, it's a question that doesn't really have a straight answer.

Basketball 101 - Shooting Guard

Last week, we went over the point guard position: he is the mind and the soul of a team on court. He calls the plays, take the important decisions and orchestrates the attack. He is ideally not your best scorer, but he is the driving force behind him. Let's put it this way, there was never a great basketball team without a smart ballhandler and rare were the great teams that didn't move the ball well on court, so a point guard often is a necessary requirement to basketball success. But what about a good shooting guard? How does that help you? Let's see...

Basketball 101 - Point Guard

Welcome to Basketball 101.

Over the next few weeks, we'll go over everything you need to know to enjoy a basketball game from your neighborhood pickup court to the bleachers. I'm not an X and Os expert, but I'm a rabid fan of the game and I often have to explain what I like about it. Canada is hockey land *, so people pay little attention to hoops around here and find it very intriguing that I do. Be intrigued no more. If you ever wanted to get into basketball but didn't know where to start, this series is for you.