Special Situations

BLOB (baseline out of bounds) and SLOB (sideline out of bounds) plays are scripted possessions from dead balls. A good BLOB package includes: a quick-hitter for a layup (screen the rim protector), a safe entry vs. pressure, and a counter for when the defense jumps the first option.

Classic BLOB geometry: the 'box' and 'stack' alignments, screening actions for the inbounder ('screen the screener' is the oldest trick that still works), and always a safety valve. The inbounder's 5-second count is the constraint everything races against.

ATO plays are where coaching is most visible: a scripted action the defense hasn't seen, aimed at a specific matchup or a specific shot. Great ATO coaches script the first option AND the next two dominoes — knowing the defense will take something away.

The meta-game matters: if you've run 'horns flare' three times this season, the opponent scouted it — so run its counter out of the identical starting picture. Series beat plays. Your alignments are your vocabulary; counters are your grammar.

The final-possession menu every team drills: need a 3 (screens for your best shooter, with a slip counter), need a 2 quickly (attack the rim with a kick-out plan), up 3 defending (foul or defend straight — pre-decided!), full-court with 2 seconds (the long lob and the 'throw-ahead + timeout' option where legal).

Practice these with the actual scoreboard running. Executing a play you've rehearsed 50 times beats inventing brilliance under pressure — preparation is the clutch gene.