End-of-game situations

Setup

1. Coach sets a card for each rep: score, game clock, shot clock, team fouls, timeouts left and where the ball starts.
2. Use the scoreboard and a table official so time and fouls are real.

How it runs

1. Before the ball is live, each team has 20 seconds to agree the plan, as in a real timeout.
2. Typical cards: down 2 with 7 seconds and no timeouts; up 3 with 10 seconds and a foul to give; 38 seconds left, play for a two-for-one.
3. Play the possession to the buzzer, then debrief for 30 seconds: what did the clock, score and fouls tell you?
4. Eight to ten reps, swapping attack and defence; the clock is the work, the debrief is the rest.

Coaching points

• Know the numbers before the ball is live: score, time, fouls to give, timeouts.
• The game clock starts on the first touch in court, not on the throw.
• Up 3 late: foul before the shot if you have a foul to give; switch everything on the arc.
• Two-for-one: shoot with more than the shot clock's worth of time left so you get the last possession.

Common mistakes

• Calling a timeout the team doesn't have.
• Settling for a contested two when down 3, or a three when a quick two forces overtime.
• Fouling a shooter on a three-point attempt.