Off-season workouts are different for each NBA player. They differ due to the fact that all basketball players have individual weaknesses. In this article I will be writing about the off-season workout strategy I used to help improve some of the weaknesses that the Houston Rockets’ Steve Francis was experiencing in his game. Some of the skills that we focused on during these workouts included playing lower to the ground as well as implementing the seal step and the Westside move. All of the workouts were conducted in New Orleans so that Steve could rehab his knee and workout with fitness guru, Macknie Shilstone.
I chose first to focus on Steve’s tendency to play high. Steve is a shifty player with the ball and he tends to keep his body upright especially when attempting to beat his opponent off the dribble. He remains high as well when he is in a triple threat situation. To combat this problem, I used basic high hurdles and had Steve stay low to dribble underneath the hurdles. By doing this, we were forcing him to break his habit of maintaining an upright position while handling the ball. We typically ran this drill for approximately 15 minutes a day. While the hurdle technique served its specific role to teach proper body control, I also made sure to encourage Steve’s staying low in all drills that we ran to reinforce those skills. In most sports the lower men usually win. With that in mind, we worked on this ability very hard during our sessions. Steve did a great job of giving this skill which could be considered a minor detail of the game, the attention it deserved and it paid off greatly in the end.
The seal step came next in our workout progression. Steve, like most players usually beats his opponent with his outside foot (which is the same as the hand the ball is in). Although this technique is effective, it doesn’t provide maximum protection of the ball. To compensate for this, the offensive player must go wider around the defender ultimately creating a retreat angle for the defender to cut him off.
I attempted to capitalize on Steve’s already impressive first step by working with him on first sealing the defender out with his first step and then holding his line to the basket. When working on the seal step, it is important that you pause ever so slightly to seal your defender out with the inside foot while taking a hard dribble next to your outside foot. The player should also lower his body to the point that their shoulder is at the level of the defenders hip. The key to this technique is the hard dribble coinciding with the seal step to drive you past the defender (i.e. the ball and your inside foot should land at the same time). In this position the ball is slightly behind you allowing for maximum protection of the ball. The fact that the ball is highly protected cuts down the distance from the point of attack to the basket negating the need for a wider arch as when using the outside foot to step. When you lead with your inside foot, you have a better ability to counter good defense as well since the inside foot can quickly be used as a fulcrum for the hop back or other counter moves. The seal step is a necessary skill for players on all talent levels and of course, a player should be able to implement this move on both sides.
The last skill I really wanted to emphasize in my workouts with Steve was the Westside move. This move is extremely innovative and should only be used at the NBA level. The NBA is a copycat league and since Steve Francis is an extremely explosive player, I thought this move would be the perfect compliment to his game.
The Westside move is a separation move that was taught to me about 15 years ago. For ease of illustration, we will assume that the player is right handed. To execute the Westside move, the player uses an explosive crossover from the right to the left hand while hopping back to the right. The crossover is very tight and in a jerking motion, not wide like most players do these days. The player needs to sell the crossover by using their left shoulder to lean left and then quickly hopping back to the right which normally will leave you wide open for the shot. You can also do this with the between the legs and behind the back dribble (when referring the behind the back dribble I am talking about the square back not the wrap around). If executed correctly, this is a great move, however it is very difficult to perfect. The Westside move is a high risk move but done right it has an even higher reward.
Steve’s workouts were always intense. The moves we worked on were meant to further his all around game. The abilities to play lower and use the seal step created more opportunities to get to the foul line and the Westside move opened Steve’s game up again, giving people the chance to witness his biggest asset, his explosiveness. Although the meat of Steve’s workouts consisted of playing lower, the seal step, and the Westside move, we always rounded out the session by making sure that Steve got up a lot of shots, especially three pointers and executed intense ball handling drills.
Being an NBA trainer, I feel that it is important to analyze each player’s game to identify potential weaknesses. I then look for different ways to improve those weaknesses while adding three new techniques to their resume of skills. I like to encourage all of my players to be “doers” meaning they are willing to attempt new moves and techniques despite a tendency to make a mistake. I hope to remind them that winners are not mistake free, but rather, winners make the most mistakes since they are not afraid to fail.
