I’m watching a lot of film this summer. It never fails that the teams that reverse the ball are the teams that get the best shots. A saying we have is, “there is a direct correlation between the number of ball reversals and defensive breakdowns.”

Reversing the ball, swing the ball, touching both sides — whatever your terminology is, the key is ball movement. I heard one NBA coach say, “the wins are on the other side of the floor.” I can tell you this: for the Celtics, that was a very true statement. It never failed in that we got our best shots when we reversed the ball.

Even though this is a simple concept, it is so important to offensive success that it can’t be taken for granted. I would tell you that Doc Rivers talks about ball reversal almost every day. It is so essential to our success that we feel it’s critical to make sure that it’s constantly on the minds of our players.

Get your guys to understand that the wins are on the other side of the floor almost all the time!