Establishing roles is a major part of every coach’s job description. A coach must (1) analyze a player’s strengths, 2) analyze a player’s weaknesses and 3) determine how each player will fit into the style of play. Once we know these things, we have to sell these roles to the players. That’s not always easy, since most players think that being a role player really means being a “never get to score” player!

With most players, if the role involves scoring points, they are happy. We know that not everyone can have that role — but we still have to make sure each player will buy into the role he is given. I have found that most every Championship team is made up of players who accept their roles.

We will always give a non-scoring role player some goals to accomplish each game, including scoring. For example, a big man we want to be a screener/defender might have these goals:

• Get one pass ahead fast break lay up per half (4 points/game)
• Get one offensive rebound basket per half (4 points/game)
• Make two free throws per half (4 points/game)

We now have him scoring 12 points, which should make him feel good about his offensive game that night. But the best part of it all is that none of these points has to come through our offense. You can actually keep his offensive game to purely a hustle-type of game, yet still help him score 12 points.

Roles are not always easy for a player to accept as they sometimes do not feature the player the way they think they should be featured. We will often tell the player that your role may not be what you want but it is what is best for the team. We feel if we put it into the context of the team there is a greater chance that it will be accepted…. Coach E

As we begin our training camp with the Boston Celtics we know that one of our greatest strengths from last season, DISCIPLINE, must be carried over to this season. If you were to analyze any Championship team you would find that a big part of its DNA is discipline.

I see discipline as the bridge between goals and accomplishment. The basketball season is a long, long season. We were together for 287 days in 2007-08. Without individual discipline coupled with team discipline, we could never have accomplished our goal of winning the NBA Championship.

Discipline takes on many forms depending on the player: from Ray Allen arriving at the game site 3 hours before tip off so he can go through his shooting preparations before anyone else on either team is in there (and I will tell you this was the case every night because I was right there with him), to Rajon Rondo making a minimum of 100 shots before each game so that he develops not only good form on his shot but also the workout discipline needed on a daily basis to become an improved shooter (we estimated that he made almost 12,000 shots total before all of the games combined last year — and 12,000 shots if done with fundamental form can improve your shot, to Kevin Garnett working on some part of his game just about every one of those 287 days (he is a very big believer in fundamentals and repetition). And this doesn’t even take into account a Paul Pierce working on the treadmill many days whether we are practicing or not.

There were a number of ingredients to our Championship run and without a doubt our discipline was one of the key ingredients. If anyone out there is looking to become number one in their field, discipline must be a part of your everyday existence!…Coach E

I know there are many blogs out there. There are some great ones, and there are some that just don’t offer much real information. So what will you find in Coach E’s Blog? Relevant, practical thoughts and information that can have a real impact on your team, your philosophy, and even your own personal motivation.

I want to reach as many coaches and others interested in the game as possible and share what I have learned through the opportunities and good fortunes the game of basketball has given me…from discussions with top coaches around the world, my journey through the collegiate and NBA ranks, and my work with the best of the best from high school, college, and professional levels. I want to share as much as I can for as long as I can.

– Coach E