A Classification System for Block Shots
Forgive this old man for not getting directly to the point. I want to ramble a little bit.
I’m a basketball fan. More specifically a Memphis Grizzlies fan who grew up in New England following the Red Auerbach and Bill Russell Celtics. Bill Russell may have never been the best basketball player who ever lived, but I would suggest he was the best team player who ever lived, including Lebron James and Michael Jordan. He was all about the win and making his teammates better.
I start with this because the concept I am about to discuss comes from Bill Russell.
Post Playing Career Bill Russell was an Basketball Analysis for Sunday Games.
During one game he discussed that not all blocks were created equal. A block out of bounds had a known outcome which did not include a change of possession. He stated that when he blocked a shot he tried to keep the ball in play. So what I’d like to suggest is a categorization of blocked shots.
Deflections.
This is already done with deflections. A simple deflection is just a disruption which causes the lose of a few clicks of the clock.
A deflection which is controlled by the player becomes a steal.
A deflection which is touched by an opponent and goes out of bounds is a turnover.
You get the point. Not all deflections are created equal.
Neither are blocked shots
Classifying Blocked Shots.
This may be being done already, but if it is not it should be.
The glamour blocked shot.
I have an example of this. Lebron James, Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat were in the Fedex Forum playing when late in the 4th quarter Chris Bosh blocked a shot 10+ rows into the seats. I was sitting in a nose bleed section with 3 young Heat fans in front of me. They went wild. I calmly asked them “what are you so excited about, who has the ball?” They looked each other and shut up.
Of course on the inbounds play the Grizzlies scored. On the next Heat possession a heat player was attacking Zach Randolph slipped as he was attempting to shot and Zach Randolph smothered the shot and the Grizzlies took off on a fast break.
My response was “now that’s a blocked shot” a little less calmly.
I believe this game ended on a last second buzzer beater by Rudy Gay.
The stat stuffing blocked shot.
This shot is returns to the shooter. The shooter can then have their next shot blocked as well. Hence, the stat stuffing blocked shot. This is similar to the Z-bound..
The Z-bound is when Zach Randolph would take missed shot and put it back in. Zach often Z-bound his own shot. Don’t get me wrong, this was good for the Grizzlies since it ended in a score
Blocked shot which goes back to the shooting team.
Sometimes a blocked shot goes to a teammate. Again not resulting in change of possession.
Held ball blocked shot.
This is just as it sounds. The ball never actually leaves the shooter’s hands and the shooter ends up returns to the court still in the possession of the ball. The result is a jump ball.
Blocked shot deflected out of bounds off an opponent.
This is a change of possession.
Blocked shot deflected to a teammate.
A desired result, that often leads to a fast break and an easy basket. Creating a quick 4 point turnaround. -2 points for the opponents and 2 points for the team with the block. This is a momentum changer.
The Smother.
Ja Morant’s blocked shot against the LA Lakers.
I listen to many Grizzlies games on the radio. I listen to Eric Hasseltine. I’m sorry Eric you just didn’t do Ja’s blocked shot justice.
Yes, you described how high he got. You indicated it was amazing. Yes, you indicated he got the ball back. But this blocked shot needd a new definition.
To be fair I’ve watched as TV announcers have struggled to describe it. Was it a steal or a block?
The smother A blocked shot caught in the air and recovered by the blocker. It was both a block and a steal!
Incredible doesn’t do it justice. I’ve heard the 10+ row glamour block described as incredible. This was beyond incredible it was a smother.
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