How to Use Floor is Lava to Transform Basketball Spacing?
There are many times throughout a season when you will want to use a CLA to emphasize certain principles of play with your team. One such principle may be increasing the space between players in the half court on offense. This is often expressed through the phrase “floor is lava”, indicating that we want to treat the inside of the arc as lava when we are not in possession of the ball. This allows players to get into and out space as quickly as possible. Doing this will facilitate more space for other driving opportunities for teammates.
By simply adding a floor is lava constraint to any small-sided game, this means that anytime a player is inside the arc for more than a few seconds (without it being an active cut to the rim), it is a turnover. By consistently officiating this, you will begin to see massive changes to the spacing used by your team.
Watch this video below for a full guide on using floor is lava:
Coaches can use the below SSG to practice using the floor is lava constraint.
Free resource
21 SSGs for your next practice.
A free PDF of small-sided games you can run right away. A practical first taste of the approach.
3-on-2 Dominoes Bursts
1. Players play offense and defense continuously for one minute until coaches yell time.
2. Offense can only score gold and silver medals.
3. Eight second shot clock
4. TO = catching the ball in the lava
Scoring: 2’s and 3’s / First team to 12 wins
Constraints:
Add = offense must be in different spacings everytime. Can also use WS dunker.
Add = same concept of bursts, but 4-on-3 out of varied spacings (not just both wings and both corners each rep).
Add = 4-on-3+1 ball on back, if defense recover to neutral it’s a TO. Three reps in a row then change.
Coaches can choose to allow players to space to clear or short spacing (see diagram above). In short, this means that after a drive and kick or a cut, the player can re-space to the weak side dunker.
For more ways to bring games like this to younger players, our youth basketball coaching guide covers the bigger picture, and the Dominoes Principle: Floor is Lava explains why keeping space creates advantages.
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