3-on-3 Closeouts and Rotations - Small-Sided Game Ideas

Neil Houghton is one of our most active Transforming members based in Melbourne, Australia.

As part of one of our membership challenges, Neil shared some great ideas for coaches to use 3-on-3 in their practices.

Below, Neil provides numerous ideas on how you can use constraints to get far more value out of 3-on-3 as opposed to simply rolling the balls out and randomly playing as part of a games-based approach.

The Importance of Practicing Close-outs

Although there are no direct statistics to measure the amount of closeouts per game in pro Basketball per 100 possessions. It can be estimated that regardless of what triggers or offensive actions teams use, they will inevitably create close-out opportunities. This makes it one of the most common types of situations that occur in a basketball game. The first SSG above, therefore, is a great reason why coaches should adopt this close-out start for their SSGs.

The same can be said for closing out to a shooter after a scramble situation which will occur in the second SSG above. Both of these are great situations for both the offense and defense to work attacking and defending the close-outs.

Defensively, coaches can install 3 types of close-outs:

Hot: This is for a great shooter. Think Steph Curry. The defender has to run this player off the line and make them drive.

Cold: This is for a poor shooter. Think Giannis Antetokounmpo. Defense wants to give this player space and invite them to shoot instead of driving.

Normal: This is for a player that can both shoot and drive. Think Kevin Durant. Players want to close-out 1 arms distance away and be able to contest the shot and contain the drive.

Withing this SSG the defense can also learn KYP (Know Your Personnel) and close out appropriately depending on what type of player has the ball, hopefully, getting the offense back to neutral.