Small-sided games library
Three Lives 5-on-5
Make one or two defensive principles decide the scrimmage.
- 10 players
- 2 baskets
- Defense
- Transition
Quick rules
Run It in 30 Seconds
- Play 5-on-5 for a set time, such as a five-minute quarter, or five trips before a reset. Use normal scoring.
- Each team has three lives. Lose all three and you lose the game, whatever the score.
- Choose how a life is lost. Start with one way, and add more once players know the game.
- The book's example: the last five minutes of a tied game, both teams on three team fouls, and a life lost for every open rim finish you give up. Up by 6 with 20 seconds left and you lose your third life? You lose.
From our guide to Basketball Defense.
Setup, Constraints and Explanation
Setup
This is an example of how activities used for many years can be enhanced greatly by the specific manipulation of task constraints. A 5-on-5 scrimmage is played across a certain time period (e.g. a five-minute quarter) or with five trips before a reset. This is played with normal game scoring but with one caveat: each team has three lives, and the game is automatically lost if one team loses all their lives. There are an endless number of ways in which a team may lose a life, which could be chosen by the coach and/or players based on what principles of play are most relevant. To begin with, scrimmages can be executed with only one consequence leading to a loss of a life, but eventually teams could play with more when players are familiar with the concept. Here are some examples of how lives could be lost:
- Conceding any type of open rim finish
- For each offensive rebound conceded
- Allowing a specific target player to score
- No communication on a defensive coverage
- Conceding transition scores within four seconds of losing possession
- The ball not being stopped early in transition
- On any instance the ball handler is not pressurized within the half-court
Constraints
Given the nature of the game, the main focus is on the scoring so there is no need to manipulate other constraints, which might lead to over-constraining. The key concept is that this idea and unique scoring system can be used with any other activity, not just 5-on-5 scrimmages.
Explanation
We will play a 5-on-5 scrimmage, simulating the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. Both teams will begin on three team fouls, and the scores are tied. We will play till the end of the quarter, unless one team loses all of their three lives. A life is lost for every open rim finish that is given up. That means even if you are winning by 6 points with 20 seconds to go, if you lose your third and final life you automatically lose the game!
From Transforming Basketball (2024) by Alex Sarama, chapter 8, pp. 278 to 279.
Make It Easier or Harder
Change one constraint at a time, watch what it does, then decide what comes next. The book's test is that the challenge point should be “just right” as opposed to being too easy or too hard. If players can't find a solution, take a constraint away rather than taking the defense away.
Adjustments from Our Guide
- Other ways to lose a life: each offensive rebound conceded, a target player scoring, no communication on a coverage, a transition score within four seconds, the ball not stopped early in transition, or a ball handler left without pressure in the half court.
- Keep the other rules the same so the scoring does the work. The same lives idea fits any other game.
From our guide to Basketball Defense.
Guides That Use This Game
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- Chameleon 1-on-1The defender recovers from three different disadvantages, or holds neutral (chest to chest), while the offense tries to keep or extend its advantage.
- Close-Out Bursts 1-on-1+2Close out from the free-throw line to an offensive player who can shoot or drive, many times in one minute.
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