The Triangle Offence. Made famous by the 90's Bulls and Kobe's Lakers, few single offences have created so much strategical success over nearly 60 years. On the surface the basis is simple, to create as many scoring opportunities for every player on the floor - every pass and every cut with has an intent purpose. In a time of post-game and mid-range masters, the triangle offence created order out of chaos and was the driving force behind many championship successes. However, as time has passed and the game of basketball has changed, a once-dominant offence has turned obsolete and died right in front of our very eyes.
Now I don't mean dead as in it passed away peacefully in its sleep and had a nice funeral service. I mean dead as in it was thrown in the back of a car and pushed off a bridge - a complete cold-case. One minute it was winning titles, the next is was in every coaches waste paper basket. So what happened?
It all started at the University of South California with Hall of Fame coach Sam Barry who established the basic principles during their 2nd overall run in the PCC in 1941. Tex Winter, a former player of Sam Barry's, developed this principles and turned it into the masterful ball movement that graced our TV screens for over 20 years.
The triangle saw further development under the watchful eye of Phil Jackson, who used it to capture six titles with the Bulls and another 5 with the Lakers. The offence took the scoring load off of elite scorers such as Jordan and Kobe and put the ball in the hands of all 5 players, making their teams unmatched in their offensive efficiency.
However, with players such as Steph Curry and Damian Lillard pushing the limits of 3-point shooting back to the nearest parking lot, its birth as the NBA's most valuable weapon has managed to kill every coaches greatest offence. The continued usage of the 3-point shot has forced post-players to become a dying breed and instead of establishing themselves in the low post, they are now expected to set big screens and run to the nearest spot from behind the arc. This has killed a pivitol part of the offence as the pass to the post was the ignitor for the rest of the offence.
Players such as James Harden and Kevin Durant have also rebirthed the 1v1 basketball that the triangle tried to kill in the early 90's, and with the ball on floor instead of in the air, this slows ball movement and allows the defence to settle - another key factor in the killing of the triangle.
The final blow came from the 3-pointer itself. In 1990, Vernon Maxwell led the league in 3-pointers made with 176 over the course of the regular season. In 2016, Steph Curry led the league with 402 - an increase of 128.4%. This growth represents the stretching of the triangle, forcing offensive players away from the basket and increased help defence, limiting the effectiveness of cuts to the basket and efficient ball movement.
At the end of the day, the 3-pointer has given us a really great spectacle to watch. Who wouldn't want to watch Steph Curry rain fire from 45 feet against a completely helpless defence. However, what is really represents is the death of old-fashioned basketball, where the ball was moved so quickly you never knew who was going to score or from where. This isn't a fact that is changing any time soon, so you better keep backing up from that 3-point line unless you too, want to be overtaken by the modern game.
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| Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan (thecomeback.com) |
Great insight to the game !
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