Sunday's Service – Round 15

Basketball is a simply complex game where the outcome of is quite straightforward; score lots of points and stop the other team from scoring in a 40 minute game. 

The game is broken up into quarters, four to be exact with extra overtime periods of five minutes if the game results in a tie at the end of the final siren. This all seems rather easy to accomplish right? 

Well, when you add many variables such as the players, coaches, crowd, referees etc and the degree of difficulty increases drastically. The before mentioned ‘straightforward’ game has now become a chess match of tactics, openings, attacking, defending and closing. 

Today I’ll be talking about the comparison between the wonderful games of chess and basketball.

The game of chess wandered into my life late in my teenage years when I started playing online. It’s a game where you know within the first three to four moves just how strong your opponent is and if you have a chance. In my early days of playing I would be quite aggressive and would be very frustrated when I lost key pieces to rash decision making early on. As the years have gone on, I’ve become more patient in my approach and generally don’t show my hand until the opponent makes a mistake or puts themselves in a compromising position before I launch an unrelenting attack. 

The early stages of chess pose an uncanny resemblance to the early stages of a player's career. In the early days it’s all gas and there's no brakes. Everything is done with great energy and effort at 100 miles an hour. I have always felt this is the way to go when you’re a young player as coaches and veteran teammates can tame that energy to an extent before experience kicks in. As the player plays more games and grows older they start to figure out their game and what’s required of them. Routine starts to set in with experience which gives space for more patience and a calculated approach to the game. Much like chess where there’s no time to panic if you lose a bishop or a knight early on in the game. Sometimes it’s better to go one step back before going two steps forward. 

On game night the fans and everyone on TV see the finished product but the chess game between the coaches is played long before that. For example, say we have a game on a Saturday night, the preparation starts the Monday prior where the coaches have to design training sessions all week around what they think we will encounter on game night. Some of the factors the coaches have to take into account include; how they played us the last time we faced this team, how have they been playing recently (generally the last three to five games), do they have their full roster and are they coming off a quick turnaround or a lot of rest. Film and scouting are the biggest aids when it comes to answering the above questions. 

Then the chess game begins! The first place you start is defence as it's the most controllable of the variables on the court. You can’t control whether you make shots on the night but you can control how we defend and guard their actions. You always have to prepare a secondary and/or sometimes third defensive strategy as well just in case. In chess there are many different openings, depending on who starts the game and the level of aggression of your opponent, the aim is to control the centre of the board early on in the game. This allows for the best defence against an attack and also a counterattack. 

Much like strategising a defensive game plan, you always have to be ready and not be caught off guard early on in the game. Positioning is everything. Once the coaches have created the plan, they begin to drill it in to us thoroughly so it somewhat becomes second nature when we see it play out in the game. Five guys knowing and moving with a purpose on the court in like knowing your pieces and moving them all with intention.

The second part of the game plan is the offensive side of the ball which is what most fans come to see. I mean the main objective of the game is to score lots of points, right. Teams generally have multiple systems in place that exploit different players or different areas of the court both positively and negatively. If you play a team that likes to play fast and in transition there is an offensive system that punishes their speed and attacks them late in the shot clock. If you play a slow defensively methodical team you want to exploit them where they’re weak or least effective. 

A lot of the responsibilities relies on the players when it comes to offence, this is where we have to make reads on the fly depending on how they guard certain actions and adjust accordingly. The coaches can affect how we prepare, during timeouts, and at each break but ultimately the players need to be ready for scenarios that may unfold during the game. Much like the defensive side of the ball this has to be practiced over and over again so that it too becomes second nature. On the chess board you never really know what your opponent is thinking so you have to be prepared for an attack at any given moment. Meaning you should always move a piece with a defensive backup otherwise you place yourself in a sticky situation which may cost you positioning. 

Now that the potential situations have been practiced and strategised over and over again it becomes time to go out and play the game. On game night the biggest variables that have not been accounted for include the referees and the crowd. You never really want to worry about the uncontrollables but they play a part so you have to be aware of them and adjust accordingly. If the refs are calling the game a little tighter than usual, then you have to adjust or risk fouling out. 

If the away crowd is a little louder than usual you have to adapt and focus in even more. I made the comparisons earlier to where a younger player may allow these factors to affect their game but a veteran who’s played many years may have the patience and experience to deal with such factors. On the chess board you have to always adapt and adjust to your opponent. If they get a queen behind your defence you have to adapt quickly or risk being wiped out. 

It gets down to the final minutes of the game and the game is rather close, tensions rise and everything becomes a bit more urgent. This is where execution is key and relying on the processes which have been practiced all week comes into play. You’ve seen this scenario many times before and have gone over the plays religiously leading up to this game. Similarly, when it comes close to the end of the chess game, if both sides are quite evenly matched and the pawns are close to promotion both players get tense and don’t want to make a composing move. 

The winner of the game is generally the team that executed down the stretch and the one that was able to focus in on the game plan. If the other team makes a miraculous play and ends up winning due to their brilliance then you shake their hand and say, ‘fair game.’ On the chess board you want to corner the king and force a checkmate or resign your opponent. Highly contested games end in only one winner from a battle that was worth watching or playing. 

The game of basketball, that had the very simple objective to put a ball in the hoop becomes not so simulate after all. You have to strategise, prepare defensively and offensively, prepare for counter attacks and execute at a high level. Each move is done with intentions and purpose much like the beautifully strategic game of chess. Some call it a boring game but it’s a game that requires patience and quick thinking. 

The next time you watch a basketball game I challenge you to watch closely and see the chess battle take place between the two opposing teams.