One of the most influential attributes of winning teams is their ability to complete passes. Turnovers cost teams more than just possession of the ball. They cost momentum and morale. Being a team that completes passes limits turnovers and leads to easy baskets.
Often after facing a "good team", we try to figure out how they beat us. We look at shooting percentages and the individual matchups. However, what more often than not is the root cause of the loss is our own turnovers.
This is the reason we put pressure on the ball. It's why we double team the post. And why we trap in the corners. We want to force the other team to make a mistake with their passing. You have definitely heard your coach say something like, "Pressure the ball and they will make a mistake." And your coach is right. Pressure will force mistakes and turnovers. Therefore you have to focus on completing your passes.
Successful teams complete passes. They work as a unit to get open, create passing lanes and eventually find the open player for a quality shot. These teams know that it is not the team that does things right that wins, but the team that doesn't make mistakes.
If you want to be successful, you have to make smart passing a part of your game. But this is easier said than done. What do smart passes look like? Smart passes move the ball around the court, ideally from one side of the floor to the other and also through the key. The most important factor in making smart passes is to stop making "iffy" passes.
We see these passes all the time in youth leagues. They are the passes to the cutter who calls for the ball even though they are guarded. They are the unnecessary bounce passes that take too long to reach the target. Passes across the middle lane. There are countless ways players make "iffy" passes. Limit yourself to making passes you are certain you can complete. Otherwise, hold the ball and improve your position until a smart pass becomes possible.
Most games are decided by less than 10 points. That is just 5 possessions or less. If each player on the team makes one less incomplete pass each game, your team will have an additional 10-12 possessions to score those points. Two more per person and the game should be out of reach in your favour.
The great thing about focusing on completing smart passes is that you don't have to worry about creating scoring opportunities. Completing passes and moving the defense will accomplish this for you.
Improve your Decision Making
How do you get better at completing passes? Make the decision today to be consistent in your practices. Stop trying to make the perfect pass. Forget the fancy passes. Improve your ball handling so you can see the floor better while under pressure. Commit to making safe, smart passes on every possession. Challenge yourself the next time you play pick-up ball to forget about scoring and focus on moving the ball intelligently. You will be surprised how well your team does with this simple change of mindset.