If you’re a team that is vulnerable to getting beat on the fast break, the strategy makes some sense.
but the fast break comes off of rebounds with the clock running and the offense spread throughout the floor so long rebound bounces get outlet passes or a defender at the top of the key breaks loose, but NEVER on free throws. everyone is bunched in the lane and there is one defender from each team outside the 3 point line so no chance of a fast break at all, never happens and never seen it off a FT. there's no one on the perimeter to break free behind the D.
watch every game from now one, watch every free throw with men on the line and see if any ever turn into a fast break. maybe a run out but never a fast break with a quick shot. at minimum, you put two guys there, one shooting and the other two back. the other team has two put 4 on the line with one back to ensure they get the rebound. two men with them in the lane disrupts everything. it makes the other team have to think of every possibility. what happens if we don't get the rebound. who do we foul. what if there's a scramble and we lose 4 seconds. what happens if it's a jump ball.
you eliminate every single one of these scenarios and many more but not putting someone on the line and you only eliminate very few by keeping men back.
but teams that don't put two in the lane and instead bring four back on defense are lunatics. putting two in the lane increases your chances of getting the rebound astronomically. it went from zero only to being a 3 in 7 chance, or 42.85%, but let's round down to 20% because of D closest to the rim, and then up to 100% chance.
think about that. if you were a gambler and wanted to win the game, would you do something that greatly increased your odds of getting a loose rebound and thus winning the game, or you stick with the zero percent chance of getting the rebound.
additionally, if the ft is made, you;ve got two guys there to press a bit and slow their upcourt advance, maybe even pressure them. even create a turnover. pressure causes cracks. loosy goosy defense does not. never seen a turnover from a team bringing the ball up court with with players and no defenders near them but i've seen thousands of turnovers when some pressures the ball handler.
instead coaches sit 4 guys back at their defensive arc and wait for the D to attack, giving them all the time to overlook the D, see what's going on, allowing them to make an informed decision, allowing them to calmly run their play and do what they want to do. that's what you get when you put no men on the line with your shooter. calm team coming up the floor to attack with full vision, no pressure, no cause for concern. stupid, stupid, stupid. means you do not want to win.
instead, put two guys in the lane, and your odds of winning go up 50% imho. simple odds increase to win if you do. and it's basically, lazy coaching, saying let's have our team not try, not give effort, not try to get the rebound. it's a loose fffing ball and you're giving it away to them for free with no time coming off the clock, no pressure and no reason to think you are making them work at all or even think about their next action, it's being handed to them on a silver platter.
and that's considered a sound defense. and it does not allow you to intentionally foul as easy if needed. so again, watch every game in the future and see if there is any fast break on a normal free throw attempt. then watch the end of games where it's a free throw contest and the winning team won;t put any players on the line allowing the other team to come straight up the floor uncontested until they approach the arc. absolute lunacy and have no idea why anyone would play this way. also tends to lead to open deep threes from the other team because the defense picks up too late and too deep.
