There is 1 second left on the clock, you are tied or down 1, and you have the ball out on the sideline. What can you do to get the ball and get a good shot off towards the basket to win the game? As a coach you need to be prepared for a lot of end of game scenarios and this is one of them. This SLOB play can help a team win a game on a last second tip in.
Too often I have seen teams and coaches not have a play to execute on the last second to win a game. As a coach these late game scenarios can be the difference from a win and a loss. This is a nice play to have tucked away if and when this situation happens in a game.
The SLOB starts off in a box formation. The near side elbow is going to be getting the lob pass so this player should be chosen depending on your team. An athletic guard who can jump would be ideal. In the diagram I have put the big(4) in this spot. The center(5) is on the near side block to hopefully have the defense focus on them in case of an entry pass straight to the post.
The backside elbow is a decoy. And the backside block is the player setting the screen. I have the point(1) setting the screen but this should be your best screener. The guard(2) is running the decoy spot. They are cutting through the lane to the near side corner. The guard(2) cut clears out the backside so there will not be any help side defender.
The box formation is similar to SLOB #1. This is a box formation with an elevator screen. If SLOB #1 has been ran in the game already then the defense could be guarding against that making the lob pass easier to get.
As the guard(2) clears the lane, the point(1) is coming up and setting the back screen for the big(4). The forward(3) will throw the pass towards the basket with the big(4) jumping and tipping the pass straight into the basket.
This is not an easy pass to make but with some practice, it is a very makeable pass. The player tipping the pass in should be athletic enough to still get the ball to the basket even on a bad pass. A lot of teams are using a stretch 4 so having the big(4) in this spot for an athletic stretch 4 would be a good choice.
This is a play I will practice once a week at the very end of practice getting 4 or 5 reps each time. I will tell the players that we will practice this all season and hope we never have to run it. But when the time comes when it is needed, the players will have the confidence that it is going to work because of all the reps we have put into it during practice.
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