Decision-making — deciding whether or not to shoot — is a part of shooting, and shooting drills should incorporate these decisions. Here is a progression, based on an article from Fake Fundamentals, Volume 4, to show a progression from simple to complex, in terms of increasing decision-making and the drive/pass/shot decision into shooting drills.
Partner Shooting
As a two-player drill, Partner Shooting does not include the passing option. However, players read the closeout and decide to shoot or drive, so it is a simple drill to use as a starting point.
4v1 Spanish Shooting
4v1 Spanish Shooting eliminates dribbling, reducing the decision-making to a pass/shot decision. With a big offensive advantage (4v1), players should shoot only open shots, so this works as a beginner shooting drill.
4v2 Serbia Shooting
4v2 Serbia Shooting eliminates dribbling, reducing the decision-making to a pass/shot decision. With a big offensive advantage (4v2), players should shoot only open shots.
4v3 Serbia Shooting
4v3 Serbia Shooting eliminates dribbling, reducing the decision-making to a pass/shot decision. With a small offensive advantage (4v3), players should shoot open shots.
3-Player String Shooting
Three-player drill incorporating movement and decision-making. On the catch, players have option to shoot, drive and kick, or pass; the pass directly after the catch is used less frequently because of the spacing. On a pass out, players close out, so players begin to read the defense when making the drive/pass/shot decision.
5-Player String Shooting
5-Player String Shooting is 3v2, but restricted to catch-and-shoot attempts (because it is a shooting drill). On the catch, players can drive, pass, or shoot; when they drive, they drive to touch the paint (thee-second area) and kick. Defense closes out and contests shots.
3v3 Wildcat Rules
3v3 game with an emphasis on penetrate and kick and shooting. Players can receive a pass only outside the three-point line (initial rules). On the catch, they can drive, pass, or shoot.
Summary
There are many drills a coach can use to progress and regress based on players’ needs. These incorporate different levels of decision-making into shooting drills rather than practicing shooting only in isolated or individual drills devoid of the game context.
