Shot Clock Arbitrage

Ever since George explained to me benefit of going “2 for 1” as the clock was running down towards the end of a game or quarter, I have taken an interest in analyzing how to manage the clock.  The concept for going “2 for 1” is quite simple really; use the clock to get more shots off than the opponent can in that time.

The most basic example would be if your team got the ball with say 40 seconds to go in the NBA (24 second shot clock).  The goal for you would be to get off a shot with roughly 25-30 seconds left on the game clock.  So, you have roughly 10-15 seconds to get off a shot.  This way, there will be, say 28 seconds on the game clock and 24 seconds left on the shot clock for your opponent when they get the ball.  They will have to get a shot off with time left on the game clock so you will be able to get one last shot.  Be careful not to get the shot off with too MUCH time left (ie. 30+ seconds) or they may be able to get off a quick shot and do the same to you.  Also, if you get your shot off with less than 24 seconds, they can hold the ball for the last shot.

An interesting twist to the shot clock versus game clock analysis has been brought up by Mark Cuban on his blog in a post called “An NBA Fun Fact“.  He points out a situation in a recent Suns vs Spurs game where the shot clock showed 24 seconds and the game clock showed 23.6 left on the clock.  Apparently shot clocks are made to work this way.  They actually start at 24.9 so that when the clock changes from 1 to 0, that is when the buzzer goes off and the shot clock expires.  I have not confirmed if college and high school shot clocks work the same way, starting from 35.9 seconds, but my experience with watching them expire and the light and buzzer go off makes me think they do.

While the shot clock versus game clock situation described above does not happen often, it does bring up an important point for managing very little time left on the shot clock.  If the shot clock says there is only 1 or 2 seconds left on the clock, that really means 0.1 to 1.9 seconds left on the clock.  So do not expect a full “one…” or “one…two…” count.  These sort of situations usually occur when the ball goes out of bounds and you have time to look and see the short clock.  In this case, make sure everyone on your team knows the true time left on the clock in order to get off a shot.

Watch this video for a good explanation of the difference in the shot clocks.

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