Two Passes Ahead: The Point Guard Who Wins the Game Before the Ball Arrives

There is a possession in the third quarter of Friday's win that ends in a wide-open corner three, and the box score credits the pass before it. That pass is not the play. The play is Amara Osei dribbling left for two seconds with no intention of going anywhere, because she needs the weak-side help defender to take one step toward the paint.

That one step is worth 1.4 points. The staff tracks it. Every time the help defender commits early, they chart the possession as a win, whether or not the shot goes in.

Manipulation over speed

Most young guards are taught to beat their man. Osei is being taught to beat the second man, then the third. Her first step is average. Her eyes are not: she is looking at the low corner while her body sells the drive, and by the time the ball leaves her hands the defense has already chosen wrong.

“I am not trying to get by you. I am trying to get you to help, because then somebody is open and I know where.”

The next step is the shot. Teams are already going under every screen she uses, daring a 31 percent three-point shooter to become a 38 percent one. If that number moves, the whole offense moves with it.