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Like a car. How fast you can go from 0-60 mph and how fast you go from 60-0 mph.
What The Heck Is Game Speed?
I was watching an old basketball game yesterday.
Although I would never admit it in a public forum, it is possible I have an entire box of taped NBA basketball games that I used to watch and re-watch, learning, studying and absorbing everything I could to help my own basketball game 
And it’s also possible I popped in one of these old tapes yesterday, just to check it out and watch some good basketball. Now, I don’t actively play basketball anymore. Ten years of non-stop work, dedication and competition was enough for me. I enjoyed the heck out of it, but I now have other goals.
Anyways, I was watching an old Phoenix Suns vs. Dallas Mavericks playoff game. It was from the 2005 playoffs, and Steve Nash had just polished off his first MVP season with the Suns.
As I watched Mr. Nash completely dominate this game, weaving in and out of the lane, disrupting the entire Maverick defense with the slipperiness of a stealth snake, a huge smile developed across my face. Why?
Because he was demonstrating exactly what GAME SPEED can do for YOU.
His game speed, his quickness, his reactions, his ability to move so darn efficiently, is what allowed him to absolutely terrorize the Maverick defense.
Now, if you lined him and say, Quentin Richardson (a Suns teammate of his at the time with a near 40″ vertical jump) on a track and had them race out to 100m, it’s not even a question who would win that race. Q-Rich would rock Nash 10 times out of 10.
But, if you were watching that same Suns-Mavericks game with me, it would have been clear to both of us who was “faster”, who had the (much) better game speed: Nash.
So, although Quentin Richardson would beat Steve Nash in a 100m race, or a 40-yard dash, it’s Nash who, in the game, was faster, who was quicker and who was better. Simple as that.
Put all that together, and, voila, we have our definitions:
Game Speed = Steve Nash
Non-Game Speed (or “Lab Speed”) = Quentin Richardson
I’ll be back on Friday with 3 specific things that you absolutely, positively must do if you want to be sure you’re game speed is improving, and not just your lab speed, but before I do, I need AT LEAST 3 comments from YOU about your definition of game speed, or what you think about when you hear the term “game-speed”.
See you in the comments section.
Alex
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6 comments - add yours
Elliot stern
July 24, 2009
alexmaroko
July 24, 2009
Love the car anaology dude. I think almost anything can be explained in terms of cars!
Sachin
July 25, 2009
Game speed to me is mostly about how fast you can think. I was at a point where I was just training my “lab speed” and ran faster and jumped higher. However, it didn’t completely translate onto the court. However, since playing more and getting game experience, it almost seems like I know what’s going to happen before it happens. Being able to see cues from other players and all that, it makes it so I can get steals, get to loose balls, and all that other good stuff. Footwork is a big thing too. Quick feet helps a lot. The less time it takes to “wind up” the better.
sam
July 25, 2009
i think its more like your reactions/instincts that you’ve built almost doing the work for you. Im not positive on this but i somewhat believe that the more you think the slower you are going to be in the game, why is why quentin richardson can do so well in say a 40 yard dash vs steve nash, theres no thought its just straight sprinting. Just my thoughts
sam
July 25, 2009
which is why** -my bad
mike
July 31, 2009
so true!!!!!!!!!
