The ISO Play

In basketball an isolation play (the “ISO”) is me takin’ you straight to the cup (basket) and embarrassing you in front of your family. But round-ball purists would say the individual skill to beat a guy one-on-one is overdone. Realists who live by modern assessments of the game would say, “Ain’t no team game without a couple of really good one-on-one players.” Who’s right?

Isolation is an art form if you’ve watched how some of these NBA hoopers evade their human obstacles. I mean, that’s what a defender is right? An obstacle? There’s 30 teams in the NBA and they hold onto about 12-13 players who actually suit up. That’s just under 400 jobs for some of the best athletes in the world. And yet of the 400 of them how many are Kevin Durant-like and can get off any shot at will. You’ve got to consider the ingredients of the rarest players currently in the league. Durant is 6’11” with, I’m told, a 7’10” wing span and guard ball handling skills. Lebron James is 6’9″ and 250 pounds and Kobe Bryant has the coordination of a European soccer player. My point being that the isolation game requires either thousands of hours of rigorous practice, not ironically, in isolation or freakish physical advantages a la Shaquille O’neal’s mountainous frame. Either you isolate yourself in preparation so you can destroy your opponent when you get him one-on-one or you punish foes because you have natural ability to do it.

I guess what I’m saying is that the ability to thrive in isolated situations is not common, even among the elite athletes of the world. Most people rarely encounter confrontation and so combat is both foreign and grossly intimidating. Most aren’t prepared for a one-on-one and don’t have the inherent skills to triumph in a one-on-one. And yet what do we see in the NBA and in life? I see lot of people attempting one-on-one exploits with one-on-none skills. And is life not similar as we battle various addictions, fears and insecurities with prideful hearts? There’s a handful of people in sports who can do what they want when they want, again because of the countless hours of prep and /or physical prowess. So how do we become good in life’s isolation play you ask? It’s starts with humility and respect. Are we humble enough to admit weakness and risk being vulnerable? And do we respect the opponent (i.e. life’s challenges) enough to prepare spiritually?