The one time the team in possession of the ball is at a numbers disadvantage is when inbounding the ball. With the passer out of bounds, the defense has a five-to-four advantage on the offense. Therefore, I've always emphasized that the chief purpose of out-of-bounds plays is to enter the ball safely so that the offense maintains possession and evens out the on-court player matchups to five on five. Teams that are inclined to want to accomplish much more than that will try to force the ball to a particular player and often commit turnovers doing so. For that reason, players should be discouraged from making a quick score the primary objective when they inbound the ball, unless the game or shot clock dictates otherwise.

Simply getting the ball into play to run the offense might not provide the same immediate gratification of a made basket, but neither does it exact the penalties associated with turning the ball over to the opponent. If the team is well drilled and confident in its offensive attack, as it should be, then it is best to forgo the risky pass that might lead to a basket, and instead run the primary plays and options of the offense. Attempting to stop several cuts, screens, and passes for 20-plus seconds is much more taxing than defending a single play. And, remember, the offense is attempting to run that play at a four-to-five player disadvantage.

Establishing the priority of initiating the offense safely when inbounding the ball does not diminish the scoring value of out-of-bounds plays. Some players and teams do a poor job of defending in those situations and almost invite the offense to exploit their weaknesses. In that case, an offense is negligent if it fails to look for a quick strike for a score. In fact, the players should always look for the score. Inbounding basketball legends safely is contingent on creating catch-and-score opportunities close to the basket, because this collapses the defense, opening up the outside.