Useful in late clock situations. Gives the ball handler a chance to get their bearings, re-assess the court & to find an advantage… rather than getting stuck in a bad situation.
Dribbling backwards makes the defender make a decision:
1 - They move forward to continue pressuring the ball. Thing is, their momentum moving forward makes them susceptible to getting beaten off the dribble. It becomes harder to move their feet & cut off a driving angle
2. They hang back instead of getting up. Now the ball handler has an opportunity to pull up for a shot because their defender is sagging off. This happens a lot… normally when an offensive player backs up, it allows them to get a head of steam. Because of this, a defender might anticipate the drive & stay backed off, rather than pressuring up on the ball
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