It's a well-known and oft-used technique, but Lou Williams and the Philadelphia 76ers have taken the two-for-one to new levels.
In a neat piece for Sports Illustrated that examines Williams' tendency to shoot quickly at the end of quarter to maximize his team's number of possessions, Zach Lowe suggests a new name for the common play: the Lou-for-one.
"There's an art to it," said Sixers coach Doug Collins, who's famous for expounding on the virtues of the two-for-one during his time as a TV analyst. Williams has a good feel for time and situation, but sometimes he will look over at Collins to see if the coach thinks aggressively chasing the two-for-one is the right play.
Collins said at practice Thursday he'd prefer Williams take the first shot early enough so that the Sixers have between 10 and 12 seconds for the final possession of the quarter. Assuming the opponent uses as much of the 24-second clock as possible on the in-between possession, that timetable would require Williams to launch the first shot of the two-for-one with about 35 seconds left on the game clock.
READ LOWE'S WHOLE PIECE for some great quotes about the Lou-for-one from Williams, Derrick Rose, Doug Collins, Jodie Meeks, Evan Turner and Rod Thorn.
For complete 76ers coverage, visit Liberty Ballers. For complete NBA coverage, check outSB Nation's NBA hub.