Posts Tagged Defense
Maintaining Defensive Focus
Posted by Coach Harris in Coaching, UEA on 29/03/2010
I was coaching a game a few weeks ago and our opponents (the best team in the league) hit several threes in a row on us. I couldn’t remember the last time that had happened to us and watching the next possession it was easy to see why.
The key weakness was that our low post player wasn’t rotating up to the shooter when the ball was swung quickly around the top. We’d never experienced this before because we had been so used to not having to rotate in the proper way in other games, that our players had simply gotten out of the habit of doing it.
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Playing against teams that couldn’t stretch our defense or move the ball quickly had made us lazy. We thought it was fine to sit on the low block and wait for the inevitable drive into the middle where we could swarm the ball, or the badly missed three-point attempt where we could easily secure the rebound and get out on the break.
It takes a special desire to keep playing defense the right way, even when it seems unnecessary. Playing lazy for several games creates a deadly complacency in your team. You might win those games by large margins because of the quality of opponent, but how many coaches will be aware of the harm their team is secretly inflicting on itself?
This is more likely to be a problem for University teams who often play in BUCS and/or National League and also a local league. In every game, regardless of the level of opponent, we must hold our players accountable for everything. We must demand hustle and effort on every play. We should strive to emulate those great coaches who coach a game where they are up 40 the same as if they were down 40, demanding everything from their team.
Leaving shooters open
Posted by Coach Harris in Coaching, NBA on 13/08/2009
I played a 4 vs. 4 pickup game recently and a guy on my team (usually a solid shooter from 3pt range) was having an off shooting night. Their defender started going under screens and letting them shoot the ball regularly, preferring to stop the dribble threat. The shooter made a low percentage and the tactic worked. I was therefore surprised that one of his teammates called him out for ‘going under screens on a shooter’. There are several aspects to consider here. Firstly, in a professional league like the NBA, going under screens is never a good idea on any reasonably competent shooter, as it only takes one shot to win a game and recent research suggests that there’s no such thing as a ‘hot streak’ (and therefore a ‘cold streak’). You only need to look as far as shooters like Ray Allen and Reggie Miller (and recently Derek Fisher vs. Jameer Nelson in The Finals), who have had terrible shooting games then come back to hit a gamewinner because defenders stood off. A couple of years ago in the NBA Kyle Korver was 0-17 from 3pt range then hit a gamewinning shot at the buzzer.
However, this is a amateur pickup game, and I would encourage my players to read their offensive player’s abilities when playing defense. Shooting is generally of low quality from 3pt range in lower leagues (especially in the UK) and I would much rather surrender outside shots than layups. Force your opponent to make the tough shots and instead concentrate on blocking the key to prevent easy baskets. It’s also important to recognise who the threats are, and if you can leave your man to play help defense. Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said after their Game 1 loss to the Lakers last night, in which CJ Miles and Ronnie Brewer combined to shoot 4-16FG:
[the Lakers] know who they’re guarding. There’s a reason guys are open out there.
Even in the NBA, the defense is leaving poor shooters open to play better help defense. The tactic clearly worked and the Lakers won the game comfortably.
Offense: Jump shooting is an underrated skill. Shooting consistency keeps the defense honest and opens the floor for dribble penetration and easy baskets in the paint.
Defense: Recognise who you are guarding and be smart in your help defense rotations. Leave weak shooters and identify and exploit the offensive limitations of the player you are guarding.
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