Quagmire
Years ago

Knicks Defence- not an oxymoron.

Looking at truehoop today and there is a link to video of the Knicks playing D against the Hornets.

In the video we see the knicks switch on every single screen the hornets played. It made life for the Hornets real tough and got the Knicks an away victory.

Essentially, the play most run in the NBA is the screen and roll or variations of. The question has always been how to defend it best (if it is executed properly- it is almost always going to garner a high % shot) Go over or under the screen, send help early etc.

Usually you would hesitate to switch because the other team would get a mis-match like a center guarding a pg or a pg getting posted by a center.

Coach D has obviously decided to put a team on the floor that can guard multiple positions, Lee, Jeffries, Chandler, Richardson and Duhon which enable them to switch on the roll and diminish its effects.

Not to mention who comes off the bench- Thomas, Harrington and in a few weeks, the rook Gallinari.

Nate and Duhon, despite their vertical challenges, are strong as hell and can at least hold pos in the post until help arrives. (the knicks are also good at waiting for the right time, and faking help D in this situation.)

In coach D's system its much harder for teams to get these types of mis-matches and it is making life for screen and roll teams very hard.

Is this going to be the evolution of basketball?

The abolition of traditional line ups, replaced by a 4 medium-bigs and one point guard?

The system obviously worked against the Hornets- but no Hornet not named Paul can pass worth a darn.

Could it work against the Duncan/Parker screen and roll? (the cadilac of screen and rolls) where Duncan could be counted on to make the extra pass/play?

Regardless- the system is getting the knicks wins that their roster suggests shouldn't be possible.

Now the big question- How well would LBJ fit in this system? Bosh? Wade? any combination of the three?

Knicks fans- there is a whole lotta light at the end of this tunnel...

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Mystro  
Years ago

Thats what Detroit has in Tashaun Prince, a big guy capable of guarding any position but yeah I think your dead right on the 4 medium bigs that are more agile to defend across more positions being the way of the future in the NBA and other leagues.

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KingJames  
Years ago

Knicks are actually the 3rd worst defensive team in the league, giving up 106 points per game!

How they beat the Hornets away I will never know! Sometimes better teams lose to shit teams as they match up well on them.

Even with this amazing coach that you keep telling us about the Knicks are 14-22!

I wonder if that clown reporter still thinks they will get a better record then Phoenix.

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Quagmire  
Years ago

So Kingjames- your defensive ranking is based 100% on points per game?

So the tempo of a game has zero to do with it?

The coaches available players and their ability to defend has nothing to do with it?

Come on man- your smarter than that.

also- That clown reporter didn't factor in two things, the return of old school Diesel and the trade for J-rich.

At the time it was written, it wasn't outside the realms of possibility...suns were looking like a team about to implode... they are looking ok now.

Another point- with the dragons of the NBL big users of the screen and roll- and the champion team will have to beat the dragons to get there- should the sixers look to switch more often? My memory of our losses to the dragons had us going under every screen...and paying the price...

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Panther  
Years ago

"So Kingjames- your defensive ranking is based 100% on points per game?"
No the other thing would be your opponents FG%...which the Knicks rank 2nd worse in allowing their opposition to shoot their 106 points per game at 47%!
So sorry Quagmire I gotta go with KingJames on this one, Knicks defence is TERRIBLE!!!

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Quagmire  
Years ago

I'm not saying the knicks are defensive powerhouse- far from it. They don't have the players. They do have a structure in place though and i think it needs to be noted that despite the rosters shortfalls, they actually have a system in place that could be effective down the line.

Lets just say i personally have upgraded the knicks D from awful to exhistsing.

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Defence?  
Years ago

I recently returned from a trip to NYC - managed to catch the NY/ Denver game at MSG 28/12.

Nuggets shot about 60% from the floor if I recall correctly- the standard of D from the Knicks was embarassingly bad, they really got shown up... Good to hear they have improved, and at least playing something resembling D!

How would LBJ, Bosh, Wade fit in? Obviously even one of these would instantly improve the current lineup, but I can't see them being a successful team unless the whole team improves place a much higher priority on its defence.

All three are athletic enough, so in theory they should be able to play the kind of switch D you suggest. But I think for this to work consistently the whole team needs to be committed to playing tough D. I know this is pretty obvious, (!) but based on what I saw, there didn't seem to be a lot of commitment on D, even for an NBA regular season game... That comittment was very notably lacking.

Fingers crossed that they will be a dominant team in a few years..... because they were a very frustrating team to watch.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

haha Panther 1, Quagmire 0.

Reply #221708 | Report this post




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