I
Ian Pike Hammer
Guest
Given our slower foot speeds (generally) especially on the perimeter, should we go under or over the ball screen on defense at the top of the key? Give me your best logic.
lightning1
Well-Known Member
There are several ways to defend it. I hate the hard hedge. I'd rather fight through it with good communication, first and foremost. If the ball handler is a good 3pt shooter/poor decision maker, I attack the ball handler with a double team. If the ball handler is great at driving the lane but a poor shooter, I'll play a soft hedge. But I like my Forward/Center to still be above the FT line. How I choose to play the high ball screen depends on the personnel I'm attempting to defend. If I don't have a scouting report, It's 1. Fight through it with good communication. 2. Attack the ball handler with a double team. 3. Use a soft hedge.
These are simplified terms. With each one, the rest of the defense has specific things they need to do to make it successful. But it all starts with communication. If your teammates can't communicate, you are stuck playing 1 defensive option and hoping for the best.
These are simplified terms. With each one, the rest of the defense has specific things they need to do to make it successful. But it all starts with communication. If your teammates can't communicate, you are stuck playing 1 defensive option and hoping for the best.
JG10Hawk
Well-Known Member
I don't mind the hard hedge Fran likes to use with his post players. My only issue is that it seems like that's what they do the majority of the time. So any team that has scouted and has decent guards, knows to reverse the ball and find the open guy cutting. Last year the help defense/communication was not very good which allowed a cutter/slip screener to either run free or a guy in the corner to be wide open way too often.
Granted, if Fran does shake things up a bit, that requires the players to be on the same page and communicating...
Granted, if Fran does shake things up a bit, that requires the players to be on the same page and communicating...
lightning1
Well-Known Member
Guards were attacking Garza off that hedge last season. Or lobbing the ball over his head on the roll. He's too slow to recover to defend the goal.
MelroseHawkins
Well-Known Member
Iowa has gotten burned on that damn thing so much, almost to the point where it's not worth doing.
JG10Hawk
Well-Known Member
Agreed, that was sort of my point. Teams know it's coming so they know that Garza's guy can slip/roll straight to the hoop. Garza much like Woodbury early in his career, hedged too far and his guy would slip to the hoop or the guard would split the defenders and drive. If he is positioned correctly there should be little to no room to drive and the passing lane shrinks so that lob pass becomes more difficult and forces the guard to either go horizontal, hold or reverse the ball.
When executed correctly it's actually pretty fun to watch. Many probably won't believe it but Woody became very good at it. But again one has to be positioned correctly and read both the guard and the screener to be able to recover in time if it's slip screen. Not to mention the on ball defender also has a role in this as well... Something last years' team also lacked.
Yes they have, but so has every other team with however they want to guard the pick and roll. The pick and roll has no necessarily best way to defend it, it's about deciding what part of the pick and roll you want to take away. Fran chooses to hedge and try to stop the guard from penetrating and force him to go horizontal away from the hoop. If the big is out of position or the off ball defenders don't help deny/slow the reversal, the guy rolling/slipping can get a free shot at the rim.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
Good strategies, all. But you typically want to handle a ball screen the same way with each personnel package. It is easier to get the rest of the defense to do those specific things to make it successful if you do the same thing each time. The hardest thing to coach in basketball is what to do when you are going to hedge or double team an opponent. The secondary rotations are not easy to teach but when you get a team that can do it they can be monsters on the floor.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
Ideally Garza has to do better at that. That being said, it's also a secondary rotational thing. Our secondary rotation was awfully slow so that even when Garza didn't recover the lob over the head ended up being a good pass. Like I said earlier, secondary rotations are hard to teach. Some guys never get it - I see such secondary rotation breakdowns in the NBA a lot.
trj
Well-Known Member
Woodbury wasn't exactly fleet of foot. Yet, he was pretty good at hedging on those screens. Did his lack of athleticism get him stuck in no man's land at the top key from time to time? Yes. That being said, if Garza could reach Woodbury's level I would take that in a heartbeat. It's doable, frankly it is needed, if this team is to improve defensively.
trj
Well-Known Member
Defensive rotation has been an issue, even with Fran's good Iowa teams. With this current roster I think you are limited with what you can do defensively.
lightning1
Well-Known Member
That's why communication is so important. As well as knowing your opponents. You can't be a good defender if you don't know your opponents. You can't have good team defense if you don't talk on the court. That's a basketball IQ issue and I teach it all the time. I want my players to know there are differences in defending each and every player they encounter. Every player on the floor should know what the opposing PG likes to do, within the first 5 minutes of the game. And if the coach doesn't call a timeout to get the right defensive adjustment into the game, your PG better do it on the court. These are the things that coaches and players that value defense, will do.
lightning1
Well-Known Member
You have to teach it and you have to practice team defense. You can't just pay lip service to it. That's how you get your team to make the proper rotations. Jay Wright absolutely has it right. Spend 75% of your practice time on defense and rebounding. Most players will spend plenty of their own personal time working on their offense.
I don't watch the NBA and I cannot imagine NBA coaches spending too much practice time running defensive drills. If you don't put the time in to teach it and practice it, your team won't do it.
lightning1
Well-Known Member
trj
Well-Known Member
When I was younger and played pick up, that's all I did. That's how I played D, that's how i made up for my lack of athleticism.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
None of those guys got to the NBA because of their defense. They got there because of their offensive skills. They are all superb athletes. Defense is a matter of will at that level; you either have the will to do it or you don't. It helps when your top players buy in to your defensive philosophy. The Bulls of the '90s weren't the greatest offensive team but they played good defense because MJ demanded it and expected nothing less from himself or his teammates. We just need Tyler, as our best and most athletic player, to step up and expect nothing less from himself or his teammates. That would be a HUGE first step in playing better defense.
trj
Well-Known Member
Even with Fran putting more emphasis on D this year, they are limited on the defensive end on what they can do. That's why I am all about just "outscoring" teams. Increase the 3 pt. attempts, cater to what your team does well.
lightning1
Well-Known Member
I don't give a shit about the NBA or what they do or don't do.
Tyler Cook is not the worst defender on this team.
