In the past season, the Spurs were a poor defensive team. The once proud defensive team ranked 30th in defensive efficiency! This should be the first time in the Popovich era.
But there is no way. The current lineup is basically full of young people. Sometimes everyone on the field seems to be completely lost, and the defensive end is like a mess.
Popovich, who has always been picky about defense, has no choice. As the saying goes, Rome was not built in a day. This sentence is also applicable to defense.
The defense of a team is related to the players. A player’s personal defensive willingness, awareness and ability determine the quality of his defense. And more importantly, it also has something to do with a team’s defensive strategy.
For a long time, the Spurs’ practice in defending pick-and-rolls is: when the opponent initiates a pick-and-roll, the Spurs choose the center to retreat inside and sink to the basket to suppress the opponent’s breakthrough, and the defender who is blocked will It was the one who bypassed the cover and followed the blocker.
This tactic, which the Spurs have used for a long time, is mainly to pinch the opponent’s offense at the basket and the baseline shot, but it allows the opponent to make jump shots from the mid-range.
This method, as long as there is a top CIC player on the opposite side, it can basically be cracked, such as Kobe back then, Ellis in 2014, etc. Even if it can’t disintegrate the Spurs’ defensive system, it can still cause a lot of trouble.
This has been one of the most common ways the Spurs have defended pick-and-rolls for years, and while most teams now have stretch bigs they can use to crack it, making it lose some of its popularity, with the right personnel, it’s still A viable defensive strategy, at least during the regular season.
In the past season, the Spurs had Poeltl first and then Collins. They did a good job of defending against the opponent’s breakthrough. With a three-pointer in hand, they use the big man as a block, and then break it out. If the Spurs’ big man continues to retreat, this tactic will be broken.
Faced with this situation, the big men of the Spurs are actually in a dilemma. They don’t know what to do when choosing whether to go out or retreat, and those smart ball-handlers will not give you so much time to think about it. The shooting strategy, so they will shoot in the middle distance.
In the past season, we can see that as long as the opponent initiates a pick-and-roll, the success rate will be very high. The Spurs do not have much power to parry. The reason is not difficult to understand. The Spurs’ perimeter defense is too easy to be blocked, and the chemistry between teammates The reaction cannot be blocked in a timely and effective manner.
The Spurs are the best pick-and-roll defense right now, and it turns out to be Romeo, who has been injured all the time. His ability to bypass the pick-and-roll is the strongest in the team, and he can often pass it without losing his position. That’s him, the others People, opponents block one by one.
Right now, this group of young people is not bad in terms of single defense ability. Thorhan is almost capable of defending four positions, and Johnson is okay against the small forward, but his big size is destined to prevent him from defending. Defender, he’s too slow. In terms of size alone, Vassell is the best wing defender, but his defensive skills seem to be slowly losing.
Surprisingly, Jones does a good job of switching players bigger than him, mainly because he can draw offensive fouls, but it can’t be used all over the court, and he can’t keep falling down the court.
On the bench, Diop and Romeo can provide some flexibility, but Brother Dao’s defense is a bit eye-catching. His awareness and footwork prevent him from changing defenses. Rookies Branham and Wesley are too young to have enough strength and skill to defend several positions.
For the above reasons, the opponent can often play misplaced singles against the Spurs, and the success rate is quite high. Once you help defend or double-team, the opponent will immediately have an open space. If you don’t help defend, you can only help the opponent score.
So why do the Spurs still defend pick-and-rolls this way? Because this method is relatively safe, unless the opponent’s big man is a person who can open up space.
But this method also needs to make some adjustments, including letting the center defend or directly switch defenses, but switching defenses as the basic way of defense in the regular season is feasible. If it comes to the playoffs, it will become a target for opponents.
What the Spurs lack most at the moment is a strong individual player who can handle the opponent’s screen. If Romeo can maintain 100% health, he will be a very suitable candidate. Otherwise, he can only be eliminated from the draft.
The Spurs have basically abandoned the concept of having two big men on the court at the same time, which can make the defensive rotation faster and can defend multiple positions. So far, Sohan has done a good job in this regard, and Vasse If Hall puts more energy on defense, he should also be a good choice.
The biggest problem is Johnson at the small forward position. His perimeter defense is not very good, and he still needs to improve a lot. Only when his defense is improved, can the Spurs hope to become an elite defensive team.
If the Spurs can select Wenban, they will have a center who can protect the penalty area and attack the perimeter. If they go with a big playmaker like Thompson or Blake, they can field a lineup that’s no shorter than 6-foot-4, and it’s a lineup that works well in defensive rotation.
As long as Popovich is around, the Spurs’ defensive philosophy and system will still be there. Now it’s mainly about the players. If there are good players next season and everyone shows their talents and abilities on the defensive end, then by then The Spurs’ defense will not be so eye-catching.
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