Bill Schoening: All About The "D"

[Spurs Brazil]

All About The "D"
by Bill Schoening | January 6, 2010

During their recent five-game winning streak which was snapped at Toronto, the Spurs put up some very impressive offensive numbers. The Spurs , however, still want defense to be their calling card and over the past two weeks, there appears to have been some progress made on the that end of the floor.

Veteran center Theo Ratliff has carved out a lengthy NBA career because of his abilities as an interior defender and during the recent road trip said, "The defense is getting better. A lot of it is recognition, knowing what Coach Pop wants us to do out there, like people helping each other out, being aggressive and tough, and understanding what our game plan is."

Over the past half-dozen games, Spurs' opponents are shoooting just 43% from the floor and averaging just 89 points per game. Ratliff says the Spurs still have lots of room to grow, stating, "We just want to keep it up, keep our concentration, and focus on the small things that Coach is constantly on us about. That way we can continue to improve and get better."


http://www.nba.com/spurs/timeout/20secondto.html

[ElNono]

Is anybody reading this? Hello Spurs players, are you reading this shit?

[HarlemHeat37]

We're up to 9th defensively, which is good, but I don't think this team can peak much higher..we don't have the tools to be an elite defensive team IMO, still missing that defensive big..

[mystargtr34]

The team is definately improving defensively, albeit against mediocre competition... they are now 7th in Defensive Efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions)... Dallas and Orlando (5th and 6th) concede less than 1 PPG fewer than the Spurs, so they arent far of being a top 5 defensive team in the league through 35 games or so..

The true test will be to see how that number holds up over the next two weeks where there are some tougher games coming up, against some high powered offensive teams..

An interesting stat is that the Spurs are third in the league in differential between Offensive Efficiency and Defensive Efficiency (behind Boston and Cleveland). Normally this stat is an important one in terms of recognising how good a team really is, especially when a teams W-L record is not as good as their stats might suggest... like the Spurs - it often indicates a team is winning by blowouts, and losing by small margins, or games which are winnable - both very good signs.

Have to agree with Harlem though, to be a true contender, there is still a missing link - a defensive big man.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Have to agree with Harlem though, to be a true contender, there is still a missing link - a defensive big man.

a fkn athletic big who can defend, reb, block shot

too bad theres only a handful of players that does that only....

[TJastal]

The team is definately improving defensively, albeit against mediocre competition... they are now 7th in Defensive Efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions)... Dallas and Orlando (5th and 6th) concede less than 1 PPG fewer than the Spurs, so they arent far of being a top 5 defensive team in the league through 35 games or so..

The true test will be to see how that number holds up over the next two weeks where there are some tougher games coming up, against some high powered offensive teams..

An interesting stat is that the Spurs are third in the league in differential between Offensive Efficiency and Defensive Efficiency (behind Boston and Cleveland). Normally this stat is an important one in terms of recognising how good a team really is, especially when a teams W-L record is not as good as their stats might suggest... like the Spurs - it often indicates a team is winning by blowouts, and losing by small margins, or games which are winnable - both very good signs.

Have to agree with Harlem though, to be a true contender, there is still a missing link - a defensive big man.

I think Ratliff still has enough left in the tank to fill that role if needed. Thing is, the spurs might not even need that type of player if Blair can continue holding his own defensively. And for 90% of the teams out there a Duncan/Blair frontcourt is already more than enough defensively.

Right now the spurs froncourt is pretty solid, even without Bonner. Once Bonner returns and gives the spurs that big that can space the floor we'll be more than fine.

[SpurNation]

We're up to 9th defensively, which is good, but I don't think this team can peak much higher..we don't have the tools to be an elite defensive team IMO, still missing that defensive big..

Once again...+1

Keep bringing it HarlemHeat37. Your posts always seem to mention much of the same thoughts I have...only written better than I have the abilty to convey.