Age or Exposure

[SpurNation]

Spurs defense. I'm sure that age (and to some extent talent) has some to do with this team's lack of defensive effectiveness.

But looking at some of the games this year...I've also noticed teams taking advantage by exploiting some of the holes this system has even if the team had a Bowen in his prime.

Back door cuts and weak side screens have always been an achilies heel. Granted others in the past were able to push (direct) their opponent to a certain spot where weak side help could reak havoc. But teams are starting to be able (and not by sure will or one on one) pass the ball to effective spots against this defense.

It's almost as if once a team can pass to the blind side of this defense...there isn't any body (due to positioning) that is close enough to defend an easy shot. They've either over committed or too far away to effectively close out.

Again...not knowing the nuances of the entire system and who's to blame in those situations...I've also seen some decent defense by this team only to be exploited by the nature of the defense itself.

[dbestpro]

Maybe, a good thread to merge with the thread on defense.

[SpurNation]

Maybe, a good thread to merge with the thread on defense.

Good idea. I'll just copy and paste to there.

[ElNono]

Defense is A LOT easier if you can stay in front of your guy.
To stay in front of you guys you need one of:
A) Lateral quickness
B) Great footwork

Bowen had both, and towards the end of his career he was losing A, which is normal as players age and lose mobility.
But the fact he had outstanding footwork and stayed in shape is what kept him in the game for so long doing what he did so well.
In fact, he was so good, that he would always be moved to guard whoever player was hot at the time.

These days, Hill is probably the only player that has A, but he's still lacking on B. Manu is probably the best we have on B, but due to his age, he's lacking on A.
And neither is really as good or effective as Bruce.

Now, as far as holes in the system, we always had them. They're just a lot easier to exploit if you have holes everywhere. When Bruce was around, we reduced the game basically to a 4 on 4, with Bowen and whoever was the hot/best player of the other team being the men out. At that point, it's a lot easier to help when you already know that their best player is taken care of.

Obviously, there are other factors. Like Tim's decline and overall suckitude of whoever plays next to him.

[ElNono]

I moved my post there too...

Feel free to lock this thing.

[anonoftheinternets]

Defense is A LOT easier if you can stay in front of your guy.
To stay in front of you guys you need one of:
A) Lateral quickness
B) Great footwork

Bowen had both, and towards the end of his career he was losing A, which is normal as players age and lose mobility.
But the fact he had outstanding footwork and stayed in shape is what kept him in the game for so long doing what he did so well.
In fact, he was so good, that he would always be moved to guard whoever player was hot at the time.

These days, Hill is probably the only player that has A, but he's still lacking on B. Manu is probably the best we have on B, but due to his age, he's lacking on A.
And neither is really as good or effective as Bruce.

Now, as far as holes in the system, we always had them. They're just a lot easier to exploit if you have holes everywhere. When Bruce was around, we reduced the game basically to a 4 on 4, with Bowen and whoever was the hot/best player of the other team being the men out. At that point, it's a lot easier to help when you already know that their best player is taken care of.

Obviously, there are other factors. Like Tim's decline and overall suckitude of whoever plays next to him.

there is nothing like "take someone out" in san antonio's defense. We play the usual, force ball handlers baseline and smother them there.

The problem is a slight hesitation and our defense is exposed couple that with teh fact that some of our personel cannot funnel then properly without fouling, and addtionally our bigs are not rotating quickly or efficiently (old or learning system) and our problems are obvious.