XFactor
04-25-2010, 09:10 AM
The Cleveland Cavaliers' thorny problem: How not to be sliced by Chicago's Rose
CHICAGO -- LeBron James is fond of saying that a playoff series doesn't begin until a team wins on the road.
That's a time-tested philosophy, but it isn't always true. There's a reason why homecourt advantage is valuable.
Perhaps a better measure is that a series doesn't start until both teams are losing sleep worrying about each other. That is always true for a team matching up with James. But it is going both ways now, because the Cavaliers are tossing and turning trying to figure out the Chicago Bulls' star, Derrick Rose.
Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer
Theres not much we havent done, coach Mike Brown said of the Cavaliers' efforts to defense Derrick Rose. We have to mix it up to keep him off balance.
CAVALIERS 3 POINTS FOR GAME 4
1. Even up the possession game: The Cavs have taken 27 fewer shots and committed 17 more turnovers in the series.
2. Limit Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng: Averaging a combined 22.5 points in Cavs' wins, had combined 47 in Game 3 loss.
3. Get Shaq involved: After being a force in Game 1, Shaquille O'Neal had a reduced role and production in Games 2 and 3.
CAVALIERS AT CHICAGO BULLS
GAME 4
Tipoff: Sunday, 3:30 p.m., United Center.
TV/radio: WEWS Ch. 5; WTAM AM/1100.
Notable: LeBron James is second among all players in playoff scoring at 34.3 points a game. ... Mo Williams is 26-of-55 (47 percent) on 3-pointers over his last nine games. ... The Bulls have just 12 turnovers over the past two games, the fewest in a two-game span of any time in the season. The previous best was 16.
Brian Windhorst
Rose was strong in the first two games but really tormented the Cavaliers in Game 3, scoring 31 points with no turnovers. He got every shot he wanted while setting up teammates with ease. Getting the young star under control is Priority One as the Cavs head into Game 4 Sunday afternoon at the United Center.
"He's a really good talent," James said of Rose. "We've got to find a way to contain him."
Here is the general book on Rose, strengths and weaknesses, according to several NBA scouts:
He has a tendency to drive left, but is more efficient going right, both in pulling up for jumpers or driving all the way to the rim.
He is an excellent finisher within 10 feet of the rim, but is not as effective when he has to take step-back floaters or jumpers.
The worst-case scenario for the defense is when Rose gets into the paint with an active dribble.
The best case scenario is when Rose is taking any kind of jumper, whether it is off dribble or catch-and-shoot, especially behind the 3-point line.
With limited offensive weapons, the Bulls play to these strengths by setting what amounts to an unlimited string of pick-and-rolls to allow Rose to get the corner and go to the rim. Usually they set the screen with a big man to make sure it is effective; in most cases involving Joakim Noah, Brad Miller or Taj Gibson.
The Cavs, like many teams, have countered with their own set of pick-and-roll defenses but only with limited success.
They have been:
To "show": The big defender who is involved jumps out to block Rose's path while the guard who got picked can recover.
To "blitz": The big defender will charge Rose like a blitzing linebacker. This can also be known as a trap because the guard will come off the pick and double team in an attempt to force him to give up the ball.
To "drop": This is when the guard defending Rose sees the screen coming and he will briefly leave Rose and run around the big man there to set the screen with the hope of cutting Rose off. The big man can also "drop" and attempt to block Rose's path. This is also known as "going under" the screen.
To "switch": This is when the guard and big man will change who they are guarding to prevent Rose from getting space from the screen. The Cavs usually only do this with quicker big men such as Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson.
The Cavs have employed all of these strategies at one time or another. One of the team's issues so far as been the Bulls are attacking Shaquille O'Neal when he's in the game because the Cavs' only legit option with him is to drop on the screens. Rose has been beating this by shooting the jumper well -- 23-of-49 over the last two games.
"They do exploit some of our disadvantages by putting our bigs in some pick-and-rolls with their quick guards," James said. "They get downhill and pull up for a jumper or get some layups. We have to do a better job on guarding pick-and-rolls where we can help our helps, but at the same time bigs have to a better job of staying in front of them."
So what can the Cavs do? While they are not exactly revealing their strategy, it seems that a three-pronged approach may develop in Game 4. The idea is to 1) rotate players on Rose, 2) "go to church" on him, and then 3) deploy their best defender in crunch time.
Mo Williams usually starts games defending Rose and then Delonte West picks him up. Anthony Parker defended him a few times in Game 1, which is when the Cavs had the most success. The Cavs may go to a rotation of using more players with "length" on Rose for spurts. That includes Parker and possibly Jamario Moon for a couple possessions to see how it works. It is tougher for Rose to shoot over the taller defenders.
"There's not much we haven't done," coach Mike Brown said. "We have to mix it up to keep him off balance."
In the NBA, "going to church" is a defense against great drivers and is often used against James. It is also called playing "elbows and boxes." This is an extreme paint defense strategy in which four players play basically a zone around the paint with a defender on top of the floor playing the point guard.
On paper, it looks like a church with a steeple, and often makes it very hard to drivers to get the ball inside and instead must take jumpers or pass to teammates for lower percentage shots.
It is a change-up style that may only work for a couple possessions at a time but has worked against James at times. The Cavs went to a look like this on several possessions in the second half in Game 3, but the hot shooting of Kirk Hinrich, who went 9-of-12, punished them for it. So did Luol Deng, who made nine of 16 shots. It might be something they go back to in Game 4.
"We just have to go out and play defense," O'Neal said. "We can't let Rose get 25 [points] and Kirk get 27 and other guys get 15 and 10. We have to really clamp down on the defensive end."
The last option is to put James on Rose. The Cavs did this for the first time in the series late in Game 3 and Rose made two baskets on James, a fact that was celebrated in Chicago.
The Cavs usually save this until the end of close games because the energy it takes to handle Rose would be too taxing on James for the entire game. Despite the mixed results, James has a history of being able to shut down star offensive players. James' size and strength potentially could be a challenge to the smaller Rose in short stretches.
"We all need to take a crack at him," James said. "Just to show him a different person in front of him. A different length, a different speed to keep him a little contained."
CHICAGO -- LeBron James is fond of saying that a playoff series doesn't begin until a team wins on the road.
That's a time-tested philosophy, but it isn't always true. There's a reason why homecourt advantage is valuable.
Perhaps a better measure is that a series doesn't start until both teams are losing sleep worrying about each other. That is always true for a team matching up with James. But it is going both ways now, because the Cavaliers are tossing and turning trying to figure out the Chicago Bulls' star, Derrick Rose.
Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer
Theres not much we havent done, coach Mike Brown said of the Cavaliers' efforts to defense Derrick Rose. We have to mix it up to keep him off balance.
CAVALIERS 3 POINTS FOR GAME 4
1. Even up the possession game: The Cavs have taken 27 fewer shots and committed 17 more turnovers in the series.
2. Limit Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng: Averaging a combined 22.5 points in Cavs' wins, had combined 47 in Game 3 loss.
3. Get Shaq involved: After being a force in Game 1, Shaquille O'Neal had a reduced role and production in Games 2 and 3.
CAVALIERS AT CHICAGO BULLS
GAME 4
Tipoff: Sunday, 3:30 p.m., United Center.
TV/radio: WEWS Ch. 5; WTAM AM/1100.
Notable: LeBron James is second among all players in playoff scoring at 34.3 points a game. ... Mo Williams is 26-of-55 (47 percent) on 3-pointers over his last nine games. ... The Bulls have just 12 turnovers over the past two games, the fewest in a two-game span of any time in the season. The previous best was 16.
Brian Windhorst
Rose was strong in the first two games but really tormented the Cavaliers in Game 3, scoring 31 points with no turnovers. He got every shot he wanted while setting up teammates with ease. Getting the young star under control is Priority One as the Cavs head into Game 4 Sunday afternoon at the United Center.
"He's a really good talent," James said of Rose. "We've got to find a way to contain him."
Here is the general book on Rose, strengths and weaknesses, according to several NBA scouts:
He has a tendency to drive left, but is more efficient going right, both in pulling up for jumpers or driving all the way to the rim.
He is an excellent finisher within 10 feet of the rim, but is not as effective when he has to take step-back floaters or jumpers.
The worst-case scenario for the defense is when Rose gets into the paint with an active dribble.
The best case scenario is when Rose is taking any kind of jumper, whether it is off dribble or catch-and-shoot, especially behind the 3-point line.
With limited offensive weapons, the Bulls play to these strengths by setting what amounts to an unlimited string of pick-and-rolls to allow Rose to get the corner and go to the rim. Usually they set the screen with a big man to make sure it is effective; in most cases involving Joakim Noah, Brad Miller or Taj Gibson.
The Cavs, like many teams, have countered with their own set of pick-and-roll defenses but only with limited success.
They have been:
To "show": The big defender who is involved jumps out to block Rose's path while the guard who got picked can recover.
To "blitz": The big defender will charge Rose like a blitzing linebacker. This can also be known as a trap because the guard will come off the pick and double team in an attempt to force him to give up the ball.
To "drop": This is when the guard defending Rose sees the screen coming and he will briefly leave Rose and run around the big man there to set the screen with the hope of cutting Rose off. The big man can also "drop" and attempt to block Rose's path. This is also known as "going under" the screen.
To "switch": This is when the guard and big man will change who they are guarding to prevent Rose from getting space from the screen. The Cavs usually only do this with quicker big men such as Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson.
The Cavs have employed all of these strategies at one time or another. One of the team's issues so far as been the Bulls are attacking Shaquille O'Neal when he's in the game because the Cavs' only legit option with him is to drop on the screens. Rose has been beating this by shooting the jumper well -- 23-of-49 over the last two games.
"They do exploit some of our disadvantages by putting our bigs in some pick-and-rolls with their quick guards," James said. "They get downhill and pull up for a jumper or get some layups. We have to do a better job on guarding pick-and-rolls where we can help our helps, but at the same time bigs have to a better job of staying in front of them."
So what can the Cavs do? While they are not exactly revealing their strategy, it seems that a three-pronged approach may develop in Game 4. The idea is to 1) rotate players on Rose, 2) "go to church" on him, and then 3) deploy their best defender in crunch time.
Mo Williams usually starts games defending Rose and then Delonte West picks him up. Anthony Parker defended him a few times in Game 1, which is when the Cavs had the most success. The Cavs may go to a rotation of using more players with "length" on Rose for spurts. That includes Parker and possibly Jamario Moon for a couple possessions to see how it works. It is tougher for Rose to shoot over the taller defenders.
"There's not much we haven't done," coach Mike Brown said. "We have to mix it up to keep him off balance."
In the NBA, "going to church" is a defense against great drivers and is often used against James. It is also called playing "elbows and boxes." This is an extreme paint defense strategy in which four players play basically a zone around the paint with a defender on top of the floor playing the point guard.
On paper, it looks like a church with a steeple, and often makes it very hard to drivers to get the ball inside and instead must take jumpers or pass to teammates for lower percentage shots.
It is a change-up style that may only work for a couple possessions at a time but has worked against James at times. The Cavs went to a look like this on several possessions in the second half in Game 3, but the hot shooting of Kirk Hinrich, who went 9-of-12, punished them for it. So did Luol Deng, who made nine of 16 shots. It might be something they go back to in Game 4.
"We just have to go out and play defense," O'Neal said. "We can't let Rose get 25 [points] and Kirk get 27 and other guys get 15 and 10. We have to really clamp down on the defensive end."
The last option is to put James on Rose. The Cavs did this for the first time in the series late in Game 3 and Rose made two baskets on James, a fact that was celebrated in Chicago.
The Cavs usually save this until the end of close games because the energy it takes to handle Rose would be too taxing on James for the entire game. Despite the mixed results, James has a history of being able to shut down star offensive players. James' size and strength potentially could be a challenge to the smaller Rose in short stretches.
"We all need to take a crack at him," James said. "Just to show him a different person in front of him. A different length, a different speed to keep him a little contained."