Spurs use of Zone defense

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I know during our Championship years Pop was usually hesitant to go to a Zone defense, and he didn't need to too often since we were such a great defensive team back then.

This season, maybe to make up for this team's mediocre D, I have noticed Pop has been going to a zone a lot more often. I think its made for some pretty good results. I know the Mavs used it to perfection last season, but they have a lot more length/depth than we do that they would naturally be more effective for it than the Spurs are.

But what say you guys? Will we continue to see a lot more zone this year, especially seeing how the Spurs don't have enough bigs to protect the paint? I'm not opposed to it, though a hot outside shooting team can destroy the zone if you're not careful.

I'm trying to find stats on how the Spurs have done with the zone this season, and would be curious to see just how well it has served them this year.

[DAF86]

I would love for the Spurs to use a zone defense.

Every NBA team seems to struggle against it. But to work you have to use it sparingly: once, twice per game and for no more than 3/4 minutes at a time.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Pop's clearly not a big fan of zone defense, as you've stated, but IMO it can be very helpful against certain teams and in short stretches. That said, the Spurs always look very awkward to me when they try pulling it off, however, teams are usually not used to playing against it so it can be used to create havoc from time to time. I remember a game against Denver, if I'm not mistaken, from last season, where Pop tried some 2-3 zone defense, which the Spurs executed really poorly, but the Denver players just couldn't take advantage and missed a lot of open shots, it was almost like they'd never played against a zone defense and were not sure how to counter it.

All in all, I'd say yes, in stretches it can be very useful.

[SpurNation]

Spurs have used a type of zone coverage all season long when the perimeter players have been cheating towards the paint in an attempt to help a struggling interior presence. And like noted...because of that...teams were torching the Spurs with outside shots.

As DAF86 noted...it has to be used sparingly.

[therealtruth]

The best way to beat the Heat is to use zone defense as the Mavs showed last year.

[Dex]

I would love for the Spurs to use a zone defense.

Every NBA team seems to struggle against it. But to work you have to use it sparingly: once, twice per game and for no more than 3/4 minutes at a time.

Bingo. Any zone can be beat with crisp ball movement and either shifting the zone side-to-side and finding the open man, or by penetrating it if you can get into the seams. However, it does take a different strategy on offense to beat it effectively.

If you show zone all game, teams are going to figure it out and start getting tons of open looks. But if you pepper in the zone for occasional possessions or even stretches, it can severely disrupt the offensive flow a team might be gathering, especially if they are relying on a lot of plays or isolation sets. It generally takes them one or two possessions to figure out whats going on and adjust, and that adjustment does not always come smoothly.

[Solid D]

The Spurs use a zone very sparingly...usually coming out of a time-out. Their zone offense is much better than their zone defense.

[maverick1948]

Zone defense in the NBA is used for a slow down of a team on a hot streak. It is also used for the team to catch their breath in a fast pace game. It changes the look the opponent is used to seeing and they have to slow down to adjust their offense against it. Most teams only use it on 2 or 3 consecutive possessions. Then it is back to man to man.

[Dex]

The Spurs use a zone very sparingly...usually coming out of a time-out. Their zone offense is much better than their zone defense.

Probably because the Spurs offensive concept in general is very similar to those needed to combat a zone. The Spurs are at their best when they are moving the ball from side to side, and penetrating and kicking repeatedly. Couple that with a slew of perimeter shooters, and the Spurs main offense is generally a zone-buster.

That being said, there have been a number of occasions where teams have thrown out the zone against us this season, and the offense has completely stalled, which is troublesome. Hopefully once our better playmakers in Ginobili and Ford come back, they will be able to fix those issues, because Parker definitely has trouble dealing with a packed paint and if he's not running the offense, everything becomes much more reliant on isolation sets (I'm looking at you, Neal).

[Solid D]

Probably because the Spurs offensive concept in general is very similar to those needed to combat a zone. The Spurs are at their best when they are moving the ball from side to side, and penetrating and kicking repeatedly. Couple that with a slew of perimeter shooters, and the Spurs main offense is generally a zone-buster.

That being said, there have been a number of occasions where teams have thrown out the zone against us this season, and the offense has completely stalled, which is troublesome. Hopefully once our better playmakers in Ginobili and Ford come back, they will be able to fix those issues, because Parker definitely has trouble dealing with a packed paint and if he's not running the offense, everything becomes much more reliant on isolation sets (I'm looking at you, Neal).

The Spurs actually have a specific scheme to attack a zone. It helps to have Tony, Manu and now Green, who can penetrate. Tim, DeJuan and Tiago are all very adept at seeing the zone and moving to the seams, particularly low baseline against a 2-3.

[SpurNation]

I would add Neal to that as well.

[Spurs Brazil]

That was a zone the Spurs were playing
Posted on February 3, 2012 at 12:36 am by Tim Griffin

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2012/02/03/five-quick-takes-that-was-a-zone-the-spurs-were-playing/

[Solid D]

That was a zone the Spurs were playing
Posted on February 3, 2012 at 12:36 am by Tim Griffin

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2012/02/03/five-quick-takes-that-was-a-zone-the-spurs-were-playing/

Well, briefly...coming out of a timeout...yes.