FkLA
12-11-2012, 03:27 AM
Only team in the NBA thats top 5 in pace, offensive rating, and defensive rating. Heres an in depth look at the new and improved D (collaboration effort with my nigga timvpimp):
The San Antonio Spurs have garnered the top seed in the Western Conference in each of the last two seasons. Regrettably, as the world knows, neither successful regular season campaign translated into an NBA championship -- or even a trip to the Finals.
This season, with a quarter of the schedule in the books, the Spurs are once again atop the West. However, there is reason to think this year may be different and not simply a replay of the last two campaigns. That reason is the return of an elite defense.
Coming into this season, the Spurs had regressed defensively for nine consecutive years. The decline has been gradual but also irrefutable. In recent campaigns, the Spurs have adjusted to their increasingly porous defense by concentrating more on the offensive end. Statistically, the Spurs have sported the best offense in the NBA over the last two seasons.
Unfortunately, San Antonio has been reminded (quite harshly, in fact) that a great offense can only take a team so far without a sturdy defensive backbone to rely on when the going gets tough. Coming into this season, head coach Gregg Popovich and the rest of the coaching staff made it priority No. 1 during training camp to regain that defensive mettle. To date, the results are encouraging.
Currently, the Spurs are tied for fourth in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions (also known as defensive rating) at 100.6. But it’s even better than that: Before the start of the garbage time fourth quarter against the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night in which they surrendered 35 mostly uncontested points, the Spurs had actually moved up into second place in the league in this category.
2012-13 Defensive Rating
http://www.spurstalk.com/dchart1.png
It should also be noted that the Minnesota Timberwolves have faced the league’s easiest schedule and the Chicago Bulls have faced the third easiest schedule. The Spurs, on the other hand, have faced the NBA’s eighth toughest schedule -- and that doesn't factor in the road-home inequality of their schedule. In other words, it’s reasonably safe to state that the Spurs have been the league’s second best defensive team so far this season.
As it stands, the 100.6 defensive rating represents a defense that is 4.23% better than league average. The chart below points to the significance of that amount.
Percentage Better than League Average Defense
http://www.spurstalk.com/dchart2.png
The Spurs haven’t been this good defensively since the 2008 campaign. While San Antonio has boasted some great defensive teams over the years, this squad compares favorably to the 2003 championship team. Additionally, the Spurs right now are better defensively than the last four NBA champions and seven of the previous eight teams that made the Finals.
The next logical question: Why are the Spurs better defensively this season even though they brought back virtually the same roster from last year?
As with most things in San Antonio, it begins with the Big Three. The defensive improvements brought upon due to the rejuvenation of Tim Duncan don’t need much explanation. He’s currently posting career-highs in blocks per minute, steals per minute and defensive rebounds per minute. That’s simply astounding for a 36-year-old.
But don’t overlook Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili. Parker has been mentally engaged on the defensive end all season. Over the first 21 games, opponents are only putting up a 13.9 PER against him -- Parker's best showing since the championship seasons.
Ginobili’s defensive advanced metrics thus far are mindboggling. Coming off of a lackluster season on this end of the court, the Argentine has turned it around -- and then some. Opponents have an unbelievably low 9.0 PER against him. To prove that’s not a fluke, consider this: The Spurs have a 96.3 defensive rating when Ginobili is on the court and a 105.4 defensive rating when he’s on the bench.
Add it up -- Duncan's revival, Parker’s concentration and Ginobili’s crushing of the opposing bench – and the team’s defensive improvements aren’t as much of a mystery.
I recently conversed via email with someone associated with the Spurs in an attempt to dig deeper on this very subject. I was told the coaches specifically focused on two defensive areas leading up to the regular season. One was defending the three-point line and the other was being more physical.
In reviewing game tape, I’ve noticed how the Spurs have borrowed a few defensive principals from the Chicago Bulls of recent years. The Bulls under Tom Thibodeau have been extremely successful on defense mostly by eliminating open three-pointers -- particularly in the corners. They’ve led the league in fewest three-pointers allowed each of the last two seasons and the result has been a top-two placement in defensive rating both seasons.
This year, the Bulls are again leading in that category. However, as you can see in this chart, the Spurs are second.
Three-Pointers Allowed Per Game
http://www.spurstalk.com/dchart3.png
Historically in the Popovich era, the Spurs have been good at limiting three-pointers. But the last two years, the Spurs were 11th and 7th, respectively, in fewest three-pointers allowed. To combat that slippage, the Spurs have subtly altered from where they send double-teams and how they defend pick-and-rolls. The outcome up until now has been positive.
An increase in physicality is more difficult to measure -- but not impossible. Last season, the Spurs averaged 17.3 fouls per game. That number is up 4% this year to 18.0. Last season, the Spurs allowed .168 free throw attempts for every field goal attempt. This year, that number is up 10.1% to .185. Also, steals are up 10.8% and blocks are up 13.6%.
During training camp, the Spurs brought in Jerry Sloan and one can securely assume that Pop picked his brain regarding how to best teach the virtues of physical play. Sloan was one of the most physical players to ever play the game and his Utah Jazz teams never shied away from laying the lumber. While the Spurs haven’t gone all the way to becoming a physically imposing squad, there has definitely been movement in that direction.
Subjectively, the San Antonio’s perimeter players are picking up sooner and more aggressively. The bigmen are fighting for position in the paint earlier in the shot clock. The Spurs are also rarely doubling off of three-point shooters while simultaneously avoiding the open lanes to the rim they had been allowing the previous few seasons by being a touch more physical. Overall, there hasn’t been a drastic change or a eureka moment defensively, but rather slight modifications to the gameplan that when combined have allowed today’s Spurs to better defend how today’s offenses operate.
Can the defensive improvements continue to succeed for the duration of the season? That’s the $250,000 question. While it’s probably impossible for the Big Three to continue their torrid defense for 61 more games and the playoffs, perhaps their unavoidable slippage can be negated by the return of Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Jackson in addition to the a continued team-wide mastery of the new defensive philosophies.
I can’t blame Spurs fans for their cynicism at this stage of the regular season. Around these parts, many a great win-loss record has ultimately proven to be more style than substance as of late. But, so far, this year is different. The winning formula of here and now is reminiscent of formulae that resulted in nearly a handful of rings. Maybe it all unravels before the finish line. Maybe it doesn’t. That hope, for the first time in a while, has a backbone.
The San Antonio Spurs have garnered the top seed in the Western Conference in each of the last two seasons. Regrettably, as the world knows, neither successful regular season campaign translated into an NBA championship -- or even a trip to the Finals.
This season, with a quarter of the schedule in the books, the Spurs are once again atop the West. However, there is reason to think this year may be different and not simply a replay of the last two campaigns. That reason is the return of an elite defense.
Coming into this season, the Spurs had regressed defensively for nine consecutive years. The decline has been gradual but also irrefutable. In recent campaigns, the Spurs have adjusted to their increasingly porous defense by concentrating more on the offensive end. Statistically, the Spurs have sported the best offense in the NBA over the last two seasons.
Unfortunately, San Antonio has been reminded (quite harshly, in fact) that a great offense can only take a team so far without a sturdy defensive backbone to rely on when the going gets tough. Coming into this season, head coach Gregg Popovich and the rest of the coaching staff made it priority No. 1 during training camp to regain that defensive mettle. To date, the results are encouraging.
Currently, the Spurs are tied for fourth in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions (also known as defensive rating) at 100.6. But it’s even better than that: Before the start of the garbage time fourth quarter against the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night in which they surrendered 35 mostly uncontested points, the Spurs had actually moved up into second place in the league in this category.
2012-13 Defensive Rating
http://www.spurstalk.com/dchart1.png
It should also be noted that the Minnesota Timberwolves have faced the league’s easiest schedule and the Chicago Bulls have faced the third easiest schedule. The Spurs, on the other hand, have faced the NBA’s eighth toughest schedule -- and that doesn't factor in the road-home inequality of their schedule. In other words, it’s reasonably safe to state that the Spurs have been the league’s second best defensive team so far this season.
As it stands, the 100.6 defensive rating represents a defense that is 4.23% better than league average. The chart below points to the significance of that amount.
Percentage Better than League Average Defense
http://www.spurstalk.com/dchart2.png
The Spurs haven’t been this good defensively since the 2008 campaign. While San Antonio has boasted some great defensive teams over the years, this squad compares favorably to the 2003 championship team. Additionally, the Spurs right now are better defensively than the last four NBA champions and seven of the previous eight teams that made the Finals.
The next logical question: Why are the Spurs better defensively this season even though they brought back virtually the same roster from last year?
As with most things in San Antonio, it begins with the Big Three. The defensive improvements brought upon due to the rejuvenation of Tim Duncan don’t need much explanation. He’s currently posting career-highs in blocks per minute, steals per minute and defensive rebounds per minute. That’s simply astounding for a 36-year-old.
But don’t overlook Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili. Parker has been mentally engaged on the defensive end all season. Over the first 21 games, opponents are only putting up a 13.9 PER against him -- Parker's best showing since the championship seasons.
Ginobili’s defensive advanced metrics thus far are mindboggling. Coming off of a lackluster season on this end of the court, the Argentine has turned it around -- and then some. Opponents have an unbelievably low 9.0 PER against him. To prove that’s not a fluke, consider this: The Spurs have a 96.3 defensive rating when Ginobili is on the court and a 105.4 defensive rating when he’s on the bench.
Add it up -- Duncan's revival, Parker’s concentration and Ginobili’s crushing of the opposing bench – and the team’s defensive improvements aren’t as much of a mystery.
I recently conversed via email with someone associated with the Spurs in an attempt to dig deeper on this very subject. I was told the coaches specifically focused on two defensive areas leading up to the regular season. One was defending the three-point line and the other was being more physical.
In reviewing game tape, I’ve noticed how the Spurs have borrowed a few defensive principals from the Chicago Bulls of recent years. The Bulls under Tom Thibodeau have been extremely successful on defense mostly by eliminating open three-pointers -- particularly in the corners. They’ve led the league in fewest three-pointers allowed each of the last two seasons and the result has been a top-two placement in defensive rating both seasons.
This year, the Bulls are again leading in that category. However, as you can see in this chart, the Spurs are second.
Three-Pointers Allowed Per Game
http://www.spurstalk.com/dchart3.png
Historically in the Popovich era, the Spurs have been good at limiting three-pointers. But the last two years, the Spurs were 11th and 7th, respectively, in fewest three-pointers allowed. To combat that slippage, the Spurs have subtly altered from where they send double-teams and how they defend pick-and-rolls. The outcome up until now has been positive.
An increase in physicality is more difficult to measure -- but not impossible. Last season, the Spurs averaged 17.3 fouls per game. That number is up 4% this year to 18.0. Last season, the Spurs allowed .168 free throw attempts for every field goal attempt. This year, that number is up 10.1% to .185. Also, steals are up 10.8% and blocks are up 13.6%.
During training camp, the Spurs brought in Jerry Sloan and one can securely assume that Pop picked his brain regarding how to best teach the virtues of physical play. Sloan was one of the most physical players to ever play the game and his Utah Jazz teams never shied away from laying the lumber. While the Spurs haven’t gone all the way to becoming a physically imposing squad, there has definitely been movement in that direction.
Subjectively, the San Antonio’s perimeter players are picking up sooner and more aggressively. The bigmen are fighting for position in the paint earlier in the shot clock. The Spurs are also rarely doubling off of three-point shooters while simultaneously avoiding the open lanes to the rim they had been allowing the previous few seasons by being a touch more physical. Overall, there hasn’t been a drastic change or a eureka moment defensively, but rather slight modifications to the gameplan that when combined have allowed today’s Spurs to better defend how today’s offenses operate.
Can the defensive improvements continue to succeed for the duration of the season? That’s the $250,000 question. While it’s probably impossible for the Big Three to continue their torrid defense for 61 more games and the playoffs, perhaps their unavoidable slippage can be negated by the return of Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Jackson in addition to the a continued team-wide mastery of the new defensive philosophies.
I can’t blame Spurs fans for their cynicism at this stage of the regular season. Around these parts, many a great win-loss record has ultimately proven to be more style than substance as of late. But, so far, this year is different. The winning formula of here and now is reminiscent of formulae that resulted in nearly a handful of rings. Maybe it all unravels before the finish line. Maybe it doesn’t. That hope, for the first time in a while, has a backbone.