Should Spurs experiment with zone defense for Wemby?

[wildbill2u]

Man defense lets opponents tempt/tease Wemby to move far away from the basket in order to cover his man. Putting him into a 2-1-2 above the FT line would let him cover more offensive players driving to the rim, given his speed and agility.

We've seen more zones lately in the league so maybe this is the next evolution? NBA Playoffs - Why teams are combating the offensive revolution by going to zone defense - ESPN (https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29963960/nba-playoffs-why-teams-combating-offensive-revolution-going-zone-defense)

[EricB]

I’ve seen a little more zone than usual in pre season but think you have to give the lineups more time than they’ve had so far wether it’s definitive zone and what not

[R. DeMurre]

Spurs should pretty much experiment with everything this year. There has never been a player like Wemby before, so there's really no blueprint for how to proceed.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Sure but let's let them master the base system first before adding wrinkles. They were still historically bad at defense last year and have a long way to go.

[tbdog]

If your thinking of a box and 1, where Wemby roams? I mean, it's probably better putting Wemby on the worst shooter and letting him roam near the paint and everyone man to man. Ironically, I think teams moving forward would struggling playing a non shooting against the Spurs due to this. Spurs would have a huge wing span player covering huge ground not marking anyone.

[itzsoweezee]

Like I said before, Wemby is a one-man zone defense. He can guard a whole area of the court by himself. It’s going to make it very, very hard for other teams to score, even worth this really young and defensively-questionable roster

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Like I said before, Wemby is a one-man zone defense. He can guard a whole area of the court by himself. It’s going to make it very, very hard for other teams to score, even worth this really young and defensively-questionable roster

Those 3 point shot blocks in the preseason were insane. He might cause rule changes in the game the way Wilt did.

[Dex]

Those 3 point shot blocks in the preseason were insane. He might cause rule changes in the game the way Wilt did.

I mean, this is ridiculous..

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9Ds7UbXQAAQPYq.jpg:large

Andrew Wiggins is a 6'7 and a good foot off the floor, and Wemby still gets to that shot.

[wildbill2u]

I think you should put him in the middle of a 2-1-2 zone stationed at the foul line. From there he could move to counter any threat in any direction in about two steps, eh?

[Fizziksman]

I mean, this is ridiculous..

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9Ds7UbXQAAQPYq.jpg:large

Andrew Wiggins is a 6'7 and a good foot off the floor, and Wemby still gets to that shot.

yeesh. Yeah some of his other blocks players got the ball above the square on the backboard and he still blocked it while trying to recover

[Fizziksman]

:lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2:

[SOMA Spur]

Went to the game last night vs Clips. Only 2 bright spots to speak of. Osman is good. And I watched them play a little zone defense. Others might have mentioned this in the game chat, but is looked really fluid. All five guys with their hands out. Moving side to side in unison. (almost like they practiced it, unlike their offense) One time Wemby at the top of the key, good lord with his wing span, that set looked intimidating as hell. And one time with him in the back, when the ball moved to his side, and he shifted over, the Clipper ready to shoot the corner three had second thoughts. Me getting excited about zone defense - kind of reinforces how much of an abortion this game was. But still had fun, lots of Spurs fans, lots of Frenchies (France appreciation night), and I walked past Brian Wright when I was leaving. That guys got a lot of work still to do.