Building a defensive monster

[Eaglenole2002]

Once we won the Wemby lottery, my thought immediately turned to how the Spurs can build a defense that is an absolute terror. Slowly but surely we’re collecting the right pieces.

We know Wemby is the ultimate eraser. He frankly makes players pass up shots they would almost always take. Castle profiles as a rugged defender, and frankly I think he will benefit from not having to carry such a big offensive load with a healthy Fox and Harper. He can defend 1-3. Bryant, once he adds a little muscle and stops fouling (unless he gets the Thunderef treatment) should be able to defend 1-4. We know Sochan can play defense, so that’s four players we can reasonably project anywhere from a plus defender to elite.

As for the rest, Harper and Fox don’t project to be plus defenders, but they should both be just fine, and might even get a bump due to not carrying such a heavy offensive workload.

[Dejounte]

Exactly. The big thing you always hear from guys who’ve played with Wemby is you don’t have to freak out if your man gets by you, because Wemby is waiting at the rim to clean it up, block the shot, or just force them into something tough.

What that means is you don’t need every defender on the floor to be a perfect lockdown guy who never gets beat. You want players who can be aggressive on the ball, with length, quick feet, fast hands, and the instincts to jump passing lanes and cause chaos. Even if they gamble or get beat sometimes, it’s fine because Wemby is the ultimate safety net behind them.

At PF, same idea. You don’t want a slow, traditional big out there. You want someone with just enough size that they won’t get overwhelmed by bigger forwards, but with the mobility and quickness to switch onto wings, close out on shooters, and make plays all over the floor. This is basically how modern teams build their frontcourts. If you try to put a slower, more traditional PF (ahem John Collins) out there, teams with elite offenses usually target them in pick and rolls or drag them into space and make them pay. The modern PF is almost always someone who can guard multiple positions, stay in front of smaller players, and hold their own physically so they don’t get bullied by bigger guys.

Build a defense like that around Wemby, with aggressiveness and length everywhere, and you can turn this into something absolutely terrifying.

[spurraider21]

The thing is, Fox is not some all world defender, but he has been a defensive playmaker. for his career he averages 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. in 23-24, Fox led the NBA both in total steals and steals per game. not that its an objective measure, but Fox's nickname comes from his defensive playmaking

while DeJounte was never a great man to man lockdown defender, he was also a defensive playmaker. his career averages are 1.5 and 0.3.

Now you put him in a position where some combination of Castle/Bryant/Sochan can handle the other teams' best perimeter players, and Fox can be disruptive. for what its worth, Harper averaged similar steals/blocks in his one year in college and with his 6'10 wingspan should also be able to make off-ball plays with regularity.

[Russ]

Well you will have Wemby, Castle and Carter Bryant.

That is a way better defensive core than they've had for a while.

[Mnky]

Once we won the Wemby lottery, my thought immediately turned to how the Spurs can build a defense that is an absolute terror. Slowly but surely we’re collecting the right pieces.

We know Wemby is the ultimate eraser. He frankly makes players pass up shots they would almost always take. Castle profiles as a rugged defender, and frankly I think he will benefit from not having to carry such a big offensive load with a healthy Fox and Harper. He can defend 1-3. Bryant, once he adds a little muscle and stops fouling (unless he gets the Thunderef treatment) should be able to defend 1-4. We know Sochan can play defense, so that’s four players we can reasonably project anywhere from a plus defender to elite.

As for the rest, Harper and Fox don’t project to be plus defenders, but they should both be just fine, and might even get a bump due to not carrying such a heavy offensive workload.

Harper definitely projects as a plus defender. He was over 50% of the team offense last year, but when asked to guard he did well on that end. His court awareness is very good and he has good reach for his size to cause havoc with passing lanes and ball denial.

[scott]

The thing is, Fox is not some all world defender, but he has been a defensive playmaker. for his career he averages 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. in 23-24, Fox led the NBA both in total steals and steals per game. not that its an objective measure, but Fox's nickname comes from his defensive playmaking

while DeJounte was never a great man to man lockdown defender, he was also a defensive playmaker. his career averages are 1.5 and 0.3.

Now you put him in a position where some combination of Castle/Bryant/Sochan can handle the other teams' best perimeter players, and Fox can be disruptive. for what its worth, Harper averaged similar steals/blocks in his one year in college and with his 6'10 wingspan should also be able to make off-ball plays with regularity.

I like the cut of your jib here.

Post Fox trade, our steals/gm average would have ranked 2nd in the league. Devin is another guy who is not a plus defender, but is a defensive playmaker and can generate a healthy number of stocks. I'm hoping this becomes a major part of our defensive iden y.

[SpursFan86]

Lots of reasons to be very bullish on our defense.

- Fox might not be some amazing defender, but he’s not the type of guy other teams will hunt and he’s very good at generating turnovers.

- Harper’s strength isn’t his defense but he has the size/tools to be an above average defender. That combined with his father’s pedigree…I would be pretty surprised if he’s not at least an average or slightly above average defender.

- Castle projects to be an elite defender. I don’t think his role last year helped him on that end but when he’s in a more natural 3rd or 4th option role offensively I think he’ll shine defensively.

- Bryant/Sochan can be a dominant defensive duo on the wings.

- Wemby has legitimate GOAT-tier defensive potential. We already saw the Spurs have a borderline top-10 defense with him on the court.

- Sweeney and Williamson are both defensive-minded assistants with a track record of coaching elite defenses.

If we’re healthy and the Spurs find a solid backup rim protector, I would absolutely bet that we have an elite defense next year. Going forward, the Castle/Harper/Sochan/Bryant/Wemby young core should lead to the Spurs being a top 5 defense for years to come.

[Mr. Body]

Excited to see what happens when they roll out a Wembanyama - Sochan - Bryant - Harper - Castle lineup.

[Dex]

Well you will have Wemby, Castle and Carter Bryant.

That is a way better defensive core than they've had for a while.

With proper coaching, I think we can be a very good defensive team.

Will be interesting to see how Mitch adapts as a full-time head coach. The offense was good last season, but the defense definitely needs work. He was also thrown in the fire and still working with the pieces of the old system which was broken..

Hopefully the new assistants can help fix that.

[Eaglenole2002]

The thing is, Fox is not some all world defender, but he has been a defensive playmaker. for his career he averages 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. in 23-24, Fox led the NBA both in total steals and steals per game. not that its an objective measure, but Fox's nickname comes from his defensive playmaking

while DeJounte was never a great man to man lockdown defender, he was also a defensive playmaker. his career averages are 1.5 and 0.3.

Now you put him in a position where some combination of Castle/Bryant/Sochan can handle the other teams' best perimeter players, and Fox can be disruptive. for what its worth, Harper averaged similar steals/blocks in his one year in college and with his 6'10 wingspan should also be able to make off-ball plays with regularity.

Excellent point on Fox. We saw firsthand what OKC could do with a disruptive offense. It led to so many live turnovers and easy buckets. He can be a disruptive player who can lead to an easy bucket or two a game. Harper should be an engaged defender without expending so much energy being the offensive hub. Vassell should be a better defensive player than he’s shown. That’s been so frustrating.

[spurraider21]

Excited to see what happens when they roll out a Wembanyama - Sochan - Bryant - Harper - Castle lineup.

the scoring stops

for both teams

[picnroll]

I expect Harper’s defense to surprise a lot of people. He knows one way to get more minutes on the floor is to bring it.

[RC_Drunkford]

the main reason why our defense will be better from now on, is because Pop and his outdated schemes from 2005 are finally out the window. With competent defensive coaches and hopefully a good back up C we should have a top 5 defense next year.

I expect Sweeney and Williamson to design innovative schemes. With Victor protecting the rim, the Spurs defense should be a unique defense that can't be replicated. It should definitely be based on defensive playmaking, but somewhat different from what OKC is doing.

[Spursfanfromafar]

For the Spurs to get to the level of OKC as a defensive behemoth it has to have squad depth in defensive excellence. It can't be dependent only on Victor or the minutes he plays to be a defensively strong team.

I thought the Spurs missed a great opportunity to trade for Porzingis who was available for dirt cheap (the Hawks had a sharper offer but the Spurs could have got a deal done if it wanted to). Getting KP would have kept the rim locked for 48 minutes instead of just 30 odd with an overworked Wemby returning from a serious health scare.

Now that the Spurs have got Carter Bryant ..they have a strong PF/SF corps in Sochan and Bryant. What they are missing is a backup C who won't leak points when Wemby sits. Bassey isn't that option and Biyombo is an adequate but end of the bench reserve.

Maybe the Spurs should try to prise out Jacob Poeltl again now that Ujiri is no longer with the Raptors. If this doesn't work out...the best option left would be Clint Capela.

Also while we have a SF logjam with Keldon, Bryant, Champagnie, Barnes plus Castle and Vassell ( on a pinch)..none of them except Castle and Bryant are adequate defenders. Champs and Vassell are okay off the ball, but Keldon and Barnes are disasters.

One of Keldon and Barnes therefore must go. Either for a backup 4 like John Collins or in a Poeltl trade. The 2026 Hawks pick isn't going to be that great with Atlanta threatening a deep playoff run with their renewed roster in a very weak East and the Spurs could probably use this to get either of Poeltl, Collins.

[Eaglenole2002]

For the Spurs to get to the level of OKC as a defensive behemoth it has to have squad depth in defensive excellence. It can't be dependent only on Victor or the minutes he plays to be a defensively strong team.

I thought the Spurs missed a great opportunity to trade for Porzingis who was available for dirt cheap (the Hawks had a sharper offer but the Spurs could have got a deal done if it wanted to). Getting KP would have kept the rim locked for 48 minutes instead of just 30 odd with an overworked Wemby returning from a serious health scare.

Now that the Spurs have got Carter Bryant ..they have a strong PF/SF corps in Sochan and Bryant. What they are missing is a backup C who won't leak points when Wemby sits. Bassey isn't that option and Biyombo is an adequate but end of the bench reserve.

Maybe the Spurs should try to prise out Jacob Poeltl again now that Ujiri is no longer with the Raptors. If this doesn't work out...the best option left would be Clint Capela.

Also while we have a SF logjam with Keldon, Bryant, Champagnie, Barnes plus Castle and Vassell ( on a pinch)..none of them except Castle and Bryant are adequate defenders. Champs and Vassell are okay off the ball, but Keldon and Barnes are disasters.

One of Keldon and Barnes therefore must go. Either for a backup 4 like John Collins or in a Poeltl trade. The 2026 Hawks pick isn't going to be that great with Atlanta threatening a deep playoff run with their renewed roster in a very weak East and the Spurs could probably use this to get either of Poeltl, Collins.

Just for clarity, we have a pick swap with Atlanta in 26 and their first round pick in 2027.

[ginobilized]

We made the 2 most important moves in building a defensive monster, Sweeney and Williamson.
Removing Pop from the equation, through very unfortunate cir stances, helps us catch up with the league on both sides of the ball.
Ins uting the new schemes will take some time and will incur some growing pains. It will take some time before we are in a plug and play mode.

I truly hope we can grab one of Gafford, PJ Washington or NAW, all of whom have played for our new coaches. That might expedite the new schemes and facilitate new players coming together.

Monday will be a huge day for unveiling the direction of our upcoming season.If Wemby is in shape and fully healthy, we will be a vastly improved team.

[thOOdee]

Plus sochan who is above average defensively. Hopefully vassell gets back on track too.

[Eaglenole2002]

Sweeney managed to make the Mavs defense legit with Kyrie and Luka.

[Mr. Body]

the scoring stops

for both teams

Sure. It may be like a save situation in baseball, Mariano Rivera type stuff, you put them in to snuff anything out.

But really you've got Wemby and Harper, they are going to score, and Bryant factors to be pretty good from outside. It's not a high scoring unit but I'd like to see it.

[Raven]

again with the castle megadefender propaganda

[CGD]

Excited to see what happens when they roll out a Wembanyama - Sochan - Bryant - Harper - Castle lineup.

That’s the future right there. Imagine if Castle and Sochan can reach at least 34% from 3.

[Fireball]

the puzzle pieces are coming together, but will they ever build this defensive automatism that was OKC this season? Our coaches have a job to do and the players have to show that the thing between their ears is capable of being an elite team defense

[BackHome]

Picking Harper and Bryant are definitely going to help us on the defensive side of the ball. So far you add them with Wemby, Castle, and Sochan, you should have a top 5 defensive team. But to get to that level Mitch is going to have to break from being Assistant Coach to a Head Coach, meaning he is going to have to get on guys who are not playing D, and bench them if they not giving effort.

[cutewizard]

The Quest for Six begins!

Goodluck on our voyage gentlemen......!

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[cutewizard]