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Bruce is a big reason the D has dropped off, when he came in off the bench the whole team would play better D.
So I've been trying to see where exactly the biggest drop offs have been with this team from a defensive standpoint..I'm not comparing it to last year, since that would be pointless, but I compared it to the 2006-2007 Spurs, which was not only our last le team, but our last elite defensive team..
I'm not going to point out all the stats, since it's pointless, but I'll point out that glaring differences that I've noticed..
While the points in the paint have been very similar to the stats that were allowed in the 2006-2007 season, the primary difference in this regard seems to be the INDIVIDUAL defense against the opposing team's PF/C..while the individual performances of opposing PG/SG/SF have remained consistent compared to prior teams, the performances of opposing frontcourt players have increased significantly from the past seasons..
-The Spurs are currently #23 in the NBA in points allowed to opposing PF/C..in 2007, the Spurs ranked #9 in this category..the 2007 Spurs were #2 in the NBA in opponent's FG% for frontcourt players, while this current Spurs team is 19th in this category..
-Another issue seems to be the points allowed from beyond the FT line up until the 3-point line..the current Spurs team is 28th in the NBA at defending this area, while the 2007 Spurs were 13th..at first I thought this might be due to more shots coming from there in the NBA due to more perimeter bigs, but the average attempts are about the same..I don't really know what to think about this one..
-This current Spurs team is 10 spots behind the rankings in SPG and BPG compared to the previous Spurs le team..
-The transition D has declined, which shouldn't be the case with more athletes on the team..the 2007 Spurs were 7th in the NBA in transition D, allowing 10.7 fast break points per game, while this year's Spurs team is 13th with 13 fast break points allowed per game..
These seem to be the main differences..the 2007 team was obviously better in pretty much all the defensive categories, which is evident in their #2 defensive ranking compared to this year's #10 ranking, but the categories I mentioned are the main SIGNIFICANT differences defensively(I excluded the 3-point % because it was a similar ranking just a few weeks ago and the defense still had the same issues)..
The transition D can be fixed with more focus and chemistry IMO, but the individual D vs. opposing big men seems to be the main issue..how can this one be fixed without a trade?..
Bruce is a big reason the D has dropped off, when he came in off the bench the whole team would play better D.
More effort. Anybody can be a good defensive player with effort.
Interesting points, Harlem.
I still think that Dice will improve on the defensive end and be able to play more consistently the way we saw him play sometimes already this season. That should improve our interior D drastically, I guess.
I'm betting major minutes of small ball and Boner are almost entirely responsible for the poor frontcourt defense. If only the Spurs had some athletic big men . . .
I long for the good 'ol days when the spurs would play big guys and funnel the opposition to them to get smothered at the rim.
Now they play Richard Jefferson at power forward and Boner at center (when he's healthy).
Bonner was injured for quite a few games already. The trend probably did not change. Quite easy to find a scapegoat like Bonner so to speak. Defense is a team thing and the Spurs usually play the face-up forwards one on one. Small ball is another issue. Using this to counter the oppositions's small ball would be good but most teams have tweeners like Jeff Green, Michael Beasley and such who have size and speed to beat the spurs at small ball when playing PF, so the points given up would increase.
10th? According to Hollinger, the Spurs rank 7th in defensive efficiency, but barely. After facing the explosive Grizzlies offense tonight, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see the Spurs drop to 10th by night's end.
It starts With Putting Pressure on the ball Handler... And Tony parker has played Sub par defense all year... if he picks up his Intensity on the ball handler, and Bogans, and Ginobili Deny the Wing Players the ball, then our Defense would Improve drastically........ Now watch Tony parkers defense, its awful.. almost every Person he guards can get to wherever they want on the court.
I was going by bballreference's defensive rating..either way, it's barely, as you said..
Good stat work, HH. You should bump this thread in a couple weeks to see if the numbers are getting better or worse as the season progresses.
U beat me to it tvp
28th at defending between the mid-range and 3-point line really makes sense when you consider how poor our perimeter defenders are, damn..
well, i think the spurs philosophy has been to make shooters take shots in this particular area. So you cant take that as a failure. We want them to take it because statistically it is the worst way to score (near basket = easy, and three pointer = high reward, long two is the worst shot to take).
But you might be on to something in the sense, we still want the shots to be contested, not wide open 2 ptrs (which players like dirk, and kobe or any other decent nba player would eat for breakfast). Maybe we are not contesting the shot "enough". But there would be many attempts from this area since we want people to shoot from there.
Or Maybe the game has changed, and far too many players make shots from this area and its too easy unlike before.
Actually, there were more shots attempted in that area in the 2007 NBA season as opposed to this year if you look at the league average, so that's not it..
It might be the strategy though, I don't know..I'm just pointing out the numbers, and those are the main differences from a stats-perspective..
Obviously we have huge holes on the perimeter and next to Duncan defensively..
Really interesting stuff. I am sure that the FO noticed this, probably why they went after Dice and Theo Ratliff to shore up the interior post defense and provide ace shotblocking.
Keith Bogans and RJeff were brought into fix the perimeter defense.
To be pedantic and obvious, the problem now is that none of their defensive acquisitions (with the exception of Blair) is providing any sort of help. Ratliff is probably being saved for later in the season based on his injury history. In terms of per 36 minute numbers, his shot blocking has not declined and is right at his career numbers. I think, if anything, he needs more minutes off the bench starting now.
Dice has already said he's more comfortable coming off the bench, well and good and hopefully he'll start turning it around. They have been fleeting signs...
Bogans and Jefferson are not going to be get any better defensively. They are what they are. Bogans is above average, but he's far from a game changer. If any area needs to be shored up via trade I think it's that defensive guard position.
There isn't a big man available thats gonna immediately fix things.....
Camby wouldn't do it nor is he available.
Nothing out there that I can see.
Roll with what you got.
Missed long jumpshots = long rebounds = bad defensive stats.
I keep going on about the Spurs leaving people open at the 3 point line in the game thread. I am sure Pop used to get on people for that big a couple of years ago. Why doesn't he rip the out of people for it anymore?
But Jefferson was supposed to replace his defence... remember.
Haywood would do it, but are we willing to pay? Washington can't expect to resign him with all the crap going on in the locker room, and they aren't even making the playoffs... so they may as well get something for him. Question is, what do they want back?
Can somebody show the breakdown of Zach Randolph's scoring against different defenders last night?
Spurs lack a consistent shot blocker (Duncan is not the same defender) and Bowen, who could be counted on to make the other team's top non-post scorer become a volume shooter (low percentage).
Tim can approximate himself, but no one on this roster will be mistaken for Bowen.
Only saw part of last night's game, did Ian ever play with Tim? If not, I wonder why?
He played w/ him a few stretches.
Hopefully when Bonner comes back (keep reading don't just laugh and move on) Blair and Dice won't have to worry about being in foul trouble and will therefore go for more blocks.
Of course, this also coincides with Pop's ability to play bigs more minutes in the second half of the season. With Bonner coming back, Dice rounding into shape (an admitted slow starter), and having to worry about Theo's durability less and less as the season progresses, Pop should be fully able to never have to use small ball in a disadvantageous situation.
Since it is Pop, small ball will still come up (and honestly putting our small ball lineups through in the regular season could really help our guys in the PO, after all the Spurs will probably face a moment when for whatever reason they have to go small against a very good team, and those players have to be confident in their ability to beat teams w/ those lineups), just hopefully not nearly as much.
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