Can players be taught how to defend?

[Xylus]

As far as this post is concerned...
"I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony, i know what to do, i just dont know where to start."

Lets start with with that last little tid bit of information you bestowed upon us:

I was unaware that Ray Allen was birthed from his mother's womb with the natural instincts of great bend in his knees, good alignment with his elbow, and amazing shot selection.

[hater]

I was unaware that Ray Allen was birthed from his mother's womb with the natural instincts of great bend in his knees, good alignment with his elbow, and amazing shot selection.

wow, so you don't beleive ray allen was born to be a great shooter?

[Gino]

Well, I guess what I meant was, it seems like Amare disappears the more dominant Shaq plays. A good example of that was the Spurs game, when Shaq played his best game as a Sun (so far) and Amare put up rather pedestrian numbers.


But, thanks anyway for your awesome 5th contribution to this forum.

I see...so you have to wait a couple hundred posts before being allowed to point out that "DarrinS" is a moron?

I hope your two thousand previous posts were better than that one.

[DarrinS]

I see...so you have to wait a couple hundred posts before being allowed to point out that "DarrinS" is a moron?

I hope your two thousand previous posts were better than that one.

But it only took you a few posts to show that you're are a bandwagoning troll.

[Joe Schmoogins]

Defense does not require much skill or athleticism that's why Bowen still in the NBA.

Defense is actually the ONLY thing in basketball that can be taught, everything else shooting, passing, etc you have to be born with.

I must disagree... Defense does take skill and athleticism. If you think Bowen is not skilled or athletic... That must be some good stuff you are smoking.

Good defense requires tons of effort it's true.. But it also requires skills such as foot work, body control, hand placement, balance, court awareness, communication, and "clutchness" or the ability to focus and execute under pressure. It requires athletic abilities such as strength, foot speed, hand speed, quickness, and agility.

I would also disagree with you that things such as passing and shooting cannot be taught. If this was true, Chip wouldn't have a job.

What can not be taught is how to be clutch. People just assume that the only time you need to be clutch is when shooting the ball... not true. Bruce is clutch and it shows up in his defense.

Defensive techniques can be taught just as offensive techniques can be taught. However, in order to be a great defender, it sure helps to have some of the intangibles...

[ALVAREZ6]

The fundamentals of defense can be taught, but after that, it's 100% desire/effort/heart. I never understand when good players suck at defense, it's all a question of whether or not you're a lazy ass pussy or not. I hate when I've been on teams and people don't try 100% on defense. If you're athletic enough to play basketball, then all you need is effort on defense. The type of player that's very good on offense but plays ty defense (Melo) is the type of player that plays the game for himself. If he plays for his team, he would bust his ass on defense.

[ALVAREZ6]

Good defense requires tons of effort it's true.. But it also requires skills such as foot work, body control, hand placement, balance, court awareness, communication, and "clutchness" or the ability to focus and execute under pressure. It requires athletic abilities such as strength, foot speed, hand speed, quickness, and agility.

I would also disagree with you that things such as passing and shooting cannot be taught. If this was true, Chip wouldn't have a job.

What can not be taught is how to be clutch. People just assume that the only time you need to be clutch is when shooting the ball... not true. Bruce is clutch and it shows up in his defense.

What kind of skill is "hand placement"? And foot work, body control, balance...these assets should be present in any NBA player, or at least guard..you can't make it that far otherwise. These are basic skills that people who play sports should have, coaches make you work on these things from high school to the pros. What I'm leading to is if an NBA guard or SF plays ty D...he's just a lazy piece of .


I agree with the clutch part. Defending really well down the stretch of the 4th quarter is very clutch. Especially if you've been defending really well all game because if you have, you should be drained by the 4th quarter. Playing perimeter defense effectively is probably the most tiring part of the game. I know when I play in games I'm always the most tired because I have to guard other quick guards and I play defense with effort, and I'd say it's the most tiring part of the game. It's obviously much less tiring for a center or PF to play defense, they are essentially standing there.