Uncia03
Starter
In the practice and gameday interviews with Donte and Casspi (on tv.kingsconnect.com), when asked what they took away from the Spurs game and what the key to a win over the Wolves would be they both indicated it was the defense which was key.
Casspi said that they had their longest film-clips of the year after the Spurs game to address where they could improve defensively, especially on weak-side help.
That is one of the things which has really invigorated this team. In seasons past the bad defense could be attributed to Vets who were just not putting in the effort required night in and night out to be a good defensive squad.
This year we've got a team full of young scrappy guys, and it seems pretty apparent that they want to succeed on defense, they just don't have the experience to put all the pieces in place just yet.
Hopefully, the attitude and scrappiness will still be in place once the experience has been obtained and we'll have a decent defensive squad. Of course, getting a defensive anchor in the post would do wonders for the over-all team defense.
But if we're not going to get one of those this year, then at least we can be hopeful that the team will start to edge closer to defensive respectability as they gain experience through the course of the season.
I will say that I was very impressed with Donte's defense against Jefferson in the last game. Westphal started the 3rd with Beno replacing Nocioni, and Donte got the assignment against Jefferson. Jefferson was taken out of the 3rd with 3.5 minutes left, and in that stretch he only scored 2 points on an 18 ft jumpshot when a switch took place between JT and Donte. Jefferson also did beat Donte off the dribble once, but missed the layup when Donte and JT challenged the shot.
Anyway, as I was watching this game again focusing on the defense against Jefferson I saw the Spurs run the same play with Jefferson. The first time was at the 10 minute mark of the first quarter. The second time was at the 9 minute mark of the 3rd quarter. In the first quarter Nocioni is guarding Jefferson, and Jefferson gets a slam. In the 3rd quarter Donte is guarding Jefferson, and he keeps Jefferson from getting in position to make a play.
Also in this game, when we put Sergio and Beno into the game, Westphal put Tyreke on Jefferson, and Tyreke did a better defensive job than Nocioni for that 1st half.
So it's exciting to see players who look as if they have a chance to be good defensive players for their positions. We've seen Donte have some outstanding defensive games, and we know that Tyreke has the strength, quickness, and desire to be a good defender. If we can just improve our team defense, and perhaps get an interior defensive player, our defensive rankings should begin to rise.
Casspi said that they had their longest film-clips of the year after the Spurs game to address where they could improve defensively, especially on weak-side help.
That is one of the things which has really invigorated this team. In seasons past the bad defense could be attributed to Vets who were just not putting in the effort required night in and night out to be a good defensive squad.
This year we've got a team full of young scrappy guys, and it seems pretty apparent that they want to succeed on defense, they just don't have the experience to put all the pieces in place just yet.
Hopefully, the attitude and scrappiness will still be in place once the experience has been obtained and we'll have a decent defensive squad. Of course, getting a defensive anchor in the post would do wonders for the over-all team defense.
But if we're not going to get one of those this year, then at least we can be hopeful that the team will start to edge closer to defensive respectability as they gain experience through the course of the season.
I will say that I was very impressed with Donte's defense against Jefferson in the last game. Westphal started the 3rd with Beno replacing Nocioni, and Donte got the assignment against Jefferson. Jefferson was taken out of the 3rd with 3.5 minutes left, and in that stretch he only scored 2 points on an 18 ft jumpshot when a switch took place between JT and Donte. Jefferson also did beat Donte off the dribble once, but missed the layup when Donte and JT challenged the shot.
Anyway, as I was watching this game again focusing on the defense against Jefferson I saw the Spurs run the same play with Jefferson. The first time was at the 10 minute mark of the first quarter. The second time was at the 9 minute mark of the 3rd quarter. In the first quarter Nocioni is guarding Jefferson, and Jefferson gets a slam. In the 3rd quarter Donte is guarding Jefferson, and he keeps Jefferson from getting in position to make a play.
Also in this game, when we put Sergio and Beno into the game, Westphal put Tyreke on Jefferson, and Tyreke did a better defensive job than Nocioni for that 1st half.
So it's exciting to see players who look as if they have a chance to be good defensive players for their positions. We've seen Donte have some outstanding defensive games, and we know that Tyreke has the strength, quickness, and desire to be a good defender. If we can just improve our team defense, and perhaps get an interior defensive player, our defensive rankings should begin to rise.
