Team defense by Brett Brown:

[bajaden]

I thought this might be of interest to some of you. Much has been said about the Kings defense, or lack there of, so I thought this video by Brett Brown at a coaches clinic on defense might be enlightening to those who don't really understand team defense. Who is Brett Brown you ask? He's the defensive coach for the San Antonio Spurs. You have to bear with the video for little while till he gets into the nuts and bolts of defense, but its very informative, especially if team defense is just something you've heard about.

The video is 37 minutes long, so if you have an attention span problem, then it might not be for you. Enjoy!

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Cutthroat-defense-drill-coach-Brett-3647089.S.166117508

 

[IfAt1st]

The Kings coaches should be MANDATED to watch this, if for nothing other than what he said at the 13:57 mark.

"The corner-3 in the NBA is the 3rd-highest % shot in the entire game, behind a free throw and a layup."

From how often the Kings players cheat off the guys in the corners, and how often it has KILLED them the past 2 seasons, it is blatantly obvious that NOONE in the organization has watched this session.

 

[bajaden]

The Kings coaches should be MANDATED to watch this, if for nothing other than what he said at the 13:57 mark.

"The corner-3 in the NBA is the 3rd-highest % shot in the entire game, behind a free throw and a layup."

From how often the Kings players cheat off the guys in the corners, and how often it has KILLED them the past 2 seasons, it is blatantly obvious that NOONE in the organization has watched this session.

Yep, I knew that the corner three was killer for a lot of teams, but I wasn't aware that it was the third highest percentage shot in the NBA. Obviously you give up something else instead of giving up the corner three. There's a reason the Spurs are always one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Its all about coaching. Coaching that matters.

 

[rainmaker]

Thanks for posting Baja.

My belief is that while top defenders obviously help, and their value on the market shows that, there's no reason why a good coach can't get average defenders, and young guys who are athletic into the right positions. Sound, fundamental defense where players are in the right positions boils down the experience and coaching. Locking a guy down 1v1 on the wing or in the post is individual talent. Help defense, proper rotations, knowing when to switch vs when to fight through screens, knowing your opposition and who to close out on, who to shade away from, while it is partly experience, a fair amount is coaching.

 

[bajaden]

Thanks for posting Baja.

My belief is that while top defenders obviously help, and their value on the market shows that, there's no reason why a good coach can't get average defenders, and young guys who are athletic into the right positions. Sound, fundamental defense where players are in the right positions boils down the experience and coaching. Locking a guy down 1v1 on the wing or in the post is individual talent. Help defense, proper rotations, knowing when to switch vs when to fight through screens, knowing your opposition and who to close out on, who to shade away from, while it is partly experience, a fair amount is coaching.

Your absolutely right. While having great individual defenders certainly means that your overall defense within a good system can be one of the best, there's no reason a team with average individual defenders has to dwell at the bottom of the food chain. You can see in the video, that the Spurs actually have a plan on defense as to what they're going to take away. No matter how good your are, your going to give up something at some point. The idea is to make sure its not something easy.

Its a very rare player that can stay in front of every defender he guards. Maybe 1 or 2 percent of the players in the NBA have that kind of talent. In all honesty, regardless of what anyone might think of Tyreke, name me the players that, one on one, can stay in front of him. Who can stay in front of Derrick Rose, John Wall or Russell Westbrook. In general, your going to be beat by these guys off the dribble. But that doesn't mean you can't stop them from getting to the basket if everyone does their job.

I know that at one time, Smart was known as a defensive guy. I know he holds Pops in San Antonio in high esteem. So I hope and pray he brings some of the knowledge he learned from Pop's to the Kings.

 

[IfAt1st]

My belief is that while top defenders obviously help, and their value on the market shows that, there's no reason why a good coach can't get average defenders, and young guys who are athletic into the right positions. Sound, fundamental defense where players are in the right positions boils down the experience and coaching. Locking a guy down 1v1 on the wing or in the post is individual talent. Help defense, proper rotations, knowing when to switch vs when to fight through screens, knowing your opposition and who to close out on, who to shade away from, while it is partly experience, a fair amount is coaching.

Agreed on all points.

IF ONLY there was a vet, HOF-level coach out there who has proven he can get young teams to play defense exactly this way available and willing to coach!

 

[Kingster]

The Kings D last year was a parody of this defensive drill. Close-out? Wass that?
My guess is that Smart knows all this stuff, and a lot more. But can he get these guys to care enough to do it?