Vivek is serious about defense!

[VF21]

Check out this article from the New Yorker back in 2009. It talks about how Vivek was able to coach his daughter's basketball team even though most of them were not typical basketball players.

The article says that Vivek was puzzlied by how most Americans played basketball. He didn't understand why they were focused on offense most of the time, willing to concede half the court before they tried to stop their opponents.

...Ranadivé knew that if they played the conventional way—if they let their opponents dribble the ball up the court without opposition—they would almost certainly lose to the girls for whom basketball was a passion. Ranadivé came to America as a seventeen-year-old, with fifty dollars in his pocket. He was not one to accept losing easily. His second principle, then, was that his team would play a real full-court press, every game, all the time. The team ended up at the national championships...

I think things just got a lot more interesting.

 

[Bricklayer]

yes, although it should be noted that attempts to institute full court defenses at the NBA level have always failed, usually spectacularly (see Pitino, Rick). NBA guys are just too good at ballhandling and there are too many huge atheltes able to break that press and finish at the rim.

But the essential idea/focus/understanding of the importance of defense is roughly as radical a break as you could get from anything that has ever existed in Sacramento. There have been a handful of individual teams that have combined some defense with their offense, but offense has always been the great constant and calling card for this franchise, much to my eternal chagrin. By all means let's get serious about winning under a new owner.

 

[ParniValjak]

yes, although it should be noted that attempts to institute full court defenses at the NBA level have always failed, usually spectacularly (see Pitino, Rick). NBA guys are just too good at ballhandling and there are too many huge atheltes able to break that press and finish at the rim.

But the essential idea/focus/understanding of the importance of defense is roughly as radical a break as you could get from anything that has ever existed in Sacramento. There have been a handful of individual teams that have combined some defense with their offense, but offense has always been the great constant and calling card for this franchise, much to my eternal chagrin. By all means let's get serious about winning under a new owner.

We might finally get our wish of a shot blocker that will be more than a bits player. He might actually be at least a 30 minute per game player. Just imagine that?!

 

[pdxKingsFan]

yes, although it should be noted that attempts to institute full court defenses at the NBA level have always failed, usually spectacularly (see Pitino, Rick).

It worked for one glorious night when they crushed the Bulls in his debut. But yeah, EXACTLY the first thing I thought of when I read this. I don't think that Vivek will be coaching the team from courtside though, so we should be good with defensive minded coach and GM who can work it into the NBA game.