I know that we all want great individual defenders at every position. Not going to happen. Decent to good defenders maybe, but not great at every position. And if we did, our offnese would probably suck because its difficult to find great defenders that are also good offensive players. Most good teams will have only one or two of those in their lineup.
Our problem is team defense. Poor rotations, or lack of rotation. Next time you watch a game, and if you have a DVR, and you see someone from the opposing team wide open for a shot, play it back. Almost every time you'll see two Kings rotating with the same player. Or one rotating and the other looking lost as to where to go.
Now every team is going to have some confusion on rotations from time to time. But the Kings are making a science out of it. When watching, I honestly don't know where to point the finger because I don't know their defensive scheme. But I certainly know that you don't want two players guarding one player that doesn't even have the ball.
Now if I could say that it only happens when Thompson, or Nocioni, or Hawes, or whomever is involved everytime there's confusion, then I might be able to lay some blame. But this desease appears to be contagious to everyone on the team at times. So this isn't about having great individual defenders as much as its about a total breakdown of team defense.
So ask yourself where confusion comes from. What makes up a good well oiled machine. First off, all the parts have to fit properly. Secondly, with a new machine, you have to break it in properly. Let all the rough edges get worn off so it runs smoother. Its sort of like letting them all get to know each other. The better they know each other, the smoother the whole machine runs.
There's a lack of cohesion on offense. But there's an even bigger lack of cohesion on defense. There's a saying in mexico. Look good, but no work. Thats what we have on defense. They look like they're out there busting their butts. Unfortunately with little result. There's a saying thats been playing on the radio. " You don't become an expert by doing 4000 things 12 times. You become an expert by doing 12 things 4000 times.
When you do the former, it looks fresh and new, and promising. And if your lucky, it may even work for one night. But its built on a paper foundation and will eventually fail. When you do the latter, its slower and sometimes painful and may not work at all for a while. But your putting a solid foundation into place off of which your can continue to build. Right now this team is doing the former. It can look good, but it doesn't work!
. Cisco also. We really need a few James Posey types of players though, guys who can lockdown on D and who can hit open shots.
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