I really enjoyed this one by Zach Lowe: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...tier-harder-find-conventional-wisdom-suggests Click link for full article. [rquoter] About a month ago, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jim Boylan and I chatted about the evolution of NBA defenses over the last five years. I started listing the best examples of such defenses before Boylan interrupted me with a chuckle: "All the good ones," he said. "All the good defenses play like that." Boylan just spent four blowout losses watching an extreme example of that evolution, as an ultra-aggressive Miami defense dismantled Milwaukee in four straight games, holding the Bucks' offense to 91.5 points per 100 possessions — a number that would have ranked dead last in the league for the season. The Bucks entered the series with an obvious dilemma: Their best offensive wing players — Monta Ellis, J.J. Redick, Mike Dunleavy Jr. — had zero shot of effectively defending either LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. But Milwaukee's best defensive wings, Marquis Daniels and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, can't shoot at all, and wing players who can't shoot are increasingly becoming a giant liability against smart NBA defenses. That's especially true in the playoffs, where teams can devote all their scouting resources to a single opponent and pick at weaknesses until that opponent breaks. And so Miami did what the Bucks knew they would do: They totally ignored Daniels and Mbah a Moute, who makes nearly $5 million per season, and had the defenders "guarding" those players crash the paint, overplay the strong side of the floor, and clog up everything Milwaukee wanted to do. The league's decision a decade ago to do away with illegal defense and replace it with a defensive three-second rule has enabled these sorts of zone-style hybrid defenses; Tom Thibodeau's teams in Boston and then Chicago were the first to successfully exploit the rule changes, but almost every team has adopted at least some of that philosophy. And so Mbah a Moute and Daniels were borderline unplayable, except Milwaukee, at least in its collective mind, had no choice but to play them. The same thing has happened in the Brooklyn-Chicago series, where Thibodeau's Bulls have left Gerald Wallace alone on the perimeter to clog the lane on Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez. The same strategy, and the same heightened playoff focus, explains why Lionel Hollins cuts Tony Allen's minutes every postseason like clockwork. As the league changes, certain skills become more and less valuable, and the teams who sniff out those value shifts first reap the benefits. The NBA today is much different than it was even five years ago. Teams shoot many more 3-pointers, they cram the paint on defense, and they use schemes that often require players to be able to guard multiple positions. Being a wing in a Thibodeau-style pack-the-paint scheme requires smarts, effort, and crazy athleticism — the ability to move from the 3-point line to underneath the basket and then back out to the 3-point line within the same 15-second half-court sequence. If I were running an NBA team — ha! — I'd be scouring the world for role players who can do all of the following three things: • Defend shooting guards. • Defend small forwards. • Shoot 3-pointers proficiently. This is the perfect role player, a sort of New Age Shane Battier. (The old-age Shane Battier actually fits the bill, for the most part.) I'd strongly consider using my second-round "flier" draft pick on someone who might someday fit this description, even over a droolworthy project big man.1 There has long been the notion that wing shooters, or even "3-and-D" guys, are easy to find — that they're just sort of laying around, waiting for the Spurs to discover the next Bruce Bowen or Danny Green (another candidate). But in talking with GMs and personnel types at all levels, there is something close to broad agreement that players who have checked off all three boxes are relatively rare, that their development is unpredictable, and that the ones who have proven themselves probably don't earn enough money. "They are very, very hard to find," says Bob Myers, the Warriors' GM. "And they are probably undervalued." ... [/rquoter]
I LOVE THAT article. Because, it does emphasize how much more teams focus on defense versus the past? The reason why Miami could become such dominant team is because they have so many versatile players, in this case on defense. That's what made Chicago, so great, was because they essentially had 3-5 players who could guard the wing at a good to elite level. You can throw the modern Celtics, Spurs, and Pistons (pre 08) in there as well.
We saw it coming long ago. The rule change would gradually eliminate "defensive specialists" on the perimeter. Teams can no longer hide their offensive liability by parking them far away from the action, pulling a reluctant defender off the picture. Now defenses can just ignore the guy and play 5 on 4. We have found our new age Battier:
Pick up his team option.. Do whatever it takes to keep Garcia. I'm sure he'll stay for less money. He wants to play for a contender and we are easily going to be top 4 next yr
Garcia fits in this category. Wait till Chandler Parsons gets a little more experience. He will become Battier plus.
Meh.... It is a good article, but I would just point out the three point shooting PERIOD is becoming more and more important. Defensive wings that can shoot the 3 have been important for over 20 years. Mario Elie, Bruce Bowen, etc. The league really ought to consider tweaking the rules, I don't know that 3's and penetration is what is best for the game.
Parsons could already be Battier +++, but the problem is that right now we need him to be our second option on offense. He has saved our bacon many times. Teams right now have to account for him or he will drop 25 points on them.
i think it is best for the game.. wing players that cant shoot just dont cut it as NBA starter level players anymore. kinda makes sense.. best basketball in the world should have the best shooters.. of the ball.
Okay, but it comes at a cost. Post offense is almost gone and a mid range game is extinct. I dont know......
Zach Lowe considerably overrates Matt Barnes by calling him "perhaps the most undervalued player in the league", but that's OK. Nobody is perfect and Zach is usually spot on. Barnes is awfully inconsistent. Super streaky with his jumper -- anything but reliable. Has bad over-helping tendencies, too often plays outside the scheme. Overrated defender in general. Fouls a lot. Sucks at finishing at the rim. Too careless for somebody as limited as he is -- simply turns it over too much for a role player (though he's been better this year, to be fair). Also a punk. Would not want him on my team. There's a good reason he's on a new one each season. I'd happily take all of Lowe's "Promising Young Guys" over Barnes. Fransico Garcia, Jeff Taylor, Jae Crowder, others..., too.
Barnes is on a new team every season because the guy REFUSES to play in a system. The good defensive teams play VERY disciplined defense based on a system, Barnes just does his own thing.
I will also point out that this article articulates exactly why the Rockets wants a stretch 4, and 1-3 that can hit 3's.
I don't know who the new age Shane Battier's are, but I would definitely trade Rudy Gay for said mystery player.
