Kawhi Leonard is so great at D, he's actually hurting the Spurs

I've been saying this for years!

Next article: James Harden is so bad at defense, he's actually helping the Rockets.

 

The comparison between Kawhi and Draymond is more than about wing defense vs switchable versatility defense. If you look at the team composition between this year for Spurs and GS, the biggest difference is actually Duncan retiring more so than the Bogut trade.

In crunch time, the Warriors are going small because its their best lineup. So therefore input will be Livingston or Iguodala whom are all very good versatile length defenders. The weakness now here is only Curry or trying to beat them big. The Warriors try to defend these 2 weaknesses by elite help defense through their length, so basically bringing a double team as soon as possible. This is where Green gets his most defensive looks as he is assigned to guard opponents bigs eg. PFs and Cs. Green is by no means a elite heads up defender against size but what he does is buys time for help defense to collapse. Opposing teams are by virtue forced between trying to attack Green or Curry.

In the Spurs case last year, you had Duncan instead Gasol. Duncan is a much better post and help defender than Gasol. So when opposing guards break down Parker you run into Duncan. In essence with Gasol out there, you have possible weakness in the post area defense and help defense.
What this means is that teams can afford to play 4v4 and isolate Kawhi because the interior defense on the Gasol side is exploitable. With Duncan and Aldridge inside you force teams to use up significantly more offense near the perimeter. If you isolate Kawhi on one side of the perimeter in this situation, you simply are limiting your perimeter area to run offense. So you are at times therefore forced to swing the balls into Kawhi Island territory to generate ball movement.

This is just my amateur 2 cents on the matter.

 

Just off topic. If we compare Harden to lets say Klay Thompson defense the difference is not so much the isolation defense but the off ball situation.

The product of playing the Spurs and Warrior's movement orientated offense is that there will be heaps of swings/reverses/switches/ screens. Alot of it is simply trying to overload the defense's neural network. This means in a 24 sec. interval trying to probe as many areas of the defense until something breaks down due to the speed of the ball action. To counter this defense either have to force the initial action at point to try to dictate the follow on action or try to keep pace with the ball movement by communication and rotating well.

I think alot of the criticism of Harden comes from the off ball situation when the player he is marking doesn't actually have the ball in his hand. That moments lapse of focus when he disconnects from his team's defensive connection. This is either because of simply better offensive action being run against his team or personal loss of focus. Does it mean he is not trying hard on defense? I wouldn't describe it that way. Could it be a lower ball IQ on the defense end? As shown when he is switched onto the ball offensive player, his defense has been perfectly fine in those iso situations. He uses his size and lateral movement relatively well against opposing guards at the perimeter and can be comparable to his peers playing similar position. If you compare him to Curry in Isolation defense, Harden by simply having better tools eg. Size/Length comes out better/even.

Having a defensive reputation is not all bad. If teams force a switch at point and try to attack him based on his reputation, it can bog down opposing teams ball movement oriented offense and simplify the defense needed. My guess is if teams discount his isolation defense it could be beneficial to the Rockets.

 

I feel like the 4-on-4 theory was exposed last night. The Rockets found a way to diminish Kawhi's impact and defeat the Spurs defensive scheme, especially when Kawhi tried to guard Harden. Kawhi rolls up on Harden, :boom: pass, :boom: pass, yak, 2pts, NEXT, RIP.

 

I disagree. Spurs need to put Kawhi on Harden more instead of wasting him on Ariza standing on the perimeter away from the play. This could wear him out and make it harder for him to close the game assertively on offense.

Danny Green just doesn't offer enough resistance to Harden in PnR or ISO and Kawhi is the only possible remedy.

If I were Pop, I'd try Green again for the first few minutes on Harden but switch to Kawhi if the abuse starts early again.

 

Oh, I think the time will come where we'll see Kawhi on Harden for the full game. They'll need to do it and I've seen Kawhi give Harden plenty of problems before. But not last night. Last night they found a way to crush that matchup.

 

The problem the Spurs do not have Kawhis at the other 4 positions.

This will be a fun series.

 

I don't think they can expect to rely on Leonard to shoulder the offense like they did against Memphis. Memphis didn't have the offensive firepower like we do. They need more Leonard on defense against us. They'll have to figure a way to score with the other guys. I expect LMA and Mills to be involved more on offense.

 

They have no interior defense. Lee lol old soft gasol lol and Aldridge.

 

I kind of agree. Didn't really feel any impact from Kawhi defensively, as he was busy watching plays and ultimately trying to rotate, as LMA, Green, Lee, Mills and others tried to guard Harden and the PnR.

That said... you do have to hit your shots. And the Rockets did. Had they been "off" who knows what the conclusion would be.

 

When you see the numbers showing Harden is a better defender than Bev, you probably should just stop at that point to keep using them.

 

So great on D you are hurting the Spurs... listen to yourselves

 

Aldridge is a max player. Let that sink in for a while. These contracts are like poison for some players.

 

Eh - max player is a relative term. He's a pre-inflated-cap max player. Aldridge makes $20MM/yr in a league where the max now is $30+MM. Dwight Howard got more than that this past offsesaon.

 

That's certainly true. I still feel like Aldridge is playing well under his worth, but you're certainly right. Forgot he was an old max player.

 

This piece doesn't explain why Leonard's DFGA is about the same as previous seasons. Fact of the matter is that the Spurs have a well coached, well disciplined defensive team that plays well whether he's on or off the court, especially in the regular season.