Our defense NEXT year. Good enough to be a contender?

Our defensive identity is already gone. It hurts to be honest. We can't trade Battier, we have to hold onto what once made us the grittiest team in the league. It seems like we are wheeling a dealing further and further away from it but who knows what the future holds. Morey knows you have to rank fairly high defensively to stand a chance. The Stoudemire trade may have been a nail in the coffin but maybe he is thinking short-term. Even with Martin... could you see Martin being packaged with one of those sexy draft picks for a Joe Johnson? I could. I try and get my sleep at night knowing Morey knows what it takes to win.

 

I think it will depend on which direction Morey goes with his acquisitions in the offseason. The team in general is moving away from JVG defensive top 5 teams to an offensive power when everyone is healthy.

If Bosh is brought in...

Bosh is an above avg defensive player who with his length would be ideal to go along with Yao, Ariza and Martin.

IF Amar'e is brought in...

Defensive liability who would complete the transition to an offensive monster.

I also believe one of the three(Battier, Ariza or Jeffries) will be history next season and Hayes will also be gone. To many moves still to be made to determine how the defensive will look and mesh but I will say that I keep hearing good things about Hill's defense so he could help bridge next year from the defensive team to an offensive squad.

 

No, what Morey knows is that what counts is team defense. Individual defense is overrated, there's no individual defender that can shut down a star. Defense is about guys rotating over, not 1 on 1 matchups.

The team doesn't even have an true interior defensive presence this year and you want to say our defense will be worse next year? Crazy. Having Yao will literally help 100% plus whatever moves Morey makes to offset the coming losses this season (battier, hayes, however)

 

Well first off, great thread, meh. +1.

Now, bloop...you are right about Individual D being a tad bit on the overrated side. I think it's been this way since the zone defense was put in. Coaches now are putting more emphasis on help D, as you said. (Defense being about guys rotating over).

I can see meh's point though. Yao's D is bad when it comes to him having to go beyond a comfort zone. But then again, you are right. Yao's interior defense makes us a lot better on D.

Both your points are, well, on point, but I really hope we can get some help in the frontcourt when it comes to defense. Whether we like it or not, Yao's going to help more help than ever before (on defense), even if he never needs surgery and plays 82 games + playoffs every year for the next 6-8 seasons.

 

meh and bloop.

Those names are funny.

 

But good team defense is only possible when you have good defensive players. Boston's defense was not the same without KG, Orland's defense was not the same without Howard. There is noway you can play great defense with 3 Wafers on the perimeter no matter who is coaching.

Even in JVG era, when Luther Head was on the floor, defense went much worse because he needed help when he was posted, that opened up for other opposing players.

Yao will help, but Yao can't solve the problem all by himslef. Plus, Yao is a bad pick'n roll defender as well. Good defensive schema and good defensive players are both needed to make it a defensive power house.

 

I dont want to be a penus but its not like Scola's defense is that much better if better at all then Amare's.

 

To be frank, our defense sucks because we're missing Yao Ming. We were good before Ron Artest, so he is not the reason we are suddenly awful at defense. Yao Ming is the lynch-pin of our defensive scheme because of his big presence in the middle.

We will have him next year and our defense will magically be dramatically improved.

 

Exactly. No different than the championship teams that just funneled everything to Hakeem.

 

Yes. With the return of Yao next year(a healthy one, that is...), Martin getting readjusted to RA's offense and all of our core players(assuming Scola and Lowry are resigned) a year saltier I believe we are a sexy dark-horse contender next year. One of our main problems lies with our transition defense, which is terrible. Combine that with the fact that we give up way too many easy layups and well......you have seen the results. With Yao playing, he can clog the middle and the game will be slowed down a little(as well as the offensive side of the ball). Getting the defense in a half-court set and playing solid team defense is well within possibility with Yao anchoring the middle.

 

We had at least 3 good defensive players in the lineup before.

At one points, Yao/Hayes/Battier/Rafer were in the lineup.

With AB/Marting/Ariza/Scola/Yao, we have 2 at most.

 

Rarely would Chuck ever play with Yao. So, you could say at best we would have Yao/Battier/Rafer (and Rafer does not have nearly the effect of the other two).

Now, we could possibly have Yao/Ariza/Battier in at the same time. Or Chuck/Ariza/Battier. Or Yao/Chuck/Ariza/Battier all at once! Still four good defensive players. Don't constrain yourself to starters for the "now," and remove that constraint for the past. Thanks.

 

Err, well, I wouldn't go that far. Yao is not Hakeem, but he helps a whole heckuva lot.

 

If Yao Ming is fairly healthy, top 5-8, if he isn't low teens and high 20s.

You don't necessarily need great individual defense at every position to be great, BUT . . . you can't have poor defense at too many positions. Which is why we need hold onto Battier and Hayes.

Our defense, last year (at full strength), was absolutely outstanding for team play, but most of all individually speaking, as well we could field . . . Yao Ming, Chuck Hayes, Shane Battier, Ron Artest, Dikembe Mutombo, and even Kyle Lowry. If we would've beaten the Lakers, last year, it would've because of clutch shooting and suffocating defense. We really needed Mutombo (and later Yao) in that series. The Yao/Mutombo (with Chuck) vs. Bynum/Gasol favored the Rockets, or at worst a stalemate.

 

Brooks shouldn't be the starting PG anyway. Lowry in a starting position will improve our defense. Brooks is always ice cold in the first quarter anyway.

 

Keep in mind that the team defense could improve next year thanks to this year's players get more time/experience. Also, the coach may have more faith in the players. I know last season I would sit there on some nights and watch Yao get absolutely shredded by quicker, smaller bigs and plead with my TV for Adelman to put Chuck in but he rarely did. I think next season you will see substitutions happen much more quickly now that Adelman knows exactly what he has in his players.

 

Once Yao returns next year, I believe our team will be top 5 defensively. Right now, we have nobody that can alter or block a shot. When we had Yao, battier would always funnel his man into Yao. Regardless of Yao blocking the shot or not, it would always affect the shooter. Now, you would see battier funnel into Scola??? Hayes or Anderson??? Hopefully, we will either draft a good big this year, or sign someone that has defensive prescence.

I've seen a lot of Toronto games on Raptors TV since I live in Canada, and Bosh is only average on defense. Every team can drive into the paint AT WILL. Raptors team defense is very poor in general, so it is not totally Bosh's fault. It would be a big boost if we have Bosh to play alongside Yao defensively, but if we rely on to Bosh (incase Yao is injured or not 100%) to anchor our defense, I don't think we will improve very much in this regard. In Bima's thread, it was mentioned that a S&T is very difficult. If we can't get Bosh, Morey should try to go after someone like Haywood, who I believe is a FA after this season.

 

I think you guys are underrating Martin defensively. He isn't very good now but he has the tools to be decent and with Battier and Hayes on the team I don't see how he won't improve significantly. Look at Budinger, he may not be a spectacular defender but is absolutely absorbing Shane's non-gambling, position defensive philosophy. Sure, he won't get the steals Ariza will but he also stays in front of his man and doesn't give up uncontested layups by gambling.

 

Yao has been the keystone of our defense since the JVG era. Its no secret why we were a top 5 defense the last 4/5 years with yao playing (atleast some of the season) and now with him sidelined all year we've fallen. We contained lebron every cavs game last year because yao protects the rim.

I think next year we have potential to be a top 5 defense again. In limited Martin minutes you see he can play the passing lanes. With Ariza/Battier being the lock-down guy, Yao protecting the rim, and Scola servicable against 4's, brooks and martin will have the quicks to play the passing lanes and at worst stay in front of their man until help comes. This sounds like a pipe dream, i know, but lets see how it can translate to the court.