Ok, I went to my first game of the year last night, and took my 4 year old son to the game. Outside of the 3rd quarter we had a great time. One big thing I noticed, and this is HUGE...is that on defense, whenever the player that Steve or Moochie is guarding does not have the ball, they turn their head and peek and watch the ball. Invariably Steve or Moochie lose their man and he either gets a wide open look, or gets his teamate a wide open look by making the defense rotate off of Steve/Mooch. This is a major problem, it is no big deal to peak at the ball, but at least keep up with your man as you do it. This could be one of the biggest reasons that other teams PG's put up great stats against us. Steve is bad at it, but Moochie is HORRIBLE at it, he is peeking all the time, and his lateral quickness is not enough to catch up. Other observations from the game are that Glen Rice needs to sit, he misses easy rebounds by simply not being able to jump, he is not what he was, and I think that others would provide more for this team...Posey, Tmo, Boki, etc...etc... So, there you have it...Steve and Moochie's main problem on defense is peeking....as I see it. DaDakota PS. We were in section 113, and sitting right behind some New Orleans fans, in the 3rd quarter they starting getting pretty obnoxious, so I sort of asked them how did the Saints do??? It shut them up pretty quickly..
Well, peeking allows quick guards to anticipate a pass and get into the passing lanes. But I can see your reasoning. Even if a guard can locate his man right away (preventing the jumper), he may be out of position and allow a drive right by him. Guards tend to be more aggressive when they have shot blockers behind them and IMO, I think they should continue to be. Are you sure DaDa that they weren't playing zone? In zone, you have to locate both the ball and your man (even more so than mano to mano). IMO, I like the aggressiveness in trying to get into the passing lanes. Maybe our guards just have to master the art a little better like you suggest. Now, if they are peeking just to see if the ball is shot so they can start playing offense... Good one about the Saints too. Haslett's comment after their 6-1 start was "many of you [reporters] didn't think we'd be in this situation at." I wonder if he used the same comments after Sunday's choke job.
Not to turn this into a non-BB thread, but I was wondering, DD, how'd your kid like the game? And Glen Rice does need to sit. Rudy's loyalty can get on the nerves. Glen just doesn't have it anymore, and he's helping us lose games.
*sigh* Why can't I go back in and edit my own posts anymore? I re-read DD's post and saw he wrote "we had a great time," so I guess the kid enjoyed himself. (Instead of editing my post, I get to inflate my post count. Whee!)
Peeking can be effective, but what happens is that they lock in on the ball, and their man moves away from them into open space, and this puts them out of position on defense and becomes the first domino in a rotation nightmare. It is in Man to Man that I noticed this, in fact, we have not run a zone in the last few games. DaDakota
Basic man to man defensive coaching teaches the player to have one eye on the ball and one on your defender at all times (when the person you're guarding doesn't have the ball). It becomes sort of like looking in the rear view mirror when driving. You have to look quickly, yet still be aware of what is happening in front of you. If your man is one pass away, you should be in much tighter man coverage to possibly get a steal and deny the ball, if your man is at least two swings away, you need to be sagging off more to be ready to play help D. I think Francis understands this concept but chooses to ignore the fundamentals of it, trying to "peek" at the ball more for a chance at a steal, or because he expects to have to help (given the team's porous defense in the past) or simply because he thinks he can recover in time.
DaDakota, I forget what section I was in but i was right by those Hornetts fans too. I think they were part of Jamal Mashburn's "posse" who goes everywhere with him - practice, games, clubs, everything.
Yeah...in New Orleans. There were those "ganstas" behind the Hornets bench. I think they are like Baron Davis's homies. Hmm...Steve Francis said Baron Davis is underrated? Thenhow come Baron Davis got to go to the World Championships and Steve may not be selected to serve his country?
Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that playing basketball is hazardous to the coordination of the two eyes. Defensive basketball is recommended only to those whose brain is equally uncoordinated.
Having two eyes looking in two directions would be tough, wouldn't it? You're supposed to stand at an angle where your shoulders point to the guy you're guarding and the man with the ball. If you look forward then, you can see both with the corner of your eyes.
Dak, this is a pile of poo, the U14 girls i coach can watch there player and the ball (when they are off the ball) most of the time, i find this amazing that a professional basketball player nicknamed the Franchise cannot position his feet/body and head in the right place and direction to be able to see both. My guess is they have there backs to the ball too much and hence have to turn their head to peek at the ball. It's all about positioning and setting yourself up in a triangle arrangement so you can see both. Smeg
This may be the wrong forum, but it is darned funny. Click HERE And you will see what I mean.....I put it in the Hangout too...but I think everyone should see it before I pull it off our webpage. DD
Oh my god that was too freakin funny. . What's sad about it is that it kinda reminded me of the 92 all-star game with Magic. He lit every one up because nobody really wanted to touch him.
