Part 1 @ Chicago: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=8776680#post8776680 Part 2 @ Miami: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=251988 It was clearly a better performance by the team. However, while the defence did improve, the Jazz also just could not take advantage of singular defensive lapses. This is why they are one of the worst teams in the league; they just cannot put the ball in the basket. Like I did before, for every made or missed shot, I recorded who missed an assignment, or did a good job. There are five categories: good and bad on-ball (OB)l defence, good and bad rotation (R), and "meh" (falls in between). I only recorded on shots/fouls, not for the full game. Some good plays will go unnoticed if a shot was not taken. From this recent game against the Jazz, this is the results: <table border="1" style="width:1000"><tr><td>Player</td><td>Good OB</td> <td>Good R</td><td>Meh</td><td>Bad OB</td><td>Bad R</td></tr><tr><td>Bev</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Harden</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Parsons</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Jones</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Howard</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Lin</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Asik</td><td>5</td><td>11</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Dmo</td><td>6</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Hamilton</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Canaan</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Garcia</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>1 fight</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr></table> Some Notes: 1) The Jazz really tried to work the low post against Asik/Dmo/Jones. Well, it failed miserably. There was good post D by all three of them. 2) Jones was a step slow on rotations in the 1st quarter. However, he did much better later on in the game. 3) The Jazz just are not that good of a team: they could not make the Rockets pay for bad defence. There were a lot of open shots/layups the Jazz just clanked. 4) The Jazz could not put the pick and roll rotation to the test. They would never work the ball past the first rotation off the pick and roll, something playoff teams can do. 5) Most of Dmo's rotation issues were when he was guarding a stretch 4, Marvin Williams. Dmo just cannot help 1 pass away against him. However, those charges were beautiful. 6) Asik shut down the lane. Enough said. 7) The Jazz guards tried to take advantage of the "Dwight Affect" not being present. It must of been frustrating for Jazz fans to watch their guards throw themselves at Asik thinking it would be easier to score. It was not. But it is the Jazz, I don't care if they are miserable. Let them eat cake (insert obligatory YOU SUCK MALONE!). 8) Great second quarter defensively. I recorded maybe 5 (give take) bad defensive plays. Great stuff. 9) Referring back to the game against Miami with the backdoor cut by Ray Allen, a very similar situation happened with Harden and Jones. Harden got caught because Jones did not call it; they switched soon afterwards and a layup was prevented. This is what Lin and Parsons did not do. 10) The way our PF's play defense is interesting: one blocks shots; one takes charges. Both work. Both of them had some very good plays and bad plays as well, typical of young people. If you have any questions on how to judge who did what wrong on a play, just ask below. Also, should I incorporate defensive rebounding next game? tl;dr Jazz suck, PF's very up and down. Asik did well. Felt good to have a blowout.
Asik was a monster out there tonight. Looks like those dunks he threw down pumped some life back into his game. His importance to the team has gone understated. 2nd round x-factor
Thanks guys, really appreciate the positivity! I agree, and so does Morey. This is why he didn't trade him.
Maybe u can add a plus minus score tally. That way easy to see net effect. For example, +2 for good D, +1 for good rotation, 0 for meh, -1 for bad rotation, -2 for bad man to man D. Thanks.
That is a good idea. However, I cannot just assume every good D is more important than good rotation. I could try to implement how many points a player is directly involved in giving up. Does that sound reasonable?
Again. One hell of a post! Do you have video capture software? A few examples of your analysis would be most instructive.
Thanks for writing this. I enjoy your posts. Do you record the defensive performances after the game or while watching it?
While watching it. It provides realism. After the game, one could record the "technically, he messed up"; however, in game it was the right decision. There are rules of defense, but they are meant to be broken sometimes. A perfect example: the play where Lebron held Lin. Ray Allen got the pass, and Beverley went to help early. That is not Beverley's rotation: nobody is supposed to rotate on a backdoor screen on the wing. It is strictly two-on-two action (and not hard to cover, honestly). His left his man was wide open in the corner. Beverley also "messed up" again by jumping on the Ray Allen pump fake. One is supposed to never leave your feet, but Beverley smartly knew the only way to stop the open layup was to prevent it and hope somebody bigger rotates; Bev won't be able to stop a 6'6 Allen at point blank. However, Parsons had given up on the play and didn't try to recover. Beverley did what is normally considered poor defense, but was brilliant considering the situation. I do not, unfortunately.
I didn't catch the Utah game, but saw we had 12 blocked shots. In terms of the play itself, there is limited impact in that usually the opposing regains possession. But how big is the value in terms of the intimidation / psychological factor? Would they subconciously be more reluctant to continue attacking the paint, forcing more outside shots?
I went through and came up with a +/- for on ball and rotation defense for each player. I didn't count the Meh plays either way. Here's the 3 game totals Beverly OB: +5 ROT: +2 Harden OB: -7 ROT: -12 Parsons OB: +2 ROT: -4 Jones OB: -2 ROT: -2 Howard OB: +7 ROT: +21 Lin OB: -5 ROT: -6 Asik OB: +4 ROT: +16 Dmo OB: +10 ROT: +3 Hamilton OB: +4 ROT: -6 Skipped Garcia, Canaan and Casspi because bleh. Worst On Ball defenders are Harden and Lin. Worst players when rotating are Harden, Lin and Hamilton (he's still learning the system. Was really surprised at Dmo.
Did you do these on own record or with my observations? Did you use the +2 for OB and +1 for ROT method? It looks very similar, just glancing over my numbers. I would think Dmo's OB and ROT would be closer, and Bev's to be higher in both categories... This is much appreciated, and I will try to incorporate this in next game. I will focus on points given up only though. Yes. I think you answered your own questions? I don't know what else to add. When you see a 3x DPOY, it causes hesitation, even by Lebron.
You guys think Asik and Kanter talk to one another? I think Turkoglu set Howard and Asik straight and on better terms. I really think a phone call or meet up made a difference.
I do not think I will have the time to do another game, getting busy again. I appreciate everyone's responses! Yea, that is a good thought process. If I do another game, I will try to add "points given up" for each player as well, which is a variation from what you are doing.
