To all, Lets look at the new ZONE clearly from a Defensive perspective once and for all, The biggest change was the 3 second rule for defenders in the lane The new rules do not require the use of a zone, they only allow it. Most teams will still employ Man-to-Man D for the predominent majority of the game Most NBA coaches are not accustomed to the ZONE/how to employ it/teach it/intitiate it. Most NBA players either do not know the ZONE, have never played the ZONE or do not remember how to play the ZONE as they have not played it in years and are not comfortable with the ZONE [/list=1] All the above have placed the Rocks in an excellent positon, The Rocks will still use one of their strenths, the isolation play, if presented with a Man-to-Man until defenses shift. The Rocks will still be a slashing team if presented with a Man-to-Man The Rocks are a ZONE busting team with 3 offensive players (Francis, Cat & Mo) that can go inside and draw the callapsing ZONE - RICE et. al. are the busters from outside (Hence, almost forcing other teams into a Man-to-Man against the Rocks) Any team playing a Man-to-Man against the Rocks will have their center virtually negated by the 3 second rule (why Shaq hates the rule so much - no camping out in the lane) - the lane will be open much more this year. [/list=1] All of this points to the Rocks moving in the right direction. Think about it. Teams will be forked either way. Either defense employed will have natural gaping holes before it even hits the floor. How do you play this team defensivly? Difficult question at best. Defensively, the Rocks are at an advantage. Again, think about it. With the ZONE employed on our side of the fence, we can cover most teams easily. Name that many teams that have as many bonifide scorers as the Rocks (4 minimum). Lakers?, No. Philly?, No. The point is, do you need the monster center anymore...clearly, time will tell. But, one thing is clear, the Lakers are easily stopped if you cut off one of the two heads of the monster (e.i. no Kobe...no championship). The ZONE D requires more than two scorers and we have that in spades now. Thoughts????
Forgot this note. Since most teams will be learning and experimenting with this, this will make it that much more easier to exploit. Also, most of our players have beenin college, so they will have a better grasp.
As I understand it the new rules do not require the defensive players to clear out (no illegal defense calls) which should reduce or eliminate the iso game since the the player defensing the iso could expect help from 1 or 2 players should the offensive player get by him. That would still leave 2 or 3 players around the paint to cut off the passing lanes. Comments?
GP, In effect you are correct except most teams will still play a Man-to-Man. This will open up the use of the iso. It will also open up the lane right down the paint. No three seconds means a clear lane. Unless of course teams devise a rotating paint player scheme which would be extremely difficult to inact/master.
Rocket!!!--I don't think you understand the new rules. The Defensive 3-second rule applies ONLY when the defensive center is away from his man. I.e. if the Rockets were playing Collier at C and placed him at the top of the key against Shaq, then Shaq could only camp out in the lane for 3 seconds at a time. However, if Collier is even around the free-throw line, then Shaq could probably camp out in the lane for as long as he wanted. Also, just because a team is playing man-to-man D doesn't mean that they won't throw players towards the iso. Teams have been trying to do that for the last few years. That's why there have been Illegal Defense calls. Well, now that illegal D call have been thrown out the window, teams will DEFINITELY throw extra men at the iso. That is why iso plays won't work very well. The Rockets will be basing their offense on a penetrate-and-dish method. Francis, Mobley, or Norris with penetrate, and when the defense collapses, they will dish the rock to one of several places: Outside: to any of the guards, Rice, Langhi, Walt, Taylor, or Collier Inside (dish off for the layup): to Griffin, Taylor, or Cato Or, if Rice and Taylor are keeping their men honest, then our penetrators will have an easier time scoring on their drives to the bucket. Simple enough. Now, let's see them execute this all the way to the playoffs!
Bima, If Collier is at the FT line, Shaq will have to be within arms distance if he is in the paint. The guys with long wingspans will be in better shape than the willis's of the league. I see teams playing man to man with zone principles. Lots of cheating (I guess cheating is no longer the right word) on the strong side. Iso will only be effective as a decoy.
I said a couple of times in earlier discussions of the new rules I think the NBA will play a sagging man to man. Like we used to play in the old days at the gym when everyone wanted to shoot the bomb but couldn't hit it. Players will still match up man to man but will sag off their man if he doesn't have the ball. This puts more players close to the paint to help out on penetration and defensive rebounding. I think this will probably make the penetrators have to kick the ball out. Then the time that it takesthe defense to come out on the perimeter guys is the key. Quick spot up shooters could have a field day. Know any of those?
