FanPost

Great article on defense


I found this on the FanShots list.

Scold me sternly for violating sacrosanct policy, but this is such a well reasoned article that everyone should read it, especially our coaching staff and front office. It was about to be scrolled off the fanshots with no comment, so readership was probably low.

It discusses why New Orleans is the best defensive team in the NBA, with at most 3 “real athletes”, none of them high level defenders. They basically take the Shane Battier theory of defense and apply it on a team basis. It’s not about athleticism, it’s about figuring out where a player’s sweet spot is and developing coaching strategies that prevent him from getting there. It's also about a different defensive strategy for each team, it's not a system of defense so much as a philosophy that must be applied for each set of opposing players.

Interestingly, many players don’t realize where their sweet spot is and why they end up with a low shooting % after playing New Orleans — it’s just a bad shooting night.

This is must reading for coaches and players, IMHO, as well as Wolves fandom.

Have at it…

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/1/25/1954651/chris-paul-new-orleans-hornets-defense