How do we fix our defense?

[Barolt]

That said, no back to backs or long road trips in the playoffs.

That's true, and this stretch of scheduling has been brutal.

[Lupe]

Yeah, and we had the exact same defensive issues with our starting lineup last year, with the exact same solution(start Patterson), and DeMar was a big part of the problem there as well.

In fact, last year, our defense was better with Scola on/DeMar off than it was with DeMar on/Scola off.

You can't encapsulate and evaluate defense almost entirely based on lineup stats.

[MixxAOR]

Cavs?

Thats obvious. I meant as a whole

[Sinbad]

The conclusion I keep coming to, that I believe more and more to be true:

Jonas Valanciunas isn't, and probably never will be, a great defender. He's also not really the problem with our defense.

I agree with this. But if it comes down to a choice between blaming JV for the defense being poor, and taking an honest look where the breakdowns are coming from, we know which route the coaches, the broadcasters, and much of the fanbase will take. Which is as ridiculous as it is sad. #BringBackGreer

[Lupe]

I think also a big problem is that Carroll is supposed to be some type of elite perimeter defender, but he's actually terrible. I have zero confidence in his ability to limit top offensive players from doing exactly what they want on any given night. It's a big issue when a guy's role is actually to be great defensively and he can't do it. Same goes for CoJo this season.

[Barolt]

You can't encapsulate and evaluate defense almost entirely based on lineup stats.

You can't, but...

Where there's smoke, there's often fire. And it's not like with DeMar the eye test speaks to him being a good defender.

[MixxAOR]

statistacally Carroll was overrated defender in ATL. But we didnt have him last year also

[MACK11]

I think also a big problem is that Carroll is supposed to be some type of elite perimeter defender, but he's actually terrible.

Yup that's another issue. Carroll gets bodied by Small Forward's and can't guard quick players. His defensive reputation far exceeds his actual on court production.

[Sinbad]

I think also a big problem is that Carroll is supposed to be some type of elite perimeter defender, but he's actually terrible. I have zero confidence in his ability to limit top offensive players from doing exactly what they want on any given night. It's a big issue when a guy's role is actually to be great defensively and he can't do it. Same goes for CoJo this season.

Carroll played in a defensive system in Atlanta that was tailor-made for him. The Hawks team defense was air-tight. Everyone was willing and able to make rotations-- which is very different than his responsibilities here. Now, he's usually on an island on the perimeter by himself and is asked to stop his check single-handedly while help may or may not get there in time if he concedes the drive. His physical deterioration doesn't help either.

[Lupe]

I'd really look at starting Ross over Carroll at this point. Actually makes shots on the offensive end and defends. It's not like Carroll is strong at all, he gets bullied by the bigger 3s also, might as well put someone in there who will actually use his lateral quickness to make it tough for people.

[tDotted]

The knee injuries took away Carroll's biggest asset: his footspeed. He was never a high IQ defensive player but now he also isn't fast enough.

[Barolt]

I also think, when we say 'DeMar can't possibly be the reason the defense is so bad', we ignore the impact that one blown rotation can have in a defensive set. It causes other guys to overcompensate, overhelp, and over-rotate, which breaks down everything. Creates chaos for the defense while allowing the offense to pick their point of attack.

[Lupe]

Carroll played in a defensive system in Atlanta that was tailor-made for him. The Hawks team defense was air-tight. Everyone was willing and able to make rotations-- which is very different than his responsibilities here. Now, he's usually on an island on the perimeter by himself and is asked to stop his check single-handedly while help may or may not get there in time if he concedes the drive. His physical deterioration doesn't help either.

If that's the case then we shouldn't have signed him. We basically played ourselves, it's similar to when teams pick up ex-Spurs players and expect them to perform the same way on their teams. Was never really a big fan of the signing in the first place, grabbing a system player and expecting them to perform the same way outside of that system is really risky.

[KHD]

I also think, when we say 'DeMar can't possibly be the reason the defense is so bad', we ignore the impact that one blown rotation can have in a defensive set. It causes other guys to overcompensate, overhelp, and over-rotate, which breaks down everything. Creates chaos for the defense while allowing the offense to pick their point of attack.

aka the scramble defence. still hilarious to me that they coined the term as if it was a good thing.

[Lupe]

aka the scramble defence. still hilarious to me that they coined the term as if it was a good thing.

It is a good thing if you have the players for it. Miami played it effectively but I mean when you have Wade, Chalmers and LeBron it's a lot easier to do that.