knicks1248 wrote:We don't even have a defensive system

Phil and his coaches have been together for a long time and they have worked together to formulate defensive tactics. They've won a lot of games and titles together. You need to start respecting their collective knowledge.

The Lakers' DEFENSIVE funnel vision

Rambis was given task of improving team's defense, and his ideas, predicated on forcing the ball to one side of the court, are working
November 28, 2008|Mike Bresnahan | Bresnahan is a Times staff writer.

Kurt Rambis' pizza is getting cold.

It's been sitting there, sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella, all but ignored because the Lakers' defensive coach is on a roll.

The black ballpoint pen is flying as Rambis draws up defensive schemes, scrawling out Xs and O's on the wax paper that covers a table at an Italian bistro.

He talks about steals, blocked shots and overloading one side of the court. He emphasizes the necessity to jump into passing lanes to intercept skip passes. He talks and draws, and then, finally, he eats. His work is done . . . at least on paper.

It was a given that the Lakers would score gobs of points this season, but Coach Phil Jackson wanted to put a stop to all the points being dropped on them (the team's defensive rank last season: 18th).

So Jackson gathered his coaches before training camp and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 18 years of coaching in the NBA.

"We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."

Ah, yes. Boston.

The Celtics' defensive coach, Tom Thibodeau, made numerous headlines for his shut-it-down success last season, creating a template for championship-caliber teams via an unforgiving defense.

The Lakers could have used such a thing in the Finals, when the Celtics ended the Lakers' fairy tale by crushing them with Paul Pierce's slow, methodical, back-'em-down-the-lane style.

It has created a slow burn in the Lakers for, oh, about 164 days since their 131-92 humiliation in Game 6 of the Finals.

The Lakers began working on the new defense during training camp and continue to practice it almost every day. The results have been a boon.

The Lakers (12-1) are third in the league in opponents' shooting percentage (42.2%), sixth in points given up (92.7 a game), and first in point differential (14.3 a game).

The players have eaten it up, finding an appetite for steals (a league-best 10.4 a game) and blocked shots (6.2 a game, sixth-best in the league) that matches their zest for alley-oop dunks and three-on-one breaks.

"The thought process is that you want to win a championship. In order to beat a Boston, you've got to be a better defensive team than Boston," Kobe Bryant said. "If you want to hoist that trophy at the end of the year, we've got to be a great defensive team. That's the only way to get it done."

Rambis, in his seventh season as a Lakers assistant coach, had been in Jackson's ear for a while, pointing out an opportunity to take advantage of the NBA rule changes in 2001 that allowed zone defenses. Jackson ultimately relented over the summer.

"Kurt's been pestering me for a year or so about doing some things defensively that I was reluctant to do," Jackson said. "I come from the old school where you play man [defense], and you have that man and that's your primary goal."

The Lakers now use a lot of zone principles and try to keep the ball on one side of the court.

They put pressure on the ballhandler to try to force him to a particular side and then often overload the area by sending an extra defender to stand down near the post, essentially shifting the defense from man-to-man to zone.

Skip passes to the undermanned side can hurt the Lakers, but their defense has been quick to jump into passing lanes and create turnovers.

Crucial to their defensive success is extreme pressure on the ballhandler. Without that pressure, the ballhandler can see the court and find open teammates.

"We've got guys that have the capability of being a very disruptive defensive team," Rambis said. "We tried to give them goals to start training camp. They should be among the league leaders in defensive field-goal percentage, rebounds, shot blocks, steals, point differential. If you're among the league leaders in those categories, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."

The dramatic changes in personnel since last year's training camp have definitely helped.

Kwame Brown no longer patrols the middle -- er, tries to patrol the middle -- after being replaced by the younger and longer Andrew Bynum, who is gaining experience and confidence by the day.

Next to Bynum is fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol, who is fairly fluid for his size and is back to his natural position of power forward after playing center in Bynum's absence last season.

Bryant is an eight-time member of the All-Defensive team. The antagonistic, rangy forward Trevor Ariza is healthy after an injury-marred end to last season.

Word is spreading around the league.

"Their defense is much better than it was last year," New Orleans Coach Byron Scott said. "I think they learned from the Boston Celtics that you have to play defense to win championships. They really have done a heck of a job just getting after people, closing the lanes down and forcing people to shoot jump shots. When you get by them, you've got two 7-footers back there contesting shots."

I think Phil is looking to recreate what he had in LA with RoLo and KP playing the Bynum and Gasol role in their own way.

nixluva wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:We don't even have a defensive system

Phil and his coaches have been together for a long time and they have worked together to formulate defensive tactics. They've won a lot of games and titles together. You need to start respecting their collective knowledge.

The Lakers' DEFENSIVE funnel vision

Rambis was given task of improving team's defense, and his ideas, predicated on forcing the ball to one side of the court, are working
November 28, 2008|Mike Bresnahan | Bresnahan is a Times staff writer.

Kurt Rambis' pizza is getting cold.

It's been sitting there, sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella, all but ignored because the Lakers' defensive coach is on a roll.

The black ballpoint pen is flying as Rambis draws up defensive schemes, scrawling out Xs and O's on the wax paper that covers a table at an Italian bistro.

He talks about steals, blocked shots and overloading one side of the court. He emphasizes the necessity to jump into passing lanes to intercept skip passes. He talks and draws, and then, finally, he eats. His work is done . . . at least on paper.

It was a given that the Lakers would score gobs of points this season, but Coach Phil Jackson wanted to put a stop to all the points being dropped on them (the team's defensive rank last season: 18th).

So Jackson gathered his coaches before training camp and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 18 years of coaching in the NBA.

"We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."

Ah, yes. Boston.

The Celtics' defensive coach, Tom Thibodeau, made numerous headlines for his shut-it-down success last season, creating a template for championship-caliber teams via an unforgiving defense.

The Lakers could have used such a thing in the Finals, when the Celtics ended the Lakers' fairy tale by crushing them with Paul Pierce's slow, methodical, back-'em-down-the-lane style.

It has created a slow burn in the Lakers for, oh, about 164 days since their 131-92 humiliation in Game 6 of the Finals.

The Lakers began working on the new defense during training camp and continue to practice it almost every day. The results have been a boon.

The Lakers (12-1) are third in the league in opponents' shooting percentage (42.2%), sixth in points given up (92.7 a game), and first in point differential (14.3 a game).

The players have eaten it up, finding an appetite for steals (a league-best 10.4 a game) and blocked shots (6.2 a game, sixth-best in the league) that matches their zest for alley-oop dunks and three-on-one breaks.

"The thought process is that you want to win a championship. In order to beat a Boston, you've got to be a better defensive team than Boston," Kobe Bryant said. "If you want to hoist that trophy at the end of the year, we've got to be a great defensive team. That's the only way to get it done."

Rambis, in his seventh season as a Lakers assistant coach, had been in Jackson's ear for a while, pointing out an opportunity to take advantage of the NBA rule changes in 2001 that allowed zone defenses. Jackson ultimately relented over the summer.

"Kurt's been pestering me for a year or so about doing some things defensively that I was reluctant to do," Jackson said. "I come from the old school where you play man [defense], and you have that man and that's your primary goal."

The Lakers now use a lot of zone principles and try to keep the ball on one side of the court.

They put pressure on the ballhandler to try to force him to a particular side and then often overload the area by sending an extra defender to stand down near the post, essentially shifting the defense from man-to-man to zone.

Skip passes to the undermanned side can hurt the Lakers, but their defense has been quick to jump into passing lanes and create turnovers.

Crucial to their defensive success is extreme pressure on the ballhandler. Without that pressure, the ballhandler can see the court and find open teammates.

"We've got guys that have the capability of being a very disruptive defensive team," Rambis said. "We tried to give them goals to start training camp. They should be among the league leaders in defensive field-goal percentage, rebounds, shot blocks, steals, point differential. If you're among the league leaders in those categories, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."

The dramatic changes in personnel since last year's training camp have definitely helped.

Kwame Brown no longer patrols the middle -- er, tries to patrol the middle -- after being replaced by the younger and longer Andrew Bynum, who is gaining experience and confidence by the day.

Next to Bynum is fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol, who is fairly fluid for his size and is back to his natural position of power forward after playing center in Bynum's absence last season.

Bryant is an eight-time member of the All-Defensive team. The antagonistic, rangy forward Trevor Ariza is healthy after an injury-marred end to last season.

Word is spreading around the league.

"Their defense is much better than it was last year," New Orleans Coach Byron Scott said. "I think they learned from the Boston Celtics that you have to play defense to win championships. They really have done a heck of a job just getting after people, closing the lanes down and forcing people to shoot jump shots. When you get by them, you've got two 7-footers back there contesting shots."

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/28/sports/sp-lakers28

I think Phil is looking to recreate what he had in LA with RoLo and KP playing the Bynum and Gasol role in their own way.

StarksEwing1 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:We don't even have a defensive system

Phil and his coaches have been together for a long time and they have worked together to formulate defensive tactics. They've won a lot of games and titles together. You need to start respecting their collective knowledge.

The Lakers' DEFENSIVE funnel vision

Rambis was given task of improving team's defense, and his ideas, predicated on forcing the ball to one side of the court, are working
November 28, 2008|Mike Bresnahan | Bresnahan is a Times staff writer.

Kurt Rambis' pizza is getting cold.

It's been sitting there, sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella, all but ignored because the Lakers' defensive coach is on a roll.

The black ballpoint pen is flying as Rambis draws up defensive schemes, scrawling out Xs and O's on the wax paper that covers a table at an Italian bistro.

He talks about steals, blocked shots and overloading one side of the court. He emphasizes the necessity to jump into passing lanes to intercept skip passes. He talks and draws, and then, finally, he eats. His work is done . . . at least on paper.

It was a given that the Lakers would score gobs of points this season, but Coach Phil Jackson wanted to put a stop to all the points being dropped on them (the team's defensive rank last season: 18th).

So Jackson gathered his coaches before training camp and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 18 years of coaching in the NBA.

"We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."

Ah, yes. Boston.

The Celtics' defensive coach, Tom Thibodeau, made numerous headlines for his shut-it-down success last season, creating a template for championship-caliber teams via an unforgiving defense.

The Lakers could have used such a thing in the Finals, when the Celtics ended the Lakers' fairy tale by crushing them with Paul Pierce's slow, methodical, back-'em-down-the-lane style.

It has created a slow burn in the Lakers for, oh, about 164 days since their 131-92 humiliation in Game 6 of the Finals.

The Lakers began working on the new defense during training camp and continue to practice it almost every day. The results have been a boon.

The Lakers (12-1) are third in the league in opponents' shooting percentage (42.2%), sixth in points given up (92.7 a game), and first in point differential (14.3 a game).

The players have eaten it up, finding an appetite for steals (a league-best 10.4 a game) and blocked shots (6.2 a game, sixth-best in the league) that matches their zest for alley-oop dunks and three-on-one breaks.

"The thought process is that you want to win a championship. In order to beat a Boston, you've got to be a better defensive team than Boston," Kobe Bryant said. "If you want to hoist that trophy at the end of the year, we've got to be a great defensive team. That's the only way to get it done."

Rambis, in his seventh season as a Lakers assistant coach, had been in Jackson's ear for a while, pointing out an opportunity to take advantage of the NBA rule changes in 2001 that allowed zone defenses. Jackson ultimately relented over the summer.

"Kurt's been pestering me for a year or so about doing some things defensively that I was reluctant to do," Jackson said. "I come from the old school where you play man [defense], and you have that man and that's your primary goal."

The Lakers now use a lot of zone principles and try to keep the ball on one side of the court.

They put pressure on the ballhandler to try to force him to a particular side and then often overload the area by sending an extra defender to stand down near the post, essentially shifting the defense from man-to-man to zone.

Skip passes to the undermanned side can hurt the Lakers, but their defense has been quick to jump into passing lanes and create turnovers.

Crucial to their defensive success is extreme pressure on the ballhandler. Without that pressure, the ballhandler can see the court and find open teammates.

"We've got guys that have the capability of being a very disruptive defensive team," Rambis said. "We tried to give them goals to start training camp. They should be among the league leaders in defensive field-goal percentage, rebounds, shot blocks, steals, point differential. If you're among the league leaders in those categories, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."

The dramatic changes in personnel since last year's training camp have definitely helped.

Kwame Brown no longer patrols the middle -- er, tries to patrol the middle -- after being replaced by the younger and longer Andrew Bynum, who is gaining experience and confidence by the day.

Next to Bynum is fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol, who is fairly fluid for his size and is back to his natural position of power forward after playing center in Bynum's absence last season.

Bryant is an eight-time member of the All-Defensive team. The antagonistic, rangy forward Trevor Ariza is healthy after an injury-marred end to last season.

Word is spreading around the league.

"Their defense is much better than it was last year," New Orleans Coach Byron Scott said. "I think they learned from the Boston Celtics that you have to play defense to win championships. They really have done a heck of a job just getting after people, closing the lanes down and forcing people to shoot jump shots. When you get by them, you've got two 7-footers back there contesting shots."

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/28/sports/sp-lakers28

I think Phil is looking to recreate what he had in LA with RoLo and KP playing the Bynum and Gasol role in their own way.

its ironic that you accuse me of trying to change your views...yet you try to do that to everyone else who has a different opinion. Right now we dont have a defensive system. Hopefully we will this year but we gotta prove it

You and others have made the mistake of assuming that somehow Championship winning coaches don't have a plan because the team lacked talent last year and lost games. That doesn't mean they don't have a Defensive System or schemes that they are trying to implement. Now it's clear that Phil has been upgrading the defensive talent on the team and will continue to do that. You have to have the talent in order to actually be effective defensively. To assume that Phil doesn't know what it takes to win is FOOLISH. That's why i'm constantly arguing with people on this forum. I'm merely pointing out why that kind of viewpoint is wrong.

Phil about this coming season:

"Certain other things will also have to change next year, namely our defensive game plan. I'd like us to exert more pressure in the backcourt. Press, trap, push sideline. Make opposing guards work to get the ball across the timeline, something that will tire them out late in the game -- this is extremely important. And after being pressured hard for eight feet or so, it will also be difficult for guards to continue their dribble deep into the attack zone. Pressure defenses also require opposing bigs to come help their guards and subsequently make quick decisions far away from their comfort zones. Of course, we'll need a deep, quick roster, but that's another thing we're aiming at. In addition, whenever our screen-roll defense allows a guard to penetrate, I'd like us to shift into a zone."

nixluva wrote:

StarksEwing1 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:We don't even have a defensive system

Phil and his coaches have been together for a long time and they have worked together to formulate defensive tactics. They've won a lot of games and titles together. You need to start respecting their collective knowledge.

The Lakers' DEFENSIVE funnel vision

Rambis was given task of improving team's defense, and his ideas, predicated on forcing the ball to one side of the court, are working
November 28, 2008|Mike Bresnahan | Bresnahan is a Times staff writer.

Kurt Rambis' pizza is getting cold.

It's been sitting there, sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella, all but ignored because the Lakers' defensive coach is on a roll.

The black ballpoint pen is flying as Rambis draws up defensive schemes, scrawling out Xs and O's on the wax paper that covers a table at an Italian bistro.

He talks about steals, blocked shots and overloading one side of the court. He emphasizes the necessity to jump into passing lanes to intercept skip passes. He talks and draws, and then, finally, he eats. His work is done . . . at least on paper.

It was a given that the Lakers would score gobs of points this season, but Coach Phil Jackson wanted to put a stop to all the points being dropped on them (the team's defensive rank last season: 18th).

So Jackson gathered his coaches before training camp and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 18 years of coaching in the NBA.

"We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."

Ah, yes. Boston.

The Celtics' defensive coach, Tom Thibodeau, made numerous headlines for his shut-it-down success last season, creating a template for championship-caliber teams via an unforgiving defense.

The Lakers could have used such a thing in the Finals, when the Celtics ended the Lakers' fairy tale by crushing them with Paul Pierce's slow, methodical, back-'em-down-the-lane style.

It has created a slow burn in the Lakers for, oh, about 164 days since their 131-92 humiliation in Game 6 of the Finals.

The Lakers began working on the new defense during training camp and continue to practice it almost every day. The results have been a boon.

The Lakers (12-1) are third in the league in opponents' shooting percentage (42.2%), sixth in points given up (92.7 a game), and first in point differential (14.3 a game).

The players have eaten it up, finding an appetite for steals (a league-best 10.4 a game) and blocked shots (6.2 a game, sixth-best in the league) that matches their zest for alley-oop dunks and three-on-one breaks.

"The thought process is that you want to win a championship. In order to beat a Boston, you've got to be a better defensive team than Boston," Kobe Bryant said. "If you want to hoist that trophy at the end of the year, we've got to be a great defensive team. That's the only way to get it done."

Rambis, in his seventh season as a Lakers assistant coach, had been in Jackson's ear for a while, pointing out an opportunity to take advantage of the NBA rule changes in 2001 that allowed zone defenses. Jackson ultimately relented over the summer.

"Kurt's been pestering me for a year or so about doing some things defensively that I was reluctant to do," Jackson said. "I come from the old school where you play man [defense], and you have that man and that's your primary goal."

The Lakers now use a lot of zone principles and try to keep the ball on one side of the court.

They put pressure on the ballhandler to try to force him to a particular side and then often overload the area by sending an extra defender to stand down near the post, essentially shifting the defense from man-to-man to zone.

Skip passes to the undermanned side can hurt the Lakers, but their defense has been quick to jump into passing lanes and create turnovers.

Crucial to their defensive success is extreme pressure on the ballhandler. Without that pressure, the ballhandler can see the court and find open teammates.

"We've got guys that have the capability of being a very disruptive defensive team," Rambis said. "We tried to give them goals to start training camp. They should be among the league leaders in defensive field-goal percentage, rebounds, shot blocks, steals, point differential. If you're among the league leaders in those categories, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."

The dramatic changes in personnel since last year's training camp have definitely helped.

Kwame Brown no longer patrols the middle -- er, tries to patrol the middle -- after being replaced by the younger and longer Andrew Bynum, who is gaining experience and confidence by the day.

Next to Bynum is fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol, who is fairly fluid for his size and is back to his natural position of power forward after playing center in Bynum's absence last season.

Bryant is an eight-time member of the All-Defensive team. The antagonistic, rangy forward Trevor Ariza is healthy after an injury-marred end to last season.

Word is spreading around the league.

"Their defense is much better than it was last year," New Orleans Coach Byron Scott said. "I think they learned from the Boston Celtics that you have to play defense to win championships. They really have done a heck of a job just getting after people, closing the lanes down and forcing people to shoot jump shots. When you get by them, you've got two 7-footers back there contesting shots."

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/28/sports/sp-lakers28

I think Phil is looking to recreate what he had in LA with RoLo and KP playing the Bynum and Gasol role in their own way.

its ironic that you accuse me of trying to change your views...yet you try to do that to everyone else who has a different opinion. Right now we dont have a defensive system. Hopefully we will this year but we gotta prove it

You really don't get it. There's a difference between defending your position and just Talking at someone and telling them to chill, which is basically what you've been doing to me for months now. My post above isn't about changing anyone's outlook as much as contributing as many facts as are necessary to prove a point. You just said that the Knicks don't have a defensive system, which you haven't proved. You're just making a statement with literally nothing to back it up. I on the other hand have posted an article with actual quotes explaining what Phil and Rambis came up with defensively with the Lakers.

You and others have made the mistake of assuming that somehow Championship winning coaches don't have a plan because the team lacked talent last year and lost games. That doesn't mean they don't have a Defensive System or schemes that they are trying to implement. Now it's clear that Phil has been upgrading the defensive talent on the team and will continue to do that. You have to have the talent in order to actually be effective defensively. To assume that Phil doesn't know what it takes to win is FOOLISH. That's why i'm constantly arguing with people on this forum. I'm merely pointing out why that kind of viewpoint is wrong.

Phil about this coming season:

"Certain other things will also have to change next year, namely our defensive game plan. I'd like us to exert more pressure in the backcourt. Press, trap, push sideline. Make opposing guards work to get the ball across the timeline, something that will tire them out late in the game -- this is extremely important. And after being pressured hard for eight feet or so, it will also be difficult for guards to continue their dribble deep into the attack zone. Pressure defenses also require opposing bigs to come help their guards and subsequently make quick decisions far away from their comfort zones. Of course, we'll need a deep, quick roster, but that's another thing we're aiming at. In addition, whenever our screen-roll defense allows a guard to penetrate, I'd like us to shift into a zone."

blkexec wrote:So ive been reading the post from nix and starks.....and I didnt see where nix was upset or was offended. Thats the issue with trying to have a normal conversation online. We all read too much into words. But in person you have more to read like body language and tone. Starks I think you might be jumping the gun. Nix to me seems like the type thats hard to change.....Briggs is the same way. But I rarely see Nix get upset. Sometimes I wish he did....Because hes always being attacked for being optimistic. This time I think its just facts.....Phil tried to add defense in the off season.

I also disagree with Briggs. Phils main focus has been on two way players. Grant and Gallo play the 1 and 2......Aflalo is a 2 or 3.....Than is a 3....Anybody else thats better on defense and offense and plays the 1,2 or3.....either out of our price range or not available. But the 4 and 5 spots were available. Phil doesnt have super powers to improve every single defensive and offensive hole. But to me he exceeded my expectation so far. But this is all on paper and we all know how good paper can be....It gave us 17 wins last year when it looked like we had enough talent to make the playoffs, b4 the blowup.

blkexec wrote:I agree.....Im hoping an efficient offense and added rim protectors will make our guard defense better.

And starks....you have the best name on this site so far. Starks is my favorite knick.

BRIGGS wrote:

nixluva wrote:

StarksEwing1 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:We don't even have a defensive system

Phil and his coaches have been together for a long time and they have worked together to formulate defensive tactics. They've won a lot of games and titles together. You need to start respecting their collective knowledge.

The Lakers' DEFENSIVE funnel vision

Rambis was given task of improving team's defense, and his ideas, predicated on forcing the ball to one side of the court, are working
November 28, 2008|Mike Bresnahan | Bresnahan is a Times staff writer.

Kurt Rambis' pizza is getting cold.

It's been sitting there, sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella, all but ignored because the Lakers' defensive coach is on a roll.

The black ballpoint pen is flying as Rambis draws up defensive schemes, scrawling out Xs and O's on the wax paper that covers a table at an Italian bistro.

He talks about steals, blocked shots and overloading one side of the court. He emphasizes the necessity to jump into passing lanes to intercept skip passes. He talks and draws, and then, finally, he eats. His work is done . . . at least on paper.

It was a given that the Lakers would score gobs of points this season, but Coach Phil Jackson wanted to put a stop to all the points being dropped on them (the team's defensive rank last season: 18th).

So Jackson gathered his coaches before training camp and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 18 years of coaching in the NBA.

"We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."

Ah, yes. Boston.

The Celtics' defensive coach, Tom Thibodeau, made numerous headlines for his shut-it-down success last season, creating a template for championship-caliber teams via an unforgiving defense.

The Lakers could have used such a thing in the Finals, when the Celtics ended the Lakers' fairy tale by crushing them with Paul Pierce's slow, methodical, back-'em-down-the-lane style.

It has created a slow burn in the Lakers for, oh, about 164 days since their 131-92 humiliation in Game 6 of the Finals.

The Lakers began working on the new defense during training camp and continue to practice it almost every day. The results have been a boon.

The Lakers (12-1) are third in the league in opponents' shooting percentage (42.2%), sixth in points given up (92.7 a game), and first in point differential (14.3 a game).

The players have eaten it up, finding an appetite for steals (a league-best 10.4 a game) and blocked shots (6.2 a game, sixth-best in the league) that matches their zest for alley-oop dunks and three-on-one breaks.

"The thought process is that you want to win a championship. In order to beat a Boston, you've got to be a better defensive team than Boston," Kobe Bryant said. "If you want to hoist that trophy at the end of the year, we've got to be a great defensive team. That's the only way to get it done."

Rambis, in his seventh season as a Lakers assistant coach, had been in Jackson's ear for a while, pointing out an opportunity to take advantage of the NBA rule changes in 2001 that allowed zone defenses. Jackson ultimately relented over the summer.

"Kurt's been pestering me for a year or so about doing some things defensively that I was reluctant to do," Jackson said. "I come from the old school where you play man [defense], and you have that man and that's your primary goal."

The Lakers now use a lot of zone principles and try to keep the ball on one side of the court.

They put pressure on the ballhandler to try to force him to a particular side and then often overload the area by sending an extra defender to stand down near the post, essentially shifting the defense from man-to-man to zone.

Skip passes to the undermanned side can hurt the Lakers, but their defense has been quick to jump into passing lanes and create turnovers.

Crucial to their defensive success is extreme pressure on the ballhandler. Without that pressure, the ballhandler can see the court and find open teammates.

"We've got guys that have the capability of being a very disruptive defensive team," Rambis said. "We tried to give them goals to start training camp. They should be among the league leaders in defensive field-goal percentage, rebounds, shot blocks, steals, point differential. If you're among the league leaders in those categories, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."

The dramatic changes in personnel since last year's training camp have definitely helped.

Kwame Brown no longer patrols the middle -- er, tries to patrol the middle -- after being replaced by the younger and longer Andrew Bynum, who is gaining experience and confidence by the day.

Next to Bynum is fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol, who is fairly fluid for his size and is back to his natural position of power forward after playing center in Bynum's absence last season.

Bryant is an eight-time member of the All-Defensive team. The antagonistic, rangy forward Trevor Ariza is healthy after an injury-marred end to last season.

Word is spreading around the league.

"Their defense is much better than it was last year," New Orleans Coach Byron Scott said. "I think they learned from the Boston Celtics that you have to play defense to win championships. They really have done a heck of a job just getting after people, closing the lanes down and forcing people to shoot jump shots. When you get by them, you've got two 7-footers back there contesting shots."

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/28/sports/sp-lakers28

I think Phil is looking to recreate what he had in LA with RoLo and KP playing the Bynum and Gasol role in their own way.

its ironic that you accuse me of trying to change your views...yet you try to do that to everyone else who has a different opinion. Right now we dont have a defensive system. Hopefully we will this year but we gotta prove it

You really don't get it. There's a difference between defending your position and just Talking at someone and telling them to chill, which is basically what you've been doing to me for months now. My post above isn't about changing anyone's outlook as much as contributing as many facts as are necessary to prove a point. You just said that the Knicks don't have a defensive system, which you haven't proved. You're just making a statement with literally nothing to back it up. I on the other hand have posted an article with actual quotes explaining what Phil and Rambis came up with defensively with the Lakers.

You and others have made the mistake of assuming that somehow Championship winning coaches don't have a plan because the team lacked talent last year and lost games. That doesn't mean they don't have a Defensive System or schemes that they are trying to implement. Now it's clear that Phil has been upgrading the defensive talent on the team and will continue to do that. You have to have the talent in order to actually be effective defensively. To assume that Phil doesn't know what it takes to win is FOOLISH. That's why i'm constantly arguing with people on this forum. I'm merely pointing out why that kind of viewpoint is wrong.

Phil about this coming season:

"Certain other things will also have to change next year, namely our defensive game plan. I'd like us to exert more pressure in the backcourt. Press, trap, push sideline. Make opposing guards work to get the ball across the timeline, something that will tire them out late in the game -- this is extremely important. And after being pressured hard for eight feet or so, it will also be difficult for guards to continue their dribble deep into the attack zone. Pressure defenses also require opposing bigs to come help their guards and subsequently make quick decisions far away from their comfort zones. Of course, we'll need a deep, quick roster, but that's another thing we're aiming at. In addition, whenever our screen-roll defense allows a guard to penetrate, I'd like us to shift into a zone."

You cant exert more pressure on the defense in the backcourt if 95% of the other teams have superior athletic ability and speed. Calderon Anthony and Affalo aren't trapping one team--they're the ones who will be trapped.

In fact if I was an opponent Id aggressively trap Calderon in the backcourt myself --not just because he slow as fck but I know that the Knicks are a bad ball-handling team. While the Knicks will be able to use savvy and experience at time to keep the ball moving---no way will they escape superior athletic talent youth and speed coming in waves against them. Ill double team C Anthony every time he touches the ball and Ill let Derrick Williams and Lopez beat me in the halfcourt. Id feel good going against the Knicks projected SL

NAME	                POS	AGE	HT	WT
Kristaps Porzingis	PF	20	7-1	230  Not Slow
Jerian Grant	        PG	22	6-5	205  Not Slow
Thanasis Antetokounmpo	SF	23	6-7	215  Not Slow
Langston Galloway	PG	23	6-2	200  Not Slow
Cleanthony Early	SF	24	6-8	220  Not Slow	 
Derrick Williams	PF	24	6-8	240  Not Slow
Kyle O'Quinn	        PF	25	6-10	250
Kevin Seraphin	        PF	25	6-10	278
Robin Lopez	        C	27	7-0	255
Lance Thomas	        SF	27	6-8	225  Not Slow
Arron Afflalo	        SG	29	6-5	215  Not Slow
Carmelo Anthony	        SF	31	6-8	240  
Sasha Vujacic	        SG	31	6-7	193  Not Slow
Lou Amundson	        PF	32	6-9	225  Not Slow
Jose Calderon	        PG	33	6-3	200

The Pressure is just a tactic to slow the other team down and bring their big back to help the guard. It's preferable to just letting teams do what they want. I think anything to disrupt the timing of the other team is worth it. They don't have to be the best at it for it to have an impact.

The 1st step to the ball pressure is to make your shots at a high percentage and not turn the ball over. In terms of who would apply the pressure it's a team thing and not just about one player. So even with Jose it would still be possible to attack the opposing guard as long as you have other quick, athletic players helping apply the pressure.

I think the idea is to use some Zone when Jose is in and pressure with Jerian, Gallo, Thanasis, Early... There are enough athletic players on the roster to play better defense this year. They won't be the KG Celtics but hopefully they can be a much improved defensive team. The idea is to be better. They may not be a great defensive team but they have to be better.

blkexec wrote:

blkexec wrote:I agree.....Im hoping an efficient offense and added rim protectors will make our guard defense better.

And starks....you have the best name on this site so far. Starks is my favorite knick.

StarksEwing1 wrote:

blkexec wrote:

blkexec wrote:I agree.....Im hoping an efficient offense and added rim protectors will make our guard defense better.

And starks....you have the best name on this site so far. Starks is my favorite knick.

thanks dude. Starks was a interesting story. Went from bagging groceries to becoming a solid player.

And that's part of the reason why I liked him. I always like the underdogs. And for a guy that was only 6'2 and a half, he had the heart to go up against the best SG in the world, everyday.....Eventhough he was overmatched like when he would guard Jordan.....He never backed down. I loved that about him. And I actually modeled my game after him. What interesting is we are exactly the same. Undersized guards, streaky shooters, solid defenders, late bloomers.....Never back down from anybody, reguardless if the other person is bigger, stronger or faster. Ewing was the man as well.....I just started to appreciate him later, but he was a solid center and foundation for us. I wish we never traded him. That was the start of this bad era of Knicks basketball, that we are still trying to recover from.