And they really have to stop this "MDA can't teach defense" b.s. It's been proven wrong time and time again.

orangeblobman wrote:

nychamp wrote:

orangeblobman wrote:And they really have to stop this "MDA can't teach defense" b.s. It's been proven wrong time and time again.

Can you show me where that "proof" is?

We can start with the Suns' defensive rankings from the MDA era where they consistently placed in the middle and sometimes a little higher in areas such as points allowed per possession, and stuff like that.

Time and time again people fail to realize that if you play faster, you will give up more points. Can't just look at how many points they give up and say "oh, he doesn't teach defense". Must adjust for pace.

And, to paraphrase MDA's own words-- "good defense is when you score more points than the other team". Which his teams have consistently done to the tune of 56 wins a year for four years and a couple of conference finals trips that left them at the very cusp of a finals appearance.

People like to hate on MDA and his defense because they are so in love, for whatever reason, with slow, roughneck basketball. If only a handful of teams play at a faster pace and the majority of the league slower, then naturally the pool from which a champion can emerge is much larger for slower teams. This doesn't mean that MDA's style can't win, just that the pool is smaller and so there is less of a chance that a faster team will win a championship in any given year.

well said.. I agree. It's not that black and white as many people seem to point out..

McK1 wrote:

orangeblobman wrote:

And, to paraphrase MDA's own words-- "good defense is when you score more points than the other team".

what else is he gonna say?

He's gonna tell you to stop messing with OBM.

But he DID say that, maybe not exact words.

nychamp wrote:

orangeblobman wrote:

nychamp wrote:

orangeblobman wrote:And they really have to stop this "MDA can't teach defense" b.s. It's been proven wrong time and time again.

Can you show me where that "proof" is?

We can start with the Suns' defensive rankings from the MDA era where they consistently placed in the middle and sometimes a little higher in areas such as points allowed per possession, and stuff like that.

Time and time again people fail to realize that if you play faster, you will give up more points. Can't just look at how many points they give up and say "oh, he doesn't teach defense". Must adjust for pace.

And, to paraphrase MDA's own words-- "good defense is when you score more points than the other team". Which his teams have consistently done to the tune of 56 wins a year for four years and a couple of conference finals trips that left them at the very cusp of a finals appearance.

People like to hate on MDA and his defense because they are so in love, for whatever reason, with slow, roughneck basketball. If only a handful of teams play at a faster pace and the majority of the league slower, then naturally the pool from which a champion can emerge is much larger for slower teams. This doesn't mean that MDA's style can't win, just that the pool is smaller and so there is less of a chance that a faster team will win a championship in any given year.

I understand your arguments, and I am not making the argument that MDA cannot teach defense. I don't know, to be honest.

However nothing that you write above proves that he can teach defense.

Does it at least prove that he is not the worst defensive coach in the league, which many people seem so ready to suggest? Giving a guy a grade of 'D' and then saying he doesn't teach defense is a bit much.

Conservatively, he is at least an average defensive coach.

But one must take into account that his whole philosophy is centered on attack. Considering the Suns' defensive rankings during his reign, I'd say that he is adequate at the very least; thus nullifying any of these outrageous concerns.