newyorker4ever wrote:Defend the pick and roll.
1) At minimum, you just need actual effort and commitment to defend
2) You need everyone to "buy in" If you have four guys burning it out on D, and one guy doesn't care, the efforts of 4 guys go to nothing and it kills morale
3) You need team "leaders" to set the example and take real pride in defense
I generally don't have a problem with players who simply push as hard as they can but have actual athletic/physical limitations to their game. I.E. a player can't be a better defender because it's not an actual capability of his skill set. He's giving everything he's got, and it's all he has.
Sarunas Marcilonius, a gem of a find by Don Nelson, was a pretty good 6th man. Could not defend to save his life. Because he was giving no effort? No, guy was full bore all the time, but he simply did not have it within him to do it. Can't blame a guy for what he simply cannot do from a physical/athletic standpoint.
However when you just don't give a sh!t, that's unacceptable. Rose and Melo could be much better defenders, they just don't care. They set a negative tone for the rest of the team. Younger players get a little bit of a pass, many need to learn how to play NBA defense and many don't have an established rapport with the refs.
Attitude and hard work fixes a lot. It's the difference between a lousy defense and an almost league average defense. It's also the difference between a good blowjob and a bad blowjob. It also is the difference in how good someone is at their job/career. Matters not just in the NBA, but all over real life.
2/13/2017 1:55 PM