Effects of not using the press and defending the "3"

[Sota1]

I thought our season was doomed when we abandoned the press after Nolen's exit. We seemed to lack defensive intensity and the game slowed down. The last two games we seem to have settled into more of a half court game and guys seem to be clamping down a bit more. I am still concerned about how many open "3" looks our opponents get. Wisconsin went cold and we benefitted. Not sure how we account for the guys on the opposite side of the ball on the arc. They seem to always be open. Let's hope Purdue is not hot from deep. needless to say, I like our chances on Wednesday.

 

[bga1]

I like what Tubby has done the last two games. We are giving up open three attempts but they are longer ones. The zone we have played has pushed play out far enough that Wisconsin - though they took 30 three point shots- shot a lot of them from NBA range. The offensively with the two bigs we are getting a lot better ball movement- oddly enough. I sometimes wonder with Tubby's ball line defense with all the chasing and doubling down that happens if the guys tend to rest a bit more on offense - thus the lack of movement. You get benched for missing a defensive assignment but you don't appear to get bench for lack of movement on offense.

 

[Goldy in da house]

I actually like the sagging defense we play that allows open threes. It lures the other team into taking 3's nearly every trip down. Look at the badger game. I could count on one hand the number of times their offense was able to work it around at get a good low-post shot. Even the best teams don't shoot over 35-40% from 3 as a team. There's always the chance that Purdue is hot from three, but....

 

[josh087]

My biggest problem with the zone is that the wing players sag way too far inside the 3 point line to try to prevent a post pass. As a result, they have to scramble about 10 feet (2 or 3 steps) to get out to the perimeter when the ball is swung their way. Tubby does this because he would rather give up a wing 3 than a corner or straight on 3 - based on percentages from each location.

So what ends up happening is that the wing perimeter shot is open to take, but also, since our guy has to jump out at the last second that 10 feet or so, it is really easy to pump fake and drive right around the guy jumping out on the wing. Then, other defenders have to step up to stop the ball penetration, and that's where we give up the open 3's off of the ball rotation.

I'd love to see the wing guys play about 5 feet further out to not make it a two-way go for the man on the wing. He could still take a quick shot (with less room than before), but with less room to cover it would also be much easier to stop the dribble penetration from the wing area.

Guys like Hummel, Moore, and Grant can shoot, but they can also dribble penetrate. I'd like to limit one of their options as much as possible. We don't really get beat very often in the paint anyway unless it is on dribble penetration, and Tubby is going to come with a double team regardless. I'd rather make it a little easier to get it into a post player that is going to get doubled anyway rather than the guys mentioned above unattended to shoot or drive.

 

[Dr.Don]

Ya switch up defenses depending on the situation. After made FT, ya have time to go Full. 3-2 zone can be effecive at times, MTM is effective at times. Ya switch things up to keep the opponent from being able to predict what.

Been there, done that, sports fans.