Warriors Ditching the "Zone" <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Remember when the Warriors last played the Jazz and coach Don Nelson unveiled his 1-2-2 zone? Those zone defenses -- though threatening to make a cameo appearance tonight -- are mostly a thing of the past, with the Warriors suddenly looking like world-beaters in their man-to-man coverage. "We switched back (to man-to-man defense) and now it's how I like it," Nelson said. "I like to use the zone to maybe break up some play you can't stop, take a player out of his rhythm, but not rely on it to win games." On Nov. 25, the Warriors threw the Jazz completely out of sorts with 48 minutes of the 1-2-2. Point guard Deron Williams had six turnovers and his team 22. Utah converted 27 field goals and shot 33 percent for 78 total points -- all still stand as season lows for a Golden State opponent. At the time, Nelson went heavy on the zone to protect his players from foul trouble and cover up individual weaknesses. But the arrivals of Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington, coupled with Baron Davis' return to relative health, have allowed Nelson to remove those Band-Aids. The coach said his new players are growing comfortable with all the switching he wants, which in recent games has resulted in Jackson (6-foot-8) covering 7-0 Dirk Nowitzki, 6-11 Andris Biedrins guarding 6-2 Jason Terry, and Harrington, at 6-9, taking 6-5 Ray Allen and 6-10 Rashard Lewis. Nelson cited Jackson's versatility and Harrington's improved rotations in explaining the overall defensive upswing. "He understands that when you switch, you must deny that guy, not let him catch so he can then go one-on-one with you," Nelson said of Harrington. "That's the error most guys make on switches. They switch, then the guy catches, and there's mismatches all over the place. So he's getting a good feel for that." He isn't the only one. Jason Richardson is playing the best defense of his career. Monta Ellis is closing on opponents the way he did a year ago. And the coaching staff is encouraging all guards to put on full-court pressure. During the Warriors' recent 6-0 run with their preferred starting lineup, no opponent shot better than 43 percent and only Dallas managed to hit the century mark, scoring 100 in its March 12 loss. On the All-Star front, Nowitzki and Josh Howard were a combined 8-for-26 from the field; Allen and Lewis were 15-for-39 for Seattle on Saturday. "We don't really have to rely on the zone like we have in the past," Richardson said. "That's still part of our defensive scheme against certain teams ... but we've been playing so much good man-to-man defense. We got guys that are going out there and defending as a team." </div> Source
This is good to see. I have been thinking that the team didn't need to do zone anymore after acquiring Stephen Jackson. Perhaps there is a learning curve that needed to be learned first by Jackson and the rest of the team before going back to man-on-man defense. At least now the Warriors have multiple looks defensively to throw at teams, that is scary. With how the team has played defense over the last three games minus the second half of the Sonics game, this team looks great on the defensive end. They shut down the Mavs, TWolves, and did a good enough job vs. the Sonics (a great job in the first half but a altering one in the second I thought). Also this allows Pietrus to feel more comfortable on the court. Again, I think Pietrus is the player that can raise this team's potential to its highest levels if the rest of the team is relatively healthy, especially Baron Davis. The question today though, is what are they going to do vs. the Jazz? Are they going to use the zone that was successful earler in the season or show the man-on-man look? The Boozer/Okur vs. Harrington/Biedrins matchup(s) is what bothers me the most.
Zone D absolutely killed us on the boards IMO and allowed too many open jump shots. Plus, I don't think some guys could effectively play their coverage areas to keep guys from driving right down the middle. Note to Warriors: Find more big guys, tougher perimeter defenders that can stay in front on man to man d, and maybe we can get guys to think twice about driving the lane and at the same time, we also contest almost every shot. Good job Warriors for recognizing this.
<div class="quote_poster">custodianrules2 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> Good job Warriors for recognizing this.</div> custodian did it again!!!
<div class="quote_poster">AnimeFANatic Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">custodian did it again!!! </div> Dammit, I meant "Good job Warriors for recognizing how they were a bunch of dummies for playing zone until they stopped doing it as much."
Zones are for exploiting those who dribble too much and do not rebound. It can be ripped up with just a good high post player and someone low. Warriors got smoked with it at the end.
