Perimeter Defense: Greatly Improved

Watching the game last night, it was really obvious to me that one of the biggest improvements we have made has been our perimeter defense.

I think this has gone a little bit unnoticed because of the new focus on the faster pace. But I feel that the greatly improved perimeter defense has been just as important to the team's success as the faster pace.

There were times last night where we had Wesley, Wallace and Felton all over the place on the perimeter, with LMA and Camby using their length to disrupt the offensive movement. We are seeing many less easy pullup jumpers and a lot less easy penetration into the lane.

Last year with guys like Roy, Rudy and Miller on the perimeter, the offense had no pressure, and could easily create driving lanes to make our bigs collapse.

Keep up the perimeter defensive intensity!

 

I think this is our #1 reason for success. The other team's guards; with the exception of Nash; have been totally frustrated. We need this intensity each and every night.

 

Our opponents only shoot 23.7% from three-point range... that's the best in the league by 2.3% (the largest margin between two teams in the top 10, btw), and nearly 10% lower than the league average. We are solidly the best perimeter defense in the league this year.



EDIT: Not only is the percentage better, but we're forcing teams to shoot more three pointers than average (177 vs 171 league avg). Over 9 games, opponents have shot 6 more three-pointers than average, but hit 15 fewer. That's at least one three-pointer per game less (1.67, so 2 fewer per 3 games). That's basically our defense giving us an extra three points to work with.

 

No kidding. HUGE upgrade in that regard.

 

Yeah, last night was a great example with Felton on CP3, he used to own us.

 

Felton is a stud.

 

It doesn't sound like much, but his willingness to actually fight over a screen instead of going underneath it probably accounts for 50% of his effectiveness as a defender on the perimeter ('cause it's certainly not his length).

 

Yeah, also even while being a fatass his general quickness allows him to stay in front of the opposing PG so the defense doesn't have to completely collapse on every penetration attempt.

 

Tonight will be a great test of how improved our 3 point perimeter defense is. Orlando basically just dumps it into Dwight for dunks and spreads the floor with four 3 point shooters. They have a ton of guys shooting 40% 3PT. If we can prevent wide open threes while still getting a few double teams on Dwight we should be in a great position to get a win.

At times this year we have done a great job of recovering from double teams to not allow any open shots. But I think we have also had multiple lucky games where opponents are just going cold on wide open threes.

 

Orlando and the Clippers are actually fairly comparable in their approach, the main difference being that the Clippers have better, quicker guards and Orlando has a monster in the middle and slightly (or mostly?) inferior perimeter players.

 

Inferior perimeter players? The Clippers are shooting 31% threes. The Magic are shooting 38%.

 

Something in their defensive rotation has changed. Not too sure what it is, but there's a switch down low or something, when the ball is being swung, because instead of someone chasing around the perimeter the whole time, we get a solid rotation oevr to corner 3s, which never happened before. It is better players, for sure, but I believe a switch in scheme also. Sorry, will look for it tonight to try to point out, or re-watch the DVRd game from last night if I get a chance. I noticed it early in the year though.

 

My guess is by inferior players(not shooters), he means that Paul and Butler are superior players to nelson and Hedo, but I dunno.

 

If we were doing an expansion draft, or projecting trade values, yes I’d say the Clippers probably have more valuable perimeter players on more reasonable contracts.

But looking only at the current performance of the teams on the court, the Magic have a far more dangerous and damaging perimeter offense, especially so from 3 point range. They have a better system and don't have a shitty head coach. The Clippers are all about a bright future with potential, the Magic are playing at higher level right now in the moment.

 

Perimeter defense isn't just about limiting open 3-pt shots or 3pt percentage. It is also about limiting guard penetration that requires the entire defense to collapse, and disrupting the setup of the offense. So while Orlando may be shooting a higher 3-pt percentage, that doesn't mean that they are more difficult to defend on the perimeter. IE: Who's harder to guard with the ball 23-ft from the hoop... Kobe(18.8% 3pts) or Hedo (45.2% 3pts)?

 

I'm not talking strictly about just 3-point shooting percentages. I'm also referring to the threat to score from the guard/wing positions. The Clippers with Chauncey, Williams, Butler and CP3 put far more pressure on the guards and wings to close off dribble penetration AND try to defend the three point line. The Magic definitely shoot a higher percentage from the 3 point line, but they're also more predictable, meaning that as long as you close out you probably aren't going to get killed on dribble penetration.

Both teams however try to play through the attention that Griffin and Dwight draw to create space for shooters and/or drivers.

 

Good point. Well I'll be interested to see how we perform defensively on this test, as you said the Magic have a very different perimeter offense then the Clippers. They have very different strengths and weaknesses.

 

FAIL

 

What perimeter defense?

 

The Blazers just didn't close out in the first three quarters and they paid the price. Doubling and tripling Dwight and constantly collapsing the lane really wasn't the way to go. Oh well, they get a chance to see if they can show up early against the Spurs.