Chris Paul went off for 41 and 17 about a week ago and now Steph Curry has 45. This shit MUST stop. Are both players future Hall of Famers? No doubt. But that doesn't excuse our defense and the fact we continue to give up career nights to opposing point guards. We play the same defensive strategy all game long, no adjustments. No attempts at trapping or doubling the ball handler. No bumps as they run freely through and around screens. And no hard fouls. Why would you be scared going into the paint against this team? We never make guards think twice about it. Yes, I know this isn't the Bad Boys era, but for fucks sake, a hard foul every now and then wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. With the playoffs looking like we'll be facing Paul, Tony Parker, or even Mike Conley (who eats us up in the paint as well), it's going to be a long fucking series if we don't change up our defensive tactics.
Sadly it doesn't take a rocket scientist to stick Batum on PGs over Dame, but sadly our coach isn't even close to being smart let alone a rocket scientist.
Defense, gentlemen, is played by teams and future ex-wives. Lillard can go by Curry, Curry by Lillard, Lillard can go by Parker, vice versa, blah, blah, you get the picture. It is the quality of the help that comes, both in concept and effort, that makes perimeter defenders look good or in this case, bad.
I wonder if Steve Kerr would have left Curry in the game for as many minutes if he watched him hit the floor a couple times hard?
By the way..Maybe you should watch the game again. Lillard was not on Curry. Nicolas Batum was guarding Curry most of the night.
It's pretty hard to stop Curry if referees are not going to call moving screens. Bogut set at least a dozen himself. One highlight, TNT shows Curry pulling up for 3 and inadvertently hightlights Green hipchecking Lillard out of the way - Barry sees it and stumbles through his description of the play.
I was complaining about that too ... happened all night long. Must nice nice to get calls in your favor.
Our help defense is pretty pitiful. No one can fight through screens. Any team with a decent ball handler easily scores 20 on us, when we play elite players they go for 40+.
Let's try Leonard to defend against Curry and other high scoring point guards. Especially in the second half, when Blazer defense has been sagging, ML can bring intimidating defense with quickness and up to 12 inch height advantage. Energy and hands high above point guards can hold them down, and the size advantage if ML is in there in place of AA can avoid allowing more than 25 points each in 3rd and 4th quarters. Also, with among the highest percentages on the roster, ML should be taking at least 8 shots per game. Notice the success with ML in the Nets game.
The solution for this problem is the less obvious one, keep Lillard on the PG, don‘t hide him on Reddick or another player, have him even lose the defensive battle against Curry or Paul or Parker but let him fight it every time he and the opposing PG are on the floor. It can‘t get worse than what opposing PGs did to us this season and I think once we make the decision to keep Lillard on the PG it would start getting better. Lillard is an amazing competitor and he would get better every time but if you hide him you hurt his confidence and his development.
Not a coincidence all the times a PG has dropped a ton of points on us was vs teams that set tons of illegal screens. If they get called awesome if they dont PGs are going to get tons of open shots. Lillard is still bad about fighting through screens but even if he was great at it you cant beat moving screens.
I agree about the help defense, at times it's just laughable. However, our perimeter players need to at least provide the minimal amount of resistance, otherwise there's no time for help to come. Just make them work to turn the corner, that's all I ask. I saw times last night where, for whatever reason, our guards or wings decided to play defense by standing to the side of their man, rather in front of him, allowing for a clear path to the basket.
It is amazing how many times we seem to be unable to react in a screen situation, either the guy chasing or most often, the big man coming to help. It's like were standing there watching the play, deer in the headlights, no urgency. It is a different thing watching Memphis or SA defend that play.
