Can this new tactic save weak defenders?

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  • Опубліковано 1 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 514

  • @shamptown
    @shamptown Рік тому +414

    This makes so much sense. One more reason position-less basketball will continue to be a trend. I get why it hasn't taken off though. The amount of awareness, coordination, and communication is on whole new level. It's going to take a lot of effort to read and react quick enough to make this a consistently effective strategy but you know if one team can manage to make it work the rest of the league will follow.

    • @turtlecake
      @turtlecake Рік тому +21

      it hasn't taken off because every playoffs teams like the nash suns and 2016 hawks get dumpstered by superstar players. Curry had to elevate his defense over the years to become what he is and no amount of coach trickery can change how heliocentric basketball is at the end of the day

    • @ry_an.
      @ry_an. Рік тому +5

      You need versatile players and those who still fill a role. It will be hard to get 5 LeBron James’. Something will need to sacrifice. At the end of the day talent wins above all

    • @QGfk1
      @QGfk1 Рік тому +28

      a big limitation is that your whole team needs to be clicking *including* your weakest defender. many weakest link defenders aren't as aware or engaged as others, which is what makes them weak. this definitely maximizes guys who are exploitable on ball but otherwise smart team defenders, like curry and jokic. even the fact that teams can't beat the shit out of them and wear them down in iso/pnr as relentlessly could be seen as an advantage

    • @soooslaaal8204
      @soooslaaal8204 Рік тому

      It seems the Raptors are attempting to do this

    • @shamptown
      @shamptown Рік тому

      Mike Brown was with golden state in 2016/17 btw

  • @tnk4me4
    @tnk4me4 Рік тому +1731

    He had the opportunity to call it the "Kansas city shuffle" or "the cha cha slide" and instead named it "the shift". Ben needs to pay someone to name things for him.

    • @opalvenom1111
      @opalvenom1111 Рік тому

      those names are dumb

    • @MrE_
      @MrE_ Рік тому +8

      Lol

    • @brown9671
      @brown9671 Рік тому +47

      not creative with names maybe but the words he uses make complete sense

    • @blackjacktrial
      @blackjacktrial Рік тому +74

      He probably grabbed it from baseball, where non standard defensive zoning/assignments are shifts.
      I'd call it a wheel switch, where everyone rotates one player around, but only where that's the switch type. Shift is a good generic "everyone picks up a man other than their standard man" name though.

    • @YouTubeCensors
      @YouTubeCensors Рік тому +23

      Jokic shuffle or Hide the Joke(ick)

  • @benjihuynh2970
    @benjihuynh2970 Рік тому +432

    What's crazy is that I wrote about a much crappier precursor to this type of defense when I was in high school and I was watching playoff games looking to see how the grizzlies could survive having Gasol on the court vs the warriors. Back then I called it "rotation hell" because of how frustrating it was for offenses if it worked as well as how exhausting it could be for defenses. It's super cool to see that even though it's existed in some form for at least a decade, it still evolved so much in the background despite never becoming a super popular base defense

    • @blackjacktrial
      @blackjacktrial Рік тому +5

      You can't base a 'shift' defense on non-standard matchups (because then it's a man to man). Probably easiest to call wheel left or right when you have to mass switch.
      (I would call a mass shift switch a wheel switch, because every spoke has to rotate the same amount to make it work - double rotating one player in these shifts doesn't work against ball movement.)

    • @benjihuynh2970
      @benjihuynh2970 Рік тому +15

      @@blackjacktrial I think you're saying something interesting, but I'm having a little trouble parsing it. I think the idea of calling it a "wheel shift" is good, but I'm a bit confused about the rest of your comment. Is there something wrong with calling it "rotation hell" and why did you mention "non-standard matchups?"

    • @sergeynazaro1768
      @sergeynazaro1768 Рік тому +6

      Wow love that you were ahead on that rotation hell make sense especially the nba back the the wheel shift LOVE IT as it plays off of baseball THE SHIFT

    • @sergeynazaro1768
      @sergeynazaro1768 Рік тому +2

      Let’s start an online pod or forum and get these ideas out their !!!!

    • @imablindunicorn6878
      @imablindunicorn6878 Рік тому +3

      @@sergeynazaro1768 my HS actually runs a defense like this but it isn’t just a wheel shift.
      Essentially you have 2 guards up, 2 wings, and a middle.
      (Isn’t that just a zone?)
      Every position is interchangeable, with the focus being on matching up with the right offensive player. Guard to guard etc. If the offense looks like a 1,3,1 set, the defense will too.
      Principles: You will always have a man - never guard no one. 1 pass away, be in the gap. 2 passes away, 2 feet in the paint (this part is imperfect bc of the NBA’s Defensive 3 sec rule). On a drive, help across then the next man helps down. Never help up - protect the paint. (This can be adapted like all defenses to adjust for specific shooters.)
      Say the offense is a 5 out, with every Offensive player on the 3 pt line - 1Guard picks up ball on top
      2Guard picks up a wing
      1Wing picks up a wing opposite 2Guard
      2Wing picks up corner opposite Wing
      Mid picks up last guy.
      Ball to 1Wing’s side wing - follow principles, defense shifts. Ball to corner - Mid on ball, 1Wing leaves perimeter and matches up in paint (help on baseline drive, low post, mid post, goes with a cutter until middle of the paint, etc), 1Guard replaces where the 1Wing was, 2 wing has all backside + skip passes, 2 guard has middle including high post/covers pass over the top into ball-side mid post.
      This is a lot and it’s not even half of it.
      I miss playing bball and it hasn’t even been 3 weeks. 🫥

  • @brendenbuch6448
    @brendenbuch6448 Рік тому +339

    normalise double teaming on the start on their iso on a switch, make others make plays, I love Draymond's IQ is. protecting his teammates and making the offence pass on a mismatch, beautiful defence

    • @protkeyt
      @protkeyt Рік тому +18

      Imagine: Draymond and the Joker on the same team. 2 masterminds of the game from opposite ends of the floor.

    • @The-Heart-Will-Testify
      @The-Heart-Will-Testify Рік тому +2

      He saving curry from being exposed, that's why Draymond is so important for warriors, once he retires, curry will not win again

    • @Hazz1405
      @Hazz1405 Рік тому +1

      ​@@protkeytI mean he's with Curry who tbh fits him better and is arguably the best offensive player ever. Hes the best offensive player I've ever seen

  • @KelvinSuddith
    @KelvinSuddith Рік тому +52

    It is interesting hearing the defensive recovery described like this. This is how my team played defense back in college, except it was lacrosse. Makes sense though since it is a mismatch hunting sport, and pick and roll is a huge part of the offense. Neat to see the similarities in sports

    • @AlbassaWane
      @AlbassaWane Рік тому +10

      Well, this completely shifted my enitire perspective on lacrosse

  • @AGENTinTO
    @AGENTinTO Рік тому +88

    The only 'must watch' channel on YT does it again. Thanks Ben, tremendous insight and detailed video breakdown!

    • @md4111
      @md4111 Рік тому +3

      Not really , you need to explore more channels guy

    • @AGENTinTO
      @AGENTinTO Рік тому +2

      @@md4111 Go ahead and list them for me then... I watch tons of content!

    • @ethanpinky4502
      @ethanpinky4502 Рік тому +1

      @@AGENTinTO jxmyhighroller is another great NBA content youtuber

  • @MagicRooster41
    @MagicRooster41 Рік тому +20

    Help the helper (peel switch) is one of the best options to defend imo.
    It constantly gets you at least a contest and saves energy.

  • @VinceLyle2161
    @VinceLyle2161 Рік тому +4

    It makes sense in a game where the traditional roles of the positions mean less and less.
    When you have centers running the offense and shooting more threes, when a guard like Westbrook can get ten rebounds a game (and not all of them missed free throws), you can shift a small forward to a center beyond the arc while everyone else moves to a different man. A swing man can guard a point guard who's moving without the ball because he's not going to be victimized by the guard's ball skills. And then when the ball's back in the guard's hands, the shift can happen again.
    We're talking about guarding for seconds, here, and also about filling passing lanes, trying to create obstacles for an offense, to disrupt flow, prevent cuts. Personally, I think superior passers like Jokic can manipulate the strategy, but I also think Jokic can benefit from it at the defensive end.
    This was a great video. Very informative. I'm grateful.

  • @saxamophone76
    @saxamophone76 Рік тому +36

    These videos have made me appreciate NBA basketball so much more.

  • @mbembyz7863
    @mbembyz7863 Рік тому +7

    one of the most informative basketball videos I have ever seen. Made a lot of things settle in my head

  • @KikiBoyle
    @KikiBoyle Рік тому +8

    Great content as always! Cool to see the comparison to Rodman in the 80s, although it seemed much more reactionary back then compared to the schemed approach to peel switching/ complicated rotations now

  • @AyushGaggar
    @AyushGaggar Рік тому +7

    Really liked this analysis!! I think it’s one of the best explanations for the game behind what a lot of people see

  • @m7atthew
    @m7atthew Рік тому +6

    loving the defensive video, never even heard of peel switching, honestly thought they were just in a scramble when the whole team does that shift during a peel

  • @HumbleHeights710
    @HumbleHeights710 Рік тому +7

    So well done bro. Your content is excellent. Thanks for your work. And your understanding of the game. It's a beautiful thing.

  • @15awesomehighfive
    @15awesomehighfive Рік тому +6

    Absolutely fantastic video. So didactic, entertaining and lean. Excellent work!!

  • @nicholaspryplesh9396
    @nicholaspryplesh9396 Рік тому +4

    These conceptual videos make me feel like a better basketball fan. More informed and better able to make opinions

  • @rtoujr
    @rtoujr Рік тому +1

    Man this is the best layman's analytical video I've ever seen. Defenses make so much more sense now. U just doubled my basketball IQ. And increased my enjoyability of the playoffs incoming with more nuance in the half court.
    Thank you.

  • @brentcrockton
    @brentcrockton Рік тому +6

    Yo been loving ur channel for years the film breakdown combined with the stats truly great keep up the good work!!!

  • @calvindong8
    @calvindong8 Рік тому +2

    As a Jazz fan, you could also refer back to their playoff series against the clippers. Mitchell was their only scorer and the clippers just rolled out 1 guard and 4 wings. They trapped him whenever he tried to mismatch hunt and then recovered back to their man. The scheme is so effective if you run a small lineup.

  • @BromeliadBro
    @BromeliadBro Рік тому +10

    2:57 "Chasing him around the [moving] screen"

    • @donovanjames19808
      @donovanjames19808 Рік тому +2

      Everyone sets moving screens everytime on every level

    • @anthonynorman7545
      @anthonynorman7545 Рік тому +6

      That's the bread and butter of the Warriors' dynasty!

  • @rtosborne3
    @rtosborne3 Рік тому +4

    Nothing "new" about this defense. I was coaching this tactic in JUCO back in the 80s and 90s. The only difference is that we didn't use it to protect weak defenders from bad match-ups; we used it as part of an aggressive defense that looked to trap when opportunities were available, and pick-n-roll played right into our hands. Trap the ball, the rest of the D rotates to fill for the guy who trapped, and either the original defender or trapper would pee off to find the guy furthest from the ball (depending on who was closer). In either case, it's about all 5 guys working as one unit, and anticipating their rotations.

  • @therokku7393
    @therokku7393 Рік тому +4

    in soccer this happens a lot too! if one striker is trying to move to defenders the first defender follows him to a point is in the zone of the other, idk how is it call in English but peel it off sounds good, bcs it stops being responsability of the first defender bcs it has left his zone, this is elite movement bcs you need a lot of coordination and fluid movement, excelent video like always

    • @ballislife9924
      @ballislife9924 Рік тому +5

      Exactly. And that's the reason why I'm a very good defender in basketball.
      I grew up playing soccer at a high level in Europe and from there I got my movement and it gave me a lot of understanding when it comes to help defense and just reading plays. I view basketball a lot less rigid than most players who actually grew up with it.

    • @mileshall9235
      @mileshall9235 Рік тому +2

      @@ballislife9924 Geometry, angles, being in the right spot first. Many do not think on this level.

    • @therokku7393
      @therokku7393 Рік тому +1

      @@ballislife9924 nice dude, here in latam football helps a lot in other sports, roles are defined but in the match a lot of things can happen

  • @cjtrules1
    @cjtrules1 Рік тому +3

    This is what basketball is all about. Offenses and defenses coming up with new tactics to stay on top of each other.

  • @IvanDjuric300
    @IvanDjuric300 Рік тому +1

    Seeing defences rotate like that is amazing. Next level team defence.

  • @benrinehart7776
    @benrinehart7776 Рік тому +70

    This is especially great for jokic because it preserves his limited stamina - the shorter the recovery, the less taxing it is. So even if the defensive strategy is a neutral relative to their other scheme, it should slightly bolster their offense, by letting jokic stay on the court slightly longer

    • @ThinkingBasketball
      @ThinkingBasketball  Рік тому +24

      Yeah, this part fascinates me.

    • @inordirectional
      @inordirectional Рік тому

      At the expense of the other 4 defenders on the court having to do a little more.

    • @twilson3133
      @twilson3133 Рік тому +2

      How can you be an “mvp” but get targeted in nearly every offensive setup? 🤔

    • @Reningale
      @Reningale Рік тому +12

      ​@@twilson3133 im sure nash, AI, dirk, harden, and other all time greats would love to answer that. even if jokic was an above average defender, say something like steph curry whos a phenomenal defender in the warriors team scheme, targeting him would still be smart to wear him out and slow down his offense. no player is completely perfect, even then best players of all time had clear weaknesses in their game.

    • @AtmosphericAtmosphere
      @AtmosphericAtmosphere Рік тому +3

      @@twilson3133U don t know,ask the Embid in the play offs,cause he is always cooked in the pick in rolls?

  • @uberneanderthal
    @uberneanderthal Рік тому +3

    Jokic lead the league in DBPM the last two years, and is top ten in defensive win shares. he's also been 1st or 2nd in steals and deflections among centers the past 4 years.
    if they're "hunting" Jokic, it's not working.
    there's only 11 players since '74 who have led the league in DBPM multiple times: Giannis (DPOY), Camby (DPOY), Ben Wallace (DPOY), David Robinson (DPOY), Nate McMillian (multiple all-defensive teams), Hakeem (DPOY), Jordan (do I need to say anything?), Manute Bol (2nd all-time in blocks per game), Mark Eaton (DPOY and 1st all-time in blocks per game), Sam Lacey (who led the most times and was only in the league because of his elite defense)...and Jokic.
    somehow Jokic is the only "weaker defender" on a list full of DPOYs and all-defensive selections. that's one heck of a statistical anomaly, care to explain it?

  • @NT-or9wh
    @NT-or9wh Рік тому +2

    This is one of your best videos. Fantastic breakdown.

  • @Bugzilla021
    @Bugzilla021 Рік тому +1

    I think some well-timed weak-side action can really create a lot of problems for the shift. I can picture Klay receiving a flare screen while Steph is going into some pick-n-roll action. Like you said though, no defense is foolproof but just getting into these back-and-forth counter measure discussions are really fun. Keep up the great work!

  • @prymates
    @prymates Рік тому

    Great video, some of the best breakdown on basketball on UA-cam now days. Keep it up.

  • @michaelnovak7066
    @michaelnovak7066 Рік тому +1

    I know some other commenters have mentioned it but this is a defense that’s pretty common in lacrosse which is definitely a mismatch hunting sport

  • @somerandomshorts8810
    @somerandomshorts8810 Рік тому +1

    Seeing the Warriors most of the time throughout the vid simply explains their great offense and defense. Position-less basketball is here to stay for sure.

  • @behindthearcyt
    @behindthearcyt Рік тому +4

    just the nature of the game as much as offenses evolve and get better defensives will evolve as well and figure out to shut down what offenses are doing

  • @Michael-xl9nq
    @Michael-xl9nq Рік тому

    This is one of your most fascinating insights and videos on that note in a while

  • @supersonicprime
    @supersonicprime Рік тому +1

    EXCELLENT Video. Thanks, Ben!

  • @VigilanteWilliamson
    @VigilanteWilliamson Рік тому +2

    Back in the day we called it helping the helper.

  • @towelociraptor
    @towelociraptor Рік тому +2

    This helps the problem of dragging Jokic out of the paint on switches, but that doesn't solve his abysmal rim protection when guys get beat on the perimeter. You can't hide a center who's poor defensively, just mitigate the damage

  • @TheNamesDitto
    @TheNamesDitto Рік тому +2

    Brilliant. I always love the tactical arms race of modern offenses and defenses.
    Seems much better than your Coach Bud drop

  • @RomnysGonzalez
    @RomnysGonzalez Рік тому +16

    The Nuggets is one of the teams who had been doing this the last 3 season's. Malone and his staff were one of the 1st ones to adapt this up, but with the weak personal they used to have last few season wasn't that effective, but with the speed,lenght,quickness of KCP,Jamal and MPJ,AG and Jokic smart quick hands it work wonders

    • @sjbell4653
      @sjbell4653 Рік тому +1

      Yes, but the problem with it is it leaves the corners open. Corner threes are probably the most efficient shot in the game- it isn't great when the defense is late getting there. In my opinion, Denver goes a bit too far overloading the ball-side of the court, and pen-pop offenses frequently tear them up. Compare with Miami, where defenders are expected to fight over screens and play a more traditional defense...

    • @minnuss
      @minnuss Рік тому +1

      The problem with Denver is that Murray and MPJ are also bad defenders.

    • @edwardking9359
      @edwardking9359 Рік тому

      ​@@minnuss They're not liabilities, and they're good enough in a system like the video describes, where on ball defense isnt as valuable as sheer length and athleticism, which both Murray and mpj have.

  • @johnsnow6019
    @johnsnow6019 Рік тому +6

    Love the Xs and Os

  • @eternallove4248
    @eternallove4248 Рік тому +2

    If someone tells you there’s no defense anymore they either don’t understand what’s going on in the court half of the time or they don’t watch the games.

  • @tjkarrjr4935
    @tjkarrjr4935 Рік тому +2

    Willie Green and the entire Pelicans coaching staff needs to subscribe to this channel. Another fantastic video by you guys

  • @martinhodell8465
    @martinhodell8465 Рік тому

    some of the best BB content online! Thanks for this breakdown

  • @redwood1542
    @redwood1542 Рік тому +3

    We did this in my HS team playing a 1-3-1 zone.
    Back side guys would rotate to cover outlets when we'd trap.

    • @ghosttheripper8656
      @ghosttheripper8656 Рік тому +1

      I feel like some of the purest forms of basketball in the U.S is high school / college level basketball

  • @MrTonyJ
    @MrTonyJ Рік тому +2

    There are no longer positions in basketball. There are roles. The playmakers, the post players, the stretch bigs, the wings, 3andD, roll man etc.

  • @orenlevi4329
    @orenlevi4329 Рік тому

    This is brilliant analysis. Truly I don’t think you can ask for more in this type of short content. My 2 modest notes are:
    A. you didn’t mention the X-out method, where a guy recovers from the paint on the next pass, as opposed to the coroner while his teammate on the weakside covers for him.
    B. more importantly, as things get more complex more mistakes are bound to happen. Implying this is a hack solving modern offense is failing to consider how hard the execution is. It’s good to have a solution, and I’m sure offense will adopted right back, but it’s getting to the point where you have to be so connected that you’re going to have a leak somewhere, most of the time.

    • @butterflyl3926
      @butterflyl3926 Рік тому

      Late reply, but as things get more complex the offense will also fail more often. The ingredients required to carry out complex offense are the same things required to carry out complex defense - communication, BBIQ, etc.

  • @alamalonzo
    @alamalonzo Рік тому +1

    Love it. I will start watching game with a new angle. Thanks

  • @dimelo58
    @dimelo58 Рік тому +3

    I love this channel you guys do a great job 👏🏾

  • @bballplyr80
    @bballplyr80 Рік тому

    Great video and great breakdown on basketball defense. Love the game and feel like I learned a lot which i never really did when I was younger. It’s been years since I played and you described it all perfectly in my opinion. Need to get back out just to shoot around again

  • @pseudo7200
    @pseudo7200 Рік тому +2

    I'm not sure the double will always be enough to protect particularly slow players like Jokic from being beaten off the dribble. Some ballhandlers will ignore the second defender and simply run around Jokic.
    There's a great example of something like this at the end of the first Celtics game against the Mavs this year. Luka and DFS are doubling Tatum, but Luka doesn't get wide enough so he just runs around Luka and dunks it.

  • @kevind4606
    @kevind4606 Рік тому +2

    I know this is from three months ago, but Jokic needs to stop being labeled as a bad defender (Steph also). They will never be all defensive candidates but go watch again the Lakers Nuggets WCF series. Watch DeAngelo Russell anytime he is on the court and how the Nuggets attacked him. That is a bad defender. So maybe let's use guys like that as examples and not superstar offensive players who can play defense and do at times, but are expending most of their energy and effort on the offensive end of the floor.
    Then look at Bam's shooting percentage when Jokic is on him 1 on 1 in the finals. Other than the first half of the first game, Bam struggled against Jok, and scored mostly on switches or when Jok was on the bench.

    • @i_fuze_hostages6
      @i_fuze_hostages6 Рік тому +1

      Exactly those two are never gonna be amazing defenders but they aren’t a active detriment to the defense they are adequate

  • @LilShrooms
    @LilShrooms Рік тому +1

    wow this could definitely be huge in the playoffs for the Nuggets, love the basketball forensics going on haha

  • @S1gdur
    @S1gdur Рік тому +9

    Great video as always! How do you think shifting fares against teams that use more off-ball movement like the Kings or the Warriors?

    • @arkadiuszrogala1359
      @arkadiuszrogala1359 Рік тому +3

      Man, that is a fantastic question

    • @theonlyalecazam2947
      @theonlyalecazam2947 Рік тому

      Probably not as good since these teams can punish the initial double team with quick passes

    • @ThinkingBasketball
      @ThinkingBasketball  Рік тому +2

      Great question. I think stationary is generally easier to guard, but the cool thing about these rotations is that they are built in to handle cutters IF the defenders are on the same page. Still hard to guard those actions, but there isn't an obvious cut to destroy it.

  • @QuarkTwain
    @QuarkTwain Рік тому +2

    Fantastic video! I'm learning so much to appreciate the game on a deeper level. I wonder how this might apply to the Warriors' defensive woes on the road. Are they coordinating their switches better at home?

  • @therealallpro
    @therealallpro Рік тому +2

    Reminds of the box defense. Where you have 4 on the outside who rotate but one person stays in the center to guard the paint.

    • @formerlyknownaseasrob
      @formerlyknownaseasrob Рік тому +1

      Funny enough when you said this I thought of a box-and-1 where 4 guys play a “box” zone in the paint area and 1 guy plays man on someone you want to take away.

  • @SoloPerICommenti
    @SoloPerICommenti Рік тому +1

    The funny thing is that I've seen this happening pretty often with the Nuggets, this season. Malone has been unleashing that during crunch time, as if he wanted to tey it but also somewhat hyde it.
    This also show how awareness is probably the most important thing for a defender in 2023, there's no way to recover if a guy doesn't know what's going on, you'll end up giving up a lay up

  • @javongreen2515
    @javongreen2515 Рік тому +3

    I like the nuggets approach more tbh seems like getting teams to have to scramble that way will cause a lot of mistakes especially for the guys less comfortable with creating their own shot.

  • @nickmhc
    @nickmhc Рік тому

    The strong side help scheme toward the end reminds me of Thibodeau’s strong side help scheme with the Celtics under Doc Rivers in 2008

  • @JapseyeSpecs
    @JapseyeSpecs Рік тому +1

    The fact this tactic is just coming back into popularity but has existed since 70s xplains exactly why old heads say teams can’t play defence nowadays.

  • @jacksfacts20
    @jacksfacts20 Рік тому +2

    I think my High school lacrosse team ran this sort of defense, we would rotate the defense into the ball carrier in something very similar. Works great

  • @lummymanpix
    @lummymanpix Рік тому +10

    super interesting video. is this mostly a nugget thing at this point, or is it common all around the league?

    • @opalvenom1111
      @opalvenom1111 Рік тому +1

      its pretty common but the better defenses in the league do this more

    • @tylerpeters2820
      @tylerpeters2820 Рік тому

      @@opalvenom1111 this particular scheme of early double > shifting to the paint is pretty unique to the Nuggets. Watching almost every game I can tell you it has plenty of flaws, but its been pretty solid for the most part. Biggest issue with this scheme is it gives up a ton of midrange real estate, and if the rotations on the perimeter aren't crisp, there are open looks.

  • @ahua
    @ahua Рік тому

    This is a solid analysis. Smart coaching staffs are making the necessary adjustments to gain an advantage and counter disadvantages. Things like this sort of defensive strategy require a high basketball IQ and it’s no surprise when teams that may be more athletic get cooked in the playoffs when they play teams that are smart and have a good scheme. The 2014 finals comes to mind when the ancient Spurs crushed the Heat with Lebron, Wade and Bosh in their prime in just 5 games by an average of over 14ppg. Athletically they weren’t on the same level as the Heat, but they used creative ball movement and clever passers like Ginobili and Diaw to run the Heat ragged. On defense they negated the Heat attack by daring Lebron to shoot outside the paint and baited him into taking 91 shots. The next closest shooter by volume was Wade who put up 63 shots. Obviously keeping Lebron out of the paint and from breaking down the defense was wildly successful and effectively ended the Heat run and broke up the team.

  • @WheatCitySole
    @WheatCitySole Рік тому

    That’s a tech right there for that cover pic, Ben. Curry has grown considerably as a defender and is an able and competent team defender. Also analytics be damned, if you lead the league in a defensive stat, you’re automatically not a poor defender.

  • @yujiewang1028
    @yujiewang1028 Рік тому

    Very insightful observations, learned a lot!

  • @harmonicarchipelgo9351
    @harmonicarchipelgo9351 Рік тому +7

    It's actually insane how NBA offense and defense have evolved lately. Offense is evolving faster right now (mostly thanks to the rulebook and officiating) but defense isn't trailing too far behind. Imagine sending a modern coaching staff back to 2005. They would dominate until everyone else managed to figure out their system.

    • @ghosttheripper8656
      @ghosttheripper8656 Рік тому

      Fr though! I believe advance stats play a role in the change as well

    • @ogmusik2549
      @ogmusik2549 Рік тому +1

      Defense is miles behind scoring is at all time highs these days

  • @garysandifer9169
    @garysandifer9169 Рік тому

    Good video with an explanation as to why some players don't set good screens anymore. Apparently, they are just decoys setting up the next screener for the mismatch.

  • @tristanharris8440
    @tristanharris8440 Рік тому +79

    I love how you're showing the Warriors from last year a lot but they've been none of that this season.

    • @markomilivojevic4810
      @markomilivojevic4810 Рік тому +12

      It hurts to watch them😂

    • @tshimangamboa
      @tshimangamboa Рік тому +10

      It’s all playoff clips, when they actually play real defence. They do none of that during the season lol

    • @nessy3098
      @nessy3098 Рік тому +14

      He also showed Steve Nash, who is retired

    • @blackpope8834
      @blackpope8834 Рік тому +17

      He also showed Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson

    • @trimrimmer
      @trimrimmer Рік тому +7

      nearly all these clips are from the playoffs and hows he gonna do that for this season

  • @keyproblems7590
    @keyproblems7590 Рік тому +1

    Would love a video about how the warriors are so bad on the road compared to home.

  • @Gamer-jv8uv
    @Gamer-jv8uv Рік тому +7

    I wish you had talked more about the counters to “the shift” because I could immediately recognize some perfect breakdowns of it as soon as you get the rotation a name. The most simple counter being a simple skip pass to the next man over, however I think there’s a very difficult balance to find between attacking and control in order to utilize this potential advantage. 2018 LeBron is probably my best example of this. As soon as LeBron went downhill and the peel came, he seemed to always make the skip pass to the wing before the defense could shift over. However, if teams didn’t shift, then you’re just giving LeBron a layup or a lob. But LeBron is an anomaly of height, strength and speed, so looking at how other players break this down is even more interesting. Slower guys like Luka and Jokic have the height and vision to see the skip pass, but don’t have the burst to break through the hedge, so they have to punish with pass/shoot fakes in order to get the advantage. I believe you made a video addressing a similar attack regarding Donovan Mitchell, however he is on the opposite side of the coin where he has the burst to get the 4v3 for his teammates, but he doesn’t have the size to consistently make the extra pass. Outside of speed and size though, you also see players break this down with finesse, and in my opinion dame is the best example of this. He seems to just have an insane knack for sneaking through a hedge into daylight, and it seems like he’s the only player who can best the peeling defender too. Other guys like Kyrie do similar things, however Kyrie tends to opt for the ft line middy rather than getting the ball in motion, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Obviously, the defense has counters of its own, and in response to destroying “the shift” I’d imagine a temporary zone/zone hybrid would be appropriate, but the ability to force a team into adjustments from such a solid system deserve all the praise in the world

  • @mattdonlon4312
    @mattdonlon4312 Рік тому

    I was the manager for the basketball team at a D-3 college and our coach had similar defensive concepts. Don’t know how many times I watched 4 on 5 shell seeing these kinds of rotations

  • @jamesh7469
    @jamesh7469 Рік тому

    It’s interesting to see how a lot of these strategies mirror the defensive rotations used in lacrosse. We called the “peel” a “Utah” (sounds like U-turn) and the “shift” a defensive “roll”, but the movements are all the same. Not surprising since it’s a similar ball sport

  • @rickyisme1230
    @rickyisme1230 Рік тому

    You remind me Mavs do that with Luka all the time.
    When he is being targeted either him drop or switch first and immediately go double team and let Luka get out of that.
    Great video!

  • @thegreatkeljb
    @thegreatkeljb Рік тому +1

    And they laugh when I said that defense today is much better than what it is in 80s and 90s, it is just that players have improved so much offensively that the 7th player on the roster is still a threat, and the superstars are just not from this world.

  • @josiahross2463
    @josiahross2463 Рік тому +1

    The Nugget’s tactic is basically the same one as Frank Vogel used against the Rockets when he was coaching the Lakers in 2020. Switch, double, then rotate. The main differences were: James Harden is a way better shot creator than anybody the Nets have, and the Lakers used Russ’s inability to shoot to zone up more effectively. They put AD on Russ so he can be the primary source of help, and doubled when AD was involved in pick n rolls to avoid foul trouble from Harden drives

  • @paulgeorge1316
    @paulgeorge1316 Рік тому +1

    I already know this will be a banger

  • @Lukewarm618
    @Lukewarm618 Рік тому +1

    And people say that there is no defense in today's NBA

  • @formerlyknownaseasrob
    @formerlyknownaseasrob Рік тому

    Makes me smile seeing this, this “shift” really exemplifies the phrase that a lot of the best man defenses look like zone at times, because the way they cover some ground to get to a different man is zone like, even though it’s in a man defense.
    TL;DR this is another step in the hybridization of man and zone in basketball

  • @EdwardWindhowl
    @EdwardWindhowl Рік тому +7

    GSW offense and defense adjustments are a masterpiece.

  • @jacksonsantaniello7630
    @jacksonsantaniello7630 Рік тому

    this video really makes sense when you start watching playoff basketball . all the teams have unleashed their schemes to hide the worst defenders . mike malone has done a great job this post season hiding jok

  • @lrdmcd914
    @lrdmcd914 Рік тому +2

    Exactly why you can't compare 80's and '90s players to this era..
    There are more per possession.
    Example: Iso players today have to read switches, Zones, and help defense.
    Perimeter defender techniques are far better as well.
    Iso players of yesterday only had to beat their man... They didn't have to read Help defense because of illegal defense.
    They barely switched which results in an open lane if on ball defender goes over or an open jumper if they went under.
    Defenders played dumb asf
    Players would step up to MJ 40 feet out, when he barely shoots 3s, and even when he did it was at a 28% clip.
    Perimeter defenders also played flat-footed which results in easy blow bys

  • @AbednH
    @AbednH Рік тому

    wow, i learn more, peels so good
    thanks man

  • @gleo4191
    @gleo4191 Рік тому

    this type of shifting defense is used in soccer a lot, cool to see it work in basketball as well. only thing is this type of defense can create a mismatch that can be exploited by offenses

  • @ffunit
    @ffunit Рік тому +2

    If any watched how Golden stat spammed switching so much you could see that all they needed to do was to double and when the ball is passed joker can go back to his. I kept shouting at the TV “double team!” Every time they left him alone guarding Steff Curry.

  • @allank8497
    @allank8497 Рік тому +1

    well then all you need is two good isolation scorers, one of whom you put on ball, and then when teams peel you put the second one on the spot for where the helper will come from. Then you get the switch you want from their peel switch, no?

  • @glennhazelwood9803
    @glennhazelwood9803 Рік тому

    I love these analysis videos. 👏 Studio shows and in-game commentary bore me with their tired (and mostly false) cliches.

  • @Chillwill620
    @Chillwill620 Рік тому

    The best most analytical basketball channel on UA-cam.

  • @randomcat5262
    @randomcat5262 Рік тому

    I've actually began to notice some plays where a double comes, they try to find what looks like an open man but nothing materializes. often it's due to a switch and peel

  • @Force_RC21
    @Force_RC21 Рік тому +1

    Damn this channel is awesome

  • @GustavoSilva-ny8jc
    @GustavoSilva-ny8jc Рік тому

    1:58 Chess level of antecipation of future positioning
    3:19 That's too amazing

  • @benw7367
    @benw7367 Рік тому

    As offenses started to anticipate the switch and used the skip pass more often, I see in each of these examples where a skip or cross pass would give the advantage back to the offense. Although the advantage looks weaker and the pass would be more dangerous

  • @radicalfamily
    @radicalfamily Рік тому +1

    This is a fantastic analysis, but it's frequently just called and has been called for decades "zone with switch action" or something to that effect. Obviously there's some nuance in that instead of allowing far shots and making sure the interior is defended, this is a zone where the top zones are pushed far forward with the acceptance that mid range shots are allowed more frequently. In some cases just a 3-2 zone which is yet again more forgiving to mid range shots, especially on the sides/corners. A large reason 3-2 zones went especially out of favor was because of the Spurs corner 3s strategy in the early 10s. Awesome that the nba is adapting and that teams are getting better at running this defensive action because clearly teams are making an effort to practice it more. The hope is that this will actually make the midrange a valuable shot again and we will have an actually better version of basketball where all 3 levels of scoring play valuable roles in various functions.
    The reason it's valuable to point this semantic difference out though is just that I think it's important to mainly think of defensive schemes as broadly man to man vs zone and recognize everything as derivative of those two. This video is largely positing this as a variant of man to man, but it really isn't. It is just an offshoot of zone with switch action. Now it is really interesting that a lynchpin of this action is a hedge as opposed to a more territorial zone. But the switching afterwards is a zone execution. The difference being that the zone adaptation is partially forgiven because of a good planned hedge.
    One thing to note is in at least 3 of the specific cases highlighted here, the defense wasn't savvy in any way, the offense just didn't take the shots they were given. In one case, in expectation of the double, jaylen brown passes the ball to early as opposed to letting the double develop and then passing it. There's truth to the fact that this is a great defense that can hide perimeter and high post defensive liabilities. But one case it will lose especially is when you have 2 great iso players. Two example teams are the 2016 cavs and the bucks from the last few years. We had Lebron + Kyrie who could basically at will, between the two, hunt curry. We also have Giannis + Middleton (not this year) who can really hunt a mismatch, curry would be a great example. It especiialy helps these players are fantastic from midrange (middleton + kyrie). Of course, this is unfair because every team will struggle with facing two great players.
    Overall, great analysis of a defensive scheme with great examples but I wish there was clear acknowledgement of how it breaks down and how it broke down in a few of these examples too. This paradigm will still be susceptible to many of the weaknesses of zones in general and if it had been categorized as a zone offshoot, those weaknesses would have been more apparent. But I want to stress that I think this a fantastic, well thought out, informative, and valuable video that I learned a lot from. Just wanted to add my 2 cents of how this analysis can be improved .

  • @inordirectional
    @inordirectional Рік тому

    I expect one of the counters to the shift and peel approach is just coming with a more motion-heavy offense, having a secondary action going on away from the ball rather than just three spacers or spacer + dunker and making the coordinated team-wide rotation a lot tougher to execute

  • @kellyhone2612
    @kellyhone2612 Рік тому +2

    I’m really curious what you think of Michael Malone as a Coach Ben! Especially his ability to make in game adjustments.

    • @grayson6
      @grayson6 Рік тому

      Same

    • @parinravula
      @parinravula Рік тому

      Of course I’m not Coach Ben, but from what I’ve seen, he’s a really solid coach and has great schemes. He and his assistant coach (Nikola Jokic), have amazing plays for each of their stars to the point that anyone could be the 1st option on any given night. His only struggle is lineups and his stubborn-ness

  • @AGDaGod
    @AGDaGod Рік тому +1

    if he wants a ring, he will have to improve on that side. it will become a serious problem during the playoffs. where defense matters

  • @southernfamadventures7815
    @southernfamadventures7815 Рік тому

    We played something like this 25 years ago. We called it the amoeba. It was man zone mix. It was fun. But easy to mess up without really good communication.

  • @ItsDJNuName
    @ItsDJNuName Рік тому +5

    I’m not nearly the basketball savant as you are sir, but I’ve been saying since the Cavs won in 2016 over the Warriors that LeBron started hunting Curry in pick and rolls!!!!!!!! That was how they managed to turn the series around! This has been going on for a few years now and it has evolved to become a way to hide weaker defenders. Bravo on this video. This was right on point! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

    • @Rhude_tiller
      @Rhude_tiller Рік тому +2

      Im a Cavs fan and Klay was always on Kyrie. Bron and Kyrie were always trying to switch to Curry which explains that last shot Kyrie did on Curry a lot more. But Curry ain’t a bad defender as people put him to be now.

  • @deandrepage1048
    @deandrepage1048 Рік тому +1

    I like the term, "Peel Switch."

  • @briholt100
    @briholt100 Рік тому

    I was taught the hedge in college. works really well. But these pre switches are a mind job. wow.

  • @thomguy123
    @thomguy123 Рік тому

    There is a small college coach who does a full shift as his base ball screen coverage and I remember watching it a couple months ago thinking it was a little too out of the box for my taste. He had a full clinic video on youtube explaining his defense. Now I can't remember his name or what he called it and it's killing me.

  • @Monkey_D_Luffy56
    @Monkey_D_Luffy56 Рік тому +1

    1:14 I suddenly remember Tony Parker guarding LeBron in the finals and yet LeBron passed the ball to Chris Bosh while Duncan is on him with a few seconds left on the shot clock 🤣

  • @davidd5693
    @davidd5693 Рік тому

    Very good video ! Thanks