I understand players are a factor but more than the players, how do you perceive the defensive sets?
The way I see it, packing the middle, leaving snipers, etc. thus opposing team capitalizes on these and sets 3pt shooters around.
The defense sucked under Sloan the last several seasons.
Last season was a waste in terms of installing anything offensively or defensively. Barely had a training camp and there were few practice days. Most days "off" during the season were actually travel days.
The one major change Ty tried to install was having players forced baseline instead of funneling them to the middle. Despite having non-physical bigs, and the rule changes preventing any real contact, Sloan still set the defense like he had an Eaton or Ostertag inside. I saw some early success but a major change like that requires regular focus, and there just weren't may practice sessions once the season began. And yes, there definitely has to be a change in terms of guarding shooters. Sloan was still living in the early '80's when the 3 was a low-percentage shot, not the weapon it is in today's game.
It also comes down to personnel. Jefferson, Millsap and Harris weren't exactly known for their defense. Raja once was, but he's clearly lost at least 2 steps. CJ off the bench? Um, no. Our best defensive players were a rookie and a soph (Kanter, Favors). Expect them to get better. Expect both the Williams to play solid "D." Corbin has already said there will be changes made to the P&R defense. I think another major change might be players just switching off. That's one of Marvin's strengths. When you have guys who are 4/5's and interchangeable wings, you can do that. Mo is small, but he's a fighter (e.g. the clip of him going toe-to-toe with Hayward).
Lastly, I think having more continuity on the court will help. Ty was trying to find minutes for 13 players last season. He needs to cut the rotation down to 8-9 (not counting garbage time). Players have to learn each other's tendencies. They have to anticipate and communicate with each other. When you have 5 wings, 3 pts and 5 bigs all getting minutes, you just can't develop any consistency. But I understand why it unfolded the way it did...there was genuine belief that guys like CJ, Raja, Howard and perhaps even Watson or Tinsley would all have trade value at the deadline - but only if they were playing and producing.
