So I'm not necessarily referring to tonight, but in general over the course of the streak, the biggest thing I've noticed about the defense has been how well we've managed quick switching and really crisp rotations. I could be wrong, but historically it feels like we've run this defense around Gobert where we can run people off the three point line and away from the rim and force low-percentage shots. Within the past year or so, there's been a huge explosion of volume stretch bigs that have really challenged this strategy as it pulls Rudy away from the basket, and has really exposed our bad perimeter D when there isn't backup meeting them at the rim. Then throw in our bad non-Rudy minutes last year.
When we got throttled by the Warriors after the Clippers series, the thing that stood out (aside from them throwing threes in the ocean) of what really killed us and didn't allow us any rhythm was how they would seamlessly switch things and their defensive rotations were really quick and on-point. That's essentially what I've seen over this stretch of games, generally speaking. We still have Gobert to do his things, but the rest of the team has really stepped it up not specifically on an individual level, but on a team level. We're basically always having bodies on people. I don't know if the stats bear that out at all, but that's what it feels like. This is covering for a lot of defensive issues we've had last year without necessarily changing personnel. And guys like Niang and Bojan are fitting just fine into this, not being sieves, and not getting targeted on D (that I can see, at least). It also seems like this is a big reason why Conley has been so much better on D, as it seemed like he was also getting shot over a ton last year.
Quin seems to have been much more willing to take a team approach to guarding perimeter guys, too. I think this is a nice leaf to turn over in comparison with a previously over-focused 'man-to-man' game where we rely on one guy to be some kind of stopper. This has, thus far, negated the need for a perimeter stopper. Maybe that becomes much more apparent throughout the season as we're scouted and get thrust into new situations, but I also don't recall any of the tall, athletic 3s/4s going nuclear on us, either, so that's been good, as well. Here's to hoping this continues.
We've yet to play LA, and I think the biggest challenges we may find is if we're able to play well in grind-it-out games that are close and if we keep confidence, or if the pressure mounts and we go through droughts like tonight in the 4th that seem more psychological than anything else. As far as the defense, I think the biggest thing is if we can just keep up the rotations and keep a body on people so that, even if they're getting shots and scoring, it's coming with them having to go up against a defender to get that.
When we got throttled by the Warriors after the Clippers series, the thing that stood out (aside from them throwing threes in the ocean) of what really killed us and didn't allow us any rhythm was how they would seamlessly switch things and their defensive rotations were really quick and on-point. That's essentially what I've seen over this stretch of games, generally speaking. We still have Gobert to do his things, but the rest of the team has really stepped it up not specifically on an individual level, but on a team level. We're basically always having bodies on people. I don't know if the stats bear that out at all, but that's what it feels like. This is covering for a lot of defensive issues we've had last year without necessarily changing personnel. And guys like Niang and Bojan are fitting just fine into this, not being sieves, and not getting targeted on D (that I can see, at least). It also seems like this is a big reason why Conley has been so much better on D, as it seemed like he was also getting shot over a ton last year.
Quin seems to have been much more willing to take a team approach to guarding perimeter guys, too. I think this is a nice leaf to turn over in comparison with a previously over-focused 'man-to-man' game where we rely on one guy to be some kind of stopper. This has, thus far, negated the need for a perimeter stopper. Maybe that becomes much more apparent throughout the season as we're scouted and get thrust into new situations, but I also don't recall any of the tall, athletic 3s/4s going nuclear on us, either, so that's been good, as well. Here's to hoping this continues.
We've yet to play LA, and I think the biggest challenges we may find is if we're able to play well in grind-it-out games that are close and if we keep confidence, or if the pressure mounts and we go through droughts like tonight in the 4th that seem more psychological than anything else. As far as the defense, I think the biggest thing is if we can just keep up the rotations and keep a body on people so that, even if they're getting shots and scoring, it's coming with them having to go up against a defender to get that.
