Defensive Strategy in the NBA

So every team has different pieces on it. There are teams with different star players who all play at different positions. This means that you can’t beat every team in the same way. This is where the idea of good coaching comes in. A coach like Gregg Popovich stays in the league for so long is because he knows how to win games. Obviously, he’s not doing as well this season, but the organization will give him some slack considering he’s made the playoffs for years on end. My point is that winning basketball games takes more than just giving the ball to the biggest guy on the court and hoping he dunks it. Winning takes strategy, and that’s what I’m going to talk about.

There are a bunch of different strategies, but they all come down to who the opponent is. You won’t be able to beat the 76ers in the same way you beat a team like the Rockets. Let’s use these two teams as examples for defensive strategies to use. And just for extra emphasis, let’s put ourselves into a playoff scenario. With the 76ers, we are going to assume they are rolling out a starting lineup of Ben Simmons, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Al Horford, and Joel Embiid. As a coach of the opposing team, I notice that none of them are very good 3-point shooters. Richardson can shoot it well sometimes, Tobias is a very streaky shooter, and Horford hits one every once in awhile. Joel is okay, but he’s mainly a threat from the paint, which is where the issue lies. The biggest threat on the Philly team this season is Embiid when he’s in the post. If I have a good interior defender on my team, I make sure that he’s covering Joel the entire game. Maybe even to the point of my subbing him in and out when Joel goes in and out of the game. On top of this, if the Sixers have a guy in the corner and Embiid has the ball in the post, I’m willing to sacrifice that shot from behind the arc in order to double-team Joel in the paint. My entire goal on defense is to force the ball to the perimeter by denying Joel the ball. If there’s a pick and roll with Embiid, I let the guy on the perimeter have a shot rather than giving Embiid a shot in the post. It’s all about the lesser evil on defense. Obviously the goal is to play good 1-on-1 defense and not let the other team score points, but if that isn’t possible, then you need to know which shot to give up. If I know a team is bad at three-point shooting, then I’ll gladly give them a three over a shot in the paint.

Now, for a team like the Rockets, the game plan has to be extremely different. There is one real issue on this team - James Harden. Yes, Russell Westbrook is an amazing basketball player, but the real threat on the Rockets offense is Harden. He has the uncanny ability to score no matter what position he’s in. To make things worse, the Rockets even have a good interior player in Clint Capela. This means that they have the elite ability to score from three and in the paint. The goal for teams should be to force them to do the one other possible thing - shoot from the mid-range. If they can put enough defenders on the perimeter, while also leaving someone in the paint to guard Capela, this forces Harden to drive into the paint. However, if this happens, a defender would have to shift over to help stop him, causing all the defenders on the perimeter to shift over and cover the three-point shooters. Then, if all goes according to plan, the defender in the paint stands his ground forcing Harden to take a contested floater or mid-range shot. That’s the only thing you can hope for with a guy like Harden. The only thing you can do is try to contain him, because there is not stopping a guy as talented as James Harden. 

Defensive strategy can only get you so far, though, You obviously have to have talented defenders on your team who can play the game well, but a defensive strategy could make all the difference. If you know your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, then you can force them into taking the shots you know they aren’t as successful with. The only issue is, a good offensive game plan can throw off an entire defensive scheme. I’ll talk about that more in the future.