09-29-2020, 11:57 AM
(09-28-2020, 10:08 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: Saving this article here for future reference. This is an example of what is NOT the future of center play in the NBA.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/how-d...azers-win/
Good find. Definitely highlights a basic challenge for most of today's centers.
How many have the lateral quickness to stay with Damian Lillard, esp. when he's in a shooting zone.
Quote:On the one hand, this was a masterful performance by Lillard. He's playing at an extremely high level and deserves all the credit for the way he willed his team to victory. At the same time, Porzingis and the Mavericks didn't exactly put on a defensive clinic.
In other words, the defense was poor from the Mavericks, on an individual level by KP and whoever is guarding Lillard and the strategic adjustments are too slow coming.
This is where its chess vs chess. Let's just focus on this particular defensive challenge.
KP in those situations can play more than just all the way up or way back out of the play which many of those clips demonstrate.
He has to be searching out the sweet spot in the middle on those plays and shuffle in that area. Don't make it easy to read quickly for the guard/wing.
The sweet spot is where he can make Dame have to at least slow down and think if KP is up enough blow by immediately or if he has free clearance to easily shoot over that enormous wingspan.
While Dame is thinking his defender can fight over the screen, maybe go under sometimes to again not give Dame the same look.
Many times now watching the good defensive teams we see the defender chase and bother, rush or even block the shot from the behind.
KP has to buy the defender that extra second with his spacing and his wingspan.
Sure it's a tall task against Dame but it could be done much better than those clips show.
Lillard had a walk in the park over and over. Just rushing him more often could drop a 61 pt game down to a 57 or 55 with a few misses.