Cavs (absent) Defense (Lloyd/ABJ)

[Kizzle]

I mean think about it....Andy is the only player on the team who has even been apart of a top 5 D. We're asking alot

 

[CavsFanJapan]

Serious question here. Did Byron Scott play good defense when he was a player? Does anyone remember or know if he did? I know his teams (as J Lloyd points out) have not been good defensively as a coach. I do love how the players always say they play good defense in practice but then lay an egg in games. That is because they scrimmage against each other.
Funny how when M. Brown was here, we wanted him to hire a good offensive assistant and now with B Scott, we want a defensive assistant. Can we somehow get these guys together?

 

[RikSmits]

Serious question here. Did Byron Scott play good defense when he was a player? Does anyone remember or know if he did? I know his teams (as J Lloyd points out) have not been good defensively as a coach. I do love how the players always say they play good defense in practice but then lay an egg in games. That is because they scrimmage against each other.
Funny how when M. Brown was here, we wanted him to hire a good offensive assistant and now with B Scott, we want a defensive assistant. Can we somehow get these guys together?

The showtime Lakers were mostly known for theit high-speed, high-octane offense. But they had players who could clamp down on D, like Michael Cooper, Kurt Rambis, Mychal Thompson and yes, Byron Scott.

 

[Wine and Gold]

Serious question here. Did Byron Scott play good defense when he was a player? Does anyone remember or know if he did? I know his teams (as J Lloyd points out) have not been good defensively as a coach. I do love how the players always say they play good defense in practice but then lay an egg in games. That is because they scrimmage against each other.
Funny how when M. Brown was here, we wanted him to hire a good offensive assistant and now with B Scott, we want a defensive assistant. Can we somehow get these guys together?

They were a track meet team under Riley w/ that era of Laker teams, but ...in the moments late in games when they had to, they could amp up some defensive pressure, even though they weren't known as a defensively dominant team in the least.

 

[Giambiwannabe7]

Our D is a mixed bag. I would say over half the problem is desire and effort, honestly. That's the part that bothers me the most. I understand young guys getting lost in assignments and maybe not understanding when to help and where. But, part of being young is making up for your lack of experience/knowledge with energy and effort. When I see these guys coasting out there it really pisses me off. It's hard for certain guys like KI who have to do so much on offense, but he needs to understand he needs to balance out his efforts a little better for the other end of the court. Offense looks great on the stat sheet, but better D will eventually win us more games we otherwise lose.

 

[RikSmits]

Nice article about Kyrie's defense at Cavs: the blog.

This gif in the article is self-explanatory:

And there is also part 1 on defense at Cavs: the blog.

It’s hard to get raw stats on Kyrie Irving’s defense this year because of the small sample size, and because Byron Scott has routinely been shifting Kyrie to the opponent’s worst wing. KI spent much of last night guarding C.J. Watson. But opposing point guards have been torching the Cavs to the tune of 23.5 points per game, and 11.9 assists, combining for a 19.1 per. His defensive rating last year was 110 points per 100 possessions (54th worst), and it’s 111 this year (30th worst). (Interestingly, Samuels, Leuer, and Sloan are worse. Sloan has the 4th worst rating in the league). KI’s Defensive Wins Shares last year was .6 for the year, and this year, it’s zero. It’s not negative, but it’s not good.

 

[Kizzle]

Nice article about Kyrie's defense at Cavs: the blog.

This gif in the article is self-explanatory:

And there is also part 1 on defense at Cavs: the blog.

That play has to embarrass a good player man. Like seriously he just gave up. Like personally if I saw this play at a team meeting or something I'd be embarrassed

 

[apolo29]

It's funny because that gif is actually the worst example you could give: it was a rotation by design, kyrie took the SG and waiters went to deron. Automatically. Got caught by a pick though. They switched guys

But then again they probably switched because kyrie was so far behind..

Anyway the point was it wasnt like kyrie was SUPPOSED to be guarding deron when he took that shot and was just randomly standing somewhere. He switched with dion and was standing with the sg.

 

[Layne Staley]

I don't like coach scott's tactic of making the guards go over the screens at all. With the new breed of quick point guards that's just a recipe for disaster...

I hate to say this but I miss Mike Brown's defensive tactics. Say what you want about the guy but he could coach a hell of a defense

 

[RikSmits]

It's funny because that gif is actually the worst example you could give: it was a rotation by design, kyrie took the SG and waiters went to deron. Automatically. Got caught by a pick though. They switched guys

But then again they probably switched because kyrie was so far behind..

Anyway the point was it wasnt like kyrie was SUPPOSED to be guarding deron when he took that shot and was just randomly standing somewhere. He switched with dion and was standing with the sg.

I think the bolded part is right on the money.
I really urge to watch the frames in Kyrie's Defense is Offensive, Part 1.

 

[Tornicade]

the team average age is 24. they have 4 starters 25 and under. 3 under 22.

Defense is going to be an issue with squad.

 

[Lee]

They were a track meet team under Riley w/ that era of Laker teams, but ...in the moments late in games when they had to, they could amp up some defensive pressure, even though they weren't known as a defensively dominant team in the least.

They were called Show Time for a reason.

 

[Green Lantern]

I don't like coach scott's tactic of making the guards go over the screens at all. With the new breed of quick point guards that's just a recipe for disaster...

I hate to say this but I miss Mike Brown's defensive tactics. Say what you want about the guy but he could coach a hell of a defense

Playing behind the screen is dangerous,unless the player with the screener pops out to move the ball handler into the D..the player with ball can either take a uncontested shot or allow the pick and roll to develope with no pressure.

Mike Brown didn't lik his players to play under screens.he wanted a double or force the ball out of the player. Pressure the guy with the ball.
Now the other equation is communication..the two defenders must know how to play the screen and talk to each other ,either stay on one side or switch off.

 

[Rainman]

Basically people say Kyrie plays bad one on one defense, which may be true. A good defensive team makes up for players who lack certain defensive skills. Good communication and rotations are keys to making stops. Mismatches may happen time and again but if one player can't get in front of his guy, he should be able to yell at the other guys on the floor to pick up his man. It's almost like football, you have to have a vocal leader on the floor who is able to put his guys in the right place. There is no one on this team capable of doing this, besides maybe Andy. And still I'm not sure if he is able to do this.

 

[Lumthemad]

There is no excuse for Kyrie's defensive effort sometimes though, which is i think a big complaint from a lot of us watching. Having a system in place where it can benefit the players strengths or lackthereof, is important. Still, for anyone who has played good defense, there is NOTHING more aggrovating than watching someone get blasted continuously just because they don't feel like putting in the effort. In the end, Kyrie will be fine but the sooner he picks up his intensity the better off we'll be as a team defensively. Breakdowns often times start at the top.