Young team problems: Knowing how to defend the P'n'R & transition D

[Matrim55]

It was impossible not to think about this past year's UConn team while reading this:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/n...the-suns-went-all-in-to-build-for-the-future/

Let's hope that the 30-odd reps guys like Amida, Kentan, DHam & Rodney got will help them all mature. I know we're all focused on guys getting to the gym, honing jumpers, tightening the handle, etc. And I truly hope that all of the above happens.

But god***n... hoops is about teamwork and communication, and the game is the best teacher.

BTW, somebody's going to come in and point out that both Amida & Kentan are older, which is true. But they're both young in basketball years, having picked up the game much later and subsequently getting fewer high-level reps than their peers.

 

[champs99and04]

I have been shouting this from the mountaintops all season.

Anyhow, I don't think our pick-and-roll defense was that bad this season, at least when they were dialed in. For the most part, they seemed like they had a pretty good idea of how they wanted to defend it (switch 1-3, angle them towards Amida, etc.) but couldn't quite execute their rotations quick enough to stop secondary drives.

But yeah, the situational defense was horrid. Not just in transition, but also on out of bounds plays. A lot of the guys on the team were just very careless off-ball defenders and D-Ham probably exemplified that more than anybody. Not unusual for a young team, and it's encouraging to note that despite the imperfections they were a respectable defensive unit that seemed to perform better in big games. Granted, Boat helped erase a lot of flaws on that end, but I still see no reason this can't be an elite defensive team if they commit to developing instinctually both as individuals and as a team.