Why Not Us?

I don’t really know man. One problem with the press at the NBA level is that usually most NBA players are too skilled as ball handlers to be effectively trapped unless they’re stupid or trapped really effectively.

I don’t see this working beyond a minute or so stretch. There’s a reason Pitino didn’t last in Boston, and that full court press was why. It was too gimmicky for the NBA.

Like you said Ex G, there are not a lot of fans of his around here and I can understand why. I opt to not take him too seriously and enjoy his writing for what it is. His ideas may sound crazy at times, but half the time his prediction come true and you can tell the guy knows the game.

When I read his exchange with Gladwell I too wondered about this point about the full press, not necessarily for the Kings but for other teams in the L. I think it is a very valid point, especially what they said about maybe using for small stretches during a game. They do mention how the skilled playersof today’s NBA would break he press easiy, and though it’s a good point, it could still work against the second unit of certain teams.

If you don’t have a necessarily defensive skilled squad, why not try something like this with you second unit to start the second quarter?? Many times we say, defense is all about effort; well… effort doesn’t get any better than in a full court press. I think it’s an option that’s worth trying. It’s not like the Kings are an elite defensive team, just try it and see if it works. If it doesn’t, that’s fine, but not trying because you THINK it may not work it’s no excuse IMO.

I also like the idea of using hustle guys for this. You know the 10th, 11th, and 12th guys in the team. Those cheap guys that are busting their ass in the NBDL to get a contract. Is it really that crazy of an idea?? I don’t see what’s so wrong about thinking outside the box…

Like communism in theory it sounds like a magnificent plan but when it comes to actually doing it I don’t know if I’m so certain. BUT at certain stretches of the game I wouldn’t mind seeing this type of hustle but I would not like it to be our main method of defending

1st) Certain teams do run the press on certain occasions, but only for brief spans simply to change the pace or momentum of the game.

2nd) The skill of NBA players is to great to expect to the full press to work as often as it fails. Yes, it might give you better odds to win a certain game like they bantered and argued. It can also get you blown off the court by the start the 2nd Quarter in several more games.

3rd) Unless you are really bad, like 2008 Kings bad than most NBA games come down to the final 5 minutes where the press would have it’s least effect. The press is more effective in college because college teams lack the talent to score 10-15 points within the final minutes. 10 point leads with a few minutes to go is an insurmountable in college. In pro’s the game can flip to a 4 point margin in less than 90 seconds.

4th) I think Bill Simmons has hit 1,000,000 word mark. Sorta like his infamous 1000 game NBA mark. Like Tim Duncan, he ain’t what he used to be. His ideas are increasingly off the mark.

I love the full-court press in basketball. In college football, I love the option offense.

And pro squads are never going to run either with any seriousness, because these schemes run through players faster than the Maloofs run through a case of Ding Dongs.

Whoever they will be next season.
They won’t be skilled. And hopefully they’ll be hungry.

But it makes no sense to me logically. I think a halfcourt trap press could work with the right guys, given that the former 10 second rule is now an 8 second rule. But a fullcourt press seems like it would give up a lot more points than it would produce. Let’s break it down:

• The extra effort would have to come from somewhere. In college you’re playing about 33 games at 40 minutes per and with more time between games. NBA, as we all know, 82 games, 48 minutes, 3-4 games per week. I know we’re talking about using it selectively, but the NBA season is just way more of a marathon than the NCAA season. The more you wear out your bench, the less fresh they’ll be when substituting for your starters.

• So say you exclusively use the guys at the end of the bench who’d only be used in emergency situations anyway (since you can’t have 3 hungry D-Leaguers running the press and 2 starters playing normal, halfcourt D). Then you’ve taken the five worst players on the worst team in basketball and stretched them to the furthest extent that an NBA defense can be stretched. If you thought there were too many layups this year, God help you.

• And if these guys are eating up 10 minutes per game and your starters get 30-35 MPG, where does that leave your non-starting rotation players? There just aren’t enough minutes to go around.

• And how does a broken press always end in college? The ball gets passed to one of two guys standing around the three point line, who wait for the rest of the team to catch up. The 35 second shot clock and lack of skill make NCAA basketball more of a team game, with the offense running halfcourt sets that wait for an open shot. NBA offense is (generally) predicated on isolations, which means that a two on two ahead of the pack will almost always end up as a layup, easy mid-range jumper, or freethrows before the rest of the team catches up and the offense and defense set. NBA players are just too athletic and too skilled to fail to exploit a broken press efficiently.

I’ll stop now, but you can see why this makes little sense to me. The risk just isn’t worth the reward, which is exactly why NBA defenses only do go to full court press when they are in desperation mode. If you’re about to lose anyway, there is no risk.

I guess it doesn’t pay to be subtle