SteakNEggs
Well-Known Member
The best way to beat it is to go big and punish them down low but unfortunately we have nobody that can score down there. It’s why I’m so adamant about Rudy developing a single post move. Sadly he’s incapable.
How would you counter small ball?
- Thread starter SoberasHotRod
- Start date
Rick Carlisle had some success in their series against the Clipper's small ball going extra big with Boban and Porzingis. Unfortunately we don't have the personnel to do this. Porzingis is basically a wing.
There are only a handful of NBA C's that take advantage of "mismatches" on switches. Those are the same guys who score on the Rudy in the post too. It just doesn't happen because it's not effective. It's not as simple as pass it to a tall guy and he scores on a smaller guy. Even a guy as skilled as Ayton didn't post up against smaller mismatches. He scored a lot against small ball, but it's because his guards got dribble penetration and dished it off to him because the smaller defender can't effectively defend the paint like a drop center would.
Besides, the Jazz offense cooked small ball defense. I have no idea why people think this is an offensive issue. Did anyone see us have a historic failure on defense? Or did we forget that because we got Rudy Gay??? We need to defend better. If we could defend at an average level we might be champions, but Quin's horrific coaching and inability to adjust couldn't get us to that average level.
I've said this all along, but the Jazz have to be more versatile with their schemes and change their defensive principles. Playing defense in the RS is easy. The guy on the ball can freely let his guy go past him because it's just a bait. You're met with Rudy who can easily defend the big and dribble penetration at the same time. Everyone else is staying home so there's no kickout for 3 and the offense is forced to take a floater or meet Rudy at the rim. It's the perfect defense for our personnel that is incredibly effective against the right teams.
But when you go against 5 out and teams play away from Rudy like the Clippers did, those defensive principles turn into bad habits that create a defensive nightmare. Guys like Reggie Jackson (who had a great playoffs tbf) are walking past our "best" perimeter defenders because our perimeter defenders have been letting that happen by design all year. When they do provide some resistance, Rudy is overhelping and leaving his guy open because he's been doing that all year. Even when the help is justified from Rudy, which is nearly every play because our on ball defense is non-existent, there is no concept of rotating to help Rudy's guy and cover for each other. Instead, everyone is still staying home on their guy like a statue. Why? Same answer, because it's the only thing we do on defense.
There's been no versatility over the years. We have a system that works against most teams, but if the other team has the right personnel they can very easily expose us. My biggest concern with this team is that Quin does nothing and stays stubborn as he always has. It will once again be effective during the RS because Rudy might be the greatest defensive player of all time, but it will once again be exposed as a gimmick scheme come playoff time. You simply cannot play defense with one player in the playoffs, I don't care who that player is. Quin needs to create better defensive habits and actually have his guys capable of playing as a team. No more standing around like statues on and off the ball. They have to be a connected unit.
Besides, the Jazz offense cooked small ball defense. I have no idea why people think this is an offensive issue. Did anyone see us have a historic failure on defense? Or did we forget that because we got Rudy Gay??? We need to defend better. If we could defend at an average level we might be champions, but Quin's horrific coaching and inability to adjust couldn't get us to that average level.
I've said this all along, but the Jazz have to be more versatile with their schemes and change their defensive principles. Playing defense in the RS is easy. The guy on the ball can freely let his guy go past him because it's just a bait. You're met with Rudy who can easily defend the big and dribble penetration at the same time. Everyone else is staying home so there's no kickout for 3 and the offense is forced to take a floater or meet Rudy at the rim. It's the perfect defense for our personnel that is incredibly effective against the right teams.
But when you go against 5 out and teams play away from Rudy like the Clippers did, those defensive principles turn into bad habits that create a defensive nightmare. Guys like Reggie Jackson (who had a great playoffs tbf) are walking past our "best" perimeter defenders because our perimeter defenders have been letting that happen by design all year. When they do provide some resistance, Rudy is overhelping and leaving his guy open because he's been doing that all year. Even when the help is justified from Rudy, which is nearly every play because our on ball defense is non-existent, there is no concept of rotating to help Rudy's guy and cover for each other. Instead, everyone is still staying home on their guy like a statue. Why? Same answer, because it's the only thing we do on defense.
There's been no versatility over the years. We have a system that works against most teams, but if the other team has the right personnel they can very easily expose us. My biggest concern with this team is that Quin does nothing and stays stubborn as he always has. It will once again be effective during the RS because Rudy might be the greatest defensive player of all time, but it will once again be exposed as a gimmick scheme come playoff time. You simply cannot play defense with one player in the playoffs, I don't care who that player is. Quin needs to create better defensive habits and actually have his guys capable of playing as a team. No more standing around like statues on and off the ball. They have to be a connected unit.
You need to assimilate to the “just be healthy” point of view. The above is only an appropriate view if/when Quin gets fired and the talking heads gaslight us with hindsight and say “of course, it was obvious. We all know/saw it.”