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Defense will now force baseline

Qman

Well-Known Member
There are pluses and minuses to both forcing to the middle and forcing baseline. I like the idea mainly because maybe a shakeup in defensive philosophy will make them practice it more and harder and maybe it will stick. Anything to drive the defensive mindset. I think this also works better because the force to the middle idea was dependent mainly on having a large body in the middle who could block shots (Tag, Eaton). Without that shot-blocking defender it is probably better to force baseline. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.
 
This is another reason why I'm glad we have a new coach. Jerry would be so stubborn on a lot of things, making the offense go towards Boozer and Okur in the middle was easy pickings. Good change by Ty
 
So, when our bigs are OKur and Boozer we force inside, when our bigs are Jefferson and Favors we force baseline?

Is this bizarro world and nobody told me?
 
So, when our bigs are OKur and Boozer we force inside, when our bigs are Jefferson and Favors we force baseline?

Is this bizarro world and nobody told me?

None of the 4 are super-imposing shot-blocker types, so forcing to the middle with Okur and Boozer made no sense. It doesn't make sense with Favors/AJ either, although I think those are both better interior defenders than either Okur or Boozer. Forcing baseline is a better strategy without an Ostertag/Eaton type center to clog the middle.
 
There are pluses and minuses to both forcing to the middle and forcing baseline....Without that shot-blocking defender it is probably better to force baseline. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Agree 100%. While it's true you limit a dribble-driver's kickout options by forcing baseline, you also force yourself to rotate faster and harder on initial penetration. One thing working to Utah's advantage is they have a better combination of length & mobility with Favors, and even Millsap who can move their feet and come over from the weakside, so if properly executed (which is still a big "if" with a young team in an abbreviated season) I think it can work to our advantage...eventually, it just may take some time.
 
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Since they all took plenty of jump shots this summer and probably didn't work much on defense, stressing and practicing defense to start TC is a great way for Coach Ty to get it on their minds.
 
I get the logic for both, but have never been a proponent for forcing to the middle, ever. This is a very good (and obvious) change, imo.
 
This is a positive sign that maybe Ty is going to change things up and be his own coach. I can't believe that Jerry didn't make this change a long time ago.
 
as a general principle, this is a step in the right direction. However, I hope they do more than just stick dogmatically to this scheme. There are times when it is more important to take away a player's dominant habits, even if that means forcing to the middle. In other words, I hope they apply some game-to-game adjustments based on player profiles.
 
One thing's for sure... I'm excited for the season. Win or lose, there will be some exciting moments.
 
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