Never one to disrespect the NBA, I take a moment to fire a round at the Association. Specifically, the lack of defense. Well, more specifically, the good teams that just don't seem to get it.
The Phoenix Suns, we can start there I guess. At what point will Coach D'Antoni realize that his style of play, albeit fun for some, isn't going to translate into wins against good teams, or even in games that matter. Take a look at the last two games for the Suns. Our pals from Phoenix managed to give up over 100 points two consecutive nights. Some teams don't give up 132 points in a two games, let alone one night. But, fear not, the Suns allowed that amount to the offensive juggernaut known as the Bucks. Yes, your father's pirates that average just under 98 points a game. But hey, among friends, whats the big deal with a 30 point jump in your pts. per game? This is a team that, plain and simple, doesn't get it. They have some defensive talent. Shawn Marion can play D, and so can Amare (may he rest in peace) as well as Boris Diaw. Granted, the Canadian couldn't guard Pepe Sanchez, but that's just one guy. This team's never going to challenge the Pistons or Spurs for the title of 'Best Defense in the League', but they could do a much better. See, here's where the problem comes in: their coach doesn't want them to play defense. In fact, it seems as if the players that play the least amount of defense are rewarded. Tim Thomas? Well, let's see...He plays minimal defense, has underachieved his entire career, and proved that he has a bad attitude this season. Sounds like a guy for the Suns. James Jones, Leandrinho Barbosa, the ex-Sun Jim Jackson, and the list goes on. Players like this are a dime a dozen in the token system that is the Suns offense. I'm convinced that there a players at the gym I play at that could score 15 a game in that offense. Its not a matter of skill, but rather a committment to avoiding defense at all costs.
The team that seems to have made the most change from last season has been the Dallas Mavericks. Lead by the General, the Mavs have seemingly and statistically made the jump to a team that one could say plays legit defense with certainty. I'm not going to even look at the numbers, because they won't help my cause. What will help my cause, though, is the game from last night. The Mavericks ran head first into a team that straight up locks it down. The Pistons don't fuck around. They play defense. Hard. Sure, now they've added offense because of Flip Saunder's freer system (otherwise known as Larry Brown being a hard ass and Saunders being the worthless piece of trash he was in Minnesota). The final score was 97-90, I believe. Its not so much that they played poor defense overall. Far from it. But, when push came to shove, the boys from D-town couldn't get a stop. Here's a great example...Towards the end of the game, the Pistons run a simple screen and roll set. Billups has the ball, just inside the three at the elbow. For no particular reason other than that he doesn't know how to play defense, Dirk, all seven feet of him, decided to guard the faster, quicker, and more elusive Chauncey Billups. And, Clutch Shot Chauncey (That's my nickname for him, I can't call him Big Shot, that name's been taking) drilled a 20 footer. And that was pretty much the game. Sure, they can play offense. But they can't stop anyone when it matters. People say that an NBA game only matters in the final two minutes. Maybe Coach Johnson should subcribe to this theory.
