Friday, January 30, 2009

A(nother) Defense of NCAA Defense

This comes from my buddy John. John was never a basketball superstar but I once watched him make (arguably) the best player in our 7th-8th grade league cry from hounding him all over the court. I'm sure this is, and will always be, the greatest basketball moment of this life. So here he is...

As a long-time reader, first time guest-blogger (this was the first topic that I truly formed an opinion about), I must preface this by saying that I was that kid that wasn't all that great offensively, but tried really hard and played good defense and rebounded. With that said, I don't see how you can even possibly attempt to say that NBA defense is as good as college defense.

I grew up a huge NBA fan (Drew, remember when Bill Wennington dunked on the Knicks for the win in the first match-up after Jordan returned), but with all the ridiculous sums of money that these guys were getting, and then the strike shortened season, it lost a little luster for me. I've slowly tried to get back into things, but every time I attempt to watch an NBA game, guys just get torched off the dribble, or wide open guys on the low block are getting lobs thrown their way. I can't take it anymore. I would rather see John Chaney send in one of his goons to take someone out every play, than watch wide open dunks and lay-ups all night long because of this Roger Dorn 'Ole style defense.

Watching a team run a 1-3-1 trap as soon as the ball comes across half court is a thing of beauty to me. I can still remember Rick Pitino's Cardiac Cats from the early to mid 90s that went 11-12 men deep because they did a 1-3-1 full court trapping defense almost exclusively. Nolan Richardson's 40 minutes of hell was one of the greatest things I've ever seen.

I like the fact that kid's that were told all of their lives that they weren't good enough, or athletic enough are out there giving it their all on every single play in a zone defense, because yes, if they were 1-on-1, they'd probably get beat. Watching a 6' nothing, 100 and nothing kid step in on a fast break to take a charge from a streaking down the court big man will always be more entertaining than watching flops galore (only in the NBA can Chris Paul drive the lane, jump stop, and dish, but yet somehow knock over the 7', 300 pound center). And why would someone be willing to step in and have that type of pain inflicted upon themselves? They've got pride in not only who they are, but the name of that college or university across their chest. They aren't getting paid $20,000/minute to be there, but that's not going to stop them from playing hard nosed defense with every step they take.

I'd rather watch a 47-46 defensive battle (last night between Dayton and St. Louis), than a 95-75 Bulls game any day of the week.

But what do I know, I just make kids cry with my in your face defensive intensity up and down the court.

Defense in College Basketball

Chris strikes back for the college boys in his defense of NCAA defense.

Let's get this out of the way before we start: everyone knows that, day in and day out, NCAA defenders are hustling twice as hard as their NBA counterparts. This is a fact that both sides of the argument will concede. Yet, NBA fan boys will try to distract you with tales of Rodman facing up with Jordan in the 80s or how good Kobe can be when he actually decides to try on defense. But, at the end of the day, impressive as the performances behind these tales are, they are just that: tales, anecdotes of an uncharacteristically high level of play which are as scarce on the court as Marbury in the Knicks locker room.

But setting the tired "hustle" argument aside, there are more reasons why NCAA defense is better to watch than NBA. The claim made previously is true: it is rare to see a match up between two players who have "learned all of the nuances of professional basketball" in the NCAA. Which is exactly why I like it. The formula for effective scoring in the NBA is simple - beat your man, and either pull up for a jumper or get to the rack. Effective NBA defense is the just the balance of the equation - stop your man... and hope like hell your teammates are doing the same. The so-called "nuances of professional basketball" could be learned playing one-on-one. The college game emphasizes help defense and rewards teamwork and strategy. I'm not trying to say this always works out well - just look at Loyola-Maryland's fated "triangle and two" against Davidson and Steph Curry for evidence - but when it does, the precise coordination of five players acting in symphony is beautiful to watch. How often does an entire NBA arena rise to its feet in support of a defensive stand? The fact of the matter is this actually happens during the first half of regular season games in Durham and East Lansing. Seriously. Sure the student section has something to do with it, but it's also indicative of the attitude towards the game at the college level: either live as a team, or die, as individuals.*

*Coach Tony D'Amato, Any Given Sunday, 1999

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Sunday, January 25, 2009

In defense of NBA defense

An unedited testimonial by Neil.

- i used to be on the college side of this argument, but in the last few years i've seen the light. i think the biggest issue here is the talent gap between college and the pros-- nobody doubts that it exists, but just about everyone hugely underestimates the magnitude. its easy to see lebron/kobe/chris paul take over a game and say "look how easy that basket was, they're not even trying to d him up" but the truth is, those guys are that good. parity on the college level makes it such that hustle/intensity can take advantage of offensive inadequacy, often to the point where it can decide a game. so yes, to some extent you might see college players look like they're playing harder on d, but only because the likelihood that it will force mistakes by the opposition is that much higher. i think another big factor here is the lack of meaningful defensive stats (which is an even bigger problem in baseball, led to the rise of sabermetrics). while steals might look good in the stat column, they don't mean all that much-- if you grab 3 steals in a quarter its great, but if u give up 4 baskets in that quarter trying to jump passing lanes, are you really helping your team? good defense often results in little more than adding a degree of difficulty to your opponents shot, and in the nba, a lot of guys are so good that most of the time it won't matter-- they'll score anyway, and the average fan won't realize how tough a shot they made. but if you don't make that shot tough, kobe will shoot 75% from the field.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

NCAA vs. NBA: Defense

By me. Yes, I really do believe that NBA defense is better.

Most college proponents will immediately tell you that defense is the main flaw of the professional game but this could not be farther from the truth. “No one tries on defense in the NBA… the college kids actually care,” complain college proponents. Don’t get me wrong… the lack of defensive effort in the NBA – especially early in the season – can be appalling. That said, without getting into how some guys don’t try in college either or how the NBA has more skilled shot blockers, the defense in the NBA is better because while it is sometimes lackadaisical, it can also be one of the most beautiful spectacles in basketball. In college, a truly great defender and an equally skilled offensive player rarely match up, and when they do, you are looking at two players who are still years from learning all the nuances of professional basketball. On the other hand, in the NBA, you can routinely catch the best defenders in the world plying their trade against the best scorers in the world. I’d rather watch an NBA game where a team’s main offensive weapon is being guarded by Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, Raja Bell, Kobe (when he’s made up his mind to stop someone good), Bruce Bowen (not so much anymore) or Shane Battier than a college game where the best scorers can be bogged down by collapsing zones. I love watching these guys harass pretty boy scorers and chase them around screens and then close out hard on their jump shots. If you like players who hustle on every play and can’t dribble well enough to break any zone thrown at them then why not just watch the WNBA? If you want to see the best perimeter defender in the world, watch Ron Artest. We’re raising a generation of kids to think that “good defense” is taking charges under the hoop and seamlessly switching between 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones, and the best way to learn defense is to practice sliding back and forth. The truth is that actual good defense is about relentlessness, subtle technique, and simply wanting it more than the next guy. I’d rather watch one guy play world-class defense than watch 5 guys hustle.

But let’s get into more details since not everyone is as excited about perimeter defense as me. I do believe there’s a time and a place for everything – including zone defense – and that is college. (Zones should be banned below – and arguably even in – high school for teaching purposes.) Zones introduce a nice element of strategy to the game and it’s interesting to see coaches utilize them (even if they do tend to shackle low post talent… but we’ll get into that later when discussing offense). Overall, though, zone defense makes it easier to inferior teams to bog down brilliant offensive talent and it leads to an overabundance of three-pointers – even more so because the three-point line is too close in college. Even if they banned zones in college, I’d prefer watching NBA defense as a whole. Granted some NBA teams might play porous defense at times but the best teams in the league play the best team defense you will ever see. Kevin Garnett blocks shots, defends in the post and on the perimeter, hedges pick-and-rolls to perfection, and generally motivates his teammates to play harder. Watching Boston’s (or Lakers/Cavs) team defense, in my opinion, is superior to watching anything in college and it’s even more impressive when you take into account illegal defense, the charge circle (which college should adopt), and better players.

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NCAA vs. NBA: The Great Debate

Don’t get me wrong, March Madness is my favorite tournament in all of sports. From the initial 32 game frenzy to the timeless “One Shining Moment”, the tournament simply has it all. Tournament aside, college basketball players try harder over the course of the season and the atmosphere at your average college game puts an NBA game to shame. And yet, I’d rather watch Wizards-Grizzlies than a random match-up of two top 25 NCAA teams. Many would call it hoops blasphemy but I think the NBA is vastly superior. Therefore, over the course of the next week, we here at IAmNotAWitness, are going to argue for the sake of arguing over which version of Naismith's incredible game is better. We're going to break it down by topic. My buddy Chris will be the main proponent of NCAA ball and I'll take the NBA but, as always, reader submissions/testimonials are welcome. The first topic is defense and should be posted shortly.

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Are The Cavs For Real?

By Drew.

I know what you're thinking, that can't be a serious question right? This isn't an NBA Blog for toddlers, is it? They have the second-best record in the league, are undefeated at home and their star player has been the favorite for MVP since week one, of course they're for real but the real point is despite their amazing season so far, are they good enough to win the championship? A few weeks ago, it would've been easy to say possibly but not with the way the Celts were playing. The Celts have stumbled a bit but rest assured they will regain their footing, the Magic are playing with a chip on their shoulders, D-Ho continues to improve and their guards have stepped up dramatically but the Cavs surprisingly, are still the team to beat for the Eastern Conference. LBJ's been more than impressive over the past couple of seasons but there was always a resilient, consistent fire missing from his game so that even when he was dazzling everybody, you were still kind of upset because you knew he wasn't at his apex yet. This season is merely the beginning of his apex and luckily the rest of his team is gelling around him at the right time. The missing pieces in that puzzle were the addition of Mo Williams and as Avery Johnson would put it: Team Defense. All Lebron needed the past couple of seasons to put the Cavs over the hump was a reliable second fiddle, not even a Scottie Pippen, but a player that could lead the team and keep hitting shots whenever Lebron wasn't. Mo Williams shoots a decent percentage in all categories and consistently. Combine that with Delonte West's reliable PG/SG skills, Brazilian Sideshow Bob & black Sideshow Bob's defense, the shooting of Sasha Pavlovic and Booby Gibson and the eventual return of aging but solid big man Z. Ilgauskas and you have a team primed for a run in June. Of course, they'd probably be mediocre bums without Lebron but with him on the tear, they've been lights-out all season. That's especially true, considering they're undefeated at home, averaging around a hundred points there and close to that on the road while also holding opponents to a league-best eighty-nine points a game. That’s why Lebron’s the complete package, he’s got the defensive acumen of MJ with the blocking ability of Wilt and the court vision and passing of Pistol Pete and Magic and on the drive, well, no one’s like Lebron on the drive (just imagine if he develops a consistent mid-range jumper). When LBJ watched the Celts win their rings on stifling defense and then he won gold in Beijing with the same mindset, you know he realized good Cavs defense with him leading the fast break and enough good shooters running with him, he'd have an unstoppable team. Or maybe he didn't, maybe things are finally coalescing at the right time for these Cavs, chemistry is everything when it comes to championship teams. Considering they only made the Finals a few years ago with Lebron playing out of his mind and the rest of his team on his back, they’ll be hard to beat now that he’s got players around him (granted Detroit was the only decent East team that year but still). Will they win the East? I say yes. If they face anyone other than the Lakers in the Finals then Lebron and the city of Cleveland will have reached the promised land and deservedly so, they’ve been in the dregs for too long now. And if they lose to the Lakers, it’ll still be one of the most entertaining one-on-one Finals matchups in far too long and the best team matchup since, well, last year.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Random Thoughts

By Drew

-The Standard goes off for his fourth triple-double of the season, the Lakers and Spurs go head to head in an intense, well-played shootout to go along with a handful of other great NBA games. I can’t wait for the lead story on Sportscenter to be about the AFC/NFC Championship games, Pacman Jones, Plaxico Burress’s court trial or the Dodgers signing Derek Lowe.

-Speaking of the NFL, who even cares about the conference championship games, let alone the Super Bowl at this point? Nothing but duds aside from the Steelers while we’re in the heat of an amazing season where records are being broke every night and even mediocre teams are entertaining to watch, along with a college season being absolutely dominated by the Big East. Play’s not that good a quality most times but the rivalries are fun and it’s always good to do some March Madness research (it is a religious holiday). Don’t take my word for it (I usually don’t get behind the Big East) in the tourney but this year, they could easily make up half the sweet sixteen.

-Lakers-Spurs: amazing game, particularly a gritty Lakers comeback in the fourth, but who the hell do you even root for in a game where you vehemently despise both teams? You root for God to bring on a natural disaster, that’s what. It’s like when someone asks who I want to win Duke-UNC, I tell them I’d like it if Gary Williams strafed both teams with an AK-47. Go Terps!

-The Quad-Laser, er, Double, I mean. I know I’m spoiled and all with The Standard and King James going off for double-doubles on the regular (and don’t forget D-Ho) along with the occasional triple-double but Chris was three steals away from the elusive Quadruple-Double tonight and the way Lebron is piling up blocks along with everything else this season, we could someday be telling our young ones about Lebron’s Quintuple-Double. Unlikely but hey, a kid can dream.

-Spurs just won, continually proving the point that no matter how boring they are and how bad you want them to be, NEVER EVER EVER count San Antonio out, especially if Parker and Ginobli are injured early in the season cus that’ll just make them better when they come back!!! There’s your reason to root for the Celtics to make it to the Finals because if the Spurs make it through the West with their combination of finesse, cheating, flopping, whining to the refs and y’know being really, really good, the Celts are the best team to handle that onslaught, plus it could result in Garnett killing Duncan in cold blood after he hits his first three of year in overtime. That’s worth the price of admission!

-I’d like to feel happy for the NotSeattles getting a couple of wins lately but really, you don’t even deserve the bad team that you have, I can’t wait for Kevin Durant to leave and sign with a contender or join the new Sonics (formerly the Charlotte Bobcats or Memphis Grizzlies) out of spite. I’ve never even been to Seattle, I just have standards!

Press Notes...

... some intern spends a lot of time putting them together, so why don't the announcers try and use them? Props to Matt for ranting this article to me over my shoulder.

Ok, Rockets-Lakers game last night and Von Wafer is tearing it up. Now he's been tearing it up all week to the point where he got nominated for player of the week in the conference but apparently the announcer (not sure who it was) hasn't been paying attention because he says "Kobe must be wondering who this Von Wafer guy is". Um, Von Wafer played on the Lakers and was Kobe's teammate in 05-06. Reliable sources say Kobe even came to visit Wafer in the locker room during last year's All-Star game. C'mon, at least pretend you do some research. If I hear another announcer ask something like "Who the heck is this Blake Ahearn guy?" I'm going to flip out... and blog about it.

Jose Calderon FT Watch
Jose's 76-76 on the year and he's caused thousands of Spanish fans to overlook Toronto's dismal start.

4th dunker?
The NBA is letting YOU choose the 4th dunker for the dunk contest this year. Who's going to win? I have no idea but it should be Joe Alexander. Rudy is a game-only alley-oop dunker and Westbrook has hops but he's a little guy (and he has no shot to win this thing with Spain behind Rudy and China behind Joe). Alexander can hit his head on the rim and he's 6'8. A generation of white guys with above-average-ups is growing up without a role model because they never knew Brent Barry. Do them a favor and vote for Joe Alexander and save the entire Caucasian population the embarrassment of another Chris Anderson-esque performance.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Mr. Underrated.

Get rid of the most improved player award and replace it with Mr. Underrated. The MIP award is so random and it requires you to judge how bad a player was last year. Either way it’s a backhanded compliment. Mr. Underrated – entirely invented by my imagination - is determined by a complex formula of fan, player, coach and stat geek voting along with jersey sales, sponsorships, etc. All the data would be sent to a special committee (or maybe just one guy?) which would compile it and come up with Mr. Underrated. The catch is that no one knows who Mr. Underrated is until the title changes hands. Then the old Mr. Underrated is announced and awarded with some memento as well as the dubious distinction of now being officially “so underrated he’s overrated”. Hypothetically, Shawn Marion has won this award at least twice. The current Mr. Underrated is Danny Granger who barely edged out David West after he made the All-Star game last season.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

The worst starter in the League?

Yes Candace Parker is pregnant. I still think she's going to come back as the best player in the League. I almost hope she loses a few inches off her vertical though so people will be forced to actually watch her dominate all facets of the game rather than just gushing over her dunks.

In other news, I proposed Joel Anthony as the worst starter in the NBA and my boy, NBA aficionado Drew, had this to say about it. It's unedited so some of it might be a bit PG-13 but the enthusiasm is commendable. So without further ado...

"Joel Anthony defintely deserves to be on that list and I'm assuming Oberto was injured but I'd still take the corpse of Oberto over Matt Bonner now the question here is do injuries factor into whether said shitty player is starting or does it have to be the only or best option on the team and that guy has to start on a regular basis. A quick scan of the league's starting fives gave me such gems as Mikki Moore for the Kings, Robert Swift for the Thunder, Andray Blatche for the Wiz (but Haywood's injured) and a couple of others but none of them will ever touch the lucky gutter rat that was Jason Collins. My pick over Q would have to be Greg Oden (that's another thing, do rookies that will eventually be good count there), I watch a lot of Blazers games online and he's just an absolute waste of space out there 90 percent of the time, doesn't box out on defense or for that matter even know what the hell's he doing and is even worse on offense especially since the rest of the team suffers so he can get his touches while LaMarcus Aldridge sits there questioning his self-worth as well as a society that sucks Oden off for the 10 percent of the time he doesn't suck ass while he's awesome and only at the cusp of his greatness. But I digress, eventually he fouls out after being schooled for awhile and the Blazers go back to playing with 5 guys. I realize he's gonna be good soon enough hopefully or a huge bust, but there's no need to start him, I think ESPN ceos and David Stern have dirt on McMillan, forcing him to start so they can over-cover his 2 pts. 3 blks. when rookie Rudy Fernandez has scored 25 pts to win the game (sigh, shutter)."

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Candace Parker Pregnant

Is Candace Parker pregnant? I have no idea but a Russian basketball site (via Google translation) is saying that CP3 "intends to acquire a child". If this is true, congrats to Candace and Sheldon... but shouldn't someone have told her to, you know, hold off on the whole kids thing until she saves the WNBA?