Defense is the Difference

The Phoenix Suns had the highest shooting percentage the NBA has seen in eleven seasons, but they are about to be ousted in the first round of the playoffs because their opponent plays much better defense. Three prominent Suns – two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, power forward Amare Stoudemire, and shooter Gordan Giricek – are amongst the league’s weakest defensive players. Their opponent, the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, is a defensive juggernaut that has consistently emphasized defense over offense since Gregg Popovich became coach and they drafted Tim Duncan with the #1 pick eleven years ago. The Spurs give big minutes to players like Bruce Bowen (6 points, 40% shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 assist per game), Kurt Thomas, and Ime Udoka because of their defensive skills. During the season, the Suns actually traded away their best defensive player, Shawn Marion, and acquired Giricek.

The Philadelphia 76ers have managed to take two of four games against the second seeded Detroit Pistons solely because of defense. Incredibly talentless on the offensive end, the Sixers are gritting through this series with balls-to-the-wall defensive intensity. They’ve forced 64 turnovers in the four games so far (16 per) from the team that had the NBA’s fewest (11.1 per) during the regular season. Forcing turnovers is essential for the bricklaying Sixers, as they lead to transition opportunities. Andre Iguodola might not be able to make an uncovered eight foot jump shot right now, but if he steals the ball he’ll usually outrun the other team and dunk it, or pass to one of his high-jumping, terrible-shooting teammates and have him finish it off.

The Los Angeles Lakers handily swept their first round playoff series with the Denver Nuggets. There are many reasons for the gap between these two teams, but perhaps the most noteworthy is the defensive gap between the teams’ starting guards. The Lakers start Derek Fisher at the point because he doesn’t do anything stupid, makes a few open threes, and knows how to play D. They also have Kobe Bryant, whose defensive ability separates him from the rest of the league’s top scorers. The Nuggets play Allen Iverson, who simply isn’t big enough, Carmelo Anthony, who is slow and doesn’t try, and the red-hot J.R. Smith, who hasn’t made defense a career priority. In this series, Carmelo and Iverson struggled while most of the Lakers flourished.

The Houston Rockets willed their way to a 22 game winning streak during the season on the strength of defense and hustle. They lost Yao Ming, one of their two offensive playmakers, to a season-ending injury during that win streak, but kept churning out wins on the sweat of their defense. They don’t have the horses to compete with a loaded Utah Jazz team in these playoffs, but gutted out a road win in game 3 and almost another in game 4 with desperation tenacity. Carl Landry’s game-winning block on Deron Williams in that game 3 was the most exciting play of the playoffs thus far.

It’s generally believed that defense is a product of desire, conditioning, and practice. This idea is probably in perpetuance because this is the case at all but the highest levels of athletics. For most casual athletes, defensive efficiency is a product of effort. But once you get to the NBA, it’s not just about trying. Talent matters too. Take Iverson, one of the most competitive athletes in the world. He wants it as bad as anyone, and he’s in the best shape in the league. He’s always amongst the NBA leaders in steals, and this season led the league in steal/personal foul ratio. But AI is small. Players have no problem shooting over him or backing him down. He needs help guarding bigger players, and he’s always guarding a bigger player. The Lakers were the ultimate Kryptonite for the Nuggets because they are the best passing team in the league. Denver always tries to send a man in to help Iverson and Anthony. The Lakers were able to beautifully exploit these double teams with perfect passes to a wide open man. The precision of these passes also limited turnovers, which kept the Nuggets from getting into their comfort zone in transition.

Defensive talent is perhaps the most underrated aspect of winning basketball. It’s harder to see with the naked eye and it’s harder to quantify. If it was easily discernible, Steve Nash never would have won an MVP award. Remember that it’s not really his fault though – he just doesn’t have the physical tools to play great defense. Players like Bryant, Landry, and Iguodola don’t just try hard – they have the quickness, size, and strength to win games for their teams on defense.