3-point defense

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

To stop the three, it truly requires a complete mental/emotion shift.

We are taught from an early age that "good defense" is forcing your opponent to shoot a 3 by doing everything imaginable to contest a 2, even one far outside the lane. As soon as an understanding can be reached/coached that a player is dangerous beyond the arc, not dangerous the first 10 feet inside the arc, then dangerous again when they begin getting near the rim, that is how 3's will be stopped and/or defense improved.

Right now, I have no idea how to put that into practice, and judging by the game 3 of the CLE/ATL series, neither do they. They just came off a game in which they gave up a record amount of 3's, and it seems their adjustments consisted of "OK, no way they do that again".

[Monster]

I'm not surprised that Martin had good numbers against the 3. He was actually a pretty solid defensive player when he was out there and remember he played most of his minutes during the Wolves defensive phase of the season. For the first chunk of games he was one of the most effective wing players chasing guys around screens etc. he was really putting forth the effort on D and it was nice. I didn't keep watching him after game 20 or so because I didn't really care anymore.

Rudez isn't amazing but he is a realistically smart player and at least has some length. He has some major flaws as a player but he doesn't hurt you too much when he is out there.

As for how Rubio would fit in this new 3 point shooting league...he could be a factor in making the 3's himself. There were some good signs on that front this year and he is finally going into an offseason healthy. I am not expecting him to start taking 5+ 3's a game and hit them at 40% clip or something but there is some potential to be a bigger factor. Rubio still may have the skill to create 3's for other guys or stand in the right spot and move the ball for those looks. Defensively is where ai think he can have the biggest effect on your team and the 3 point battle. Thibs is likely going to enjoy using him on defense.

I think what has been left out a bit on the switch everything strategy was how well Dieng played when switched. Do you want him doing that in crunch time against Lilliard? No but the guy improved so much moving his feet and not escorting the guy to the rim it was pretty fantastic turnaround even if he isn't perfect.

[Monster]

If anyone will figure out something to defend the 3 point barrage that the league is seeing right now it's Thibs. Kinda fun we have someone of his caliber as a coach.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Good analysis as usual. I'm curious how well Noah can still move. Last year scares me off, and the injuries, but I still think he'd be a great fit if he were anywhere near his old self.

On the wings, I liked the improvement LaVine made on that end last year, but the real key to your hedging and switching, Q, would be Wiggins stepping up his defensive game and getting another rangy wing/forward who can switch defensively. It's weird to think, but could Payne be that guy? Not ideally. But on our current roster, if we needed to deploy a defense to do what you're asking for, I'd look to him before Bazz and Bjelica. But those two, especially Bjelica, are more valuable offensively. So I wouldn't want to count on that next year. The more I think about it, swapping out Bazz (maybe with the pick this year) for a longer 3 and D guy just makes too much sense unless we happen to land a guy like Deng in free agency.

A guy like Deng is someone that I think fits the bill perfectly because he could switch on a variety of players and hang with them with his combination of length, strength and mobility.

Wiggins absolutely has to step up his defense, just like every other T-wolf. And he could be a huge part of the solution if he decides to toughen up and play more determined on that side of the ball. One of his big issues is fighting through screens, which is really important when not deploying a switching strategy.

As for Payne, yes, he has the physical attributes, but not the IQ. He's just an undisciplined player and leaves his feet too damn much.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Well said Q, I was having the same thoughts as I was watching that game last night. The number of 3's and the accuracy in which they were being made was crazy. That's how the game is played now. That's why Green is for sure a top 10 player in my opinion, so valuable on both sides of the ball.

That's also why I'd like to see KAT stay at the center position, he's actually one guy Green would struggle to defend, mismatch nightmare.

I was also thinking last nights game was a good example to show the limitations to Rubio's value and long term impact on a playoff contender. It would be very difficult to have a guy who struggles shooting and creating for himself off the dribble on the court in crunch time if a game was played anywhere near how last nights was played.

Green has the ideal combination of traits defensively: Sturdy base, quick feet, dogged determination, and long arms. He can guard practically any position. But KAT could give him a lot of problems for sure.

As for Rubio, this board has been through that debate a gazillion times. We've seen Rubio QB offenses that score tons of points and closed out elite teams in the 4th quarter. Not every team needs a PG like Lillard or Curry in order to close out games.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

Batum is the best perimeter defender available in free agency and Deng is a pretty good perimeter defender. A guy who we might be able to acquire is Robert Covington. If we are looking at the draft, I think there are some guys who should be good perimeter defenders in the NBA: Pat McCaw, Wade Baldwin and Taurean Prince. If you want a big who has the size and quickness to defend on the perimeter its Dragan Bender. Timothe Luwawu is another guy who projects to be a very good perimeter defender.

[Carlos Danger]

Sadly, our wings are generally bad at this. Our best 3 point defender last year statistically? Kevin Martin, who held guys 2.4% below their average. I'd love to hear what some guys here think about that!

Rubio was at.2% below, which is right around average. And LaVine and Wiggins' opponents shot .6 and .7 percent better, respectively, with those two guarding them, which is a little more below average than Rubio is above it. Tyus was the worst though, giving up 5.6% higher 3pt percentages than his opponents averages.

There are guys out there who held their opponents to 10-13% lower 3 point percentages for the season. Ginobili and Troy Daniels actually reached the 13% threshold last year, which is impressive. Other names showed up relatively high for a couple years, not necessarily guys you'd imagine though, like Marcus Thornton and OJ Mayo. Nick Calathes was up there two years in a row. Otherwise there's a lot of variety, so it's tough to say with a great deal of confidence that a guy is consistently good at this.

Open three pointers is more about team defense than individuals getting beat by their man. For example, good teams find the weak link and begin zipping the ball around before the defense can react for an open look.

Remember those gifs from early in the season when the Spurs were literally spinning Wolves defenders in circles whipping the ball around for open looks?

Spot on regarding team defense. The Wolves finished near the bottom of the NBA in FG% allowed and defended FG% allowed. Was that the players? Or more of a system failure? I always leaned towards the later - but we'll find out soon enough with new coach.

[MikkeMan]

Batum is the best perimeter defender available in free agency and Deng is a pretty good perimeter defender. A guy who we might be able to acquire is Robert Covington. If we are looking at the draft, I think there are some guys who should be good perimeter defenders in the NBA: Pat McCaw, Wade Baldwin and Taurean Prince. If you want a big who has the size and quickness to defend on the perimeter its Dragan Bender. Timothe Luwawu is another guy who projects to be a very good perimeter defender.

Batum best perimeter defender available? Based on DRPM, he is not even close to same level than Deng and eye test from this years playoffs agrees with those numbers.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

Batum is the best perimeter defender available in free agency and Deng is a pretty good perimeter defender. A guy who we might be able to acquire is Robert Covington. If we are looking at the draft, I think there are some guys who should be good perimeter defenders in the NBA: Pat McCaw, Wade Baldwin and Taurean Prince. If you want a big who has the size and quickness to defend on the perimeter its Dragan Bender. Timothe Luwawu is another guy who projects to be a very good perimeter defender.

Batum best perimeter defender available? Based on DRPM, he is not even close to same level than Deng and eye test from this years playoffs agrees with those numbers.

I'd probably agree that Deng has been the better overall defender, but on the perimeter, http://www.nba.com/magic/gallery/cohen-8ball-ranking-nbas-best-perimeter-defenders-1/5/16I find more support for Batum, although a strong case could be made for Deng too. Batum seems to appear on more rankings of top perimeter defenders and most of the analysis on him praises his perimeter defense. Batum plays very good isolation defense limiting opponents to 38%. His DRPM was worse this year than the previous two years. He ranked 36th out of 98 shooting guards (previously he was 20 and 26 among SGs)