By MATT "MONEY" SMITH
FOXSportsWest.com | PRIME TICKET
March 7, 2011
Playing defense in the game of basketball is different than any other sport.
In football and hockey you have players dedicated to that particular pursuit and that pursuit only. The game of baseball has seen players not commit themselves in the field on the same level they do hitting, but range and arm strength are more talents one is blessed with than actually something you can dramatically improve over the course of your career. In the NBA, where man-to-man defense rules the land, it's not only staying in front of whoever you're guarding, but helping out when a teammate gets beat.
I've talked about it at length in the past and with good reason. No matter what the issue plaguing the Lakers was in the past, I would get the same answer from any player, coach or former player analyst:"they just need to play better help defense." It was so common I would have to preface my interviews before we went on the air with, "please be sure to give me something beyond it just being the defense here." But you could argue it's that simple. The Spurs, Celtics, Bulls, Heat and Lakers are all at the top of the standings in their quest for the best record in the league and all four of them are at the top of nearly every major defensive statistical category.
Playing "D" in the association is comparable to us regular folk eating healthy. You know it's the right thing to do. There's no question it takes commitment, but it's not impossible to accomplish. There's tremendous discipline involved in staying consistent and dedicated. And one small slip-up, and all the good you've done is undone by a giant combo meal with a huge box of fries, massive burger and bucket of sugar-infused water.
I don't know anyone that says, "I have no interest in eating better." That's not the way trying to put the right fuel in your body works. Instead, we list the reasons why it's not happening. Doesn't taste as good, too hard to do it on a busy schedule, by the time I get home it would take me an hour to whip up something that's a lot better for me than a sack with already prepared food handed to me while I was still sitting in my car. Some people will get the eight glasses of water part right, others a piece of fruit or their veggies. Very few can get their schedule around the five smaller meals instead of three big ones, and others are able to cut out the refined sugars completely. But rarely do we meet the person who's put it all together.
Defense in the NBA is very similar.
You might have a perimeter guy who can lock his man up on the outside, but doesn't fight through screens. A big man who will block shots, but isn't willing to bang in the paint to fight for the rebounds he ought to pile up thanks to his size. You have little guys who lead the league in steals, but gamble so often they're beat by their man who waltzes to the hoop for an easy lay in. And then you have your prolific scorers that just don't give a damn about any of it.
Playing great defense in the NBA is not a part-time job. Look at the Miami Heat-Chicago Bulls game on Sunday. These are two of the best teams in the association on defense. Yet late in the game, a blown rotation led to Mario Chalmers giving the Heat a two-point lead when Carlos Boozer or Kyle Korver didn't rotate to cover for Joakim Noah, who was beaten at the three-point line by a much quicker player. On the ensuing possession, Luol Deng misses a free throw and the Heat fail to box out the shooter, and he ends up with the ball in his hands before he's pushed and drew another foul which led to the foul shots that were the game-winning points. You have to commit to playing defense on every possession or you'll get stung.
Since the All-Star break, the Lakers are 7-0. They have a chance to match their season-high eight-game winning streak with a victory against the Hawks in Atlanta. Remember the Hawks were the team that got this string started, succumbing to the Lakers suffocating defense, shooting just 38 percent from the field. They weren't alone. Since the Lakers discovered their defensive identity only two of seven opponents have shot better than 40 percent, and that includes the Spurs, who were boat raced from the second the ball was thrown up for tip at the start of the game Sunday.
San Antonio's 36 percent shooting was the lowest by an opponent on this current Lakers streak, and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, their 28-point deficit at halftime was the largest they've ever faced since opening the AT&T center. Tim Duncan was a miserable -29 for the game, and while he missed some shots that should have gone down, you couldn't deny that Andrew Bynum with his 17 rebounds for the second consecutive game to go with three blocked shots had an awful lot to do with it. Meanwhile Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest continued their tour of dominance on the perimeter, holding Richard Jefferson and Manu Ginobili to just 3-of-13 shooting and a combined seven points.
For all the conversations surrounding Bryant's ball domination, Bynum's malaise, Artest's errant shots and Pau Gasol's fatigue, one thing is clear. If I had paid better attention to the 300 times the coaches said it to me, maybe I would have remembered better. Fix the defense and this team is fine, if they don't commit on that side of the ball, the Lakers aren't winning anything.
Now off to get my giant glass of water, bowl of oatmeal, egg whites and vitamins to start my day. Just hope I can hold off on that cheeseburger when the lunch menu is passed around.
