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Who or what is at fault for the defensive collapse that has occurred over the previous 8-10 games

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  • #61
    Originally posted by BillS View Post

    From my perspective I think it has been happening all season. It was less obvious previously because

    1) it was sharper at the beginning but got sloppier as time went on
    2) we were playing teams that didn't take advantage of it
    3) the problem is exacerbated by disrupting lineups due to injury and injury returns
    I agree with you however the only question is regarding #3. In reality earlier in the year we were changing lineups due to injury more frequently. So yes Victor has caused a cascade of events but we have started Small Holiday, Lamb, Brogdan, Tall Holiday & McConnell at some point over the season. Why was there not more disruption then?


    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

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    • #62
      Originally posted by kent beckley View Post

      I have been pretty sure this whole time that this is a second account opened by V. I think he forgot which account he was signed in to.
      oops....

      Comment


      • #63
        Originally posted by Peck View Post

        I agree with you however the only question is regarding #3. In reality earlier in the year we were changing lineups due to injury more frequently. So yes Victor has caused a cascade of events but we have started Small Holiday, Lamb, Brogdan, Tall Holiday & McConnell at some point over the season. Why was there not more disruption then?
        Note the stretch at the beginning of the season where folks were thinking we would completely miss the playoffs because we were so bad. Things then actually stabilized for a while until we lost Brogdon over and over and then Vic came back.

        But there's a reason I have that listed third - the other two have more effect, I think.
        BillS

        A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
        Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

        Comment


        • #64
          Originally posted by BillS View Post

          Note the stretch at the beginning of the season where folks were thinking we would completely miss the playoffs because we were so bad. Things then actually stabilized for a while until we lost Brogdon over and over and then Vic came back.

          But there's a reason I have that listed third - the other two have more effect, I think.
          That makes sense.

          My thought about comparing this current teams structure to the team that had Roy/Paul/George etc. is that the personnel are different. To me schemes of any type have to be somewhat catered to the players playing it. This was one of the main reasons I hated O'Brien was that while his offensive scheme made sense whenever he would describe it or you read it, it just never worked because he did not have the players to play that style. You can blame Bird for this as much as Jim to be honest with you, you don't have Jim O'Brien be your coach and then go and draft Roy Hibbert & Tyler Hansbrough. So that was on Bird.

          I digress.

          The reason that defensive scheme worked so well with Paul George (6'11" wingspan) & George Hill (6'9"wingspan) & to some extent Lance (6'10"wingspan) is because each of them are blessed with ridiculously long arms and Paul & George were each grade A defenders while Lance was at times a C but whenever he focused he could be a B+ defender.

          Now to be fair Malcolm has the same wingspan as Paul but he is just not the defender. Victor is an A defender himself and T.J. Warren has made himself very useful with quick hands (however he has the shortest wingspan of all the above at 6'8".

          But I think the thing mostly is this. Even just going back 5 years ago teams are just more willing and capable of ripping off a series of long distance shots that in the past they may not have been so willing to do.

          But I think your reasons are logical as well.


          Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

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          • #65
            Originally posted by Peck View Post

            Let's just go with this and assume that it is mostly correct (I'm not sure it is but for the sake of my question let's say so).

            Why? What happened between 3-4 weeks ago that caused all of our wing players to do this?
            Our guards/wings were never particularly good at doing that, imo. Brogdon is, as many have said, too slow-footed and upright in his stance to guard other PGs so most of his opponents blew by him earlier in the season as well. Lamb has been worse at it lately than he was earlier in the year. He's struggling a bit lately, in general. Maybe it's due to the transition to a back-up role. He did have an quite good game last night, though, so kudos for that. I also think that Aaron was generally quite adept at shadowing his opponent so taking him out of the rotation has played a role (albeit small since he didn't play a ton of minutes anyway).

            But, frankly, what changed the most is simply that Myles hasn't played a ton of minutes lately due to the illness and some strange coaching decisions by Nate. He is an important part of our defense, whether some posters on here like it or not.

            Last edited by Peck; 02-13-2020, 11:55 PM.
            Originally posted by IrishPacer
            Empty vessels make the most noise.

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            • #66
              Originally posted by Cubs231721 View Post

              One other thing I would like to point out is that maybe the premise of your question is wrong as well. You describe it as a collapse. But if we look back at the last 10 games (starting with the GS game which is often cited as the start of this problem), which have not been good defensively, it's not even the worst 10 game defensive stretch of the season.

              So maybe it's just a rough patch. Other than the Portland game, it's not jump off the page bad defense, just not good either.

              I can tell you things are a little worse almost across the board. Teams are shooting better, the Pacers are fouling more and rebounding less.
              This also holds merit. ESPN showed something pretty interesting in their telecast yesterday. They said that during the 6-game losing streak we held the lead going into the 4th in 4 of those games. So, we had the game in our hands and we threw it away. Defense was not the only reason we did that. The lack of offensive execution down the stretch also played a big role.
              Originally posted by IrishPacer
              Empty vessels make the most noise.

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              • #67
                Originally posted by Nuntius View Post
                The lack of offensive execution down the stretch also played a big role.
                In parallel with the pretty impressive string of years where we've had a team that plays exceptional team defense we have also had teams that go into complete scoring limbo for stretches of 3-5 minutes or even more.

                We get pressed or complacent and begin settling for quick contested long-range shots with no one in position for an offensive rebound.

                Now, that last part I believe is because of the emphasis on getting back on defense - we'd rather prevent the opponent having a break than fight for second-chance points.

                But I am really tired of the long stretches of bricked jumper after bricked jumper.

                I would note that last night after the Bucks' run instead of continuing to try to hit the desperation 3 we took the ball inside to try for the easier basket or the contact and foul. That's about the first time we've done that.
                BillS

                A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
                Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

                Comment


                • #68
                  Originally posted by BillS View Post


                  I would note that last night after the Bucks' run instead of continuing to try to hit the desperation 3 we took the ball inside to try for the easier basket or the contact and foul. That's about the first time we've done that.
                  Did they? After the Bucks cut it to 4, here are the next Pacers shots:

                  Warren 17 footer-make
                  Lamb 3 pointer-make
                  Warren 3 pointer-make
                  Brogdon 2 free throws
                  Brogdon 14 footer-make
                  Oladipo 18 footer-make

                  Seems more like they hit a bunch of jump shots. Now while most of those jump shots likely involved drives to start the play, the other games where they missed jump shots probably did as well.

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                  • #69
                    Originally posted by Cubs231721 View Post

                    Did they? After the Bucks cut it to 4, here are the next Pacers shots:

                    Warren 17 footer-make
                    Lamb 3 pointer-make
                    Warren 3 pointer-make
                    Brogdon 2 free throws
                    Brogdon 14 footer-make
                    Oladipo 18 footer-make

                    Seems more like they hit a bunch of jump shots. Now while most of those jump shots likely involved drives to start the play, the other games where they missed jump shots probably did as well.
                    As I was listening on the radio in the car I don't have the same feel as I do when I'm at the game, but I seem to remember these actually coming in the flow of the offense rather than the immediate shots we normally see.

                    Looking back into the play-by-play, the shots were all more than halfway into the possession rather than immediately after getting across the line. Someone could go through video and confirm if needed, but I think the greater point still stands, that it isn't the defense that collapses.

                    I'll grant the offense still relies too much on jumpers, especially when we aren't hitting them and we just keep shooting them over and over.
                    BillS

                    A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
                    Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

                    Comment


                    • #70
                      Originally posted by BillS View Post

                      In parallel with the pretty impressive string of years where we've had a team that plays exceptional team defense we have also had teams that go into complete scoring limbo for stretches of 3-5 minutes or even more.

                      We get pressed or complacent and begin settling for quick contested long-range shots with no one in position for an offensive rebound.

                      Now, that last part I believe is because of the emphasis on getting back on defense - we'd rather prevent the opponent having a break than fight for second-chance points.

                      But I am really tired of the long stretches of bricked jumper after bricked jumper.

                      I would note that last night after the Bucks' run instead of continuing to try to hit the desperation 3 we took the ball inside to try for the easier basket or the contact and foul. That's about the first time we've done that.
                      Yeah, I fully agree. Iffy offensive execution down the stretch is far from a new problem.
                      Originally posted by IrishPacer
                      Empty vessels make the most noise.

                      Comment


                      • #71
                        Originally posted by BillS View Post
                        Someone could go through video and confirm if needed
                        Gladly.

                        Warren's 17-footer -> https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=1...0AST)&sct=plot

                        Lamb's 3 -> https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=1...0AST)&sct=plot

                        Warren's 3 -> https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=1...0AST)&sct=plot

                        Middleton's foul that led to the Brogdon FTs -> https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=1...dair)&sct=plot

                        Brogdon's 14-footer -> https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=1...0PTS)&sct=plot

                        Oladipo's 18-footer -> https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=1...0PTS)&sct=plot
                        Originally posted by IrishPacer
                        Empty vessels make the most noise.

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          Originally posted by Nuntius View Post

                          Our guards/wings were never particularly good at doing that, imo. Brogdon is, as many have said, too slow-footed and upright in his stance to guard other PGs so most of his opponents blew by him earlier in the season as well. Lamb has been worse at it lately than he was earlier in the year. He's struggling a bit lately, in general. Maybe it's due to the transition to a back-up role. He did have an quite good game last night, though, so kudos for that. I also think that Aaron was generally quite adept at shadowing his opponent so taking him out of the rotation has played a role (albeit small since he didn't play a ton of minutes anyway).

                          But, frankly, what changed the most is simply that Myles hasn't played a ton of minutes lately due to the illness and some strange coaching decisions by Nate. He is an important part of our defense, whether some posters on here like it or not.
                          The team is 7-3 without Myles playing this season. The last game the Pacers won prior to that Giannis-less Bucks victory he didn't play.

                          The last 7 games he played, 5 times he averaged more than 28 minutes. Four times he averaged 32 points or more. We lost all but 1 game.

                          The prior 7 games he played (prior to him being out 2 games), he never got 28 minutes. We won all but 1 game. Also, the least he played was 19 minutes against Denver (on the road) when he scored just 3 points in one of our most impressive victories of the year.

                          His FG% is the lowest of his career. His Rebounds per Game are the lowest of his career. This includes his rookie year. His stats are way down from last year which wasn't anything to write home about.

                          I fully realize he looks EXTREMELY good blocking shots. He does stuff that apparently many people are blind to but the fact remains we don't win the more he plays.
                          Last edited by BlueNGold; 02-13-2020, 09:05 PM.

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                          • #73
                            Good God, is there any possible way we could not turn this thread into another "Myles Turner is trash" or "Myles Turner is the most important player ever" thread? Our defense is not about any one player. Myles playing at his peak performance will have nothing to do with teams having continual kick out three's and Myles being the suckiest suck who has ever sucked has nothing to do with our guards not being able to keep their man in front of them.

                            sigh...I'm sure it's already probably to late.


                            Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

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                            • #74
                              Originally posted by Nuntius View Post

                              Our guards/wings were never particularly good at doing that, imo. Brogdon is, as many have said, too slow-footed and upright in his stance to guard other PGs so most of his opponents blew by him earlier in the season as well. Lamb has been worse at it lately than he was earlier in the year. He's struggling a bit lately, in general. Maybe it's due to the transition to a back-up role. He did have an quite good game last night, though, so kudos for that. I also think that Aaron was generally quite adept at shadowing his opponent so taking him out of the rotation has played a role (albeit small since he didn't play a ton of minutes anyway).

                              But, frankly, what changed the most is simply that Myles hasn't played a ton of minutes lately due to the illness and some strange coaching decisions by Nate. He is an important part of our defense, whether some posters on here like it or not.
                              I actually think not playing Small Holiday may have more to do with it than we are all saying. He has his weaknesses but he actually is a very good on the ball defender IMO. Gambles a little to much but not overly so. However Victor is a very good defender as well so you would think that he would more than make up for it.

                              Turner is an important defensive piece, however IMO what is happening to us on the defensive end really doesn't have much to do with whoever is playing the big position. I just feel that this is all about the scheme and whether or not it fits the personnel. However on the other hand, it did seem to work earlier in the year. It could just be fatigue I suppose but my fear is that it is because other teams have had time to witness our defense and have adjusted accordingly. Nate is a lot of things but being a person who adjusts much just isn't one of them.


                              Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

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                              • #75
                                OK Peck. I spent some time Looking at NBA.com stats. We have been allowing much more in terms of fast break points the last 8-10 games compared to the season as a whole. We went from about 14th to 25th in the league in that category. I have not correlated that to lineups but found that interesting.

                                Edit: In conjuction with that, I recall seeing that our 3 point percentage dropped. That might be leading to some long rebounds and fast breaks. Poor shooting can impact the defense. We are also doing very poorly on the offensive boards which does give the opposition more chances for those fast breaks and more pressure on the defense. It's all related.
                                Last edited by BlueNGold; 02-14-2020, 12:18 AM.

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