“More than anything, we are going to have a system.  The system is going to be laid out from game one.  How we play pick and rolls.  How we function in transition defense.  How we close out, and how we play the post.  There isn’t going to be a gray area.”

Part 1:  Pick And Roll Defense

Transition Defense

The Nets’ transition defense may have been the worst aspect of their defense last year.  According to Synergy Sports, the Nets ranked 26th (the worst ranked aspect of their defense) in transition defense allowing 1.2 points per possession on 60.2% shooting.  With how bad their transition defense is, there are going to be some changes that need to be made, and I think we can look at Avery Johnson’s Dallas Mavericks to see what those changes will be.

As the shot goes up, look at the rest of the Dallas Mavericks.  They are all positioned on the perimeter, and instead of crashing the boards they decide that it is not worth it and they make sure to get back on defense.  This is something the Nets didn’t do a ton of last year.  You had guys like Courtney Lee or Terrence Williams crashing the offensive boards hard, even if there wasn’t a chance to get a rebound.  This often lead to a lot of fastbreak opportunities.  It seems like Avery Johnson doesn’t want that.  I feel like he is going to tell his guys, “You got a chance to get the board?  Great, go after it.  If not, get back.”

Steve Nash gets the outlet pass, takes one dribble and looks to kick it ahead.  This is where the key Avery’s post defense takes place.  Under Avery Johnson, the Mavs liked to pack it inside the three point line and wait for the offense to come to him, instead of running around and trying to find their man.  You didn’t really see that with the Nets last year.  There wasn’t really any trust among the Nets players, and that lead to guys trying to find their man instead of just getting back then finding their man.

As Leandro Barbosa, makes the catch, he wants to quickly attack the basket.  He can’t though because there are two Maverick defenders ready stop the penetration.

So instead of Barbosa getting a wide open lay-up, he is forced into a contested one that he misses, allowing for the Mavs to get the rebound.  Here is the play in real time:

“More than anything, we are going to have a system.  The system is going to be laid out from game one.  How we play pick and rolls.  How we function in transition defense.  How we close out, and how we play the post.  There isn’t going to be a gray area.”

I thought it would be fun to look at a few Mavs games from when Avery was coaching them to see what that system is and if the Nets have the players to execute.  We are going to look at a different aspect that Avery mentioned every week, and today we are starting with maybe the most important part of defense in this era of the NBA, the pick and roll defense.

The Pick And Roll

From what I watched, it seemed that the Mavs had two ways to defend the screen and roll.  They play it one way when the ball handler is a shooting threat and another way when the ball handler isn’t a threat shooting the basketball.

Non-shooter

So Leandro Barbosa is handling the ball and gets a screen from Shawn Marion.  Here, the Mavs don’t consider Barbosa a shooting threat, so they are going to go under the screen.  It isn’t as simple as that though.  To make it easier to get under the screen and to the other side, preventing the penetration, Dirk needs to do some work here.  Dirk takes a few steps back, creating a lane for Devin Harris to bust through.

This frees up the lane for Devin, and he is able to cut off Barbosa’s penetration to the basket.

Shooter

Now, on the next PNR we are looking at, the Mavs are defending Steve Nash.  Nash is someone who the Mavericks’ coaching staff has identified as a shooter.  Because of that, Jason Terry is going to go over the screen, ready to challenge Nash’s shot if he were to pull up.  With Terry going over the screen, Dirk needs to hedge to prevent Nash from getting to the hoop.

Nash gets around the screen, and Dirk challenges him.  This is where another Mavs’ PNR rule shows itself.  Instead of Terry scrambling to get back, he realizes the best bet for the defense is for him to just switch to Shawn Marion.  The Mavs do a lot of this, having a big man show and then if the defender getting screened can’t get back in time. They also look for any opportunity to switch back when they get a chance to try and minimize the mismatch.

Here, Nash is forced to kick it out and Shawn Marion pulls up for a tough jumper.

And now the rebound.  As Nets fans probably realized last year, the possession isn’t over until the defense gets the rebound.  The Nets were awful on the defensive boards, but I noticed something the Mavs did that can help with the Nets defensive rebounding.  They like to gang rebound.  If you notice here, the Mavs send four guys to the defensive board.  The strategy here is that Devin Harris is quick enough to start a break no matter where he is on the court, so he crashes the boards to help get the rebound.

Full Rotations

Now, lets take another look at a PNR defensive possession so we can see the full defensive rotations and see how they work.

Again, it is Steve Nash running the point, so the Mavs execute their PNR defensive strategy.  Devin Harris goes overtop the screen with Dirk coming out to hedge.

However, instead of a pick and pop (like the last possession) the screener, Boris Diaw, rolls to the hoop.  This is the biggest weakness for the way the Mavs defend the PNR, but it can be stopped.  The key is the weakside defender, in this case it is Josh Howard.  Josh Howard needs to sink into the middle of the lane to prevent the roller from making the catch and finishing at the rim.

In theory, it works but here it didn’t because Josh Howard didn’t come to the middle enough, allowing a lane to the basket.  Here, Howard didn’t trust his rotations as he was afraid to come too far off of his man.  That is something that can’t happen when defending the PNR.  Here, Howard should have trusted the rotations and dove into the middle to prevent the lay-up.

Will This Work With The Nets

Without considering the Nets’ roster, I like this style of PNR defense.  It prevents the offense from getting the basket directly off the screen by trying to corral the ball handler.  It puts the offense in a situation where they have to make passes to get a shot off, and the more passes that take place, the easier it is to rotate and the better chance that the defense has to create turnovers.

With that being said, will this work with the Nets?  I think so.  Looking at the Nets’ roster, you have a lot of players who seem like they should be able to defend the PNR effectively.  Unfortunately, we all know that isn’t how it worked out last year.  In my opinion, it all came down to the system, or lack thereof.  The Nets were never on the same page when defending the pick and roll.  One time down the court, Brook Lopez would hedge effectively, but the rotation wouldn’t happen.  The next time down the court, Brook Lopez wouldn’t hedge because he got burned last time, and then the ball handler gets to the basket easily.

With Avery’s system in place, I think the Nets could be effective at stopping the PNR.  What I really like is that the Nets have a lot of athletic wings on their roster (Terrence Williams/CDR ?/Courtney Lee/Whoever we add) that really work when it comes to that late in the possession rotation.

This play is actually a variation of a set that the Nets run very often (Under Little To Big Screen).  In the normal set that the Nets run, Brook Lopez gets a backscreen from a guard (this time Courtney Lee) and goes over it to post up on the block.  However this play includes a read option, according to Brook (when asked if the lob was planned), “We have been running that all year.  Yeah, it’s just a read.”  What Brook reads is his defender, Tim Duncan, and how he defends the screen.

Here, Tim Duncan fights over the screen in an effort to beat Brook Lopez to the block (and not allow him to post up).  Brook sees that Duncan is going over the screen and he gives a jab-step, then goes backdoor off of the screen.

The two Spurs’ defenders who should be in position to help Duncan out are in the wrong spots, leaving the area directly under the basket wide open.

When you can get Brook Lopez behind the defense, you basically have a guaranteed two points if you can make an on target pass.  This is because he is so big, all you have to do is lob it over the defenders and Brook will do the rest.

Devin Harris takes care of things on his end and throws an on target pass, and Brook Lopez finishes with the dunk.  Here it is in real time:

Now, you all know how important I think attacking the basket is.  When the Nets’ do so and are aggressive, they either get themselves to the free throw line or get good looks in close at the basket.  What doesn’t get talked about though is how attacking the basket opens up things on the outside.  The Nets are poor shooters from deep, we know that.  However, when they attack the basket, the Nets give their outside shooters better looks that are easier to make.  Let’s look at a few plays from Saturday night:

This first play is a transition possession.  We have seen Terrence Williams attack the basket the past few games, and the Knicks know that.  As Terrence Williams crosses the three point line, Devin Harris’ man drops down to the lane to meet him.  Williams uses his vision to spot the wide open Devin Harris who knocks down a big three pointer.

On this one, Keyon Dooling attacks the baseline.  Instead of giving up his dribble and trying to force up a  lay-up, he keeps his head up looking for a teammate.  To me, under the basket is the under-belly of the defense.  If you can get there, it forces defenders to focus on the ball rather than their man.  Look at the above clip.  All 5 Knicks’ defenders have their eyes on Dooling, who has his pick on who to get it to on the outside.  Dooling chooses Courtney Lee, who knocks down a three, extending the lead to 16.

Now this might all have happened against a terrible Knicks defense, but the theme is the same.  When you force the defense to make decisions or rotate, there is a better chance that they make mistakes.  And when they make mistakes, the Nets are going to be able to take advantage.

Offense

On offense, the Nets came out of the gate clicking.  The biggest thing is that they were running their sets all the way through.  We know the Nets sets, some of them are pretty good and some of them aren’t, but the biggest problem for the Nets isn’t the actual set.  It is that the Nets’ players seem to get antsy when running things, and plays never get run correctly, or all the way through.  Look at this video though.

This is a play that the Nets run at least 10-15 times a game (not exaggerating), and I think that this is the best they ever ran it.  The first thing is Brook, look how he sets up Devin’s man for the screen.  He fakes a seal, spins, and hits a screen.  Trenton Hassell remains patient knowing the play is developing and waits for Devin to get open.  Devin gets open, and knocks down the jumper.  If the Nets ran all of their sets as hard as that, they would get so many more open jumpers.

One of the reasons the Nets do get antsy when running their sets is because when options get taken away, they don’t know how to react.  Against the Blazers in the third quarter, the Nets were really patient in looking for their other options:

On this play, there are like 3 instances where the main option is taken away.  First, when Devin tries to get it to Courtney, he is denied so Devin gets it to Hassell.  Lee then comes off a double screen, makes the catch, but the shot isn’t there.  Instead of forcing something, he pulls it out.  Brook comes over to set the screen for him, but it doesn’t develop properly, so instead of forcing through the screen and roll, Courtney Lee kicks it to Yi who hits the jumper.

The final thing on the offensive end, is that they pushed it smartly.  When Kiki took over, he wanted the team to push the basketball no matter what.  It didn’t work, but that doesn’t mean running at opportune times doesn’t work:

Here, the Blazers score and instead of walking it up, Devin sprints it up the court.  Nobody stops him, so he gets himself into the paint, pump fakes, and hits the lay-up.  The total time?  4 seconds.

Defense

When coming back, you can’t just score with the other team.  You need to get stops, and the Nets were able to get stops against the Blazers in the third quarter.  I want to look at two clips from the Nets on the defensive end:

The Nets are so poor at rotating on defense.  I have dedicated a bunch of posts to it, so it is only fair to point out when the Nets rotate correctly.  Here, after coming off of a screen, Brandon Roy gets to the baseline (though Yi did a pretty good job of slowing him down).  The help comes, and Roy kicks the ball out to the baseline.  The ball quickly gets swung around to LaMarcus Aldridge, who seems to be open, until Yi rotates out and challenges the shot.

That was good rotation from Yi, but in general, he was completely abused by LaMarcus Aldridge.  So what did the Nets do?  They didn’t let him continue to get abused, they doubled:

The Nets switched up when they sent their doubles.  Sometimes they would do it on the first dribble, but here they sent it right on the catch.  Aldridge isn’t ready for the hard double team and he is forced into a timeout.

While we are only looking at one game, rest assured that this has happened in each fourth quarter of the past 5 or 6 games.  This has been something that has been hurting the Nets for a little bit now.

Poor Shot Selection

In my opinion, it is all about shot selection.  For the past couple games, the Nets have been very aggressive in the first three quarters.  In the final quarter though, they lose their will to attack the basket.  For some reason, they are willing to settle for swinging it around the perimeter and taking an outside shot.  I showed you the shot chart against the Celtics, but now, I am going to show you with some video clips.  The worst part of these shots are the situation.  This first play I am going to show you is with the Nets up two.  Naturally you are going to think that the Nets are going to run the clock down and run something attacking the basket.  Instead, the Nets settle for a three:

Up 2, the Nets settle for a corner 3 with 10 seconds left on the Shot Clock.  Now you can get a contested three point shot at any point during the shot clock, so why wind it down more?  Also, the early three means that the Nets bigs are in poor position to try and get the offensive rebound.  So it is one and done for the Nets.  The Pistons come down and tie the game. So you would think the Nets would want to attack the basket and try to get the lead, nope:

Now on this play, the Nets threw 5 or 6 perimeter passes, then threw it inside and Brook took this jumper.  No attack dribble, no trying to get into the lane.  Just pass, pass, pass, pass, shot.  That kind of offense doesn’t work late in games.  With Brook Lopez shooting a 17 foot jumper, he is out of the lane, and unable to battle for a rebound.  So again, it is one and done for the Nets.  The Pistons get the ball, and score on a brilliant play off the timeout.  The Nets come back and settle for another long contested jumper:

I broke down this play over at NBAPlaybook, so check it out if you want to take a real in-depth look.  This play was doomed from the start, and the Nets were quickly out of sync.  Devin actually had an opportunity to attack the basket, but he went for a step back pump fake.  He then swung it to Courtney Lee who took a contested three.    Now look at the clock, the Nets took 18 seconds to get this shot off.  Now, this is the Nets not knowing the situation.  They started the possession with about 44 seconds left, this gave them the chance to get a two-for-one opportunity.  If they get a shot off with 35-30 seconds left, even if they miss, they don’t have to foul, and this gives them a chance to get a stop, and have another chance at the win/tie.

So What Can The Nets Do?

I am starting to sound like a broken record, but they need to attack the basket.  The good thing is that we are starting to see shades of it.  On Friday against these same Pistons, the Nets went on a 11-2 run in the fourth quarter.  Unfortunately, they returned to their old selves.  I like to blame this on the lack of close game experience the Nets have had.  This is a real young/inexperienced group (Humphries/Brook/Courtney Lee have been out there in the closing moments), and they still are learning how to win (It appears my post on that a week ago was a bit premature huh?).  Hopefully the next time the Nets are in this situation, they will realize attacking the basket is the key to getting wins.

They Got To The Line

During this six minute stretch, the Nets were able to get to the line 5 times, hitting on 4 of them.  If you read this blog on a consistent basis, you know I harp on this.  The Nets are a very good foul shooting team, so getting to the line is guaranteed points.  Why were they able to get to the line so much during this stretch?  They were aggressive:

Here, Marco Bellini is putting some serious pressure on Terrence Williams.  He must not have gotten the scouting report, to play Terrence, you should be giving him space giving up the shot.

Terrence pivots and rips the ball through.  He then starts his attack.  Look at the help defender.  He isn’t selling out on his help because Terrence Williams is now know for getting into the lane and kicking the ball out (plus the Nets’ only shooter Chris Quinn is on the help side).

That little lane allows for Terrence Williams to get all the way to the rim.  The help comes a little late, and Terrence Williams is able to get the foul call.

They Shot Well

The Nets didn’t miss any shots during this 20-3 run.  Don’t laugh, I am serious.  The Nets were 7-7 from the field during this six minute stretch.  A lot of it had to do with getting into the lane:

CDR gets the rebound, and he is in attack mode.  CDR is starting to get more aggressive (turning back to his old self), and that was really apparent during this run.

As he is bringing the ball up, Brook gives CDR a screen.  Brook is really good at this.  Usually as he runs the floor, if he doesn’t beat his man, he sets a screen.  This usually gets the Nets a quick hitting basket when it is effective.

When he comes off the screen, he does something that Nets’ fan haven’t seen in a while.  He attacks.  Instead of passing it off or settling for a jumper on the wing, CDR takes an extra dribble and gets into the paint.

He then pulls up for a jumper, nailing it over the defender.

They Hit Some Threes

It is no secret that the Nets aren’t great from the three point line, but during this stretch, the Nets were able to knock down both threes that were attempted.  The Nets were able to free up their shooter (Chris Quinn) and find him in spots where he can knock down shots:

Again we have CDR getting the rebound and bringing the ball up.  The beauty of having two guys who can bring the ball up (CDR and Terrence Williams) while playing with Chris Quinn is that it allows Quinn to get down the floor and spot up without worrying about bringing the ball up (one of Quinn’s weaknesses).  It makes him more effective.

Brook sets another one of his screens.  Again, we see the old (and better) CDR.  Recently, CDR has been settling, and I was half expecting CDR to pass out of this screen (which is something he has been doing way too much).  Instead, he attacks the basket.

His attack dribble draws the help, and you have Chris Quinn spotting up in the corner.

Quinn makes the catch, and with no defender closing out, CDR knocks it down.

They Played Defense

During the Kiki era, the Nets haven’t been a good defensive team at all.  During this 20-3 run, the Nets were able to play some good defense.  They didn’t let the Raptors hit a shot from the field (their 3 points came at the foul line), as the Raptors went 0-8, including 0-1 from three.  So what was different during this stretch?  Well, there was good rotation.  The biggest difference was one little adjustment that the Nets made during this game:

So the little adjustment that the Nets made was having Chris Quinn putting “token pressure” on the point guard.

Quinn’s job here isn’t to steal the ball (though if he can, why not?).  It is to put some pressure on the basketball and speed up things.  If you are able to speed up most point guards, they tend to get away from what they are trying to do.

Here, instead of trying to set up the offense, Marcus Banks got so sped up that he is just going to take the ball to the basket, without even attempting to run an offensive set.

However, he is met in the middle by Kris Humphries, this is good rotation and good help.

Marcus Banks is still determined to get to the paint, so he tries a lay-up.  It gets blocked by Humphries.  Here is another stop.  This time, the Nets were able to stop the Raptors in the half-court, with some smart off the ball defense:

Again, Chris Quinn is putting on the “token pressure” trying to get the Raptors out-of-sync.

It doesn’t work this time, but it does take up some of the shot-clock.  Look at it.  With 18 seconds, the Nets were able to waste 6 seconds of time.

The play the Raptors are running is one to try and get Bellini an open three point shot.  Terrence Williams recognizes what they are doing, and instead of trailing Bellini through the screen, Terrence Williams goes over the top of it.

And looks what happens because of it.  The pass can’t get made to Bellini, and it kind of blows up the rest of the set.

The ball ends up back in Bellini’s hand (notice how far away from the basket he has it).  Brook’s man is going to set a screen for Bellini, and Brook is going to provide and excellent hedge.

Brook’s hard hedge forces Bellini to make a jump pass falling away from the target.  This means the ball ends up getting lobbed, taking too long to get to the player.

This allows Terrence Williams time to close out, and forces a miss.

Nets’ fans are all too familiar with opposing teams getting offensive rebounds on them, so we know that a stop doesn’t happen until the Nets secure the ball.  Here, the Nets are all boxing out fundamentally, and the ball bounces right into their hands.  I wanted to show you one more screenshot:

This was after a few possessions of Chris Quinn putting pressure on the basketball.  Chris Bosh is now in the backcourt setting a screen for the point guard.  Not a big deal right?  Wrong.  The Raptors are using their best player to set a screen in the backcourt.  That means he isn’t on the offensive end getting open.  So in essence, the Nets were able to take the Raptors best player out of the game, just by putting pressure on the point guard.

Final Takeaway

The Nets aren’t going to make every single shot they take, while holding their opponents to a shooting percentage of 0%.  But there are things the Nets can take away from this run and use moving forward.  The first thing is on the offensive end.  In all of the plays I showed you, the ball was in the paint.  Whether they were able to draw a foul, get a jumper, or kick it out for a three, the Nets were able to get into the lane and be productive.  This is because when the ball gets into the lane, it forces defenders to make choices.  When they make the wrong ones (or the right ones too slowly), open shots happen.  Attacking the basket is a lot more effective than just passing it around the perimeter.

On the defensive end, “token pressure” can really help.  This isn’t something that the Nets can do every single trip (I would use it against the back0up points, since starters are able to handle pressure better).  Also, the Nets rotated correctly and boxed out.  These are two things that the Nets haven’t been able to do in the past.  If they are able to it on a consistent basis, they will be competitive in more games.

After getting the ball inbounds (which they failed at doing their last possession), the Hornets quickly go into a pick and roll. David West comes up and sets the screen, and Chris Paul uses it.

Late in games, teams usually switch every screen, and the Nets are no different.  Because the Hornets probably like to switch screens, they are anticipating the Nets doing the same.  The screen isn’t designed to get Chris Paul to the basket or to get David West open on the roll.  The screen is set to get Jarvis Hayes defending Chris Paul.

After the Hornets get what they want, Paul then attacks. He quickly gets Jarvis Hayes on his hip, and he has a lane to the basket. You would like it if Devin Harris was closer to the middle of the lane, but that is the beauty of how the Hornets set this up. They put Peja (a knockdown shooter that you need to stay with) on the side Chris Paul was going to drive to. This means that Devin can’t help.

Paul finishes the lay-up, and gets fouled, clinching the win for the Hornets.  The Nets set a “moving pick” on their final possession and the rest is history.

Nets vs. Bucks

Defending The Pick & Roll

It’s a side screen and roll here.  Brook shows, to prevent Luke Ridnour from getting to the basket.  So far we are looking good.  Brook is wide, and he is forcing Ridnour towards the baseline.

Luke Ridnour gets to the baseline and he has nowhere to go.  This is where the good defense stops.  As Dooling tries to get back to Ridnour, he needs to get in the passing lane, to make Ridnour’s pass to Bogut harder.  He doesn’t, so as Bogut cuts, he has a clear lane to receive the pass.

So the pass gets made, and since Dooling was out of position, he lunges for the steal, but just misses it.  Notice the wide open lane for Bogut to drive through when he makes the catch.

By the time Lopez and Najera get to Bogut, it is too late because he was already allowed to load up his jump.

And he finishes with the dunk.

Nets vs. Hawks

Defending The 3 Point Shot

The Hawks shot 13-22 from 3 against the Nets.  A lot of these three point shots were wide open looks with no hands in the shooters’ face.  A lot of this was because the Nets gave the Hawks a heavy dose zone, but even in man to man defense, the Nets gave up a ton of open looks.  This was because of poor rotations.

Mike Bibby makes the catch, and he gives Devin a pump fake.  You have to close out hard on Bibby, he is a good shooter, so you have to respect the shot.

After closing out though, Devin needs to use his speed to regain position on Bibby, and not let him drive.  Instead, Harris just reaches.  I can’t understand this, Devin Harris is one of the quickest guard in the league, but slower guards continue to get by him because he chooses the lazy way out and reaches.  Once he reaches here, Bibby puts him on his hip and forces the Nets into rotation.

Lee makes the correct rotation (he rotates over to Al Hortford as the pass gets made), but everyone else is late with their rotations.

As Al Hortford makes the catch, all 5 Nets are in the paint.  After Hortford assess the situation, he realizes that Joe Johnson (one of the better shooters in the NBA) is wide open for 3.

Joe Johnson gets the pass, and is allowed to pull up for 3, without a defender getting a hand in his face.  As the Nets continue to mis-rotate, Nets’ players are going to lose faith in their teammates in terms of rotations.  So instead of allowing his man to get open shots, nobody is going to help, and opponents are going to be able to drive to the lane with ease.  This is what I am most worried about, as this team moves forward, they need to clean up their rotations.