Hi All,
Latest post is up where I look into how to slow down the Spurs offense. Specifically looking into their ball movement which is a major factor in their offensive rating.
I have discovered some trends in 2016 Spurs losses and outline in detail how a team could replicate applying defensive schemes to mimic what has worked against the Spurs this season.
check it out at www.zigzaganalytics.com
4 keys to stopping the Spurs offense
Re: 4 keys to stopping the Spurs offense
Comments made at the article.
What aspect of the Cavs' play will you select for analysis? Their lack of ftas? Slow pace? Lack of blocks and steals? Irving? James today vs. past?
What aspect of the Cavs' play will you select for analysis? Their lack of ftas? Slow pace? Lack of blocks and steals? Irving? James today vs. past?
Re: 4 keys to stopping the Spurs offense
Thanks for the comment crow.
Great idea, I have the raw data to look into it. One of the reasons I didn't go to the level of detail was that coaches will generally have there own philosophy of how to stop the ball from getting to spots and as you mentioned it can be done a number of ways (fronting the post, wing defender sagging off), I would need to look into all Spurs games and not just losses. I'm just working on a couple of other posts at the moment, but will get back to looking at it.
My own assumption and from the "eye test" of watching Spurs games and what has seemed to work would be....
1. For the low post, teams have seemed to prefer fronting the post and trying to move Aldridge & Duncan physically as far off the low block as possible. So if the defender cant front the post then Aldridge, Duncan are at least getting the catch a few feet further from the block and will have to try and pound there way closer to the basket with some dribbles and backing there way closer to the basket which can be prone to turnovers/fumbles.
2. If Parker is throwing the entry pass, I'd assume teams would sag off him and sit the defender in front of the post player. You wouldn't give that much room to Green, Ginobili or Mills who would fire up an uncontested 3.
3. I do recall Igoudala using his length in the Jan blowout game vs the Spurs where he anticipated the pass into the low post and would sag off a little and deflect the entry pass. Length at the wing spot certainly makes the entry pass difficult.
4. Stopping the pass into the Elbow is a lot tougher, that will be an interesting one to see what the data shows in terms of defensive positioning of the bigs. Again I recall some really active hands by the Warriors perimeter players and forcing deflections....active hands is a pretty tough one to extract from data.
Interesting to see if the data matches my assumptions and "eye test".
As we approach and move through the playoffs, I will try and get through as many teams as I can (including the Cavs) in the same manner i did with the Spurs where I identify what has worked against certain teams and i will present what i guess can be termed "actionable analytics' where i will provide a mock scouting report.
I don't just like looking at the data and presenting findings but I also watch a lot of games to confirm what the data is saying stacks up against what i'm seeing in games. In most cases watching games is where I first get my theories on trends, then I can then dive into the data to see if there actually is a trend.
Great idea, I have the raw data to look into it. One of the reasons I didn't go to the level of detail was that coaches will generally have there own philosophy of how to stop the ball from getting to spots and as you mentioned it can be done a number of ways (fronting the post, wing defender sagging off), I would need to look into all Spurs games and not just losses. I'm just working on a couple of other posts at the moment, but will get back to looking at it.
My own assumption and from the "eye test" of watching Spurs games and what has seemed to work would be....
1. For the low post, teams have seemed to prefer fronting the post and trying to move Aldridge & Duncan physically as far off the low block as possible. So if the defender cant front the post then Aldridge, Duncan are at least getting the catch a few feet further from the block and will have to try and pound there way closer to the basket with some dribbles and backing there way closer to the basket which can be prone to turnovers/fumbles.
2. If Parker is throwing the entry pass, I'd assume teams would sag off him and sit the defender in front of the post player. You wouldn't give that much room to Green, Ginobili or Mills who would fire up an uncontested 3.
3. I do recall Igoudala using his length in the Jan blowout game vs the Spurs where he anticipated the pass into the low post and would sag off a little and deflect the entry pass. Length at the wing spot certainly makes the entry pass difficult.
4. Stopping the pass into the Elbow is a lot tougher, that will be an interesting one to see what the data shows in terms of defensive positioning of the bigs. Again I recall some really active hands by the Warriors perimeter players and forcing deflections....active hands is a pretty tough one to extract from data.
Interesting to see if the data matches my assumptions and "eye test".
As we approach and move through the playoffs, I will try and get through as many teams as I can (including the Cavs) in the same manner i did with the Spurs where I identify what has worked against certain teams and i will present what i guess can be termed "actionable analytics' where i will provide a mock scouting report.
I don't just like looking at the data and presenting findings but I also watch a lot of games to confirm what the data is saying stacks up against what i'm seeing in games. In most cases watching games is where I first get my theories on trends, then I can then dive into the data to see if there actually is a trend.