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While free agency is at the forefront of everyone's thoughts right now, mine keep drifting away to our defense. What is it about our defense that is so.....distressing?
First, let's try to avoid the worn out blasts against Harden and McHale. I get it. Harden would be a world-class matador. McHale is a lap dog who can't hold Harden accountable. Worse than that, he thinks "tactics" are little orange mints that come in tiny, plastic containers.
So, let's try and look deeper than scapegoat levels. Anyone who watched the majority of our games last season can attest to the fact that all of our players had individual defensive issues of one type or another. I can live with that--there is no such thing as a perfect defender and that's not really the point of the game, is it?
Ultimately, our team defense is what matters--the final score. Opposing teams are going to take shots. It's about how difficult those shots are, how many go in, and controlling those pesky rebounds. Seems simple enough, right?
I went looking for some compelling statistical evidence, or support, to try and see what is good and what is bad. The longer I looked the more convoluted it became. Our numbers are decent--not great. Yet, we are in good company in many significant categories.
On percentage categories we rank pretty well. Due to our 5th ranked pace our volume numbers get skewed upwards (something we already knew) making our per game stats seem more problematic than they actually are.
One of my favorite indicators of team play is the net plus/minus. At NBA.com, we rank 5th behind the Spurs, Clips, Thunder, and Heat. That's a good thing. However, that masks our 19th ranked defense (based on points/100 possessions).
There are so many numbers available today it becomes burdensome. Here is what we know. We've got a team of elite athletes at every position. There is no reason any one of them cannot play defense. It's not like we're talking about the Shawn Bradleys and Gheorghe Muresans of the world--these guys can all move their feet and have enough strength to stand up to their opponents. So that's not the problem.
What's left? Focus, effort, preparation, familiarity, trust, experience. These are the words players use (fans prefer more colorful terms that often include a multitude of bodily functions). I like these words. I think they are valid and pertinent. It takes all of these to operate a successful team defense--and we're learning.
Think about it. Until recently, even DPOY Dwight Howard was somewhat of a stranger to team defense. He had always been a one-man wrecking crew in the middle frightening would be shooters by sending anything within 4 feet of the rim into the 5th row of the stands. As this season wore on, I found that the slight decline in his athleticism has forced him to reconsider his approach--and that is a good thing. He's truly learning to play his position now. I think moving forward we will see less of "Highlight Dwight", but his effectiveness will improve overall.
T-Jones has all the tools (outside of a couple extra inches...save the "that's what she said" jokes, please) to be a superb weak-side, help defender. Where he lacks is in the focus, preparation, and experience departments. That will come. I have no doubt he will spend countless hours watching film of himself getting lost, out of position, and committing bad fouls over the Summer. He will learn to be more disciplined and let the play come to him and then let his athleticism do what it does. Hopefully, they show him some tape of Chuck Hayes as well so he can learn to hold his ground and not get backed down as easily in the post.
Parsons, while the least athletic player on the floor, has the size and smarts to compensate and play solid defense. His future is cloudy to me. Will he ever return to his rookie form? Once he gets paid can he get back to the business of being a solid two-way player? We know he can....
Harden, well, we'll see. Much has been said and seen and I don't want this to turn into a Harden bashing thread. We all know he needs to do better. Speculating as to why he played the way he played doesn't give us answers, nor does it provide hope. Also, his exploits have been blown way out of proportion. The way most talk, you'd think any schmoe from the local YMCA could take Harden to the rack. Make no mistake, Harden is a physical specimen and would destroy us all. I'm not worried about his ISO defense. His team defense is what matters and, according to the numbers I can find, he is actually solid in this department. So, let's move on and, please, try and save the belligerent Harden-bashing for other forums.
Patrick Beverley. Once again, hyperbole takes hold in peoples' minds and a player who hustles on defense, makes plays, and is a guy you can't seem to take your eyes off of gets put on the roller coaster of public opinion. Beverley makes no claims--the media and the fans do. He didn't ask for the label of "shut-down", "stopper", or any other exaggeration. If anything, he probably prefers "pest". He doesn't claim to stop, or shut down, anybody. He claims to make your day a tough one and to do the things he hates to his opponent. That's it. He does this pretty well. Moreover, I think he is a solid defender and his team defense is slightly under-rated. He shades well and funnels players to the help defense consistently (or where the help defense should be--which makes him look like El Matador, himself, at times). In reality, that was a team defense breakdown. Bev is solid, and his offense takes a lot of unnecessary criticism as well.
All in all, the pieces are there. They have the ability. They just need time to come together and an asst. coach to install a solid foundation and system. Anyone who has tried to make homemade pasta sauce (probably chili in these parts) knows you can't just throw everything in the pot, give it a stir and expect it to be great. It takes time. Transformations happen. Things blend together and form a single, better entity. Houston's defense is in this process and will probably require all of next season to get close to that final product.
Perception is what it is, and the path of least resistance is a law of nature. It is easy to recall the most egregious failings and point the finger at the obvious scapegoats, but that ignores the big picture and the grand intricacies of the game.
"Harden sucks! McHale sucks!" "We'll never win a title with those guys!"
Come on. The Clippers were everything we were last season, plus everything we weren't: top guard at his position who plays tough on both ends of the floor plus a top-flight coach with a proven track record. Guess what? They nearly got bounced by Golden State and were then thoroughly trounced by OKC. So, perhaps it's a bit more complicated than simply getting guys who "don't suck".
With more experience and a new found focus and vigor, the Rockets are poised to improve on their offense and defense next year. Even if free agency yields little more than new butts to fill in the bench we will be improved. There will still be lapses on defense and terrible, youtube-worthy lowlights of players getting blown-by and posterized. Deal with it. Every single team deals with that. These guys are amazing. What we need to focus on is the big picture. Solid team defense that limits high percentage opportunities and gobbles up rebounds. Based on what I've seen, I think we are on our way.
