AD's defense

[Thepeelsessions]

I don't get to watch any games. I just get to go off stats and nba.com highlights. So I want you guys to tell me about AD's defense. I know coming out of College, he was considered a major enforcer inside the paint. So what's happened? I see a lot of box scores where we get abused by opposing bigs. Was all his college hype due to his shot blocking skills? Is his defense really that **** poor? Is it our defensive philosophy? How do we get such a poor defensive product when we have a self proclaimed defensive minded coach, with so called "elite defenders"?

[AUSSIE_PELICAN]

College and the NBA are very different.

AD had the skills, but it takes a lot longer to teach a player defence then it does offence.
He get's lost in the help defence.

He will get there.

[lsutigers33]

I would like to see AD play some 3, but our other bigs stink.

[nolaslim213]

He is probably an above average defender, but he is only 21. NBA defenses are much more complex than college, so he'll get there. Just takes time.

[ramsters60]

He is probably an above average defender, but he is only 21. NBA defenses are much more complex than college, so he'll get there. Just takes time.

I agree with this, but in the meantime, most games will be lost because of defensive lapses and silly turnovers.... even with the turnovers, offensive point production will seldom be the culprit.....

[Thepeelsessions]

I agree with this, but in the meantime, most games will be lost because of defensive lapses and silly turnovers.... even with the turnovers, offensive point production will seldom be the culprit.....

I agree. We pour in the points, but we also allow it too. That's what's so frustrating! No one on this team plays disciplined defense. No one. And that comes down to coaching.

[Perth_Hornet]

If the other team passes it around for 20 seconds or so of the clock, they normally always get a drive and score because no one on this team can concentrate on defense for all 24 seconds.

[Eman5805]

AD still has a lot to learn. Very few people are elite defenders in the NBA when they're friggin' 21. And those that are usually are terrible offensively.

[tyler]

I think people falls in love with the blocks and the steals and all of a sudden thinks that he is a lock down defender when actually he is an average defender probably below average.... but I'm to much of a fan to say he is a below defender

[DefensiveMind]

AD is a below average defender in a vacuum. His length, athleticism, and the fear he causes makes him passable. He'll get better, but these last few weeks have very poor. He's being asked to make too many reads and you can see him turning into a passive bystander.

[Perth_Hornet]

I don't get to watch any games. I just get to go off stats and nba.com highlights. So I want you guys to tell me about AD's defense. I know coming out of College, he was considered a major enforcer inside the paint. So what's happened? I see a lot of box scores where we get abused by opposing bigs. Was all his college hype due to his shot blocking skills? Is his defense really that **** poor? Is it our defensive philosophy? How do we get such a poor defensive product when we have a self proclaimed defensive minded coach, with so called "elite defenders"?

http://firstrowau.eu/sport/basketball.html is your friend

[tyler]

AD is a below average defender in a vacuum. His length, athleticism, and the fear he causes makes him passable. He'll get better, but these last few weeks have very poor. He's being asked to make too many reads and you can see him turning into a passive bystander.

well there you go I don't have to say it he already did

[Pantazis76]

Yeh.. his being asked to make too many reads because our perimeter cant defend to start with, his no where near as bad as ryno and changes ALOT of shots, this thread shouldnt exist, his size is an issue physically, but his still probably the best defender on this team

[tyler]

Yeh.. his being asked to make too many reads because our perimeter cant defend to start with, his no where near as bad as ryno and changes ALOT of shots, this thread shouldnt exist, his size is an issue physically, but his still probably the best defender on this team

yea....no I would give that award to jrue

[Thepeelsessions]

Haha, thanks Perth, but ive tried firstrow before. I just can't get over the lag and grainy picture. It's awful. I'd much rather listen to the radio broadcast, but I can't even get that either. I do league pass free trials when I can, and will sometimes hit up a bar for nationally televised games. Hopefully TNT will get us on and have it avaliable on TNT overtime. I think we played GS earlier on TNT, and I was fully expecting it to be on overtime, but it wasn't.

[DroopyDawg]

AD is an elite shot-blocker, but below-avg defender. There's a difference.

Dennis Rodman was an elite defender, but not much of a shot-blocker.

[HornetGuru]

yea....no I would give that award to jrue

easily.

[PhilJFry]

So a purely statistical look at how AD has effected our defense this year. He lowers the opposing teams ORtg by 6 when he is on the court.

AD on/off: http://www.basketball-reference.com/...2/on-off/2015/

Compare that to Asik makes almost no difference and Ryan Anderson is makes opponents 6.6 point per 100 better.
Omer on /off: http://www.basketball-reference.com/...1/on-off/2015/
Ryan on / off: http://www.basketball-reference.com/...1/on-off/2015/

Defensive ratings of our 3 big men lineups:
Omer/AD: 100.7
Ryan / AD: 106.3
Omer / Ryan: 117.5

Just the fact that opponents are scoring 17 more points per 100 possessions when we switch AD for Ryan along side Asik is astounding and probably a testament to how bad Ryan has been on defense. But even switching AD in for Omer, when paired with Ryan, gives us significantly better defense than the other way around.

I agree that AD still has a ways to go on the mental side of NBA defense; rotations, staying home on pump fakes and post moves, pick and roll defense, etc. But I think it's safe to say that he's at least average on that side of the ball and I would argue he's pretty easily above average.

[hornetsrebirth]

Davis first developed his basketball game as a guard, and to me he has yet to fully become comfortable in the role of NBA big man. He is best on offense when facing up an opponent but not as effective posting up. He has great range as a defender but is surprisingly average at defending bigs 1 on 1 in the post. He is a great player and still young so plenty of room to grow still.

[tyler]

So a purely statistical look at how AD has effected our defense this year. He lowers the opposing teams ORtg by 6 when he is on the court.

AD on/off: http://www.basketball-reference.com/...2/on-off/2015/

Compare that to Asik makes almost no difference and Ryan Anderson is makes opponents 6.6 point per 100 better.
Omer on /off: http://www.basketball-reference.com/...1/on-off/2015/
Ryan on / off: http://www.basketball-reference.com/...1/on-off/2015/

Defensive ratings of our 3 big men lineups:
Omer/AD: 100.7
Ryan / AD: 106.3
Omer / Ryan: 117.5

Just the fact that opponents are scoring 17 more points per 100 possessions when we switch AD for Ryan along side Asik is astounding and probably a testament to how bad Ryan has been on defense. But even switching AD in for Omer, when paired with Ryan, gives us significantly better defense than the other way around.

I agree that AD still has a ways to go on the mental side of NBA defense; rotations, staying home on pump fakes and post moves, pick and roll defense, etc. But I think it's safe to say that he's at least average on that side of the ball and I would argue he's pretty easily above average.

I'm not talking about his on and off the court ratings. The ratings I want to know is what is the field percentage he is holding opponents to.

[PhilJFry]

I'm not talking about his on and off the court ratings. The ratings I want to know is what is the field percentage he is holding opponents to.

http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/203076/tracking/defense/

[tyler]

He holds his opponents to 50% at the rim

[tyler]

http://stats.nba.com/tracking/#!/player/defense/

[Asteptooslow]

AD is an awesome defender. He has to help a lot of bad defenders.

[PhilJFry]

He holds his opponents to 50% at the rim

I'm not saying he's perfect (there is plenty of room for improvement), but Marc Gasol and Tyson Chandler and Asik are also right around 50%. But decreasing your opponents ORtg by 6, holding opponents under their average from all distances, leading the league in blocks, and top 30 in steals is a pretty good indication that he is at least an above average defender.