- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Zions defense and team defense as a whole
Posted on 8/7/20 at 11:54 am
Posted on 8/7/20 at 11:54 am
I keep reading everyone’s take on Zion being slow on defense and it’s a sign of poor conditioning and him being too over weight. But my question is how do you come to this conclusion when on offense he doesn’t show that slowness. Does the half court line sit on the equator and he is lighter and faster on one side of it? The answer is no.
His defense is just like the defense of every other big man employed in Gentrys game plan. It’s horrible. I mean the man came out a few years ago and plain out stated that they don’t want everyone trying to get a rebound on the defensive side because they want people running up the floor for fast break points. This also goes to defensive positioning. If you watch closely when they other team shoots, the majority of our team are already heading in the other direction.
Defense has not, is not, and never will be important to Gentry and therefore his players.
His defense is just like the defense of every other big man employed in Gentrys game plan. It’s horrible. I mean the man came out a few years ago and plain out stated that they don’t want everyone trying to get a rebound on the defensive side because they want people running up the floor for fast break points. This also goes to defensive positioning. If you watch closely when they other team shoots, the majority of our team are already heading in the other direction.
Defense has not, is not, and never will be important to Gentry and therefore his players.
5
Posted on 8/7/20 at 11:58 am to stbpike24
There are moments where he looks fine on defense but he’s not getting all the switches. Which is sometimes him and sometimes another guy not switching to his man when he goes to help out.
Overall I think a lot of it is mental.
You have to know what you’re doing 100%
He’s not terrible just manning up.
Overall I think a lot of it is mental.
You have to know what you’re doing 100%
He’s not terrible just manning up.
Posted on 8/7/20 at 12:21 pm to stbpike24
Zion's issue is that he is getting lost on defense. A lot of Zion's struggles can be tied to off-ball.
He has struggled to stay with his mark when that guy is a floor spacing 4 or 5. Especially when they run those guys off of pin downs, multiple screens, or pick & pops. He has not done a good job maneuvering around screens to stay attached to his man.
Off & On ball switches - The team as a whole has struggled with whether or not to switch or stay with your man, but this has really been a struggle when it is both bigs having to make the decision. There seems to be a lack of communication or confusion with the scheme from game to game when both the 4 & 5 have to make a decision to switch or stay at home.
Overall court awareness - There are too many instances where Zion turns his back to either his mark or the ball and just loses track of what's going on in a given possession. At times it just looks as if he is floating around on D like a Free Safety and he is often out of position.
Lateral Step - as great of an athlete as Zion is, it is quite surprising to see that he doesn't really move well laterally defensively. I just expected that that would be something he would be good at and he would become and excellent switch defender. He can still get there but at the moment he struggles to move laterally on D especially when he is screened.
Subpar rim protection - Another surprising struggle with his game is that he has been rather underwhelming as a rim protector. Most of this has been due to him constantly being out of position. His decision making has not been good when his is the defending big in an opponents pick & roll option.
Yesterday's performance from the team was embarrassing defensively. Pels has a true shooting percentage of 68% yesterday. You should not lose a game shooting that well. The Defensive rating was I believe a 138 which is flat out terrible. The team didn't come out to play and the biggest issue was that it looked as if no one gave a shite. There was no intensity or hustle on D. Sac got too many open 3 point and drive opportunities because our guys would not bust their arsses to get over screens.
He has struggled to stay with his mark when that guy is a floor spacing 4 or 5. Especially when they run those guys off of pin downs, multiple screens, or pick & pops. He has not done a good job maneuvering around screens to stay attached to his man.
Off & On ball switches - The team as a whole has struggled with whether or not to switch or stay with your man, but this has really been a struggle when it is both bigs having to make the decision. There seems to be a lack of communication or confusion with the scheme from game to game when both the 4 & 5 have to make a decision to switch or stay at home.
Overall court awareness - There are too many instances where Zion turns his back to either his mark or the ball and just loses track of what's going on in a given possession. At times it just looks as if he is floating around on D like a Free Safety and he is often out of position.
Lateral Step - as great of an athlete as Zion is, it is quite surprising to see that he doesn't really move well laterally defensively. I just expected that that would be something he would be good at and he would become and excellent switch defender. He can still get there but at the moment he struggles to move laterally on D especially when he is screened.
Subpar rim protection - Another surprising struggle with his game is that he has been rather underwhelming as a rim protector. Most of this has been due to him constantly being out of position. His decision making has not been good when his is the defending big in an opponents pick & roll option.
Yesterday's performance from the team was embarrassing defensively. Pels has a true shooting percentage of 68% yesterday. You should not lose a game shooting that well. The Defensive rating was I believe a 138 which is flat out terrible. The team didn't come out to play and the biggest issue was that it looked as if no one gave a shite. There was no intensity or hustle on D. Sac got too many open 3 point and drive opportunities because our guys would not bust their arsses to get over screens.
Posted on 8/7/20 at 12:28 pm to stbpike24
He’s great moving forward and is pretty much unstoppable once he picks up steam. Great elite footwork and a quick spin move allows him to quickly turn and drive to the post.
The issue is that moving on offense is different compared to moving on defense. On defense you’re moving backwards, laterally, and there’s a lot of stopping on a dime and changing direction when adjusting to pump fake, hesitation moves, or crossovers.
Zion’s lateral quickness isn’t there right now and he is slow stopping on a dime and when he is forced to change directions. This was never an issue at Duke. He could move like a guard on defense. And when he did get beat, he recoverEd 90% of the time on the trail. There’s simply too much weight for him to carry making hard for him to change directions.
The issue is that moving on offense is different compared to moving on defense. On defense you’re moving backwards, laterally, and there’s a lot of stopping on a dime and changing direction when adjusting to pump fake, hesitation moves, or crossovers.
Zion’s lateral quickness isn’t there right now and he is slow stopping on a dime and when he is forced to change directions. This was never an issue at Duke. He could move like a guard on defense. And when he did get beat, he recoverEd 90% of the time on the trail. There’s simply too much weight for him to carry making hard for him to change directions.
Posted on 8/7/20 at 12:47 pm to stbpike24
quote:I don't think it's that at all.
I keep reading everyone’s take on Zion being slow on defense and it’s a sign of poor conditioning and him being too over weight.
I think it's lack of effort coupled with just not knowing where to be and when to be there.
Zion has played 4 games and 76 total minutes in the Bubble, and he has 0 steals and 0 blocks. Given what we saw from him at Duke, I just think that 100% comes down to a lack of effort.
This post was edited on 8/7/20 at 12:50 pm
Posted on 8/7/20 at 12:57 pm to shel311
Zion makes JJ look like a lockdown defender. The dude is fat and lazy on defense.
Posted on 8/7/20 at 1:00 pm to stbpike24
Also, rookies are also generally pretty poor defensively when they enter the league. Zion has barely seen any game action in his very shortened season, so I’m more impressed with what he’s been able to do on offenses than disappointed in his poor defense on a team that consistently plays poor defense thanks to bad coaching.
Posted on 8/7/20 at 1:03 pm to Froman
quote:This is fair
Also, rookies are also generally pretty poor defensively when they enter the league. Zion has barely seen any game action in his very shortened season, so I’m more impressed with what he’s been able to do on offenses than disappointed in his poor defense on a team that consistently plays poor defense thanks to bad coaching.
If he were giving effort but just looking lost it would be less of a concern. But he looks lost AND he doesn't give much effort.
It's not some huge concern but much like his conditioning, it's just something to keep an eye on going forward.
Posted on 8/7/20 at 2:46 pm to shel311
I mean if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s hard to give 100% because you’re worried about making a mistake.
When I’ve watched him man up he’s trying and putting the effort in, but he doesn’t understand all the switching at what it.
He’s also had very little time to play with his teammates.
When I’ve watched him man up he’s trying and putting the effort in, but he doesn’t understand all the switching at what it.
He’s also had very little time to play with his teammates.
Page 1 of 1
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News