We don't have to stop pressing... Just go to the zone press

[Ham Sandwich]

I think it's pretty comical to say pressing and trapping is out of date. It's not at all, MA has just been stubborn with not switching up how he uses it.

This team played well out of the zone the other night and would do just as well extending it which might open up even more steals.

[ChicoHog]

I don't care about steals.  I care about not giving up easy dunks and open 3's. 

[Sow Lancelot]

I think it's pretty comical to say pressing and trapping is out of date. It's not at all, MA has just been stubborn with not switching up how he uses it.

This team played well out of the zone the other night and would do just as well extending it which might open up even more steals.

Not sure we have the quickness in enough places to be great at it, but we certainly aren't quick enough to play the man-2-man we keep trying. But, I agree it would probably suit us better.

[latrops]

The reason we press isn't really about turnovers or even defense in general.  We do it to force a faster pace.  Essentially, the plan is to get opponents to play our style with the expectation that they will ultimately start making mistakes (turnovers, bad shots) and/or tire.  We just haven't been consistently good enough on either end of the floor to make it work, especially against good teams.

I think Mike knows we could be a statistically more efficient team by pressing/trapping less and playing more conventionally.  However, that would slow the pace, creating fewer possessions on offense, which is the opposite of what he wants to do.

[hogsanity]

The reason we press isn't really about turnovers or even defense in general.  We do it to force a faster pace. 

Which is not nearly as effective now with a 30 second shot clock as it was with a 45 second clock 2 decades ago.

That was one of the things some of us said when people were so excited about the shorter clock when it was introduced a year or two ago. When everyone HAS to play faster it is harder to make them uncomfortable doing so. 

[NWAHog479]

How about dropping back and playing half-court man instead of putting a guy on the ball full-court to say that we "press"... We lost a game single handedly to Josh Richardson a few years back because he made our "press" look like an absolute joke

[hogsanity]

How about dropping back and playing half-court man instead of putting a guy on the ball full-court to say that we "press"... We lost a game single handedly to Josh Richardson a few years back because he made our "press" look like an absolute joke

the half court man has been just as bad due to how they switch every screen. It often leaves Moses guarding someone 25 ft out up top, where his shot blocking ability is use less.

[BRHogfan]

Maybe you guys don't listen, but during one of our games the commentators said they asked Mike about how much time he spends in practice on pressing, and he said he doesn't.  He just lets the player kind of figure it out on their own.

[jm]

the half court man has been just as bad due to how they switch every screen. It often leaves Moses guarding someone 25 ft out up top, where his shot blocking ability is use less.

This is exactly right. Anyone can take the leagues top shot blocker completely out of the game simple by setting a screen out top. It is really that simple to totally remove the pre season player of the year from the game. Think about that for a second; you can make one of the nations top shot blockers totally irrelevent by setting a screen.  You can move a double figure rebound guy to a position on the floor where he has no impact on missed shots by simply setting a screen.