Is Regular Season Defense overrated?

[BigKAT]

I mean, we've all seen the playoffs.

We've seen Teams who weren't great defensivly take it up a notch just by trying harder. Durant turned into a much better defender in the playoffs. OKC as a whole became better. So did Cleveland and such.

San antonio's legendary nearly all time defense in the regular season just wasn't that special in the playoffs.

So what do you guys think?
Do people give too much credit for regular season defense?

I mean if you have the offense to get a 100, why exert extra energy by shutting down your foe to 80 once you have the solid lead?

I think some teams are just not trying that hard in the regular season once they solidified a win.

[FreezingTsmoove]

No

For example the TWolves were the worst regular season defense in the league and it showed with their dog shit record

[GimmeThat]

just beginning of the season maybe. by near all star break, even if teams know what type of defensive schemes they intend to play in the playoff, they are still going to have to play it in the regular season depending on the opponent, in any case where the regular season offense isn't overrated.

it's easy to think that certain players become better in the playoff defensively, but then, they never had to fill the void for the fact that it's a series instead consistently facing different opponents


if we were to really ask this question, Major League Baseball is the one more to question if anything, since they already play formats of facing the same opponent for 3-4 games.

what exactly is different then? the pitcher probably gets a lot less blame for being stubborn I'm guessing. But then, hey, there are reasons why as to batters consistently choking it up in the playoffs

can that really all be mental/psychological since it's a none-contact sport? I suppose conditioning might be a slight argument, but the clocks ticking like never before, and some people just believe in their teammates I suppose.

you can count how many pitches you can throw at me, I can also count how many pitches you are capable of

[warriorfan]

I mean, we've all seen the playoffs.

We've seen Teams who weren't great defensivly take it up a notch just by trying harder. Durant turned into a much better defender in the playoffs. OKC as a whole became better. So did Cleveland and such.

San antonio's legendary nearly all time defense in the regular season just wasn't that special in the playoffs.

So what do you guys think?
Do people give too much credit for regular season defense?

I mean if you have the offense to get a 100, why exert extra energy by shutting down your foe to 80 once you have the solid lead?

I think some teams are just not trying that hard in the regular season once they solidified a win.

Had nothing to do with effort, a common misconception is that the players quit competing on a night to night basis; their defense got better because referees allowed more physical play than the regular season

[LongLiveTheKing]

Yes for example look at Kawhi.

[BigKAT]

Had nothing to do with effort, a common misconception is that the players quit competing on a night to night basis; their defense got better because referees allowed more physical play than the regular season


So you say that the Ref's lesser tendency to call fouls allow for more physical defense? Which in turn makes it easier to stop players?

That's a reasonble opinion.
Especially if you look at guys like Demar Derozen who thrived in the regular season but seemed to really struggle in the postseason where they didn't get as many calls.

[juju151111]

I mean, we've all seen the playoffs.

We've seen Teams who weren't great defensivly take it up a notch just by trying harder. Durant turned into a much better defender in the playoffs. OKC as a whole became better. So did Cleveland and such.

San antonio's legendary nearly all time defense in the regular season just wasn't that special in the playoffs.

So what do you guys think?
Do people give too much credit for regular season defense?

I mean if you have the offense to get a 100, why exert extra energy by shutting down your foe to 80 once you have the solid lead?

I think some teams are just not trying that hard in the regular season once they solidified a win.
Bro Duncan who was leading the league in defense got a knee injury in the middle of the season. Of course spurs defense wasn't the same.

[StephHamann]

Had nothing to do with effort, a common misconception is that the players quit competing on a night to night basis; their defense got better because referees allowed more physical play than the regular season

No regular season is 75% talent and 25% effort. Every year there are teams who give 100% every night and win 50+ games.
Playoffs is 100% talent, because every team plays hard, and the "effort teams" get exposed.

[ClipperRevival]

No regular season is 75% talent and 25% effort. Every year there are teams who give 100% every night and win 50+ games.
Playoffs is 100% talent, because every team plays hard, and the "effort teams" get exposed.

Of course talent always matters but huge factors are also matchups and adjustments. Teams that can exploit certain weaknesses and adjust quicker might squeeze out a series even if they are less talented.

The additional physicality is also a big factor. Some teams are just better suited for the slower paced, physical, half court playoff bball better than other teams.

And there is also the CLUTCH factor. Some stars just shine brighter when it matters most while other stars crumble. Stars can determine the outcome of a playoff series. Just look at the most recent finals. LOL.

So superior talent does not equal the better team winning 100% of the time.

[RedBlackAttack]

There are factors beyond just effort and more physical play allowed that separate playoff defense from regular season. In the playoffs, you face the same opponent in a 7-game series which allows for a level of game-planning and preparation that simply isn't possible in the 82-game regular season grind. This favors players who may not be the most imposing defensive players if they're capable of following the game-plan closely and the coaching staff puts together something effective.

That's why the regular season can tend to favor teams that run a funky or unique offense, but come playoff time, they're less dominant. The mid-00s Suns are a good example of a team that was almost impossible to prepare for in the regular season, but was less reliably dominant in the post-season. I might put the Warriors in that same class too, but they have a very good defensive system of their own they can fall back on when the pull-up 30 footers aren't falling.

[tpols]

it's only overrated if the team cant replicate it in the playoffs .. i want to say most teams that finish top 5 or top 3 actually play that way in the playoffs.. those long 82 games set the pattern, but there are definitely some teams that dont.

[BigKAT]

There are factors beyond just effort and more physical play allowed that separate playoff defense from regular season. In the playoffs, you face the same opponent in a 7-game series which allows for a level of game-planning and preparation that simply isn't possible in the 82-game regular season grind. This favors players who may not be the most imposing defensive players if they're capable of following the game-plan closely and the coaching staff puts together something effective.

That's why the regular season can tend to favor teams that run a funky or unique offense, but come playoff time, they're less dominant. The mid-00s Suns are a good example of a team that was almost impossible to prepare for in the regular season, but was less reliably dominant in the post-season. I might put the Warriors in that same class too, but they have a very good defensive system of their own they can fall back on when the pull-up 30 footers aren't falling.

Basically, the 'Surprise' Factor is gone. Is what you're saying.
Let's look at the Bulls collapse to the Wizards three years ago.

Noah was DPOY. The bulls had a great regular season defense.
They were poised to defeat the Wizards, or at least have it be a close series.

Instead? The Wizards mop the floor with them.
Is this not the result of regular season defense not translating well into the playoffs?

[iamgine]

Basically, the 'Surprise' Factor is gone. Is what you're saying.
Let's look at the Bulls collapse to the Wizards three years ago.

Noah was DPOY. The bulls had a great regular season defense.
They were poised to defeat the Wizards, or at least have it be a close series.

Instead? The Wizards mop the floor with them.
Is this not the result of regular season defense not translating well into the playoffs?
It could also be fatigue, injuries or plain bad matchup. After all, the Wiz did have a winning record vs the Bulls in the regular season.

[Spurs5Rings2014]

Bro Duncan who was leading the league in defense got a knee injury in the middle of the season. Of course spurs defense wasn't the same.

Yep, basically went from winning DPOY and #6 after a historic season, being locked in at top 3 all time, to losing in the second round, having to retire and only being locked in at top 5 all time.

:cry:

[StephHamann]

There are factors beyond just effort and more physical play allowed that separate playoff defense from regular season. In the playoffs, you face the same opponent in a 7-game series which allows for a level of game-planning and preparation that simply isn't possible in the 82-game regular season grind.

There you have it, that's effort for me. Those Thibs Bulls teams always gave 100% in the regular season and overachieved, and in the playoffs they had no chance. Carlilse Mavs team are similar, they play hard and grind out 50 wins nearly every year. First round in the playoffs they get ****ing destroyed.