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View Full Version : Lets talk zones now that the finals got so many people googling them.



Kblaze8855
06-16-2019, 04:39 PM
I was amazed how many people apparently never saw a box and 1 till Jeff Vangundy told them what it was. It was apparently trending on twitter for a while. We used to talk about some of these things years ago but I cant find some of the topics. I distinctly remember posting a clip of a box and 1 played against Jordan by I believe the Bucks who got called for it. All I could find searching was this from 2008 on the subject of things I loved about basketball:



All forms of and 1 zone defenses. Diamond and 1 being my favorite. Just once id like to see a team guard a Dirk or Lebron type that way just to see what happens.

It feels like anyone who played high school ball or watched a lot of college ball should have been well aware of those defenses. And it turns out some coaches were concerned about them when the discussion on allowing zones first came up...




''I think it's a huge mistake,'' Miami Coach Pat Riley said last week. ''There's not going to be anybody able to drive. With these rules, you're going to be back in the 70's in scoring. You can't force pace.''

''It sounds very bold, and it is,'' acknowledged Jerry Colangelo, the Phoenix Suns owner and chairman of the committee that submitted the recommendation two weeks ago. ''But at this point, it's better than a tweak. The fact is, we don't have any fluidity in our game right now. There is less ball movement and less player movement than there's ever been.''

Most opponents of the rule changes agree with Colangelo that the game has become too stagnant and that the choreography of teamwork has all but disappeared from many arenas. But they don't feel such a dramatic change will suddenly turn the game into the free-flowing style that will raise television ratings and increase fan interest.

''It would change the sport,'' said Tomjanovich, one of the most vocal opponents of the zone defense. ''We should create a situation where great players get a chance to excel. Zones neutralize great athletic ability. People want to see guys who can soar to the basket.''

Calling the committee's proposed changes a ''knee-jerk reaction to complaints about the pace of the game,'' Riley added: ''Fans like to see Vince Carter play one on one outside. That stuff is going to be history. Isolation basketball has been part of the game ever since I've been in it.''

Other coaches like George Karl and Phil Jackson -- weary of the increased focus on defense and the plodding halfcourt sets that have led to the game's stagnation -- are fine with the changes.

''I'm totally O.K. with the zone,'' Jackson said. ''It's going to hurt Shaq, but it's still part of what the game has to be.''

Of more than two dozen players interviewed, an overwhelming number were against zone defenses.

''It will mess the game up,'' Portland point guard Damon Stoudamire said. ''I'm not a big advocate of zone defense. That's the reason why players leave college. You're going to put a box-and-one on Vince Carter? Fans are paying money to see these games. You can't just take away what has essentially made the N.B.A. what it is: one-on-one basketball.''




I dont know what Riley was thinking far as scores going into the 70s. The NBA was already having scores in the 70s.....and a few years later the GOAT defenses in the Pistons and Spurs were not playing zone. The Pistons especially were straight man.

At the time when expansion had made some many one man army teams with stars who had no real sidekicks(VC, Tmac, AI, KG and the like) I can see why they would have concerns. But now? Teams are deeper with offensive talent and even the ones who arent have offense friendly rules making it so every decent scorer can put up 18 a game.

I like to see the zones a bit now. I hope we see enough that guys arent running to google next time to see what a standard college and below defense is. Not like they were running a 1-3-1 amoeba D that would need to be explained to non hardcore fans who dont remember UNLV.....


Zones were never as well implemented as everyone feared they might be. The few teams that use them dont use them much. It is good to have the option though. I dont know if I like the concept of illegal defense in retrospect.

Guys are too good. Whatever I have to do to stop them short of violence should be fair.

And a little violence isnt always out of line either....

eliteballer
06-16-2019, 07:31 PM
Coaches and players always adjust.

It's not like Zones were something no one had ever seen before.

Kblaze8855
06-16-2019, 07:33 PM
Of course. They were just annoyed with the possible adjustment. But teams never used them as much as initially thought they would.

qrich
06-16-2019, 07:33 PM
I've never understood the negative stigma that playing zone defense carries, namely at the high school and AAU level. Running a zone defense is really no different than running plays on offense and a strategical move.

When I coached Frosh/Soph ball a few years ago, my team never sat in the same defense more than 4 possessions in a row. Opponents hatred it.

Kblaze8855
06-16-2019, 08:09 PM
A lot of players feel it

egokiller
06-16-2019, 08:21 PM
I could tell who's never played basketball in their life when I was at the sports bar with people asking what a box and 1 was. Discuss a diamond and 1 and watch their head explode.

We ran that shit when I was 12 years old.....:lol

qrich
06-16-2019, 08:23 PM
I could tell who's never played basketball in their life when I was at the sports bar with people asking what a box and 1 was. Discuss a diamond and 1 and watch their head explode.

We ran that shit when I was 12 years old.....:lol

When the Dubs had Curry and Klay, I suggested that Nurse goes to a triangle-2.

People said I was making stuff up :facepalm

UK2K
06-16-2019, 11:25 PM
I've never understood the negative stigma that playing zone defense carries, namely at the high school and AAU level. Running a zone defense is really no different than running plays on offense and a strategical move.

When I coached Frosh/Soph ball a few years ago, my team never sat in the same defense more than 4 possessions in a row. Opponents hatred it.

You know who runs zones?

Teams that cant play fundamental man defense. That includes hedging, switching, and rotating.

You know who runs multiple zones?

Teams that cant play one defense well enough for it to be effective.

Might work in lower level basketball where kids havent been exposed to certain defenses or been taught how to effectively beat them...

The only zone run in college that is effective is Syracuse's zone, which is basically a super zone with man concepts.

But you see how well Syracuse has done over the past decade. They've sucked balls.

Kblaze8855
06-17-2019, 05:33 AM
You know who runs zones?

Teams that cant play fundamental man defense. That includes hedging, switching, and rotating.

You know who runs multiple zones?

Teams that cant play one defense well enough for it to be effective.

Might work in lower level basketball where kids havent been exposed to certain defenses or been taught how to effectively beat them...

The only zone run in college that is effective is Syracuse's zone, which is basically a super zone with man concepts.

But you see how well Syracuse has done over the past decade. They've sucked balls.


The zone is like shooting FTs granny style. It would work better for some but too many are too proud to commit to it. Feels like admitting you suck...in the eyes of the players at least.