Is man to man defense irrelevant today in the league?

[PeroAntic]

With the hegemony of the pick and roll and emphasis on off ball movement, does a player being a defensive pest one on one move the needle at all? Today defense its all about not falling asleep on rotations and scouting your opponent so you know whether you trap or hedge or move under the screen or over... It seems the days when we were watching players lock down their opponent individually are long gone.

[Akeem34TheDream]

It is in the regular sesson

[Axe]

What would it mean if kobe's still playing today?

[PeroAntic]

What would it mean if kobe's still playing today?

Nothing since Kobe has shown the ability to adapt to any setting, but it might mean that a guy like Tony Allen never makes it to the league.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Of course man defense is important. When the pick and roll or pop play forces a switch the guy that switches on to the ball better be ready. The ability to defend doesn't matter because you had to switch? That doesn't make sense. What has happened is that versatility as a defender has become more important with the individual still having to defend.

[PeroAntic]

Of course man defense is important. When the pick and roll or pop play forces a switch the guy that switches on to the ball better be ready. The ability to defend doesn't matter because you had to switch? That doesn't make sense. What has happened is that versatility as a defender has become more important with the individual still having to defend.

You could see the same thing from a different perspective. If youre a good on ball wing defender they will just hunt the switch like Doncic does all the time. So anyone who is an expert stopper is effectively nullified. Of course it means that everyone needs to be a better defender in general. but man to man defensive wing specialists are a dying breed.

Basically the most important skill of man to man defenders nowadays is to navigate screens well.

[Real Men Wear Green]

You could see the same thing from a different perspective. If youre a good on ball wing defender they will just hunt the switch like Doncic does all the time. So anyone who is an expert stopper is effectively nullified. Of course it means that everyone needs to be a better defender in general. but man to man defensive wing specialists are a dying breed.

Basically the most important skill of man to man defenders nowadays is to navigate screens well.

Teams have always needed multiple good defenders to be a good defensive unit and you almost never see a championship team that doesn't have a good or great defense. What you don't see is huge contracts going to defensive specialists the way that they do to offensive specialists but that's always been the case. Whoever wins the title this year will at least have three good defenders in their starting 5 and likely 4 or 5.

[Baller789]

Which actually proves his point. It seems man to man defense isn't as valuable as defensive versatility and team defense as it once was.

It also helps that the rules doesn't allow you to play good defense.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Which actually proves his point. It seems man to man defense isn't as valuable as defensive versatility and team defense as it once was.

It also helps that the rules doesn't allow you to play good defense.

Man to man defense isn't related to versatility? This isn't making sense.

[warriorfan]

Man to man defense isn't related to versatility? This isn't making sense.

by versatility of team defense means having basically a whole team of athletic long defenders who can play position-less basketball and switch all day seamlessly. that type of line up is an old school fantasy of don nelson but ironically he never gave a shit about defense.

[Real Men Wear Green]

by versatility of team defense means having basically a whole team of athletic long defenders who can play position-less basketball and switch all day seamlessly. that type of line up is an old school fantasy of don nelson but ironically he never gave a shit about defense.

If a guy is forced to switch on d and he can't defend the guy he is switched on to man-to-man then he is not a versatile defender. If you cannot play individual defense vs. Multiple different types of players then you are not a versatile defender. It is part of the basic definition of what it means to be a versatile defender. How is someone a versatile defender that can't defend? Not making sense here.

[PeroAntic]

The point is from an individual POV, its more needed to be good at rotations and know when (and how) to fight through the screen and when to switch, than being a good on ball defender (disrupt with hands, lateral movement, physicality etc).

If you are the worst defender on your team and the offense is hunting you with screens, you can easily make up in other ways on defense. Steph is a prime example.

I guess its a natural development of defense since the dying out of post ups and massive decline of iso ball.

[Real Men Wear Green]

If you are in the right spot but can't actually defend you're still going to be a target. You have to good in both areas to be a good defender. The modern defensive specialist deals with switches. Really they always have.

And regarding Curry, he's not a terrible defender and he's so great on offense that you have to put up with the points he may surrender. That kind of offensive superweapon doesn't have to be perfect.