Why Don't Teams Play Full Court Defense Any More?

[DonDadda59]

- its a smaller more versatile league. its a lot easier to break a press with four ball handlers than it is with three. and then you have draygawd type lineups that would make it downright impossible

Excellent point. Probably easier to beat a zone trap or press in the back court with Chris Bosh as your center than it is with Patrick Ewing at that spot.

- im willing to bet coaches have learned better. maybe im wrong but a defense probably expends a lot more energy trying to contain with that much space than an offense expends trying to break out right? and more on the cost-benefit, the potential for easy buckets is high and can be extremely demoralizing

It's possible. Especially in an era where the game's best player begs to play less minutes during the season.

This generation is way too talented for any of that stuff to work i mean come on....This is a generation that grew up watching mj aka the goat.Just watching him makes you 2x the player you would of been if you never seen him play

Yeah that's probably it. Makes perfect sense.

[DonDadda59]

Celtics playing watered down full court press vs Deron Williams & Nets

Even without being able to physically impede the ball handlers, that press really disrupted the Nets' offense. Odd that you don't see that more, especially against lesser teams as Ridonks pointed out.

[Balla_Status]

Does Team USA do it in international competition? Seems like they could tear shit up doing a full court press.

[fourkicks44]

"Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans.Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door."

[dubeta]

Players can dribble now

[DonDadda59]

Players can dribble now

Oh, Indeed

^That's old man Bean making prime LeBron look like a middle schooler by playing him full court with handchecking. I'd hate to see what a prime Pippen would've done to him.

[Poetry]

Players can dribble now

[DonDadda59]

[fourkicks44]

Should've went to college. Could have been one of the best pro players ever.

[John Tesh]

You'd commit too many fouls after the rule changes.

This. You can't physically stop players like you used to.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Takes significant energy to defend full court

[DonDadda59]

Takes significant energy to defend full court

Yeah, probably too much to ask a bunch of multimillionaires with access to world class training and nutritional infrastructure to exert some energy like part time used car salesmen used to back in the day.

[sammichoffate]

Half-Court trapping became the norm after hand-checking was done. If you don't pick up Curry slightly beyond the three, you have no chance in the PnR.

[DonDadda59]

Got them gifs.








The few times you see it today:

[aj1987]

Celtics playing watered down full court press vs Deron Williams & Nets

Even without being able to physically impede the ball handlers, that press really disrupted the Nets' offense. Odd that you don't see that more, especially against lesser teams as Ridonks pointed out.

They basically put the game away by playing 4 minutes of defense.

Miami's defense from '11 and '12 ('13 to an extent) was just incredible. It was fun to watch Wade, LeBron, and Bosh shutdown players and entire teams. Wade from '09-'12 instead of Wade from '11-14 on the Heat with LeBron and Bosh would've been fun as hell.