FanPost

Who is at fault?


I read about this notion all the time- D’Antoni does not teach defense. My answer is that all

coaches in the NBA or even in the college ranks teach and stress defense. It is not possible for

any coach to reach the NBA level without an understanding of the importance of defense.

It is has been analyzed, computerized, and filmed for years. There is nothing new on the subject,

and all coaches are familiar with the techniques. It’s nonsense to say that Mr X is a defensive

coach or an offensive coach. All coaches have to adjust to the talent available. If a team has

3 big scorers like Miami, they still have to play tough defense to win. It doesn’t matter what

their style is- whether it’s run and gun or half court basketball, everybody in the league knows

you can not win without defense.

When a team plays poor defense, is it because of the coaching? Possibly, but more than likely

it’s because the players did not execute. It’s almost always because of poor execution or lack

of effort.

If Amare or Melo fail to box out on rebounds, is it D’Antoni’s fault? If they fail to switch,

whose fault is it? What do you suppose the 3 assistant coaches do every day at practice?

They try to correct the problems. The problem here is that Amare and Melo are scoring

machines, but are not adequate on defense. The other aspect is that both are stars and have

to be treated with some deference. You can shout at a rookie, but you can’t do the same

to the stars.