We know, in the NBA, you have to “choose your poison” as the Americans say. This is all the more true against the best teams and the best players in the NBA, and this night, the Jazz had deliberately chosen to block access to the circle, and not to go out on the shooters after the screens. This is called “drop coverage“, and Rudy Gobert is both there to prevent the screener from opening up the circle, while showing himself in front of the outside player to prevent him from go to the circle. It’s a choice, and during the last playoffs, the Bucks had trapped Trae Young like that.
Except that last night, this defense caused the loss of the Jazz, and it benefited Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. Steve Kerr caused it when a reporter asked him if Klay Thompson had been more skilful over the minutes.
“Yeah, that wasn’t very smart…”
“I didn’t find it to be a dramatic improvement in terms of shot selection, but I think the fact that he could take shots from mid-range, as (Rudy) Gobert was falling back, allowed Klay to get closer to the free-throw line and take a few shots from mid-range. He probably put in four or five, I think, during the game. It allowed him to get into a rhythm. Then he started taking impossible shots, but we know he is capable of putting them. »
Klay Thompson therefore thanks the Jazz for this type of defense…” Yeah, that wasn’t very smart… I’m not going to say that I’m not explosive towards the circle, but I just need to put my feet down and get up when I have that much space. I’m not surprised [par cette défense]but I’m grateful« .
Inevitably, we were waiting for Quin Snyder’s explanation of this defensive option, with a Gobert almost in the zone, with always one foot in the racket.
“When there’s a gap of a meter or two at the start of the action, you don’t even have the option of stepping over the screen. We won’t make it. There is both the player who has the ball for hand to hand. There’s a pick-and-roll situation with insides being placed high, full-backs needing to avoid screens… There are other things you can do, but it makes things more complicated when our attack has an impact on our defense. When you find yourself on transition, and it’s difficult to perform the withdrawal and defend on this type of action. Defending in these situations with screens is complicated, but they were left with too many easy situations. »
A word also from Jordan Poole, author of 31 points. He admits that he prefers to play against a pivot like Rudy Gobert. ” I thought he was going to come out a few times because he’s known for that… He’s a good player to protect the circle. I think he knows the outsides are going to take him out wide, but we just have to play around that. They had success defending like that, and we had to find a way to exploit it. »
