It's getting close to the end of the regular season in the NBA and for 16 well-deserved teams, the real season begins. The rest are left to ponder what never was and what changes need to be made in the future. I watched the playoff-bound Miami Heat against the lottery-bound New York Knicks tonight and you could tell just by looking at how the teams played on defense which team was going to the playoffs and who was not,



On the Ball, Crowd their Space:

I just want to focus on defense on the ball. If you don't close out properly on defense, bad things happen. In this first sequence, Crawford of the Knicks just lets Daequan Cook of the Heat shoot the open 3-pointer right in his face. He doesn't even move on the pump fake,

In this second sequence, Beasley gets the ball at the top of the key, despite Harrington giving him all this space, he still gets to the rim with ease and the help defense is nowhere to be found, and there was a defensive foul to boot,


I'm not sure what the vibe is in NYC, but I have to say, that my own personal opinion is that Mike D'Antoni's 7 seconds or less is not a good fit. When I think of the Knicks, of NYC, I think of tough, dog-eat-dog, no holds barred attitude. I think of New York Giants tough defense. I think of Mariano Rivera tough. I think of Charles Oakley, Patrick Ewing, Bill Bradley and Willis Reed tough. I think of the rough and tumble playgrounds of Rucker Park, the quintessential "New York City" point guards with the likes of Mark Jackson, Kenny Anderson, Rod Strickland, and yes, even Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair.

My point is, this style of play doesn't fit the character of NYC. This city is one that has educated basketball fans. They don't need to be "entertained" with a high-flying high-scoring gimmicky-offense, yes, I said "gimmick". This isn't Phoenix after all, MSG knows what a winner looks like and this ain't it.

Summary:

Much is made about when Lebron James makes his move to NYC. If and when that happens, 7 seconds or less isn't the style of play that suits Lebron James's skills either. Could he adapt to it? Sure, but why would he? Shouldn't the system adapt to him? To be sure, the Knicks have improved over their dismal record last year, but 30-51 is still nothing to be happy about. Defensively, the Knicks have worsened both in FG% and points allowed, ranking in the bottom 3 in each this season.

For more great video info on defensive close outs, check out Seth Greenberg's DVD on Closing Out and Defending Special Situations. Coach Greenberg is the head coach at Virginia Tech. Discuss this and the rest of your favorite basketball topics at the X's and O's Basketball Forum.