The value of a block on defense?

[turk3d]

You probably never saw Bill Russell. One of the things he always preached (as later a coach and an announcer perhaps the greatest defensive Center ever) who specialized in blocking shots and rebounding was to keep the ball in play when you block the shot.

What he meant by that was a skilled big man who blocks the shot has the ability to direct the ball wherever he wants. Why not to a teammate? Not really that much different than directing a jumpball but probably a lot easier since the offensive player is coming at you and throwing the ball up in the air (similar to a jb) but there's no opposing Center you have to outjump.

You just have to know where your teammates are. He was a master at doing that. Instead of swatting it into the stands (goes back to the offense) and making another ESPN highlight reel, why not tip it out to one of your teammates and start a fast break? It's really doable and is smart basketball.

[Dipper 13]

Russell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE6kIu34Qsc&t=38m35s


"One year {1969} we were playing Philly in the first round," he recalls. "I blocked the first seven shots Luke Jackson took. My object was to take him out of the series, so they'd have to play another center who was far less efficient, and they would not be able to utilize one of their strengths.



"Once I blocked seven shots in a row. When we finally got the ball, I called timeout and said, 'This **** has got to stop.' " Some years Russell would be so exhausted after the playoffs that, as he describes it, "I'd literally be tired to my bones. I mean, for four, five weeks, my bones would hurt."


Sports Illustrated - May 10, 1999

Sanders: "There's no reason why some centers today couldn't block shots like Russ did. Only no one has the intestinal fortitude. A center blocks one shot now, the other team grabs the ball and scores, and the center stands there pouting, with that I-can't-do-everything look. Russell would block three, four shots in a row—I mean from different players—and then just glower at us."

was to keep the ball in play when you block the shot.

What he meant by that was a skilled big man who blocks the shot has the ability to direct the ball wherever he wants. Why not to a teammate?

Plus he could recover it himself and outlet with the softer wrist flick block. All it took was a deflection. Below we can see how he keeps his arms up when defending after a fake, both in a practice drill and in playoff competition vs. Willis Reed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cxnVdpVm4o&t=2m32s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v9_aiXvoSc&t=17m44s






Now this is his signature block. Excellent reflexes for a 6'10 C.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v9_aiXvoSc&t=12m49s

[turk3d]

Some pretty cool footage. I'll never forget that lucky shot that Nelson made to win that one series for the Celtics.

[TwentyOne920]

Mr Howard's recent block led me to bump this topic. Fundamental shot blockers like Russell and Duncan almost always manage to gain possession of the ball even if they don't make SportsCenter.

[Sebastian]

A good poster boy this year for the value of a skilled shot intimidator over a just swat at everything shot blocker (lookin' at you, Ibaka) is Omer Asik.

Over his career, he has consistently been an elite post defender. His defensive on/off numbers have always been through the roof, both overall and strictly with regard to efficiency around the rim (I no longer have access to this stat -- maybe someone can find it).

However, this year his block rate has fallen to a pedestrian 2.9%, down from a very good 5.0% last year (as a reference point, Howard has a career 4.5% rate, topping out at a career high 6.0% three seasons ago). The likely reason is that he fouled at a very high rate with the Bulls (5.1 PF per 36) and the only way for him to limit foul trouble as a starter was to temper his aggressiveness re: blocking shots. Well now he's blocking only one shot a game, yet he's still one of the 2 or 3 best interior defenders in basketball.

Anecdotally, I noticed when he was a Bull that his defense did not falter when he picked up his fourth and fifth fouls. Many bigs shy away from contact at that point; they stop contesting jumpers and allow every shot near the hoop to go up uncontested as well (Carlos Boozer is the epitome of this when he picks up a quick foul in the first quarter. His defense pretty much shuts down out of fear from getting foul #2). Asik, on the other hand, continues to body up his man. He doesn't give up any real estate down low just b/c he's in foul trouble. Rather, he stops going up on pump fakes and instead keeps his arms up and his feet on the ground. When the shot does go up, he doesn't jump toward the defender/the ball -- he jumps straight up, greatly minimizing the chance that he will pick up a foul while not sacrificing his defensive integrity. This, of course, is how you're supposed to defend. It's textbook (of course very few players have such discipline on defense. Russell and Duncan are the ultimate examples for proper post defense in this regard).

Now that he's in Houston and constantly defends from that frame of mind, the success and increased discipline has carried over. He's trading in his blocks for less fouls without sacrificing any impact.

So in short, yeah, blocks don't really matter and are one of the most overrated counting stats. The ability to make shots harder without constant fouling/goaltending is much more important than simply racking up blocked shots (by the way, is shot alteration still a secret team-only statistic or can we casual fans access it somewhere? I'm too lazy to go digging around for it).

[Dr Pepper]

Duncan fanboy posting again. Not all shotblocking is equal and Duncan's arguably the GOAT shotblocker (see post on 1st page) and defender of his generation. Just wanted to update that he's having a career high Block% (6.7%) and 2nd career high blocks per game at 2.8 bpg. Those numbers are nearly double what Duncan averaged in recent seasons, and has helped lead the Spurs to having the 3rd best defense in the league which is a significant jump from last season's 10th spot

[turk3d]

A good poster boy this year for the value of a skilled shot intimidator over a just swat at everything shot blocker (lookin' at you, Ibaka) is Omer Asik.

Over his career, he has consistently been an elite post defender. His defensive on/off numbers have always been through the roof, both overall and strictly with regard to efficiency around the rim (I no longer have access to this stat -- maybe someone can find it).

However, this year his block rate has fallen to a pedestrian 2.9%, down from a very good 5.0% last year (as a reference point, Howard has a career 4.5% rate, topping out at a career high 6.0% three seasons ago). The likely reason is that he fouled at a very high rate with the Bulls (5.1 PF per 36) and the only way for him to limit foul trouble as a starter was to temper his aggressiveness re: blocking shots. Well now he's blocking only one shot a game, yet he's still one of the 2 or 3 best interior defenders in basketball.

Anecdotally, I noticed when he was a Bull that his defense did not falter when he picked up his fourth and fifth fouls. Many bigs shy away from contact at that point; they stop contesting jumpers and allow every shot near the hoop to go up uncontested as well (Carlos Boozer is the epitome of this when he picks up a quick foul in the first quarter. His defense pretty much shuts down out of fear from getting foul #2). Asik, on the other hand, continues to body up his man. He doesn't give up any real estate down low just b/c he's in foul trouble. Rather, he stops going up on pump fakes and instead keeps his arms up and his feet on the ground. When the shot does go up, he doesn't jump toward the defender/the ball -- he jumps straight up, greatly minimizing the chance that he will pick up a foul while not sacrificing his defensive integrity. This, of course, is how you're supposed to defend. It's textbook (of course very few players have such discipline on defense. Russell and Duncan are the ultimate examples for proper post defense in this regard).

Now that he's in Houston and constantly defends from that frame of mind, the success and increased discipline has carried over. He's trading in his blocks for less fouls without sacrificing any impact.

So in short, yeah, blocks don't really matter and are one of the most overrated counting stats. The ability to make shots harder without constant fouling/goaltending is much more important than simply racking up blocked shots (by the way, is shot alteration still a secret team-only statistic or can we casual fans access it somewhere? I'm too lazy to go digging around for it).

You just reminded of something else that Russell taught for defense in general, not leaving your feet. Big men in particular may not even have to jump, especially when they have a long wingspan and good timing in order to block a lot of shots. By jumping, they put themselves in a position whereby they can get faked which a lot of times can cause them to get fouls or miss they actual shot that they're going after.

I also liked what you said about Duncan being "the best shot blocker of this era". No one can really compete with some of the old centers from way back imo. Another guy who I might add to the mix of great shotblockers is Olajuwan who although did knock his share of swatted balls to the sidelines did know how to keep balls in play for the most part and had exceptional timing.