Can defense be learned?

[Collymore]

You can tell a ton about a player's innate IQ by watching how quickly and deeply that player understands defensive concepts and why they're so important.

So, based on watching Steve Nash play defense, what would you estimate his IQ to be? 90?

So, Scottie Pippen's IQ is about 180 then, right?

So I guess Einstein had the tools to be the best defender of all time?

Or maybe Steven Hawkins?

I'd watch a show where someone like JR Smith keep torching Steven Hawkins and doing the bird walk. Nothing like a good freak show.

[LLJ]

Help defence and rotations can be taught. But you can't teach the ability to physically keep up with your man. To be a good perimeter defender, you do need to be athletic. But I think big men have the most work to do and the most to keep track of on defence though. So they need to be smart and quick and be able to anticipate 2 or 3 steps ahead to be an elite defender.

[OlDirtMcBert]

Look at Tony Allen. It's a safe bet playing for Eddie Sutton had a lot to do with his defense. When a player sees how tight a defense can play with the right direction, it's not like they lose that knowledge when they're playing for a different oriented system. James Harden is a joke in Houston, but he played pretty decent defense for Okc. Being in a slower, defensively prioritized system always makes the defense of a Tony Allen or Dwight look better. Look at the late/early1990/2000's Pistons.

[RSCD3_]

All defense is learned somewhere along the way.

IQ is not learned. (And by IQ, I mean what psychologists mean by it, not the lame bastardized definitions where it's equated to knowledge, which is what most people mean by "BBIQ," and which is a distinctly different concept.) IQ is almost completely static throughout a person's lifetime. A player with a genius-level IQ had roughly the same IQ as a kid and will have roughly the same IQ as an old man (unless ravaged by neural disease, brain injury, or perhaps severe and extended malnutrition).

The higher the IQ, the faster, easier, earlier, and deeper defense is learned and understood.

Geniuses learn defense very early. They understand good defensive principles from the very first year of pee-wee ball, regardless of which sport we're even talking about.

The lower the IQ, the longer it takes to learn anything, defense included, and the shallower the understanding will be. But it can still be learned. It just takes way more effort and way more time than it does for a high IQ player.

This applies to every human endeavor. Sports is not unique.

You can tell a ton about a player's innate IQ by watching how quickly and deeply that player understands
defensive concepts and why they're
so important.

Glad you brought up what IQ's really mean because people have such a messed up idea of them

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[Johnlac1]

Help defence and rotations can be taught. But you can't teach the ability to physically keep up with your man. To be a good perimeter defender, you do need to be athletic. But I think big men have the most work to do and the most to keep track of on defence though. So they need to be smart and quick and be able to anticipate 2 or 3 steps ahead to be an elite defender.

Yes, you can teach how to keep up with a defender. But while a certain amount of athletic ability is essential, defensive reactions can be worked on. Bill Russell and Aaron Craft both worked on defensive moves.

[King of Canada]

Defense is EXACTLY the same as offense. It's not entirely teachable. Just like you can't teach an average NBA player with all of the physicial gifts to be a star scorer, you can't teach every player to be great on both ends. Different people are great at different things. Look at rebounding. You can't teach that either past the basic skills of boxing out, etc... Some guys are just gifted at being where the ball is going to be, and getting their hands on it. Likewise some people have defensive instincts and some people don't.

[diablerouge]

Up to a point.

If defense could be learned, Steve Nash would have been an elite defender. Even if you know where to go and how to rotate, if you can't stay in front of your man, you're not going to be a great defender.

steve nash never gave a s--- about defense, routinely took plays off and the next time he'll fight to get over a screen will be the first time.

lateral quickness can only be improved up to a point, i agree. but effort and, most importantly, preparation is key on the defensive end. jj redick struggled mightily his first few seasons in the league but he studies players' tendencies and actually gives a crap.

[madmaxmedia]

If you're really willing to grind (on the court and in practice), you can get a lot better at defense. There's an upper limit depending on your athleticism, instincts, etc., but many players never reach their upper limit anyway.

[madmaxmedia]

Defense is EXACTLY the same as offense. It's not entirely teachable. Just like you can't teach an average NBA player with all of the physicial gifts to be a star scorer, you can't teach every player to be great on both ends. Different people are great at different things. Look at rebounding. You can't teach that either past the basic skills of boxing out, etc... Some guys are just gifted at being where the ball is going to be, and getting their hands on it. Likewise some people have defensive instincts and some people don't.

Fundamentally, yes. But most players practice a lot more offense than defense skills, so I think league-wide most players are less likely to reach their defensive potential than their offensive potential. So generally there's more significant room for improvement at the defensive end for many guys.

Very few HS players become famous and highly recruited for defense, compared to offense. Even recreationally, if you go to the park with a friend you're more likely to spend time shooting than say, "let's do defensive drills."

[Louie_Ruckuz]

Team Defense can be thought, it's all about rotations and common sense. It also depends on the coach and philosophy. But to answer the OP, yes it can be learned.

[martypython]

Not with this guy

To be fair, it's also on Coach McHale to hold him accountable.

[martypython]

Film work is also a factor in how you prepare defensively. You understand your mark's tendencies, you use analytic reports, and you crack down on bad habits (gambling for steals, rotating one pass away, ball watching).

[DWadeno3]

Of course it can, but a lot of players simply have physical limitations, so they can only reach a certain level of how good they can be defensively.

[Dr Pepper]

Defense is a habit and any fundamental skill is tough to develop once you're playing professionally. You need to hone your skills earlier.