The Brooklyn Nets Defense Thread

[LKIRNets]

THIS THREAD IS MADE TO HIGHLIGHT THE DEFENSIVE GAME CHANGING FACTORS ON OUR CURRENT BROOKLYN NETS TEAM

[LKIRNets]

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the #3 ranked team in post offense



here Afro Allen (19 yrs. old) read & recovered on Taj Gibson in the post to aid in stopping an offensive possession.

[LKIRNets]

Let's follow this up wit one of my favorite plays of the season. And big game changing play.

It hasn't been said enough but Allen Crabbe is in the current stages of transforming into a defensive stopper. Yes you read that right.

Jimmy Butler one of the game's rising iso players here is persued & robbed off his cookies by Allen Crabbe leading into a transition 3 by the Mayor early in the 4th quarter.


To understand why this is such a game changing play on the defense. The Nets rank #30 in transition offense. To see Crabbe's effort on defense leading to this offensive play is just more evidence of how the team is getting better.

[LKIRNets]

Before we go into this defensive set. Let's flashback to the piss poor defense of Bojan Bogdanovic.

Watch on YouTube

here we have the veteran floor leader Demarre Carroll sticking Jimmy Butler. I can't even begin to express how night and day the coverage, footwork and ball pressure by Carroll is vs the days of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and the current case Bojan Bogdanovic.

[Roy Tarpley]

Is there really that much of a difference between how DMC and Bojan covered Butler? It's hard to tell from the angle but I think DMC may have covered Butler half a foot tighter, maybe because he thought he could recover better if Butler drove?

I don't think Bojan's defense was "piss poor" -- he tried, he was low to the ground and mindful of picks, but he probably played off Butler a little too much because he was worried about the drive, and didn't respect Butler's shot enough. But not much Bojan can do there. I'm no fan of Bojan's defense but there's gotta be better examples of poor defensive lapses.

[Roy Tarpley]

But I appreciate the defense thread -- this is a sorely overlooked topic.

[LKIRNets]

Is there really that much of a difference between how DMC and Bojan covered Butler? It's hard to tell from the angle but I think DMC may have covered Butler half a foot tighter, maybe because he thought he could recover better if Butler drove?

I don't think Bojan's defense was "piss poor" -- he tried, he was low to the ground and mindful of picks, but he probably played off Butler a little too much because he was worried about the drive, and didn't respect Butler's shot enough. But not much Bojan can do there. I'm no fan of Bojan's defense but there's gotta be better examples of poor defensive lapses.

Bojan dropped back to the paint wit Lopez waiting to block. He gave Jimmy Butler too much airspace doing that. At no point was there pressure on the ball.

[LKIRNets]

But I appreciate the defense thread -- this is a sorely overlooked topic.

I've been wanting to start one for weeks. Opening up more dialogue and spotlighting the improvement in this team in defensive principles especially on this forum.

[LOUiS-D]

Is there really that much of a difference between how DMC and Bojan covered Butler? It's hard to tell from the angle but I think DMC may have covered Butler half a foot tighter, maybe because he thought he could recover better if Butler drove?

I don't think Bojan's defense was "piss poor" -- he tried, he was low to the ground and mindful of picks, but he probably played off Butler a little too much because he was worried about the drive, and didn't respect Butler's shot enough. But not much Bojan can do there. I'm no fan of Bojan's defense but there's gotta be better examples of poor defensive lapses.

Bojan dropped back to the paint wit Lopez waiting to block. He gave Jimmy Butler too much airspace doing that. At no point was there pressure on the ball.

Yeah if you look at the difference in space at the point where Jimmy gathers the ball into his shot pocket DMC is under a foot away, Bojan is 2-3ft away which in the NBA is an undefended shot. It doesn't matter how close you are when the ball is released, shooters know when their shot isn't going to be blocked based on the space and opponent. Jimmy is able to use the step back because he can fake an aggressive basket drive because Bojan knows he can't keep up so he's sagging off. AND jimmy has the middle of the floor to work with.

DMC shades Jimmy to the sideline, arcing his drive, giving Jimmy his strong hand but denying middle. He knows that Jimmy doesn't want to go left because then he's a right handed shooter defended on his right side. He only gives up enough space to cover a change of direction and closes in as time and space reduce Jimmy's options.

Like Roy said mostly it comes to down to foot speed. You can only cover someone as tight as you can keep up with otherwise you get blown by. It's pretty crazy how much better a team we are defensively in terms of personal in the space of a year. From Lopez/Booker/Bojan/Skil/Foye to Allen/RHJ/Carroll/Crabbe/Din. I know there were injuries, but boy oh boy. That's night and day from an athleticism/body type standpoint.

[LKIRNets]

Is there really that much of a difference between how DMC and Bojan covered Butler? It's hard to tell from the angle but I think DMC may have covered Butler half a foot tighter, maybe because he thought he could recover better if Butler drove?

I don't think Bojan's defense was "piss poor" -- he tried, he was low to the ground and mindful of picks, but he probably played off Butler a little too much because he was worried about the drive, and didn't respect Butler's shot enough. But not much Bojan can do there. I'm no fan of Bojan's defense but there's gotta be better examples of poor defensive lapses.

Bojan dropped back to the paint wit Lopez waiting to block. He gave Jimmy Butler too much airspace doing that. At no point was there pressure on the ball.

Yeah if you look at the difference in space at the point where Jimmy gathers the ball into his shot pocket DMC is under a foot away, Bojan is 2-3ft away which in the NBA is an undefended shot. It doesn't matter how close you are when the ball is released, shooters know when their shot isn't going to be blocked based on the space and opponent. Jimmy is able to use the step back because he can fake an aggressive basket drive because Bojan knows he can't keep up so he's sagging off. AND jimmy has the middle of the floor to work with.

DMC shades Jimmy to the sideline, arcing his drive, giving Jimmy his strong hand but denying middle. He knows that Jimmy doesn't want to go left because then he's a right handed shooter defended on his right side. He only gives up enough space to cover a change of direction and closes in as time and space reduce Jimmy's options.

Like Roy said mostly it comes to down to foot speed. You can only cover someone as tight as you can keep up with otherwise you get blown by. It's pretty crazy how much better a team we are defensively in terms of personal in the space of a year. From Lopez/Booker/Bojan/Skil/Foye to Allen/RHJ/Carroll/Crabbe/Din. I know there were injuries, but boy oh boy. That's night and day from an athleticism/body type standpoint.

you my friend have studied defenses. Especially that red part that only certain people talk about.

[MrDollarBills]

Is there really that much of a difference between how DMC and Bojan covered Butler? It's hard to tell from the angle but I think DMC may have covered Butler half a foot tighter, maybe because he thought he could recover better if Butler drove?

I don't think Bojan's defense was "piss poor" -- he tried, he was low to the ground and mindful of picks, but he probably played off Butler a little too much because he was worried about the drive, and didn't respect Butler's shot enough. But not much Bojan can do there. I'm no fan of Bojan's defense but there's gotta be better examples of poor defensive lapses.

Bojan had no business being on Butler in the first place, but the amount of room given to Butler versus what DMC gave him makes a huge difference.

[MrDollarBills]

Is there really that much of a difference between how DMC and Bojan covered Butler? It's hard to tell from the angle but I think DMC may have covered Butler half a foot tighter, maybe because he thought he could recover better if Butler drove?

I don't think Bojan's defense was "piss poor" -- he tried, he was low to the ground and mindful of picks, but he probably played off Butler a little too much because he was worried about the drive, and didn't respect Butler's shot enough. But not much Bojan can do there. I'm no fan of Bojan's defense but there's gotta be better examples of poor defensive lapses.

Bojan dropped back to the paint wit Lopez waiting to block. He gave Jimmy Butler too much airspace doing that. At no point was there pressure on the ball.

Yeah if you look at the difference in space at the point where Jimmy gathers the ball into his shot pocket DMC is under a foot away, Bojan is 2-3ft away which in the NBA is an undefended shot. It doesn't matter how close you are when the ball is released, shooters know when their shot isn't going to be blocked based on the space and opponent. Jimmy is able to use the step back because he can fake an aggressive basket drive because Bojan knows he can't keep up so he's sagging off. AND jimmy has the middle of the floor to work with.

DMC shades Jimmy to the sideline, arcing his drive, giving Jimmy his strong hand but denying middle. He knows that Jimmy doesn't want to go left because then he's a right handed shooter defended on his right side. He only gives up enough space to cover a change of direction and closes in as time and space reduce Jimmy's options.

Like Roy said mostly it comes to down to foot speed. You can only cover someone as tight as you can keep up with otherwise you get blown by. It's pretty crazy how much better a team we are defensively in terms of personal in the space of a year. From Lopez/Booker/Bojan/Skil/Foye to Allen/RHJ/Carroll/Crabbe/Din. I know there were injuries, but boy oh boy. That's night and day from an athleticism/body type standpoint.

Well said. we still have lots of work to do but getting more athletic is a step in the right direction. we'll need to work on our depth at the 4 spot.

Currently we are ranked #17 in DEF rating, last season we were 23rd.

[LKIRNets]

I think wit this next batch we'll put the spotlight on should be Eastern Conference allstar PG Spencer Dinwiddie.


Remember what we were talking about wit the Nets improving on transition? Here the Nets lose the ball to Jason Tatum, Spencer Dinwiddie refused to give up on the play, chased down Tatum, gave him no middle, Tatum throws the ball into the wingspan tips of Dinwiddie who's closing off the middle passing lane. Harris gets the ball and off they go in rhythm finishing wit a transition 3.

How about cleaning up the paint?

Here we have Dinwiddie dropping back on a driving Jaylen Brown. His ball pressure on Brown leads to Tyler Zeller's clean block & strip.

How about transition D?

Here Tatum gathers the rebound, Spencer Dinwiddie, there he is again, your favorite man at the door blocking your path, meanwhile this slows down Tatum enough to allow Rondae Hollis-Jefferson's block play.

[MrDollarBills]

can we get some analysis and some gifs of Jarrett Allen's play?

[LKIRNets]

coming up

[LKIRNets]

It's time to put the spotlight on the 19 YEAR OLD freakish athletic IQ of our Soul Glo Afro Samurai Jarrett Allen and his impact on the Nets defense. And it's A LOT.

The name of the game is Footwork + Wingspan + Reading.


Remember Jimmy Butler's miss against the warrior Demarre Carroll? Well imagine that possession x 10? Here we have MVP candidate Kyrie Irving. Trying to take the rookie 1 on 1. What he doesn't know is, that is exactly what Afro wanted. A 19 yr. old wit freakish IQ forcing Kyrie to his strong hand, and making him uncomfortable going middle. He shades Kyrie to go right, Kyrie uncomfortably gathers and forces a turn around poor percentage shot.

More reading and wingspan ability of the 19 year old.


Here Theis has a shot that normal bigs let him take. Not 19 year old Jarrett Allen. Afro's ability to read in the closing seconds of a quarter and force a tougher percentage shot, showcases his ability to change a game. Remember this post.
(Btw great persuit and running off by Joey Buckets there)

more IQ and reading.


Theis has already displayed he's not willing to shoot that 3. Afro remembers this, so dropping off while Kyrie is persued by Acy and Dinwiddie leaves him and Marcus Smart (a bad 3 point shooter) on an Island.

SnR coverage


Milton Doyle (impressive for a rookie) runs off Rozier from the 3pt line. Afro the last line of defense reads the drive, his presence alone forces the pass to Theis. Which is exactly what this 19 year old rookie wanted as he reads and contests another miss. If you're SnR'ing on Jarrett Allen, you better be a good high release shooter.

Defending the post wit wingspan


Again an ordinary center that's 2 pts. and the bucket or free throws even wit Joey Harris defending the entry. But the initial pass into the post is altered by the wingspan of Jarrett Allen.


Hi Kyrie. Meet wingspan death in Afro and the Mayor. It's tough enough driving on the wingspan of Spencer DinWiddie but add 19 year old athletic freakish IQ and you will come away knowing this is going to be a common thing for the next few years.

[LKIRNets]

Read on Twitter

[kamaze]

Great thread you got any clips of Allen Crabbe's defense?

[MrDollarBills]

great stuff man I love this thread!!

Yeah can we get some Allen Crabbe clips. Crabbe's defense has been consistent IMO, that's another guy with a nice wing span that gets disruptive.

Allen will have to start sooner than later. Kid's 19 and is learning at a breakneck pace.

[oldjim]

The team's defense has improved so much in the past two months.The starting line up with Crabbe, Din,Zeller, RHJ, Carroll have been playing good defense.