Full Court Press - Why Don't NBA Teams Use It?

[xcomputerman]

Usually when teams recognize a full press they get one man to run up the court and receive the pass, then all of a sudden it's a 4v3 in favor of the offensive team and that right there is an easy basket. I've seen chris paul, rafer alston, and jason kidd destory full presses like it's their second nature. Which then leads to easy baskets and a tired defensive team.

This. Any NBA team with a capable point guard will beat the full court press rather easily and get easy points. It's a dumb gamble to take, unless the opposing team on the floor doesn't have a real NBA point guard.

[aura]

There have been 2 major points made here, and they were basically repeated by everyone else.

Points:
1) NBA guards are highly skilled and will burn presses

2) Players will run out of gas

Answers:
1) Thats a very weak argument because I can just as likely say that NBA players are highly skilled at defense too. Their one of the best defensive players. The thing you guys fail to realize is that NBA players are just not great ball handlers with amazing speed, they can also play defense! So by saying that NBA players are too good and will break presses, you are basically saying they are terrible defensive players. When of coarse, that is not the case. NBA players are highly trained defensive players. Unfortunately, they have been highly trained on playing the half court defense. Now imagine if hours and hours were put in at practice on perfecting the full court press with very quick and athletic teams, it would be amazing. Just as those guards have put in hours to breaking presses with ease. And another reason they break them with ease its because teams hardly practice the press. They don't go out of their way to perfect and master. They don't leave a section of time in their practice to practice the press over and over again. If they did, most guards wouldn't be able to break them.

2) Again a very weak point because it takes a lot more energy to break a press than to do one so that works in the defense's favor.

[J~Rush]

There have been 2 major points made here, and they were basically repeated by everyone else.



2) Players will run out of gas

2) Again a very weak point because it takes a lot more energy to break a press than to do one so that works in the defense's favor.

Have you ever played basketball? To break a pass you pass the ball or dribble. The press, you're flying everywhere anticipating moves before they come. It's much more tiring to press than to be pressed.

[richboy]

You can do it. The Bulls of the 90s did it often. Usually there just too many good ballhandlers in the NBA. However I see teams that only really have one good ballhandler but the coach doesn't press. Watch the Magic when Hedo leaves the game. The PG is the only one capable of dribbling up court. Bogans, Rashard, Dwight, Evans, or Cook can't do anything. Yet teams don't press.

[BrooklynBulls]

Teams don't press as often anymore because of the handcheck rules, imo. You just can't be that physical, put a hand on your defender, and get them anxious enough about a steal to throw a bad pass. Basically, the same thing happened to the press that happened to the Jordan rules. The officiating got tighter, and a gimmick defense like the press suffered for it.

The press can only be used when the guard bringing the ball up is not expecting, or cannot be expected to consistently break it. Part 1 happens all the time; teams surprise PG's with the press, and it works, but only if used sparingly. As for part 2, most guards can break it quite easily, because the emphasis on ballhandling, and the development of ballhandling as a skill over the past 30 years, has pretty much made it a prerequisite that if you want to be a PG, your handle has to be very slick.

[Blame Rasho]

NBA players are too skilled and athletic to use it with regularity, and you give up too many easy baskets. I hate to break it to you but you are not on to something that no one has ever thought about before. How often do you see the Spurs or Rockets use the full court press? There is a reason for that...

[lukeridenour]

Answers:
1) Thats a very weak argument because I can just as likely say that NBA players are highly skilled at defense too. Their one of the best defensive players. The thing you guys fail to realize is that NBA players are just not great ball handlers with amazing speed, they can also play defense! So by saying that NBA players are too good and will break presses, you are basically saying they are terrible defensive players. When of coarse, that is not the case. NBA players are highly trained defensive players. Unfortunately, they have been highly trained on playing the half court defense. Now imagine if hours and hours were put in at practice on perfecting the full court press with very quick and athletic teams, it would be amazing. Just as those guards have put in hours to breaking presses with ease. And another reason they break them with ease its because teams hardly practice the press. They don't go out of their way to perfect and master. They don't leave a section of time in their practice to practice the press over and over again. If they did, most guards wouldn't be able to break them.

no matter how skilled you are at D you cannot accurately anticipate the direction the offensive player is going to go on a regular basis. the offense player always has the advantage because they decide on direction changes, turboing/slowing down, passing it, having teammates set screens. the defensive player is at an disadvantage because hes back petal ling and he has to worry about screens and etc. in other words, it is a gamble for the defense.

someone mentioned the 90bulls running the full court effectively, this is true but they usually only employed this strategy in late game situations. jordan and pippen were masters of the full court press and trap but if you watch their games they still gave up a fair share of layups. but none can refute the fact that they were so good at it the layups they gave up were irrelevant compared to the points off turnovers they created. i haven't seen a team run the press that well since the 90s bulls.

[Seattlesun]

Generally NBA players are much more skilled and able to overcome it much more easily than college players... They have better ball handling, spacing, and are able to make decisions quicker and more decisively... So why risk giving up an easy basket when you can just play it safe and play normal defense, especially with the quality of defenders in the league in comparison to college...

well explained.

similar situation in the NFL where defenses are too good and disciplined for offenses to run the option or the wishbone. it works in college because of all the weak links at that level but doesnt work at the pro level.

[MrCheerios]

Have you seen NBA teams apply full court pressure? Even if it's used for just one possession, the team on offense probably figures it out, breaks it, and has a man advantage. It leads to more baskets than turnovers, IMO. Teams are better off getting their half-court defense set than applying a press.

[aura]

-= original quote snipped =-




Have you ever played basketball? To break a pass you pass the ball or dribble. The press, you're flying everywhere anticipating moves before they come. It's much more tiring to press than to be pressed.

But everyone is making that argument that guards just burn the whole press all by themselves in the NBA. Apparently, you don't pass to break a press in the NBA.



And more importantly, I clearly mentioned that why aren't presses used on weaker point guards. I mentioned Darrick Martin. I don't expect teams to press Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Jason Kidd, TJ Ford and such. Thats not smart. However I still believe if it was highly trained and worked on, there is a limit as to how well players can break it. Pippen and Jordan weren't born with the ability to press like gods, they worked at it and they were taught it properly. Getting back to the point, I meant to use this in cases when the guard isn't very quick or good. Another situation you use the press is when you only have one good handler on the court for the team. As richboy mentioned, when Turkoglu leaves the game for the Magics, only the PG can operate, if he is trapped, the defense has advantage because Bogans, Rashard, Dwight, Evans, or Cook can't do anything. No one answered my question of what do you think is most likely to happen when Baron and Ellis press guys like Darrick Martin either.

[aura]

And PLEASE stop using NBA teams being terrible at presses. You have to realize that the only reason presses work at college level are not just because the player's suck (which they do not). But because the press is actually worked on! They practice it day in and day out. Its perfected and mastered. NBA teams don't do that. That was the other half of my argument. I believe that NBA presses are shattered so easily because they are not even worked on and practiced.

[lukeridenour]

-= original quote snipped =-

And more importantly, I clearly mentioned that why aren't presses used on weaker point guards. I mentioned Darrick Martin.

tahts a good point, i remember pistons pressed udrih so relentlessly he got benched for 3 seasons because he couldnt handle billups.

but still, it just doesn't happen that often where a team has a pg as bad as derek martin. they usually get benched or cut pretty fast if they cant handle a full court press. and besides, if was a coach i would make sure we have at least 1 ball handler on the court.

[Seattlesun]

And PLEASE stop using NBA teams being terrible at presses. You have to realize that the only reason presses work at college level are not just because the player's suck (which they do not). But because the press is actually worked on! They practice it day in and day out. Its perfected and mastered. NBA teams don't do that. That was the other half of my argument. I believe that NBA presses are shattered so easily because they are not even worked on and practiced.

absolute ignorance at a staggering level.

to suggest that no NBA coach or assistant coach has ever figured out that all they have to do is practice the full court press and it would work? all these people do is devote their professional lives to dissecting the NBA game but none of them has ever thought to practice the full court press?

give me a break dude, you cant be that stupid. read the smart peoples comments in this thread about why FCP's dont work in the NBA. they are right.

[MrDollarBills]

Ask Rick Petino!!!!

[richboy]

The late Bulls always use to trap after a free throw. Really some of the best Bulls comebacks in the past were because of there trap. If you had the players you could do it. Atleast for a few minutes.

The problem is most people think you press to force a steal. All you want to do by pressing is force the other team to waste time. In theory the press should be more effective in the NBA with a 24 second clock.

The Sonics in the 90s had a 3/4 trap that they often played when facing top PGs. Instead letting guys like Kevin Johnson, John Stockton, Jason Kidd run there offense without much resistence. They use to 3 quarters trap them to force the ball out of there hands. Made guys like Jeff Hornacek initiators of the offense.

Plus one of the best things about a press is it forces a big post player to move up the floor to potentially receive a pass. Instead of just focusing on getting position down low. I've always felt like regular season games you didn't see that kind of game planning. That your more likely to see that in the playoffs. The last time I seen a good press might have been Game 1 of the 76ers vs Lakers finals. I remember Phili killing the Lakers with a full court press and Phil Jackson just looking dazed and confused on the bench.

[Seattlesun]

The late Bulls always use to trap after a free throw. Really some of the best Bulls comebacks in the past were because of there trap. If you had the players you could do it. Atleast for a few minutes.

The problem is most people think you press to force a steal. All you want to do by pressing is force the other team to waste time. In theory the press should be more effective in the NBA with a 24 second clock.

The Sonics in the 90s had a 3/4 trap that they often played when facing top PGs. Instead letting guys like Kevin Johnson, John Stockton, Jason Kidd run there offense without much resistence. They use to 3 quarters trap them to force the ball out of there hands. Made guys like Jeff Hornacek initiators of the offense.

Plus one of the best things about a press is it forces a big post player to move up the floor to potentially receive a pass. Instead of just focusing on getting position down low. I've always felt like regular season games you didn't see that kind of game planning. That your more likely to see that in the playoffs. The last time I seen a good press might have been Game 1 of the 76ers vs Lakers finals. I remember Phili killing the Lakers with a full court press and Phil Jackson just looking dazed and confused on the bench.

which worked well in the regular season but was exploited big time in a playoff series where teams could adjust to it. This alone was the reason denver was able to upset the sonics and then the lakers upset them as well the next season.

at the end of the day, a defensive press or trap will be exploited by an NBA offense because, by design, it will leave an open man and teams will find that open man.

[richboy]

No I think the Sonics half court trap was exploited in the playoffs. All the wide open shots they left open. The 3/4 press was really just a way to make a team change the way they played.

[Seattlesun]

No I think the Sonics half court trap was exploited in the playoffs. All the wide open shots they left open. The 3/4 press was really just a way to make a team change the way they played.

yeah, you're right. there was a difference between the two.