Because of the early start, there is a lot I couldn't include, so here's a much abbreviated post on my thoughts. I may add some more later this evening.
_______________________________Film Study: Kareem's Defense_______________________________
I'm starting with Kareem's defense because opinions on it vary from he was a lazy defender to he was an all time great defender. I think Kareem, at his best, was an all time great defender. Take a look at the play above. There's a couple components to it.
1. Kareem shows on the PnR so Bing can't pull up.
2. Kareem quickly recovers to his man (Hayes).
3. On the second PnR, Kareem strongly contests Havlicek's pull up, forcing a pass.
4. Kareem moves to the strongside, but because of miscommunication, Havlicek is left open.
5. Kareem runs Havlicek off his jumper, and though Kareem seems beat on the drive, his length lets him to alter the shot.
What Kareem does in this play is nothing short of exceptional. He has the quickness to show on the PnR and recover, something that has become all the more important with the three point line, but many bigs can't do. And while smaller centers could, they wouldn't be able to salvage the miscommunication, stopping both the spot up and the drive through sheer length and size.
You may notice that this is not a regular season game. This is the 1976 NBA All Star Game, which I will tell you, is one of the most important games we have of Kareem's career. From the mid- to late-70's, we only have four full games, which are of Kareem's 1977 playoff run and the 1976 All Star Game. Comparatively, the 1976 All Star Game is especially important for several reasons:
1. We see Kareem guarding the PnR more in this game than any other.
2. We see Kareem defending in a much more spaced offensive environment than usual.
3. With capable teammates, Kareem was able to be much more active on help defense.
The last point is particularly important. It can be observed in the 1977 playoffs that the Lakers routinely failed to help the helper when Kareem rotated. Samurai, a poster who you may know for his insights and having watched much of Kareem's career, made this observation several years ago:
[...]Washington gave LA the big power forward to battle someone like Lucas and give Kareem an enforcer in much the same way that Lucas helped Walton. KAJ could be more active in help defense, switch off, and chase bigs who could shoot outside because he knew that Kermit was there to grab the rebound.[...]
Hopefully it's clear now why the 1976 All Star Game is of particular importance. I will now go through several of Kareem's of defensive plays this game. First, let's look at four clips which show Kareem's understanding of passing angles, a crucial trait of any good help defender.
In the first play we see Kareem sag back as he sees the cutter about the flash across the lane. Then we see several clips of Kareem anticipating the pass and deflecting it. The last clip is an example where there's no player to help the helper, which Kareem is very aware of, and positions his body to prevent the pass to his man while using his great length to disrupt the drive.
Kareem's defensive awareness, when in position to be a help defender, was often superb. Now, let's look at his PnR defense, which is special for a player his size.
One thing we see in all these clips is Kareem's willingness to show or switch on the PnR and that he can effectively recover. In the first clip we see Havlicek trying to attack Kareem when he shows, since Kareem had been stopping him from pulling up off the screen, but Kareem has the speed to stay with him and the block the layup. In the last clip Kareem does a lot:
1. He shadows Frazier, who has a step on his defender, forcing the ball to kicked out.
2. He closes out on Hayes, stays in front on the drive attempt, and forces a tough jumper.
3. The East gets the offensive rebound, and Kareem seems out of the play, but his length lets him get an improbable block.
4. Kareem also gets the rebound.
Now, I do want to spend some time on Kareem's defense during the 1977 playoffs, even though he had limited freedom to help. One thing I've mentioned about some of the previous clips is how Kareem can appear out of the play but still alter or block the shot because of his length and mobility. This carried into the 1977 playoffs with plays like these:
The last play really show off Kareem's length. He blocks Walton's dunk, standing to the right of the basket, while Walton attempted it from left of the basket. Kareem still displayed a willingness to show or switch on the PnR too (thought not as often):
You'll find many other possessions like the ones I've shown in the 1976 All Star Game. These are just a couple. As Kareem exited his defensive prime, he was distinctly less active defensively, but still a force at the rim and able to briefly switch onto smaller players. For lack of time, I only have footage from the 1980 finals, but that should paint a fair picture. At 32, Kareem was still a great rim protector:
Kareem's interior presence was enough to influence shots without needing to contest. Often, layups attempted near him were done hastily, and missed as a result. Even wide open ones.
He prevented many shots from even being attempted as driving players would kick out the ball if he was close.
And, as mentioned, he still would switch onto smaller defenders though far less frequently:
Finally, I want to address what I'm guessing causes some people to think Kareem was a lazy defender. Occasionally he would make no effort to contest the outside shot. For instance,
Now, while this looks bad, it is very much the opposite. We regularly see how poor three point shooters are sometimes allowed the shot in order to cover more dangerous players. The Spurs just about gave Lebron any open jumper in Game 7 of the 2013 Finals. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but what matters is the dice roll is in your favor. In three games of the 1980 Finals, and three games of the 1977 Playoffs, I counted Kareem making no effort to contest the outside shot 21 times. The opposition converted 33%. When the jumper was attempted closer to the basket, Kareem was much more focused on contesting it, as we see Kareem go over a screen to contest Walton's short jumper:
Kareem not contesting long jumpers, by players not known for shooting, was neither uncommon nor incorrect.
What I hope's apparent from all this is that Kareem, in his defensive prime and with the liberty to help, was constantly aware, moving, and disrupting the defense with his combination of length, height, and quickness. He was nothing short of a tremendous defender who could compete with the all time greats. After his defensive prime, he was still exceptional at preventing shots near the rim, and more mobile than your typical seven-footer.
_______________________________Film Study: Kareem's Offense_______________________________
I think we're all familiar with Kareem's sky hook. You can see it above. What do you think Kareem shot on sky hooks? Below 50%? Better? In the games I've recorded, Kareem shot better than 65%, with a sample of over 60 sky hooks. This shot is one of the primary reasons I consider Kareem the GOAT, and thus, I will spend some time discussing it.
I would argue the sky hook makes Kareem the most resilient scorer to have played in the NBA. By most resilient, I mean defense and team composition have the least affect on his efficiency and volume. Just consider how efficient remained as he aged. Despite becoming slower and weaker, which in effect is like the defense become stronger and faster, his efficiency endured.
The only shots of comparable efficiency are at the rim or behind the arc. To get to the rim, though, is much harder than to receive the ball at the low or mid post. This is especially true on team's lacking shooters to keep the defense honest. As for the three, it's harder to stop than a drive, but often relies on off-ball movement. While this isn't bad, holding players off-ball has always gone uncalled, particularly in the playoffs, and that's precisely why the Warriors abandoned their vaunted, off-ball movement for the Durant & Curry PnR in Game 5. We see this in the next few clips how the defense can have no holes and Kareem can still take the sky hook.
Kareem could also take the sky hook from the mid post where aggressive double teams would be unacceptably compromising to the defense:
The sky hook was practically a cheat. There's no other shot where defense matters so little. Aside from being a scorer that few can compare to, Kareem was also an exceptional passer, and could operate from both the low and mid post. His mid post passing was particularly impressive and, at times, reminiscent of Walton's play:
From the low post Kareem could would often pass to the baseline:
but was also capable of passing to players cutting down the middle:
(It's too bad I didn't have time to go through my footage of his later years. He had some extraordinary bounce passes against the Celtics and Mavs in the mid 80s.)
Kareem's offense is an unusual combination of superb passing and scoring. We rarely see these players, and when we do they tend to be guards, but Kareem was a center with the mind and body to warrant comparison with the all time great defensive players. I think he's singular in having a case as a top ten offensive player and defensive player. He gets my vote as the GOAT.
First Vote: Kareem
Second Vote: Duncan
Unfortunately, I have inconsistent availability.
I do view 2011 as a nadir in LBJ's 09-14 run, but it's still in the ballpark of this amazing 9-year window he's sustained.
