Coach Nick's analysis; the effect of Pau on defense

[conker1]

Hey guys

I'm not sure this video warrants a thread, but I'll post it anyway; mods, you can merge it with another thread if you want

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A0v6YxwVhU[/youtube]

His in game analysis is limited to the Hawks game, but the statistics go as far as 6 games ago (when everything started to fall apart)

So, is Pau "Boozer" bad on D ?

[PaKii94]

ive been seeing it since the beginning of the year but its now more aggrevated. Pau can get some blocks, but thats if the person runs right into him and tries to go over him. He has been slow and when hes aggressive its not too bad, but recently the effort hasnt been their for boxing out, closing out

[GetBuLLish]

Really not rocket science. Gasol is an atrocious defender. And he's anchoring the defense.

The results should not be surprising.

[aaqubed]

ive been seeing it since the beginning of the year but its now more aggrevated. Pau can get some blocks, but thats if the person runs right into him and tries to go over him. He has been slow and when hes aggressive its not too bad, but recently the effort hasnt been their for boxing out, closing out

It's getting really frustrating watching him take three steps back on a pick and roll, and then just watch with his arms down when his man drains a wide open 15-18 foot jumper. I get that he's slow and old, but he doesn't even try to close out once the pass is made.

[kuly1990]

its obvious, last game he didnt even act like he is playing defense like Boozer did,or screamed or something, he just stand and didnt move on more than half posesions,

[Mech Engineer]

ive been seeing it since the beginning of the year but its now more aggrevated. Pau can get some blocks, but thats if the person runs right into him and tries to go over him. He has been slow and when hes aggressive its not too bad, but recently the effort hasnt been their for boxing out, closing out

It's getting really frustrating watching him take three steps back on a pick and roll, and then just watch with his arms down when his man drains a wide open 15-18 foot jumper. I get that he's slow and old, but he doesn't even try to close out once the pass is made.

He just can't. The blame goes on Thibs. I don't know the answer but Thibs has to figure out something by playoffs. Otherwise, it is going to be the deciding factor in a close playoff game.

He needs maybe 5 minutes of play at the max and 8-10 actual minutes rest. Thibs has to be bold, unconventional with Pau. He can't be the same as he was with Boozer. But, Noah has to get healthy first.

You need all 4 bigs like 2010-11 with the difference being Pau, Mirotic being much better on offense than Boozer. Asik plus a better Taj, Noah.

[maynardo]

He needs to play less minutes, specially at his age he shouldn't be over 30m, the problem is... Noah has been horrible this year and Taj not so great either. About Mirotic lately...

[tweet]https://twitter.com/KCJHoop/status/556826587467743232[/tweet]

[FriedRise]

Yeah Threekola has been cold the past few games from beyond the arc.

vs Hawks 1-4 (15 min)
vs Celtics 0-4 (25 min)
vs Wizards 2-4 (17 min)
vs Magic 1-4 (11 min)
vs Bucks 1-4 (13 min)

He also likes to pump-fake when he's completely wide open and there's no need to, which might contribute to his recent misses. When he simply catches and shoots, the results have been better.

[Rerisen]

Coach Nick obviously just hates Pau Gasol!

Like I said last night, while he's not worse than Boozer, Boozer wasn't our defensive anchor. So long as Pau is starting at center, this team can kiss hopes of an elite defense returning goodbye.

Too bad because of his veteran seniority, or signing agreement, or whatever other nonsense, the hope for a lineup change is unlikely, and he'll probably be starting there the next 2 years. Which the thought of watching teams eviscerate us that long with PnP and PnR is nausea inducing.

[fleet]

Yes, the issue is not Gasol exactly, it is in building everything based on his foundation. And yes, pairing him with the wrong big

[kingkirk]

It’s easy to say Thibs shouldn’t be playing him as much, which is exactly what I believe and what I want to see, but it’s not really plausible right now, either.

I have a fundamental issue with the way Thibodeau plays Gasol the entire 1st and 3rd quarter, like he did with Boozer, for an array of reasons. I think he also plays far too many minutes given his age and lack of ability defensively.

That said, we haven’t really had the depth in the front court consistently to have him playing 28 minutes, which is what he should he be doing.

We’ve also needed his scoring, especially with Derrick being as bad as he has at times, whilst JB has also been regressing to his career averages.

But, I am not sure what we can expect from him at this point defensively. His lateral quickness is really bad, so much so that he can’t really hedge or show on screens. If you have him guarding the high pick and roll, he will pick up a lot of body fouls, if not allowing a lot of dribble penetration.

If you do what we currently do, which is have him drop back and protecting the paint, it exposes the mid range shot and leaves that open for the opposition. Whilst that works when the big who is setting the screens is Tyson Chandler, when you have a guy that can knock down those shots efficiently, like Gasol himself can, it should be clear that in game adjustments are required, which just isn’t happening at the moment.

So, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. We haven’t had a healthy Noah around to lead the defense. It hasn’t really been an option.

Our guards have also been really, really bad at defending. Brooks and Rose have both allowed opposing PGs at will to enter the lanes. This further compounds the issue, to the point where any analysis blaming our slipping on defense squarely on Gasol is rudimentary and only touching the surface of the entire issue itself.

If the defense is to improve, we have to reduce the playing time of Gasol so we have less of a liability on the floor on that end. We also need Noah playing the center spot, either as a starter or bench player, whilst being healthy. But, just as importantly, we need a renewed focused from our perimeter guys, and that includes Jimmy Butler, who has been noticeably worse on defense in January.

[GetBuLLish]

Yes, the issue is not Gasol exactly, it is in building everything based on his foundation. And yes, pairing him with the wrong big

If I understand you correctly, the only solution to the underlined is playing him at PF and/or playing him less.

[Fastbrk4brkfast]

I actually feel a little better after watching this vid. Pau's a smart player and Thibs is a smart coach. If it's mostly a matter of getting Pau to make better decisions then that's something they'll get done. Even Boozer improved over time. It's just getting the reps in.

[Rerisen]

If you do what we currently do, which is have him drop back and protecting the paint, it exposes the mid range shot and leaves that open for the opposition.

His slowness forcing him to drop back isn't just opening up mid-range, it also opens up the paint for guards to get a head of steam and come in and score around or over him in a manner he can't stop.

Remember how hard Bosh use to trap out and hedge on Derrick Rose? Imagine those same PnR's if Bosh just fell back into the lane, Derrick would have gotten a head of steam and scored or gotten fouled, or dumped off to someone. Pau falling back into the paint isn't really good protection unless its a less skilled or slower offensive player coming in there, then he can have a chance to block their shot. But a player able to make adjustments, athletic, skilled at finishing, or smart enough to make the dumpoff, and he is at their mercy.

But yes Noah has to be the center, and has to get more healthy. It doesn't matter as much if Pau gets exposed like Boozer at PF. It will hurt, but not as much as now. And Noah can still guard particular matchups if we want like Aldridge.

[fleet]

Yes, the issue is not Gasol exactly, it is in building everything based on his foundation. And yes, pairing him with the wrong big

If I understand you correctly, the only solution to the underlined is playing him at PF and/or playing him less.

Or bringing him (or Noah) off the bench. Yes. It isn't rally what position or matchup he has, but that area of the court he is supposed to be policing. Opponents have found a zone where this is very little resitance around Pau.

I think there will not be closure on this issue. Thibs has to start making waves and changing lineups. And risk ruffling feathers in order to try and regain this team's identity. I don't know if peace and harmony is in store anyway as long as this goes on. Lets get it on Thibs.

[Pb]

While Gasol help deffense is far from good, the ammount of hate he gets about it is way too much. This video is just horrible too, 4 or 5 plays, where 2 of them is Rose-Gibson defending the pick and roll, and Gasol being late for the help, just as Gibson is late in 2 other plays, while there is no comment on this, or Rose not even trying to pass over the picks...

Thibs should consider changing his defensive schemes till Noah gets fully healthy and can play these systems. Butler deffense is suffering since he is taking part of the offensive load too.

[Rerisen]

If Pau is our starting center and slotted there for all his 3 years, this almost prevents them from moving Gibson, quite in opposite of the usual logic that he makes Taj expendable. Why?

Because the plan was for Mirotic to take over that PF spot going forward. However, a Gasol/Mirotic starting frontcourt would be untenable on defense, especially with Pau only getting older the next 2 years.

The dreams of trading Noah to avoid his next albatross deal also need to be seriously questioned. How does the defense work if its just Pau, Gibson and Mirotic? The FO have put themselves into a real pickle.

[Fastbrk4brkfast]

But, I am not sure what we can expect from him at this point defensively. His lateral quickness is really bad, so much so that he can’t really hedge or show on screens. If you have him guarding the high pick and roll, he will pick up a lot of body fouls, if not allowing a lot of dribble penetration.

This is an area where I think he can actually show improvement. His feet won't get any quicker with time. But he can at least *begin* defensive possessions with his feet in the right place. He's got to position his outside foot wider on ball handlers to funnel them center. Everyone who makes the transition to Thibodeau's defensive scheme struggles with this initially because it goes against what players have been taught their entire basketball lives. Pau will get there. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

[Polynice4Pippen]

Thankfully Thibs has shown a willingness for offense/defense substitutions late in games. Late game defensive possessions with Derrick/Kirk/Jimmy/Taj/Joakim should do the trick. The key is a healthy Jo, so I wouldn't mind him taking a few weeks off. But Thibs should play Nazr or Cam a little to still keep Pau's minutes down. We have the depth for a variety of different matchups and opponents.

[fleet]

While Gasol help deffense is far from good, the ammount of hate he gets about it is way too much. This video is just horrible too, 4 or 5 plays, where 2 of them is Rose-Gibson defending the pick and roll, and Gasol being late for the help, just as Gibson is late in 2 other plays, while there is no comment on this, or Rose not even trying to pass over the picks...

Thibs should consider changing his defensive schemes till Noah gets fully healthy and can play these systems. Butler deffense is suffering since he is taking part of the offensive load too.

Rose has his share of the blame too, and its been mentioned often. But everything gets blown up because Thibs is playing Gasol so much. Sure Noah is limited but he is also demphasized (and on restriction) while Pau is featured more in the D. And you may not have seen the midrange conga-line the last number of games. People are like...man they hit every shot. Yeah, and I wonder why.