By Josh CohenSept. 27, 2016
Charges Drawn
Taking charges is a sign of physical toughness, good awareness and self-sacrifice. The more charges a team draws, the more intimidating they become. Frank Vogel’s Pacers ranked No. 2 in the NBA last year in charges drawn. They were well-disciplined, fearless and durable. Watch Aaron Gordon race back in transition and draw the charge on Trevor Ariza:
Pick-and-Roll Switching
The ball screen is the most common type of screen used in the NBA. The reason for this is that teams generally want their speedy, explosive guards to isolate slower, more methodical big men on switches. This won’t be such a disadvantage for the Magic this season, however. Serge Ibaka, Bismack Biyombo, Gordon and Jeff Green all have enough lateral quickness to defend those sprightly perimeter players. Watch Ibaka switch on Chris Paul and make a fantastic defensive play:
Rim Protection
Blocking shots does two key things. For one, it lets opponents know they better think twice about attacking the paint without more aggression and precision. Second, it pumps a crowd up (if game is at home) or it deflates a crowd (if game is on road). Ibaka and Biyombo are two of the best rim protectors in the game and are both superb at coming over from the weak side to deny opponents. Watch Biyombo reject Kyrie Irving:
Deflections
Elite defensive teams cut off passing lanes, stop dribble penetration and trap opponents in corners. When you do any of those three things, it often leads to a strip, tipped pass or interception. Vogel’s teams have always done an excellent job communicating on defense and suffocating opponents. Watch Elfrid Payton intercept the pass:
Closing Out on Shooters & Contesting Shots
Anyone who has ever played basketball knows that it is much more difficult to make a shot when a hand and arm blocks your vision. In fact, most players shoot a much worse percentage from the field when the shot is contested versus when they are wide open and there is nothing obstructing their view of the basket. For instance, Stephen Curry shot 50 percent from beyond 10 feet from the hoop when the closest defender was between four and six feet away from him and he shot 38 percent from that same distance when a defender was two feet or closer to him. Watch Evan Fournier close out and contest Bojan Bogdanovic's 3-point attempt: