Regarding today's rules allowing weak side defenders to help on the strong side

[3ball]

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Today's zones allow defenders on the weak side to come over to the strong side and cut off driving lanes before the driver reaches the paint.

However, this is not spectacular, because the approach is easily countered by various screen roll actions and floor-positioning that allows the type of consistent lane penetration we see in today's games... Not only do strong-side floods allow consistent lane penetration, but they create holes elsewhere in the defense, like a leaky boat.

First of all, the strong side flood is routinely countered with passes to a weak side that is now short a defender.. Off-ball players on the weak side are the beneficiary.

Secondly, all defenders in today's game must abide by defensive 3 seconds, so they can only help from outside of the paint, which opens up the possibility of being "late"... Being "late" is a big issue in today's game - it is one of the biggest differences between this era and previous eras, when defenders were allowed to wait under the rim and therefore couldn't be late... The fact that today's defenders are late from having to help from outside the paint, is the reason for today's higher at-rim percentages.

With defenders having to help from outside the paint and no one waiting at the rim, it gives a free pass for alley-oops to be completed... It also enhances the effectiveness of off-ball players, whose entire objective is to beat defenders to the spot, which is a lot easier with no one waiting at the destination... The NBA has prominently stated that the objective of the new rules was to make passing and cutting easier, and they did this by implementing a 3 seconds rule that forced defenders to help from outside the paint.

In the end, today's game is easier for off-ball players and wings that can beat defenders to the open paint.