"Defense wins Championships"

[bdreason]

Listening to Popovich post game, and he lists the best 3 defenses in the NBA as the Grizz, Pacers, and Heat. I personally think the Spurs are also in that conversation. Assuming the Pacers get past the Knicks, we will be looking at a NBA Playoff Semi-Finals that consists of arguably the best 4 defenses in the NBA.

I'm not sure it's going to make for 'pretty' basketball games, but I'm personally going to enjoy the defensive battles.

[SoCalLakersFan1]

Spurs are probably #4, but all those defenses are comparable. Did Pop imply that the Knicks are gonna get eliminated?

[1987_Lakers]

Statistically, the Spurs had the 3rd best defense in the NBA this season along with the Pacers & Grizzlies. BTW, Miami hasn't allowed a team to score 100 points in the postseason so far.

[AussieG]

Defense is a constant thing, while contested jumpers, floaters or long 3 pointers come and go. And the later in later into a series, the less they seem to fall.

Sometimes it's not even defense itself.. but just pressure. Pressure of the defense, pressure of the moment, etc.

[bdreason]

Spurs are probably #4, but all those defenses are comparable. Did Pop imply that the Knicks are gonna get eliminated?

No, he was asked about the Grizz and he mentioned that they're one of the top defensive teams, along with Miami and Indy.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Defense is a constant thing, while contested jumpers, floaters or long 3 pointers come and go. And the later in later into a series, the less they seem to fall.

Sometimes it's not even defense itself.. but just pressure. Pressure of the defense, pressure of the moment, etc.

Great post.

[DuMa]

Chicago has a better defense than the Spurs do

[RoundMoundOfReb]

SAS, Memphis and Iny had the 3 best drtgs this year and Miami was like 8th but in reality they are better than that especially when guys like Lebron start playing 40+ minutes.

[poido123]

Chicago has a better defense than the Spurs do

Spurs also have a far better and more organised offense than Chicago and a slightly better coach.

Don't worry, Spurs can challenge Heat.

[Wonder Bread Kid]

Chicago has a better defense than the Spurs do

They do not, but ok.

[TMT]

Chicago has a better defense than the Spurs do

You actually have a solid point. At their best Chicago is definitely a better defensive team but the Spurs are a more consistent defensive squad and lately have really stepped up on that end.

[bdreason]

I think Spurs have better defensive players than the Bulls, but Bulls play a little bit better team defense.

[DetroitPistonFan]

Listening to Popovich post game, and he lists the best 3 defenses in the NBA as the Grizz, Pacers, and Heat. I personally think the Spurs are also in that conversation. Assuming the Pacers get past the Knicks, we will be looking at a NBA Playoff Semi-Finals that consists of arguably the best 4 defenses in the NBA.

I'm not sure it's going to make for 'pretty' basketball games, but I'm personally going to enjoy the defensive battles.

It'll be like the 2010 Finals series. Both teams will struggle shooting the ball cause both team's All-Stars sucked.

[Artillery]

Spurs also have a far better and more organised offense than Chicago and a slightly better coach.

Don't worry, Spurs can challenge Heat.

This is true. SA had the 7th best offense in the league this year. In comparison, the Bulls had the 23rd best offense. The Grizzlies had the 17th best offense. Of course, Spurs offense is entirely contingent on Tony Parker's health. He looks banged up after some physical plays by Bogut and Green. If he's healthy, Spurs in six. If he's not Grizzlies make the Finals.

[K Xerxes]

IMO, top four defenses in the league are Memphis, Indiana, Miami and Chicago. I don't need any stats to come to that conclusion tbh, that's just for the eye test.

The way they go about it is significantly different. To contrast Memphis and Miami for example, Memphis have a strictly organised defense and fabulous individual defenders at every position. They understand how to help defend and the bigs understand how to shadow and roam. It worked especially well against a Westbrook-less OKC, in which Gasol was able to ignore Perkins and shadow Durant in front of the rim. On the other hand, Miami gambles. All the time. They really don't have positions, they rely on timing rotations perfectly. Which they honestly do most of the time. They are also the best trappers in the NBA and pressure the ball immensely. Ball movement beats Miami, but they are so supreme athletically that they can recover most of the time. Just by watching the games, LeBron, for how overrated he is as an on-ball defender, can shut down one half of the court just by his presence and pressuring.

Chicago and Indiana are more similar to Memphis; Miami is unique in how they defend. All incredibly incredibly elite.

The reason I dislike using defensive stats is that Miami's rating took a nose dive early on in the season with their nonchalance. But they amped it up significantly for the playoffs and are executing well now.