Zone Defense

#1
cardvolfan

cardvolfan

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#1
Just wondered everyone's thoughts on playing some sort of zone defense. Barnes rarely uses it, guys like Devoe and Knight never used it, and Pearl used it sporadically in certain situations. This is not a critique of Barnes, but would it be a pro or a con for this particular Tennessee basketball team?
 
#6
#6
cardvolfan said:
Just wondered everyone's thoughts on playing some sort of zone defense. Barnes rarely uses it, guys like Devoe and Knight never used it, and Pearl used it sporadically in certain situations. This is not a critique of Barnes, but would it be a pro or a con for this particular Tennessee basketball team?
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It depends upon the opponent - i would have tried it against Alabama since they were completely spreading the floor and letting their point guard take it into the paint and then either shoot a layup or dish it outside. May not have made a difference but couldn't have hurt - especially with Springer out. Against most teams our base defense will work fine - there will be an occasional outlier where it would make sense to play zone.
 
#7
#7
Fullfillmer said:
It depends upon the opponent - i would have tried it against Alabama since they were completely spreading the floor and letting their point guard take it into the paint and then either shoot a layup or dish it outside. May not have made a difference but couldn't have hurt - especially with Springer out. Against most teams our base defense will work fine - there will be an occasional outlier where it would make sense to play zone.
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their entire game is the 3 point shot. A zone would have made that easier
 
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#8
#8
They really should have a simple zone to fall back on in situations like Saturday, but Barnes likes his switching M2M. He makes $5 million per season and I have to buy my tickets to get inside the Tommy Bowl.
 
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#9
#9
The 1-2-2 press has been impressively effective.

I think M2M works really well for this team.

What we saw Saturday was ISO of Fulkerson with no cleanup big available and the loss of flexibility to push Springer in for Vescovi that allows James to push down to 4. So at times we had two of our bigs that are less mobile on the bounce (Anasike and Fulkerson) getting caught ISOd against a very mobile Alabama 5.

We could see zone later on.

Remember, basketball is about evolving and peaking in March.
 
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#10
#10
Fullfillmer said:
It depends upon the opponent - i would have tried it against Alabama since they were completely spreading the floor and letting their point guard take it into the paint and then either shoot a layup or dish it outside. May not have made a difference but couldn't have hurt - especially with Springer out. Against most teams our base defense will work fine - there will be an occasional outlier where it would make sense to play zone.
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Assuming we went with a 2-3 zone, Bama would have shot us out if it in about 5 possessions, or less.
 
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#12
#12
Fullfillmer said:
It depends upon the opponent - i would have tried it against Alabama since they were completely spreading the floor and letting their point guard take it into the paint and then either shoot a layup or dish it outside. May not have made a difference but couldn't have hurt - especially with Springer out. Against most teams our base defense will work fine - there will be an occasional outlier where it would make sense to play zone.
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Our defense was dog$hit against bama. Their perimeter players had wide open looks too often. I feel zone D would have made it worse. The good news is we know what this team is capable of on defense.
 
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#14
#14
UneducatedGuess said:
The 1-2-2 press has been impressively effective.

I think M2M works really well for this team.

What we saw Saturday was ISO of Fulkerson with no cleanup big available and the loss of flexibility to push Springer in for Vescovi that allows James to push down to 4. So at times we had two of our bigs that are less mobile on the bounce (Anasike and Fulkerson) getting caught ISOd against a very mobile Alabama 5.

We could see zone later on.

Remember, basketball is about evolving and peaking in March.
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Very good points.
 
#15
#15
Bottomline...Bama just had one of those games and TN had the opposite. It happens.

Look at Duke last year. They lost at home to unranked Stephen F Austin, while ranked #1.

No need to assume TNs defensive game plan needs to be revamped due to a loss. TN is still an elite Defensive team statistically. They had an off night.
 
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#16
#16
To be fair we took away what bama wanted to do. They only took 20 3s and that’s well less than they want to. Our defense wasn’t the reason we lost. We couldn’t score
 
#17
#17
BruinVol said:
To be fair we took away what bama wanted to do. They only took 20 3s and that’s well less than they want to. Our defense wasn’t the reason we lost. We couldn’t score
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It was both...we had our worst defensive showing of the year and our 2nd worst offensive showing, not a great combination.
 
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#18
#18
bleedingTNorange said:
It was both...we had our worst defensive showing of the year and our 2nd worst offensive showing, not a great combination.
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Sure I agree but I also think Bama is likely the best offensive team we have played so far.
If not the best at least second best
 
#19
#19
I think you always practice a zone to have in your backpocket at times, but Barnes will almost always plan M2M. Barnes actually played some zone in 2018 because I remember seeing it when I was at the Memphis game. Fulky didn't play it too well. But, you can use it with teams that don't shoot well.

I think a 1-3-1 would be interesting with Pons on the baseline and JJJ up top.
 
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#20
#20
UneducatedGuess said:
The 1-2-2 press has been impressively effective.

I think M2M works really well for this team.

What we saw Saturday was ISO of Fulkerson with no cleanup big available and the loss of flexibility to push Springer in for Vescovi that allows James to push down to 4. So at times we had two of our bigs that are less mobile on the bounce (Anasike and Fulkerson) getting caught ISOd against a very mobile Alabama 5.

We could see zone later on.

Remember, basketball is about evolving and peaking in March.
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Yeah only in the circumstance you get EJ and Fulk out there at the same time could I see it being useful but that’s not a typical lineup. Moreso when Pons is getting picked on by the refs
 
#21
#21
BruinVol said:
Sure I agree but I also think Bama is likely the best offensive team we have played so far.
If not the best at least second best
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2nd...Colorado is #23 in offensive efficiency and Bama #41 per Bartorvik...fwiw Arkansas is right there with Bama in offensive ranking.
 
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#22
#22
Fullfillmer said:
It depends upon the opponent - i would have tried it against Alabama since they were completely spreading the floor and letting their point guard take it into the paint and then either shoot a layup or dish it outside. May not have made a difference but couldn't have hurt - especially with Springer out. Against most teams our base defense will work fine - there will be an occasional outlier where it would make sense to play zone.
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A zone defense is a 3 point shooter’s dream. The biggest problem we h@ve 2ith the man defense is loosing a half step on defense to someone defending a drive to the basket. We don’t have a lot of size and mobility inside to protect the rim except for Pond’s leaping ability. We need at least one more agile big in the middle to switch off on the driver.
 
#23
#23
PandamoniumReigns said:
Bottomline...Bama just had one of those games and TN had the opposite. It happens.

Look at Duke last year. They lost at home to unranked Stephen F Austin, while ranked #1.

No need to assume TNs defensive game plan needs to be revamped due to a loss. TN is still an elite Defensive team statistically. They had an off night.
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I agree w this. After watching the 1st half of 1st game, I knew Barnes had something special here. Sat was a collision of errors that got us beat. Horrific shooting & FTs alone doomed us. I thought Fulky was going to airball a couple of those free throws.

Defensively they can be elite. CRB can throw 10-12 fresh bodies in most games.
 
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#25
#25
ColinS said:
You need to have an emergency zone defense at least. Sometimes its just needed for various reasons.
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Barnes has used a zone a few times in the half court so if there’s an emergency then I’m sure he can go there. They use a 1-2-2 full court zone press fairly often.
 
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