There are a million bits to watch as Team USA resumes its pre-Worlds exhibition schedule this weekend, but keep the Americans’ use and execution of the zone defense front and center. There are a lot of things Team USA has absolutely no control over at this stage (the limitations of the roster being the most obvious), but Mike Krzyzewski’s choice to employ more and more zone is a philosophical error that could up costing the Americans immensely.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated featured Krzyzewski’s love affair with the zone in a piece last week, in particular highlighting the influence and importance of Team USA assistant and zone defense guru Jim Boeheim:
When Team USA broke camp in Las Vegas last month, before reuniting this week in New York for more workouts, implementing a zone defense wasn’t even on its radar. Pressure was the word of the week, with U.S. coaches convinced that the team’s length and athleticism would make it a dangerous pressing unit in the upcoming FIBA World Championships.
However, recent circumstances — specifically the withdrawal of most of the team’s top big men — has led to a shift in that thinking. With Amar’e Stoudemire, David Lee and Brook Lopez bowing out of the tournament, which begins Aug. 28, rebounding has become a major point of concern. Tyson Chandler and JaVale McGee are the only natural centers on the roster, while Kevin Love and Lamar Odom are the only true power forwards.
Playing zone, coaches say, will position more bodies near the backboards. To that end, the U.S. has tapped assistant coach Jim Boeheim, who has employed the zone at Syracuse for more than three decades, to teach the principles of the defense to the U.S. team.
In principle, the zone offers a nice counter to Team USA’s more aggressive man-to-man sets, and could briefly confuse their opponents as the defense makes a stylistic shift. However, the zone approach really is getting away what this group does best, and making some fairly odd concessions in the process.
The zone defense is, by nature, reactive. It shifts and adjusts to what the opponent tries to do, in an attempt to deny them from reaching the court’s prime real estate. A well-executed zone is quick to react and meticulous in its rotations, which is often a product of extended preparation, trial, and adjustment. Just by understanding the fundamental nature of the zone we already begin to see some of the problems with Team USA implementing it. Team USA’s specific strengths (speed, anticipation, athleticism) and weaknesses (lack of size, shot-blocking, defensive rebounding) pretty much require a pressure-heavy approach. It’s the best strategy to help the Americans disguise just how cold they’re capable of going on offense, while also hiding the defensive inadequacies on the back line.
The zone would likely help the Americans to defend the post, particularly when Tyson Chandler is resting, but at what cost? The biggest concessions of the zone are rebounding and three-pointers, one of which is already problematic given the makeup of this roster, and the other has been noted repeatedly by Team USA players and coaches as a point of defensive emphasis. “Don’t give up threes to these guys,” they say. “Every opponent on the floor can shoot,” they say. “We have to respect their range,” they say. So naturally, Team USA moves to feature the zone defense more prominently, as a way to exacerbate their own rebounding concerns while also surrendering more open three-point attempts than ever. And that’s if the zone is at least fairly competent, which seems like a long-shot due to to Team USA’s limited practice time.
The zone isn’t some catch-all for when man-to-man coverage fails. Like any defensive system, it takes the proper personnel, but even more importantly, a certain amount of time for absorption and implementation. A group of NBAers accustomed to playing man/help defense year-round won’t run a proper zone after a weekend seminar.
Also, playing a true zone in the FIBA World Championships isn’t the same as throwing in a look against UConn, or an NBA team experimenting against bewildered opponents in mid-January. Other national teams are filled with professional players who encounter a ton of zone defense on a regular basis. They won’t be baffled when Russell Westbrook doesn’t go with them through a screen. They’ll just set up the offense, hit the high post, and milk the hell out of backdoor cuts.
This is nothing against Boeheim. He’s a vital member of the Team USA staff, but I’d argue that he’s most useful as an offensive coach; who better to teach the players the best way to attack the zones they’re sure to encounter in the World Championships than a man intimately familiar with the scheme’s weaknesses? But defensively, Team USA desperately needs to take control. They need to dictate, not react. Team USA’s guards and wings should be flying about at all times: jumping passes, pressing full-court, trapping at every opportunity. Deviating from that level of pressure exposes Team USA in potentially damning ways, and handcuffs a roster teeming with athleticism.
