If you’re familiar with Barry Mccockiner you would know he’s one of the biggest trolls on social media but he could drop a serious take here or there and this one really got me thinking.
“1 on 1 defense has never been less important. Offenses spread defenses out better than ever before b/c players can shoot better than ever before. The NBA most of us grew up watching was teams throwing it to their big man and watching him go 1 on 1 in the post or guys taking contested mid range shots. You may think it was better defense but really it was just way more predictable offense. Teams aren’t trotting out 7 foot stiffs who clog up the paint anymore. I think too many “analysts” are still stuck in that era when evaluating players.
Rotating and help defense are what matter, and the more 3 point centric the NBA becomes, even that is becoming more of a crapshoot where you just have to trust the percentages and hope your opponent misses or doesn’t shoot above their head on that night.”
End of take.
I think as a counterpoint to team defense being everything right now is that over systematized offenses are going to start struggling more. Defensive game plans in the half court are ahead of a lot of offenses, and player improvisation or unpredictability will be king especially in the playoffs.
I’m not saying only real hoopers like Derozan will flourish, but teams with an overly rigid offensive system will definitely find it harder to score. While more fluid offenses will begin to pop off. Real issue may become when a single player is the entire offense, it almost becomes a predictable scheme in itself.