Let's Talk Defense! By: Herb Brown
Herb Brown's experience and defensive knowledge makes 'Let's Talk Defense!' a
must-read for
any Basketball player or coach. The concepts demonstrated in his book are the same ones a
great player must use when guarding some of the best players in the NBA.
Herb Brown teach us the most fundamental aspect of the game and that is 'great defense
wins championships'. This book will explain the basic concepts of how it is done. This is
the essential guide for coaching defense. Loaded with drills, tips, and step-by-step
diagrams. 'Let's Talk Defense!' includes: making the transition from offense to defense;
out-rebounding opponents; stopping fast-break opportunities; eliminating penetration;
creating havoc for the opposition and leading the opponent to concede points off
turnovers..."
Herb Brown served as head coach of the Detroit Pistons from 1976 to 1978, where
he led his team to the playoffs twice. Since then, he has worked with many professional
teams, including the Chicago Bulls, Portland Trailblazers, and Philadelphia 76ers. A
six-time coach of the year, he rejoined the Pistons in 2004, where he assisted his
brother, head coach Larry Brown, toward his first NBA title. He is currently an assistant
under Mike Woodson with the Atlanta Hawks.
28/07/06 - About the Game and the Numbers: "We
don't care if you never score a point, If you make plays and help your team win, you don't
have to score..." says Wayne Winston, a professor in the Operations and Decisions
Technology Department at Indiana University.
"Use the mathematical tools of quantitative analysis to go beyond the box score and
discover the hidden factors that contribute to victory..."
"You couldn't run a team completely on statistics, but anybody from the old school
who doesn't pay attention to them is probably in the wrong. Everyone's looking for an
edge. And this kind of information can give you one..."
"The game moves so fast that unless you have somebody tabulating
this and analyzing it properly, you're just not going to know. A lot of coaches think they
know more than they do....."
"Basketball's a team sport, and lots of things aren't tracked," Winston says.
"Like taking the charge, going through a screen, tipping a ball to your teammate,
saving a ball from going out of bounds....."
"The information is a good reference point, but unlike in baseball where there are
definable variables that enable a team to select players wisely, there are no such
variables identified yet in Basketball. Personally, I think it's because we don't collect
the right data..."
25/07/06 Subject: The Four Factors
"... Essentially, the four factors are the building blocks to the efficiency formula.
Efficiency data gives you an idea of the quality of a team’s offense or defense, but
the four factors tell you why a team is good or bad when they have or don’t have the
ball. Here’s a breakdown of how each statistic on this concept is calculated…
Effective field goal percentage is like regular field goal percentage except that
it gives 50% more credit for made three-pointers. eFG% = (.5*3FGM + FGM) / FGA
Turnover percentage is a pace-independent measure of ball security. TO% = TO / Possessions
Offensive rebounding percentage is a measure of the possible rebounds that are
gathered by the offense. OR% = OR / (OR + DRopp)
Keep in mind that rebounding percentage is computed from box score data which does not
contain team rebounds. Therefore, the figures shown here may differ slightly from
calculations made on the rebounding totals provided by a team.
Finally, free throw rate captures a team’s ability to score from the line. FTRateoff = FTM / FGA
FTRatedef = FTA / FGA
Defensive FTRate uses FTA in the numerator since the defense has little control on the
percentage of free throw attempts made by the opposition.
21/07/06: Excerpt of the module edited today at the NEW eBA 110 - Game
Stats Register about "Basketball Possessions":
...."
"..... Consequently many coaches are now using what is called
Points/Possession, or Turnovers/Possession. The Pts/Poss. is an impartial reliable stat
when all things are considered.
However it doesn't take into account the optimal pace as which a team plays. Team A that
receives 90 points may actually produce a better defensive efficiency than team B that
allowed 80 points: in a fast paced game, Team A received 90 points but in 90 possessions.
This means their defensive efficiency was 1.0. Team B on the other hand received only 80
points but in a much slower paced game in 60 total possessions. That is a defensive
efficiency of 1.3 actually worse than team A who allowed ninety points.
Points per possession is a completely good stat but what is more
important is to break it down into ranges such as an offensive or defensive efficiency
when you score or allow 90-100 points, 80-90, 70-80 and so forth. The parameter we will
find is that the team have better offensive and defensive efficiency ratings when he plays
at its team's optimal pace. The eBA System do this break down in his "Quarters Reports", when
the game is analyzed every 5 minutes by separate. ....."
Next Module Exposition: Monday 31/07/06, 05:00 GMT
Statisticians most often use the field goal percentage ( FG% )
to do it, but the added bonus of the three-point shot, for
instance, isn't reflected in field goal percentage, and the ability to get to the
free-throw line (where the points come much easier) is ignored as well.
"Points per Shot Attempt" (PSA): It's a stat designed to reflect the basics of good shooting: getting the greatest
number of points from the fewest number of attempts. Points per shot attempt is simply
points divided by shot attempts . Figuring shot attempts is like this: Add field goal
attempts plus "Up to the Line" (for 2 or 3 free-throws). In case of analysis of another team and if you
can't know how
many times the player or the team reached the line, use (0.4 * FTA) instead.
PSA = Points / (Up to the Line + FGA)
Last year NBA league PSA average was 1.039 points per shot attempt, so by averaging, by
example, 1.133 points per attempt, an average team gains a full point with every ten shots.
PSA is just as handy for rating individual players as it is for teams.
Occasionally a player will break into the top ten who shoots nothing but dunks, but mostly
it's the long shooters who are at the top of an individual PSA list.
12/07/06 Subject: Similarity scores
"Similarity scores are a method of comparing Basketball players to other
players, with the intent of discovering who the single most similar historical player is
to a certain player.
This method have been used to determine career paths and projected statistics for players.
The logic behind this line of thought is simple: players often follow similar career
trajectories to their most similar players, so the historical similar players' performance
in years after the active player's current age should be a good predictor of that active
player's future production. Similarity scores are also used extensively in many statistical forecasting
programs but is not used by the eBA Basketball Statistics Creative Analysis
System. . " From the eBA Forum
09/07/06 - Is the hook shot passé?: "What ever
happened to the hook shot? Everyone shoots jumpers, practically no one shoots the
hook. At one time it was a venerated shot, learned and used by both bigs and
smalls. I learned the Mikan, jump and sky hooks (though later Jabbar patented the
"sky") in high school and as a 6'5" post it was my go-to shot.
I successfully used the shot for the next 25 years. It
adds inches to your
game (even if you can't jump), can be deadly accurate as far out as 15' plus and is hard
to defend. I still teach the variations to youth and high school players who
seek me out but I am dumbfounded as to why you see it used so little in high
school and even the college level.
Case in point. We have a D2 women's team at the local university. They
recruited a 6'2" freshman center out of N. Dakota who just yesterday was named the
'06 conference freshman of the year. She's great and obviously got good coaching in high
school. She's got all the skills less one.......no hook. She and the team actually lost
points due to the fact that she had to square up to shoot. The defense quickly figured
that one out. Without the benefit of a hook she had to work all that much harder to
score.......though score she did. I asked the coach about a hook, she said the girl had
one. The very next game I saw an awful looking "push" shot that I guess was
supposed to be a hook...........she didn't score off it. The D2 men's team is no
different, they all have to square up, even the 6'8" and 6'10" guys. What
gives... what ever happened to the hook? Can no one teach it anymore? Has the game passed
it by?....." From "lamp.lighter" Read at Basketball Coaching
07/07/06: Excerpt of the module edited today at the NEW eBA 110 - Game
Stats Register about "Statistics & Statisticians":
...."
About Statistics & Methods: There is a general interpreted
sensation that statistical knowledge is many times incorrectly used with intention,
by finding ways to translate information from the observation that are favorably disposed
to the presenter. A famous quote, included in our FrontPage, from former British
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is "There are three kinds of lies: lies,
damned lies, and statistics."....."
...."By choosing (or rejecting, or modifying) a certain sample,
results can be manipulated; throwing out bad data values or local anomalies is one
means of doing so ( eliminating one or more low performance games of a certain player
from his season balance, is a known example ). This may be the result of without
restrictions fraud or of complex, balanced and unintentional bias on the part of the
statistician. Do you know the case of that point guard that at home plays, with the locals
guys at the computers, had 11.1 assists per game... meanwhile on the road he served only
3.2.....?."
Next Module Exposition: Friday 21/07/06, 05:00 GMT
05/07/06: USA Basketball and the Korean Basketball
Association (KBA) has announced recently that the 2006 USA Basketball Men's Senior
National Team, in preparation for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, will participate in
the five-team World Basketball Challenge 2006 that will be held Aug. 11-15 at the site of
the 1988 Olympic Games Basketball competition - Jamsil Gymnasium, in Seoul, Korea. The
USA's visit to Korea marks the first time that a USA men's senior national team has
visited the country.
Organized by the Korean Basketball Association, USA Basketball and the
East Marketing Group, the event is Korea's first-ever World Basketball Challenge. The
Challenge will feature world-class players representing national teams from the United
States, Italy, Korea, Lithuania and Turkey. The event announcement was made Tuesday at a
press conference in Seoul, Korea.
03/07/06: "The Miami Heat are an anomaly: Last
Week they won the NBA Finals without any foreign-born players on their roster. Everywhere
else, the NBA ( NBA? Or the UN?
It's called the National Basketball Association, but it's looking quite international
) resembles the international smorgasbord currently being hosted by Germany---a relatively
minor 32-country tournament known as the World Cup.
Just look at the Dallas Mavericks, whom the Heat vanquished in six games. Their most
popular player is a seven-foot German and their roster includes players from Senegal, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, and Russia."
"...that has helped transform the NBA into a mini-United
Nations---the league is now televised in 42 languages across 212 nations, and has 74
foreign players who represent 31 countries.
Other than the Miami Heat, only the New York Knicks have no foreign-born players. Yao Ming
(China), Tim Duncan (Virgin Islands), Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria), Michael Olowokandi
(Nigeria), and Andruw Bogut (Australia) have all been selected with the first pick in the
NBA draft. And Steve Nash, the reigning back-to-back MVP, is Canadian."
"The international growth is good for an NBA that has stagnated in the post-Jordan
era.
Foreign players display better fundamentals and teamwork because they are not easily
influenced by the one-on-one antics of playground Basketball. Their friends play soccer.
Perhaps most importantly, however, is the introduction of role models in countries where
Basketball is still viewed as an American sport. Although Brazilians will never consider
Nene more popular than Pele, his exposure is vitally important for the future of the
game." Jason Bailey in
the Christianity Today Magazine
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