Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

[TMagic]

"Offense sells tickets (wins games), but defense wins championships."

Is this statement true to you? How so? This statement I feel applies to a team as a whole.

But what about the individual ball player in the league?

What is your personal opinion?

I was thinking of this while reading the thread about KG.

Somebody brought up Dirk, again, and how he's better. And then others were saying that KG is better defensively. (Please don't have this turn into another Dirk thread.)

So I started thinking about which is better? What matters more?

What matters more as a team?
What matters more as a player?
What is more important to the game of basketball?

Speak on it.

[TMagic]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

So, in my own personal opinion, I feel like no matter what people say, offense is far more important to winning games and being a more valuable player.

I feel like basketball is 70% offense and 30% defense.

A player can dominate and completely take over a game offensively. I do not feel the same can be said for defense.

A team full of great offensive pieces and no D will beat a team with little scoring prowess and great defensive pieces. I just feel like that is the way it is.

A great defender, w/ low offensive ability will NEVER be more valuable than a great offensive player w/ low defending ability.

For instance, let's say Bruce Bowen is 19 years old and can play defense just as well as ever.

Do you take him over Carmelo Anthony to start your franchise with?....... I would hope not.

Analysts and fans are always quick to point out how well somebody played offensively. But not so much defensively. Is it because they're dumb and don't understand the game. No. It's because offense is far more important.

Again, I DO NOT WANT THIS TO TURN INTO A DIRK THREAD, but when you look at KG and Dirk, you have KG who is the much better defender and Dirk who is the better offensive player. Who is the better player in my own opinion? Dirk. Why? Because he is a more gifted offensive talent and he's dominated games, completely taking over with his offense, leading his team to victories. I don't feel the same can not be said about KG, despite him being a better defensive player than Dirk.

You look at the NFL and I can't say this is how it applies there. There I feel like it's slightly less important if not equal in importance to the offensive side of the ball.

But in the NBA its offense first, defense second.

Look at LeBron and how he and his squad lost to the Spurs last year. Yes, the Spurs played great D. But, we all should agree that the Cavs offense was and still is terrible.

Now, I'm not saying that defense is not important. Just that it carries less importance. It's like having a college exam being worth 30%. That's huge. But as a whole, I think offense plays a much more profound effect on the outcomes of games than defense.

And I feel that offensive player>defensive player.

So for me, it's 70/30 offense.

[Brandon13]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

50/50.

[ZB9]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

great offense usually beats good defense in the NBA imo. (it's different than baseball)

not to turn this into a Dirk thread...but for example, as great a defensive player as Garnett is, head to head he can rarely contain Dirk when he is matched up with him. Dirk usually outscores KG, and negates Garnett's defensive advantage.

truly great offensive players like Kobe, AI, Pierce, Lebron, etc...are almost impossible to stop when they are on their game unless they are double or triple teamed (Lebron was double and tripled, yet still scored 45). Teams with go 2 players like that have the advantage over teams with defensive stoppers imo...however, those go 2 players need to have complimentary players that are great on defense (Kobe is great on defense himself, but that is an exception)

[chitownballa]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

So, in my own personal opinion, I feel like no matter what people say, offense is far more important to winning games and being a more valuable player.

I feel like basketball is 70% offense and 30% defense.

A player can dominate and completely take over a game offensively. I do not feel the same can be said for defense.

A team full of great offensive pieces and no D will beat a team with little scoring prowess and great defensive pieces. I just feel like that is the way it is.

A great defender, w/ low offensive ability will NEVER be more valuable than a great offensive player w/ low defending ability.

For instance, let's say Bruce Bowen is 19 years old and can play defense just as well as ever.

Do you take him over Carmelo Anthony to start your franchise with?....... I would hope not.

Analysts and fans are always quick to point out how well somebody played offensively. But not so much defensively. Is it because they're dumb and don't understand the game. No. It's because offense is far more important.

Again, I DO NOT WANT THIS TO TURN INTO A DIRK THREAD, but when you look at KG and Dirk, you have KG who is the much better defender and Dirk who is the better offensive player. Who is the better player in my own opinion? Dirk. Why? Because he is a more gifted offensive talent and he's dominated games, completely taking over with his offense, leading his team to victories. I don't feel the same can not be said about KG, despite him being a better defensive player than Dirk.

You look at the NFL and I can't say this is how it applies there. There I feel like it's slightly less important if not equal in importance to the offensive side of the ball.

But in the NBA its offense first, defense second.

Look at LeBron and how he and his squad lost to the Spurs last year. Yes, the Spurs played great D. But, we all should agree that the Cavs offense was and still is terrible.

Now, I'm not saying that defense is not important. Just that it carries less importance. It's like having a college exam being worth 30%. That's huge. But as a whole, I think offense plays a much more profound effect on the outcomes of games than defense.

And I feel that offensive player>defensive player.

So for me, it's 70/30 offense.

but you'd take the better offensive player over the elite defensive player in almost any sport. Why? Simple... because it's harder to find a Carmelo Anthony than a Bruce Bowen. They're both extremely good at what they do, but the Bowen-type defender will cost less and be easier to obtain. That doesn't mean he's less important to the team.

I watch college b-ball a lot more, so my opinion is different. But here's the thing... if you can't get defensive stops at the end of games, you're not going to win. It's that simple. I do agree having that guy to take over offensively at the end of games is huge (especially in the NBA) but you need to get those stops at the end to preserve the lead or get back into the game.

As far as your Spurs-Cavs argument... yes, the Cavs offense sucked. But the whole reason the Spurs win championships is because of their good team defense. They have guys like Bowen who frustrate and mess with the opposing team's best player and get them out of rythym.

Also, it's not like Dirk's won anything either I'd take KG

[chitownballa]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

great offense usually beats good defense in the NBA imo. (it's different than baseball)

not to turn this into a Dirk thread...but for example, as great a defensive player as Garnett is, head to head he can rarely contain Dirk when he is matched up with him. Dirk usually outscores KG, and negates Garnett's defensive advantage.

truly great offensive players like Kobe, AI, Pierce, Lebron, etc...are almost impossible to stop when they are on their game unless they are double or triple teamed (Lebron was double and tripled, yet still scored 45). Teams with go 2 players like that have the advantage over teams with defensive stoppers imo...however, those go 2 players need to have complimentary players that are great on defense (Kobe is great on defense himself, but that is an exception)

exactly. The Bulls had MJ, who was the best offensive player in the game IMO. But until they got the team surrounding him, and until their defense started to click, they didn't win any championships.

[Cebby]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

I'm going with offense for 3 reasons:

1. This isn't football. A defender can play an offensive player perfectly and the offensive player can still score.

2. IMO, the vast majority of "great defense" is bad offense.

3. "Great defense" bores the hell out of me, as #2 tends to persist.

[GP Mercy]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

Defense is more valuable. What about Bill Russell? I love offensive minded players as much as the next guy, but it all comes down to defense. In my mind, good defense creates offense.

The Nuggets are a prime example of this. I believe they were the highest scoring team this season in the NBA. In the first round of the playoffs, they were dominated by the Lakers. Why? Because they could not stop Phil Jackson's offense. It sounds cliche, but offense wins games, and defense wins championships.

[ZB9]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

Defense is more valuable. What about Bill Russell? I love offensive minded players as much as the next guy, but it all comes down to defense. In my mind, good defense creates offense.

The Nuggets are a prime example of this. I believe they were the highest scoring team this season in the NBA. In the first round of the playoffs, they were dominated by the Lakers. Why? Because they could not stop Phil Jackson's offense. It sounds cliche, but offense wins games, and defense wins championships.

this aint baseball or football. Do you think the very best defensive player in the league could stop Bryant if Kobe is on his game?

[chitownballa]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

this aint baseball or football. Do you think the very best defensive player in the league could stop Bryant if Kobe is on his game?

you could say the same about QBs like Peyton Manning, Montana back in the day, John Elway. And I bet the vast majority of people would agree defense is bigger in football

Guys like Kobe don't come around very often in the NBA

[KG]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

great offense usually beats good defense in the NBA imo. (it's different than baseball)

I'm going with offense for 3 reasons:

1. This isn't football. A defender can play an offensive player perfectly and the offensive player can still score.

Yup. You see it all the time, someone hits a shot and the announcer says "there is nothing you can about that"

I'm with Soldier though. Give me 125-120 any day of the week over 80-76.

[GP Mercy]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

this aint baseball or football. Do you think the very best defensive player in the league could stop Bryant if Kobe is on his game?

They could not. Basketball isn't 1 vs. 1. If we are talking about overall defense/offense, then defense is superior. If it is individual offense/defense, then offense wins.

[ZB9]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

They could not. Basketball isn't 1 vs. 1. If we are talking about overall defense/offense, then defense is superior. If it is individual offense/defense, then offense wins.

in most other major sports, defense beats offense most of the time....In basketball, if they are on their game, the top offensive go 2 guys beat good defense most of the time.

For example, Boston is a great defensive team, but it didnt matter what they did, they were not going to contain Lebron yesterday. (It's just too bad Lebron didnt have any robins, but i digress).

[chitownballa]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

in most other major sports, defense beats offense most of the time. In basketball, if they are on their game, the top offensive go 2 guys beat good defense most of the time.

For example, Boston is a great defensive team, but it didnt matter what they did...they were not going to contain Lebron yesterday. (It's just too bad Lebron didnt have any robins, but i digress).

and who won the game again lol

[ZB9]

Re: Offense or Defense? Which do you feel is more important? Or are they equal?

and who won the game again lol

and vice versa. Pierce was on his game, and it didnt matter what Cleveland did. Despite being a solid defensive team, they were not going to contain Pierce when he is on like that.

Team defense is obviously important, but even the best defensive teams MUST have great offensive players, or they are not going to contend. It is the great offensive players that make a bigger impact on games than the great complimentary defensive players.