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

[edkim23]

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

i think offense is slightly more important...just because it is difficult to contain highly gifted scorers

the reason you need "defensive specialists" is to contain those offensive superstars or offensive plays

however, it just bugs the hell out of me when teams or individuals play atrocious defense because it is so correctable.
I may be wrong because I never played basketball at a high level, but I think effort/hustle can allow you do exceed or push your physical capabilities on defense...not so much on offense unless you're getting putbacks...

getting back on topic:
great offense is harder to generate, so more important

[av7]

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

Coming from watching the Nuggets...Defense is key to winning as Nuggets show you cant just run the court and win consistently.

[Streets]

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

For teams, Defense >>> Offense every day of the week.

The Spurs, Pistons, and Celtics were probably the three best defensive teams this year and suprise suprise are all in the conference finals while the run and gunners sit at home.

For players Offense >>> Defense for a couple of reasons

1. Rules benefit the offensive player and limit what a defender can do
2. Superstar calls for elite scorers (Kobe, Wade, etc.)
3. When you have a truely gifted scorer, it's not him against the defender, it is him against the opposing coach, because they have to change their whole gameplan to stop you.

[dossier]

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

Coming from watching the Nuggets...Defense is key to winning as Nuggets show you cant just run the court and win consistently.

You cant use the Nuggets because they played NO DEFENSE. I'd say 40% of the Nuggets shots that went in were from luck. The question is which is more important, not which would you rather have.
For example San Antonio and Detroit
The Spurs have Tim Duncan who demands a double team, hell, he scored 40pts against the Suns. Then you have Ginobili who can score with the best of them. The guy can shoot from anywhere and make shots and you cannot leave him open or he will nail the shot. Then you have Tony Parker who is one of the quickest players and one of the best finishers. He's one of the FEW PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE THAT CAN BE A ONE MAN FAST BREAK. Then Finely comes from the bench and gets his points without playing good D.

Then you have Detroit. Chauncey Billups can post you up, cross you up, shoot from anywhere, the guy can score. Next you have Richard Hamilton the #1 mid-range shooter in the game who will also get his points. They also have Rasheed Wallace the "best from UNC since MJ". Only player in the league who can shoot accurately and post up and probably win that battle. Tayshuan is a good shooter and so is McDyess.

You can look at their defense which no doubt is a large reason for their success, but you have to look at their offense to know why they have those rings.

[Bornindamecca]

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

Defense, easily.

You have to get stops.

There are only a few great players in a league, but a real defense will shut down the average and above average players. In a championship situation, you have to defend the ball and rebound it, to take over possessions. That's always the difference in the fourth quarter between two very good teams, because on very good/great teams, there are usually two to four guys who can really score, so the stop makes the difference.

[JBH3]

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

I think that definitely a close balance is needed (60/40), w/ offense being slightly more important...

Having someone who can take over a game offensively in the 4th QTR is a must. Great defense is played in the NBA for a qaurter or a half, but almost always a good offensive team goes ona run to cut that lead down or take the lead. It then becomes a battle of attrition where fouls, and fatigue come into play, but if you have a great scorer...again someone who can take the game over in the 4th I would rather have that player then say a team of semi-stars who play solid defense.

[ZB9]

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

I think that definitely a close balance is needed (60/40), w/ offense being slightly more important...

Having someone who can take over a game offensively in the 4th QTR is a must. Great defense is played in the NBA for a qaurter or a half, but almost always a good offensive team goes ona run to cut that lead down or take the lead. It then becomes a battle of attrition where fouls, and fatigue come into play, but if you have a great scorer...again someone who can take the game over in the 4th I would rather have that player then say a team of semi-stars who play solid defense.

that certainly showed itself in last night's game

[av7]

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

You cant use the Nuggets because they played NO DEFENSE.

Where are all these rules that say what I can and can't use? Defense is more important in the end, by how much is up to you but it still matters more than the offense to keep the game close or keep you ahead

[dossier]

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

Where are all these rules that say what I can and can't use? Defense is more important in the end, by how much is up to you but it still matters more than the offense to keep the game close or keep you ahead

Go ahead and use the Nuggets, its not helping your argument at all.

Like I said, defense is still important (Nuggets don't play any) but when it comes to winning games you need to have offense.

Remember, in the NBA, Good offense always beats good defense.

[Bornindamecca]

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

Go ahead and use the Nuggets, its not helping your argument at all.

Like I said, defense is still important (Nuggets don't play any) but when it comes to winning games you need to have offense.

Remember, in the NBA, Good offense always beats good defense.

It's actually "great offense beats great defense". It seems like semantics, but it matters because great defense is a constant, and great offense is a rarity. So when you're preparing a great team, you can hang your hat on great defense in a seven game series, and withstand the two or three times that great offense beats you, knowing that the majority of the time your defense is giving you an opportunity to win games, and taking them out of their rhythm.

[ehh]

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

It seems like semantics, but it matters because great defense is a constant, and great offense is a rarity..

In theory it should be that way because defense revolves around intelligence, hustle and heart, etc and offense includes fickle things such as shooting - but even great defensive teams have off nights on the defensive end of the court.

[Bornindamecca]

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

In theory it should be that way because defense revolves around intelligence, hustle and heart, etc and offense includes fickle things such as shooting - but even great defensive teams have off nights on the defensive end of the court.

I disagree. In their best years, San Antonio, Chicago, New York and Detroit were excellent night in and night out, defensively. Now I'm not saying that they never ever got beat defensively, but the effort was there and the lapses were minimal. When I say constant, of course I mean a relative constant; relative to great offense. Great offense usually doesn't face great defense, so it looks more consistent than it actually is. Against a great defensive team, a great offensive team will find itself in a situation where it has to make stops to win a playoff series.

[ehh]

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

IWhen I say constant, of course I mean a relative constant; relative to great offense.

That's pretty much the same point I was making.

[Moses Shuttlesworth]

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

They are equal in my opinion. If you can't score, you can't win. If the other team can't score, they can't win. Goes both ways.

[Bornindamecca]

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

That's pretty much the same point I was making.

I'm saying that great offense is inconsistent to great defense, relatively. Great offense usually doesn't happen more than two games in a series, whereas a great defense may give the effort for all seven. Even in a historic context in the NBA, the true offensive juggernauts are very rare, particularly in the last 20 year since the defensive reformation of the NBA in the 90s. Most of the champions have had a very good to great defense since then.

They are equal in my opinion. If you can't score, you can't win. If the other team can't score, they can't win. Goes both ways.

All teams try to do both, but it's about proportion and focus. You have guys like D'antoni and Adelman who are very offensively focused, and you have guys like Riley and Larry Brown who go the other way. The debate is about which ideology is superior, so the answer can't be both, because there are very few 50/50 coaches and teams in the league, because of personnel. A great example is Detroit. They are a much better team when they think defense first, because their personnel thrives off of a rebound where they have the option to either run the ball or set up. Because of their decision makers, their execution is superior.

Now if they play a team that's opposite, like Phoenix, they can be at a disadvantage if they get more offensively minded. In Phoenix, the idea is: if we each shoot 1000 shots, our guys have the talent to make more than your guys, so forget about sets and execution, let's sucker you into just taking a lot of shots and when you miss, we'll make, and we'll win a high scoring game. So in practice, the idea of offensive and defensive equality is rare if it exists at all.