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

[TMagic]

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

For those that used the Nuggets as an example:

The Nuggets won 50 games. That's with poor defense. That should show you how important offense is right there. IMO, I can't see how we can say it's 50/50 or defense>offense when a team that is pretty good offensively and very poor defensively gets 50 wins.

In the playoffs, they got beat by the Lakers. The Lakers are a better offensive team AND they play much better defense. That's why they were swept.

Last year, they got beat by the Spurs. The Spurs are a great defensive team. The Nuggets were still able to score 80-90 points per game. The Spurs are also a very good team offensively. It seems like people tend to forget that. They have THREE of the best playmakers in the league, and a coach that runs a damn good offense. As I stated earlier, people seem to forget that. So against the Nuggets, their offense was even more efficient.

If the Nuggets were in the East, they would rip through teams with their offense alone. So again, I can't see how one can say that they are equal.

A great defensive team is probably only going to drop another team's scoring about 10, and at their absolute best defensively, 20 points from their average.

Look at the Lakers and the Spurs. The Spurs are the better defensive team. Why aren't they winning if defense is better or they are equal? Because the Lakers offense has been so much better than the Spurs.

If your offense isn't playing well, your defense suffers. Period.

That's why I can't agree with 50/50...Or defense > offense.

That's why I say 70/30 offense... And 30% is a huge portion. Just like defense having a big importance in the game. It's just not as close as offense.

[Bornindamecca]

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

^^^You're kind of proving my point though. Great offense works during the regular season, when there are a lot of inconsistent defenses night in and night out. Even a great defensive team might be on a road trip, or a back to back, so the numbers can get kind of lofty.

In the playoffs, when it counts, great defense is essential. The Lakers have stepped up their D. Look at how many steals and blocks they are getting, look at how they're rotating. Obviously it's ideal to have both, but when you look at the championships, you'll see many, many defensive oriented teams that win in a game that doesn't get out of the 90s. More so, they want it in the 90s, because they neutralize great offense when they limit the number of shots taken, and that's what happens more often than not in the playoffs.

The Lakers have a great chance to win it because Fish and Kobe are playing great perimeter defense, they are very long inside, and their bench gives a lot of effort on hustle and defense, so for most of the game they are playing well on both ends of the floor.

[dossier]

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

The Lakers have a great chance to win it because Fish and Kobe are playing great perimeter defense, they are very long inside, and their bench gives a lot of effort on hustle and defense, so for most of the game they are playing well on both ends of the floor.

Flip that then. the Lakers, a great offensive team, is beating San Antonio, a great defensive team.

[Bornindamecca]

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

Flip that then. the Lakers, a great offensive team, is beating San Antonio, a great defensive team.

Just established that the Lakers are playing well on both sides of the floor, and San Antonio's defense hasn't been great. I've said this about Bowen in other threads, but he's slowing down, Kobe's getting better, and Kobe is a better passer, so there is no more triple teaming. So against the Lakers, the Spurs have not been able to stop them from taking good shots.

[TMagic]

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

Just established that the Lakers are playing well on both sides of the floor, and San Antonio's defense hasn't been great. I've said this about Bowen in other threads, but he's slowing down, Kobe's getting better, and Kobe is a better passer, so there is no more triple teaming. So against the Lakers, the Spurs have not been able to stop them from taking good shots.

Thats exactly why I think that offense is more important than defense. San Antonio's defense hasn't gotten terrible. It's just that the Lakers offense is just that good.

[Bornindamecca]

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

Thats exactly why I think that offense is more important than defense. San Antonio's defense hasn't gotten terrible. It's just that the Lakers offense is just that good.

They've lost a couple of matchup advantages that they used to have, but if LA wasn't also playing very good defense so far in the series, they'd have lost a game already. LA hasn't had to play a great offensive game yet, because SA hasn't forced them too. It's great defense when you consistently force bad shots, shots from less talented personnel and disrupt sets. San Antonio hasn't done any of those things. You're basing their great defense off of their reputation, not what they've done in this series. With Bowen slowing down and Manu hurt, their perimeter defense isn't what it once was.

[dossier]

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

They've lost a couple of matchup advantages that they used to have, but if LA wasn't also playing very good defense so far in the series, they'd have lost a game already. LA hasn't had to play a great offensive game yet, because SA hasn't forced them too. It's great defense when you consistently force bad shots, shots from less talented personnel and disrupt sets. San Antonio hasn't done any of those things. You're basing their great defense off of their reputation, not what they've done in this series. With Bowen slowing down and Manu hurt, their perimeter defense isn't what it once was.

Manu claims that his ankle doesn't bother him anymore. Besides, no one has really been able to stop Kobe because he is tht good offensively. You don't hear people say, o, this guy is definately going to shut down that guy no matter what.

And what were we talking about before? Great defensive teams are consitent teams, and the Spurs have been extremely consitant. Kobe has been taking very tough shots, and he makes them.

Why? Because he is a great offensive player

[ZB9]

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

Manu claims that his ankle doesn't bother him anymore.

that is Manu being Manu. He doesnt like to complain about injuries. You dont hear injury excuses from him, even though he has had quite a few.

It doesnt mean his ankle is good. According to Popovich, it's not.

[Bornindamecca]

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

Manu claims that his ankle doesn't bother him anymore. Besides, no one has really been able to stop Kobe because he is tht good offensively. You don't hear people say, o, this guy is definately going to shut down that guy no matter what.

And what were we talking about before? Great defensive teams are consitent teams, and the Spurs have been extremely consitant. Kobe has been taking very tough shots, and he makes them.

Why? Because he is a great offensive player

Of course Kobe is a great offensive player, one of the greatest, but the issue with the Lakers is BALANCE. They are playing well in every facet of the game. Kobe has been there for years, and the Spurs have had success against him when the team was imbalanced. Defensively the Lakers were horrible, and offensively they could just lock into him.

I don't know what Manu's issue is, but he looks terrible on both sides of the floor. If the Spurs were playing great defense, the Lakers would be forced into bad shots regularly. A great offense would mean that they are making very difficult shots on a regular basis, which is not the case in this series. The Lakers are getting a lot of good shots, which is the very definition of inadequate defense.

[dossier]

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

What about game 1 where they held the Lakers to 89 pts and the Spurs temselves keeping pace with 85. That game came down to the wire. It was great defense by the Spurs, but better offense by the lakers.

[Bornindamecca]

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

What about game 1 where they held the Lakers to 89 pts and the Spurs temselves keeping pace with 85. That game came down to the wire. It was great defense by the Spurs, but better offense by the lakers.

I agree, and the Lakers know that if they do that throughout the series, they'll lose. But again, you keep bringing up the Lakers when they are good on both sides of the floor. They aren't a great example. They aren't simply a great offense, they are a well balanced team. I'm not answering anymore posts about this year's Laker team. There are plenty of reasons why they are a good defensive team. In fact, they have the superior defensive guards as starters and on the bench.