Breaking Down the defensive adjustments

[Dakota Girl]

For those inclined to do so, let's breakdown the defensive changes which were made at half time.
I'll take a shot at it after a quick look at some second half defensive possessions...
ND frequently used two post players on the high side of free through line extended almost to the 3 pt line. They would ball screen the ball coming toward the middle. In the first half we were up close to the screener and ended up behind the drive giving them deep lane penetration pulling in the wing defenders leaving open kick outs.
In the second half we first went to a smaller lineup with only one big and few minutes for Isaac. We also had our screener defender back up into the paint and sagged the wings into driving lanes. When the driver came around the screen he saw two defenders waiting for him and that sagging wing defender was able to close out on the kick out because he didn't have to stop and go back out. He just moved out under control as the pass started out.
Tell us what you saw and liked.

 

[tjreese]

For those inclined to do so, let's breakdown the defensive changes which were made at half time.
I'll take a shot at it after a quick look at some second half defensive possessions...
ND frequently used two post players on the high side of free through line extended almost to the 3 pt line. They would ball screen the ball coming toward the middle. In the first half we were up close to the screener and ended up behind the drive giving them deep lane penetration pulling in the wing defenders leaving open kick outs.
In the second half we first went to a smaller lineup with only one big and few minutes for Isaac. We also had our screener defender back up into the paint and sagged the wings into driving lanes. When the driver came around the screen he saw two defenders waiting for him and that sagging wing defender was able to close out on the kick out because he didn't have to stop and go back out. He just moved out under control as the pass started out.
Tell us what you saw and liked.

I haven't tried to compare any specifics relative to positioning and such. It was obvious that ND many times had 5 players out around the line and we know spacing which maximizes quickness can be a problem for Purdue's D. What struck me was more generalities, but could be very well in agreement with the particulars you said. I was reminded of Butler a couple of years ago where Purdue put a lot of emphasis on Dunham and really tried to not let him get started by crowding him everywhere and pulling others out of better positioning in defending the rest of the team. It appeared to me with a passive eye that a decision was made that Farrell was going to get his and that the easy baskets for the others had to stop. Owens said before the game that he (Farrell) had really improved and was the head of the snake. Do you try to limit his and leave others more open or do you think he cannot beat you if you contain the others? It appeared that a decision either from the bench or just the players that were getting burnt was to play more of the pass from Farrell than stopping him from scoring which they never. If true that might explain what you saw as well. It did appear to me that Carsen was on him more the second half and a couple of times Carsen's quickness did bother Farrell. And it could be the particular adjustment you mention was a general approach that created the generalities in improved D...along with more focus and intensity from Purdue.


As an aside, when a poster is very negative (and people can have that right) in a general sense towards Matt and/or Purdue do you wonder if that person really is a Purdue fan if the number of postings are so small? There are many on the forum that are critical of Matt/Purdue and have an understanding of the game as there are many that are supporters of Matt and Purdue that understand the game. Then there are some you just know that seem a little out there in their thoughts with the main purpose of stirring the pot.

 

[Gemini95]

Can you talk more about deep lane penetration please?

 

[Dakota Girl]

Can you talk more about deep lane penetration please?

If I do I'll end linked to some other web site and have to erase browsing history.

 

[Dakota Girl]

I haven't tried to compare any specifics relative to positioning and such. It was obvious that ND many times had 5 players out around the line and we know spacing which maximizes quickness can be a problem for Purdue's D. What struck me was more generalities, but could be very well in agreement with the particulars you said. I was reminded of Butler a couple of years ago where Purdue put a lot of emphasis on Dunham and really tried to not let him get started by crowding him everywhere and pulling others out of better positioning in defending the rest of the team. It appeared to me with a passive eye that a decision was made that Farrell was going to get his and that the easy baskets for the others had to stop. Owens said before the game that he (Farrell) had really improved and was the head of the snake. Do you try to limit his and leave others more open or do you think he cannot beat you if you contain the others? It appeared that a decision either from the bench or just the players that were getting burnt was to play more of the pass from Farrell than stopping him from scoring which they never. If true that might explain what you saw as well. It did appear to me that Carsen was on him more the second half and a couple of times Carsen's quickness did bother Farrell. And it could be the particular adjustment you mention was a general approach that created the generalities in improved D...along with more focus and intensity from Purdue.


As an aside, when a poster is very negative (and people can have that right) in a general sense towards Matt and/or Purdue do you wonder if that person really is a Purdue fan if the number of postings are so small? There are many on the forum that are critical of Matt/Purdue and have an understanding of the game as there are many that are supporters of Matt and Purdue that understand the game. Then there are some you just know that seem a little out there in their thoughts with the main purpose of stirring the pot.

On the initial topic, it does seem that my theory and what you are describing fit together. I would love to have the coaches view on what they changed. This is the best part of basketball to me. How do you game plan and then what do you change and why?
Regarding negative posting. I think most of it is heat of the moment venting. But you do wonder about some of the new accounts popping in to put in their derision. I enjoyed reasonableguy's contribution and sudden disappearance. Too busy rubbing is Tom Crean action figure in his front pocket for reassurance to text anything else the rest of the day.

 

[Do Dah Day]

As always, I TRY to keep things simple. 1. Haas out, Swanigan in the middle sagging into the lane regardless of how far out his guy was, Vince at 4 = quicker and better penetration defense (I think Matt called it the Trojan defense), 2 Carsen on Farrel = quicker and better quick penetration defense (I think Matt called it the Foreplay defense). Combined, they resulted in stopping ND from scoring (I think Matt called it the Dad defense);.

 

[Dakota Girl]

As always, I TRY to keep things simple. 1. Haas out, Swanigan in the middle sagging into the lane regardless of how far out his guy was, Vince at 4 = quicker and better penetration defense (I think Matt called it the Trojan defense), 2 Carsen on Farrel = quicker and better quick penetration defense (I think Matt called it the Foreplay defense). Combined, they resulted in stopping ND from scoring (I think Matt called it the Dad defense);.

Wow..that's exactly what I said in 1/4 the words. And it's ribbed for the readers pleasure,

 

[tjreese]

Wow..that's exactly what I said in 1/4 the words. And it's ribbed for the readers pleasure,

I've never enjoyed taking a shower with a rain coat on

 

[Do Dah Day]

I've never enjoyed taking a shower with a rain coat on

Your goals were different

 

[Pharmer98]

I rewatched the game this morning. It looked to me like one of the biggest differences wasn't really a defensive adjustment as much as how Notre Dame chose to play offense following missed fg's vs. made fg's.

On missed Purdue attempts, Farrell pushed the ball up the court and tried to create a shot for himself or his teammates before the defense got set. Not a fast break exactly. Just ND immediately running a pick and roll or drive and kick and forcing Purdue to quickly find a man even before the offense even looked set. Purdue struggled to get matched up on several occasions and it led to good looks throughout the game.

On made Purdue fg's, Farrell brought the ball up and passed to the wing and then tried to run off screens to get an open shot. If the ball didn't make it back into Farrell's hands during the possession, the pick and roll and dribble penetration with guys like Veacham and Vasturia didnt work nearly as well. The best hope for ND was feeding Colson in the post.

As Purdue FG% improved in the second half, it resulted in Farrell handling the ball less. That led to more difficult shots for ND and some uncharacteristic turnovers. Colson became the only consistent scoring option, and Swanigan made some huge 1:1 defensive plays.

 

[tjreese]

I rewatched the game this morning. It looked to me like one of the biggest differences wasn't really a defensive adjustment as much as how Notre Dame chose to play offense following missed fg's vs. made fg's.

On missed Purdue attempts, Farrell pushed the ball up the court and tried to create a shot for himself or his teammates before the defense got set. Not a fast break exactly. Just ND immediately running a pick and roll or drive and kick and forcing Purdue to quickly find a man even before the offense even looked set. Purdue struggled to get matched up on several occasions and it led to good looks throughout the game.

On made Purdue fg's, Farrell brought the ball up and passed to the wing and then tried to run off screens to get an open shot. If the ball didn't make it back into Farrell's hands during the possession, the pick and roll and dribble penetration with guys like Veacham and Vasturia didnt work nearly as well. The best hope for ND was feeding Colson in the post.

As Purdue FG% improved in the second half, it resulted in Farrell handling the ball less. That led to more difficult shots for ND and some uncharacteristic turnovers. Colson became the only consistent scoring option, and Swanigan made some huge 1:1 defensive plays.

The set Purdue D was more effective, because it was set due to more offensive production...always the case! Well noted