Thought this warranted its own thread. How does everyone think Purdue's defense will compare to last year? Better, same, why?
Defense lives here
- Thread starter boilernuke
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Do you include defensive rebounding in this comparison? If so, we'll be worse than last season as this is the Biggiest deficiency on the team from Taipei and the two scrimmages.
I have always considered rebounding different from offense and defense. Rebounding will obviously be different . We'll ha e our 4 seniors back so we know what to expect from them on D, but it will be interesting to see how the rest of the team fits in on D. Again, just interested on what folks think. I have not had the chance to see the guys in action yet.
Rebounding is a big part of defense, we will get out maneuvered or bullied depending if Haas is in there or not. Guards still have problems containing quick guards. We will win on offensive matchups "Painter strength". Blocked shots will increase, and hopefully steals a little bit.
The key question can we force more turnovers + get more more blocks to make up for biggie's defensive rebounding? I'm truly not sure.
With regards to rebounding. There were about 4-5 times a game last year. When Biggie grabbed boards away from one of our own players. So it’s not like our returning guys aren’t usually in good position to grab one. Also I think you’ll see this team be able to grab some rebounds that even Biggie couldn’t get to. Like against Kansas last year. With the length and athleticism of Eastern and Wheeler. They’ll get to some boards that none of our other guys can. Bc of how quickly they can get sky up for a board.
Last year, Purdue’s bigs had to play not to foul because of lack of depth on the front line. If Taylor is healthy, I think that it will allow Haas, Haarms, and Taylor to play much more agressively, which will improve the interior defense.
Nevertheless, perimeter defense and dribble containment will be key. Dakota and PJ have limited room for improvement defensively, IMO, but I think that Cline and Carsen can get a lot better. If Carsen were to raise his defensive game like Dakota did last season, it would have a huge impact. Vincent may have some room for improvement as well.
I also think that Nojel may help. Even though he’s a freshman, he appears to have the length, strength, quickness, and anticipation to be a solid defender.
Nevertheless, perimeter defense and dribble containment will be key. Dakota and PJ have limited room for improvement defensively, IMO, but I think that Cline and Carsen can get a lot better. If Carsen were to raise his defensive game like Dakota did last season, it would have a huge impact. Vincent may have some room for improvement as well.
I also think that Nojel may help. Even though he’s a freshman, he appears to have the length, strength, quickness, and anticipation to be a solid defender.
Hammons and Raphel was prob our last really good defensive team since the rule changes. I think we led the league in scoring last year (I think top 2 or 3 for a couple seasons now).
Should we change the sign to "Offense Lives Here"? Kind of tic, but not really...
In all seriousness, how well we rebound and play defense will be the season we have.. We don't have a rim protector and we don't have great rebounding bigs (Haas and Vince ... I'll include Vince since he will play more "4"). We'll need better position D and rebounding from everyone. Let's get after it! If we can play good D and rebound, the sky is the limit for this team.
Should we change the sign to "Offense Lives Here"? Kind of tic, but not really...
In all seriousness, how well we rebound and play defense will be the season we have.. We don't have a rim protector and we don't have great rebounding bigs (Haas and Vince ... I'll include Vince since he will play more "4"). We'll need better position D and rebounding from everyone. Let's get after it! If we can play good D and rebound, the sky is the limit for this team.
Purdue defensive efficiency ratings:
2014 - 100.5 (90th)
2015 - 97.0 (54th)
2016 - 93.1 (11th)
2017 - 93.9 (23rd)
Purdue offensive efficiency ratings:
2014 - 108.4 (119th)
2015 - 110.9 (61st)
2016 - 116.9 (19th)
2017 - 117.0 (24th)
The last two years join 2011 as the only times in the KenPom era (since 2002) that Purdue has finished in the top 25 of both offensive and defensive efficiency ratings. I'd say offense AND defense both live here!
I agree that I think we've been sneakily good defensively, but it's in a non-flashy way so it goes unnoticed. We aren't a high-pressure team, we aren't a turnover-causing machine, etc. - but that's not necessarily great all-around defense. We've been solid in 3 point defense which is a key to this team. There aren't a lot of great interior teams out there - and we have and have had obvious size challenges for teams. So if you can not give up good looks from the 3 point line, it makes teams work for a good shot. As long as we keep teams limited from the 3 point line, it gives them less of a chance to expose us defensively. Obviously for this year, our perimeter players are virtually the same which is good in that regard.
It'll be interesting to see how the interior defense fares this year. I think with what could be a bit of a rotation, it may not gel right away and there could be some shaky games leading up to conference play (errr...January). Swanigan was not really the greatest defender - he was a tremendous rebounder, but often avoided contact and was often out of position defensively.
I do think we have the ability to be a team that has very consistent numbers across the board on rebounding. We have tall guards for the most part. I have not seen the team play myself, but I was encouraged to see decent rebounding numbers from Haarms the other day - not sure if that's something that is normal or not.
I think Swanigan was a better defender than most give him credit for. I believe he was instructed to avoid fouls at all costs so he was pretty lax defensively. There were times when he turned it up late in games with just one or two fouls that he showed what he could be defensively. I'm thinking the second game against IU specifically but also Vermont in the tournament.
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I'm not saying it had anything to do with laziness or anything, but he was not on the same level as our other 4 players on the court at many times - regardless of the reason. Simply pointing this out because I think defensively, we could have potential to be a better interior defensive team with a bit more depth (knock on wood with Taylor).
Unfortunately I think Haas will see his minutes increase and he's not as good a defender as Biggie. We do have more of an opportunity to situationally substitute Taylor or Haarms to offset that but I'm going to take a wait and see on whether they are better than Swanigan in that regard.
I do think Carsen will improve. He was a solid on ball defender who can be a bit better. He was a poor off ball defender and I'll be stunned if he's not better in that facet.
Never been a fan of Purdue having a reputation as a defensive minded team. I think that goes back to the Keady days and the lack of having offensive firepower, meaning you had to grind out possessions on the defensive end and prevent the other team from scoring.
Right or wrong, like it or hate it, todays recruits want to run and score and showcase their offensive game. The NBA, for the most part, drafts scorers, not defenders.
Sure, it's nice to have a lock down defender like a Kramer or Davis, but often times, those players lack offensive skills. Not sure the trade off is worth it.
Right or wrong, like it or hate it, todays recruits want to run and score and showcase their offensive game. The NBA, for the most part, drafts scorers, not defenders.
Sure, it's nice to have a lock down defender like a Kramer or Davis, but often times, those players lack offensive skills. Not sure the trade off is worth it.
Or we could be like last year where were are good at both. One doesn't necessarily negate the other and our scoring percentages show that.
I think our own fans (particularly on this board) have mis-stated Purdue's style themselves.
You have to go back to 2009-10 to the last time Purdue ranked higher in the conference in scoring defense than scoring offense. The last 7 years we have ranked higher in scoring offense than scoring defense.
Just because Purdue actually plays defense (and as a team), doesn't mean there's no offense. But you know what's also refreshing? That we adapt to our personnel. Have we had some great defensive teams? Sure, but it's typically not when we've had the team that can lead the Big Ten in scoring. So if you want to win, you have to max out your defensive output.
This notion we are so restrictive on offense and only care about defense is a negative stigma -mostly amplified by our own fans.
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