"Defense is pride, but offense makes ESPN"

Jared Zwerling writes on many subjects in his latest column but this one about defense in the NBA was particularly intriguing:

There's no question that defending the evolving offensive style is difficult. In addition to spread half-court sets, teams are running more secondary break schemes, and there's a greater number of scoring point guards operating out of high pick-and-rolls—factors that have all made rotating on defense more challenging. But one NBA scout still notices a "lack of commitment on the defensive end."

"These are the best athletes in the world, so they can do what they want on the court," the scout said. "Some players are more gifted than others, but the bottom line is you have to want to defend."

Another NBA scout sees the same thing, even going so far as to say that "defense sucks" in today's game.

"Athleticism is what's driving the NBA, and I don't think the coaching is that smart," the scout said. "Coaching is now about ego. In order for a coach to keep his job, he will not require certain players to do certain things on defense. But if you look at the Bulls coach (Tom Thibodeau), he removes his ego completely."

One of the scouts made the point that fewer players have the benefit of three or four years of college, where they learn to play both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, NBA coaches have limited time to teach (partly due to turnover; last summer alone, there were 13 new hires), so they go with what the players know best from their AAU days and the one-and-done experience: offense.

"Many coaches have jumped on the bandwagon and said, 'Screw it. We can't guard, so let's run.' Defense is pride, but offense makes ESPN," the scout said. "I'm sure all coaches believe in defense to a certain degree, but more of them prefer to outscore opponents rather than emphasize or implement ways of slowing them down. In this league, no good team and/or player can be stopped, but they can be neutralized..."

There's more so head here.