Compared to NBA seasons past, shooting is at more of a premium than ever before, with nearly every player on the floor these days being capable of taking and making it from outside. Offenses and defenses alike have become more complex in response to this reality. The teams that have found the most success have not only had the best shooters; they’ve also had coaches who know how to maximize their talents while limiting opposing teams’ ability to get open looks themselves.
Advertisement
Kevin Durant joined LeBron James and Steve Nash on the most recent episode of Mind the Game, and in a prescient twist, ended up talking about Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka as someone who makes life difficult for opposing offenses. Since this episode was recorded, Durant has ended up being traded to Houston in the league’s first-ever seven-team deal.
Conspiracy theorists will wonder if Durant already knew at this point that he would be traded to the Rockets, but that’s immaterial, as Udoka has a deserved reputation as one of the best coaches in the game. The contract extension he signed in late June, which reportedly pays him at least $10 million per year, is proof of that.
“I even love that you can throw zones in there, they’re mixing up defenses,” Durant said of the man who’d soon become his new coach. “When we play Houston, Ime Udoka does a good job of that. He will go one possession regular man, next possession zone, go back to man, the next three possessions zone, all in the first quarter.”
LeBron hasn’t always had the best relationships with his coaches in his career, but he rarely resists a chance to give his former Heat coach Erik Spoelstra his flowers. He piggybacked on Durant’s point to do just that.
“Imma even go a little more drastic, who was even more crazier with it. Erik Spoelstra will go 48 straight minutes of zone. He will start the game in zone.”
You might think that a gifted scorer like KD would be frustrated by these defensive innovations, but he’s always been a guy who appreciates the finer points of basketball. For him, better opposing coaching is a good thing because it forces him to adapt in order to succeed. You either innovate along with them, or you get left behind.
“I see a lot of coaches being creative defensively, and that’s pushing players to be better offensively,” he said. “Now, even a man-on-man defense is starting to look like a zone a little bit, with so many gaps. If you can’t shoot, for sure they’re gonna be in the zone.”
Nash summed it up beautifully. “It’s tit for tat. Offense got so good, ‘Oh we gotta change our defense.’ Defense gets good, now like you said, it’s pushing you to think, ‘How do I find new spaces?'”
So much of basketball discourse these days is two guys screaming hot takes at each other. If you’re serious about the game, don’t pass up the chance to listen to three of the best players of the past quarter-century chop it up.
