Rollie Massimino came up North from New Jersey after a couple of years of making the State Finals not an easy task in Jersey .Rollie had as mentors some of the East Coast greatest coaching legends
.When he arrived , he went back to basics and drills especially defence Assume the position, hand down ,sliding side to side and hold that position , Then ball denial drills. Hours and hours of drills and conditioning. This was a defence, that was about communication ,team work and intimidation Not to forget those,boxing out drills with Massimino's goal to shut a team out for a quarter using intense pressure, ball denial, help man to man defence .Then he ripped apart our jump shots.
New England hadn't seen or heard a defence like this. Other teams played in silence while all you could hear was help right ,help left, watch the screen. He even had us growling as you pressured the ball up court or on inbounds during practice
You were benched if you straightened up from your defensive stance or tongue lashed for not calling out a screen or box out. He screamed and yelled ,pulled at his thinning hair and talk about intimidating the refs with his Jersey accent What a motivator he was.
Not only was Coach Carter on this week bringing back memories but a miked up Kemba communicating and hearing Robert Williams talk about defensive communication and you can see it has taken root.
Marcus always talking.
Theis is playing inspired defence and moving well laterally .You can actually feel the intensity level, the swarming and positioning cutting off driving and passing lanes.
Great defence is so beautiful like ball movement on offence but even rarer but it comes at a cost like Gordons fractured hand running into a hard screen.
Did you see Marcus rip that ball away from the Spurs center that was not just strength but the precise use speed, force and a core strength.This is a gift.
In Summer League Robert Williams took a wide open 12-15 footer and was quickly reprimanded by Morrison.I get it. For now just work on defence and keeping the ball moving get yous screens and timing down on your rolls and getting to a position that allows for penetration by others and the option of passing or finishing at hoop..