It's just that offense wins basketball games

[alldaboston]

to win a title you need an elite defense and a couple elite scorers (guys who can scratch out points in the half court against same said elite defenses).

the grizz in recent years have had the D but not the scorers. no rings.

nash and amare had the suns playing elite O, but neither guy could guard a chair. no rings.

the warriors didn't do anything until draymond and iggy helped change the defensive culture.

you need guys who can dig in at both ends in crunch time, raising their level of play to a different tier. claiming it's just one or the other is absurd, and runs contrary to decades of evidence.

btw smart's ability to impact the game says a lot about the value of D - there's a reason he stays on the floor a lot. put some stud scorers around him and his value will be even more apparent (like bill russell or KG). the team talent level just isn't there yet.

this is a great post, TP

[mrceltic]

How many championship teams have had a defence outside top 10 metrics? And how many have had an offense outside the top 10 metrics?

That's the easiest way to answer this question simplistically

This sums it up. TP.

[Eja117]

It's great that Crowder can take a guy who scores 27 ppg and get him down to 17ppg while he himself goes from 15ppg to 12 points, but it turns out 17 points beats 12 points, so ....offense...wins...games.

Pretty sure you realize it is not this simple

No, it really is because that's how the game works. You have to outscore your opponent to win.

[Granath]

Yeah, because Paul Westhead was amazingly successful in the NBA.

Next!

[Eja117]

You're not going to win a game with a bunch of Marcus Smarts. Every player on the team could be a Marcus Smart and you won't make the playoffs. 

If you want to say "It takes balance" fine. But then in that case we have to admit Marcus isn't a championship type player because he has no balance.

IT and Avery have balance. They are much better.

[furball]

Not everyone on your team has to do both.  As a team you have to do both.  Look at Rondo and Perkins.  They were not balanced yet they won a championship. 

[Eja117]

Not everyone on your team has to do both.  As a team you have to do both.  Look at Rondo and Perkins.  They were not balanced yet they won a championship.

They weren't as critical to their team as Smart seems to be.

[Granath]

Not everyone on your team has to do both.  As a team you have to do both.  Look at Rondo and Perkins.  They were not balanced yet they won a championship.

They weren't as critical to their team as Smart seems to be.

Thank you for yet another example of truly how little you know the game of basketball.

[Surferdad]

It's great that Crowder can take a guy who scores 27 ppg and get him down to 17ppg while he himself goes from 15ppg to 12 points, but it turns out 17 points beats 12 points, so ....offense...wins...games.

Pretty sure you realize it is not this simple

No, it really is because that's how the game works. You have to outscore your opponent to win.

No that's too simple.  It is not a one-on-one game.

[Eja117]

It's great that Crowder can take a guy who scores 27 ppg and get him down to 17ppg while he himself goes from 15ppg to 12 points, but it turns out 17 points beats 12 points, so ....offense...wins...games.

Pretty sure you realize it is not this simple

No, it really is because that's how the game works. You have to outscore your opponent to win.

No that's too simple.  It is not a one-on-one game.

I think I made various assumptions in the example that Lebron would not dramatically increase his assists and rebounds, and that the reason his ppg went down was worse shooting and denied area, as well as fouling more. It was sorta a everything else equal kind of assumption.

[BitterJim]

You're not going to win a game with a bunch of Marcus Smarts. Every player on the team could be a Marcus Smart and you won't make the playoffs. 

If you want to say "It takes balance" fine. But then in that case we have to admit Marcus isn't a championship type player because he has no balance.

IT and Avery have balance. They are much better.

You're not gonna win with a bunch of James Harden's, either...

Every player doesn't need to be balanced, but your team overall needs balance. You can have one-dimensional role players (like Shumpert on the Cavs), but you need a good balance overall

[TheSundanceKid]

How many championship teams have had a defence outside top 10 metrics? And how many have had an offense outside the top 10 metrics?

That's the easiest way to answer this question simplistically

To further my earlier point...

http://www.sportingcharts.com/articles/nba/offense-and-defensive-efficiency-of-nba-champions.aspx

So does defense win championships? Based on the offensive and defensive efficiency of the teams playing in past ten NBA Finals, having an efficient defense is more important than an efficient offense.

This runs from 2002-2012 so it misses out the last few years. But in those years we've had Heat teams that pride themselves on defence, Spurs teams that do the same and a Golden State team that is near the top of both. So no extra evidence towards offense meaning more than defence.

Edit: Even better, someone on Reddit has done the analysis for the last 30 years

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/332bdu/does_offense_or_defense_win_championships_look_at/

[tstorey_97]

Try this...

A terrific defense can sometimes shut down a high scoring offense.

Offense can sometimes "go cold."

Sometimes, defense can physically fight through a "bad night" by sheer effort.

Defense creates offensive opportunities in basketball.

I understand that, for money reasons, the NBA, like many other sports, prefers scoring as it is easier to market....Russell vs Wilt, who has more rings?

Timmy Thomas won the Stanley Cup for his team playing one of the greatest seasons for a goalie ever.

Tom Brady has an extra ring because a UFA made a defensive play.

Panthers found out about the Bronc's defense carrying their semi crippled QB this year.

Can Steph Curry reverse "defense wins championships"?  If anyone can shift the paradigm he can but, it ain't over til it's over.

[Evantime34]

I think offense is what people remember more but defense is more important.

Here is an example: People remember Klay going inferno in game 6 to beat OKC, but the Warriors don't win that game unless they force the turnovers that they did to end the game.

OKC was up in that series in the first place because their length on defense made things significantly more difficult on the Golden State offense.

Defense is more consistent, while offense is more likely to come and go.

[PhoSita]

You need to be really good on both ends to win a championship.

Building an elite offense, especially one that remains efficient in the playoffs against quality opponents, is much more difficult than building a top defense.

Finding solid team defenders in free agency and the draft is challenging but doable. Finding elite offensive players is tough. And expensive.