Team Defense Leads to Team Success

In the game of basketball, great defense isn’t usually as glamorous or aesthetically pleasing as great offense. However, the saying “defense wins championships” didn’t sprout without a reason. Almost all of the very best teams in the history of the NBA paired their scoring abilities with an elite defense. Take the 2008 Boston Celtics, for example. While players such as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen possessed top-shelf skills on the offensive end, the team formed one of the greatest defensive units in NBA history under the leadership of coaches Doc Rivers and Tom Thibodeau and forward Kevin Garnett.

When young athletes are first learning the game, they often want to mirror the very best scorers in the NBA - Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, etc. However, coaches could help these youngsters understand the importance of defense through discussions at practice and tutorials on team websites. Not all players can shoot the ball 10 times per game. When athletes adapt to their role, teams usually find more success.

Kentucky denies Louisville with defensive prowess

The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team rose to the top of the NCAA rankings through elite defense, not offense. The team’s collective ability to shut down the opposition explains how it left the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky, with a 58-50 victory over the University of Louisville men’s basketball team.

Louisville shot a season-low of 25.9 percent from the field, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Coach Rick Pitino said that the team was unable to execute its offensive game plan, which focused on touches for forward Montrezl Harrell.

“Not being able to pass the ball like we want, not getting on the break, our defense was very, very good in the first half,” Pitino told the news outlet. “We knew that we would play good defense. We knew we’d force turnovers. It was a question of whether we could score, and the answer was we didn’t.”

Dunmore’s defense keys victory over Holy Cross

A pair of high school hoops powers in Pennsylvania went head to head this week. No. 7 Dunmore topped No. 3 Holy Cross by a score of 42-32 because of its tenacious defense, according to The Times Tribune.

“I thought their pressure bothered us the entire game,” Holy Cross coach Al Callejas told the news outlet. “We were having a hard time getting in our sets. We had been shooting the ball well, but you can’t win consistently with only jump shots. We weren’t able to take the ball to the basket and that is a credit to their defense.”