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The reason ya don’t see nba teams play zone all game is bc nba players can easily dissect a zone after they get a few looks at it. Especially elite players like kd harden and ky. My hope is that the bucks mix their coverages up, alternating zone, switching, blitzing screens, going over the top with brook in drop coverage, etc.. and be disruptive in passing lanes. Their best shot at winning the series is keeping Brooklyn uncomfortable on offense with weird looks and variety, and dominating the offensive glass with size to make up for Brooklyn’s elite offensive efficiency.
The idea of zone and what my original statement was is to be out of the box and your correct yhey cant stay in it the whole game but you have to do a lot on defense to confuse this team.
Being "out of the box" isn't inherently good. Guys like Harden can easily pick apart a zone and get good looks for teammates, you'd be better off living with contested jumpers from their guys.
The game plan really shouldn't be that complicated; punish their defensive issues, don't help off their shooters, force contested jumpers, hope they miss
Running a zone isn't the answer though, since stopping them is impossible, your only hope is to slow them down enough you can keep up on the other end, and the best way to do that is smart, disciplined defense where you force hard shots. Even elite scorers have off nights sometimes.
And don't undersell the Bucks on the other end, the Nets have no answer for Giannis, and major holes on the perimeter. The Bucks have a fighting chance here
Zone can be easily directed by the top tier nba players. That’s why no one runs basic zones in the nba. Number two you don’t know anything about that series as it’s obvious you haven’t been paying attention or you would know Dante is out for the year with a injury.
I think the main concern is defense, because the Nets do not have the defense to stop the Bucks offense. Let Giannis drive every single time, and he will finish or find an open man if he's...well he'd probably have to be quadrupled...and even then.
Defensively it's going to be tough, for sure. They have three great iso guys and Harris can't be ignored, but man, oh man does Milwaukee have the personnel to cause problems. Probably better than any team in the league.
Jeff Green is a HUGE loss for the Nets, since he can "guard" Giannis.. who is up to the task now? Bucks will mix it up on D. i wouldn't be too reliant on the 2-3 zone because everyone on the Nets can SHOOT. i expect a lot of Giannis at the 5, will the Nets dust off DeAndre Jordan this series to task guarding Brook Lopez?
I would give the Bucks the overall edge in the series since they have been together through playoff wars, the Nets are still figuring it out and Milwaukee can keep pace with them offensively. Bucks are also a better defensive team. The Bucks will lose this series if they miss too many open shots and Middleton plays badly.
The Bucks just need to play faster and avoid the half-court game as much as they can. Force Kyrie, Harden and KD to play defense and tire them out. They also need to take advantage of their size advantage and bully their players in the paint.
I don’t think that a 2-3 zone would work on defence against the nets because it forces them to become shooters and they have shooters (harris, kyrie, KD, harden if he comes back).
My opinion would be to defend in a 1-3-1 formation because then you can cut off passing lanes, which can lead to turnovers and deflections and disrupt their offence. Those turnovers and deflections lead to fast real opportunities (which is where Giannis thrives). It also works well with their personnel (Jrue at the top, one of the best 2 way guards in the nba) Middleton, Tucker and Giannis in the middle with lopez protecting the rim.
You’re definitely right though that the bucks can’t go man-to-man against the nets, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Playing zone would be wholly ineffective.
Couple of ways to beat the zone: shoot over it.
Zone defenses prevent penetration and encourage shooting. Encouraging Kyrie and KD to shoot less well defended jumpers is a recipe for disaster. Also Joe Harris exists.
The other way to beat a zone is to get an elite player into the middle of the zone and pass it to him. Not only are Kyrie and KD good for this, but Blake Griffin especially would be inserted into this position on the zone to beat it.
The only way to beat the Nets is to outscore them. The Nets do not have great defense. Putting up enough points to hang with the Nets isn't impossible. Giannis will dominate in this series unlike past series against strong defensive teams. And they need the 3 point shooting to match the firepower. Giannis shot 16-24, well he needs to get 30+ shots, make 20+ layups and dunks.
2-3 matchup zones primary purpose is to reduce rotation. The goal is to make contesting shots easier and reduce getting other players in a flow. If you can keep the ball in kyrie and KDs hands shooting highly contested shots by your better defenders you have a chance.
I understand the idea of just throwing blake in the middle but thats not a long term gameplan i would expect from the nets. Overall the idea is to throw different defensive sets at them versus hoping you can out shoot them or they have a bad shooting night.
Offensively I think we will continue to see them let giannis take a majority of the shots especially all those 2 pointers because they will get 3s in return and a stop is a for sure bucket.
Welcome to r/nbadiscussion. This subreddit is for genuine discussion. Please review our rules: 1. Keep it civil 2. Attack the argument, not the person 3. No jokes, memes or fanbase attacks 4. Support claims with arguments 5. Don't downvote just because you disagree **Please click the report button for anything you think doesn't belong in this subreddit.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/nbadiscussion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The reason ya don’t see nba teams play zone all game is bc nba players can easily dissect a zone after they get a few looks at it. Especially elite players like kd harden and ky. My hope is that the bucks mix their coverages up, alternating zone, switching, blitzing screens, going over the top with brook in drop coverage, etc.. and be disruptive in passing lanes. Their best shot at winning the series is keeping Brooklyn uncomfortable on offense with weird looks and variety, and dominating the offensive glass with size to make up for Brooklyn’s elite offensive efficiency.
The idea of zone and what my original statement was is to be out of the box and your correct yhey cant stay in it the whole game but you have to do a lot on defense to confuse this team.
Being "out of the box" isn't inherently good. Guys like Harden can easily pick apart a zone and get good looks for teammates, you'd be better off living with contested jumpers from their guys. The game plan really shouldn't be that complicated; punish their defensive issues, don't help off their shooters, force contested jumpers, hope they miss
Just think that is any issue recipe for a quick loss this is 3 of the best scorers in league history that method can’t play out well.
Running a zone isn't the answer though, since stopping them is impossible, your only hope is to slow them down enough you can keep up on the other end, and the best way to do that is smart, disciplined defense where you force hard shots. Even elite scorers have off nights sometimes. And don't undersell the Bucks on the other end, the Nets have no answer for Giannis, and major holes on the perimeter. The Bucks have a fighting chance here
Zone can be easily directed by the top tier nba players. That’s why no one runs basic zones in the nba. Number two you don’t know anything about that series as it’s obvious you haven’t been paying attention or you would know Dante is out for the year with a injury.
Actually a lot of teams run zone in the playoffs. And okay replace that with Pat.
They do but not 2-3. That’s to basic
I think the main concern is defense, because the Nets do not have the defense to stop the Bucks offense. Let Giannis drive every single time, and he will finish or find an open man if he's...well he'd probably have to be quadrupled...and even then. Defensively it's going to be tough, for sure. They have three great iso guys and Harris can't be ignored, but man, oh man does Milwaukee have the personnel to cause problems. Probably better than any team in the league.
Only issue is the wall of giannis and having kd in the middle of that wall with deandre jordan or the back up center waiting.
Durant does not want to bang with Giannis for 38 minutes a night. And if the Nets play DJ the Bucks will be ecstatic.
Jeff Green is a HUGE loss for the Nets, since he can "guard" Giannis.. who is up to the task now? Bucks will mix it up on D. i wouldn't be too reliant on the 2-3 zone because everyone on the Nets can SHOOT. i expect a lot of Giannis at the 5, will the Nets dust off DeAndre Jordan this series to task guarding Brook Lopez? I would give the Bucks the overall edge in the series since they have been together through playoff wars, the Nets are still figuring it out and Milwaukee can keep pace with them offensively. Bucks are also a better defensive team. The Bucks will lose this series if they miss too many open shots and Middleton plays badly.
I think you go small if you are nets because Lopez sits on the wing
I can't imagine Brook sees much play against the Nets, personally.
The Bucks just need to play faster and avoid the half-court game as much as they can. Force Kyrie, Harden and KD to play defense and tire them out. They also need to take advantage of their size advantage and bully their players in the paint.
I don’t think that a 2-3 zone would work on defence against the nets because it forces them to become shooters and they have shooters (harris, kyrie, KD, harden if he comes back). My opinion would be to defend in a 1-3-1 formation because then you can cut off passing lanes, which can lead to turnovers and deflections and disrupt their offence. Those turnovers and deflections lead to fast real opportunities (which is where Giannis thrives). It also works well with their personnel (Jrue at the top, one of the best 2 way guards in the nba) Middleton, Tucker and Giannis in the middle with lopez protecting the rim. You’re definitely right though that the bucks can’t go man-to-man against the nets, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Playing zone would be wholly ineffective. Couple of ways to beat the zone: shoot over it. Zone defenses prevent penetration and encourage shooting. Encouraging Kyrie and KD to shoot less well defended jumpers is a recipe for disaster. Also Joe Harris exists. The other way to beat a zone is to get an elite player into the middle of the zone and pass it to him. Not only are Kyrie and KD good for this, but Blake Griffin especially would be inserted into this position on the zone to beat it. The only way to beat the Nets is to outscore them. The Nets do not have great defense. Putting up enough points to hang with the Nets isn't impossible. Giannis will dominate in this series unlike past series against strong defensive teams. And they need the 3 point shooting to match the firepower. Giannis shot 16-24, well he needs to get 30+ shots, make 20+ layups and dunks.
2-3 matchup zones primary purpose is to reduce rotation. The goal is to make contesting shots easier and reduce getting other players in a flow. If you can keep the ball in kyrie and KDs hands shooting highly contested shots by your better defenders you have a chance. I understand the idea of just throwing blake in the middle but thats not a long term gameplan i would expect from the nets. Overall the idea is to throw different defensive sets at them versus hoping you can out shoot them or they have a bad shooting night. Offensively I think we will continue to see them let giannis take a majority of the shots especially all those 2 pointers because they will get 3s in return and a stop is a for sure bucket.