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Insights into NBA offensive and defensive tactics (seven)
Three, insights into offensive and defensive concepts
The offense and defense of the NBA are incomparable in other parts of the basketball world. Whether it is the mode of attack and defense or the intensity of attack and defense, they are becoming more artistic. The offense emphasizes fluidity, and the defense emphasizes tightness. It is also a perfect interpretation of Mao Zedong's "On Contradiction". Use the best spear to hit the best shield, and use the best shield to defend against the sharpest spear.
(1) Regarding the goal of attack and defense. The ultimate purpose of basketball is to see who scores more within a certain time, space, and rules. This determines the final goal of attack and defense, which is to score. Just the way and direction of scoring are different.
Offense is the direct way to win and get points, which is accumulated through positive scoring methods, visible and tangible.
Offense is a tactical action by the ball carrier, with basketball as the base axis and the hoop as the ultimate goal. Through tactics, the five players are connected in spirit, morale, skills, and understanding of basketball tactics, showcasing strength and harmony.
Offense focuses more on tactical cooperation and individual abilities, emphasizing the relationship between individuals and the whole, parts and the whole, short-term and long-term, tactics and execution. The role of offensive tactics is more about emphasizing cooperation and coordination. Only when coordinated, it is the best. Only the best can play smooth offense, like flowing clouds and running water, releasing the overall energy, and performing unparalleled changes.
With fewer centers in the league, as Yao Ming said, they are becoming dinosaurs and monsters day by day. The tactical style of the NBA is shifting towards an emphasis on offense. Especially under the leadership of David Stern, Princeton and run-and-gun tactics have become increasingly popular, and more teams are starting to play basketball mainly focused on offense.
Under this large framework, the Rockets could not escape the fate of reform. In the 2007-08 season, they fired Van Gundy, known for his defense, and hired Adelman, who favored offense. The Princeton system officially moved into the Rockets. After summer reforms, the Rockets had a new coach, Adelman, a new tactic, Princeton, a new power forward, Scola, a new group of guards including Francis, James, and Brooks, and reactivated veteran Wills. The entire Rockets were completely renewed. Basketball experts predicted that the Rockets and the Celtics would be the two most hopeful teams to win the championship. As the season progressed, the Celtics dominated with a 26-3 record, while the Rockets fell from the top of the league to tenth in the West.
Adelman made the Rockets lose Van Gundy's defense. Not only was the offense lacking innovation, but it was even worse than last season. The entire team was like a rookie team just entering the league, weak against strong opponents, weaker against weaker ones, without stable tactics or effective personnel combinations, often losing rhythm in their offense. From an individual perspective, the Rockets had unprecedented basketball intelligence and ability among its players. This verified the Chinese saying, "three dragons become one worm." Gradually, the Yao-McGrady combination became a tactical contradiction. McGrady formed another tactical contradiction with the whole team, and the stars were increasingly distanced from the Rockets' offensive system. On the first day of the New Year, against the Warriors, Yao also appeared disconnected from the team's overall offense. Against "run-and-gun teams," Yao and McGrady seemed to have become shackles limiting the Rockets. These contradictions and paradoxes in the offense were caused by Adelman's tactics. Only the Rockets with Yao and McGrady could elevate to a higher level and combat power. A team without offense has no hope, and a team without efficient offensive means has no class. A team without high-intensity discipline cannot enter the ranks of super-strong teams. But offense is just one overt way for basketball to succeed. A basketball team with only offense and no defense has no future. From the NBA's recent records, "run-and-gun" teams that only focus on offense cannot win the final victory.
Defense is a passive behavior, opposite to offense. It is a key guarantee for winning, gaining points indirectly through the "negative times negative equals positive" direction.
In today's NBA era that values offense, defense is increasingly less emphasized by the league. Teams prioritizing defense are becoming fewer. This change in philosophy, besides being a chain reaction caused by the increase in speed and strength of NBA players, is also driven by the commercial orientation of fans in the league.
Attack and defense are actually a pair of contradictions. Strong offense can alleviate the pressure of defense, and similarly, ultra-strong defense can provide efficiency through the "negative times negative equals positive" effect. Offense directly adds points, while defense relatively adds points. Two realms, two directions, can be said to lead to the same end.
During the Van Gundy era, the Rockets' defense ranked among the top in the entire league, achieving a commendable record of 53 wins in the 2006-07 season. Last season, the Suns, who emphasized offense above all, ultimately met their demise at the hands of the Spurs, who valued defense above all.
Defense is an important reverse means of offense. Teams without defensive intensity are unstable. In the 2007-08 season, the "Big Three" made the Celtics' offense and defense more balanced, structurally more stable.
The reason why the Suns and Warriors have good records this new season is because they use their ultra-strong offensive capabilities to compensate for their lack of defense, changing the opponent's defensive formation and rhythm through offense. This is a balance caused by ultra-high intensity asymmetry. Offense and defense are relative concepts. If the Suns and Warriors were compared to the Spurs, the lack of defense would become evident. The Spurs are stable because they have an ultra-strong defensive structure and rapid counterattack capabilities. Based on a balanced offense and defense, the defense is even stronger. This defense-prioritizing ultra-strong structure not only scores in offense but also continuously suppresses the opponent's score in defense.
From an overall effect perspective, the success or failure of defense directly affects offensive efficiency, serving as the "base" of offense. Attack and defense are actually an integrated structural body. Defense alleviates the opponent's scoring, which is essentially adding points for oneself. Teams that prioritize defense do not need very high offensive efficiency to win. The Spurs usually do not let their opponents score over a hundred points in a season, reflecting the "integrated effectiveness of attack and defense." Offense gains positive points, defense gains "negative-negative points." Adding these two together will achieve real victory.