Mavs talking up defense

[kriD]

Mavs talking up defense

Johnson's defensive principles come through loud and clear

By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News

It's not about the catchy phrases that hang around the Mavericks practice facility or the monologues by coach Avery Johnson and others about the importance of defense.

It's about the history.

Eyes roll and creativity ceases when someone trots out the bromide that defense wins championships. But of the last 17 teams to win an NBA title, only two failed to rank in the top 10 in scoring defense.

This season, the Mavericks ranked seventh in scoring defense.

"We didn't think that anybody was going to reinvent the game, score 105 points a game and give up 102 points and win a championship," Johnson said. "We just talked to them about it. They said they were interested in changing their defensive approach, and that's what we've done."

The Mavericks talked defense heading into last season's playoffs, then quickly reverted to marshmallow form. The team could not defend the pick-and-roll and offered little resistance at the basket. Why would this postseason be any different?

It should be different because the players have had an entire season for Johnson's defensive principles to take hold. This team is stronger in the paint and more athletic on the perimeter. It's the best rebounding team in Mavericks history. The players talk on defense rather than point fingers. They attack rather than lay back in a zone to catch their breath.

Opponents averaged fewer points (93.1) against the Mavericks this season than at any time in the franchise's 26-year history. The team ranked among the NBA's top five in rebounds and blocked shots and top 10 in field goal defense.

"We've gotten better across the board," guard Jason Terry said. "Individually, guys are taking more of a challenge night in and night out to guard their man within the team concept. We have a great defensive system in place.

"It's on us to execute every night."

C-fense

Ask the players about their defensive emphasis, and they rattle off the same words: Convert. Contain. Contest. Contact. Communicate.

The Mavericks call it their C-fense.

You can call it a gimmick. But a defense that ranked 28th in the league before Johnson arrived has shaved 7.7 points a game off its average in his one-plus seasons.

"You can talk about playing defense, but most of the time it's all talk because it takes commitment and it takes discipline, and it takes a staff that will not accept any mediocrity in that area on a consistent basis," Johnson said.

"It's easy to say what you want to do. But it takes commitment from everybody to do it day in and day out. And I'm talking about shootarounds, practice, film sessions and games."

It starts with transition defense. The Mavericks stress the need to get in position while they still have the ball in their hands. If you wait until the shot is missed, you're too late.

Other principles: pressure on the ball to deny penetration and protect the basket. The Mavericks have three players (DeSagana Diop, Erick Dampier and Dirk Nowitzki) that rank among the top 31 in the league in blocked shots.

Blocks are just one aspect. Proper position and a physical presence inside are crucial. Deflections are more important than steals. The Mavericks want to take away the low post and contain the area around the free throw line. The shutdown defense of Adrian Griffin, who assistant coach Del Harris said has, "been our Bruce Bowen-type player," is a big plus.

The Mavericks averaged about 20 possessions a game of zone defense two years ago. It was not unusual for them to throw it at the opponent 40 to 50 times in one night.

Harris recalls only two games this season in which the Mavericks reached double-figures with their zone. There also have been games where they haven't used it at all.

Johnson has also slowed down the Mavericks' offense to assist the defense. Quick-shot opportunities are allowed but no longer encouraged. The Mavericks took 607 fewer shots than they did two years ago, which means fewer defensive possessions.

"In the past, we spent about 60 percent of our time on the court on defense," Harris said. "Now, we're more 50-50. It saves some of your energy and legs for defense."

Making the grade

Paul Mokeski is the Mavericks' player-development coach and advance scout. He spends an hour-and-a-half to two hours after every game charting defensive mistakes and determining a grade.

Former Mavericks guard Hubert Davis picked up the system when he played for Detroit and this staff has adapted it to Johnson's vision. Failure to block out, failure to contest a shot and pick-and-roll defense are among the nine categories Mokeski breaks down, along with a catch-all category that includes four to five other principles.

He divides the total number of possessions into the total number of defensive breakdowns, then inverts the number to arrive at the team's grade. A copy is given to every player and coach. Those who don't grade well often find themselves the subject of the video session the next day.

"Everyone runs to look at the sheet," Griffin said. "It's a good measure of how you do defensively. It lets you know that people are watching and that you're being held accountable.

"It gives you a little more incentive and motivation."

Mokeski grades the players on a championship level, which means he doesn't cut them any slack or give them the benefit of the doubt. After he documented that the team's defensive intensity was slipping in the first half of games, Johnson had him speak to the players when they were in Detroit last month.

"In the heat of a game, sometimes you don't realize that you failed to close out correctly," said Mokeski, who played for 12 seasons in the NBA. "All of a sudden, you look on the sheet and go, 'Wow, I didn't block out every time.'

"This is really a system that can put a finger on when we're letting down and stop it from getting too bad."

It's a system that puts the Mavericks on the right defensive road.

"What gives you the best chance to realize a championship?" Johnson asked. "This gives us our best chance."

[G-Man]

Great article. A clear explanation of a key part of the "system" AJ keeps talking about.