There is a growing sentiment already that Boston has to use someone other than Ray Allen to defend Kobe Bryant, at least part of the time. Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus used Synergy Sports to watch every possession on which Kobe took a shot, recorded an assist or turned the ball over. Here’s what he found:
Those are pretty stark numbers, huh? That “other” category, by the way, includes Kobe’s two fast-break dunks and two other baskets off of scramble plays, when no single player was really guarding him. The shooting numbers look bad for Ray, but Pelton rightly points you to the assist numbers, which look even worse. Simply put: Kobe torched Ray Allen in Game 1, and he did so primarily out of the high screen/roll.
Here’s the breakdown of Kobe’s shooting based on the offensive set from which the shot came, also via Pelton/Synergy:
Defending the screen/roll is a team thing, not an individual thing, and it is clear that whatever strategy Boston used in Game 1 failed. In re-watching the game, it’s clear Boston used three strategies against the Kobe high screen/roll:
1) Having Kobe’s man go over the screen while the big guy guarding the screener slides over and sags down, in hopes of cutting off a dribble drive;
2) Having Kobe’s man go over the screen while the big guy guarding the screener jumps out (i.e. “hedges”) over the screen to prevent Kobe from turning the corner quickly. Here’s an example of this strategy working beautifully:
3) Have both primary defenders position themselves on either side of the screener before the screen is even set. The C’s did this primarily when Tony Allen guarded Kobe. When this happens, you’ll see TA get the attention of a C’s big man before the screen is set and point to a spot on the floor where TA wants that big guy to go. The idea is to have a defender on either side of the screen before the pick is in place.
We saw Boston do this against Manu Ginobili and Dwyane Wade, and both times we saw how it leaves Boston vulnerable if the ball-handler is skilled enough to split the gap between the two defenders.
Honestly? This is pretty standard stuff. This is what Boston does on screen/rolls involving elite players. I’m not sure if switching Paul Pierce onto Kobe (a move for which there is some support from Boston fans) makes much of a difference in screen/roll situations. Pierce is going to react the same way to a high screen for Kobe as Ray would. Perhaps Pierce’s length might allow him to find Kobe more quickly on the opposite side of the screen to contest a possible jumper, but I’m not convinced that’s the case.
On the other hand, Pierce would probably fare much better than Ray in isolation defense. The problem, of course, is that the Lakers aren’t dumb, and they’ll respond to any Boston defensive adjustment by putting Kobe in a position LA believes serves him best against that particular Boston D. Perhaps that means more triangle moving/cutting and fewer isolations in the event Pierce guards Kobe. Is that good for Boston? I don’t think anyone can say for sure.
But perhaps it might also mean more screen/rolls involving Kobe, since Pierce’s size gives Kobe problems in isolation. The conventional wisdom says it’s a good thing to get the Lakers out of the triangle and into a more traditional screen/roll game.
Of course the elephant in the room in the discussion of shifting Pierce onto Kobe more often is: Where are you putting Ray Allen on defense? Are you comfortable with him guarding Ron Artest? Because if Kobe is at the two and Artest is at the three, that’s the alternative you’re talking about when you’re discussing Pierce on Kobe.
When the Lakers go small, with Kobe at the three, you’ll obviously see Pierce take Bryant. You might also see Pierce on Kobe if/when the Lakers use Luke Walton at the three.
I don’t think there’s a magical solution to guarding Kobe, at least not for this Boston roster. At least three players will get a shot at it depending on the personnel on the floor, and Boston will mix up all three strategies outlined above. It is the coaching staff’s job to find the one that works best and to organize the C’s back line defense in a way that takes away Kobe’s preferred driving lanes.
Game 2 begins in about 28 hours.
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Kobe can get his points, it’s the put backs and offensive rebounds that are unacceptable. Perkins, Garnett, Wallace, and Davis need to bring the punch and really deliver it to the legs of the Lakers bigs. I want to see these guys boxing out at the free line and in. Gasol and Bynum had way too many times where they were free to roam around the rim and that is inexcusable. The rebounds need to be even for Game 2 or it will really show a lack of mental toughness on the Celtics end.
Another # to consider is fouls…
FTs dont tell the whole story…
Kobe caused 2 fouls by my count on Pierce which is important when you talk about getting teams in the penalty early.
Add fouls to this story and we are complete.
Actually official play by play says Kobe drew three PFs on Pierce (in 7 possessions), three PFs on R. Allen (in 10 poss), and two PFs on T. Allen (in 7 poss0. So Tony seems to be doing the best job.
Come to think of it, two of the fouls Kobe drew on Pierce did not lead to FTs, so they might not have been counted as possessions, but even if it should be 3 PFs in 9 possessions that rate is still pretty bad for Pierce.
Sorry for typo, above should read two PFs on T. Allen (in 9 poss).
Agree with Coolin. Kobe IS going to score, but we can’t give their bigs carte blanche inside. We want Kobe to shoot deep deuces. Crowding Kobe too much deep to allow him to penetrate & break down the D is just letting the fox into the hen house. Letting Kobe into the lane is the worst. Letting Kobe pass it deep into the post is also very bad. Some games when Kobe is extremely active he tries to will & jump shoot his team to victory. This is the very best situation because they don’t take advantage of their height & skill inside. Instead of team play, it becomes Kobe vs. the opposition. We should bait Kobe into deep deuces & this 1 on 5 play as much as possible. This will only work if we defensive rebound. Not rebounding & giving Kobe extra shots is just lethal. Kobe IS going to take shots. Make them shots which WE prefer. I can stand losing by deep jumpers (no 3s), but I cannot stand giving away ez shots like layups & offensive rebounds.
We have consistently won throughout the year by holding teams to 90 or less points. It is a fantastic record when we play our best D. When we give up triple digits it is almost certain to be a loss. 91-99 points is dangerous territory with a virtual 50/50 chance of winning. We are very dominant when we put the most energy & effort into the defense. When our #1 focus is to make them miserable & feel pain on offense & rebound the miss we are at our best. Sometimes, some guys are focused on glam, showing off, & being the hero ON OFFENSE. This is the lose by 10 or more Cs. It seems to happen when we are obsessed with offense, over confident, & downright arrogant instead of working hard, scraping, & clawing tooth & nail for everything.
TA is under appreciated on D. He did some great things on Wade, Bron, & others. The regular season game vs the lake he had some great D on Kobe. Every C makes a couple of mistakes out there per game, but TA is held to some sort of impossible standard by some. TA was athletic enough to stay with Kobe & block him. Unlike some Cs, I saw TA fighting last game (look at the running live game time comments). If the Cs win the majority of their games by D then TA has got to get major minutes. Don’t get me wrong. I DON’T want TA shooting jumpers, but I do want to see him cutting & offensive rebounding when opportune & most of all playing that super aggressive D where he STAYS DOWN & hyperactive.
All season long I’ve watched the Cs, & you can tell everything by the way they defend. If they are flat footed, lazy, & reaching it is gonna be bad. If they are up INTO guys putting a body on them challenging everything & pressuring the ball then we can bring on the joy. We’ve seen our guards play lazy bullfighter D when even sumo wrestlers or full term pregnant women with twins could beat them & get into the lane, and we’ve seen a ruthless piranha-ish D which stymies & chokes opposing penetrating guards into frustration & despair.
I’m praying that DEFENSE Rondo shows up. We take it for granted that Rajon is going to shut down the opposing point guards. Some games he plays cutthroat D throughout the game, & his will on the defensive end strangles the other team. Then, some games he looks either scared, lazy, or too proud to lower himself to defend. With their great rebounding, he has got to be extremely active to try & break double digits with DEFENSIVE rebounds. We can win with few offensive rebounds, but we MUST DEFENSIVE rebound like a hunger crazed, ravenous pack of wolves.
i want to see rondo try and defend bryant. i think it might encourage bryant to shoot more jumpers. plus then we can still have ray guard fisher and pierce on artest helping rondo out.
@Pam Interesting idea. Sometimes Rajon will do wondrous things on D & rise to the challenge. Another idea is Perk guarding Pau with KG FRONTING Bynum. To me, Pau is the most aggressive on the offensive glass so we really need Perk’s body there. Bynum is not as aggressive because of the injury.
Wow Zach, this article left me feeling kind of hopeless. I don’t know if you meant it that way, but I what I get out of this is that there is just no solution to Kobe, which pretty much translates to, there’s no way we win this.
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