Resisting the urge not to write about the Thunder again
Davis Rich | Co-News Editor
We talk about title contenders and flashy offensive performances enough here at NBA Pulse. It’s time to give some love to the mediocre, those not good enough to praise but not bad enough to disparage. It’s time to give love to the boring, the grinders, the 89-84 games. Enough with the Thunder and the Warriors and the Rockets–until next week.
Over the past few weeks, two under-the-radar teams have implanted themselves into the NBA conversation. Since the All-Star break, the Pacers and the Jazz have combined to go 16-3. The reason behind it? Defense.
Indiana continued their post-All-Star Game dominance tonight with a 32-point win over Orlando in which the Magic shot 37%, while the Pacers made 17 of 34 threes and had 37 assists to Orlando’s 15. The Pacer offense is probably not this good, though they are sixth in the league in offensive rating since the break. The big change during the Pacer’s 9-1 run to the seventh seed in the East has been their impenetrable defense. The Pacers are only surrendering 88.8 points per game since February 18, and have improved to boast the best defense in the Eastern conference in terms of points per game. March will be a tougher month for Indiana in terms of schedule strength, but the Pacers proved themselves with victories over Golden State and Cleveland. With a defense this strong, Indiana is capable of winning on any given night, and will pose a difficult matchup in the playoffs. Oh, and a certain Pacer returned to practice this week. “I think we’re capable of really shocking the world,” All-NBA forward Paul George says. ”We’re on nobody’s radar.” Consider yourselves warned, NBA world.
Quick! Who is the best defensive team in the West? Okay, okay, you’re right. It’s Memphis. But Utah is only three tenths of a point behind! And over the last nine games, Utah has the best defense of all of basketball. The Jazz’s defense has improved every month, going from 100.1 points surrendered per game in November to a measly 84.5 in March so far. Rudy Gobert, as pointed out by Kirk Goldsberry, has become one of the best post defenders in the NBA. The second year center from France has an 86 defensive rating since the All-Star break to go along with 9.7 points per game and 13.7 rebounds per game (he’s in Hassan Whiteside/ DeAndre Jordan territory in terms of rebounding rate). Utah’s front office has found a young nucleus in Gobert, Trey Burke, Dante Exum, Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors. Don’t expect a playoff push this season, but things are looking bright in Salt Lake City.
If there’s one thing to make out of this, it’s that building a team around defense works in the NBA. The Pacers are full of old men (average age= 27.9), the Jazz young bucks (average age= 22.1), but they are both succeeding because of their phenomenal defenses. They aren’t the only ones either. The Warriors exchanged David Lee for Draymond Green in the starting lineup, a straight offense for defense switch, and now Green is the best defensive player on the best team in the NBA. The Celtics and Bucks are building around defense and are in the best position to contend for a playoff spot among the bottom 10 NBA teams last year. In a time of hyper-efficient offenses and a handful of transcendent offensive talents, defense still rules.
