Defending the Offensive: Why Up-Tempo Teams Can Succeed in the NBA

"Defense wins championships."

I hear this muck around the NBA (and other sports as well) all the time.

Depending on how certain folks spin it, you would think that recent championship teams like the Celtics, Spurs, and Pistons defended their way to those titles.

If there is one person out there that is as sick of hearing this as I am, it’s probably Mike D’Antoni. His Phoenix Suns “run n’ gunned” their way to into the playoffs each of the last three seasons with 50-plus wins (with 61 wins in 2006-07) but just couldn’t seem to get past the Spurs in the postseason. And of course, the critics and defensive proponents raved after each playoff elimination.

You don’t put up successive 50- and 60-win seasons in the NBA by chance or luck. D’Antoni’s system is and will be successful as long as the right kind of players are executing it. But if you look at the pieces that D’Antoni had to work with in Phoenix, you’ll understand why they couldn’t get to the next level.

Despite all of his MVPs, Steve Nash is a liability on defense—especially when defending bigger point men like Chauncey Billups or Jason Kidd. Amare Stoudemire’s defense was and still is like flipping a coin—you’ve got a 50-50 chance of him showing up to defend.

Shawn Marion, at power forward, often found himself physically overmatched when having to face up some of the bigger guys like Tim Duncan. Leandro Barbosa is known for his speed and shooting. Only Raja Bell is considered to be a true defender.

As a unit, these Phoenix teams were defensively par at best, and a travesty at worst. The mentality is that if these guys were able to defend as well as they were able to score, then they most certainly could’ve won a championship or two. But had they won a championship or two, we would all be talking about how they fun ‘n’ gunned their way to glory—not how well they defended.

Consider last season’s Boston squad. Most recall how downright brutal their defense could be at times. But if you take away the prolific scoring of Paul Pierce, Ray

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Vote Now! - Author Poll

Of these two "defensive" teams, which has the better offense?

Results - Author Poll

Of these two "defensive" teams, which has the better offense?

• 2008 Boston Celtics

  85.7%

• 2007 San Antonio Spurs

  14.3%
• Total votes: 7

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