Secret to Breaking the NBA's Best Playoffs Defenses

Defense wins championships.

That’s a phrase that is said frequently, yet remembered rarely. There’s a tendency to become easily enamored with offensive star power, pushing elite defensive teams to the peripheral in the process. We even refer to defense as the “other” side, as if it’s the unwanted step-child of basketball.  

Teams like the Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers may not have demanded much attention or respect in the regular season, but they certainly have it now in the playoffs. The question is no longer if those teams have enough offense to compete, but rather, if their elite defenses can be broken.

While the keys to exploiting the defenses of title contenders like the Miami Heat (shoot lots of three-pointers, crash the offensive glass) and the San Antonio Spurs (go small and spread the floor with shooters) are pretty straightforward, breaking through these other playoff defenses can be a little more complex.

Indiana Pacers—first in defensive efficiency

Good luck finding uncontested looks. The Pacers own the league’s best defense not because they utilize complicated zone schemes with lots of bells and whistles, but rather because they possess good old-fashioned manpower.

It starts with Roy Hibbert, a player who has improved at staying straight up and protecting the rim without fouling. Hibbert’s presence allows Indiana’s perimeter defenders to really chase guys off the three-point line, essentially daring spot-up shooters to put the ball on the deck and try their luck scoring over the top of a 7'2" center.

The incredible athleticism and length of Indiana’s perimeter players is basically a nightmare for shooters, and it shows in the numbers. The Pacers are first in the league in both three-point percentage allowed and points per play allowed in spot up opportunities, according to Synergy Sports.

Because of all that length, no team forces more shots from 16 to 24 feet than Indiana does, which often dooms opposing offenses into taking low percentage shots while staying off the foul line. Combating those tendencies is difficult when you see a giant looming in the paint, which is exactly why you have to pull him away from it.

The key to beating Indiana’s defense is to get Hibbert on the move, out in space, in high pick-and-roll situations. If Hibbert is backpedaling and having to flip his hips to stop penetration, he can get in foul trouble rather easily. He’s a great defender for sure, but he’s still an immobile one. Utilizing a great pick-and-pop big man like Chris Bosh can also draw Hibbert out, if you’re lucky enough to have a Chris Bosh lying around.

Any offense that doesn’t score at the rim, draw fouls or create open three-point opportunities is in a whole lot of trouble. To beat the Pacers, you have to directly attack one of the league’s best help defenders by pulling him out of his comfort zone.

Memphis Grizzlies—second in defensive efficiency

This aggressive, swarming and opportunistic defense loves to gamble in passing lanes and punish opponents for the tiniest of mistakes. Pick up your dribble prematurely? Turnover. Put your head down in the post? Three defenders are all over you.

To make that level of ball pressure, aggression and general chaos on the perimeter from guys like Tony Allen sustainable, the Grizzlies need dependability behind it. Enter Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol, who is consistently in the right spot more than any other player in the league. 

The Grizzlies prey on turnover prone teams (hello, Oklahoma City) and ranked second in the league in the regular season in defensive turnover percentage. While the aggression on the perimeter has become a hallmark for this defense, it can also be flipped on them fairly easily.

Because their wings love to deny the ball on the wing and take the first pass away, the Grizzlies are very susceptible to timely backdoor cuts and a little misdirection. To wit, the Grizzlies rank 15th in points per play defending cuts, according to Synergy Sports.

Going heads-up against Tony Allen or depending on back-line rotational errors from Marc Gasol is foolish. Playing through a capable high-post passer and sending your wings backdoor is the best course of action because, if nothing else, it helps to create breathing room on the perimeter. Simple misdirection like slipping pindown screens can have a similar effect and can lead to easy layups.

The grindhouse in Memphis is where dumb offenses go to die. If you don’t cut, pass and move against the Grizzlies, you’re toast.  

Chicago Bulls—sixth in defensive efficiency

How does a defense with so many lackluster defenders like Marco Belinelli and Carlos Boozer remain dominant? Strength in numbers. No team loads up on the ball-side with help defense more than the Bulls do.

Chicago’s defensive system under Tom Thibodeau compensates for individual weaknesses defensively, but it also helps quite a bit to have a guy like Joakim Noah on the floor. Watching a seven-footer buzz around the court and make every rotation at warp-speed is incredible to watch, and it helps explain why the Bulls are over five points worse per 100 possessions defensively when Noah is off the floor.

Chicago’s halfcourt defense is absolutely suffocating, but their transition defense ranks just 27th in the league according to Syngery. That makes sense. Without Noah, the backcourt of Nate Robinson and Marco Belinelli doesn’t stand much of a chance to break up any fast break. Also, because Chicago misses so many shots and struggles to create offense, not crashing the offensive boards (as the Celtics schematically did under Thibodeau in Boston) isn’t really an option.

Pushing the tempo against Chicago and avoiding the half-court game altogether is the best way to score on the Bulls, but there are ways to crack that defense in a slower setting as well. Chicago loves loading up defensively on one side, but a player that can see over the top of the defense and deliver on the money skip passes can wreak havoc with what Chicago wants to do.

Whether it’s in transition or in the halfcourt, controlling the middle of the floor offensively is the best way to counter the all the help and take advantage of Chicago’s weaker individual defenders.

What the great defenses share

What’s the common thread between the defenses of the Pacers, Grizzlies and Bulls? You can certainly point to the fantastic big men in the middle (Hibbert, Gasol, Noah), and you won’t hear any arguments from me. What might be more important than those defensive anchors, however, is where these teams allow shots from.

The corner three is widely considered the best shot in basketball. The Bulls rank first in allowing the least corner three-pointers attempted, while the Pacers rank second and the Grizzlies rank third. That might just be an odd coincidence, but manufacturing good corner three-point opportunities also might be the secret to breaking down the league’s best defenses.

Stats from MySynergySports.com and NBA.com were used in this article.