The Spurs masterclass in defense

We know since this season, it’s a great performance to keep Shai Gilgeous-Alexander below 20 points, or even the Thunder below 85 points. This is the double feat achieved by the Spurs in Game 4, and the absences of Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell do not justify everything.

This night, for this 4th round, the Spurs had decided to modify their defensive strategy and this was seen in their refusal to take two Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It’s obviously risky, but it was about trusting the individual qualities of the defenders, but also the collective qualities on rotations.

“I think it was a combination of physical impact and toughness, along with the discipline and cohesion to stay together in collective defense, rather than trying to neutralize a single player or just focusing on your own individual duel.†résume Mitch Johnson.

Discipline and connection

Opposite, Mark Daigneault does not hide the fact that his team was eaten up by this physical impact, and that his players were unable to respond to it.

“In attack, we didn’t have the precision, strength or execution necessary to break through them. And they were really, really good defensively.” recognizes the Thunder coach. “Their energy, their physical impact… We knew they were down in the series and that they were playing at home, and we could expect that kind of reaction. But it’s different when you’re on the ground. So bravo to them, they dominated us tonight. But I also think that the group we had could play much better than what we showed. HAS”

The term “discipline” came up very often in the mouths of Spurs and their coach. But it is above all a question of confidence in the defensive qualities of each person, starting with those of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and even Devin Vassell on the outside.

“I thought the guys did a great job again of staying connected.” continues Mitch Johnson, using the adjective “connected” used by Victor Wembanyama. “You are in a collective defense, and depending on the situations, spaces and circumstances, you must continue to move as the action develops. And we managed to show density around the ball while making the right reads and the right moves afterwards. These guys did an incredible job thanks to their natural defensive qualities, especially in terms of toughness, physicality and ability to force difficult shots without fouling. HAS”

Best performance of the season?

The verbs “asphyxiate” or “suffocate” are not too strong as the Thunder attack suffered against the Spurs’ very high defense. For Mitch Johnson, this is not far from being the Spurs’ best performance this season!

“When we enter this kind of series, we talked before the match about the chess game that it represents.” he concludes by also using this metaphor from the game of chess. “We can quickly fall into a whirlwind where we wonder: ‘Should I adjust and respond, or just do what we’re already doing better?’ And both answers are good when we talk about it in a meeting. The guys did a great job executing a bit of both. And I think tonight was maybe their best performance of the year given the circumstances, just because they were better in so many areas. HAS”