Posted by JLKennedy44 on 5/8/2018 1:33:00 AM (view original):
This is a great post - thanks for breaking down the ATH/DE this way for Zone. Early on I was too enamored with the Total OVR and virtually ignored the individual attributes. My Seniors are proof of my limited knowledge at the time. Too bad its taken 3 seasons for me to figure that out.
Not a problem. I think zone is the hardest defense to truly figure out, which is why a lot of coaches don't use it.
The computer will create backcourt and frontcourt ratings for your defense, based on whether you chose a 3-2 or 2-3 zone defense and then ultimately come to a single defense rating. So think of your defense as an amoeba who gets it strength from the ratings of the 5 players on the floor. The key metrics are ATH, SPD, DEF, BLK and IQ
When you run a 2-3, you are actually running more of a 2-2-1. Your PG-SG have their ratings in ATH/SPD/DEF/IQ averaged, same for SF-PF and the C stands alone. In a 3-2, your PG-SG-SF are averaged together as well as your PF-C. For your back court, your SPD takes on more importance than your frontcourt; the opposite is true for BLK. ATH/DEF/IQ are important for both. While REB isn't averaged, it is very important for your PF and C; zone keeps them further away from the basket than man does, so you need excellent rebounders to overcome that disadvantage.
Your ability to switch between these defensive sets depends largely on two players: your SF and your C. You need a SF that has high enough attributes that he won't tank your averages in order to move between 2-3 and 3-2. Also, in both sets, you need your C to have an excellent BLK rating. Not only does BLK allow him to block shots, it also allows him to alter the trajectory of shots, leading to more misses. If you have a young Dikembe as your center, you can run a 2-3, because he can stand near the hoop and alter everything. In a 3-2, your PF also needs to have a good BLK rating.
Yes, you can hide a bad defender in zone, but it is
hard to do. It takes careful planning. Let me show you.
Assume that our goal is 65 ATH/65 DEF/B+ IQ across the board. Our SG has an ATH of 40 and a DEF of 30, but has 85 SPD, 99 PER and 75 LP, making him an insanely good D3 scorer. In order to achieve our 65-65 goal, the lineup might look like this:
PG 60 ATH/70 DEF/A IQ
SG 40 ATH/30 DEF/A IQ
SF 80 ATH/90 DEF/B+
PF 68 ATH/76 DEF/B+
C 77 ATH/59 DEF/B
Just getting to 65/65 requires some pretty high ATH guys for D3 and you may already be giving up other attributes to win recruiting battles (i.e. your SF is terrible at REB/LP/PER because that was the only way to avoid D1/D2s grabbing him). But lets say your backup SF is a freshman with 58 ATH/60 DEF with a C+ IQ and your backup PG is a sophomore with 50 ATH/60 DEF/B- IQ. When those two players are in the game with SG/PF/C, your averages drop to 59 ATH/57 DEF/B IQ. So you have to construct a depth chart that keeps you at an acceptable defensive level across your depth chart because you can't control when that weak defender will be playing with your subs.
If you make that 40ATH/30DEF SG into a 50ATH/50DEF guy, suddenly the math becomes easier. Yes, he is still a weak defender, but you don't have to overcompensate as much in your recruiting at other positions. A better way to say it as that you cannot hide a terrible defender in zone, but you can hide a mediocre one.
A properly constructed zone team -- high ATH, high DEF, good IQs, frontcourt with high BLK and REB, backcourt with high SPD -- is very, very difficult to beat. You can't isolate on any weaknesses in game-planning. A press defense can be beaten with excellent SPD and BH in your backcourt; you beat it by having guards who don't turn the ball over. A man defense can be beaten by isolating on weak defenders.