The Warriors are entering the season with a rejuvenated intensity on defense.
Fresh off a back-to-back sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans in what was another defensive clinic, Draymond Green was asked of the impact that new assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse brought to the team. Heading into the season, Stackhouse was widely considered as the “defensive coordinator” of the team, so to speak — the counterpart to Terry Stotts, who was brought in to handle the offensive side of things.
“He’s adding a fire and a level of accountability to us on the defensive end,” Green said of Stackhouse. “He came in kind of implementing some different defensive rules. If you know anything about the NBA, we all run the same stuff. He’s coming back from college, obviously Stack’s a vet… He came in with a couple different rules where everyone’s like, ‘Uhh.’ But he was so confident and he was so vocal about it. And every time you got it wrong he’s teaching you, ‘That’s not it. I know you’ve done it that way. That’s not it.’ And when someone comes in with that type of force, with that type of confidence and presence, as a player you have no choice but to believe it. He’s given guys a level of confidence on the defensive end that we haven’t had but more importantly a level of accountability that we haven’t had over the last couple of years.”
These “different” rules Green has mentioned is worth taking a look at, considering that the Golden State Warriors limited the Pelicans to 93.5 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time — a marked improvement from the previous night where their defense was the topic of the night. “Different” doesn’t necessarily mean entirely new or revolutionary, however. While it’s true that most of the NBA “runs the same stuff,” as Green said, there are a couple of differences each team has in terms of defensive philosophy, coverage rules, and habits they’re trying to instill across the roster.
The general difference with this iteration of the Warriors’ defense: the addition of better defensive personnel and the subtraction of personnel last season that compromised the entire infrastructure, especially at the point of attack. In short — the defense is performing at a higher level because the Warriors have better defenders this time around. Having better defenders then dictates not only what kind of coverages they can play — it allows them to up the intensity levels.
“We’re able to be a bit more aggressive (because of our personnel)… We do have more ability to blitz and trap and be a little more aggressive on the ball,” head coach Steve Kerr said after the game.
In their first game of the back-to-back, the Warriors’ coverage plans included two clear rules:
- Blitz/trap pick-and-rolls on the side or wing, especially against Brandom Ingram and CJ McCollum. At the very least, have the big be up to the level of the screen instead of a deep drop.
- Send extra help against Zion Williamson whenever he attempts to go middle to use his left hand, while forcing him toward his right as much as possible.
Both of the rules above involved having to shore up behind the help, being sharp with rotations on the backline, and working with close to zero margin for error. But the overarching theme of this Warriors defense — the foundation this defensive regime under Stackhouse is built upon — is “aggression.”
Which was crystal clear from the first game — an in-your-face introduction the Pelicans weren’t able to find solutions to:
And one that continued in the game that followed, even if those pick-and-rolls involved neither Ingram nor McCollum (who sat out the second time around):
Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis jump out at Jose Alvarado and force him against the sideline (acting as a third defender of sorts). Daniel Theis stays high to relieve Alvarado and initiates dribble handoff action with Williamson. Green — in an effort to meet Williamson on the other side of the rim — ducks under the handoff, knowing full well that Williamson isn’t a jump-shooting threat. His calculated decision pays off with a vertical contest and stop.
Later on, Ingram is subjected to another aggressive blitz, with the Warriors succeeding in getting the ball out of his hands and letting another Pelican do the decision making. The decision that was made: a botched dunk attempt, with the decision maker being rookie Yves Missi:
While Green may have received the majority of the props in limiting Williamson (12 points on 5-of-20 shooting), the whole team was cognizant of the plan against him. If Williamson managed to get to his left and drive middle, help came in the form of stunts and digs at the nail.
For what felt like a majority of the time spent on the defensive end, the Warriors felt comfortable at sending an extra body toward side pick-and-rolls regardless of who the ball handler was. Which may have been a glimpse at Stackhouse’s rules and guidelines pertaining to ball-screen coverages, general rotation principles, and his preference for hurling wave after wave of pressure toward opponents.
“(Stackhouse) likes the way that we get on the ball,” Trayce Jackson-Davis said. “He wants everything to almost be a double and stuff of that nature. He likes guys flying around and putting pressure on the defense. I think that’s something that, with our big wings and Draymond, me, (Kevon Looney) in the back, can really hurt defenses…. Freedom kind of to roam, especially when Draymond’s at the four, he’s able to roam. That’s his natural thing, making plays and (when) his instincts take over, I think that’s great for us.”
This aggressive form of defense has been present throughout the Warriors’ first five games. While taking care not to press the blitz/trap button to the point of overindulgence, they have generally done an excellent job of unholstering it during key moments:
As mentioned, Stackhouse seems to have a preference for his bigs stepping up to the level of the screen, or “up to touch” as it is alternatively called. This is a form of coverage that is more aggressive than a deep drop, yet a step below the highly aggressive traps the Warriors have thrown out. With screen-level step ups still opening the possibility of the backline defense being outnumbered and having to scramble, the rotations behind the front coverage must still be on point.
However, there’s still freedom to decide which coverage is best at any given moment, as Green demonstrates below when he chooses to play a conventional drop against an Ingram-Williamson pick-and-roll (and the ultimate endorsement of Lindy Waters III’s ability to navigate over the ball screen). This allows Green to cover the pass to Williamson and be in position to contest vertically:
The implementation of new rules and guidelines — as strict and rigid as it may sound — has engendered freedom and encouraged intensity. Plugging weak-side gaps has been a focal point behind the aggressive coverages up front, and the players have responded brilliantly and executed with little hiccups so far.
With small sample size being an obvious caveat, the Warriors have limited their four opponents to a combined 97.9 points per 100 possessions (without garbage time included) — second in the league behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. Obviously, they’ve deserved an “A” grade defensively to open the season — motivated, perhaps, to not be given bad grades by Stackhouse’s in-house grading system.
“(Stackhouse) has these defensive grades that he sends out every game,” Green said. “You see guys going up to him, it’s competitive now. You get dinged for everything. One small thing and your grade is dropping. It’s a list of everything you do. You don’t want to see that list (when) got a lot of dings on it. There’s just a level of accountability that he’s brought to that side of the ball for us. He’s created this challenge where everybody’s trying to be at the top of this list. In turn, it’s creating a good defense for us.”
No wonder, then, that when the Warriors are flying around like in the possession below, it’s not only out of a desire to win — it’s to not get on Stackhouse’s list of dings:
The player who has seemed to have responded the loudest to Stackhouse’s approach — figuratively and literally — is Green. His awareness and positioning remain top-notch, as well as his foresight and diagnoses of opponents’ half-court intentions.
“Aggression” may be the operative word and main theme of Stackhouse’s philosophy — but if there were close seconds, “hustle” and “activity” are apropos. The Warriors lead the league in both deflections per game (24.4) and total deflections (122), while their 11.5 steals per 100 possessions currently ranks third. They have a 26-deflection advantage over the team in second place (the Thunder with 96). Their hands have constantly been in the passing lanes, in front of opponents’ faces, and up in the air during contests on the perimeter and at the rim.
The ‘New Rules,’ therefore, have been a simple matter of motivation, accountability, and bringing back pride not seen since the championship season three seasons ago.