Category: Basketball

Warriors' defense adjusting to next steps in NBA's pace and space evolution originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – From what he’s seeing on the Warriors’ sidelines to reviewing film, the game Warriors coach Steve Kerr is watching isn’t close to what the NBA was 10 years ago. Not even five. 

What it looked like when he won all those championships as a player in the 1990s, and his final season in 2003, was closer to silent films than the product seen in the Warriors’ two straight losses to short-handed teams. 

The Milwaukee Bucks announced an hour ahead of tipoff that Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out Thursday night after being probable on the injury report all day. On top of Tyrese Haliburton being out for the season from his torn Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers didn’t have a win and they didn’t have Andrew Nembhard, Obi Toppin, Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell on Saturday. But both teams raced right by the Warriors.

Ryan Rollins, their own former second-round draft pick, did for a career-high 32 points, eight assists and one turnover. Quenton Jackson, a 27-year-old former undrafted point guard on a two-way contract, did for 25 points and 10 assists – both career highs – without turning the ball over once. 

“The pace of the game is off the charts these days. It’s been getting faster and faster, year after year,” Kerr said Monday at Chase Center after Warriors practice. “But I even think it’s taken a leap this year, just in terms of style of play. And this is how it works in basketball and technology and everything else, right? The game is constantly changing. So to me, what I’m seeing is teams are spreading it out, playing as fast as possible, making it difficult to get to your coverages defensively. 

“The faster the actions, the more difficult it is for the defense to respond, and I thought the pace of the Milwaukee and Indiana games exposed some things that we were doing defensively, and we’ve got to improve those things to get better.” 

Principles of the game haven’t changed. The goal defensively still is to keep your man in front of you and avoid penetration. If a defender can stay between his man and the ball, it’s the same game that it’s always been. But the game is being played so differently with the pace and the space and the 3-point shot, that staying true to those principles has become a much more difficult proposition.

How speedy players like Rollins and Jackson scored their points is case in point. Rollins in his 32-point outing finished six layups, made five threes and two jumpers. Outside of two free throws, Jackson’s other 23 points came from five layups and one dunk, three catch-and-shoot threes and a two-pointer from seven feet out after beating Draymond Green to the spot. 

The Warriors rank 12th in defensive rating (112.7) through seven games entering Tuesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns, and 12th in opponents points per game (115.7). Opponents also are getting what they want and shooting 48.2 percent against the Warriors’ defense. Only six teams are letting teams shoot better from the field. 

Kerr’s assessment of his team’s defense as it currently stands is a bit of a mixed bag. 

“A little bit betwixt in between,” Kerr said. “I think because of all this pace and the way teams are playing, you have to adapt and you can’t expect to do the exact same things you did even the year before. And every game is a little bit different. 

“Clippers, Lakers, Denver, those felt more like traditional games where you’re in your coverage. You have time to talk through stuff. Portland, Milwaukee, Indiana, Memphis, it’s a much faster game, more random and you’ve got to be very disciplined in a lot of different aspects, otherwise you get exposed.” 

Portland, Milwaukee and Indiana were all Golden State losses. Memphis, which ranks seventh in pace, was a win, but the Grizzlies had eight more fastbreak points than the Warriors, and just as many points in the paint (48). The Blazers rank third in pace, and the Bucks and Pacers are less than a point outside of the top 10. Right behind the both of them are the Suns, the next team on the Warriors’ schedule. 

“Another team that plays fast and aggressive,” Moses Moody said of the Suns. “They got talent in different areas on the floor. Just another young and fast team.” 

The center position in particular has seen major changes offensively and defensively in a game that emphasizes speed and threes. Quinten Post started at center for the Warriors in their loss against the Bucks and only played 10 minutes, yet Gary Trent Jr. attempted three 3-pointers on him in 36 seconds and missed all three. Centers Donovan Clingan and Jock Landale have each taken two threes on Post earlier this season and made three of four. 

Post this season has seen small forward Kawhi Leonard take five shots on him in 56 seconds, making one, and point guard Jrue Holiday go 1 of 4 when guarded by the 7-footer over 39 seconds. The responsibilities for big men, too, aren’t what they used to be. 

“Now on the defensive end it’s more than just rim protection, guarding the pick and roll. If teams play this fast and this chaotic in a way, you kind of have to adapt too on the defensive end,” Post says. “For me, on a personal level, it means guarding inside and on the outside. As a team, it’s just a lot more chaos out there, and I think the biggest thing for us is whatever we do defensively, we just got to do it with 100 percent effort.”

But the Warriors still have the ultimate executioner of offenses. Even at 35 years old and with his beard being overtaken by gray hairs, Green is the difference in how the Warriors’ defense operates. The Warriors’ defense shuts down offenses to 105.7 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court. 

That number skyrockets to 124.3 points per 100 possessions when Green, who has played in all seven games, is not on the court. 

“Draymond is the best in the world at covering for his teammates, creating deception for the offensive player, which just makes him hesitate for a second,” Kerr said. “He’s amazing with that stuff. So when he’s not out there, we better be rock solid with our discipline and principles that we have to follow in order to make teams have to work.” 

At the root of it, the problems begin with better communication. So much is happening on the fly that one false step can be all the difference. 

“Some of it is we’ve just got to get on the same page,” Moody says. “We have different terminology, different principles that are changing with the change of the game. Everybody just has to be on the same page and communicate. … If we’re switching one through five, it might not have the same principles that if you’re switching a guard-to-guard screen in a regular situation. If we’re switching all game, it’s small details like that to where we just got to get on the same page.”

Disregarding small details is how losses to lesser, undermanned teams happen. The Warriors haven’t lost three straight regular season games since Dec. 27, 2024, six weeks before acquiring Jimmy Butler. Getting back on the same page defensively while constantly adapting to the game’s changes is how the Warriors can keep that streak alive and put an end to their first losing streak of the season.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo beat the buzzer to give the Milwaukee Bucks a dramatic 117-115 victory over Indiana Pacers in the NBA.

With the scores level heading into the final few seconds of the Central Division game, the 30-year-old pivoted to avoid a double block before he floated in a jumper.

It was the fifth occasion the Greek-Nigerian has produced a game-winning shot in the last five seconds of a game, and the second buzzer-beater of his career.

"You can live if you miss. You cannot live if you don't shoot it," said Antetokounmpo, who scored a game-high 33 points.

"People don't remember the time you miss, they remember all the times you make, so I'm happy about that."

Meanwhile, Jusuf Nurkic scored with 0.6 seconds of play left to give Utah Jazz a late win over of their own as they clinched a 105-103 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Northwest Division.

• NBA results and fixtures

Jalen Brunson almost never uses excuses.

Let’s say the Knicks lose on the second night of a home-road back-to-back. Some players in this scenario may talk about the challenge of a quick turnaround or a late flight. Not Brunson.

Maybe the Knicks are down one or two rotation players and lose to a quality opponent. It would be completely understandable if a player told the media that injuries to key players impacted the game. Not Brunson.

He’d probably say the Knicks should have played better and could have won the game.

So it was noteworthy last week in Milwaukee when Brunson said the Knicks need some time to get used to one another.

"We're still learning; everything is brand new for us. We’re not gonna use that excuse for a long time. But these first couple weeks, it’s still fresh for us," the Knick captain said last week. "But no matter what, we know what we gotta go out there and do and we gotta do that to the best of our abilities."

If Brunson says the Knicks need some time to get accustomed to a new head coach and new system, you probably should give him the benefit of the doubt.

It’s fair – and logical – to hold the 2025-26 Knicks to high standards. They are coming off of their first conference finals appearance in 25 seasons. They have a unique window this season to make a run to the NBA Finals. Two stars on rival teams (Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton) are out for a significant portion of the season.

So this team should be heavily scrutinized. That’s what happens when you have championship expectations. That’s what happens when you make a coaching change after one of the most successful seasons in the past 30 years.

But in the opening weeks of this season, things are going to look disjointed. Players are getting used to each other and their head coach. The head coach is getting used to his players.

But you can see bits of evidence that the process is working.

Mike Brown himself said he didn’t help the Knicks’ reserves earlier in the season because his substitutions were "all over the map."

In the past two games, Brown feels like he’s found consistency with substitutions and lineups.

Maybe it’s no coincidence that Josh Hart and Jordan Clarkson have had the best games of their seasons in the past two nights.

Brown has talked openly about his own coaching performance. He’s held his players accountable and held himself accountable.

"We just have to keep learning on the fly, starting with me. I’ve got to keep trying to get better quicker," Brown said late last week.

It seems like the players appreciate Brown’s sentiment. Hart was asked after Monday’s game about Brown getting more settled with his substitutions/rotations in the past two games.

"Mike's new. We’re all getting accustomed and acclimated to everybody so you definitely feel that a little bit," he said. "And the great thing about Mike, he’s an amazing person, first and foremost. He always has an open door. If you don't understand something that’s going on, you can always go talk to him. So obviously this is a process. Everybody wants it built now but it won’t be. And we’re all learning, including him."

Brown hasn’t been shy about holding players – including the top players on the roster – accountable when he feels they don’t play well. He’s been vocal about that in the locker room during and after games, challenging players to improve their performance, per people familiar with the matter.

But he's also been upfront about the challenges he and the Knicks face early this season.

“We all have to be better. Start with me. And we will be better,” Brown was saying before Sunday’s game.

The Knicks have looked much better since Brown made that statement. The offense has been strong the last two games. Maybe that continues on Wednesday against Minnesota. Maybe it doesn’t. Either way, this Knicks team – and its new head coach – will take some time to get fully in synch.

"This is a process. We’ve had a lot of guys that have been out, hadn’t practiced and it starts with me," Brown said late Monday. "I said this last game, I gotta help put these guys in a better position. Whether it’s on the floor or whatever, rotation-wise, but I didn’t quite have as good a feel (earlier in the season) because guys had been out. Trying to play this guy, that guy. It starts with me; I have gotten better and they've just gotten more comfortable."

Karl-Anthony Towns had his strongest performance of the season in Monday's 119-102 win over the Washington Wizards, dropping 33 points with 13 rebounds and five assists over 30 minutes of action.

It's the first time Towns has scored 30-plus points in a game this year and under new head coach Mike Brown, who called the big man a "monster" that's only going to improve as the season continues.

"KAT was a monster," Brown said after the win. "He was a monster on the glass, he was really good defensively. He was a monster inside, outside. He's starting to feel and find his rhythm in what we're trying to do.

"But I'm telling you, there's still a lot of room there to grow. Not just for him, but for us to learn him, starting with me, and us to continue to learning the different parts of we're trying to do offensively. He was a monster."

Matched up against 2024 No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr, Towns went right to work in the first quarter. He scored or assisted on the Knicks' first 13 points of the game (eight points, two assists) and grabbed six rebounds (four offensive), finishing the first half with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.

After the game, Towns was asked about his mindset heading into the matchup and what contributed to the noticeable aggressiveness.

"Just win the game," Towns said. "Got us chances tonight to get some good shots up so I just went and capitalized on it."

He had a number of one-on-one matchups with Sarr while the Washington defense focused on guarding Jalen Brunson and knew it was a chance to help lead the team. Towns took eight more shots against the Wizards than he had in any game this season, despite playing the least amount of minutes so far.

"I saw opportunities to get some shots up and be aggressive and I just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity," Towns said. "JB requires a lot of attention obviously, so take what the defense gives us and thought tonight I saw that I had an opportunity to do something."

Towns previous season-high in scoring came in New York's second game of the season against the Boston Celtics when he had 26 points. He followed that performance up with two tough outings in losses to the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks, scoring only 15 and eight points, respectively.

The Knicks have now won back-to-back games after dropping three straight. Towns, like Brown, acknowledged the team is still a work in progress and believes they will continue to improve in a new system.

"We are all figuring it out," Towns said. "Getting better every day, understanding what our roles are and what we got to do. It's good, we got two wins in a row but we're obviously still a work in progress."