Vujacic Shows How Not to Defend One on One

A tremendous comeback win by the Celtics, one of the best in playoff history. A devastating loss for the Lakers, who could've tied this series and instead look like they will fall short. The key in my opinion was the lockdown defense, the Celtics just locked down in the 3rd quarter and the Lakers were up against the shot clock on multiple possessions.

The key play at the end of the game was of course Ray Allen's layup (he had a couple actually, but this one under 30s was the one that broke the Lakers back) against Vujacic. This wasn't so much Ray as it was about poor fundamental defense by Vujacic. It's why we make players do all those defensive slide drills, so that this won't ever happen,



Vujacic Doesn't Defensive Slide:

As I mentioned, just poor defensive fundamentals by Vujacic. Ray is a good player, but he isn't the quickest guy, certainly not as quick as Paul Pierce or even Rondo. I've seen Vujacic play better defense too, and being a younger guy, he should have the quickness advantage. To compound the problem, there was no help defense by anyone else and instead of chasing down Ray, Vujacic makes a half-hearted attempt to foul him,


Another issue I have, is the way Phil Jackson handled the 3rd quarter surge by the Celtics. I didn't see any sense of urgency. Now, I know Jackson is known for being calm under pressure, but I don't agree with his laissez-faire, let them play through it attitude. I think he should've taken more control of the situation right out of the halftime when the Celtics scored a few quick scores to cut it to 12.

For some more defensive drill information, check out Jamie Dixon's DVD on his 10 Point Shell Drill. Coach Dixon is the head coach at University of Pittsburgh. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk hoops with other coaches.