More on fronting

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

Kestas makes the point that even if the low post player converts at
55% when played straight up (and that is probably very conservative
against the better post players - Shaq is one example in Joe's post) 
we might be better off doing that rather than giving up open layups
and jumpers. I'd agree that this is sometimes the case, like when
the other team is shooting 40-45% on threes. Some games the defensive
execution is just not there and we can lose to everyone in the league
in embarassing blowouts. Of course when it works we can beat many of
the good teams too. My point about the 55% is that any team that
consistently gives up 55% FG is probably going to lose every one of
their games, and that is what I mean by suicidal. 

The advantage of fronting is not really in lowering FG% because when
the lob pass goes in, they're going to convert at an even higher
rate. It's to deny the post player as many touches in good position,
and to create turnovers when the lob pass is off. For example, 
sometimes when the other team does a good job of fronting Antoine,
they reduce his touches in the post to almost nothing. Our players
start forcing the pass and turning it over. To get his touches he
has to move towards the perimeter, where he's not as effective as
when he has good inside position. Hopefully you force the other team
to go to another play rather than "throw the ball in and watch Shaq
work." 

Joe makes the point, why not double down on the strong side? I think
it's probably what the team does when the offensive player seals
the defensive player beneath him in good position. Of course, instead
of rotating the ball away from the trap, he just needs to pass out
to the player who fed him, who either has an open shot or can execute
the second post pass, which is usually an effective one. Overall, 
making this your first option is probably less desirable.

Another point about using Walter to front instead of Vitaly - fronting
still involves getting good leverage and position because the offensive
player will be trying to push the fronting player out on the perimeter
to make the lob pass easier. 

To summarize, this is the way I see most post defense working nowadays.
If the opponent can be prevented from getting deep near the basket, 
play behind him and keep him out as well as you can. If he gets inside,
front him if possible, or 3/4 front him if necessary. If this isn't
possible, play behind him and rely on the perimeter trapping down or
the perimeter man fronting (legal nowadays under the new rules). 

Does Pitino overuse the technique? I doubt that we can tell by our 
casual observations of the game but it's possible. Good basketball
discussion in any case.

In fact, I believe on the Rick Pitino show, he had a segment on fronting
which he began by saying, "Every team in the NBA fronts the post now." 
Can anyone confirm this for me? I think you can probably confirm it 
just by watching other teams on TBS/TNT. I'll focus on it over the next
few non-Celtics games I watch.

Alex