Warriors Movie Breakdown: Dubs' Defensive Revival Under Jerry Stackhouse

Draymond Green, who had just played two straight games against the New Orleans Pelicans in another defensive practice, was asked what impact new assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse had on the team. At the beginning of the season, Stackhouse was considered the team's “defensive coordinator” – the counterpart to Terry Stotts, who took care of the offense.

“He gives us fire and some responsibility defensively,” Green said of Stackhouse. “He kind of implemented different defensive rules. If you know anything about the NBA, we all run the same thing. Coming back from college, obviously Stack is a vet… He came in with a few different rules that make everyone go, “Uhh.” But he was so confident and so vocal about it. And every time you've done something wrong, he teaches you, “That's not it.” I know you did it that way. That's not it.' And when someone comes in with that kind of power, with that kind of confidence and presence, as a player you have no choice but to believe it. He gave the guys on defense a level of confidence that we didn't have, but more importantly, a level of responsibility that we haven't had in recent years.”

Those “other” rules Green mentioned are worth looking into considering the Golden State Warriors limited the Pelicans to 93.5 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time — a significant improvement from the night before, which was about their defense the night. However, “different” doesn’t necessarily mean completely new or revolutionary. While it's true that most NBA teams “run the same thing,” as Green said, there are a few differences between each team in terms of defensive philosophy, coverage rules and the habits they try to instill on the roster.

The overall difference in this iteration of the Warriors' defense: the addition of better defensive personnel and the cutting of personnel last season that affected the overall infrastructure, particularly at the point of attack. In short, the defense is at a higher level because the Warriors have better defenders this time around. Better defenders then not only determine what types of coverage they can play, but also allow them to increase the intensity.

“We're able to be a little more aggressive (because of our personnel)… We have more blitzing and catching ability and we're a little more aggressive on the ball,” head coach Steve Kerr said after the game.

In their first consecutive game, the Warriors' coverage plans contained two clear rules:

1. Blitz/trap pick-and-rolls on the side or wing, especially against Brandom Ingram and CJ McCollum. Make sure the large screen reaches at least the height of the screen and does not drop low.
2. Send Zion Williamson extra help as he tries to move to the middle to use his left hand, while also forcing him as far to the right side as possible.

The above two rules included staying behind the support player, executing sharp rotations in the backline and working with almost zero margin of error. But the overarching theme of this Warriors defense — the foundation on which this defensive regime under Stackhouse is built — is “aggression.”

This was crystal clear from the first game – a direct introduction that the Pelicans couldn't find a solution to:

And one that continued into the following game, even though those pick-and-rolls didn't involve Ingram or McCollum (who missed the second time around):

Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis jump on Jose Alvarado and push him to the sideline (acting as a third defender, so to speak). Daniel Theis stays high to relieve Alvarado and initiates a dribble handoff action with Williamson. Green – in an effort to meet Williamson on the other side of the rim – ducks the handoff, knowing Williamson is not a jump shot threat. His calculated decision pays off with a vertical fight and a stoppage.

Later, Ingram is subjected to another aggressive attack in which the Warriors manage to take the ball out of his hands and let another Pelican make the decision. The decision that was made: a botched dunk attempt, the decision maker was rookie Yves Missi:

While Green may have received the most arguments for limiting Williamson (12 points on 5 of 20 shooting), the entire team was aware of the plan against him. When Williamson managed to get to the left and drive to the middle, help came in the form of stunts and punches on the nail.

For the majority of the time they spent on defense, the Warriors felt comfortable sending an extra body toward lateral pick-and-rolls, regardless of who the ballhandler was. That was perhaps a glimpse into Stackhouse's rules and guidelines regarding ball coverage, general rotation principles, and his penchant for applying wave after wave of pressure on opponents.

“(Stackhouse) likes the way we get the ball,” Trayce Jackson-Davis said. “He wants everything to be almost a double and things like that. He likes people flying around and putting pressure on the defense. I think that's something that with our big wings and Draymond, me (Kevon Looney) behind him, can really hurt the defense…freedom to move around, especially when Draymond is at the four, he can move around . 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 was present in the Warriors' first five games. While they were careful not to press the flash/trap button too much, they generally did an excellent job of pulling it out of their pockets at crucial moments:

As previously mentioned, Stackhouse seems to have a penchant for his greats to rise to the level of the screen, or “up to touch” as it is alternatively known. This is a form of coverage that is more aggressive than a deep drop, but is still a step below the extremely aggressive traps the Warriors have thrown. Since step-ups at screen level still open up the possibility of the backline defense being outnumbered and having to fight through, the rotations behind the front guard still need to be nailed.

However, there is still freedom to decide which coverage is best at any given time, as Green demonstrates below when he chooses to play a conventional drop against an Ingram-Williamson pick-and-roll (and the ultimate confirmation of Lindy Waters III's navigational ability). above the ball screen). This allows Green to cover the pass to Williamson and is able to fight vertically:

The implementation of new rules and guidelines – as strict and rigid as it may sound – has created freedom and promoted intensity. Closing gaps on weak sides has been a focus of the aggressive attacks in attacking play and the players have so far responded brilliantly and managed their performance without major problems.

With the small sample size an obvious caveat, the Warriors have limited their four opponents to a combined 97.9 points per 100 possessions (not including garbage time) – second in the league behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. Obviously, they deserved an “A” grade defensively to start the season – perhaps for the reason of not receiving poor grades through Stackhouse’s internal grading system.

“(Stackhouse) has those defensive qualities that he shows every game,” Green said. “You can see people coming towards him, it’s fiercely competitive now. You get insulted for everything. One little thing and your grade drops. It's a list of everything you do. You don't want the list (when) to have a lot of bumps. There's just a certain level of responsibility that he brought to that side of the ball for us. He created this challenge where everyone is trying to be at the top of the list. In return, it creates good defense for us.”

No wonder, then, that when the Warriors fly around like they have the ball, it's not just out of a desire to win, but also to avoid getting on Stackhouse's list of problems:

The player who appears to have reacted loudest to Stackhouse's approach – figuratively and literally – is Green. His awareness and positioning remain top notch, as does his vision and diagnosis of opponents' intentions at half court.

“Aggression” may be the operative word and main theme of Stackhouse’s philosophy – but if there were close seconds, “hustle” and “activity” would be appropriate. The Warriors lead the league in both deflections per game (24.4) and total deflections (122), while they currently rank third with 11.5 steals per 100 possessions. They have a 26 deflection lead over the second place team (the Thunder with 96). Their hands were constantly in the passing lanes, in front of opponents' faces, and in the air during courtside and courtside contests.

The “new rules” were therefore a simple matter of motivation, accountability and restoring pride that had not existed since the championship season three years ago.