I have played in pickup games vs NBA dudes.
How do you figure that I don't care about defense?
Have you ever played against elite NBA shooters?
Yes, obviously it wasnt a "REAL GAME'. but the answer is YES. and Elite nba shooters are not necessarily better than elite overseas pro shooters, or elite college shooters(with the college 3).
we're talking about guys with the dribble and can shoot off the bounce. not just run to a spot catch and launch guys or run around 100 screens rip hamilton/ Ray allen with the celtics post injuries style(now jj redikk with the clippers using allen's old plays.) we're talking about dudes that got handles and will and can make a lot of shots off the dribble. i've played vs dudes like this that played pro ball overseas semi pro ball. as well as EX nba players that were wet.
they have something thats similar about them. that release is quick as hell incomparison to the rest of us. and they DO NOT CARE. they are unconscious shooters. they wont stop. miss or make. they will keep shooting until it starts falling again.
the real difference in nba scorers, college scorers(not the guys who blow up in the nba, the other dude that disppears after college is over), and even other guys you have known in rec league that were known city wide for being a baller that never made it for 1000 reasons.
the difference is this. when nba players get hot, THEY FRIGGING STAY HOT.
they hit 3 in a row and it might turn into 8 in a row. when a regular baller thats really good gets hot, he hits 3 to 5 in a row and thats that usually. there's a reason why only a select few people can drop 50 on any level.
the reason a guy like kobe dropped 81 and 62 in 3 is because he would get WHITE HOT. most normal people or even overseas pros or other regular pro ballers would never get that hot. steph is the same. white hot and faaaghetabout it.
But to not allow him to get white hot is your mission. you cant stop it. but you cant make it harder for him. you have to understand what he wants to do.
and lastly, its not about who you have played against. its about IF YOU were known defender and thought like one. or if you had decent to suspect defense but great offense and never cared to play lock down defense on anyone or great team defense on any team.
see yall have no idea who l yall are dealing with when i kick these schemes to you. i'm the same dude that might run a 1-3-1 on the playground. if i'm playing dudes i know who are extremly highly skilled, bigger than my and my peoples, taller, more athletic and can shoot. anyone doing that ON THE PLAYGROUND is a nut case but is a nut about defense. i'm that guy. i'm not your average dude at the playground, just playing ok defense on you.
nuccas use to want to fight me, not because i talked smack(i didnt). because i would embarrass them by locking them up. that gets at dudes egos, ESPECIALLY on the playground. thats worse then in a regular ref'd game.
as a kid just learning the rope of defense. in a no name Y league. i was tossed on the team late. we were about to play some dude that was averaging 40 a game(there's always one or two of these guys in your leagues if you play in a real city(L.A. for me). so they already assumed not only would we lose but dude was going to drop 40 or 50 on us. I say coach, let me come off the bench. he said why, we need you starting, i said nope. i want to see what this guy does. the coach is someones pops so he aint really all that into basketball like that. so he didnt really understand what i was saying.
so i set that pine. watched this kid torch our guards with his length, torch our SFs with his quicks and savvy. he was just a better ball player than kids at his own age. his game was more mature at that point. at least his scoring was. he sucked on defense. didnt matter he would double your points. you get 18 he would drop 38. so who cares if he guards someone or not, which is what steph is doing now. lol.
anyway, i buzz in. and realize this guy is a right hander that drives hard left with his left hand but loves to finish with his right. most rightees go hard right and finish with their right. this is what throws guys off. the little nuances. i also realized he loved to go baseline and do reverse layups(mature game for a 15 year old kid.) i saw this as i sat the pine. so i knew. dont let him go left at all. period. make him go hard right ( i know he's right handed sounds crazy). coach was yelling at me to cover the other side. NOPE. he made a few and then he went back to what he LOVES to do. went hard left. Cookies. STripps. we're running. bucket. he does it again. i poke it loose. he gets it back. i poke it loose again. he goest at me. i hope to his left again. poke it loose again. Now i can see that frustration on his face. UH OH, i got you now. i'm in your head. now its not about me figure him out. he's trying to figure me out. he doesnt know me, i have no rep. but i know him. i have an advantage.
in addition even though i didnt use my athleticism all the time i was very athletic, quick, fast, with hops and long arms. so when he tried to "well i'll just jump over the dude and dunk on him". I was right there with him. NO DUNKS IN MY PAINT." get that ISH outta here. i help dude to like 14 points. he started crying . they lost the game too. i walked up to him cause i'm a good dude. and ask did i hit you or something? he was like "naww, man you wouldnt let me score."
That is the moment i realized what elite defense would do to someone who is use to overpowering people with their scoring ability. you mess around and stop a guy from doing what he is use to doing it will piss him off and have him out of sorts mess around start making silly mistakes. it happesn to the greats to from time to time.
now in the nba it takes a TEAM to pull this off with these dont touch rules. but it can be done where you make life hell for one or two players. they might score anyway. but bets believe every shot will have to be a miracle shot and eventually the miracles will run out. its that defenders dont have the mental fortitude to stay with the game plan that long. a prime kobe hits you with 2 or 3 good ones while you're playing great defense and you break mentally. and thats all he needs to destroy you. same with a guy like steph.
so sorry if i sound crazy but i know for a fact you can BOTHER anyone's scoring ability. not stop. but bother it.
