| |
Make Any Adjustment...Just Make It Now
by Ryan Morgan
This is a very interesting scenario because there are so many adjustments that could be made to respond to this player. You could assign a speedy defender to outrun him on the deep cuts, you could assign a tall defender to pull down floaty passes, you could assign a physical defender to disrupt the flow of his cuts, you could keep playing the same defense on him but put a straight-up mark on everyone else, you could go zone, you could play last back, or you could even throw your scouting report out the window and let him hang around the disc.
In my opinion, it doesn't matter what adjustment you make as long as you make one. This player, who is used to hanging around the disc, has clearly gotten comfortable playing downfield against your defense. The absolute worst thing you can do is to not do anything. It doesn't matter if your best defender was guarding him in the first half, you can't just say "try harder" or "don't get beat deep anymore." At this point in an elimination game you have to make an adjustment to get him out of his rhythm. You have to throw a hurdle in his way to show him a different look.
Once you disrupt his rhythm he is going to want to go back to his comfort zone — near the disc. At that point, I would return to my scouting report and continue to push him downfield. A different defender should be put on him though, so he doesn't get comfortable again. Since most handlers don't want to work hard, I would put a fast, physical player on him. That way he will have to work to get open knowing the whole time that on a long pass the faster defender will be able to run past him. But that decision just reflects my personal preference on how to guard handlers downfield without knowing more about the teams involved. So there could be a better choice considering the totality of the circumstances. But again, the most important adjustment to make is to make an adjustment.
|
|
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 |
|