One Pass Away: The #SoWizards Defense with Bballbreakdown's Coach Nick

Why has the Wizards defense been so bad this season? I put the question to Coach Nick from BBALLBREAKDOWN, and the answer leapt off the screen: they're helping from one pass away. That's the team's scheme this season, and it's the root cause of giving up open threes, and the mad scramble that gives opposing teams easy scores and domination on the offensive glass.

This is an in-depth discussion of head coach Wes Unseld Jr.'s defensive scheme, the theory behind implementing it, and what's going wrong. We also touch on "soft switches," and what the team can do to be better this season...even as they strategically lose to increase chances for a high draft pick.

We touch on their offense a bit, as well as what's going wrong with Jordan Poole, and the development of Bilal Coulibaly.

My favorite part is our discussion of Coach Nick's "Chase Defense." This is a new defensive system he's invented to address modern offenses that are built on three-point shooting and pick-and-roll actions. Coaches are experimenting with it at lower levels, and the results are promising.

We talk about the concepts and theories underpinning Nick's defense, as well as what it will take for an NBA team to give it a shot.

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