On a string, down the floor: Looking at Jason Kidd’s defensive influences
Last year the Nets had no trouble scoring the ball, finishing ninth in offensive efficiency. They struggled all season long on the other side of the ball though, yielding 103.5 points per 100 possessions (18th in the league). If the Nets are truly going to make the jump to serious title contention, they’ve got address their issues on defense. Coach Jason Kidd played for some of the great defensive minds in the game over the course of his career, and now it will be up to him to create his own system.
We’ve already postulated on what to expect on offense from Coach Kidd. Now, let’s take a look at how Kidd’s luminaries will shape what we see on the defensive side of the floor. (All stats courtesy of NBA.com/stats.)
Defensive Influences
After joining the New Jersey Nets in 2001, Kidd played on eight top ten defensive units, including the top ranked Nets units in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Coach Kidd will draw on his Nets playing days and former coaches, Byron Scott and Lawrence Frank. He can also look to Dwane Casey, who transformed the Mavericks into a top ten defense on their march to a championship during Kidd’s time in Dallas.
