The referees may be in contractual limbo, but the NBA has its style police busy setting the agenda for the coming year.Will living in a copycat world inspire the league's coaching masterminds to orchestrate the game in a different fashion when the new season commences? Is the fast pace that made the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors so compelling a few years ago in danger of being pushed out the door? Is the waltz tempo preferred by the sideline sharpies in Cleveland about to take hold?
One reason why NBA speed-embracing coaches fall short of glory is their failure to use defense to make the game even faster. With the eight-second time-line rule and 24-second shot clock, pressure defenses could severely trim the opposition's ability to create scoring opportunities for superstar players. This would take teams out of their comfort zones and generate a tempo that is favorable to the fast team.
Unfortunately, coaches either have insufficient clout to make their players play that hard on defense or fear of straying that far from traditional NBA philosophical values. Maybe they lack adequate depth to play pressure defense and fear this tactic will lead to chronic fatigue as the six-month-plus season rolls along.
So they rely on pushing the pace with offense, pose as sitting ducks on defense and unwittingly invalidate a fast system of offense as a viable option.
But despite trends, statistics and the style police, the best brand of basketball should be the brand that fits the players a coach has.
There are many ways to win a basketball game. In the end, the most valuable employee could be the lead personnel guy.
