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Syracuse’s performance Sunday night showed that any defense is only as good as the players executing it, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said postgame. 

SU was awful in the first half, allowing 47 points to a team down its top two scorers. Most of NC State’s buckets came at the rim or from wide-open 3-pointers. The athletes were playing the same defense in the second half, albeit with a slight adjustment, when they allowed 26 points. 

“Our defense has just got to get better,” Boeheim said. “If our defense doesn’t get better, we won’t win. It’s pretty simple, really.” 

The Orange currently rank No. 78 in defensive efficiency, per KenPom, allowing 96.2 points per 100 possessions. As Nunes Magician’s James Szuba pointed out, that number would mean three of SU’s worst defensive teams since 2002 have come in the last five years. 

Syracuse (10-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) is allowing 70.3 points per game, 11th in the ACC. But its second-half showing against the Wolfpack proves it has the players to be at least serviceable on the defensive end. The keys, as always with the zone, are limiting entry passes into the high post and closing out to shooters. 

For a baseline on what it looked like in the first half, the Orange were playing defense like this: 

All NC State had to do to open up a passing lane to the high post was swing it twice around the perimeter. Quincy Guerrier was caught too far up — without a shooter in the corner, there’s likely no reason for him to be up so high. When Jericole Hellems catches and dumps it down to Manny Bates in the dunker spot, Guerrier has too much ground to cover to challenge a shot at the rim. With Guerrier not being more compact, Marek Dolezaj is forced to effectively defend two men: Hellems and Bates. 

In the second half, Syracuse made a concerted effort to deny that free-throw line entry pass. It also dropped down the forwards more, giving Dolezaj more help. That shift also enlarged the roles of the guards up top and opened up the corners a bit more. 

You could see the adjustments on this play, even while Hellems hits a tough fadeaway over Dolezaj at the end of the shot clock. NC State screens the top of the zone to force an opening to the high post. But when it sneaks a pass into the free-throw line, Alan Griffin and Guerrier are already on the elbows, so they can easily crash down to prevent a dropoff pass and help Dolezaj. In the first half, Guerrier and Griffin were often playing on the 3-point line. 

Despite the result, it’s a great defensive possession for SU. 

Besides lowering the positioning of the forwards, the guards up top are key to limiting the damage of penetration and entry passes. Watch Kadary Richmond on this play. His activity is exactly why he’s already a great defensive player: he has athleticism, length and instincts. 

When the ball swings to Buddy Boeheim’s side, Richmond drops down in anticipation of a high-post entry. He quickly closes out when it swings to his side of the court. He helps when Braxton Beverly gets a step on Buddy, runs Thomas Allen off the line and is plenty fast enough to recover back into position.

It’s a brilliant defensive stop that was crucial in Syracuse’s narrow victory, and Richmond was at the point of attack. Guerrier and Dolezaj also do a tremendous job gang-rebounding to finish the possession. 

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A few possessions later, Syracuse allows the free-throw line touch but is able to rotate because the team is more engaged than it was in the first half. As soon as Hellems catches at the high post, Griffin sprints from the perimeter to the block, cutting off a lob to Bates. Hellems reads that and kicks to the corner, so Griffin pivots and lurches out to contest a game-tying 3. He’s able to alter the shooter’s rhythm, and Richmond also helps to challenge the shot, forcing a miss.

Those plays are what it’s going to take for Syracuse to improve defensively: High-voltage activity up top, smart play by the forwards and a commitment to defensive rebounding.

Published on February 1, 2021 at 11:22 pm

Contact Danny: [email protected] | @DannyEmerman