Chicago roots run deep
Shumpert credits schoolyard mentality for honing defensive tenacity
The Rockets are simplifying their hybrid switching defense for recently acquired guard Iman Shumpert. They got him at the trade deadline to be a hit man off the bench: Come in and take out the best wing scorer on the other team.
It is a natural role for him. It is how Shumpert, one of the NBA’s most relentless on-ball defenders, learned to guard in the first place.
“It has got to be mano y mano,” he said.
Forget ball screens, corner 3pointers, pick-and-pops, pindowns and switches. The sophistication of modern basketball — everything the Rockets revere — has no place in Oak Park, Ill., where Shumpert grew up. He comes from the Chicago heritage of hoopers. To them, basketball is a test of heart and willpower more than skill and shooting. They might not have the prettiest style or the most talent, but relentlessness is what gets them to the NBA.
“People be like, ‘You love defense,’ ” he said after adhering to rookie sensation Luka Doncic in
the Rockets’ 120-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. “I’m like, ‘Nah. I was the best player, and I had to guard the best player because I’m not a punk.’ ”
Shumpert did not know until he got to the NBA that sometimes a team will assign its superstar to guard the worst opposing player so the star can conserve energy. That did not make sense to a kid inspired by Michael Jordan’s homicidal competitiveness on both ends of the floor.
“It’s a Chicago thing,” Shumpert said of what’s expected from the city’s talent. “You’ve got to deal with it. These are two people we came to see. Y’all guard each other. We’re going to outscore each other. Quit calling for ball screens. Go one-on-one. We want to see it. That’s what I’m used to.”
Part pride and part survival, the logic goes that to be the best, you have to challenge and beat the best.
“Or else you’re kind of a punk,” Shumpert said.
As he showed then and has proved in eight NBA seasons, he is not.
“He’s not limited physically,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He gets into people. His determination is huge.”
Making his presence felt
At 6-5 and 220 pounds, Shumpert has the agility, pound-forpound strength, 6-9 wingspan and vertical leap to body up anyone shorter than 7 feet.
“He’s very heavy,” guard Austin Rivers said. “He uses that to his advantage. He bumps the defender out. He can guard one through four.”
Rivers posited that a fourguard lineup with some mix of himself, Shumpert, Eric Gordon, James Harden and Chris Paul would retain a strong defensive force.
“We’re all big, heavier, stronger, powerful guards,” Rivers said. “A lot of aggression on the defensive end.”
When Rockets general manager Daryl Morey needed to bolster the defense two years ago, he signed forward P.J. Tucker but considered Shumpert.
Among shooting guards, Shumpert rates in the top 10 percent in charge rate, 30 percent in block rate and 30 percent in steal rate.
According to the Rockets’ inhouse statistics, Shumpert is in the top 20 percent of guards in quality of shot allowed, meaning he kills an opponent’s shooting percentage, especially at the rim, where he is in the top 10 percent. The team also rates him an elite pick-and-roll defender with his ability to force turnovers (top 25 percent) while avoiding fouls (top 15 percent).
The new foul rules make Shumpert’s ability more impressive. When he was a rookie, the NBA allowed defenders to use their hands more liberally to make disruptive contact with offensive players. He continues to thrive now that the modern defender has to rely on quickly angling the rest of his body, as if his hands are tied.
“That’s all core and your legs, trying to beat guys to spots, trying to keep them off angles,” Shumpert said. “Going into a game now, they’ve got all types of moves they do, like put the ball out in front of them —and you can’t touch people. You’ve got to figure out a way to get it done.”
He has this season, often against some of the league’s elite scorers. Of the four players Shumpert guarded on 85 or more possessions this season, he held Jimmy Butler to seven points per game, Tobias Harris to nine, DeMar DeRozan to 14.5 and Kevin Durant to 14.5.
With Shumpert on them, CJ McCollum scored six points in 54 possessions and LeBron James a modest nine in 35. He forced Bradley Beal to go 0-for-5 in 28 possessions.
“All these ball screens and people begging for fouls, it’s different for me,” he said. “When I’m watching film, I’m just seeing what spots you like to get to, and I’m trying to keep you off them spots.”
Standard information is less helpful when it comes to stifling a superstar who can find ways to score in a phone booth. Shumpert tries to figure out: What makes him uncomfortable? How long until he tires? When did he start putting his hands on his knees? When did he miss a free throw? If he gets an and-one call and is fired up, will he hit the free throw after that? A shot chart will show the scorer’s hot spots, but Shumpert finds the weak spots.
“I’m going to push your buttons,” Shumpert said.
The pleasure he takes in worming his way into someone’s brain could explain why he also is a serious rapper. He released the EP “Substance Abuse” last April and a music video for the song “Handle Bars” on Tuesday. His vocals evoke the same hard-edged swagger as his defense.
Harden got to know that side of Shumpert well when the Rockets played the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 17. Harden scored 34 points but only four in 21 possessions of being hounded by Shumpert.
“Man, let James know that,” Shumpert said, peeling back an enormous smile, after the Rockets acquired him.
“He’s smart,” Harden said. “When you’re playing a guy like that that has really good technique and good instincts, it’s pretty frustrating. I’m glad to have him part of our team now.”
In his first game here, Shumpert handled the Oklahoma City’s Paul George better than anyone on a night when George dropped 45 points at Toyota Center. Shumpert glued himself to George’s jersey, often preventing the All-Star forward from getting a touch and deterring him in the second quarter from attempting a single jumper. The 10 points George scored on 18 possessions matched up with Shumpert came off a fastbreak basket, a pair of free throws, an impenetrable screen set by center Steven Adams, and the rare moment when Shumpert hedged two steps back to give George too much room for a 3.
As for another All-Star, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Shumpert held him scoreless on 15 possessions.
‘He’s an amazing defender’
Shumpert said he is comfortable “being on an island.” In other words, he can survive without needing to S.O.S. for help defense. He does not kick himself for getting burned by a hot scorer.
“If you’re a good defender, you have to accept that,” Rivers said. “Otherwise, you would never ask to be guarding those guys.”
Shumpert briefly endured some growing pains from the Rockets’ system Monday. He collided with teammate Gerald Green in a tangle that gave Mavericks guard Trey Burke a clear path for a layup.
Shortly thereafter, Shumpert stuck to Mavericks forward Tim Hardaway Jr. on a drive and forced a bobble, which let Rockets center Isaiah Hartenstein snuff Hardaway’s layup attempt.
In high school and college, Shumpert developed a knack for deflections because his coaches tracked them and reinforced their value with drills. He has quick hands like a boxer, which enable him to jab balls loose and pick off passes in the lane.
On the first possession matched up with Doncic, Shumpert forced the sure-handed Slovenian to give up the ball. On the second, Shumpert interrupted a crossover dribble and snatched a steal. Near the end of the first quarter, Shumpert forced Doncic to drain the shot clock and take a bad shot from 30 feet.
“He’s aggressive,” Doncic said. “He’s strong. You cannot post him up that easy, and he’s quick. He’s an amazing defender.”
The Rockets are confident they have time to teach Shumpert the nuances of their switching scheme, which he did not experience playing for the Kings before the trade.
“Shump’s going to be really good for us,” Paul said. “Somebody with his energy, his voice, his pedigree — it ain’t measured on shots made or missed. It’s a will, man.”