Longabardi brought in to transform defense
Coach helped get the Cavs and Celtics championships
NEW YORK — During the their 115-99 win over the New York Knicks on Friday night, the Washington Wizards played their best stretch of defense of the preseason. During a nearly six-minute stretch that began in the first quarter and lasted well into the second, Washington scored 20 consecutive points as the unit forced New York into a series of low-percentage pullups or step-back jumpers. The Wizards gave up only two attempts near the rim and mostly limited the Knicks to just one shot per possession.
Though the final score ultimately did not matter, the display of defense was something the team wants to embrace this season.
“Just playing hard,” said Wizards guard Jordan McRae, who made two baskets during the run en route to scoring 15 points. “We’re kind of small, so everybody’s running out, helping each other, running around. Coach said at one point, it looked like we had six guys out there. So that’s how we want to look.”
Whether they’re giving the illusion of playing with a man advantage or just compensating for their youth and lack of size by playing harder, the Wizards are learning the style of new defensive coordinator Michael Longabardi. As one of four new Wizards assistant coaches, Longabardi will have one of the toughest jobs: transforming one of the most underachieving defenses in the NBA.
“We want to take away every layup we can, so no layups. And no rhythm threes, especially from the strongside corner. And then we want to defend without fouling, and the most important thing, we want to finish the possession with a rebound,” Longabardi said during training camp, ticking off the major themes the Wizards want to implement in 2019-20. “If we can make that our staple, we have an opportunity to be in games and potentially win games, and that’s what we’re hoping to do.”
Longabardi, a two-time NBA champion as an assistant coach, orchestrated the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers’ defense that surrendered only 98.3 points per game (fourth lowest in the league). The Cavaliers, who defeated the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, also ranked in the top 10 with a 103.9 defensive rating, which indicates points allowed per 100 possessions. That statistic was created by Dean Oliver, a pioneer in the analytics movement whoalso is a new assistant coach on the Wizards’ staff.
“He’s a winner. Everywhere he’s been, he’s won,” Coach Scott Brooks said, explaining why he hired Longabardi. “At that time he seemed to be a perfect fit. NowI know he is the perfect fit. He’s good with us. He’s definitely going to be a big part of our defense going forward, but everybody’s chipping in.”
Yes, Longabardi has those two championship rings — he earned the other with the 2007-08 Boston Celtics — but he also has a stain on his résumé, one from which he doesn’t hide.
“We had the worst defense,” Longabardi said bluntly, in reviewing the 2018-19 Cavaliers, his final year in Cleveland.
Last season, the Cavaliers ranked last in opponent field goal percentage (.495) and three-point percentage (.380) and had the league’s worst defensive rating at 116.7. According to the statistical website Basketball-Reference.com, the Cavaliers’ rating was the worst in the NBA since the 1973-74 season.
The reason behind the historically bad defense is simple: injuries. Cleveland lost its bedrock star, Kevin Love, and as time went on, more and more veterans left the lineup. The Cavaliers finished the season with an ever-changing lineup of young and inexperienced players.
Longabardi can see the similarities to Washington last season.
“Injuries and continuity and change in the lineup, those things are real, and they can affect a team. So when you lose a guy like John Wall, who’s out for an extended period of time, who is a two-way type player, that’s going to be a big hit,” Longabardi said. “Just witnessing that in Cleveland. Not having Kevin Love, having 35 different starting lineups, 29 guys on your roster. There’s no continuity, which I think makes it difficult.”