How Teams Have Punished Florida’s Post Defense

“Fire! Fire! Fire!”

 

It’s something you hear echoing through arenas from Florida’s bench, especially apparent during this season with few fans in the building.

 

“Fire” is Florida’s term for double teaming the post. Sending a second defender, the lowest player on the opposite side of the floor, to go engage a post player with the basketball alongside the primary defender.

 

Firing the post has been a regular element of Florida’s defense under Mike White who wants to get the ball out of the hands of post players and not allow them to go one on one.

 

Here is the thing–it might not be a good idea.

 

The Gators just lost their second game of the season to Tennessee who was able to meticulously pick apart Florida’s double team in the post. Considering they were able to do it when they first beat the Gators, it wasn’t surprising to see them able to exploit it a second time. They also weren’t the first team to do this to the Gators. Missouri was toying with the Gators as they fired the post, spacing the floor to easily allow Jeremiah Tilmon to sling the ball to open receivers like he was a quarterback with all the time in the world to hang in the pocket. Kentucky, South Carolina, and Mississippi State were also able to punish Florida for firing the post and Florida’s scrambled rotations defensively out of these plays played a large role in a lot of these losses.

 

Take a look at some of these plays where Florida fired the post:

As you can see, post players were more than comfortable handling the pressure of a second defender coming their way. A lot of that is due to the fact Florida was way too soft with double teams. A second defender would skip their way over to the ball with their hands up and once they arrived they were content to be vertical and hope for the best. The result of that has been post players who are more than comfortable seeing the defender and making a read, knowing that they aren’t actually under as much pressure as a double team would normally constitute. Watch the video again and see how comfortable these post players are. Look at Florida’s double team that arrives on the scene, but doesn’t actually look to be aggressive or much of a deterrent. 

 

There are definitely some breakdowns that have occurred out of this style of defense, plays that have caused great frustration and some loud, memorable baskets against. But, sometimes looks can be deceiving. So, how bad has Florida’s firing the post double team defense actually been?

 

When double teaming the post the Gators are allowing 48% from the field and 0.93 points per possession. Overall, in the half court the Gators are allowing 0.84 points per possession, so these firing the post plays are giving their opponents much easier shots and higher percentage looks than on average possessions. Florida is 224th in the country in defending post up plays, Which further contextualizes their struggles in this area. 

 

As mentioned earlier, the Gators would be wise to double team more aggressively. Their passive method of double teaming simply doesn’t bring the pressure and aggressiveness that you’d expect from a double team scenario, and they aren’t reaping the rewards of double teaming while they are incurring the penalties. The soft double teaming allows for wide open cutters and shooters and that is a big reason the Gators have struggled so much in defending these plays. 

 

Florida could also benefit from changing up where they double team from. I texted two SEC assistant coaches and asked them both about Florida’s double team defense, and they were both able to quickly tell me where Florida’s double team was going to come from–the lowest defender on the opposite baseline. Because they know exactly where the double team is coming from they are able to scheme and space the floor in such a way that the Gators are going to be vulnerable when they fire, and that makes it easy to see why the Gators have had so much trouble with their double teaming recently. The book is out, and SEC teams who do even a basic scout know exactly how Florida is going to fire and open themselves up to pass out scenarios. 

 

Something else the Gators could do is change up when they double team. Generally, the Gators double team on the catch. An entry pass is delivered to a post player, a chorus of “fire!” comes from Florida’s bench, and a second player engages the player with the ball. This isn’t inherently a bad way to double team, but right now when opponents know exactly when the double team is coming from it makes it that much easier for them to be prepared. The Gators could vary when they send the double team, for example doing my favorite timing of a double team and that’s when the player takes his first dribble. When you double team on the catch, a player can pivot, see the defender, and make a play. If he needs to take an escape dribble, he can. However, if you send the double team the moment he puts the ball on the floor, it makes him much more vulnerable. He might not be expecting the double team if he doesn’t see it right away, and once he’s dribbling it means if he’s going to pass out he might have to stop his dribble, look around, and then make the pass which adds steps and opportunities for the defense to recover or get a turnover.

 

Right now Florida’s firing of the post is awfully predictable and we’ve seen a number of teams have their way with it.

 

There is also one more way the Gators could improve their double teaming post defense:

 

Don’t. 

 

Just don’t double.

 

Like I said earlier, Florida is giving up 0.93 points per possession when double teaming the post. The double teams have allowed for cutters to be hit, or for open shooters to catch and shoot warm up jumpers.

 

Here’s the thing–most players that Florida double teams aren’t that much of a threat to score one on one in the post anyways.

 

Florida is allowing 0.75 points per possession on one on one post up plays. That’s a good number, good for 75th in the country. It’s not like their frontcourt is so undersized that they’re vulnerable to post ups, and it’s not like they’ve given up that many buckets. The eye test might show a player guarding one on one in the post and look like he’s on an island, which can be concerning, but the numbers tell us the real story–scoring one on one in the post is hard, and there is a reason that we’re seeing so many less post ups in 2021 then we were in 2011. 

 

You’re starting to see more and more teams going away from double teaming the post. In the NBA, you might sooner see a sasquatch taking the opening tip than a hard double team in the post. It’s trickling down to the college game as well. Michigan (with a former NBA coach in Juwan Howard) utilizes the no double team defense and is one of the top defenses in the country and Loyola-Chicago has done the same thing on their way to being one of the best defenses in the country this season.

 

Colin Castleton has only allowed 0.67 points per possession in one on one post ups defensively. 

 

Omar Payne has allowed 0.63.

 

These are the players who are often guarding the opposing team’s post threat, and they are the players who are guarding the ball when Florida fires the post. Instead of firing the post and giving up 0.93 points per possession plays, why not let those post players go one on one for 0.67 or 0.63 points per possession plays?

 

This could truly be one of the easiest fixes to any of Florida’s problems anywhere on the court this season. Numbers have shown for years now that one on one post ups are a difficult, inefficient shot and right now the Gators are selling out to stop it as if it were a high value shot and in doing so the Gators are allowing the true high value shots–open cuts and wide open catch and shoot threes. 

 

Florida is entering the NCAA Tournament on a cold streak, playing some of their worst basketball of the season. At this point, opposing coaches have figured out Florida’s defensive rotations and have shown they can exploit it. If the Gators continue to do the same thing, they are probably going to have similar results. Making a simple change, like not firing the post, could be an easy switch to make their defense less predictable and more efficient.

 

Eric Fawcett
Eric is a basketball coach and writer from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His work has been found at NBA international properties, ESPN, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Lindy's and others. He loves zone defenses, the extra pass, and a 30 second shot clock. Growing up in Canada, an American channel showing SEC basketball games was his first exposure to Gator hoops, and he has been hooked ever since. You can follow him on Twitter at @ericfawcett_.

1 COMMENT

  1. That is why white need to shake things up and go big.

    The small ball provides for more offense, but good offense is not always good especially when it has to be everyday.

    With a front line of Jitoboh, Payne and Castleton you create an impenetrable zone of trees that forces opposing offenses to rely on a completely different game plan than what they are accustomed to in dealing with Florida.

    On offense, Jitoboh can set picks and get a couple of easy baskets rolling to the hoop. Same with Payne. Meanwhile you have at least one or two bigs on the offensive boards.

    You have Mann and Locke shooting at will from the outside knowing that 3 6’10” or better guys will be trying to rebound.

    Once teams figure out how to adjust to not having posting sessions and layup lines against our defense, we can switch back to a more traditional lineup with pressing and traps.

    We have the personnel to be highly diversified but if White doesn’t take advantage of a deep bench, we are wasting our time and losing the major advantage we have.