I'd like to hear some other ideas from you guys, because it's been pretty blatantly highlighted the last several games that we're not doing anything in the playoffs until our defense gets fixed. Here are the issues as I see them:
1) Rebounding - clearly, you simply can't give up second chance points every other possession.
2) Defensive Miscommunication - As seen with the IT/Smart miscommunication, we just don't talk to each other on defense, and this leads to miscommunication on switches and rotations.
3) Pick and Roll Defense - This is probably where we're the worst, and I see it mainly as a problem with our bigs not understanding how to hedge the ball handler and properly get back to cover their own man. Though it's also an issue with some of our guards not being able to adequately get around screens and miscommunication on whether or not to switch.
4) Horford/Amir's Inability to Guard out on the Perimeter - To me, this is such a great disservice to Horford's defensive abilities, because he's clearly best near the rim where he can "quarterback" the defense. He just doesn't have the foot speed and mobility to be out chasing guys on the perimeter. And this shouldn't be a surprise either, because this is the first time in his career that he's playing the Power Forward position. And Amir just doesn't have the athleticism to do it this year anymore.
We have the individual pieces to be an elite defensive team. Smart, Bradley, Crowder, and Al are all probably top-5 individual defenders at their position, and Amir and JJ are both good defenders in their own right.
So how do we change this lackluster defense that we've exhibited the first half of this year? I have some ideas of my own, but I'd like to hear how others think we should fix this and if they see other particular defensive issues.