In today’s basketball, defense has become an afterthought. Since the 2018-2019 season, NBA teams have averaged 110+ PPG (Points Per Game), the highest it has ever been in the NBA’s history. The NBA has become “soft”, and most superstars are getting more and more injured. Also, for the first time in the NBA’s history, the MVP award will come down to free throws. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the frontrunner for the MVP award and averages 32.7 ppg, however, Shai averages 9 free throws a night. The NBA has been notorious for flopping recently, and viewership has even hit an all-time low. I asked some random people, “Why don’t they like the NBA?” The average response was, “No defense.”
However, during the 2024-2025 playoffs, we have seen an overabundance of aggressive defense. Ime Udoka, Houston Rockets Head Coach, has had a new philosophy in his defensive approach. The Houston Rockets (2nd Seed) face the Golden State Warriors (7th Seed) in their first-round matchup. The Rockets faced the Warriors early on in April in Houston. Udoka decided to use a new defense tactic to frustrate the Warriors. The tactic features face-guarding Stephen Curry and playing physical basketball, and forcing the Warriors to work harder to create scoring opportunities. The tactic seemed to be successful as Stephen Curry had only 3 points scored. Throughout the first two games of the series, the Rockets have been getting Curry’s face and frustrating the Warriors’ roster. During Game 2, Stephen Curry was seen exchanging words with Ime Udoka about his physical approach. Udoka said, “At the end of the day, basketball is a physical game and defense wins championships. If [Curry] and fans can’t accept that, then the NBA is truly ruined”. However, that statement is true; the Rockets have been called “dirty” these past few games. There have been multiple technical fouls received, and maybe incidents of fights almost breaking out. The real reason they are being considered dirty, though, is because of Jimmy Butler’s injury. On a play early in Game 2, Jimmy Butler jumped high in the air for a rebound. At the same time, Amen Thompson shoved Butler in his back. This caused Jimmy to land hard on his back and be out for the rest of Game 2 and potentially miss more time. The series is tied 1-1 right now as the Rockets won Game 2 with a score of 109-94. This series has gotten physical throughout the first two games, and the rest of the series will continue to get intense as one of these teams’ seasons will come to an end.
