Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard Norman Powell was recently asked about what new lead assistant Jeff Van Gundy has brought to the group from a defensive standpoint.
(via HoopJab):
“Attention to detail. The leadership is really good. I love the energy. I love the focus that he has and really getting our defense locked in and making sure that we have the energy and have a defensive mindset coming out of games. It’s good. For us, there’s going to be mistakes and things implementing a whole foundation of how we want to play defensively, but I think the guys are really locked in and attuned to what he’s saying and they don’t want to mess up. So they’re looking at him for some corrections, for some guidance. You see a lot of guys going and talking to him about the different coverages and the different schemes and the different reads. It’s really great, man.
“Sometimes it’s a lot. Guys are looking around like, ‘Damn coach, we’re giving the effort.’ But, that’s what we need. We need to have that fire and that intensity coming from the coach, and I think it’s trickling down from top to bottom with the guys and we’re really focusing on it. I think if we can really tighten that up, especially with the way we’re playing, securing the rebounds and getting our transition defense settled in and on the same page. It takes us from I think we were 29th and 24th in transition defense and rebounding. I think if we tighten those up, we’ll be a top five defensive team. With the way we play and the guys we have, we can be disruptive. So, I’m excited for him.”
