NBA Gameplanning: how to attack each team

We are used to hearing during the playoffs how a team is "hunting" a particular matchup against a perceived below average defender on the opposing team...but there's no reason to wait till then to go after the weak link! Here are some quick gameplanning notes to attack each team's main players...

Atlanta Hawks
Last three season defensive ranks: 27th - 22nd - 26th

Trae Young	Long a target for being small, the key guy on offense (so wear him down), and not a great defender overall...struggles in motion actions (chasing around screens, handoffs, cuts) but actually fares well on iso/post type plays.
Bogdan Bogdanovic	Very poor help+recover defender...so draw him away from his guy and make him closeout/put him in multi-effort situations.
Clint Capela	Rim protector but can be beat one-on-one, even Postups, and can take advantage when he switches to Iso.

Boston Celtics
Last three season defensive ranks: 3rd - 3rd - 2nd

Jrue Holiday	Not a lot of vulnerability with the Celtics, and Jrue is always a plus defender. He can sometimes be over aggressive and doesn't have great size to close back out to a shooter, so help+recover situations.
Al Horford	Make him contend with screening actions (pick and rolls, handoffs, offball screens).

Brooklyn Nets
Last three season defensive ranks: 20th - 13th - 19th

Cam Thomas	Awful one-on-one numbers...look to Iso/Post as often as possible.
Cameron Johnson	Solid defender generally (down year in '23-24), but can be beat on isolation plays and struggles chasing around curls and offball screens

Charlotte Hornets
Last three season defensive ranks: 29th - 20th - 23rd

LaMelo Ball	Make him work -- put him in constant Pick and Roll actions, Post him up when guarding a physical player.
Brandon Miller	As with most young players, still getting the hang of NBA team defense. Struggles badly on multi-effort and help+recover plays.

Chicago Bulls
Last three season defensive ranks: 21st - 5th - 22nd

Coby White	Very poor defender on +/- metrics and can be beat in Pick+Rolls, Iso/Posts, Help+Recover...needs to improve this side of the ball to reach his potential.
Zach LaVine	Sometimes labeled as "disinterested" on defense, but actually posts pretty average defensive stats. Put him in Help Situations and second effort helps to test his commitment.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Last three season defensive ranks: 6th - 1st - 7th

Darius Garland	Makes an effort to stay with team concepts, but poor on ball defender as well as hurt in help+recover situations.
Donovan Mitchell	Another "make him work" player -- put him in on ball actions (poor Iso defender) and try and nick him with many screens. The Cleveland bigs are so good defensively you attack the guards.

Dallas Mavericks
Last three season defensive ranks: 18th - 24th - 6th

Luka Doncic	Did an excellent job in the playoffs, and generally underrated as an on ball/one-on-one defender...but doesn't like being put in pick+rolls or chasing over offball screens where he can't just switch.
Kyrie Irving	Offball movement gets him, but as with Luka, underrated defensively.
P.J. Washington Jr.	Viewed as the "defensive stopper" at times by the Mavs but actually struggles mightily on iso's so put him on an island on the perimeter.
Klay Thompson	For a guy who's made a living running off screens for threes, Klay is one of the worst in the league at defending against offball screening actions.
Daniel Gafford	Another Mav with some real weak spots -- Gafford not good one-on-one so in their switch heavy scheme take advantage.

Denver Nuggets
Last three season defensive ranks: 8th - 15th - 15th

Jamal Murray	Put him through the wringer with screening actions -- pick and rolls, handoffs/dho's, curls and screened cuts...and he will give up points while being less effective on offense.
Michael Porter Jr.	Keep him on the move and get him in help+recover situations.
Nikola Jokic	Does so much well but not great at closing out to three point shooters...make him guard a spacing big and the threes should be open.

Detroit Pistons
Last three season defensive ranks: 26th - 28th - 24th

Cade Cunningham	Has not handled screening actions at all well so far in his career. There may be improvement this season but until you see otherwise hit him with strong screens.
Jaden Ivey	A lot to prove defensively, bad numbers on ball and bad numbers in help roles. Attack him.
Jalen Duren	Has struggled handling Pick+Rolls thus far, although that may be as much on his teammates as on himself. Keep the picks coming for now.

Golden State Warriors
Last three season defensive ranks: 15th - 17th - 1st

Buddy Hield	The Dubs' vets are all savvy defenders, but newcomer Hield is one of the league's worst post defenders so take him to the block.
De'Anthony Melton	Excellent team level defensive +/- numbers, but on individual metrics, a poor one-on-one defender.

Houston Rockets
Last three season defensive ranks: 9th - 29th - 29th

Dillon Brooks	Despite a reputation as a wing stopper, Brooks has some areas to attack. First keep him busy in Pick+Rolls where he doesn't shine, Post him up and challenge him with Help+Recover multi-effort possessions.
Jabari Smith	Poor On Ball defender, and can get clipped on handoff screens.
Alperen Sengun	Slight improvement year to year, but still having rough times defending Pick+Rolls so give him a steady dose.

Indiana Pacers
Last three season defensive ranks: 24th - 26th - 28th

Aaron Nesmith	With three straight years of bad team defensive ranks, many Pacers have problem areas. Nesmith though has really struggled one-on-one and navigating Pick+Rolls.
Myles Turner	Takes the rim protecting seriously, but struggles when facing an Iso after a switch.

L.A. Clippers
Last three season defensive ranks: 17th - 18th - 8th

Kevin Porter Jr.	The Clippers' starters are pretty solid defensively, but Porter when he's in the game is a different story. Attack him On Ball, in his Help Roles and in Help+Recover.
Mo Bamba	Likewise look to Iso/Post Mo when he's on the court.

L.A. Lakers
Last three season defensive ranks: 16th - 11th - 21st

Rui Hachimura	Rui has taken on difficult assignments on D, and done admirably well. He is vulnerable on Help+Recover/multi-effort type plays.
Max Christie	On a new deal Max should play more. He has been hurt on Pick+Roll actions so expect to see him attacked with screens.

Memphis Grizzlies
Last three season defensive ranks: 12th - 2nd - 4th

GG Jackson	The Grizzlies have been excellent defensively when healthy, and the main players have few weak points, but Jackson was hit hard in almost all categories last season.
Ja Morant	Ja took huge strides on defense in the '22-23 season, but will interesting to see after all the time missed where his defense stands now.

Miami Heat
Last three season defensive ranks: 5th - 9th - 5th

Tyler Herro	The Heat have always put an emphasis on defense, and Herro contributes but has been vulnerable to Iso's.
Duncan Robinson	Robinson has been one of the worst Iso defenders in the league, and also finds Help+Recover plays a challenge.

Milwaukee Bucks
Last three season defensive ranks: 19th - 4th - 14th

Pat Connaughton	Look to get him in On Ball situations.
Gary Trent Jr.	He handles screening actions fine, but Iso trouble means he should be targeted more, and his closeouts to three point shooters need to be tightened up.

Minnesota Timberwolves
Last three season defensive ranks: 1st - 10th - 13th

Jaden McDaniels	Gets the tough matchups, but has rated as one of the worst Postup defenders as his light frame can be pushed around.
Julius Randle	Strong but doesn't have a good track record defending Pick+Rolls so expect teams to attack him hard early.

New Orleans Pelicans
Last three season defensive ranks: 7th - 6th - 20th

Dejounte Murray	Does many things well, but Postup defense a weak spot.
Zion Williamson	Zion's massive size doesn't make it easy for him to keep up on offball movement actions, and his Post defense could use a little work.

New York Knicks
Last three season defensive ranks: 10th - 19th - 11th

Josh Hart	Great motor, but gets into trouble defending Pick+Rolls.
Miles McBride	Good on ball work for the Knicks, but like Hart, hasn't been successful in shutting off Pick+Roll actions.

Oklahoma City Thunder
Last three season defensive ranks: 4th - 14th - 18th

Lu Dort	Very physical defender, gets under opponents skin, but can be beat on Pick+Rolls.
Chet Holmgren	Very impressive first season, and we can expect growth, but the one flaw so far has been Help+Recover back to the perimeter.

Orlando Magic
Last three season defensive ranks: 2nd - 16th - 17th

Jalen Suggs	Another physical defender, but smaller than Dort and gets hurt on Iso's at times, plus his dedicated help makes the Help+Recover closeouts a challenge.
Cole Anthony	Plays with passion but has been one of the worst on ball and isolation defenders in the NBA.

Philadelphia 76ers
Last three season defensive ranks: 11th - 8th - 12th

Kyle Lowry	Lowry remains a maestro at on ball defense, but gets hurt now with screens, both Pick+Rolls and offball screening actions. In addition his strong help can put him into tough help+recover spots.
Andre Drummond	A powerful rebounder but his ability to stay with faster players limits him on switches and recoveries.

Phoenix Suns
Last three season defensive ranks: 3rd - 7th - 13th

Bradley Beal	Underrated, but struggles to get back to three point shooters on Help+Recovers.
Tyus Jones	Credible defender but gets nicked on offball screening actions which causes trouble.

Portland Trail Blazers
Last three season defensive ranks: 23rd - 27th - 30th

Scoot Henderson	A disastrous rookie season at both ends, his one-on-one defense was crushingly bad.
Shaedon Sharpe	At times pitched as the starting backcourt mate for the future, Sharpe is also getting hammered on defense, Pick+Rolls, Closeouts, and navigating handoffs all big problem areas so far.

Sacramento Kings
Last three season defensive ranks: 14th - 27th - 25th

De'Aaron Fox	Faces a ton of Pick+Rolls and has been mediocre at controlling them.
DeMar DeRozan	One of the worst Postup defenders in the league, also struggles to deal with Handoffs/Dho's.
Keegan Murray	A lockdown Iso defender, but not nearly as good when facing screens, or having to help+recover back to a perimeter player.

San Antonio Spurs
Last three season defensive ranks: 22nd - 30th - 16th

Harrison Barnes	Well intended, but gets beat up on Pick+Rolls and often destroyed on closeouts to shooters.
Jeremy Sochan	Much better last year with Wemby behind him, but has not shown great skill managing screens or help+recover.

Toronto Raptors
Last three season defensive ranks: 25th - 12th - 10th

Immanuel Quickley	Defense vanished in Toronto after the trade, but Quickley has been one of the very worst isolation defenders in the league, and needs to improve that er ...pronto.
Kelly Olynyk	Some are forecasting considerable minutes for Kelly this season, but outside of defending postups, he is an obvious target to attack in myriad ways.

Utah Jazz
Last three season defensive ranks: 30th - 23rd - 9th

Lauri Markkanen	Holds his own mostly, but struggles to contend with Pick+Rolls so will face many.
Keyonte George	Bad stats in almost all categories of defense, has a lot to learn, but will presumably do so in a low pressure season coming up.
Collin Sexton	Another "no defense" player in the backcourt spells trouble, and makes last year's 30th ranked defense understandable. Can attack him any way you want.

Washington Wizards
Last three season defensive ranks: 28th - 21st - 25th

Jordan Poole	Rated as the second worst in the NBA in On Ball defense, he should be better after the Warriors years. Needs to dial it up on defense in 24-25.
Corey Kispert	Has some defensive strengths, but still learning how to play Pick+Rolls successfully, as well as managing help+recover.

So that's a summary level look at places to gameplan for if you are an offensive coordinator!