New rules mean nothing in playoffs

Remember all the talk last summer about the new zone defense that would be allowed by the NBA this season? How point guards would only have eight seconds to bring the ball up the court? The changes were supposed to increase scoring and ball movement, and they did. In the playoffs, though, the teams that benefitted from the rule changes will fall to those teams that did not need to adjust their games at all.\nThe new rules helped teams like New Jersey and Dallas, which have fast-paced offenses, become more effective. But the best defenses will have no problem stopping that. Those teams are at their best when their opponents miss a shot, allowing them to grab the rebound, dart to the other end of the court and put in a layup. This works against average and bad teams -- the ones that take a lot of jump shots and have poor rebounding -- but those teams have, for the most part, been filtered from the playoffs. \nThe teams that remain are the ones that can battle inside for easy baskets, drastically reducing the number of fast break opportunities. Once they are forced to operate in a slower, half-court offense, their scoring becomes blatantly average.\nThe new allowance of zone defenses only works against teams that give the ball to one player, and allow him to play one-on-one every possession. Stars like Allen Iverson and Vince Carter have been virtually shut down. Iverson's 76ers, last year's Eastern Conference Champions, entered the postseason ranked just sixth. Carter encountered his worst season in the NBA and watched his team perform better without him as they rallied to sneak into the playoffs as a seven seed.\nThe zone defense, however, will not work against the teams that run their offenses around their centers -- the teams that always come out on top in the end anyway. Defenses are still not allowed to keep a player under the basket for longer than three seconds at a time without defending a specific player. Shaquille O'Neal will still be able to clog up the middle without a problem.\nEvery year in the playoffs, individual defensive performances are better. Defense is all about intensity, and during the playoffs, intensity is at its highest point. There will be far fewer opportunities for easy baskets and scoring will go down. Offenses often become more cautious, deciding to run plays that do not run a high risk of resulting in a turnover.\nThis is where the phrase "playoff experience" comes in. Young ballhandlers are often nervous and try to do too much. The players who understand patience and know the importance of sticking to the gameplan will shine during this time. While this results in lower scores, anyone who has had postseason success will admit that remaining cool and collected is far more effective.\nThe new rules have done their job -- affecting teams that relied on one superstar -- but at this point, the teams that do not have to rely on one player will be the ones who advance the furthest.