X's & O's.

My man Dave, (who just had a baby by the way, congrats), just forwarded me practically the best thing ever! It's been kicking around on The New York Times site since February, but hey All Balls Don't Bounce wasn't around then, so pardon me if you've seen it.

It's an X's and O's look at how to contain Kobe in isolation, Paul Pierce off the screen, Nash & Amare's high pick & roll, neutralizing Yao Ming, and stopping the Suns fastbreak. While it all sounds pretty idealistic, the steps are broken down with an audio commentary by Jeff Van Gundy, one of this era's better defensive coaches.

Now I could go on with superlatives on how interesting this is, but the easiest way to understand it is to experience it and check it out.