Most people would say that Gregg Popovich is out-coaching D'Antoni. It is certainly very plausible he could find himself on the outside looking in in a few weeks. One of the reasons the Suns are in this 0-2 hole is because Mike D'Antoni is very timid to go to his bench. He will go seven, maybe eight men deep. D.J. Strawberry, despite his lack of experience, is one of the best perimeter defenders Phoenix has. He could provide to be very useful guarding Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
However, it's not just D'Antoni's reluctance to play D.J. Strawberry that is leading to more points in the paint for San Antonio. One of the things I find troubling is why, when Shaq and Amare were out of the game in the second overtime of Game 1, Brian Skinner wasn't in the game instead of Boris Diaw. Brian Skinner is far better in terms of defense than Boris Diaw is. In crunch time, it is better to go with your defense. What was the result of Game 1? Manu Ginobili made a simple fake on Steve Nash and drove to the rim for an uncontested layup.
The Suns' problem is not with their offense. They may have hit a cold spot in Game 2, but I doubt that will carry on into Game 3. The problem is their defense. I know Steve Nash is not the most athletic of players, and may not be the best match-up for someone like Tony Parker. However, what Steve Nash can do is not let Parker get into the lane so easily. By putting forth a little effort, Nash can make Parker earn more of his points.
On offense, I would look for Leandro Barbosa to keep the Spurs' guards honest of defense, and thus wearing them down on offense. I would expect to see a lot of screens, a lot of movement in the Phoenix offense to wear down the Spurs.
Remember, the Suns have had double-digit leads in both games in San Antonio. They just need to hold on to that lead. How do you do that? By playing defense. The NBA is a game of runs, and you should expect a team like San Antonio to make runs of their own. However, the difference between a run that is countered with another run of their own and a run that changes the game goes right to the heart of the character of a player. If a team truly wants to win, the players will play defense. And it comes down to their best players to set an example for the rest of the team.
Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal are going to have to stay out of foul trouble and provide defense against Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker when they are going to the basket. The Suns are going to have to look very sharp on both ends of the court if they want to not only get a win, but also convince their fans that they have a shot to win this series.
Last night, NBA fans saw Toronto, Washington, and Houston all counter with a win of their own after losing the first two. All three teams showed resilience and a will to win, especially the Wizards, without Agent Zero. The Phoenix Suns should play like a bat out of hell tonight. We'll see how it goes.
1 comment:
Nice Post. I just saw the Suns blow game three, although to be fair, they didn't blow it so much as not arrive for it. I think Steve Kerr is going to fire D'Antoni and trade a few big names in the offseason.
Post a Comment