Spurs Brazil
02-01-2009, 08:41 AM
Suns still can't defend an obsession
Mike Monroe - Express-News The Suns aren't the first team that changed their personnel to better compete against the Spurs.
The Hornets came to town Saturday with an active roster that was nearly 50 percent former Spurs, and the suggestion that players who have learned the “Spurs way” may help in the playoffs can not have been lost on general manager Jeff Bowers.
The Suns, however, seem dangerously obsessed with surmounting the obstacle the Spurs have erected in three of the past four years.
Under Mike D'Antoni, the Suns were a regular-season phenomenon that couldn't beat the Spurs in the playoffs. Owner Robert Sarver put a former Spurs player in charge of his team's player personnel, and GM Steve Kerr tried to give them a mind-set that resembled that of the Spurs.
There are charges and counter-charges about what led to D'Antoni's departure last summer, but losing a third playoff series to the Spurs was the final straw.
Trouble is, the new Suns still can't beat the Spurs and the reasons are the same: They can't keep Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili out of the paint, and Amare Stoudemire still can't defend Tim Duncan.
Steve Nash needs a nasty defender behind him who can make Parker pay for beating him, and so does Leandro Barbosa, victim of the slickest double-crossover I've ever seen.
Stoudemire isn't it, and Shaquille O'Neal never was quick enough to get his feet set to take a charge from Ginobili, let alone in his 17th season.
Nash no longer bothers with subtlety when he critiques his team.
“Offensive players have a hard time concentrating for long stretches defensively,” he said. “That's not necessarily what they have been asked to do. So it's second nature for them to think of other things or take their minds somewhere else when they should be rotating.”
I think if you were to insert “Amare and Shaq” for “offensive players,” you would have the true gist of Nash's lament.
Terry Porter replaced D'Antoni and it was clear he had a mandate from management: Slow the pace and stress defense.
Slowing the pace didn't sit well with players who had so much fun scoring in seven seconds or less. A six-time All-Star and two-time MVP, Nash was left off the roster for an All-Star Game that will be played in Phoenix because the new system minimized his numbers and his team isn't winning with the same regularity.
To his credit, Porter adjusted, and the Suns are trying to run more frequently. It is a work in progress, but Nash has posted two 18-assist games and one 19-assist game recently.
“We spent the first month of the season trying to be someone I don't think we are,” Nash said. “We tried to slow it down too much. Once that experiment ended, we've been on a build where we've gotten a better rhythm offensively. That's why my assist numbers are coming up. But it's more a tribute to the fact we feel better about how we're playing and have more connectivity amongst ourselves.”
There is time enough for the Suns to get their offensive act together and remain a playoff team. After Saturday night's games, they were 11/2 games behind the seventh-place Mavericks in the West.
And if they should leapfrog Dallas by season's end?
Then, they might find themselves in another playoff series against the Spurs.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/mike_monroe/Suns_still_cant_defend_an_obsession.html
Mike Monroe - Express-News The Suns aren't the first team that changed their personnel to better compete against the Spurs.
The Hornets came to town Saturday with an active roster that was nearly 50 percent former Spurs, and the suggestion that players who have learned the “Spurs way” may help in the playoffs can not have been lost on general manager Jeff Bowers.
The Suns, however, seem dangerously obsessed with surmounting the obstacle the Spurs have erected in three of the past four years.
Under Mike D'Antoni, the Suns were a regular-season phenomenon that couldn't beat the Spurs in the playoffs. Owner Robert Sarver put a former Spurs player in charge of his team's player personnel, and GM Steve Kerr tried to give them a mind-set that resembled that of the Spurs.
There are charges and counter-charges about what led to D'Antoni's departure last summer, but losing a third playoff series to the Spurs was the final straw.
Trouble is, the new Suns still can't beat the Spurs and the reasons are the same: They can't keep Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili out of the paint, and Amare Stoudemire still can't defend Tim Duncan.
Steve Nash needs a nasty defender behind him who can make Parker pay for beating him, and so does Leandro Barbosa, victim of the slickest double-crossover I've ever seen.
Stoudemire isn't it, and Shaquille O'Neal never was quick enough to get his feet set to take a charge from Ginobili, let alone in his 17th season.
Nash no longer bothers with subtlety when he critiques his team.
“Offensive players have a hard time concentrating for long stretches defensively,” he said. “That's not necessarily what they have been asked to do. So it's second nature for them to think of other things or take their minds somewhere else when they should be rotating.”
I think if you were to insert “Amare and Shaq” for “offensive players,” you would have the true gist of Nash's lament.
Terry Porter replaced D'Antoni and it was clear he had a mandate from management: Slow the pace and stress defense.
Slowing the pace didn't sit well with players who had so much fun scoring in seven seconds or less. A six-time All-Star and two-time MVP, Nash was left off the roster for an All-Star Game that will be played in Phoenix because the new system minimized his numbers and his team isn't winning with the same regularity.
To his credit, Porter adjusted, and the Suns are trying to run more frequently. It is a work in progress, but Nash has posted two 18-assist games and one 19-assist game recently.
“We spent the first month of the season trying to be someone I don't think we are,” Nash said. “We tried to slow it down too much. Once that experiment ended, we've been on a build where we've gotten a better rhythm offensively. That's why my assist numbers are coming up. But it's more a tribute to the fact we feel better about how we're playing and have more connectivity amongst ourselves.”
There is time enough for the Suns to get their offensive act together and remain a playoff team. After Saturday night's games, they were 11/2 games behind the seventh-place Mavericks in the West.
And if they should leapfrog Dallas by season's end?
Then, they might find themselves in another playoff series against the Spurs.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/mike_monroe/Suns_still_cant_defend_an_obsession.html