howard2
11-27-2005, 10:11 PM
San Antonio Express-News
By Johnny Ludden
Nov 27, 2005
Link: San Antonio Express-News (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA112705.1C.BKNspurs.horry.22440716.html)
Versatile 'smalls' a big hit in NBA
If Robert Horry ever grows tired of chasing Boris Diaw, Shawn Marion, Josh Childress or any of the several other wiry young swingmen-turned-power forwards who seem to be popping up on every NBA roster these days, he knows who to blame.
Himself.
A little more than 10 years ago, Horry carved out his living as a long-armed, 6-foot-10 small forward for the Houston Rockets. After the Rockets traded Otis Thorpe to Portland midway through the 1994-95 season and Pete Chilcutt and Chucky Brown struggled in the playoffs, coach Rudy Tomjanovich switched to a smaller lineup by moving Horry to power forward and using Mario Elie and Clyde Drexler on the wing.
When Houston met the Spurs in the Western Conference finals, Horry helped neutralize Dennis Rodman's rebounding. Drexler also took advantage of defensive mismatches.
The Rockets continued to go small and spread the floor in the NBA Finals. With Horry often drawing Orlando forward Horace Grant away from the basket, Houston swept to its second championship.
A decade later, downsizing has become more necessity than quirk. Back-to-basket big men are harder to find and take longer to develop (see Brown, Kwame). The NBA also has tweaked its rules to make it easier for perimeter players to attack.
As a result, small ball has grown throughout the league.
"Everybody's doing it now," Tim Duncan said. "It's the 'in' thing."
Rare has been the night when the Spurs haven't faced some type of undersized lineup. A week ago, Phoenix used Diaw, a 6-8 swingman, to help guard Duncan.
After three of Chicago's big men ran into foul trouble Friday, Bulls coach Scott Skiles surrounded forwards Andres Nocioni (6-7) and Luol Deng (6-9) with three guards for one stretch. The Spurs matched down to Chicago, using either Horry or Duncan with four perimeter players for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter.
"I think that kind of played to our advantage," Skiles said after the Bulls scored 61 points in the second half to beat the Spurs 106-99. "It got them out of their game and stopped their bigs from hurting us too much."
In truth, Friday's loss might have had more to do with the Spurs' age than their height. The younger Bulls hadn't played since Sunday and looked noticeably livelier. The Spurs, meanwhile, arrived in town at 4:30 a.m. Thursday after a two-game trip to the West Coast.
"The coaching staff had warned us and practiced us for going with a small lineup (against Chicago)," Michael Finley said. "It's just that when we buckled down defensively, they still knocked down big shots. At the other end, we weren't able to make those same shots."
The Spurs proved last season they could successfully play small by beating the Suns in the Western Conference finals. By then, Phoenix's frenetic, let-it-fly style had already begun to spawn copycats around the league.
New York erased a 16-point deficit against Philadelphia on Saturday by going to a small lineup.
"I think a lot of teams say, 'Oh let's try it,'" Horry said. "If it works once, they'll keep doing it. But if you don't practice it and you don't have a small capable of playing a big then you're going to be in trouble."
For Chicago, that role fell to Nocioni, who is versatile enough to play either forward position. When the Spurs' big men backed off to keep him from penetrating, he buried a pair of 3-pointers.
With Amare Stoudemire sidelined by a knee injury, the Suns have further downsized their lineup. After watching Diaw guard Duncan, Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni moved him into the starting lineup at center and benched Kurt Thomas. On Wednesday, Diaw helped hold Houston's 7-foot-6 Yao Ming to eight points.
"I'm trying to guard all the tall guys and point guards in the league," Diaw told reporters after the game.
Although the Spurs lack a similarly young, long, athletic swingman, their depth has helped them compensate on most nights. Bruce Bowen and Horry are versatile defenders and Nick Van Exel can play alongside Tony Parker, if needed. Finley and Brent Barry, though so far inconsistent, are pass-catch-and-shoot players who can run the floor.
Finley also is accustomed to small, unorthodox lineups after playing under former Dallas coach Don Nelson.
"For us, it was something we kind of fell into," Finley said. "Coach Nelson, at the time, wanted to put our best guys on the court. For us, they were all small guards and maybe one inside guy.
"If it's working, it's great. If it's not, it can backfire in a hurry."
By Johnny Ludden
Nov 27, 2005
Link: San Antonio Express-News (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA112705.1C.BKNspurs.horry.22440716.html)
Versatile 'smalls' a big hit in NBA
If Robert Horry ever grows tired of chasing Boris Diaw, Shawn Marion, Josh Childress or any of the several other wiry young swingmen-turned-power forwards who seem to be popping up on every NBA roster these days, he knows who to blame.
Himself.
A little more than 10 years ago, Horry carved out his living as a long-armed, 6-foot-10 small forward for the Houston Rockets. After the Rockets traded Otis Thorpe to Portland midway through the 1994-95 season and Pete Chilcutt and Chucky Brown struggled in the playoffs, coach Rudy Tomjanovich switched to a smaller lineup by moving Horry to power forward and using Mario Elie and Clyde Drexler on the wing.
When Houston met the Spurs in the Western Conference finals, Horry helped neutralize Dennis Rodman's rebounding. Drexler also took advantage of defensive mismatches.
The Rockets continued to go small and spread the floor in the NBA Finals. With Horry often drawing Orlando forward Horace Grant away from the basket, Houston swept to its second championship.
A decade later, downsizing has become more necessity than quirk. Back-to-basket big men are harder to find and take longer to develop (see Brown, Kwame). The NBA also has tweaked its rules to make it easier for perimeter players to attack.
As a result, small ball has grown throughout the league.
"Everybody's doing it now," Tim Duncan said. "It's the 'in' thing."
Rare has been the night when the Spurs haven't faced some type of undersized lineup. A week ago, Phoenix used Diaw, a 6-8 swingman, to help guard Duncan.
After three of Chicago's big men ran into foul trouble Friday, Bulls coach Scott Skiles surrounded forwards Andres Nocioni (6-7) and Luol Deng (6-9) with three guards for one stretch. The Spurs matched down to Chicago, using either Horry or Duncan with four perimeter players for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter.
"I think that kind of played to our advantage," Skiles said after the Bulls scored 61 points in the second half to beat the Spurs 106-99. "It got them out of their game and stopped their bigs from hurting us too much."
In truth, Friday's loss might have had more to do with the Spurs' age than their height. The younger Bulls hadn't played since Sunday and looked noticeably livelier. The Spurs, meanwhile, arrived in town at 4:30 a.m. Thursday after a two-game trip to the West Coast.
"The coaching staff had warned us and practiced us for going with a small lineup (against Chicago)," Michael Finley said. "It's just that when we buckled down defensively, they still knocked down big shots. At the other end, we weren't able to make those same shots."
The Spurs proved last season they could successfully play small by beating the Suns in the Western Conference finals. By then, Phoenix's frenetic, let-it-fly style had already begun to spawn copycats around the league.
New York erased a 16-point deficit against Philadelphia on Saturday by going to a small lineup.
"I think a lot of teams say, 'Oh let's try it,'" Horry said. "If it works once, they'll keep doing it. But if you don't practice it and you don't have a small capable of playing a big then you're going to be in trouble."
For Chicago, that role fell to Nocioni, who is versatile enough to play either forward position. When the Spurs' big men backed off to keep him from penetrating, he buried a pair of 3-pointers.
With Amare Stoudemire sidelined by a knee injury, the Suns have further downsized their lineup. After watching Diaw guard Duncan, Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni moved him into the starting lineup at center and benched Kurt Thomas. On Wednesday, Diaw helped hold Houston's 7-foot-6 Yao Ming to eight points.
"I'm trying to guard all the tall guys and point guards in the league," Diaw told reporters after the game.
Although the Spurs lack a similarly young, long, athletic swingman, their depth has helped them compensate on most nights. Bruce Bowen and Horry are versatile defenders and Nick Van Exel can play alongside Tony Parker, if needed. Finley and Brent Barry, though so far inconsistent, are pass-catch-and-shoot players who can run the floor.
Finley also is accustomed to small, unorthodox lineups after playing under former Dallas coach Don Nelson.
"For us, it was something we kind of fell into," Finley said. "Coach Nelson, at the time, wanted to put our best guys on the court. For us, they were all small guards and maybe one inside guy.
"If it's working, it's great. If it's not, it can backfire in a hurry."