The Suns lockdown defense

[Mavs<Spurs]

The Suns, in this series, look like one of the real lockdown defense kind of teams. They are holding their opponents to 40 percent shooting in the last couple of games. However, their opponents did manage to put up 80 points on the board in game 4. For quite a while there, I was not sure that they could.

Can someone from the opposing team please explain this one to me: Why is this the only series (and for that matter the only time in the entire season) where the Suns look like a bunch of defensive stoppers?


As a side question, will their opponents be able to put up 80 points next game so that the game will at least be competitive?

Maybe Steve Kerr was right when he said that these two teams are very evenly matched as evidenced by the fact that the series is tied. On the other hand, judging from this last game (game 4), he could be wrong.

:lol :lol :lol

[RON ARTEST]

this thread title makes me wanna :lmao

[JMarkJohns]

The answer to you question is two fold.

The answer is this isn't the only series where the Suns have played very good defense. Problem is this. The Suns hold their opponants under 40% upon their first possession on offense. They create a lot of missed shots. This stems from their constant, double/triple-team swarm defense that creates havoc and rushed shots.

However, this style also lends to their greatest weakness, that of defensive rebounding. Despite forcing plenty of misses, the Suns, for reasons of size and positioning, can never consistantly rebound, thus they give up a ton of easy putbacks. This largely stems from their defensive style which relies on athleticism and quickness within a rotation than size and position. They tend to be out of position for rebounds when the shot is up and therefore are never able to "control" a game via their defense.

In the games where they compete for rebounds and shoot around average, they generally win big. In games where they don't compete for rebounds, they have to be on fire for the game to lean their way. When they can't rebound or consistantly hit a jumper, they lose big.

This has been well chronicled throughout the playoffs. Any breif look at a boxscore will tell you the Suns force misses. It's what those misses turn into that determine their games. If they get the rebound, it generally starts a fast break or a transition style offense which leads to points. If they fail to get the rebound, it generally leads to an easy putback and a bogged-down, physical halfcourt offensive set for Phoenix, which isn't where they are at their best.

[ChumpDumper]

Can someone from the opposing team please explain this one to me: Why is this the only series (and for that matter the only time in the entire season) where the Suns look like a bunch of defensive stoppers?
http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/keith_van_horn.jpg

[Mavs<Spurs]

http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/keith_van_horn.jpg

seems fitting that you post his picture. Only one guess why I said that, Chumpdumper!

He seemed to realize that it was hot in the Suns arena and the fans needed something to cool them off (a good breeze) and something to make them laugh.

[Mavs<Spurs]

The answer to you question is two fold.

The answer is this isn't the only series where the Suns have played very good defense. Problem is this. The Suns hold their opponants under 40% upon their first possession on offense. They create a lot of missed shots. This stems from their constant, double/triple-team swarm defense that creates havoc and rushed shots.

However, this style also lends to their greatest weakness, that of defensive rebounding. Despite forcing plenty of misses, the Suns, for reasons of size and positioning, can never consistantly rebound, thus they give up a ton of easy putbacks. This largely stems from their defensive style which relies on athleticism and quickness within a rotation than size and position. They tend to be out of position for rebounds when the shot is up and therefore are never able to "control" a game via their defense.

In the games where they compete for rebounds and shoot around average, they generally win big. In games where they don't compete for rebounds, they have to be on fire for the game to lean their way. When they can't rebound or consistantly hit a jumper, they lose big.

This has been well chronicled throughout the playoffs. Any breif look at a boxscore will tell you the Suns force misses. It's what those misses turn into that determine their games. If they get the rebound, it generally starts a fast break or a transition style offense which leads to points. If they fail to get the rebound, it generally leads to an easy putback and a bogged-down, physical halfcourt offensive set for Phoenix, which isn't where they are at their best.

Actually, I think that this is probably true. On the other hand, the opponents of the Suns are shooting about 40 % on all shots (meaning not just the first shot, but also second shots ...) in the last couple of games. So, even the second chance shots that their opponents put up do not raise their field goal percentage above 40 percent.