Kori Ellis
12-28-2004, 01:32 AM
Fast style produces quick start: Re-tooled Suns put offense to tall test
Web Posted: 12/28/2004 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA122804.1F.BKNspurs.suns.adv.4d0f692b.html
Manu Ginobili has seen enough of the Phoenix Suns to know they resemble another team that once troubled him.
Benetton Treviso.
Ginobili competed against Benetton in two seasons with Kinder Bologna in the Italian League. Led by Tyus Edney, a 5-foot-10 former UCLA point guard who once beat Missouri in the NCAA Tournament by covering 94 feet in less than five seconds, Benetton quickened the pace and loaded the floor with shooters.
Benetton's coach was Mike D'Antoni, who now guides the Suns. Led by its own relentless point guard, Phoenix also has eschewed size for speed.
"He was doing the same thing in Europe," Ginobili, a Spurs guard, said of D'Antoni, "and they were very dangerous."
Playing the Suns has proved equally treacherous this season. Phoenix (24-3) brings the NBA's best record to tonight's game at the SBC Center as well as one of the most prolific offenses the league has seen in recent memory.
The Suns average 109.3 points per game, the most of any team in a decade and 13.6 points above the league average — the highest difference in 23 seasons. Phoenix also is shooting a league-best 48 percent.
"They're got to be the hardest team in the league to guard," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Dallas used to hold that distinction, at least until the Suns lured Steve Nash from the Mavericks this summer with a six-year, $65.6 million contract. To fully take advantage of Nash's open-floor skills, Phoenix has a lineup built to run: guards Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson; Shawn Marion, an athletic 6-foot-7 swingman who starts at power forward; and 6-10 Amaré Stoudemire, the de facto center.
"For us, it's just the best way to play," D'Antoni said. "I don't sit here and say this will negate what somebody else does. But if we can speed it up, it gives us a better chance.
"If we do the exact same thing the Spurs do well, they're the best team in the league, so we have to do something different. This gives us more of a chance to be competitive and play with them."
The Suns have done more than simply be competitive, winning 11 consecutive games and 20 of their past 21. They won 29 games all of last season.
"I don't think the team knew it was going to be like this," Nash said after Phoenix's victory over Toronto on Sunday night. "They thought I would be a great fit and I thought we would be a really good team, but I did not know we would have this many wins."
Nash, named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday, has been the catalyst. On Sunday, he broke Magic Johnson's record of 10-straight victories with at least 10 assists. The Suns, despite their frenetic pace, average a league-low 13 turnovers.
"People have always underrated Steve Nash, and I'm not sure why," Popovich said. "Maybe it's the way he plays or the way he looks or because he's Canadian or something.
"If you ask me, he's an MVP candidate right now."
Containing Nash, Popovich said, will be a challenge. Though the Spurs allow 85.2 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting, both league lows, they have struggled against transition-oriented teams. Seattle has won both of its meetings against the Spurs, and Orlando beat them last week.
The Suns often run, regardless of whether their opponent has scored. The Spurs also have pushed the ball more than in the past but usually only off their defense.
"We have to be who we are," Popovich said. "But if we play as quickly as they play, I think we would lose that battle." Or, as point guard Tony Parker said, "We can't forget that we have No. 21 inside."
The Spurs can try to use Tim Duncan to exploit their size advantage, though Popovich thinks that's often easier said than done. The Suns have been known to front or double-team. And their perimeter players have proved quick enough to recover on opposing shooters.
Phoenix also has its own inside presence in Stoudemire. As teams try to slow the ball or catch up to the Suns' shooters in transition, Stoudemire often has found himself with a mismatch under the basket.
Conventional wisdom says Phoenix will need more size to advance far in the playoffs, where games are often won in the halfcourt. But then conventional wisdom didn't predict the Suns to be 24-3.
"I know some people think it's not going to last, but that's because they don't want it to last," Popovich said. "Those guys aren't going to forget how to run, and they're not going to forget how to shoot.
"Can they win in the playoffs playing like that? I don't see why not."
Web Posted: 12/28/2004 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA122804.1F.BKNspurs.suns.adv.4d0f692b.html
Manu Ginobili has seen enough of the Phoenix Suns to know they resemble another team that once troubled him.
Benetton Treviso.
Ginobili competed against Benetton in two seasons with Kinder Bologna in the Italian League. Led by Tyus Edney, a 5-foot-10 former UCLA point guard who once beat Missouri in the NCAA Tournament by covering 94 feet in less than five seconds, Benetton quickened the pace and loaded the floor with shooters.
Benetton's coach was Mike D'Antoni, who now guides the Suns. Led by its own relentless point guard, Phoenix also has eschewed size for speed.
"He was doing the same thing in Europe," Ginobili, a Spurs guard, said of D'Antoni, "and they were very dangerous."
Playing the Suns has proved equally treacherous this season. Phoenix (24-3) brings the NBA's best record to tonight's game at the SBC Center as well as one of the most prolific offenses the league has seen in recent memory.
The Suns average 109.3 points per game, the most of any team in a decade and 13.6 points above the league average — the highest difference in 23 seasons. Phoenix also is shooting a league-best 48 percent.
"They're got to be the hardest team in the league to guard," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Dallas used to hold that distinction, at least until the Suns lured Steve Nash from the Mavericks this summer with a six-year, $65.6 million contract. To fully take advantage of Nash's open-floor skills, Phoenix has a lineup built to run: guards Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson; Shawn Marion, an athletic 6-foot-7 swingman who starts at power forward; and 6-10 Amaré Stoudemire, the de facto center.
"For us, it's just the best way to play," D'Antoni said. "I don't sit here and say this will negate what somebody else does. But if we can speed it up, it gives us a better chance.
"If we do the exact same thing the Spurs do well, they're the best team in the league, so we have to do something different. This gives us more of a chance to be competitive and play with them."
The Suns have done more than simply be competitive, winning 11 consecutive games and 20 of their past 21. They won 29 games all of last season.
"I don't think the team knew it was going to be like this," Nash said after Phoenix's victory over Toronto on Sunday night. "They thought I would be a great fit and I thought we would be a really good team, but I did not know we would have this many wins."
Nash, named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday, has been the catalyst. On Sunday, he broke Magic Johnson's record of 10-straight victories with at least 10 assists. The Suns, despite their frenetic pace, average a league-low 13 turnovers.
"People have always underrated Steve Nash, and I'm not sure why," Popovich said. "Maybe it's the way he plays or the way he looks or because he's Canadian or something.
"If you ask me, he's an MVP candidate right now."
Containing Nash, Popovich said, will be a challenge. Though the Spurs allow 85.2 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting, both league lows, they have struggled against transition-oriented teams. Seattle has won both of its meetings against the Spurs, and Orlando beat them last week.
The Suns often run, regardless of whether their opponent has scored. The Spurs also have pushed the ball more than in the past but usually only off their defense.
"We have to be who we are," Popovich said. "But if we play as quickly as they play, I think we would lose that battle." Or, as point guard Tony Parker said, "We can't forget that we have No. 21 inside."
The Spurs can try to use Tim Duncan to exploit their size advantage, though Popovich thinks that's often easier said than done. The Suns have been known to front or double-team. And their perimeter players have proved quick enough to recover on opposing shooters.
Phoenix also has its own inside presence in Stoudemire. As teams try to slow the ball or catch up to the Suns' shooters in transition, Stoudemire often has found himself with a mismatch under the basket.
Conventional wisdom says Phoenix will need more size to advance far in the playoffs, where games are often won in the halfcourt. But then conventional wisdom didn't predict the Suns to be 24-3.
"I know some people think it's not going to last, but that's because they don't want it to last," Popovich said. "Those guys aren't going to forget how to run, and they're not going to forget how to shoot.
"Can they win in the playoffs playing like that? I don't see why not."