duncan228
04-25-2008, 09:17 PM
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/114704
Changes haven't worked for Suns against Spurs
Matt Paulson
Since Steve Nash returned to Phoenix four years ago, most every significant transaction the Suns have made has been with the San Antonio Spurs in mind.
Raja Bell was brought in to lock down Manu Ginobili.
Kurt Thomas was added to slow down Tim Duncan.
A commitment of around $50 million was made to acquire Shaquille O’Neal in hopes he could stop or at least neutralize Duncan.
Grant Hill was signed to be a matchup problem on the offensive end and to provide the team with another solid perimeter defender.
Yet today the Suns, who trail the Spurs 0-2 in their first-round playoff series, are no closer to scaling the silver and black wall that has eclipsed their path to an NBA title two of the last three years.
As it takes its home court tonight, Phoenix will be fighting not only to prevent the inevitable end of its series (no NBA team has ever won a seven-game series after losing the first three) but quite possibly the end of an era as well.
A quick exit from the first round would undoubtedly result in more offseason changes. The team’s future has already been mortgaged to the hilt with core players O’Neal, Nash (team option in 2009-10), Amaré Stoudemire, Bell, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa all under contract for at least the next two seasons.
That means changes this time around wouldn’t be made on the court but more likely on the sideline.
But before the Suns address such issues, their focus is on a more pressing one: how to hold onto a lead against the Spurs.
Phoenix had no problem outplaying San Antonio in the first 24 minutes of the Games 1 and 2 (it led at halftime of both), but when the Suns have built double-digit leads, they have been unable to match the intensity the Spurs after the break.
That problem was more prevalent in Game 2 when Phoenix fell apart on both ends of the court in a decisive third quarter.
“We just rushed a bit and lost our spacing,” said Nash, who saw his team outscored 27-11 in that quarter. “We didn’t read and react the way we needed to. The bottom line is we missed shots. We rushed and we lost our rhythm.”
They also lost track of Spurs guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, who have been on a parade to the basket, despite the presence of O’Neal in the middle, far too often. The pair combined for 50 and 61 points respectively in the first two games.
“We don’t want to give either one of them the nights they’ve had,” Nash said. “Maybe we need to adjust our pick-and-roll covers or mix it up. They’re getting in the paint on the pick and rolls and that’s our gameplan, to push them over and have the bigs play them in the paint, but we’re not having much success with that.
“We have to do a little bit better job making it a little bit harder for them.”
Slowing them down tonight will be more challenging with Grant Hill likely out due to a lingering groin/abdominal injury.
But the defensive end of the court isn’t where the biggest improvement needs to be made, coach Mike D’Antoni said.
“I don’t think our defense is causing us to lose right now,” he said. “It’s our offense. We need to up the production.”
The Suns, who averaged 110.1 points per game in the regular season, have been held to under 25 points in six of the eight quarters so far.
“We need to hoist them up and run more,” D’Antoni continued. “We need to move the ball a little better. We have to play a little bit more carefree. We’re a little bit tight right now. They’ve got us with our backs against the wall a little bit”
Changes haven't worked for Suns against Spurs
Matt Paulson
Since Steve Nash returned to Phoenix four years ago, most every significant transaction the Suns have made has been with the San Antonio Spurs in mind.
Raja Bell was brought in to lock down Manu Ginobili.
Kurt Thomas was added to slow down Tim Duncan.
A commitment of around $50 million was made to acquire Shaquille O’Neal in hopes he could stop or at least neutralize Duncan.
Grant Hill was signed to be a matchup problem on the offensive end and to provide the team with another solid perimeter defender.
Yet today the Suns, who trail the Spurs 0-2 in their first-round playoff series, are no closer to scaling the silver and black wall that has eclipsed their path to an NBA title two of the last three years.
As it takes its home court tonight, Phoenix will be fighting not only to prevent the inevitable end of its series (no NBA team has ever won a seven-game series after losing the first three) but quite possibly the end of an era as well.
A quick exit from the first round would undoubtedly result in more offseason changes. The team’s future has already been mortgaged to the hilt with core players O’Neal, Nash (team option in 2009-10), Amaré Stoudemire, Bell, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa all under contract for at least the next two seasons.
That means changes this time around wouldn’t be made on the court but more likely on the sideline.
But before the Suns address such issues, their focus is on a more pressing one: how to hold onto a lead against the Spurs.
Phoenix had no problem outplaying San Antonio in the first 24 minutes of the Games 1 and 2 (it led at halftime of both), but when the Suns have built double-digit leads, they have been unable to match the intensity the Spurs after the break.
That problem was more prevalent in Game 2 when Phoenix fell apart on both ends of the court in a decisive third quarter.
“We just rushed a bit and lost our spacing,” said Nash, who saw his team outscored 27-11 in that quarter. “We didn’t read and react the way we needed to. The bottom line is we missed shots. We rushed and we lost our rhythm.”
They also lost track of Spurs guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, who have been on a parade to the basket, despite the presence of O’Neal in the middle, far too often. The pair combined for 50 and 61 points respectively in the first two games.
“We don’t want to give either one of them the nights they’ve had,” Nash said. “Maybe we need to adjust our pick-and-roll covers or mix it up. They’re getting in the paint on the pick and rolls and that’s our gameplan, to push them over and have the bigs play them in the paint, but we’re not having much success with that.
“We have to do a little bit better job making it a little bit harder for them.”
Slowing them down tonight will be more challenging with Grant Hill likely out due to a lingering groin/abdominal injury.
But the defensive end of the court isn’t where the biggest improvement needs to be made, coach Mike D’Antoni said.
“I don’t think our defense is causing us to lose right now,” he said. “It’s our offense. We need to up the production.”
The Suns, who averaged 110.1 points per game in the regular season, have been held to under 25 points in six of the eight quarters so far.
“We need to hoist them up and run more,” D’Antoni continued. “We need to move the ball a little better. We have to play a little bit more carefree. We’re a little bit tight right now. They’ve got us with our backs against the wall a little bit”