http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/114359
Suns’ D’Antoni defends ‘no foul’ strategy
Jerry Brown
SAN ANTONIO - To foul, or not to foul. After three hours of classic basketball theater that featured three incredibly clutch 3-point shots — but only three lead changes — that was Sunday’s big question after the Suns were left searching for answers to yet another head-shaking loss to their perennial postseason nemesis.
Suns coach Mike D’Antoni vacillated between playful and annoyed with fans and media who questioned his decision to defend rather than foul before Spurs center Tim Duncan’s clutch and improbable 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first overtime.
San Antonio went on to win 117-115 in two overtimes — a game the Spurs led for exactly 39 seconds amid the first 53 minutes.
With 12.6 seconds left — after Amaré Stoudemire fouled out after charging into ex-teammate Kurt Thomas — the Suns led 104-101 and had a foul to give before reaching the penalty. But the Suns chose to defend and successfully bottled up San Antonio shooters Michael Finley — who had tied the score with a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in regulation — and Tony Parker.
Instead of fouling Manu Ginobili, with the ball, the Suns left Duncan open, and the career 19 percent 3-point shooter nailed the trey and the Suns never led again.
“The people who are yelling have either never coached or they are a coach (TV analyst) without a job right now,” D’Antoni said. “It seems like every NBA team doesn’t foul (in that situation). And the reason for it is, as you look at the film, it’s just not that simple.”
D’Antoni pointed to the second overtime as an example. San Antonio led by three with 19.5 seconds left and had a foul to give. But Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who also subscribes to the “no foul” theory, chose to defend the Suns.
Four seconds later, Steve Nash had tied the score with an off-balance 3-pointer.
“We threw the ball into Boris Diaw (a career 71 percent free-throw shooter), but I don’t see them fouling Boris,” D’Antoni said. “They’re doing the same thing we’re doing. Coaches just don’t do it.
“I’ve looked at it. God knows if there is a sure-fire way of winning the game, let’s do it. But I’ve been around the game long enough ... it just doesn’t work that way. I know there will be fans out there groaning. Let them go to the Y and work on it.
“We don’t try to be idiots and we’re watching the same thing you are ... except we’ve watched for about 40 years and hundreds of hours of tape, and we just don’t see it.”
D’Antoni said he didn’t want to get into a foul-shooting contest in the final seconds, where one missed Phoenix shot could give the Spurs a chance to win.
“Rather than that, I’m willing to take the gamble on Tim Duncan, who hasn’t made a 3-pointer in two years,” he said. “If it’s Ray Allen or Brent Barry, OK, foul the sucker, because they’re not missing. But it wasn’t.
“In the end he made it, so I should have fouled him. But I can probably go to 30,000 games where (a player misses). But if everybody doesn’t foul, there will be those games when somebody makes them.”
Ginobili, who made the game-winning shot in the second overtime, questioned D’Antoni’s decision, saying that fouling in such a situation is the rule in Europe.
But D’Antoni light-heartedly challenged that claim. “I played and coached in Europe for 21 years and we never fouled. You know who fouls? The Croatians and Serbs — they foul.
“For most players, it’s a nightmare. It’s not in their nature. And if anything goes wrong, people will ask ‘Why did you foul?’ There is no 100 percent right way. Some nights you’re going to get bit and we got bit.”
D'Antoni ed up. I'm sick of his delusional "I do everything right but things just don't go my way" at ude.
If we lose this year, D'Antoni needs to be fired. He's not good with defensive assignments late in games, he's terrible at extending his bench, he constantly gets outcoached by Popovich and even Avery Johnson. He's whiny.
Get it done, Kerr!
you should always foul up by 3 with less than 10 seconds to go. Any NBA Live/2k player knows this.
Do the Suns ever stop talking?? Every article is them running their mouths, making excuses for the loss or talking about how good they think they are, be quiet already Suns.
The Suns have always been very open with the press. That's why you see a million articles with the Suns coaches and players talking and talking, and you don't really see any articles with the Spurs talking.
Odd, that doesn't seem like something Ginobili would comment on.....Ginobili, who made the game-winning shot in the second overtime, questioned D’Antoni’s decision, saying that fouling in such a situation is the rule in Europe.
D'Antoni is a defensive little , isn't he?
the Spurs don't talk. They just do it. Art of Ninja.
Eh, I go with D'Antoni. Trust your defense. Defend the perimeter the best you can. They still had a shot at the end to win. I wouldn't foul either.
That's fine but do they have to talk so much trash?? Now with Shaq on board it is just getting worse and worse because he never shuts up about how great he thinks he is and how it is never his fault when things go bad. Suns are not going to intimidate the Spurs with talk, they need to prove it out there on the court.
Well, D'Antoni's right about not fouling Duncan. That isn't a shot Duncan takes or makes often - you let that go.
It was earlier, before the overtime that someone should have been fouled. The Finley 3 happened very quickly, but I believe it was possible to foul Manu (I'd need to see it again to say for sure). THAT was the correct time for an intentional foul, because they needed 3 to tie to send it to OT.
I can't blame them for not fouling Fin - it was quick, and you shouldn't foul on threes. But the underlying defensiveness comes from knowing they ed up a couple of times and could have closed out the game before the heriocs happened.
Well what can you say when that happens when you're an egotistical s ? Mike D'Antoni and Houston Nutt would be best friends.
Eh, I actually go with D'Antoni on this one. NOBODY, or almost nobody, in the NBA fouls in that situation, for whatever reason. I think it just goes against the US grain to give up free points when you have the lead.
You could level the exact same criticism at Pop for not fouling before Nash hit his three to tie it at 115.
Last edited by ShoogarBear; 04-21-2008 at 02:50 PM.
It may have been the only right call he made all day, but I think Mike got it right. The press should be riding his ass for folding like Superman stocking shelves at Old Navy when Pop went Hack a Shaq.
If you going risk the game by letting Tim shoot a 3, that's not a stupid gamble.
Fouling Manu before he could pass was the time to foul, but with 2 men on him, it's pretty clear they were playing "no foul".
Fouling Tim beyond the arc is also not a bad risk, seeing how bad Tim FTs are.
Fouling Derek Fisher beyond the arc of 0.4 left, hmm. As he caught the ball, ok. But he immediately went into his shooting stroke. Very risky.
Would not he be well suited for this task?
Does Old Navy have a Kyrptonite line?
Am I being obtuse?
You missed my point completely. It's not a metaphor. During the stretch in which the Spurs were intentionally fouling D'Antoni was wearing blue and red tights, flying through the air, and arranging performance fleece. Watch the game tape if you don't believe me. That's time he should have spent with his focus on the game.
As a Suns fan, I disagree. IIRC, the Suns had a foul to give. When Manu took the ball inside the 3 point line, you foul him immediately, before he has a chance to shoot. Either that, or you let him walk to the basket for the 2 pointer and play the free throw game. When you take Shaq out of the equation, the Suns are the best free throw shooting team in the NBA.
Should you trust your defense, (which everyone knows is a Suns weakness) or free throw shooting? (which everyone knows is a Suns strength)
Disagree here. , at least after Amare didn't switch on the P&R giving Finley the open look, he wouldn't make the same mistake again with Duncan.
Congrats to Timmy though. He wouldn't make that shot again if he had 3 more times. The man is clutch though.
I thought I had him, and somehow he wriggled free.
I thought I had him, and somehow he wriggled free.
Maybe because they do their actions (on the court) speak louder than words?
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