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Interesting stat from Game 1 is that even though the Suns scored 114, they only had six fast break points.
Before Game 1, people were talking about transition D, containing Stoudemire, and not letting Nash go off.
So now that the Spurs won Game 1 in such a "high-octane" fashion, what are the keys for winning Game 2?
Interesting stat from Game 1 is that even though the Suns scored 114, they only had six fast break points.
The key is to score at least one more point than the Suns, if we can do that I am 99.999% sure we will win....
Thanks for your contribution, smart ass
One key against the Suns is the Spurs should never shoot a difficult shot. The Suns defense can be penetrated on and shot over. They're not going to force you into many tough situations as long as you take your time.
On defense, you gotta make Amare shoot the ball. The Spurs did a great job of that in game one. He hit those shots, but you can't let him drive like he did against the Mavs.
1) Duncan's ankle holding up as well as it did in game 1.
2) Duncan's ankle holding up as well as it did in game 1.
3) Duncan's ankle holding up as well as it did in game 1.
If Duncan can't play, the Spurs are toast. Other than that, I would say
4) Encouraging Nash and Stoudamire to be the focal points of the offense again. As long as Richardson and Marion are non-factors, the Suns can be beaten no matter how many points Amare scores.
5) Continuing to play great transition D. 6 fast break points for Phoenix is just sick.
6) Defensive rebounding. With Duncan's mobility hampered, the Suns had mor second chance points than they would have otherwise. Other players need to recognize this and step up. It will take discipline and smarts to do this and maintain their great transition defense though.
Defense!
Believe it or not, Fred Carter made the same point on NBA-TV. He said that the Spurs have a good shot with 17 on the shot clock, they should be patient because the same shot will be there with 8 on the shot clock.
If Amare's going to hit those 15-footers like he did game 1, more power to him. If he doesn't and Marion is still being controlled, then Blowout City.On defense, you gotta make Amare shoot the ball. The Spurs did a great job of that in game one. He hit those shots, but you can't let him drive like he did against the Mavs.
keys to winning in game 2 are
transition defense
transition defense
half court defense
Spurs bigs getting their hands UP on defense
and defense
Keys to a Game 2 Victory? Transition defense and scoring lots and lots and lots and lots of points.
I would say the same again. I don't think the Spurs can put up 120 every game, at least they shouldn't count on it.
The Spurs are going to put up much higher than normal scoring totals if only because Phoenix's tendency to shoot so early in the shot clock creates a lot more possessions.
Add to that the Suns' inability to play physical defense and risk foul trouble because of their thin frontline and their need to keep Stoudemire out of foul trouble, and the Spurs are going to have plenty of scoring opportunities.
The plan will continue to be to manage the Suns' offensive output through the first 3 1/2 quarters, stay relatively close while keeping enough gas in the tank, then go into lockdown in the clutch when the Suns get fatigued. The results are even more devastating than normal because the Spurs can combine their defensive clamps with an offensive explosion, given their matchup advantages combined with fatigue.
The Suns were beaten by it in January, struggled with it against a shorthanded Spurs team in March, and still don't seem to have an answer for it. Make them show they can execute in crunch time.
Last edited by Extra Stout; 05-23-2005 at 08:52 AM.
Spurs have averaged 115 a game against the Suns this season so I don't think that putting up 100+ is going to be that tough.
Stick with the Defense(Bowen shutting down Marion was Huge)
Limit the Boards by the suns when duncan is not in the game.
As giddy as everyone is about the game 1 win I don't think it's realistic that the Spurs will continue to score 121 points, 43 in the fourth, shoot 51.7% or go 10 - 23 from the three. If you keep letting Amare get 41 points on 21 shots and the Suns shoot 48.8% you're going to get burned.
Need to keep up the transition D and keep limiting the three. Need to quick double Amare and get the ball out of his hands. Need to force him to become a passer and to make Marion and Q become passers and dribblers.
Look at all the games this year. Amare has put up huge numbers every time out. The Spurs are willing to concede his offense in order to shut down the Suns' perimeter game.
It keeps working. Make Phoenix show they can beat that strategy before changing it.
If they quick-double Amare, that defeats the idea of limiting the three. He'll make the immediate pass back to the perimeter if he is allowed to anticipate the quick double, and the Suns will reverse to the open shooter before the Spurs can rotate. That is how huge runs happen. I think it's better to keep trapping Nash on the PnR and bring the other big up on Amare. He never adjusted to that. Make the Suns figure out that they need to bring their other big up on the weakside.Need to keep up the transition D and keep limiting the three. Need to quick double Amare and get the ball out of his hands. Need to force him to become a passer and to make Marion and Q become passers and dribblers.
Marion kept standing out on the perimeter. Hunter is a limited threat even when his man leaves him to help on Amare. If they figure out to let Marion cheat to the basket for dunks and he gets rolling, THEN the Spurs can try something else.
The Spurs then could mix up when Rasho/Nazr/Rob moves to help on Amare. Force him to make a decision on whether to drive to the hoop, make the pass, or shoot the midrange jumper. Don't make it easy on him by giving him the same look. He's still young and will make mistakes if forced to make decisions quickly.
Given that D'antoni wants to put more pressure on both ends of the court, I look for Game #2's final score to be a little lower. In order to play "defense", the Phoenix players will have to get back on defense faster. Lots of things can happen to a fatigued team who is asked to do even more.
What concerns me is that Phoenix is able to get into a decent offensive rhythm in the 3rd and build up a decent lead that they can carry into the 4th. That 15 foot jumper from elbow to elbow will be there all night for the Suns.
Well, as most have pointed out before & after Game 1, it's trying to contian & slow down Nash's penetrations into the lane which he is one if not the best today @ creating & feeding teammates for easy dunks/scores when he penetrates.
Getting back on transition DEF, we didn't do a good job, we did a GREAT job! Holding them to only 6pts.
As far as Amare goes, I rather & can live with him taking jump shots than scoring on easy dunks & FT's. He's become a good FT shooter & he getting to the line a lot during the post season. He made his shots in Game 1, but I can live with it, b/c it's easier to dunk & than it is to shoot.
If the SUNS go on an OFF roll, we have to be able to match them to keep the game close, as was the case in the 3Qtr, we were fortunate to be down only 2 or 4 pts I believe after 3Qtrs.
We also have to continue improving our FT shooting, TP missed 3 of 4 in crunch time & was visibly upset about it, good thing we had a good enough lead, but we must make those.
Our REB has to improve, SUNS had too many 2nd chance pts.
Finally our bench MUST, I repeat MUST continue to to produce, that means Barry, Beno, Horry, Rasho, Robinson & hopefully DBrown. They all have to contribute in some way.
The actual score is irrelevant. Like mentioned above it has to do with the amount of possession.
It begins and ends with their defense and Spurs shooting percentage. They must keep a slightly higher or equal percentage, control the defensive boards and play solid D.
You give amare the outside shot and swarm the pick when it is in the paint. I loved how Nash's forays into the lane led to passes out to the perimeter. The Spurs were able to close down most lanes that would allow an uncontested pass and score from the big man coming down the lane.
The Suns never led by more than eight. Given the pace of play, that's the equivalent of a three-point lead for most Spurs opponents.
I thought the Spurs did a good job of managing their energy against Phoenix. The Suns scored 33 in the third, but wore themselves out in the process.
The one concern I saw for the Spurs during the stretch in the third where Phoenix got on a roll is that their defensive intensity was poor for a couple of minutes. They got caught out of position and that allowed Phoenix to start raining threes. I've noticed Rasho can't keep up with that pace. He did alright in the first half when the Suns got out of their game and starting playing halfcourt -- he was effective rotating onto Amare when Tim trapped Nash, and confused young Stoudemire. But when the Suns started pushing the ball and whipping passes around, Rasho was a liability.
It's something to keep in mind if Nazr is in foul trouble again in the second half.
Keys to Game 2, and all other games:
1) Duncan's ankle holding up
2) Transition D
3) Transition D
Nazr won't get into foul trouble in Game 2, I think, so we'll get more out of him against Stoudemire.
1) Keep trapping Nash hard on the pick and rolls like they did in the fourth. It was nice to see the Spurs figuring that out a little better than they did against the Sonics.
2) Run at the Suns. They hate to play D anyways, but they are tired and thin on the bench. If the Spurs can force them to hussle back on D (which D'Antoni sounds like he wants his team to) they can wear them down and they'll hit that wall even earlier in the game than they did yesterday.
3) Shot selection. I can only think of a handful of shots yesterday that looked particularly forced. The Suns D is not going to be able to stop good ball movement. If the Spurs keep getting the open looks early and often their shooters can stay in a good rhythm.
4) No mental let downs. There's no reason that Sonics series should have gone past five, but hopefully that got the point across about the importance of keeping focus and intensity when you have a team down in a series.
5) Guard that three point line. The only times that the Suns looked dangerous were when Jackson would start dropping in the trey's. What a lot of teams would call a "low percentage shot" is the Suns bread and butter. The fourth quarter showed that they could collapse on Nash's penetration and still rotate out to contest shots. If they do that for four quarters the Suns are toast.
1. Getting rest on Tuesday. It was interesting to watch last nights game versus watching the Denver series. The Spurs know how to play great transition D, they just seemed to have a slower step last night on D.
2. Keeping Pho off the offensive boards. It is off the those rebounds that Stoudamire often gets easy points or Pho gets open looks at the three.
3. Continue to hit shots. They don't need to shoot 52%, but they do need to shoot in the high 40's. The also need to shoot 70% from the line to relieve some of the pressure.
Really? The only botched call I saw was the blocking foul called on Barry that came a minute after Richardson drew a charging call on the other end of the floor by doing nearly the exact same thing. There was certainly some physical play that the refs let slide but I think that was pretty balanced. Certainly more so than it was at times in the last two series.
What's wrong with re-using the keys to a Game1 victory?
Transition defense.
3G defense
pnr defense
Pound it into Tim.
drive drive drive
keep hitting jumpers
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