Top Ten Keys - Spurs vs. Suns 2010 Playoff Preview

[coyotes_geek]

Speaking about Depth I still don't understand the release of Theo not really for this serie but against the mavs we could have used Theo.

That was just a give-up trade. The Spurs were looking like a team that was going to get run out of the playoffs in the 1st round, so they decided to save some bucks by dumping Theo. Had they known at the time how the Spurs would come together late in the year, I'll bet that they wouldn't have shipped Theo out. There's no doubt the Spurs could have used him in these playoffs. Definitely against the mavs and especially against the lakers, should the Spurs get past Phoenix.

[The Truth #6]

So whom does Hill guard - Nash or Richardson? Hill might have a better chance of containing Richardson than Manu would. If making Nash shoot the ball is a goal (while limiting Richardson) then I think Pop might put Hill on Richardson and let Manu cover Nash. At least in the beginning. Once Parker is in the game, he thrives on competing against the best point guards and he could really do damage on Nash, especially if he's injured.

If Nash guards Hill, then I'd like to see Hill post him up when he flashes to the post after dumping the ball into Tim. Hill has done this more recently in the last few months, and even abused Fisher once or twice, which was great. Making Nash defend is key, but if Hill can get some easy points in the post against Nash, then all the better, especially if the Suns don't double Tim.

Grant Hill, Dudley, and The Dude with the Really Goofy Ponytail all play fairly good defense so our guys will have to score. Defending them probably won't be enough. Executing on both ends seems important in this series. Versus Dallas, they didn't play great defense so our approach to the game was more singular.

Should be a great series.

[kace]

No mention of George Hill???

IMO he is the key to this series. He plays well and Spurs run away with it.

. yep, he has become our franchise player thanks to two good games in PO. talk about overreaction.

[PDXSpursFan]

IMO, big key:

Richard Jefferson Play

The best way to defend Jason Richarson is to make him work at the defensive end. In the 1st game against Portland, he struggled offensively as he was asked to guard Andre Miller.The rest of the games he took "vacations" on the defensive-end guarding ineffective Rudy or injured Roy.
In the Spurs series, Grant Hill will probably guard Ginobili and Richarson will be on Richard Jefferson. If Jefferson is able to step up and make Richarson work on the defensive end, he won't be as effective on the offensive.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Nice work Timvp!

I agree that the #1 key is probably Duncan, with 1b being Ginobili's health. This might be the toughest Phoenix team we've faced in the playoffs in terms of both depth and coaching.

[dreamcastrocks]

Wow... a fan from the opposing team who shows up to talk basketball instead of trolling? Very cool.

I think Tim's performance in Game 1 is going to be important, whether the Spurs win the game or not. If he can get it going down low, it will force the Suns to being more doubles. If he can't they will try and make us beat them from the outside. That thought isn't very appealing lately.

There are actually lots of us around. In fact, Spurstalk is the only opposing forum that I ever visit.

The Suns will likely put Hill on Ginobili and double team Duncan early and often this series. Good rotation and passing will be key for the Spurs. I don't think the Suns want Duncan to beat them.

[dreamcastrocks]

I'm surprised Blair isn't a big key for you. He poses all the problems that Phoenix faces, tough interior presence, offensive rebounding, etc.

[Brazil]

I'm surprised Blair isn't a big key for you. He poses all the problems that Phoenix faces, tough interior presence, offensive rebounding, etc.

Well the problem is the spurs can rely on him. When he is playing, things happen good or bad. If Blair is a key for a spurs win we are in trouble.

[da_suns_fan]

6. Slowing Jason Richardson
Jason Richardson was the best player on the Suns in their first round matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged 23.5 points on 52.7% shooting from the field, including 22-of-43 from three-point range. (Amazingly, he had only one turnover in the entire series.) Richardson is an elite athlete with great range who likes to get out and run. The most difficult part of slowing him down is he gets such high elevation on his jumper that he becomes virtually unguardable when he gets hot. With that in mind, prevention is the best medicine. Keep Richardson from getting easy buckets in transition, keep a defender close to him at all times and try to turn him into a passer. In other words, the Spurs need to defend him like they defended Shawn Marion when he was with the Suns.

Sorry, but thats a pretty poor analogy. Marion plays nothing like Richardson. Thats not saying that one is better than they other but Marions game is all about transition baskets where Richardson runs curls, slashes and generally finishes around the basket much better than Marion ever did.

The thing with Richardson is he shoots and shoots and shoots and shoots. If you got a guy in his face, hes still shooting. He'll go one on one and take a contested 20 footer that might go in 30% of the time.

[dreamcastrocks]

Well the problem is the spurs can rely on him. When he is playing, things happen good or bad. If Blair is a key for a spurs win we are in trouble.

I wouldn't necessarily say that you rely on him, but he has the potential to outplay Phoenix's bench players of Frye and Amundson.

[smrattler]

Great work as usual TiMVP.

Question for you (or anyone else):

#1 Key for the Spurs is to milk Timmy on the low block because they don't have an answer for that without the double team.

You didn't mention him much, but how does Blair factor in that same key? Timmy can't go 38-40 mins/night (every other night) and producing at a high level offensively for the series. He'll need rest to continue to produce and stay efficient.

Is it just as important for Blair to give us interior points when he gets in to allow Tim to rest and keep us going against their second unit?

[Brazil]

I wouldn't necessarily say that you rely on him, but he has the potential to outplay Phoenix's bench players of Frye and Amundson.

I agree but I don't think this is a top 10 key for a spurs W or at least I hope not.

[Old School 44]

Robin Lopez's importance cannot be stressed enough. Without him, our best chance of guarding him is Amare Stoudemire, a mediocre man-on-man defender.

This is true. If Robin Lopez can return, the Suns' chances of winning the series rise significantly. With Lopez, the Suns might get away with single-teaming Duncan. Without Lopez? The Suns would have to hope and pray Duncan is having a bad series.

If Robin Lopez plays and is effective this series, I'd want to find and question his identical twin brother Brook.

[dreamcastrocks]

I agree but I don't think this is a top 10 key for a spurs W or at least I hope not.

I would.

If Robin Lopez plays and is effective this series, I'd want to find and question his identical twin brother Brook.

Why? If you haven't seen him play, he has improved greatly this season, and is responsible for a defensive surge in Phoenix. Yes, I said defensive surge in Phoenix.

[Giuseppe]

Leave it to Sun's fan to spoil a perfectly good joke.

Ya mook, you.

[GSH]

Believe it or not, I think one of the biggest keys to beating the Suns is keeping Hill and Richardson off the glass, and outfighting them for some of the long rebounds off of 3-point attempts. Those two guys pick up A LOT of the rebounds that get the Suns easy points, and they just killed Portland.

The Spurs could also save 2-3 points per game if they run the floor hard on Suns fast breaks, and don't let their trailers get off uncontested 3-pointers. The Suns shoot a wicked percentage on transition 3's, and those extra points add up over an entire game and series. And it's really disheartening to think you've broken up the fast break, and then give up a 3.

All the Suns' bigs are foul prone, especially when they have to defend a half-court offense. Going after them early (especially Amare) will pay off big, if we can get a few whistles. I would hope that Amare spends at least two games out of the series sitting for extended minutes due to foul trouble. It would help if the Spurs can knock down their FT's, but just forcing them to back off on defense in the paint would be big. Blair has to avoid some of those dumb fouls on the other end, for the same reason.

Hill and Dragic both make a lot more turnovers if they are forced into a half-court game. Pushing the Suns later into the shot clock is key for the Spurs. But... both of those guys are deadly from the 3P line. It's especially important not to let Dragic get lost on defense. Over the season, he took almost 40% of his attempts from the 3P line. Against Portland, he took half of his shots from the arc, and made 7-15.

I know Pop won't do it, but I'd love to see him put Garret Temple on Dudley when the Suns put him in the game. Dudley's points have helped the Suns a lot over the course of the season. I think Temple would kick his ass defensively. And the Suns would probably ignore him out on the corner - at least until he knocked down a few 3's. Temple has the length and quickness to run Dudley off the 3P line, where he does the most damage, and that is tiring work. That's one of the ways Pop could create some of the depth that TimVP talked about.

Nash and Stoudamire are going to get their points. A lot of the Suns losses have involved Richardson having a sub-par game. He was unconscious against Portland, but he normally doesn't shoot FT's all that well. Pushing him hard on defense is key, even if it means burning a few fouls - just to try and keep him out of rhythm.

[Old School 44]

Leave it to Sun's fan to spoil a perfectly good joke.

Ya mook, you.

Glad somebody got it!

[ducks]

Sorry, but thats a pretty poor analogy. Marion plays nothing like Richardson. Thats not saying that one is better than they other but Marions game is all about transition baskets where Richardson runs curls, slashes and generally finishes around the basket much better than Marion ever did.

The thing with Richardson is he shoots and shoots and shoots and shoots. If you got a guy in his face, hes still shooting. He'll go one on one and take a contested 20 footer that might go in 30% of the time.

richardson and marion do not play the same
but IMO spurs shutwon marion when they played the suns
that is what he is talking about

[timvp]

I think Antonio McDyess will help the Spurs immensely in this series. He's been no better than a mediocre defender in this decade, but he has a better chance of stymieing Stoudemire than Rasho/Nazr/Oberto/Elson/Horry/Massenberg/etc. ever did.

Considering that San Antonio's best defense against Amare over the years is getting out of the way while he dunks it, anything McDyess can do to Amare to slow him down would be much appreciated.

I've been thinking that Dejuan Blair may actually be THE secret weapon against Amare, assuming he even sees any consistent playing time! He's faster than Bonner, and can be quite physical which should be a good thing against Amare. The issue will probably be ticky-tack fouls... Any thoughts?

It'll be interesting to see if Pop dares to play Duncan and Blair together. In theory, that would really take advantage of Phoenix's weakness on the defensive glass.

But since Pop has used Blair strictly as Duncan's backup for a long while now, I doubt we see the two of them together.

So whom does Hill guard - Nash or Richardson?

To start the series, Pop will go with Hill on Nash and likely have Hill pick up Nash full court. Pop always goes with a big picture attack against Nash by trying to wear him out over the course of a series. Since Nash may be gimpy, I expect Pop to pressure Nash a whole lot in Game 1 to figure out whether or not Nash is 100%.

Sorry, but thats a pretty poor analogy. Marion plays nothing like Richardson.

I never said Marion plays like Richardson. My point is the defensive philosophy against both players will be similar. The Spurs kept Marion in check by not letting him get going and making sure someone always kept a body on him. Pop will do the same to Richardson to try to slow him down ... especially early on in the series after the way Richardson destroyed the Blazers.

[Brazil]

That was just a give-up trade. The Spurs were looking like a team that was going to get run out of the playoffs in the 1st round, so they decided to save some bucks by dumping Theo. Had they known at the time how the Spurs would come together late in the year, I'll bet that they wouldn't have shipped Theo out. There's no doubt the Spurs could have used him in these playoffs. Definitely against the mavs and especially against the lakers, should the Spurs get past Phoenix.

Yeah but we have a late 2nd round in 2016 for that give-up

It was IMO a bad move really.

[DBMethos]

I never said Marion plays like Richardson. My point is the defensive philosophy against both players will be similar. The Spurs kept Marion in check by not letting him get going and making sure someone always kept a body on him. Pop will do the same to Richardson to try to slow him down ... especially early on in the series after the way Richardson destroyed the Blazers.

Agreed. If Richardson is held in check, I doubt if the Suns have enough firepower to beat us. RJ has his work cut out for him this round.

[EricB]

Ratliff was traded due to no minutes....

[EricB]

Agreed. If Richardson is held in check, I doubt if the Suns have enough firepower to beat us. RJ has his work cut out for him this round.

Just put a hand in his face and force bad jumpers. IE the same defense for Caron butler

[Mixability]

I with the Make Nash Shoot option. If he starts creating, Stoudewhine gets in the game.

[Spurs Brazil]

We must make Nash work on D. Since Bruce is not there to slow him on D I want to see the Spurs put Nash to defend our PnR every time.

Stay on the shooters, especially Frye and Richardson.

Give TD the ball to dominate

TP and Manu need to be in attack mode all game