Quite frankly I think we make Shaq try and beat us.
If he get's it into his head that he's still the diesel and he takes shots away from Amare, I think that is the Suns weakest point. I want Shaq demanding the ball and huffing away when he doesn't get it.
I don't want Amare and Nash to PnR us to death. What I do want is single strong coverage on Shaq and dare him to score 50 every game on us for the series. If he gets by his man I want a hard across the arms foul to limit his and-1s but a foul none the less.
And if that means triple teaming Amare then so be it, but I don't want him to get anything in this series.
I think that with that defensive strategy we could seriously with the Suns' game plan.
I think Shaq has proven that he can score on us when played straight up. I say we always double him and make him give it up. He's a turnover machine. Plus I don't think the Suns are as dangerous a 3 pt shooting team as they used to be with no Marion. Hill's not really much of a 3 pt shooter. The only guy on the team I worry about shooting behind the stripe is Nash.
Also, Bowen must guard Nash at all times and Tony has to be ferocious against Barbosa like he was last year when he ing owned him.
I'm not saying Shaq can't score on us. I just don't think he can score 50 on us every game if we run at him on the defensive end the whole night every night. Call me crazy but Shaq's due for a bad series against us, if we play him straight up. I want him to feel like his team and our team is disrespecting his sorry ass. We don't double him at all...and he feels slighted by us, and his team for not giving him the ball every time.
#1)Get Stoudemire in foul trouble early & often....otherwise we'll be controlling the tempo offensively,putting your front line in foul trouble,while controlling the glass to limit your second shot opportunities.#2) Neutralize our bench in Diaw/Barbs/Giricek.
Suns = no center, no inside presence, no defense, no rebounding. And NO WINS.
How to beat the Suns?
Hip-checking aside, my biggest concern for the spurs is our offense. We need to score. Our defense will ALWAYS clamp down but if we score less than 20 in the 4th quarter like we used to in our recent games, we'll get roasted by the Suns.
We need to score at least in the 90s every game to beat these pretenders.
Great insight. Your ability to analyze, process and then put in to words things the rest of us don't see is a God-given talent. Unfortunately, mostly for us, you choose to waste that talent in this forum.
turn up.
The first 3 are as moronic as your screenname.
-Nash doesn't turn over the ball, how do you propose to do that: quintuple team him?
-Amare doesn't play defense, therefore he's no prone to fouls.
-Push the ball up? You think we haven't been trying to do that every game?
Thank you. It's nice to have fans.
Take out Tim and let Manu play the whole game. That's what SPURS won over Sons in the reg season
The same way the Spurs have always beaten them. Play good defense, limit the number of open threes, secure defensive boards, run as often as possible, take care of the ball, avoid getting drawn into the drama.
Here it is!!! It freakin begins!! I have a MAJOR bet going with a friend of mine that we will beat Phx. He called me as SOON as they got Shaq saying that we were in trouble, yada,yada,yada! So far he has been right. But now this is the REAL DEAL!!!
BRING IT PHX!!!
Actually he's been near the top in the league in fouls for a few years. IMO that's where keeping the pace up is so important early. Shaq is going to be the slowest guy on the floor no matter who is out there. He's also doesn't stray more than a few feet from the rim when he's on offense. So as the slowest player with the farthest distance to go, pushing the pace can take him out of the defensive equation, leaving Stoudemire as their lone player who can get back in time and have any shot at guarding the hoop. Either they give up the easy two, or you take it right at him and can hopefully get him in foul trouble. A big part of Amare's statistical explosion in the post Shaq trade era is that he no longer is the only guy guarding the hoop, so he's not racking up the fouls and can stay on the court more. Bottom line, if the guards can stay aggressive I think they can get both STAT and the Cactus in foul trouble early, and keep them out of a rhythm. But come the fourth, as others have said, no ref is going to foul those guys out down the stretch.
Aside from that, KT is going to have to be the role player to step the up most in this series. If he can bring his A-game the Spurs should be able to play Shaq straight up, which can allow them to do what they did so well in 05. Stay at home on the shooters, force Nash to be a scorer, and let Amare get his while keeping a lid on the rest. Offensively, he and Duncan will be getting wide open looks at mid range jumpers on the P&R since Shaq plays defense with a six foot rope tethering him to the backboard. It's up to them to either force a big out of the paint for Tony and Manu or make the Suns pay for leaving them open. And one of the shooters (Bonner, Barry, or Finley) will need to get hot for a couple of games too.
pick and roll with duncan and tp
duncan ran it oneal has to come out and guard him
then duncan can drive dunk or pass to open teamate
score more points than they do.
seriously though. I think Pop's emphasis will be scoring in transition, which will be a lot easier now that Brent Barry is back and Tony Parker (the fastest in point guard in the league) is healthy. If the Spurs can clamp down on D and push it back the other way off rebounds or steals they could turn it into a layup drill and the Suns and their fans will enter a new dimension of hatred for the Spurs. I can feel that the Spurs are ready to explode. There is no more holding back. Last year we watched the gradual transformation of the team into a post season beast, now that incubation has reached a new level, it has been a more painful process, with lower lows than before, but the payout is coming big time. 5 in 10 sounds pretty damn good. Go Spurs Go!!!! I cant wait for this !!!!11
Kurt Thomas must make his mid range jumpers.
It's simple, you play tough Spurs defense and you wait for the Suns jump shooters to go cold and they eventually will and then you blow by them. Then you jus sit back and watch as Mike DanFony completely loses it and he will.
Tough series but the Spurs will win 4 of 7.
Since they are all bigger than me, I would have to beat them with a very big stick and the element of surprise.I'd be interested in hearing some thoughts on how you do it.
Other teams fans in the west please chime in, Phoenix seems to play the Spurs well, but other teams seem to match up better now. What is that said team's secret?
Can't wait to see the responses!!
Otherwise I would get my ass kicked.
Play hard for 48 min.
Make Nash work on defense and be physical. Work him through a lot of screens. He's getting older, and would need the rest, and the Suns have lacked a compotent backup PG all year.
On defense, trap Nash, force him to give up the ball, and force Stoudemire to make decisions. Shaq should NOT be doubled, let him get his, and don't let him kick it out to open 3s.
On offense, pick and roll all day using Parker or Ginobili as the point, and Duncan, Oberto and Thomas can all be the screener (Duncan obviously provides more options, but Oberto and Thomas can all pop the open jumper).
If they decide to single Duncan with Shaq, Duncan has to go at him and force the action.
Also, let Parker (or whoever Nash is guarding other than Bowen) go at Nash and force the Suns defense to collapse. If they are hiding Nash on Bowen (likely), have Parker drive inside the lane. There is nobody on the Suns who can handle Parker.
Lots of great offensive suggestions here but I'm going to stick with what has separated us from the pack in recent years - DEFENSE!
I would like to see us attack the Nash/Amare pick and roll, either by bothering Nash as he comes off it and cutting down his passing lanes or sticking with Amare and gambling for the steal. Must disrupt the PnR.
Play Shaq straight up, no double teaming. Thomas and Oberto HAVE to step up against Shaq. Boxing out and playing between Shaq and the rim should be a major priority for us.
Tim has to be aggressive and set the tone for the series by challenging the defense of the PHX big men. No more whining from Tim and please not too many jump shots/hooks. Same goes for Gino and TP.
Stick to what we do best and expose this finesse team (with a hulking piece in the middle) for what they are - mismatched parts that do not share a cohesive philosophy.
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