Starting Thomas works right into the Spurs hands. It's going to slow the game down considerably. Big deal if Duncan doesn't get 30. He won't need to. And Phoenix isn't going to have all those great looks from the 3 point line either.
Everybody was railing on Avery for going small against GS, saying that it sent his team the wrong message. This is the exact same thing. D'Antoni is telling his team that they aren't good enough at playing their brand of basketball to beat the Spurs. After 88 games of run and gun, all of the sudden they are going to starting grinding it out? Perfect. Bring it on.
But they are not. As for Thomas, reread some of the more well regarded posters here for his potential impact.
As far as slowing the pace down, the Suns scored 53 in the first half when Thomas played big minutes and 53 in the second when Thomas played just a handful.
He helps on rebounds, defense and toughness, three areas Phoenix needs.
Yep, that is what I was thinking. Their team is not built to grind it out.
I think we'll do better if we try to get 5 guys in double figs and some gravy points from Vaughn and Bowen. Oberto and Horry can get 10ppg if they keep playing the way they have. Counting on 4 guys to carry the load on the offensive end won't cut it against Phoenix. I'd love to see Barry hit some big 3s like he did against the Suns last time we played them, too.
Honestly I think the key to negating this adjustment by the Suns is for Parker to hit his jumper consistently. His shot is better now and he's got to be used to teams trying to stop his penetration. But if they don't respect his jumper, he can still unload high 20s in ppg. I'd also look for Tim to take over the post again like he did to the Mavs last year. He can put Thomas in foul trouble easily, and send the Suns right back to their usual lineup.
Why, because they rarely do it? Isn't Thomas built for grind it out, rebounding, defensive games? Bell? Can't Nash run his pic-n-rolls in the halfcourt set after ten seconds have run off the shotclock just as he could if only five had? Sure, it limits a player like Marion, but by going small, it could allow Marion more rebounding opportunities, so he'll at least regain that value. It's not like he's much of a scoring threat vs. the Spurs anyways.
Just because they don't often, doesn't mean they can't. With Thomas they are far more likely to do so well than without. Thomas is the grind-it-out key.
He seems to have played well vs. Duncan this year. Maybe with bigger minutes, lesser rest and more responsibility on the offensive end he shrinks? Who knows... what is known is he brings aspects to Phoenix's game that they lack. I welcome it.
Even if it slows them down a bit.
All the points I wanted to bring up have been covered by other posters, but I do want to say one thing; with Thomas out there, the Spurs need to go right at him, because he WILL foul. It should allow the Spurs more of a chance to get the Suns into the penalty which they hate because it slows the tempo of the game down.
Thomas can guard Tim well but in small stretches, not for the majority of the game. D'Antoni is being foolish.
Who will Thomas start in place of?
get thomas in foul trouble
attack manu attack tp
attack duncan
I'm not going to worry about it, because if the Spurs are truly capable of winning a championship, they will overcome anything that Phoenix throws at them. Duncan is a HOF player and should be able to abuse Thomas; TD needs to throw some pumpfakes and get Thomas in the air. I can tell you right now that Thomas will be eager to play good defense against TD due to him starting. I still like our chances even with Thomas starting. He's not going to play the whole game and who says he will even get big minutes. It's going to be an interesting game tomorrow, but I have faith in the Spurs that they can win not only this game, but the series.
That is what i think as well. Like Tim is not going to go in with a different plan tomorrow knowing that Thomas has had success against him. Tim will probably score on him early and often and Thomas will be on the bench quickly.
They need to go at him, but I hope they don't try to do it just by dumping it in to Tim and standing around. Thomas has shown he's pretty good at stripping the ball or forcing Tim into one of those TV remote-throwing turnovers.
Game 2 would be a nice time for Super Manu to finally make an appearance.
Well, if I can't count last year, howabout '01, '02, and '04?
My lasting mental image of the 2002 playoffs was one Robert Horry laughing in the press before game 4 in response to a question about why they were giving us so many problems, responding that they had just made one adjustment defensively that they were still waiting for us to adjust to.
Im guessing it will be Nash, Bell, Marion, Stoudemire and Thomas. Put Bowen on Marion and watch the disappearing act begin. Put Parker on Nash (not that Parker will stop him anyway), Elson on Stoudemire to start (I do NOT want Tim picking up quick fouls, as Stoudemire will be aggressive to start), Tim on Thomas (Not too much hard work there for Tim), and Finely on Bell.
Here's the other thing. The Spurs played 10 guys in the last game, and I expect them to keep a 9-man rotation throughout the series. The Suns played 8, with James Jones logging 9 minutes. Now his minutes will probably go entirely to Kurt Thomas, meaning a 7-man rotation. D'Antoni did the same thing in 2005, with a short rotation that ended up in huge 4th quarters for the Spurs against a relatively tired Suns team.
The Suns may start well tomorrow; the Spurs have to be patient and wait for their moment.
I've been following Thomas since he led the nation and scoring and rebounding at TCU. I know exactly what he can do. And usually, it involves an injury to one of his lower extremities. Look, he's a tough player and good rebounder and a pretty good defender, but he's not going to shut down Tim Duncan for an extended period of time, especially without any help. It's just not going to happen. I don't have the breakdown of his minutes, but if you don't think that removing one of your perimeter players for him is going to slow down the game, you're nuts. It's also one more defender for the Spurs who doesn't have to extend to the three point line, which means more help on the Nash/Stoudemire pick and roll.
For my money, the Suns would be better served going even smaller against the Spurs. That's how Dallas beat 'em.
If Thomas is going to be getting more PT out on the court, The Spurs will definitely need Manu to show up. Game 2 is gonna be rough. Hopefully KT will get into some foul trouble and have to sit most of the game.
"I think we're going to start Kurt Thomas,'' he said.
Oh boy, this years "Joe Johnson"
What does someone expect D'antoni to say? Of course he is going to defend his team
Bring It On Spurs Will Fire And Destory These Suns
so is this gonna turn into a series where we will live and die by tony's jump shot?
As long as Thomas is knocking down his jumpshot, it doesn't really hinder us offensively. He's excellent at the pick and roll and can bring the defense and rebounding.
And this is completely different between the GS/Dallas situation. Dallas was bowing down to the eighth seed before there was even one game in the books. The Suns are pretty evenly matched with the Spurs, and Thomas clearly showed his value in the first game.
And it doesn't mean they can.
Starting Thomas limits your three point shooting. That is a huge part of your game or did you not know that. The Suns led the league in 3pt attempts, 3pt makes, and 3pt pct.
The Suns would have to make up that offense by shooting an incredible pct. in the halfcourt. Spurs halfcourt defense > Suns halfcourt offense
So let's get this straight. Your team has the second best record in the league playing a very unique and particular brand of basketball. You've committed your entire organization to drafting and obtaining players who fit this brand of basketball. You destroyed your first round opponent playing this brand of basketball. And now, after a tightly contested loss at home in a game where your best player had to sit out the final crucial minute, you're willing to scrap all of this in order to grind it out with a team who is built specifically for grind it out games.
Okay. Makes perfect sense to me. Throw out the baby and bathwater.
Three point shooting is hardly the key to our success. Easy points in the paint is our bread and butter, and it'll be easier to get out in transition if we have Kurt's rebouding.
I really hope the Spurs fans are right that this move works to the Spurs' favor. Although there are some aspects of the move that will help the Spurs, overall I think it's a great move by D'Antoni.
Oh and thanks to Stoudemire for leaking it to the press. The Spurs will be ready for it now.
I wonder if this means Bowen will move back to Marion, or will Bowen guard Nash, Finley guard Marion and Parker guard Bell.
Hopefully Nash can be benched for 45 seconds in the 4th quarter so the Suns can lose again.
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