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I think some of us should chip in and have a "We're the Better Team" trophy made, and send it to D'Antoni.
Suns focus on inside defense
by Paul Coro - Apr. 20, 2008 08:18 PM
The Arizona Republic
SAN ANTONIO - Those Game 1 overtime and scream-inducing 3-point shots made by San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Michael Finley likely are embedded into Suns fans' minds like splinters under their fingernails.
It is the great irony of an already fascinating first-round NBA playoff series that the lasting pain of Game 1 was felt on the perimeter, a place the Spurs rarely had to settle for scores.
San Antonio scored 72 points in the paint in Game 1. That is 12 more than Phoenix had given up in any game this season. Though it took two overtimes for the Spurs to get there, the concentration of chances near the rim was much higher after halftime (50 of 77 points came in the paint) than it was in Phoenix's opponents' season highs, when Golden State scored 120 or New Orleans had 132 in a double-overtime game.
But where there could be worry, there actually is confidence. The Suns chalk up the layup line to the rare occasion of having all three of their big men (Shaquille O'Neal, Amaré Stoudemire and Boris Diaw) in foul trouble, compromising their ability to help on crafty penetrators Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
"We're the better team," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We've got to prove it, though.
"They dodged a bullet. We didn't catch a bullet. They just dodged one. We've got to give them another one on Tuesday."
Game 2 is here Tuesday. Until then, the Suns won't spend time on defending the Duncan 3-pointer, although switching on a Finley late-game 3-pointer is sure to come up.
What they will focus on is getting back to the sort of defense they played against the Spurs for 4 1/2 games this season. Through halftime of Saturday's game, San Antonio had shot 40.1 percent against Phoenix this season, and Ginobili had gone 20 for 71 from the field. After halftime, the Spurs shot 58.6 percent, with Ginobili scoring on seven drives and Parker getting six baskets in the paint, including four uncontested layups.
"Tony Parker has made a living at the rim," D'Antoni said. "No one's figured it out yet. There are going to be times in the game he gets to the rim, and there are going to be times that Ginobili gets to the rim. That's life.
"There are other times we are going to have to handle it on the offensive end and be efficient, and then we'll try to do a better job on them."
D'Antoni dismissed the foul issues, saying the Suns should have won in spite of them. Phoenix kept a grip on San Antonio in the first half despite O'Neal leaving 3:47 into the game because of his second foul, when Duncan went by Stoudemire and O'Neal stepped in front of him but in the restricted zone.
Diaw replaced O'Neal and was brilliant offensively, and he cut off angles with help defense. That is what Phoenix hopes to get back to Tuesday, rather than the defense that General Manager Steve Kerr said "played on its heels" because of foul trouble.
"They knew we were in foul trouble," guard Raja Bell said. "They were putting their heads down and going to the basket. It slowed us down a bit. They shot a higher percentage, and we weren't getting in transition as much. Our rim was pretty soft (Saturday), for no other reason than we couldn't afford for those guys to foul out."
Nobody is shocked that the Spurs are trying to draw O'Neal or Stoudemire away from the rim with high screens.
"Everybody has to step up and stay in front of their man," O'Neal said. "Usually, I'll be there at the end, but there ain't much you can do with five fouls. . . . If I don't have any fouls, I'll be there at the rim every time."
O'Neal and Stoudemire tied for second in the NBA for most fouls per game. Having O'Neal and Diaw with three and Stoudemire with two by halftime complicated rotations and weakened the help.
"We need to cover up the paint," Kerr said. "We need to do a better job of keeping people on the floor and keeping the fouls down so we can be aggressive and cut off angles.
"(Stoudemire) has got to be smarter once he picks up a foul or two. He's got to know when he can penetrate and when he should rely on the jumper. He's such a talented guy and can do so many things that sometimes there are almost too many options. He's got to keep the game simple."
Sorry, but the only thing I can think after reading that is...
I think some of us should chip in and have a "We're the Better Team" trophy made, and send it to D'Antoni.
8 year old bump
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