To me, what won this game for us is the radical switch Pop made in how we guard the Suns man to man. If you noticed for the majority of the game he put Bruce on Nash instead of Marion.
This enabled Tony to guard Barbosa which works out for us because TP is the only guy we got fast enough to have a prayer of keeping up with him.
What shocked me is that the Suns weren't smart/aware enough to exploit the Marion-Finley matchup. We're used to Bruce locking up Marion, but Finley? Come on.
Keeping Bruce on Nash threw a little more length and height on him than he's used to (usually Tony gets him) and Bowen's earned enough respect from the refs to be able to be a little more physical with him too. I think Bruce's defense bothered Nash enough to throw the timing off on those bread and butter pick-and-rolls to Amare quite a bit.
No longer was it an automatic 40 points for Amare. To be sure the Suns had an off-night shooting it, but our defense, both half court and transition couldn't really be any better. Elson was a disaster offensively, but I thought he was pretty solid in his own end when he was in there and both he and Oberto rebounded well
Marion doesn't play well offensively in a half court set up when he has to create his own shots. He's great at shooting off of double teams, streaking to the goal and getting passes from Nash, etc. Tonight the Spurs took those things away and he was a non-factor.
Finley is not near Bruce's level defensively, but he's not a scrub either. He's got enough of the speed/size combination to bother Marion and make him change shots....probably the ideal matchup for the playoffs.
Shawn Marion may be the single most over-rated player in the league because of the system he plays in. He's paid as a franchise player, when in reality, he's a #3 at best. His offense is garbage putbacks and three pointers off kickouts, with some transition trash thrown in for good measure. Barry couldn't have pulled it off, but Finley is physical enough to bother him. BTW, FinDog got 10 boards last night. Marion got 6.
Bruce was great but the whole Spurs team defense was different. The Spurs made sure Nash had an escort or two whenever he was near the lane. The Spurs tried to cut off the slash from the top of the key. It's a big part of PHX's scheme after ball penetration...typically with Stoudamire but really with anyone moving without the ball. Cutting off the middle slash took away one of Nash's options for an assist.
BTW, I doubt Bruce's length bothered Nash that much. He's used to ending up with bigger guys on him when teams switch their screens. Bruce just was relentless, as usual, and got up into Steve as much as possible.
Especially when Manu is in the game, then Manu Ds up on Marion. Gino is the other Spurs player who matches up perfectly against him besides Bruce. Manu is faster than Marion and can contain him, especially when Nash is limited by Bowen.
I think Bowen's quick hands bothered Nash, and his ability to read the passes Stevie was about to make. I counted numerous deflections and re-directions that won't show up in the stat column, but definitely bothered Nash last night.
Shawn marion sucks. Spurs prove this time and time again. and on that note, Amare sucks too. Take Nash out of his game and Suns really suck.
I disagree. Shawn Marion is one of the few people who can defend Dirk. I would love to see this guy in a Spurs uni.
You're correct about his offense but he's a good defender & rebounder so I wouldn't say he's the most over-rated player in the league.
Marion is one of the most efficient players in the league.
He's in the top ten (7) in steals per game.
He's number 13 in rebounds per game.
He's number 12 in double doubles.
Time after time on their pick and roll, the passing lane wasn't open because when Nash looked for the man going to the basket, the Spurs player responsible played it so well defensively that the passing lane wasn't there. We got a lot of turnovers because the Spur player got the angle.
Instead of the Suns getting a parade of pick and roll successes, they only got a few. You have to expect Nash will get some assists, but they really frustrated their game last night.
By the way, I thought the Spurs all MOVED defensively with more speed than usually seen during the regular season. The pressure came early and late with few lapses whereas they usually don't play with that intensity until their behind in the 4th quarter. Very few lapses. Great effort.
So would I. But where would that leave Bruce?
Oh, I'd love to have him...if he made $5-6M per year. As it is, he's a cap killer, a player paid like a franchise player who isn't one. He can't create anything for himself or other players. Shawn Marion is a third option. He isn't even Pippin class.
Shawn Marion is a system player. He gets a lot of rebounds because Phoenix puts up a lot of shots. He gets 18 points per because Phoenix puts up a lot of shots. His offense isn't that much more ing refined than Bowen's, and while he's a good defender, he isn't Bowen class. , he spent most of the game on Parker last night. Look how well that worked out.
"San Antonio is a way better defensive team than Dallas is," Phoenix's Shawn Marion said.
well due to his age I would assume retired...obviously I am not saying he should be retired now but it is coming soon and it would be nice to have a guy like marion.
Shawn Marion is the reason why:
The Suns match up poorly against the Spurs --> Popovich understands intimately how to shut him down.
The Suns match up well against the Mavs --> Marion can defend Nowitzki.
Marion sucked simply because he did not get a good pass from Nash. Marion is nobody w/out Nash.
nobody matches well against dirlk and marion gives him the left side and dirk loves the left
Marion sucks so much without Nash that he was over 19 points and 9 rebounds each year during 3 years before Nash was with Phoenix.
'Nash' should be replaced with 'premium PG'. He did have someone named JKidd before Nash. The point is, he needs to have his points spoon fed to him. He isn't a creator. He's the consumate trashman: poaching the offensive boards or trailing the break.Marion sucks so much without Nash that he was over 19 points and 9 rebounds each year during 3 years before Nash was with Phoenix.
And Marbury is a premium PG ?
Marion spent a lot of the game in foul trouble and trying to help out defending Parker and Duncan at the other end...I'm sure that took a toll on him on the offensive end. Moreover, as everyone mentioned, no one on that Suns team with the possible exception of Barbosa or Diaw is capable of creating their own shot. Nash not tallying assists for easy baskets/Dunks because they paint was well guarded and the Spurs were cutting off Nash's Slashes (that ryhmes!) hurt the rest of the players. See Amare, Bell, etc. also had a tough night with Nash virtually helpless.
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