How does Kurt Thomas starting the game for the Suns change the way the Spurs attack?
I think that there will be more pick and roll sets at the top of the key with Tony/Manu & Tim. Finley, Bowen and even Barry will have a field day with the collapsing defense trying to stop Tony. The lack of athleticism with Thomas in the game favors the Spurs heavily.
I dont think our plan of attack changes too much, Phoenix on the other hand is going to be forced to play our style of game and try to win with a score I'm guessing will be in the 90's. If they really believe all they needed was a bit more hustle to beat us on Sunday when they only lost by 5 I dont see why D'Antoni is already bailing on his lineup
oh i agree with you totally...its not that we are changing things really, but utilizing the pick and roll more from certain spots on the floor forcing the Suns to make a decision on how they want to get beat...
I think you are right, D'antoni is changing his lineup when he shouldn't.
Because the Suns are a much better defensive team with him in the lineup. Amare was the only one doing anything on the boards in the last game, and we need the interior presence that KT brings against Duncan. He also boxes out well, hits the 15' jumper regularly, and plays the P&R very well.
Kurt Thomas was specificially signed after the '05 season because of the beatdown you guys gave us in '05. He damn well better be getting minutes.
He's springing a trap on the Spurs. They'll never see the shut down defense coming. Spurs will be lucky to get to 90 after D'Antoni tells his team before the game to "play defense", "play hard on defense", and "hustle on the defensive end". When you're that great of a coach that's all it takes.
Wow. Pop has forced D'Antonio to go "big". I love it.
I'm picking up on your sarcasm.
Whether their D improves with him in thel ineup or not the fact is the Phoenix tempo is going to be significantly slower, and Nash is going to have a ton of pressure on him to create shots for his teammates. I say stick Bruce on him and force Marion/Bell/Amare to create and work for their own shots. Marion is not much more than a lankier Bruce Bowen in my eyes, stick someone on him to prevent the three and pretty much just stay in his way. I'm just sick of Nash getting wide open looks off of that p&r, I dont expect Pop feels any different and Nash will be lucky if he gets 2 of those shots again tonight
It is a good sign that Phoenix is adjusting to us, rather than the other way around, like last year.
If Phoenix could score as much with Thomas as they can with Diaw and JJ getting his minutes, don't you think they would have been playing this lineup uall year?
Thomas is going to slow down their attack. I noticed that Phoenix easily makes most of their shots/drives early in the shot clock, to encourage a fast pace to the game. One telling example; I remember one play where Nash drove in and was stopped, then he passed it off to Bell who drove in and was stopped. Bell passed the ball to Nash who then reset the play; THERE WERE STILL 14 SECONDS ON THE CLOCK! The spurs often are just starting their 1st atack on the basket by that time!
Thomas is just not built for this type of offense. Phoenix is almost better off with him staying back on D waiting...poor guy will just be making it to half court when the ball is already coming back again! He can run for 15-20 minutes, but will be gassed if he runs for 30 minutes..dude is a dinosaur.
Thomas will help on duncan, and will make better team-d decisions, but he has not played extended minutes all year so to ask him to play the next 4 or 5 is a big change for their team and asking alot of this guy.
I am curious how he stays out of foul trouble.
The spurs should also be able to cheat on him defensively, so this SHOULD make things easier on the spurs Team D.
Maybe, maybe not. KT basically played one quarter in the last game, and they scored 31 points that quarter. The Suns need to not allow second, third chances on the offensive end. In fact that one series, the Spurs got 7 offensive rebounds. Nash is the one that controls the tempo. If we have KT shagging the rebounds, it gives Marion, and less importantly Amare to get out on the fast break after KT's outlet pass.
I don't think they need Kurt Thomas to run the floor on offense. He is going to be in the game to play defense and to rebound. They are going to have four other guys on the floor who will be looking to run.
four guys running the break....against the Spurs....the team that has the best defense (transition D as well) in the league. Spurs win
Anyway, the Suns are 7-0 with the Thomas-Stoudemire-Marion-Bell-Nash lineup. They used it five times in February and twice in March, the last time being a March 30 125-108 home win against Denver."
You can't really cheat off of Thomas in the half-court either. He's made his career knocking down those little mid-range jumpers.
That being said...that's about all he can do offensively, pick and pop.
this is not a bad move for the suns. Statistically it is the best move, he defends duncan the best as well as Parker off of the pick and roll. We will need Finley, Barry and Bruce to hit their open shots to take advantage of KT getting more run.
I actually like the fact that the Suns have publicly stated that KT was aquired to play Duncan. I have the impression that most Suns fans seem to think that KT will make a huge difference. What's going to happen is that TD is going to tire of the ' TD stopper' talk and proceed to dominate KT. That's my prediction and I'm sticking to it!
Duncan usually doesnt have a two "bad" games at a row against an opponent. He usually figures out a way to beat them, either from inside or out.
I hope this follows the Ruben patterson "kobe stopper" crap he was spewing. Kobe took it as a personal challenge and lit up Paterson for the entire series.
Last edited by George Gervin's Afro; 05-08-2007 at 12:00 PM.
I agree with what has pretty much already been stated.
1- The Suns will slow down and score less. Probably somewhere around 85-92.
2- Duncan will take this as a challenge; even being doubled. If he can play
quarterback then we're good
3- The Suns are already adjusting to us, so this only helps the Spurs
Doesn't effect us at all...he'll get two quick fouls within the first three minutes
Good news. Teams adjusting to Spurs ball, instead of us panicking with doomed concepts such as small ball.
That's an interesting stat that I didn't know about.
Thanks
Last edited by dreamcastrocks; 05-08-2007 at 11:25 AM.
If Duncan resorted to passing, Manu should be able to go out on the offensive end.
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