First, I do not believe the Suns lost to the Spurs because of the Shaq trade. That was a calculated gamble, but I do not think it changed the Suns offense as dramatically as some believe. I think the Suns' offense has been influx since Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson left. When the Suns put Nash, JJ, Richardson, Marion and Stoudemire on the floor, everyone was a threat to score and four players were a threat to make the three-point shot. Defenses could not help off of anyone.
When Richardson and JJ left, the Suns tried to become more conventional without losing their originality completely. Raja Bell developed into the shooter to replace Richardson, but the Suns never found that additional piece on the wing to replace JJ.
When they played Marion, Diaw and Stoudemire together, they lacked the spacing. Diaw is not a shooter and Marion is a good shooter for a power forward, but not as great for a wing. Suddenly, the spacing was not as good and they had to run more conventional sets, like the Horns play, and pass the ball one or two more times to get an open shot.
When they added Grant Hill, he was supposed to be the answer at the three. But, he's not a great three-pt shooter and he is not as dynamic as he once was. He did not space the floor any more than Diaw or Kurt Thomas last season.
So, the Suns dealt Marion for Shaq. Sure, shaq congests the lane in some ways. But, no help defender will leave his body. So, he really doesn't. The Suns run a pick and roll on the right side with Shaq on the left block and the help defender will not leave Shaq. In fact, he is more apt to leave Kurt Thomas open for a 12-ft jump shot last season or Boris Diaw for a 15-ft jump shot this year than leave Shaq at the block.
The change, then, is not so much the acquisition of Shaq but the failure to sign, draft or develop a true shooter at the small forward position and/or another dynamic scorer like JJ. Barbosa filled the role at times, but he's been inconsistent.
For all the talk of the Suns being exciting and changing the game, they don't play that different than the Spurs. They do not throw the home run pass as much as Nash did with Marion or Barbosa, but in the half court, they do the same things.
The Spurs run pick and rolls and spread the court. They put shooters in the corner and let Duncan, Parker and Ginobili work the middle. The difference betwen the Spurs and the Suns, now, is that Duncan remains a superior player, especially defensively, to Stoudemire and Ginobili is the dynamic scorer and shooter the Suns do not have. The Suns have Bell, but the Spurs have Bowen, Barry and Udoka. That means Hill and Barbosa fill Ginobili's role, but even together, they fail to add the intangibles that Ginobili brings.
Second, I cannot believe people think the Spurs are boring and the Suns saved the league. The Suns just are not as exciting as we believe them to be. They were amazing when they had JJ and Richardson. But, do people really like watching Diaw and Hill these days? Ginobili is arguably the most eciting player in th league, and certainly the most creative, and Parker is close, especialy in the play-offs and even though nobody ever mentions his name, it would be hard to convince me he is not the 2nd best point guard in the league right now. And, Duncan is only the best power forward (who plays center, but whatever) to ever play in the NBA. Why do people not enjoy this tam?
Third, according to reports, D'Antoni will be fired. The TNT crew, especially Barkley, seem to believe the Suns do not play defense because D'Antoni does not want them to play defense. I do not believe it is the Suns lck of desire. I think the Suns have poor defensive personnel. Nash is a good help defender, but not a great on-ball defender. Stoudemire is a terrible help defender. Terrible. Diaw is an average to poor defender. Barbosa is not a bad defender, though not great, but he gives up a lot of size when he plays his better position, shooting guard.
The trade for Shaq was to acquire a presence inside on defense and he did it in spurts. However, he still does not defend the pick-and-roll. If the Suns want to be a defensive team, it's not about firing D'Antoni, it's about acquiring a young, athletic center to protect the rim, like a Dasagna Diop or even Ronnie Turiaf. Of course, moving to a more defensive line-up hurts the spacing.
According to True Hoop, Jack McCallum wrote:
There has also been whispers of D'Antoni's taking over in Toronto, where Sam Mitchell's coaching future is an ongoing discussion and where Bryan Colangelo, D'Antoni's former boss in Phoenix and still a close friend, is calling the shots. But Toronto doesn't seem as comfortable a fit for D'Antoni as Chicago or even New York. Don't look for that to happen."
What? The Knicks fit D'Antoni more than the Raptors? Let's see, in Jose Calderon, Toronto has a poor man's Steve Nash entering his prime. At the 3, the Raps have Jason Kapono, the best three-point shooter in the NBA. At the 2, they have Parker who can shoot and defend. At the 4, they have Chris Bosh, the do-everything pick-and-pop or pick-and-roll player. And, at the 5, they have Andrea Bargnani who can shoot the three or attack the basket. I don't see another line-up, including the Suns, more well-suited for D'Antoni (except maybe Atlanta).
The Bulls would be interesting, but Deng presents the same problem as a 3 as Hill in that he is not a great three-point shooter. Plus, Deng is the cornerstone of the franchise, so it's hard to rely on Hinrich every possession and go possessions without getting Deng touches. They have some athletic bigs to run the pick-and-roll, but they lack a big who shoots the ball well enough to spread the floor and Gordon is not a consistent scorer and resembles Barbosa. Nocioni is an idea fit, but only as a four, like Marion, not at the three, which again makes for a small team.
Given the choice, I'd gamble on Toronto, if the job becomes available, especially with D'Antoni's relationship with Colangelo.
Final point, that few make: the Spurs are and have been the best team in the NBA. Sure, other franchises want to work to close the gap. But, does losing to the best team in the NBA in the play-offs mean that a franchise should fire the coach?
4 comments:
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Excellent points as usual, Mr. McCormick. The Suns are not the same as they were three years ago, and perhaps it was this series where many people really came to understand that the Suns are not the same. Having Shaq out there made it undeniable.
I think it's disappointing that D'Antoni receives the blame when the Suns have continued to sell draft picks for money. Sergio Rodriguez. Rudy Fernandez. Rajon Rondo. Luol Deng. All players drafted with the Suns' picks.
It's the same in Dallas. Dallas is a very old team because of the Jason Kidd trade. before the trade, the nucleus was hitting its prime wih Harris, Howard, Diop, Nowitski and Bass with Terry and Stack. Now, with Kidd, the Mavs look like an old team past its prime ready to rebuild.
I still think the Shaq trade was a good trade because the Suns were going to lose Marion this year or next anyway and they were not going to beat the Spurs with marion instead of Shaq. So, they gambled, which was the right gamble.
Dallas, otoh, mortgaged its future to win this year and did not improve its team in the process, plus lost 2 draft picks which handicap its ability to move forward.
As a Phoenix fan, I wish they had Rodriguez and Fernandez stashed in Europe ready to breathe life into the organization along with the Atlanta pick. Those additions could provide the spark, depth and talent influx Phoenix needs for one more push, and provide the foundation for the future once Nash and Shaq retire. Looking 2-3 years ahead, having Stoudemire, Rodriguez, Barbosa and Fernandez in their prime together is not a bad situation with the ability to use some free agent money to sign a C in a couple years or even gamble on Robin Lopez or someone similar in this year's draft with Atlanta's pick. And just look at the marketing for the Latino population with a potential 2011 starting line-up with Rodriguez, Fernandez and Lopez.
It will be interesting to see if Phoenix addresses their long term center needs by taking someone like Lopez or Kosta Koufos or if they go after someone who could step-in at the three and be a shooter like Chase Budinger, Nicolas Batum or Donte Green.
If they hadn't given away their pick to Seattle to get rid of Kurt Thomas - how'd that work out - they could go after a center with the Hawks pick and someone like Brandon Rush or Courtney Lee with their pick and add a long term center solution to back-up Shaq and a possible shooter at the 3 position which they have lacked.
However, with all these management mistakes and cheapness displayed by the owner, it's the coaching that's the problem. Right.
I thought about asking about the selling of all the draft picks, but thought, "eh, that was pre-Kerr". I'd forgotten about the Kurt Thomas deal, and that was done by Kerr. It must not be primarily the GM but the owner behind these things.
I wonder how "on the same page" Kerr and Sarver are? Because Kerr will find it difficult to do good basketball this way.
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