When the Bucks entered the fourth quarter against the Pacers, it looked like it was going to be an easy 12 minutes.  The Bucks were leading by 14 at the start of the fourth, and have only allowed 62 points to the Pacers.  However, the Pacers decided to make things interesting in the fourth quarter.  In fact, with 2:19 left a Solomon Jones dunk made the score 90-94, cutting the lead to 4 points.  The Bucks were reeling and they needed a bucket to try and put the game away.  This is the quick hitting play that they ran:

The Pacers tried to speed the pace up with a full court press.  It almost works, as the Bucks’ inbounder throws a pass to Carlos Delfino who is standing at halfcourt.  Delfino could have sped the ball up but knowing the situation (and how important this possession is), Delfino stops at halfcourt and waits for Jennings who meets the basketball.

Read more…

Every morning I will take an in-depth look at a game that happened the previous night.  The game that I pick is the one that I think was the best and most interesting one of the night/weekend.

Note:  I know everything is a little late today, sorry about that guys…

When you think the Suns, you think fastbreak points and three pointers.  However, against the Pacers, the Suns were outrun (Pacers +4 in fastbreak points) and outshot (Pacers +15 from three).

What The Pacers Did Right?

Hit The Threes

The Pacers were able to outscore the Suns by 15 points from the three point line.  A lot of it had to do with players smartly moving without the ball.  Finding open spots in the defense, and then when they got open shots, they knocked them down.

Earl Watson penetrates to the basket, and as this happens Jared Dudley turns his head to focus on the help.  Mike Dunleavy sees this and he floats to an open spot, making himself available for the pass.

As Watson makes the pass, Dudley turns to find Mike Dunleavy, but he isn’t where he was when Dudley first turned his head.  So Dudley has to find him before he closes out.

This split second to find him keeps Dudley from closes out on time, and that allows Mike Dunleavy to knock down the three point shot.

What The Suns Did Wrong?

They Didn’t Run

The Suns really struggled getting good looks in the open court last night.  Part of this was the Pacers, they shot well enough that it limited the Suns’ defensive rebound opportunities.  Also, the Pacers took really quick shots.  Even though they didn’t make most of them, the quick shots allowed for the Pacers to get back, leaving no room for the Suns to run:

The first thing to notice here is the shot clock, the Pacers pull this three pointer with only 3 seconds coming off the shot clock.

Grant Hill grabs the rebound, he turns and fires the ball ahead to Jason Richardson, usually this would lead to an open lay-up.  But because the Pacers took such a quick shot…

Four of them are already back on defense.  So instead of a wide-open lay-up, this turns into a 1 on 4 fast break.

Jason Richardson gets to the basket, and attempts a double-clutch lay-up.  He misses, and the Pacers get the rebound.

Here is another example:

The Pacers slowed it down a bit here.  They take a shot after running 5 seconds off the clock.  Notice how 3 other Pacers are behind the three point line, and as the shot goes up, they don’t crash the boards, they just drop back.

The Suns get the rebound and quickly put it into Steve Nash’s hands.

He brings it up and explores his options, but there is nothing there because the Pacers are all back on defense.  He kicks it out to Frye who misses a contested three pointer.  The Pacers did a terrific job at getting back on defense and forcing the Suns to score in the half court.  This is part of the reason they didn’t hit too many threes as well.  A lot of the Suns’ three pointers come in transition, because their transition options were limited, so were their three point shots.