The Suns-Spurs game last night was a pretty good one as the Suns pulled out to a decent lead early, but the Spurs kept crawling back in it.  The final time was in the 4th quarter when the Spurs got the lead down to three points with about three minutes left.  After an Amar’e bucket that stretched the lead to 5, the Suns went cold (by there standards) not scoring for a good minute and a half.  That is when they decided to run one of their go to plays called “short.”

The play starts with Stoudemire setting a screen for Steve Nash.  Usually when a screen is set for Nash, the goal is to get Nash into the lane to create.  Not on this play though, here the screen and roll is used primarily as a decoy.  As the screen takes place, Grant Hill flashes to the ball side elbow while Jason Richardson fades from the corner to the weak-side wing.

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Now I love it when a team runs the same play twice in a row or more.  There is just something about it that says, “we are going to run this down your throat and it is up to you to stop it.”  It is also fun to watch the defense try to adjust to stop the play getting run over and over.  Late against the Blazers, the Suns ran a quick hitter to get Jason Richardson a good look at the rim.  It worked so well that the Suns decided to run it again the next time down the court:

After getting the ball on the side, Nash quickly enters it to Amar’e Stoudemire on the elbow.

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Throughout the playoffs, we are going to be looking at the teams that lost their last game and look at what they can do to try and get a win.

When you think of the Suns, you think of a fast-breaking run and gun style that leads to a ton of transition points.  However, according to Synergy (which is now available to everyone – and it’s awesome), the Suns only were able to score 4 points in transition on 7 opportunities.  The Blazers are trying so hard to contain the Suns transition game that when the Suns do get opportunities to score on the break, they really need to take advantage of it:

When you think about the Suns’ transition game, you think of the free-wheeling style where they aren’t afraid to pull jumpers running 1 on 3.  However, the Blazers did such a good job of getting back the entire game it seemed like the Suns tried to force their transition opportunities.  Here, Goran Dragic takes the inbounds pass and runs it upcourt.  Instead of hitting Leandro Barbosa on the wing, Dragic forces it and attempts a contested lay-up.  He misses it.

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For these playoff previews we are going to take a look at each team individually, and then we are going to look at the match-up.

Phoenix Suns

Strengths

What the Suns do well.

• Offense
• Transition Offense
• Three Point Shooting
• Pick and Roll
• Benchplay

Weaknesses

Some problems the Suns struggle with

• Defense
• Big man depth after Amar’e and Channing Frye
• Shot selection
• Open style leads them to blow big leads

Tendencies

Some things you are going to notice when watching the Suns play.

• The Suns love to run and gun, and they will open things up every chance they get.  What makes their style of fast break so difficult to stop is that they are willing to shot a 30 foot three on the break.  The defense can’t just run back to the rim to protect it, because if they do the Suns will shoot the three ball.
• Prepare to see a lot of Goran Dragic.  Steve Nash is going to need his rest, and when he gets it Dragic will be getting the action.

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The Phoenix Suns were down 8 with three minutes left.  They made a bunch of big plays to get themselves back into the game, only to give it away.  First let’s look at how they got back in it.

After an Antonio McDyess jumper to extend the lead to 8, the Suns took a timeout.  Now with three minutes left, 8 points is a pretty big lead, so on offense, you want to get the best quick shot you can.  That is exactly what the Suns do out of this timeout:

The first thing to notice is that Steve Nash lets the ball bounce all the way to half-court without touching it.  Even with 3 minutes left, every second is important, and Steve Nash understands this.

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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.