While Phoenix/San Antonio may not be the most intense series this postseason thus far (I'll award that to Dallas/Golden State), it is most certainly the most volatile. As an NBA fan, I'm actually glad to see it over. Too much whining, too much defamation, too many media stories harping on a played out good guy/bad guy scenario. So I'm going to try to do something few people did in the past weeks...examine the series from a purely basketball perspective (gasp!). Here are some of the things that stood out the most throughout the six games:
- Leandro Barbosa was completely taken out of his game by the Spurs defense. He would continuously drive baseline, even though it's exactly where the Spurs wanted to push him. Smart move, doing exactly what the defense wants. Great athlete, but still has a long ways to go in learning the game. That 6th man of the year award isn't looking too bright after Manu's 33 point, 10 rebound game, is it? As good as Barbosa is, you can't run an offense through him. You can do that through Manu Ginobili, and when he's on, he's one of the best playmakers in the game.
- Steve Nash should have shot more for the Suns. They needed 22-28 points a game from him to win the series. After giving him a quick 10 straight points in the fourth quarter, Bowen finally came to his senses and defended the pull up 3 point shot. How do you even let him shoot that? It's his patented move...just like a Duncan bank shot or a Dirk Nowitzki pump fake. It took Bowen long enough to adjust, but once he did, the Suns run came to an end.
- When analysts talk about Tim Duncan's leadership, they say he simply "leads by example". That's a cop out. He's the quarterback of the team, constantly yelling, telling guys where to be, and giving out adjustments during timeouts. He absolutely laid into Finley after Finley blew an assignment that gave the Suns an open three. That's not just leading by example, that's vocal, in-your-face Jordan type of leadership. The guy has a competitive fire that nobody gives him credit for.
- Jalen Rose didn't play at all this series. Why not even give the guy a chance in game 5? You signed him for the playoffs, didn't you? He's your best passing guard behind Nash, and the team lost their secondary primary ballhandler in Diaw (who may as well have been suspended for 2 games after his 1 point performance in game 2). Rose has also been to the NBA Finals and played well there, so I doubt he would choke under the intensity of the series. At least give him 5 minutes to see if he can contribute early in the series before giving up on the guy.
- Speaking of Rose, he used to shout "Money" every time he shot a jumper before he even landed at U of Michigan. Gilbert Arenas and his "Hibachi" owe something to Rose.
- Speaking of Diaw, that offseason extension by the Suns is looking a tad sketchy, isn't it? Especially for a team that will be close to 10 million over the cap next year. Especially for a player that showed up out of shape this year and was pushed around by players smaller than him all series. Yikes.
- Say goodbye to Shawn Marion or Amare Stoudemire this offseason, because it's clear that they won't win with this nucleus, and Phoenix doesn't want to fall even deeper into the luxury tax. My bet is Marion. I may write another article about this in the offseason, because they are in cap hell.
- Who does Tony Parker think he is? Hitting clutch jumpers in two straight games? This guy used to be too shy to shoot in their old playoff runs. Good sign for Spurs fans, despite his 11-27 performance he stayed aggressive to the very end and only had 1 turnover (that's like David Hasselhoff having "one" drink).
- The Spurs won by going small. And trust me, Spurs fans hate to see their team going small. That's how ineffective Francisco Elson was (Oberto, on the other hand, played great but picked up foul trouble on several occasions).
- The Suns almost changed the outcome of game 6 on a great adjustment that they should have been doing since game 3. When it became evident that Parker was nailing his jumper, they decided to double Duncan from the weak side instead of the strong side (meaning doubling from the opposite corner instead of doubling with the guy closest to Duncan when he gets the ball). Good move, since the Suns are quick enough to rotate to the shooters, but why do you wait until game 6 to do it? Shouldn't this be done in every clutch 4th quarter for the entire series? On that same note...
- Popovich outcoached Mike D'Antoni. Game 2 was the only exception, but the game was so much of a blowout it didn't even matter. The difference? D'Antoni makes defensive adjustments at half time, Popovich does it during every timeout.
- Leandro Barbosa was completely taken out of his game by the Spurs defense. He would continuously drive baseline, even though it's exactly where the Spurs wanted to push him. Smart move, doing exactly what the defense wants. Great athlete, but still has a long ways to go in learning the game. That 6th man of the year award isn't looking too bright after Manu's 33 point, 10 rebound game, is it? As good as Barbosa is, you can't run an offense through him. You can do that through Manu Ginobili, and when he's on, he's one of the best playmakers in the game.
- Steve Nash should have shot more for the Suns. They needed 22-28 points a game from him to win the series. After giving him a quick 10 straight points in the fourth quarter, Bowen finally came to his senses and defended the pull up 3 point shot. How do you even let him shoot that? It's his patented move...just like a Duncan bank shot or a Dirk Nowitzki pump fake. It took Bowen long enough to adjust, but once he did, the Suns run came to an end.
- When analysts talk about Tim Duncan's leadership, they say he simply "leads by example". That's a cop out. He's the quarterback of the team, constantly yelling, telling guys where to be, and giving out adjustments during timeouts. He absolutely laid into Finley after Finley blew an assignment that gave the Suns an open three. That's not just leading by example, that's vocal, in-your-face Jordan type of leadership. The guy has a competitive fire that nobody gives him credit for.
- Jalen Rose didn't play at all this series. Why not even give the guy a chance in game 5? You signed him for the playoffs, didn't you? He's your best passing guard behind Nash, and the team lost their secondary primary ballhandler in Diaw (who may as well have been suspended for 2 games after his 1 point performance in game 2). Rose has also been to the NBA Finals and played well there, so I doubt he would choke under the intensity of the series. At least give him 5 minutes to see if he can contribute early in the series before giving up on the guy.
- Speaking of Rose, he used to shout "Money" every time he shot a jumper before he even landed at U of Michigan. Gilbert Arenas and his "Hibachi" owe something to Rose.
- Speaking of Diaw, that offseason extension by the Suns is looking a tad sketchy, isn't it? Especially for a team that will be close to 10 million over the cap next year. Especially for a player that showed up out of shape this year and was pushed around by players smaller than him all series. Yikes.
- Say goodbye to Shawn Marion or Amare Stoudemire this offseason, because it's clear that they won't win with this nucleus, and Phoenix doesn't want to fall even deeper into the luxury tax. My bet is Marion. I may write another article about this in the offseason, because they are in cap hell.
- Who does Tony Parker think he is? Hitting clutch jumpers in two straight games? This guy used to be too shy to shoot in their old playoff runs. Good sign for Spurs fans, despite his 11-27 performance he stayed aggressive to the very end and only had 1 turnover (that's like David Hasselhoff having "one" drink).
- The Spurs won by going small. And trust me, Spurs fans hate to see their team going small. That's how ineffective Francisco Elson was (Oberto, on the other hand, played great but picked up foul trouble on several occasions).
- The Suns almost changed the outcome of game 6 on a great adjustment that they should have been doing since game 3. When it became evident that Parker was nailing his jumper, they decided to double Duncan from the weak side instead of the strong side (meaning doubling from the opposite corner instead of doubling with the guy closest to Duncan when he gets the ball). Good move, since the Suns are quick enough to rotate to the shooters, but why do you wait until game 6 to do it? Shouldn't this be done in every clutch 4th quarter for the entire series? On that same note...
- Popovich outcoached Mike D'Antoni. Game 2 was the only exception, but the game was so much of a blowout it didn't even matter. The difference? D'Antoni makes defensive adjustments at half time, Popovich does it during every timeout.
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