The bomb is remembered … but the bunnies were killers
April 20th, 2008, 11:22 pm · Post a Comment · posted by jerrybrown
A 3-point bomb by Tim Duncan will be the enduring memory of Game 1, but Manu Ginobili’s game-winning layup in the second overtime really told the story.
They were the 71st and 72nd points in the paint for San Antonio, the most the Suns have allowed all season and the lion’s share of the Spurs’ production in the 117-115 win. Many of them came after Suns big men Shaquille O’Neal, Amare Stoudemire and even Boris Diaw were saddled with fouls (eight between them in the first half), but the pick and roll was also a major culprit as the Suns were too slow on both ends to corral the speedy duo of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, who had too many uncontested layups to count.
”Our rim was pretty soft because we couldn’t afford to have those guys foul out,” guard Raja Bell said. “They’re a good team and they recongnized that. They put their head down an went to the bucket and they shot a higher percentage.”
And when San Antonio’s shooting percentage went up, Phoenix’s chances to rebound and scoring in transition went down. Phoenix had to rely more on their halfcourt offense down the stretch and only a late Hurculean effort by Steve Nash (20 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and the overtimes) kept the baskets coming.
At times, Diaw’s quickness and anticipation made him the most effective Sun inside defensively. But he’s not the answer over the long haul.
“You can’t have a 6-foot-8 center in the NBA playoffs and expect to be a successful team,” Nash said. “When Boris is our only big out there, you can’t expect him to dominate the basket like a Tim Duncan or Ben Wallace. When we had our bigs out there, their guards went six minutes without a basket, so foul trouble was a big part of it.’
But it isn’t the only thing that needs to improve. Having Grant Hill to defend Parker down the stretch would help — he had no success at all in a brief stint Saturday after aggravating his groin injury — would be a plus. But as Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni pointed out, the Spurs are going to get to the paint — because they always do.
”Tony Parker has made a living at the rim,” D’Antoni said. “No one’s figured it out yet. And there are going to be times that Ginobili gets to the rim. That’s life. But we can do a better job on them.”
