Who are these guys?
November 21st, 2008, 10:18 am · Post a Comment · posted by jerrybrown
Steve Nash was working as hard after the game to spin the Suns struggles as he did to try to smooth things on the during the game Thursday night. Neither attempt was successful.
Trotting out the “work in progress” line yet again and trying to turn the conversation toward the baby steps of improvement for the defense was rough sledding. The toughest challenge came when national writers were asking the two-time MVP and heartbeat of the team if he felt “marginalized” by an offense that so far as turned him into little more than a dribble-and-dump point guard.
After years of being handed the keys by Don Nelson and Mike D’Antoni, he admitted “I’m just trying to fill my role now.”
Hmm. Is Kobe Bryant trying to fill a role? How about Tim Duncan or Dirk Nowitzki?
Raja Bell tried a different tact, refusing to address questions pertaining to the offense. Whether this was a response to a recently public plea from general manager Steve Kerr to stop talking to the media and address all concerns internally or if the point was made clearer in private is unclear. But in either case, the message has been delivered.
But we’ve heard from those precincts before. Their general discomfort for Terry Porter’s system and frustration about leaving what worked so well for four seasons behind has been reiterated since training camp.
The new wrinkle after the 105-92 drubbing at the hands of the Lakers Thursday came from Amare Stoudemire, by far the most vocal critic of D’Antoni’s system and proponent of Porter’s way on both ends of the floor. After needing 21 shots to collect 21 points and reaching the free throw line, Stoudemire sounded almost melancholy about the old days, taking about how effective the Suns fastbreak was with him as a center and the team exploiting mismatches with their speed and precision.
Now, it’s on Stoudemire and Shaquille O’Neal to deliver inside. And when Stoudemire misses a half dozen bunnies inside and the rest of the Suns are cold from the outside, the Suns look like a pretender in any sense of the word.
Gone are the days when the double-digit deficit could be wiped out before an opposing coach could get a timeout called. When the Suns fall behind by eight points, it feels like 18. When back-to-back 3-pointers by Vladamir Radmanovic (who used the Suns as his own personal slumpbuster Thursday) and Derek Fisher pushed an eight-point lead to 14 last in the third quarter, the Suns were done.
The Suns used to trade baskets until opponents could no longer keep up. Now they are trading stops until their defense – which is better but by no means a strong point – falters for a sequence of possessions.
Don’t expect any major changes. Management isn’t blinking. Kerr and Porter fully expected the Suns to struggle through the first month or two of the season, and were pleasantly surprised that the turnovers and other hiccups didn’t cost more wins during a 7-2 start. But when the level of competition stiffened while the offense was still groping through the fog, the turnovers wound up in their basket and the shots weren’t as easy to find.
The big losers in all of this are the two rookies who were supposed to be nightly fixtures in the rotation. The Suns can’t deal with the growing pains of Goran Dragic and Robin Lopez when the veteran regulars are making enough mistakes for. It’s pretty hard for Nash and O’Neal and others act as mentors when their most-often response to questions is: “Your guess is as good as mine.”
The Suns looked the most cohesive all season in the opener at San Antonio. They executed in the half court. They ran with a smaller lineup, with Nash dancing through the lane and creating shots off the fly. And at the end of the game, they rammed the pick and roll down the Spurs’ throats. With each passing game, they have looked less and less comfortable.
Look for some subtle changes. The first came with Sean Singletary bumping Dragic to the end of the bench. That may allow Porter to go back to Grant Hill as a starter – where he is much more effective and happy – and put Barnes with the second unit since the need for a third ball handler on the floor with Singletary and Boris Diaw on the floor is lessened.
With Barnes slowed by back spasms Thursday, the change could come under the guise of an injury move Saturday against the Blazers. But the Suns are 4-1 with Hill as a starter (the only loss game when Barnes and O’Neal sat out a loss at Chicago) and Hill is averaging 12.5 points and seven rebounds in those games.
Barnes is a good player and brings a lot to the team. But Hill just works better with the first unit. The Suns are quicker and get out on the break faster. The ball swings better around the perimeter and the passing opens up early shots for Raja Bell.
But tweaks will only do so much. The Suns have to run when O’Neal is sitting, and they have to spend time in practice playing at that tempo to get used to it again. After playing 12 games in 20 days to start the season, the schedule eases back a bit in December and will give the team more time to iron out the problems. Getting Leandro Barbosa back will help too.
