A Bench and Better D

[JPlay]

Finally it seems as if D'Antoni has found confidence to play the bench and has solidified a set rotation. The second unit plays much better defense and can score consistently with JJax handling the ball. The starting unit has been rebounding better and playing much better defense. The win against Detroit was huge and I think the Suns learned a lot about defense, rebounding and focus. This gives me a lot more hope that we can go deep in the playoffs against physical teams that are defense oriented.

 

[Goldfield]

I agree 100% they have been a different team since that win.

It is hard to believe but AI think they are playing their best basketball right now and that is perfect going into the playoffs!


Lets hope they stay FOCUSED...

 

[seattle_sunsfan]

True enough. And there is a weird dynamic going on lately. In some situations, the Suns are actually playing better with Nash on the bench. Their defense is better for one thing. Last night when Nash came back in the game in the 4th qtr, I detected a definite drop in overall play. This in no way is a put-down on Nash. Most times he is simply spectacular. But he's still injured and it does seem to take it's toll. His game is a very high risk adventure. How many guys can run into the lane, get airborne, turn around and find an outlet like Nash? At times, however, it doesn't always pan out. He forces a lot of shots sometimes.

But it is very refreshing to see the bench come in and actually build a lead. This was simply unheard of a couple months ago. Credit Barbs, Jackson and Hunter.
If the Suns go all the way, the newfound bench will be one of the reasons.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It seems that they have finally found a formula for when Nash is on the bench. There is no way they could play the same offense they do when Nash is at the point.

During the last part of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4 th last night, LB would bring the ball up court and then pass to JJ. JJ ran the half court offense. They let their fast breaks come off of their defense. To me, it looks like the coaches have figured out how to put our reserves in their own system --and it is working.

I am quite encouraged by this. I would love for our reserves to be another option--another look, rather than just necessary floor pieces in order to give the starters a rest.

We have a solid 9 man rotation. That's really all the depth you need (maybe more than you need) going into the playoffs.

 

[cly2tw]

Folks, if anyone has read any of my posts here, they would find that I have been stating it all along that DA needed to trust his bench more and to cut back on Nash's min. After each loss since the home one to Spurs, I would find that the bench was doing well (at least holding it even most of the time improving the scores) in late 3rd and early 4th, but DA would put Nash back in way too early, so that we wouldn't have energy left for the last couple of min. or the overtime to win out. It's always the same pattern, the lastest being the Celtic game.

In the Detroit game, he kind of had no other option but trusting his bench, due to Nash's hamstring problem, which turned out to be blessing in disguise. In addition, DA finally realized JoeJ's failure at running the offense in Nash's absence and trusted JimJ with the ball for that great comeback. With fresh legs, Nash nailed the 3 pt without driving like crazy into the paint as usural, maybe due to his hamstring again. All of a sudden, we discovered the virtue of "less is sometime more" by resting Nash both in playing time and playing style!!

 

[George O'Brien]

One of the things about the post All Star schedule is that the Suns have had a lot more time off. This has given D'Antoni the opportunity to work with the guys on stuff which couldn't be done during the impossible January schedule.

Developing an offense that wasn't dependent on Nash had to have been a high priority. Perhaps having D'Antoni stay home over the All Star break to work with the backup guys was a blessing. It should be noted the Suns have failed to score 110 or more only once since the break, and that was the Piston's game where the Suns scored 34 in the fourth quarter.

BTW, the Suns defense is almost always better when their offense is working, because other teams capitalize on missed jumped shots.

 

[coloradosun]

But it is very refreshing to see the bench come in and actually build a lead. This was simply unheard of a couple months ago. Credit Barbs, Jackson and Hunter.
If the Suns go all the way, the newfound bench will be one of the reasons.

More correctly, newly acquired bench (JJ and McCarty) and more experienced bench (LB and Hunter). There is no way the bench we had before the trades could ever produce as much and there has been some benefit to Nash sitting out a few games to bolster Barbosa's confidence. Hunter has been making aggressive mistakes vs. passive mistakes, I think the coaches have done a good job of working on his focus.

 

[asudevil83]

i think with hunter, even a month ago, he was afraid to make any sort of mistake....and i think D'Antoni was even more critical of hunter than anyone else. but it seems like over the past weeks hunter has become much more agressive, and the mistakes that he does make arent as critical to D'Antoni.

 

[JCSunsfan]

One of the things about the post All Star schedule is that the Suns have had a lot more time off. This has given D'Antoni the opportunity to work with the bench.

That's a great point GO. Earlier in the season, we just did not have the personnel. Now, with the lighter schedule and more practice time, MD has had enough practice time with his bench be comfortable with their abilities and develop an offensive system that works for them.

Everyone is benefitting.