DeAnna
Just A Face in The Crowd
Funny...I thought the same thing...go for the win!
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/sports/columnists/cs-070103smithsub,1,3239174.column?coll=cs-home-headlines
Bulls fall short, stymie Suns' up-tempo style
Sam Smith
On Pro Basketball
January 3, 2007
The Bulls were ready to send a message to the Western Conference, to those flying Phoenix Suns who come with hype and cause other teams hypertension: Don't bring that sissy run-and-shoot stuff in here.
That was until Leandro Barbosa hit what he said was his best shot since he played in Brazil, a straight-on three-pointer that ruined a wonderful night for the Bulls even as it provided spectacular entertainment to those who witnessed a terrific 97-96 Suns victory.
"We had watched Boise State (winning the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night with dramatic final plays) and said, `Let's go for it too. It worked for them, why not us,'" relieved Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We decided to go for the win. Either win it or lose it, and it worked this time."
It worked, unfortunately against Ben Gordon in perhaps his best pro game with 41 points. He got picked as Barbosa inbounded the ball and slipped under the screener, leaving Barbosa the opening he needed.
But that was just a snapshot in an album filled with wonderful moments, most for the Bulls in a game they not only appeared to have won but clearly played well enough to win.
"They did a great job of making it difficult for me," said Steve Nash, who had 11 points and 13 assists in a poor game--for him. "The bigs stayed with me. They double-teamed the pick-and-rolls and played really hard. They made us hesitate."
It was just the fifth time this season the Suns, leading the league in scoring at more than 111 points per game, were held below 100 points.
It should have been enough to beat the Suns with Gordon almost unstoppable down the stretch as he bounced off defenders and scored on the inside moves and toughness that had been missing from his game before this season.
Playing hard is the cliched phrase for the Bulls' play, and one has to ask sometimes why everyone just doesn't play hard.
But to win you have to play hard with a plan and a purpose.
The Bulls had it Tuesday, and it was good enough to keep double-digit leads for much of the second half. But credit the supposedly defenseless Suns as well. The Bulls were outscored 54-41 in the second half and shot 37.1 percent.
"We held them to 18 in the third and 23 in the fourth," D'Antoni said. "They say we can't do that, but we can and we did. But until we win [a championship], they'll say that about us. Like the Bulls with the Pistons [in the 1980s]. They knew they were tough enough and good enough to beat them, but you have to win. We know we have to prove it."
This Bulls team must do so as well, though Tuesday it showed it is not that far away.
What was most impressive was the way they took the Suns out of their game by attacking the elusive Nash, a tactic the Bulls used to perfection in winning championships in the 1990s. They employed the cut-off-the-head-of-the-snake thing, though it's not easy. That's why they're called snakes.
Nash wiggles around with the best of them as the Suns use an effective high-screen-roll that opens the court for them. The Bulls squashed it for just about the entire game.
Chris Duhon may have had one of the best two-point, 1-for-7 shooting games ever.
He was the prime defender shadowing Nash with Kirk Hinrich out. The key to the defense is not getting caught up or blocked off by the screen, and Duhon persisted in going over it or simply pushing through it. The Suns screeners gave ground to the relentless Bulls effort. The Bulls' strategy included a big man coming out to reroute Nash and then squeezing him into a shorter side of the court with the Bulls' defense packing in the middle.
That limited the open space for Suns shooters. The Bulls' defenders were thus able to close quicker and force the Suns into 41.4 percent shooting, their second-worst performance of the season.
"They're long and cover a lot of ground," D'Antoni said. "Nothing was easy and they sped us up to where when you get an open shot against a team like that you have to knock them down. And we didn't."
The Suns did in the end, though they would not have gotten there without a monstrous effort from Amare Stoudemire down the stretch. In the last five minutes he made a layup, then stole the ball from Andres Nocioni, rebounded a Nash miss and converted two free throws after a foul, hit a short hook in the lane and then, with the Bulls up two with 21 seconds left, rebounded a Barbosa miss and tipped the ball in.
"My game is evolving," said Stoudemire, who had 24 points and 18 rebounds after he had spent time before the game watching ESPN broadcasters comment that he couldn't handle Ben Wallace. "I did have my doubts (after serious knee surgery). It makes you appreciate the game more when you are close to not returning to where you were."
Stoudemire may be even better because where once he was a spectator on defense, now he is a participant.
Once the Bulls were spectators against the best. Now they are participating.
The next step is the tough one. You have to win these kinds of games.
[email protected]
Copyright © 2007, The Chicago Tribune
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[/FONT]/sports/columnists/cs-070103smithsub,1,3239174.column?coll=cs-home-headlines
Bulls fall short, stymie Suns' up-tempo style
Sam Smith
On Pro Basketball
January 3, 2007
The Bulls were ready to send a message to the Western Conference, to those flying Phoenix Suns who come with hype and cause other teams hypertension: Don't bring that sissy run-and-shoot stuff in here.
That was until Leandro Barbosa hit what he said was his best shot since he played in Brazil, a straight-on three-pointer that ruined a wonderful night for the Bulls even as it provided spectacular entertainment to those who witnessed a terrific 97-96 Suns victory.
"We had watched Boise State (winning the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night with dramatic final plays) and said, `Let's go for it too. It worked for them, why not us,'" relieved Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We decided to go for the win. Either win it or lose it, and it worked this time."
It worked, unfortunately against Ben Gordon in perhaps his best pro game with 41 points. He got picked as Barbosa inbounded the ball and slipped under the screener, leaving Barbosa the opening he needed.
But that was just a snapshot in an album filled with wonderful moments, most for the Bulls in a game they not only appeared to have won but clearly played well enough to win.
"They did a great job of making it difficult for me," said Steve Nash, who had 11 points and 13 assists in a poor game--for him. "The bigs stayed with me. They double-teamed the pick-and-rolls and played really hard. They made us hesitate."
It was just the fifth time this season the Suns, leading the league in scoring at more than 111 points per game, were held below 100 points.
It should have been enough to beat the Suns with Gordon almost unstoppable down the stretch as he bounced off defenders and scored on the inside moves and toughness that had been missing from his game before this season.
Playing hard is the cliched phrase for the Bulls' play, and one has to ask sometimes why everyone just doesn't play hard.
But to win you have to play hard with a plan and a purpose.
The Bulls had it Tuesday, and it was good enough to keep double-digit leads for much of the second half. But credit the supposedly defenseless Suns as well. The Bulls were outscored 54-41 in the second half and shot 37.1 percent.
"We held them to 18 in the third and 23 in the fourth," D'Antoni said. "They say we can't do that, but we can and we did. But until we win [a championship], they'll say that about us. Like the Bulls with the Pistons [in the 1980s]. They knew they were tough enough and good enough to beat them, but you have to win. We know we have to prove it."
This Bulls team must do so as well, though Tuesday it showed it is not that far away.
What was most impressive was the way they took the Suns out of their game by attacking the elusive Nash, a tactic the Bulls used to perfection in winning championships in the 1990s. They employed the cut-off-the-head-of-the-snake thing, though it's not easy. That's why they're called snakes.
Nash wiggles around with the best of them as the Suns use an effective high-screen-roll that opens the court for them. The Bulls squashed it for just about the entire game.
Chris Duhon may have had one of the best two-point, 1-for-7 shooting games ever.
He was the prime defender shadowing Nash with Kirk Hinrich out. The key to the defense is not getting caught up or blocked off by the screen, and Duhon persisted in going over it or simply pushing through it. The Suns screeners gave ground to the relentless Bulls effort. The Bulls' strategy included a big man coming out to reroute Nash and then squeezing him into a shorter side of the court with the Bulls' defense packing in the middle.
That limited the open space for Suns shooters. The Bulls' defenders were thus able to close quicker and force the Suns into 41.4 percent shooting, their second-worst performance of the season.
"They're long and cover a lot of ground," D'Antoni said. "Nothing was easy and they sped us up to where when you get an open shot against a team like that you have to knock them down. And we didn't."
The Suns did in the end, though they would not have gotten there without a monstrous effort from Amare Stoudemire down the stretch. In the last five minutes he made a layup, then stole the ball from Andres Nocioni, rebounded a Nash miss and converted two free throws after a foul, hit a short hook in the lane and then, with the Bulls up two with 21 seconds left, rebounded a Barbosa miss and tipped the ball in.
"My game is evolving," said Stoudemire, who had 24 points and 18 rebounds after he had spent time before the game watching ESPN broadcasters comment that he couldn't handle Ben Wallace. "I did have my doubts (after serious knee surgery). It makes you appreciate the game more when you are close to not returning to where you were."
Stoudemire may be even better because where once he was a spectator on defense, now he is a participant.
Once the Bulls were spectators against the best. Now they are participating.
The next step is the tough one. You have to win these kinds of games.
[email protected]
Copyright © 2007, The Chicago Tribune
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