azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Mike Tulumello, Tribune
To win an NBA title, you normally think big.
Prior to last season, the past five title teams, after all, were centered around such behemoths as Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan. But Suns coach Mike D’Antoni thinks small. He had been wondering about going small ever since the Suns bagged 6-foot-6 Quentin Richardson in the free agent market. The Suns’ five best players, though undersized by traditional standards (the three tallest are 6-10, 6-7, 6-7), would have enormous firepower.
But he didn’t commit to the idea until about "halfway through the exhibition season" in October. An effective game against the Utah Jazz jump-started the notion.
At that point, "We decided, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s see what happens,’ " the Suns coach said.
His thinking: If you’ve got the best big guys, go big. If you’ve got the best small guys, go small.
"I think we’ve got the best small guys."
Besides, he said, "Wouldn’t your rather root for David over Goliath?"
The strategy worked wonders as the Suns ran off nine straight wins.
Yet the potential shortcomings of the small lineup have been illustrated in the past few days.
The Suns were pounded on the boards Tuesday at Utah but used their fast break to pull out the game in the closing minutes.
The next night, Amare Stoudemire struggled early on vs. Cleveland’s 7-foot center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but Stoudemire and the Suns gradually wore down the Cavs.
Then on Friday night, the Suns couldn’t escape when the long, tall Minnesota Timberwolves — who have whipped the Suns in recent years — controlled both the boards and the pace of the game in pulling out a late win.
On Saturday, D’Antoni said of the T-Wolves, "They’re long. That’s one of their strengths.
"But if we go long (with bigger players), we don’t win. I know that for sure."
What is critical for the Suns coach is to have his key players believing in his system.
So far so good.
Even Stoudemire, who has griped off and on about the idea of being the team’s nominal center since the summer, seems to have warmed up to the idea.
Talking about the Suns’ loss after Friday’s game, he at first mentioned the combination of the T-Wolves’ length and the Suns’ small lineup.
Then, he seemed to catch himself. Not wanting to blame the Suns’ strategy, he said, "We had the game in our hands down the stretch. We’re OK."
The other notable feature of the lineup is that Shawn Marion switches from small forward to power forward.
Instead of the move wearing Marion out, with him playing against bigger, stronger competitors, D’Antoni thinks it actually causes less wear and tear on Marion because he doesn’t have to chase players around the perimeter, fighting through screens along the way.
Marion, who has been playing as well as he ever has in his six Suns seasons, seems enthusiastic about Phoenix’s approach:
"We’ve got five horses on the floor. (Opponents) can’t do anything about that," he said.
The Suns’ fast break can produce an end-to-end basket in four or five seconds, he pointed out.
"We’ve seen it on tape," Marion said. "How do you defend that?" To make the Suns’ approach work, Phoenix needs the energy to run all game long, so opponents eventually wilt and their shots fall short.
This firepower, which can quickly negate anything accomplished by the opposition, can break an opponent’s spirit, D’Antoni reasoned.
"That’s the theory behind it," he said. "We’ll see how far we can go with it."
BONUS SHOT: Maciej Lampe, who missed Friday’s game with an illness, is expected to be available tonight.
Suns at Trail Blazers
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
TV: KUTP (Ch. 45)
Radio: KTAR (620 AM)
Line: Phoenix by 3 1/2
Series history: Suns lead all time, 92-81, including a 33-54 record in Portland. In recent years, the Suns have handled the Blazers (winning 10 of the past 16) sometimes even when they appeared to have a talent disadvantage.
Scouting report: Suns — Going against the big Trail Blazers will be a classic test of "Can we get into the full-court or can they keep us in the half-court?" said coach Mike D’Antoni. "We’ll have to have a lot of energy to get running." The Suns are hoping to benefit from the fact the Blazers played the SuperSonics on Saturday night.
Trail Blazers — They’re at least a mild surprise, managing to stay over .500 in the tough West. While scoring is up slightly in the NBA, the Trail Blazers prefer to slow it down and dump the ball to Zach Randolph, who’s averaging 21.4 points (No. 17 in the NBA) and 10.9 rebounds (No. 6). The Blazers score only 90.1 points but give up only 88.3. Center Theo Ratliff ranks No. 8 in blocks at 2.57 per game. Combined with Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a natural power forward who’s playing the small forward spot, Portland has a big, formidable front line.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=32663
To win an NBA title, you normally think big.
Prior to last season, the past five title teams, after all, were centered around such behemoths as Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan. But Suns coach Mike D’Antoni thinks small. He had been wondering about going small ever since the Suns bagged 6-foot-6 Quentin Richardson in the free agent market. The Suns’ five best players, though undersized by traditional standards (the three tallest are 6-10, 6-7, 6-7), would have enormous firepower.
But he didn’t commit to the idea until about "halfway through the exhibition season" in October. An effective game against the Utah Jazz jump-started the notion.
At that point, "We decided, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s see what happens,’ " the Suns coach said.
His thinking: If you’ve got the best big guys, go big. If you’ve got the best small guys, go small.
"I think we’ve got the best small guys."
Besides, he said, "Wouldn’t your rather root for David over Goliath?"
The strategy worked wonders as the Suns ran off nine straight wins.
Yet the potential shortcomings of the small lineup have been illustrated in the past few days.
The Suns were pounded on the boards Tuesday at Utah but used their fast break to pull out the game in the closing minutes.
The next night, Amare Stoudemire struggled early on vs. Cleveland’s 7-foot center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but Stoudemire and the Suns gradually wore down the Cavs.
Then on Friday night, the Suns couldn’t escape when the long, tall Minnesota Timberwolves — who have whipped the Suns in recent years — controlled both the boards and the pace of the game in pulling out a late win.
On Saturday, D’Antoni said of the T-Wolves, "They’re long. That’s one of their strengths.
"But if we go long (with bigger players), we don’t win. I know that for sure."
What is critical for the Suns coach is to have his key players believing in his system.
So far so good.
Even Stoudemire, who has griped off and on about the idea of being the team’s nominal center since the summer, seems to have warmed up to the idea.
Talking about the Suns’ loss after Friday’s game, he at first mentioned the combination of the T-Wolves’ length and the Suns’ small lineup.
Then, he seemed to catch himself. Not wanting to blame the Suns’ strategy, he said, "We had the game in our hands down the stretch. We’re OK."
The other notable feature of the lineup is that Shawn Marion switches from small forward to power forward.
Instead of the move wearing Marion out, with him playing against bigger, stronger competitors, D’Antoni thinks it actually causes less wear and tear on Marion because he doesn’t have to chase players around the perimeter, fighting through screens along the way.
Marion, who has been playing as well as he ever has in his six Suns seasons, seems enthusiastic about Phoenix’s approach:
"We’ve got five horses on the floor. (Opponents) can’t do anything about that," he said.
The Suns’ fast break can produce an end-to-end basket in four or five seconds, he pointed out.
"We’ve seen it on tape," Marion said. "How do you defend that?" To make the Suns’ approach work, Phoenix needs the energy to run all game long, so opponents eventually wilt and their shots fall short.
This firepower, which can quickly negate anything accomplished by the opposition, can break an opponent’s spirit, D’Antoni reasoned.
"That’s the theory behind it," he said. "We’ll see how far we can go with it."
BONUS SHOT: Maciej Lampe, who missed Friday’s game with an illness, is expected to be available tonight.
Suns at Trail Blazers
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
TV: KUTP (Ch. 45)
Radio: KTAR (620 AM)
Line: Phoenix by 3 1/2
Series history: Suns lead all time, 92-81, including a 33-54 record in Portland. In recent years, the Suns have handled the Blazers (winning 10 of the past 16) sometimes even when they appeared to have a talent disadvantage.
Scouting report: Suns — Going against the big Trail Blazers will be a classic test of "Can we get into the full-court or can they keep us in the half-court?" said coach Mike D’Antoni. "We’ll have to have a lot of energy to get running." The Suns are hoping to benefit from the fact the Blazers played the SuperSonics on Saturday night.
Trail Blazers — They’re at least a mild surprise, managing to stay over .500 in the tough West. While scoring is up slightly in the NBA, the Trail Blazers prefer to slow it down and dump the ball to Zach Randolph, who’s averaging 21.4 points (No. 17 in the NBA) and 10.9 rebounds (No. 6). The Blazers score only 90.1 points but give up only 88.3. Center Theo Ratliff ranks No. 8 in blocks at 2.57 per game. Combined with Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a natural power forward who’s playing the small forward spot, Portland has a big, formidable front line.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=32663
:notworthy 
