I'm sorry maybe I'm not a great basketball mind like many here, but when exactly was it painfully obvious the suns were fighting a losing battle? When they were up 15? 11? or tied with a minute to go?
I shouldn't be mistaken for one with a great basketball mind... but here is the answer.
Without Amare and Boris, it was clear that we would have to run too much (fast break, scoring within 7 seconds) and/or work too hard for shots (screens, Pick and pops, alley-oops, designed plays). This type of pace cannot be kept up for 48 min by a 6 man rotation; this type of pace takes 8-10 man rotation. Think about it... when you play at the YMCA, isn't it nice to walk the ball up the court every once in awhile and throw it to the big guy in the low block to score? That takes so much pressure off of the perimeter guys...
The Phoenix Suns employ a quasi 'run as hard as you can for each shot' scheme as stated above (proportionately more than any team in the league, sans Golden State), but they also utilize a very aggressive pick& roll scheme when they don't have opportunities to run and/or are too tired to run. Amare is the best in the league as a finisher for P&R (IMO). In addition to P&R, there are times that Nash will just run the baseline and look to find Amare threw the legs of opponents for finishes in the lane. Diaw knows how to, and effectively, run this system so Nash can rest.
This type of flexibility in scoring options keeps defenses honest, meaning they can't run one strategy every time down the court. You could see it coming in this game... when the clock is ticking down, the Spurs were going to try high traps against Steve, so he has to get rid of the ball early (thus the high screen against Bowen). If they are successful at forcing Nash to get rid of the ball, Bowen then works hard to deny him the ball in return. Typically, if Nash does receive the ball back, Bowen has forced him high, up top, near center court. They then run the trap again. Unfortunately, this scheme is even more effective when you can't find someone (Diaw) that can run the offense on his own, or someone (Amare) that can take it strong to the basket and either score, or draw a foul. Every Offense has to have more than one scorer... or a good defense will always win (see Lakers).
Last night, LB wasn't doing squat again (also had foul trouble), Raja wasn't hitting shots consistently, KT was too tired to move anymore, and they kept Shawn away from the basket. It was clear that we either got luck with difficult shots and to stop them from scoring or we were going to lose. The Suns did the best they could for 46 min.
ANYWAYS, I'm not sure I answered your question. The main point is this - when the Spurs become aggressive in trapping and double teaming, you have to find ways to score the hard way... only Nash and Amare can do that... but Nash needs space to get his shot off - Amare doesn't. So when the Suns led by 11 points... you could see the other shoe getting ready to drop. Very difficult to avoid that reality.
