How to defense the Clippers

[Gaddabout]

The Clips are much more of a challenge for the Suns, and not just because the Clips' frontline is more respectable. The Clips backcourt knows how to make an entry pass, although Cassell seems to be the guy they rely on most of the time when they're going to Brand.

Short of becoming a defensive board juggernaut, here's how I think the Suns might scheme the Clips:

- Elton will see some double teams, with Marion again looking to take away the entry pass by fronting him. It's not the worst thing in the world to put him on the line, just don't give him any "and 1s." If you're going to let him pass out of the post, make him reverse the court. Of course, none of this makes any difference if you allow him to catch the ball deep, and he'll get his 25/12 or whatever he'll average against the Suns.

- Invite the Clips to go to Kaman in the post and trap him -- you're not allowed to be late on the rotation. The key is to keep him off the foul line and force him to make a pass. I think he's got four or five turnovers a game in him under playoff duress if you ask him to be a point man. Go to Diaw often on the offensive end, where I think Kaman can become a Clips liability by getting into foul trouble.

- Try and deny Cassell's mid-range game and attempt to force someone other than Cassell to make the entry pass down low.

- Last but not least, make Elton work really, really hard on defense.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

The one thing working in the Suns advantage- The Clips don't have any players that can take over a game and hit those unbelievable shots the way Kobe can.

 

[Gaddabout]

The one thing working in the Suns advantage- The Clips don't have any players that can take over a game and hit those unbelievable shots the way Kobe can.

Cassell can get into a rhythm and score 15 in a blur. He just can't do it every game like Kobe.

 

[Gorilla]

In this series I believe that the best defense is a good running offense. Other than Brand and Kaman, there are not other bigs in the Clipperss that I am affraid off. If the Suns keep running throught the games and the series, Brand and Kaman could get tired and therefore be less efective.

 

[SirStefan32]

I don't think you can defend them. Might want to double team once in a while just to confuse them, force Kaman to his weak side (if I remember corectly he likes to go to the left, so force him to the right, and try to limit 2nd chance points. You have to block Kaman and Brand out.

They can beat the Clippers by RUNNING and driving to the hoop. Force the tempo on them, they will get tired; drive to the hoop and get them in foul trouble, and get some easy points from the FT line.

 

[elindholm]

The Suns are going to get outrebounded in this series, badly. Brand is probably going to average 15 rebounds a game, with maybe 6 per game on the offensive glass. The Suns need to work hard to make sure that their rebounding disadvantage isn't fatal. The can probably survive being -10 on the boards or maybe even -12, but if it gets up to -20 they are going to be in trouble.

 

[sunsfn]

If the suns can get their running game going, Kaman will play less minutes. He can not run with the suns for very long. That means Maggette will play more, but that also means that the Clips will not have the shot blocker and rebounder in the game.

There is no one on the Clips that can guard Diaw, and if Kaman trys to at the start he will get in foul trouble.

Bell has to do a good job on Mobley so he does not have an impact.

By the 4th quarter the clips will be gasping for air.

 

[F-Dog]

The key to defending the Clippers is the Suns' offense. They have to get Kaman off the floor, or punish him so much that it doesn't matter how many short shots and offensive rebounds he's getting on the other end.


What I remember from the Clippers is that they posted up the Suns at almost every position--they posted Cassell on Nash and Mobley on Barbosa, in addition to Brand and Kaman. The Suns are going to have to make the right choices, scramble a little bit but not too much.

Brand is going to get doubled pretty consistently, I think. He doesn't handle it well, much like Lamar Odom--in fact, the Suns will probably start with the same baseline rotation on Brand that they used against Odom.

They can't afford to double Kaman, though (once he gets the ball in deep position, it's too late anyway).

I'd like to see the Suns keep another player or two back to rebound, as long as the Clips play big. They have enough advantages on that lineup to score in the half court, so the important thing is to get stops, and gang-rebounding is probably the best way to do it.

Livingston and Maggette off the bench are the other problem the Clippers will pose. I think Raja will take Maggette, just because Maggette does so much flopping on offense. I have no clue what they're planning to do to slow down Livingston; he and Kaman are the X-factors for the Clips.



Most of all, the Suns can't afford to go timid on offense like games 1-3 of the Lakers series, because the Clippers are too good for a depleted Suns team to steal games. I believe the players have gotten that out of their systems, though.

 

[JS22]

I don't think you can defend them. Might want to double team once in a while just to confuse them, force Kaman to his weak side (if I remember corectly he likes to go to the left, so force him to the right, and try to limit 2nd chance points. You have to block Kaman and Brand out.

They can beat the Clippers by RUNNING and driving to the hoop. Force the tempo on them, they will get tired; drive to the hoop and get them in foul trouble, and get some easy points from the FT line.

The Suns were able to win 2 against the Clippers this year simply by running them out of the gym, causing Brand and Kaman to tire and become less effective. They'll need to do the same this series, otherwise it's going to be lights out.

 

[gdiddy]

Full court offense, pure and simple. We're not a half court team. This is a team that likes to run under the gun. That's how we beat LA.

It's all in our tempo. Once you get guys like Barbosa and Marion sprinting on the fast break, so long LA.

If it turns into a half court game, we better get some stellar defense from Diaw, TT, and Matrix. It's not always necessary to run up and down the court. It can happen in spurts, and the rest of the possessions can be used for clock management.

By the way, if size is such an issue, go back to that stellar move that Nash made on Odom in Game 7 when he laid in a basket. Where there's a will, there's a way.

 

[slinslin]

Pack it inside, make them shoot, rebound and win.

 

[Ryanwb]

Pack it inside, make them shoot, rebound and win.

 

[George O'Brien]

The Suns did not stop the Clippers, but eventually the Suns pace stopped the Clipper defense. The Suns ball movement and fast breaks wore them down. The Suns shot something close to 70% in the second half.

 

[dyle_ph1]

The one thing working in the Suns advantage- The Clips don't have any players that can take over a game and hit those unbelievable shots the way Kobe can.

Althought he is nowhere as good as Kobe, the Suns still has to watch out for Sam Cassell during the clutch. This guy is deadly during crunch time and is a proven playoff vet with a couple of rings.

 

[Louis]

They should do what the Spurs did last season with Amare.

Let Brand get his dominating numbers which pretty much takes a lot of guys out of it. The Suns last season versus the Spurs had subpar three pointing shooting numbers in makes, attempts, and percentage versus the Spurs in the WCF while Amare was putting up some of the most amazing performances I've seen.

Let Brand continue to explode while trying to limit Cassell and Maggette.

Cuttino was im"mobley"ized pretty effectively and Kaman didn't seem to do much.

Good stuff last night. If the score stays that high all series long, the Suns will be in great position to take the series.

 

[elindholm]

I'm not worried about Mobley; I've always had a low opinion of him. But Brand, Cassell, and Maggette are all prime-time players.

It looks like Kaman and Livingston will be the keys. The Suns did a good job of containing both last night. If the Suns can limit the production of one of the "big three," keep the role players in check, and shoot well, they should be in good shape. Sounds easy, right?

 

[Louis]

Problem with Mobley though is that he is streaky. He's liable to go off for a 30 point night at any time.

He played very poor and was benched for it. Hopefully that means more time on the pine for him. But that also means more time for Livingston who is a real talent in the making.

When Maggette started going off last night, I was afraid he was going to shoot the Clippers into a win, but luckily the Clippers weren't smart enough to keep the ball in his or Brand's hands even though they seemed to never miss a shot.

 

[tlim]

Man, last night's game was shoot until your arms fell off. Brand shot an insane percentage, and at one time, was 17/19, shooting almost 90%, and yet the Clippers still lost. It doesn't matter if one player kills the Suns though, as long as the game is fast. It gives the Suns more open space, and the ability to attack and score buckets.

It's not how much the Suns play defense, but how much the Suns can score that makes them win games. It's a daring way to win, I have to say. (And it's working.)

 

[Chaplin]

I will be very surprised if Mobley goes off for 30 against Bell. I just don't see it.