It seems obvious to me that these Suns aren't going to win a title without small ball.
They're not going to win playing like the Lakers, or Spurs, or Kings, because they'll wind up being a second-rate version of the Lakers, or Spurs, or Kings. If the Suns want to win a title, they have to play to win, and that means playing to their strengths and forcing other teams to adjust to them.
And, one of the Suns' greatest strengths is that their best players are athletic enough to guard a variety of opponents.
I agree that the team has to get both Jakes on the court to develop and evaluate them, but 28-32 min/game seems like enough time. The rest of the game, they can concentrate on developing their other players...
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I guess I must have watched a different Suns-Spurs playoff series from some of you.
The thing that amazed me was that the Suns were able to keep the games close despite a huge number of flaws in the team that seem to be correctable.
The Suns' lack of depth was a major problem, especially the lack of a backup PG--if there's one factor that cost the Suns the series, this is it. There was a lack of chemistry, complexity and discipline in the team's offensive sets; an overall lack of resourcefulness that meant the team was out of good ideas (especially on defense) by the last couple of games; unnecessary fouls and thoughtless turnovers, characteristic of a young team; and there is room for individual improvement for the young players--Amare especially has gaping holes in his game, but Scott Williams is the only Suns' post player who can hit a 12-foot jumper, and Joe J has a lot of improving to do, as well.
The impression I came away with was not that the Suns need to tear themselves down and build themselves up from scratch, but that the Suns were going to catch up with and surpass the Spurs in a year or two, as long as the two teams are relatively stable. Obviously, nothing has happened this offseason to change my mind.
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Now, if you mean that Cabarkapa might try to guard the other team's SG in a conventional lineup, that would mean something. And it would be wrong. That will never happen, except maybe in a very unusual situation where the other team's SG is someone immobile like Glen Rice.
I think the Suns are going to get Cabarkapa on the floor as much as possible, and to do that they'll move him to any position where the other team has a player who won't destroy his defense. There are role players (backups) all over the league who can be dared to try and create their own scoring chances, and I think that Cabarkapa will wind up guarding most of them, regardless of the positions they play.
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The Suns' "lineup technique" is fundamentally flawed. Right now, it's what they're best at. But it isn't good enough, and I think that they would be well served to invest the energy to correct that technique if they ever want to get really good. We all know that a gimmicky bull-dung lineup with Shawn Marion at power forward is never going to win a championship.
Not without some other gimmicks to change things up.
Seriously, it all depends on the team the Suns play. Against the Lakers, Marion won't be playing any PF, but against the Mavericks, why not?
Winning a title isn't about being without flaws; it's about beating the other good teams, however you get it done. 15 years ago, you could have argued that no team for which Bill Wennington played significant minutes would ever win a championship, and who would have disagreed with that?
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Which lineup, pound for pound, inspires more fear? Talent-wise, the 2nd lineup is what would work. But look at it realistically. If the Kings, for example, field a lineup of Divac, Webber, AND Miller, how much do you want to bet we'll see that 2nd lineup? Not even Frank is that dumb.
Why the hell not? None of those guys go inside anyway--the Suns could put Amare on Divac, and Joe J and Marion on the other two. Then, they could play Zarko at SG...
Hey, Donnn Nelson could probably make it work, so why not FJ?
