Suns' Diaw adjusting to new role

[Irish]

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/10/24/20081024spt-suns.html

Suns' Diaw adjusting to new role

124 commentsby Paul Coro - Oct. 24, 2008 05:57 PM
The Arizona Republic
NBA players usually are asked about things that change on the court - their roles, shots, bodies, confidence, effort, skills, etc.
Suns forward Boris Diaw just sees basketball, dismissing the nuances to inform you they are much ado about nothing and that things are much the same for him.

Not any longer.

"Yeah, it changed," Diaw said of his role. "Of course, it changed. We've got a whole new staff and new plays."

It's an obvious statement on a revamped team but a rare admission for Diaw. He has lost his biggest fan, Mike D'Antoni, whose system made him a star in Amaré Stoudemire's 2005-06 absence and a rich one when he signed a five-year, $45 million contract extension.

The multiposition creation is now a pure power forward. It's an ironic label for a player many stick with a "soft" label for his play and physique. It's also somewhat of a departure after becoming arguably the NBA's best passing big man. He averaged five assists over the past three seasons although his production declined the past two years. Diaw said his chances to facilitate are fewer in the new system.

"I'll do what I'm asked to do on the court," he said. "It's not the only thing I know how to do. We've got other guys. We've got to share."

Diaw's run of eight or more rebounds in the last four preseason games shows his versatility. He last did that in four consecutive games in 2005.

"Sometimes, it falls in your hands and sometimes you get zero," Diaw said. "When you're boxing out and your teammates get it, you don't care."

Diaw's point about sharing on a deep team relates to an offense in which the assists can came from various spots. Small forward Matt Barnes notched more assists (seven) than Steve Nash (five) in fewer minutes Thursday.

Diaw played a team-high 32.5 minutes per game in the preseason but averaged 2.5 assists. However, on Thursday, rookie Robin Lopez showed he is not in tune with Diaw's passing abilities when he dropped a fast-break feed and later in the game turned to rebound when Diaw rose as if to shoot before passing.

Diaw's passive bouts rile fans, who know they can demand more because they saw the play that had D'Antoni calling him a future All-Star. It did not take long for coach Terry Porter to hear internal pleas to light Diaw's fire.

"I've had talks with him about it," Porter said. "For him and for us, it's obvious that we're going to need him in that mind-set on a nightly basis to get things like that accomplished. We don't need him to go score 20 points. Thirteen or 14, like (Tuesday's game), is great. We expect it because he can do it. It's not like he can't. It just a matter of taking that challenge every night."

 

[HooverDam]

I'm so glad Boris will be at the 4 for the most part, the Barnes signing really allowed that to happen. I remember a lot of people on here opining that Diaw should be at the 3, but I think that would've been terrible (he's too laterally slow on D, can't shoot well enough, can't drive fast enough, etc). Playing at the 4 lets him use his speed advantage over a lot of other 4's in the league and he's always a nice threat to pass out of the post. Plus, his defense is quite under rated, I've always thought he did a respectable job on guys like Duncan.

 

[leclerc]

I agree whole heartedly. Like everyone else I've been hoping for more of a spark in him, so I'm still hoping.

It will be interesting to see Matt Barnes this year. I hope he gels with Amare and the guys.

 

[Irish]

"I've had talks with him about it," Porter said. "For him and for us, it's obvious that we're going to need him in that mind-set on a nightly basis to get things like that accomplished. We don't need him to go score 20 points. Thirteen or 14, like (Tuesday's game), is great. We expect it because he can do it. It's not like he can't. It just a matter of taking that challenge every night."

We don't know how good a motivator Porter is, but Diaw is a key to monitoring his effectivness. Getting Diaw to play like he CAN could make this a very good team.

 

[nowagimp]

I'm so glad Boris will be at the 4 for the most part, the Barnes signing really allowed that to happen. I remember a lot of people on here opining that Diaw should be at the 3, but I think that would've been terrible (he's too laterally slow on D, can't shoot well enough, can't drive fast enough, etc). Playing at the 4 lets him use his speed advantage over a lot of other 4's in the league and he's always a nice threat to pass out of the post. Plus, his defense is quite under rated, I've always thought he did a respectable job on guys like Duncan.

Agree with all but the D part, he did a nice job on tony parker, obviously not too slow laterally.

 

[HooverDam]

Agree with all but the D part, he did a nice job on tony parker, obviously not too slow laterally.

No one is really going to stop Duncan though. Diaw stayed in front of him, bodied him well, and it was a respectable job. Duncan makes Amare look laughable on D, Diaw looked OK. Though perhaps its because with his physique and athleticism I expect more out of Amare then I do out of the pudgy Diaw.

 

[Cheesebeef]

any article about Diaw should be title: "Diaw will continue to underachieve, get used it."

 

[Bufalay]

any article about Diaw should be title: "Diaw will continue to underachieve, get used it."

But he's so damn talented!!!!!!!!

 

[nowagimp]

No one is really going to stop Duncan though. Diaw stayed in front of him, bodied him well, and it was a respectable job. Duncan makes Amare look laughable on D, Diaw looked OK. Though perhaps its because with his physique and athleticism I expect more out of Amare then I do out of the pudgy Diaw.

Diaw(and amare) gives up too much strength to Tim Duncan to be truly effective for very long. Bodying a guy like TD when you are 6'9" and 230 lbs can only work so long. But yes Diaw did a much better job than amare, because Diaw has a stronger lower body. Amare is weak below the waist for A PF, its the gimpy knees. It may be that amare will never be a strong position defender due to his weak lower body. Controlling position down low is more about the lower body, not biceps or chest muscle, and Diaw is stronger than amare down there. Still, he is undersized against a big PF, and he is probably being beat up physically used there on many nights.

 

[Irish]

I get the impression that Diaw will be used strickly as a PF, so either Shaq or Lopez will be on Duncan. Wed will give us some idea as to what Porter has in mind.

D'Antoni always hoped he could defeat conventional offenses with more and more speed. Against a disciplined team like tha Spurs it just didn't work as Pop would exploit the defensive mismatches and managed to keep his weaker defenders out of trouble.

Shaq can be very effective against Duncan, because he can keep TD from backing him down (IMHO better than KT could). Everybody else needed double team hlep which left someone open. I expect Lopez will struggle early on, but at 255 he's 25 pounds heavier than Diaw and a lot longer.

 

[mathbzh]

Against San Antonio I hope Diaw will see some playing time as SF.
They still don't have that long SF that could defend on Diaw.

Diaw is efficient when he plays a mismatch. I hope Porter will not stuck him at PF regardless of the mismatches.

 

[Irish]

Against San Antonio I hope Diaw will see some playing time as SF.
They still don't have that long SF that could defend on Diaw.

Diaw is efficient when he plays a mismatch. I hope Porter will not stuck him at PF regardless of the mismatches.

Right now it seems unlikely because Hill and Barnes are healthy. However, if they can set up switches so somaller guys have to play Diaw, I'd hope they go to him.

 

[mathbzh]

Right now it seems unlikely because Hill and Barnes are healthy. However, if they can set up switches so somaller guys have to play Diaw, I'd hope they go to him.

I know, I don't ask to have Diaw as our starting SF, just to try it at some point in the game and see if it works and if the Spurs have an answer.