I will admit that I am no fan of Mike D'Antoni, I have all kinds of issues with him, but that is not what this is about. I think his hands are really tied at this point because of the injury situation and the lack of depth.
The Suns have few reserves, and the reserves they have offer nothing different from the players they replace. It is like the Mavericks bringing in Van Horn for Dirk. Van Horn does not change anything up, and he is a poor man's Dirk, so bringing him in does not change the tone or tenor of the game. He may have more impact at center when he tries to shoot the Mavs out of every game.. but I digress...
What I see now is the Mavs have cinched up their defensive responsbilities in each game of the series. Game 1 they clamped down on the perimeter. Game 2 they shut down the lane more. Game 3 they added in the slow-down of the transition game. The problem is the Mavericks are going to continue to do those things until the Suns do something to make them stop doing them. That is where the depth is a problem.
If you had Amare, he could pound the ball inside and FORCE the Mavericks to change their defense, allowing some other openings and changing the complex of the series. The problem is the Suns don't seem to have a move. They seem locked into a corner. They can't just say they need to score more in transition when the Mavs beat them back every play. You can't run back faster down court when the other team is focusing on beating you back and even sacrificing rebounds to do so.
So what do the Suns do? Can they get back in the series? I am a Mavs fan, admittedly, but I don't see what they can do to adjust and have a chance at getting their offense back. If they just want to shoot faster, they will be taking more poor shots, which means the shooting percentage will be sub-par again.
Perhaps I am missing something, but without a significant change to the gameplan the Mavs defense is likely to keep at least a minor grip on the Suns and slow them down. Wanting to score in transition and hit jumpshots is not enough, you have to create an environment where that is possible.
The Suns have few reserves, and the reserves they have offer nothing different from the players they replace. It is like the Mavericks bringing in Van Horn for Dirk. Van Horn does not change anything up, and he is a poor man's Dirk, so bringing him in does not change the tone or tenor of the game. He may have more impact at center when he tries to shoot the Mavs out of every game.. but I digress...
What I see now is the Mavs have cinched up their defensive responsbilities in each game of the series. Game 1 they clamped down on the perimeter. Game 2 they shut down the lane more. Game 3 they added in the slow-down of the transition game. The problem is the Mavericks are going to continue to do those things until the Suns do something to make them stop doing them. That is where the depth is a problem.
If you had Amare, he could pound the ball inside and FORCE the Mavericks to change their defense, allowing some other openings and changing the complex of the series. The problem is the Suns don't seem to have a move. They seem locked into a corner. They can't just say they need to score more in transition when the Mavs beat them back every play. You can't run back faster down court when the other team is focusing on beating you back and even sacrificing rebounds to do so.
So what do the Suns do? Can they get back in the series? I am a Mavs fan, admittedly, but I don't see what they can do to adjust and have a chance at getting their offense back. If they just want to shoot faster, they will be taking more poor shots, which means the shooting percentage will be sub-par again.
Perhaps I am missing something, but without a significant change to the gameplan the Mavs defense is likely to keep at least a minor grip on the Suns and slow them down. Wanting to score in transition and hit jumpshots is not enough, you have to create an environment where that is possible.