This one's for Errntknght

[Joe Mama]

Please notice the top of the story or they talk about going to a more traditional defense. D'Antoni's quote is about Amare Stoudemire in particular improving his defense. However I'm sure they will have to double-team Kevin Garnett much of the time tonight. Joe Mama


http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/0217sunsnb0217.html

'D' must shake doldrums to break 5-game slide

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 17, 2004 12:00 AM


Phoenix has little to defend these days but its honor and the five men in the other uniforms.

In order to do either, the Suns will have to step up when the final stretch of the season commences today at Midwest Division front-runner Minnesota. The same defensive effort that has left Phoenix short in five straight games will not cut it against a star-studded Minnesota team that allows only 87.6 points per game.

The Suns, losers in 10 of their last 13, have given up an average 103 points per game during this five-game skid.

"Our biggest thing is being better defensively," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Right now, defensively we're awful. We've got to be better."

D'Antoni's club will get back to a more fundamental style after trying to scheme its way out of deficiencies caused by injuries and youth. D'Antoni reiterated that Amare Stoudemire's growth defensively would be a priority of the stretch run.

"Amare has to catch up on what he missed," D'Antoni said. "Offensively, he's an unbelievable talent. Defensively, you have to learn it and we have to learn as a team around him."

The Suns have yet to win since Stoudemire returned from a second absence for toe and ankle pain.


McDyess to return


Phoenix is expecting to get Antonio McDyess back in the fold Friday at Memphis.

McDyess went on the injured list Jan. 19 for pain in his surgically repaired left knee. He has looked sharp in recent practices and said his knee feels like it did before he hurt it.

The Suns would have to move a player to the injured list or make a trade by Thursday's deadline to make room for McDyess' activation.


Marion's shot


It may be due to playing more minutes than any other NBA player or playing more power forward or just being on a bad team.

Whatever the reason, Shawn Marion's shooting is at a career low. Marion's 42.6 percent shooting is misleading because it is only his three-point shooting that has plummeted.

He still hits 47.3 percent of his shots inside the arc but just 31.7 percent beyond it. He made 39 percent of his threes over the past two seasons.

"I don't know if it's a grind or lost concentration," D'Antoni said.

Because of his steals, rebounds and points, Marion still ranks 15th in the league's efficiency rating.


Free throws


Suns Ring of Honor member Dan Majerle will work games tonight and Thursday as an analyst for the UPN 45 telecasts.


• Four of the NBA's top five assist men are former Suns - Sam Cassell, Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury and Steve Nash.


• Howard Eisley has shot 36 percent since becoming a Sun.


• D'Antoni is one of six NBA coaches without a technical foul.

 

[Gee!]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
• D'Antoni is one of six NBA coaches without a technical foul. [/B]

That's poppycock! Mike needs to fire it up!

 

[George O'Brien]

"Our biggest thing is being better defensively," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Right now, defensively we're awful. We've got to be better."

D'Antoni's club will get back to a more fundamental style after trying to scheme its way out of deficiencies caused by injuries and youth. D'Antoni reiterated that Amare Stoudemire's growth defensively would be a priority of the stretch run.

"Amare has to catch up on what he missed," D'Antoni said. "Offensively, he's an unbelievable talent. Defensively, you have to learn it and we have to learn as a team around him."

He's hinted at this before, but I'm glad to see him be explicit that schemes are not a solution.

Focusing on Amare is easy because his failures are so obvious and can be fixed by hard work. I can understand why he does not mention Jake because he really does try hard, but his failures are physical and mental.

 

[Yuma]

Wtach Jake's fouls. They are usually stupid reach-in, or blocks he shouldn't be trying, moving on screens too early, or blocking fouls because he can't move his feet fast enough. He just has too many minutes OFF the floor to be effective ofr us. I guess Mike is not mentioning him because he CONTINUES to do these things. Whereas, Amare is the only guy we have that makes opponents alter their shots with his jumping ability. He is our intimidator. That's why we need him to get better because he is the only threat we have on defense right now.

 

[F-Dog]

This is good to see.

I hope the Suns are able to follow through, and that they are able to simplify their defense without completely falling apart.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Yuma
Wtach Jake's fouls. They are usually stupid reach-in, or blocks he shouldn't be trying, moving on screens too early, or blocking fouls because he can't move his feet fast enough. He just has too many minutes OFF the floor to be effective ofr us. I guess Mike is not mentioning him because he CONTINUES to do these things. Whereas, Amare is the only guy we have that makes opponents alter their shots with his jumping ability. He is our intimidator. That's why we need him to get better because he is the only threat we have on defense right now.

You are right, although he does get tangled up and gets called for using both hands when trying to keep guys out of the paint.

I have seen progress in Jake's game and have never questioned his desire. But he has a long way to go.

 

[CardNots]

Jake has West-itis. That is, when the game begins, the official look around to see if Jake is on the court then calls a foul. Are they practicing the technique of the blowing? Who knows.

This I do know for sure, the last game I saw at least 3 fouls blown on Jake, none were a foul. It was so bad, the broadcast group had to eat their words when they saw the replay showing no foul occurred.

 

[elindholm]

Are they practicing the technique of the blowing?

Oh, I'd say the officials are well practiced in the technique of the blowing.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by CardNots
Jake has West-itis. That is, when the game begins, the official look around to see if Jake is on the court then calls a foul. Are they practicing the technique of the blowing? Who knows.

This I do know for sure, the last game I saw at least 3 fouls blown on Jake, none were a foul. It was so bad, the broadcast group had to eat their words when they saw the replay showing no foul occurred.

Most of the time the problem is that he does not get the benefit of the doubt rather than purely bad calls (although he gets enough of those). Part of the problem is that opponents know he is likely to get called and so do what they can to get tangled up and/or flop.

However, blaming the refs does not take away from the fact that Jake makes a lot of STUPID fouls: obviously moving picks, reach-in fouls while pressing someone beyond the arc, leaning into guys when trying to get charging fouls, trying to get charges when standing inside the circle, jumping to make a block when the guy is coming toward him (that trick never works), etc. The frustrating part about Jake is that while he keeps getting better on offense, the mental errors he makes on defense do not seem to be declining.

 

[Joe Mama]

Little Jake gets whistled for more dumb fouls than the average player, and he seems to get incorrectly called for fouls more than a lot of players. However the main reason Little Jake gets into frequent foul trouble is that he is undersized at center, and he plays defense with both hands in the air trying to draw a charge. I think the referees like to make calls against guys who play defense that way.

Joe Mama

 

[Errntknght]

One of the worst things Jake does is to put his hands lightly against other players' lower backs - if he was pushing the guy it would make sense because if he's not caught he stands to gain something. But just touching them lightly gains nothing amd the refs will assume he's pushing if they're in a mood to call a foul - which they usually are. Maybe they ought to make him practice wearing a harness that forces him to keep his arms up high - no not straight up.

It's true Jake has a long way to go on defense but he has improved markedly from last year when FJ had him emulating Bo's frantic style. Except for his hands in the back most of his mistake fouls are from trying to do too much in his passive-aggressive style. I'd rather see him go aggressively after the ball if he's going to make a play and get his money's worth on the foul.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Errntknght
One of the worst things Jake does is to put his hands lightly against other players' lower backs - if he was pushing the guy it would make sense because if he's not caught he stands to gain something. But just touching them lightly gains nothing amd the refs will assume he's pushing if they're in a mood to call a foul - which they usually are. Maybe they ought to make him practice wearing a harness that forces him to keep his arms up high - no not straight up.

It's true Jake has a long way to go on defense but he has improved markedly from last year when FJ had him emulating Bo's frantic style. Except for his hands in the back most of his mistake fouls are from trying to do too much in his passive-aggressive style. I'd rather see him go aggressively after the ball if he's going to make a play and get his money's worth on the foul.

Somehow he gets his reach-in fouls on the perimeter.