January 11, 2007

Suns vs. Cavs

I feel validated. I said a few things on this blog that came to light last night on TNT. First, the Phoenix Suns took the challenge and sent a solid message to a national audience that their defense is not only vastly improved, but it is no different than that of the two other Western Conference contenders. The Suns took Lebron and company so far out of their game that Doug Collins had no choice but to dedicate 30 seconds of air time to telling the NBA nation what the Valley of the Suns have known all year - the Suns play solid defense. TNT went so far as to put up a graphic mid-game to illustrate the point. There was Phoenix and its field goal defense percentage, sandwiched between Dallas and San Antonio.

Despite Lebron’s 34 points on 15-28 shooting (9-19 for 20 points against Shawn Marion through three quarters, 6-9 for 14 points against Diaw and the blowout boys in the fourth), Cleveland managed to be the fifth victim of the Suns sub-40 club, shooting 37.9% for the game. A defensive performance standing out like a snowstorm in Phoenix against the over hyped MVP candidate duel and potential NBA Finals preview, even ESPN’s resident hoopologist Marc Stein was flabbergasted enough to devote its theme to his Daily Dime.

“I came to see signs that LeBron’s Cavs are ready to fill the gaping void of best team in the conference that could badly use a beast … and came away more impressed by the Suns’ improving D than anything else.”


Yes, Marc. That was the defense I’ve been talking about for weeks. That was the defense that prompted me to e-mail you last week - the e-mail practically begging you to do a story on it.

More importantly than validating my argument regarding the Phoenix defense is the fact that, on the day I mentioned it on the aforementioned azcentral blog, the Suns came out and stomped on the Cavaliers’s collective throats and didn’t take their foot off until the game was so far out of reach, the USAC fans put a call to the bullpen for one Pat Burke. And what better time to do it than against the current best in the East (as laughable as that sounds)?

Cleveland has not been the be-all of the weaker conference. With big losses against New York, Charlotte, Toronto, and Atlanta, it’s hard not to mitigate the importance of this most recent home sellout/blowout. But this is Lebron James, the darling of the NBA marketing machine. This is the Cleveland Cavaliers, the league’s third best defensive team, and winners of three straight against NBA Finals stalwart San Antonio.

This was national television. Touted for days as a possible preview of the NBA Finals. A chance for Lebron James to prove that he is worthy of dethroning the league’s reigning MVP. This was a laugher. The Suns victory was lopsided enough, but seemed to be an absolute demolition of any hopes that the Eastern Conference has a glimmer of a chance to produce back-to-back NBA champions under the long shadow of all the pre-game hype.

All season long the media has been searching for the new “Beasts of the East” to emerge from the rank and file of CBA, Sr. As it turns out, they’ve been looking at the wrong side of the map. Sporting a 15-1 record (7-1 against the current top eight), no team has a better inter-conference record than Phoenix.

Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns did what they have to do against inferior opponents. They took them to the mat early, and held them down for the full count. 1-2-3 pin. Game over.

Suns D

I’d love to be an official writer for the Suns. There are just so many aspects of their play that just don’t get the deserved attention, and I feel like I’m the only person in the world who notices. The offense is old news. The quality and character of the players is old news. I don’t think that there’s anyone who can realistically question any of that. My pet story line so far this season is the Phoenix defense, which has yet to garner any national attention. It’s as if people are content to live with the myth that the Suns do not and will not play defense. I’ve written about it on these blogs before, so everything I’m saying now is old hack to me.

Since the 3-6 start, the Phoenix Suns have been one of the best defensive teams in the league. It’s a fact that gets mired in the Suns opponent scoring average of 102.6 ppg because the concept of possesions per game is still widely ignored around the NBA fan base. Consider the following - the Suns have gone from allowing 47.2% shooting over their slow start to a tie (with Dallas, San Antonio, and mysteriously New Orleans/Oklahoma City as of games played prior to January 10) for 10th place at 45.1%. How did they do it? By clamping down and allowing a mere 43.5% over the following 17 games. During the first 17 games, they allowed 7 teams to shoot better than 50%. They’ve allowed one team (Washington) to shoot so well, since. Take away all of those games, and the Suns have allowed a microscopic 42.5% shooting. (They were 4-4 in those 50% games, by the way.) They’ve held the Mavs to 41% IN DALLAS and the Spurs to 42% IN SAN ANTONIO, as well as four other teams under 40% altogether (not to mention their league leading three point defense of 31.6%).

Much of this change has come about due to Amare Stoudemire’s committment to defense. Watching him, it’s easy to see that he’s become more aware of where the ball is on the defensive end. With a few exceptions, he’s kept within arms reach of his own man while following the ball with his eyes. One need look no further for evidence than the ten game stretch ending in Toronto that Stoudemire averaged 2.5 blocks per game (a full 3 blocks over the last five of that span).

Combined with Raja Bell and Steve Nash taking charges at every opportunity, and the quick hands of Shawn Marion and Leandro Barbosa deflecting passes and taking the ball away outright, Amare’s presence in the middle has become a key factor in the Suns underrated, underappreciated, and underreported defensive swing.

The most impressive thing about all this wonderful defense - the team has rarely missed a beat on the offensive end. As a team, they are still shooting a league best 49.4% overall, and they are second to San Antonio (40.6%) in three point percentage at 39.6% (in 134 more attempts than the Spurs).

Media types, aside from John Hollinger, LOVE simple numbers - such as 26-8, 110.9-102.8, and the ubiquitous double-double. None of those stats tells the story of a team’s success or failure throughout a season. They are no more than an end result of a combination of nuance and hustle that don’t make it to the highlight reel.

So it’s nice that everyone knows the Suns have the number one offense across the board. But it’d sure be nice to hear people talk about our top ten defense, as well. Remember - that was Coach Mike D’Antoni’s goal at the beginning of the season. And why shouldn’t it be mentioned? They are quality talents with great character, and they deserve the national nod to the work they’ve done.