The last 6 quarters Portlands defense has given up 129 points, just 21.5 points a quarter... The Previous 6 quarters before, the defense gave Phoenix 185 points, or 30.8 points a quarter ....On the season, the Suns are 2 and 20 when they scored under 100 points.
There is the key! Play some slow ass ugly basketball and keep the poccessions to a minimum! Grind it out.
Today this team really showed me some heart on the defensive end of the court and when things have gotten chippy and a little bit nasty they've risen to the occasion; win or lose these are invaluable lessons I hope they carry with them into next season.
Against a team like the Suns, just trying to slow the pace of the game with your offense isn't enough. You also have to play hard on the defensive end.
That is a fascinating stat, and one that I had not realized. Perhaps Nate "figured them out" during game 3. Maybe we are more in control of this series than I had suggested in my other thread.
I think a lot of it is just eliminating stupid lay-ins and easy close in pick and rolls. They got so many point blank gimmies in game 2+3, then they were in position to defend us and our offense stalled. Today's game we made them work into the shot clock and rotated fast enough to stop the lay-ins.
I hope Nate has figured out how to play the Suns, but I also wonder if the torrid pace Phoenix was playing at game 2 through halftime of game 3 has started to catch up with them? it's been 4 games in a week with travel days, I wonder if even the Suns can keep up with the full court press defense and fast paced offense they've been playing at. One more game with only one day rest. Hope Portland can take advantage again!
Except for Game 1, the Suns have decreased their points in the second half. game..1st half..2nd half 1 43 57 2 49 41 3 66 42 4 50 37 The change at the midpoint of the 12 quarters was because in the Game 3 blowout, they led us at halftime by 29. So they eased up in the 2nd half.
Fixed. And the game 3 2nd half "ease up" doesn't explain the significantly lower scores in game 4. Oh, and before you attribute that to pace, allow me to point out that Phoenix took more shots in game 4 than in game 3.
That's a good post! We certainly switched a lot more screens in the second half of game 4 than game 3. I know most people think it's stupid, but so far in this series its probably been the most effective defense of the three options. Where we get in trouble is when we switch within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock because Phoenix gets too much time to exploit the mismatch. Doubling has resulted in some forced turnovers, but a lot of wide open threes and dunks. Trying to fight over/under the screen has probably been the least affective strategy of the three, despite it being the most popular suggestion on this board. I still maintain that the best way to defend a P&R against a team like Phoenix is to mix up your schemes and make the Dudley, Frye, and Barbosa's of the world kill you.
Yeah, I typed Portland's points instead of Phoenix' points for one game. And I don't doubt that the Blazers' "D" is beginning to figure it out. Aldridge is starting to push on Stoudamire all game long. People are praising Aldridge's stats, but not noticing his clinging defense.
Interesting point. The thing that has always set LMA apart from guys like Amare. Jefferson, or Zach, was his potential to contribute at *both* ends of the court. To be blunt, there have been too many nights this season when that just wasn't true. The team needs him to sustain his focus/intensity on defense.
Grant Hill missed a lot of wide open jumpers in game 4 while he was burying contested Js in games 2 & 3. Did the Blazers figure out the way to defend him was to leave him wide open or maybe is this just another example of the inconsistency that happens for less then great jump shooters? Here's guessing they continue to gamble on leaving GH with good looks on the perimeter rather then Nash and Richardson... the Suns do the same with Bayless leaving him as the open relief valve. If Hill or Bayless are burying these looks it goes a long way toward helping their team to a W. STOMP
