Re: Don't abandon run-and-gun http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_6011721<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>All the track teams in basketball shoes have exited the NBA playoffs.The Phoenix Suns, Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards -- the NBA's four highest-scoring teams, in that order -- have gone fishin' with Charles Barkley.In the Eastern Conference, we're down to the grind-it-out Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers, two teams that didn't crack the 80-point scoring barrier in their series until Game 3 Sunday night.In the West, we're down to the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz, two teams that rely heavily on defense, muscle and precision half-court offenses.I suppose you could consider this more evidence to support the adage that tough defense and solid half-court offense trump running and gunning in the NBA's postseason. And the premise that helter-skelter, 3-ball-loving teams such as the Warriors are destined for postseason failure.I imagine the makeup of this year's final four will only add fuel for bar-room debaters who believe the Warriors will never get past the second round, let alone win another NBA title, unless they stop emulating the Suns and follow a more conventional blueprint.Let me belly up to the bar and offer a different view, one I selfishly hope is correct because I love watching this wide-open style of play and would love to see it spread throughout the NBA.I'd argue that the Warriors are on exactly the right track, that they should be more committed than ever to following the Suns' blueprint. They should be more --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Advertisement--------------------------------------------------------------------------------encouraged than ever that this style of play can take them where they want to go.Why so? Well, for starters there's the Warriors' stunning first-round series victory over the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, the NBA's winningest team.Then there's this:If not for Steve Nash's bloody nose in Game 1 and NBA commissioner David Stern's suspension of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for Game 5, the Suns likely would have defeated the Spurs in the semifinals. And if the Suns had survived that series, they'd have been favored to go all the way.The Suns can only dream of what might have been if Ferdie Pacheco -- "The Fight Doctor" -- had been on their bench for Game 1, a 111-106 loss. Nash suffered a huge gash on his nose during a head-to-head collision with the Spurs' Tony Parker late in the fourth quarter.Suns team trainers bandaged Nash's nose, and he returned to the game. But the bleeding continued. And with 54 seconds remaining and the Suns trailing by two points, Nash, dripping blood, was forced to leave the game for more treatment. He watched helplessly from the bench for the next 45 seconds as the Spurs took control.Despite that setback, the Suns appeared to be in great shape after winning 100-97 at San Antonio in Game 4 and evening the series. The Suns had momentum and the home-court advantage.But they couldn't overcome the over-the-top Game 5 suspensions of Stoudemire and Diaw for leaving the bench in Game 4 after Robert Horry's flagrant foul of Nash. The short-handed Suns lost Game 5, 88-85, then lost the series.The Warriors aren't apt to change their style as long as executive vice president Chris Mullin is calling the front-office shots and Don Nelson -- or a Nelson disciple -- is coaching the team.The Warriors don't need to change their approach to go further in the playoffs. They just need to get a little bigger, a little deeper and a little better at what Mullin and Nelson want them to do.The core of the team -- Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Jason Richardson, Andris Biedrins, Al Harrington and Monta Ellis -- has been healthy and together in Nelson's system less than half a season. The longer they're together, the better they'll play.Using the Suns as a model, the Warriors also likely will have to find some help from outside the current roster, starting with a sharpshooter or two. This is a team that took 1,967 3-point shots but has no pure shooter.The Suns shot 49.4 percent from the field, 39.9 percent from 3-point range and 80.8 percent from the line. And the Warriors? Try 46.3 percent, 35.6 and 71.7.Following the Suns' blueprint, the Warriors also need to ramp up their defense, which could require outside help. No, the Suns aren't a defensive juggernaut. But Suns guard Raja Bell was named to the NBA's All-Defensive first team. And forward Shawn Marion finished 12th in the voting with five first-team votes.As their loss to the beefy Jazz revealed so clearly, the Warriors need some more rebounding muscle, preferably someone who can also run the court and score inside.Someone like Stoudemire? Too bad the Warriors passed on Stoudemire and chose Mike Dunleavy with the third pick in the 2002 draft.But even a poor-man's Stoudemire would help the Warriors run and gun their way deeper in the playoffs.</div>
