SHC was just on the radio talking about this article and the Webber article. Evidently the Bee has a new Sports editor as of yesterday. So we will see if there are any changes to the Bee staff.
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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12274414p-13138487c.html
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Suns' run-and-fun style is a gas
By Scott Howard-Cooper -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, February 8, 2005
PHOENIX - Life on the autobahn.
Leave tire tracks on the chest of another backpedaling opponent, wash in the praise of fans remembering the NBA of the 1980s and peel away with another victory at America West Arena & Drag Strip.
Such is life these days for the Pacific-Division leading Phoenix Suns, who visit Arco Arena tonight with a five-game advantage over the second-place Kings.
So throwback-fun are the Suns, so ordinary at pushing the needle into the red, that they routinely have the ball across midcourt when the shot clock is at 22.
Only occasionally does it drain all the way down to the high teens. Midway through the third quarter against the New York Knicks last weekend, the Suns squeezed off a shot within seven seconds six times during a run of 11 possessions.
"Plus we're winning," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "So it's like, where's the negative?"
Everywhere, actually. The Suns, while averaging 109.5 points - enough to delight fans and build a 38-11 record to tie for the league lead in wins - were also 18th in shooting defense heading into Monday. While pushing to become the first to finish at 110 points or more since three teams did it in 1994-95, Phoenix was also 29th in rebounding percentage before Monday.
The Suns are certain to have two All-Stars (Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire) and claim Shawn Marion deserves consideration as a third, but they are also the NBA's biggest wild card.
Having already proven so much - after finishing 29-53 last season - comes with having proven so little because the regular season is one thing and the playoffs can be quite another.
The Dallas Mavericks led the league in scoring last season, then lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Mavericks led the league in scoring in 2002-03, then lost in the Western Conference finals, although with Dirk Nowitzki hurt. They led the league in scoring in 2001-02, then lost in the second round.
If there's a transition to this transition game, it's Nash. He was in Dallas then and is in Phoenix now, living the same Smallball life, even if he has ascended to MVP level as a Sun.
"I think we have the potential to be a better defensive team than we were in Dallas," he said. "We have terrific athletes and quickness. I think we can really cause a lot of turnovers and put pressure on people.
"That's what we've got to put our minds toward - becoming a really tough defensive team, regardless of a lack of size or whatever everyone's criticism of our team is."
There's only one, if that helps. Their ability to score isn't a surprise, given the lineup, but the Suns are still starting 6-foot-10 (Stoudemire), 6-7 (Marion) and 6-6 (Quentin Richardson) across the front line, with 6-7 Joe Johnson and 6-3 Nash in the backcourt. The reserves receiving the most minutes are 6-6 Jim Jackson and 6-3 Leandro Barbosa. Steven Hunter, a 7-footer, is averaging 13.5 minutes.
From that comes the perception of a high-octane bunch that might not be able to sustain in the playoffs.
"They have a valid point," D'Antoni said. "It just depends on how good we play outside. If we play really, really good outside, (we're in good shape).
"People don't realize, we have our inside. We score more points in the paint than anybody, I think, or right there with them. Amare Stoudemire, I don't know how much more inside we can get. I mean, this guy is second in the league in dunks. There's a lot of inside play that we do have."
On offense.
"People say, 'Well, you can't win,' " D'Antoni said. "How about we try something else? It makes no sense. We can win this way. We're sure we can.
"Whether we do or not, being the youngest team in the league and having one of the lowest payrolls, I don't know yet. But I wouldn't put it beyond these guys and their character that we'll make a serious run at it.
"We're going to keep doing it, whether we win the playoffs this year or not or whether we make the inroads. If we get knocked out in the first round, we're still going to do this. We're just going to get better at what we do."
Getting much better on offense will be difficult. Not just playing fast, the Suns are efficient as well - they were averaging the third-fewest turnovers in the league heading into Monday, were second in shooting and third in three-point percentage. They scored 133 points on the Knicks in their first meeting, without overtime.
Runners, not gunners.
"You can't fake your way through it," New Jersey Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "A team on pace to win mid-50s to 60 games isn't all of a sudden going to turn into the ugly duckling. Their style works."
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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12274414p-13138487c.html
=================
Suns' run-and-fun style is a gas
By Scott Howard-Cooper -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, February 8, 2005
PHOENIX - Life on the autobahn.
Leave tire tracks on the chest of another backpedaling opponent, wash in the praise of fans remembering the NBA of the 1980s and peel away with another victory at America West Arena & Drag Strip.
Such is life these days for the Pacific-Division leading Phoenix Suns, who visit Arco Arena tonight with a five-game advantage over the second-place Kings.
So throwback-fun are the Suns, so ordinary at pushing the needle into the red, that they routinely have the ball across midcourt when the shot clock is at 22.
Only occasionally does it drain all the way down to the high teens. Midway through the third quarter against the New York Knicks last weekend, the Suns squeezed off a shot within seven seconds six times during a run of 11 possessions.
"Plus we're winning," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "So it's like, where's the negative?"
Everywhere, actually. The Suns, while averaging 109.5 points - enough to delight fans and build a 38-11 record to tie for the league lead in wins - were also 18th in shooting defense heading into Monday. While pushing to become the first to finish at 110 points or more since three teams did it in 1994-95, Phoenix was also 29th in rebounding percentage before Monday.
The Suns are certain to have two All-Stars (Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire) and claim Shawn Marion deserves consideration as a third, but they are also the NBA's biggest wild card.
Having already proven so much - after finishing 29-53 last season - comes with having proven so little because the regular season is one thing and the playoffs can be quite another.
The Dallas Mavericks led the league in scoring last season, then lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Mavericks led the league in scoring in 2002-03, then lost in the Western Conference finals, although with Dirk Nowitzki hurt. They led the league in scoring in 2001-02, then lost in the second round.
If there's a transition to this transition game, it's Nash. He was in Dallas then and is in Phoenix now, living the same Smallball life, even if he has ascended to MVP level as a Sun.
"I think we have the potential to be a better defensive team than we were in Dallas," he said. "We have terrific athletes and quickness. I think we can really cause a lot of turnovers and put pressure on people.
"That's what we've got to put our minds toward - becoming a really tough defensive team, regardless of a lack of size or whatever everyone's criticism of our team is."
There's only one, if that helps. Their ability to score isn't a surprise, given the lineup, but the Suns are still starting 6-foot-10 (Stoudemire), 6-7 (Marion) and 6-6 (Quentin Richardson) across the front line, with 6-7 Joe Johnson and 6-3 Nash in the backcourt. The reserves receiving the most minutes are 6-6 Jim Jackson and 6-3 Leandro Barbosa. Steven Hunter, a 7-footer, is averaging 13.5 minutes.
From that comes the perception of a high-octane bunch that might not be able to sustain in the playoffs.
"They have a valid point," D'Antoni said. "It just depends on how good we play outside. If we play really, really good outside, (we're in good shape).
"People don't realize, we have our inside. We score more points in the paint than anybody, I think, or right there with them. Amare Stoudemire, I don't know how much more inside we can get. I mean, this guy is second in the league in dunks. There's a lot of inside play that we do have."
On offense.
"People say, 'Well, you can't win,' " D'Antoni said. "How about we try something else? It makes no sense. We can win this way. We're sure we can.
"Whether we do or not, being the youngest team in the league and having one of the lowest payrolls, I don't know yet. But I wouldn't put it beyond these guys and their character that we'll make a serious run at it.
"We're going to keep doing it, whether we win the playoffs this year or not or whether we make the inroads. If we get knocked out in the first round, we're still going to do this. We're just going to get better at what we do."
Getting much better on offense will be difficult. Not just playing fast, the Suns are efficient as well - they were averaging the third-fewest turnovers in the league heading into Monday, were second in shooting and third in three-point percentage. They scored 133 points on the Knicks in their first meeting, without overtime.
Runners, not gunners.
"You can't fake your way through it," New Jersey Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "A team on pace to win mid-50s to 60 games isn't all of a sudden going to turn into the ugly duckling. Their style works."
