Comments on: Pro Basketball Crosstalk: Has the small-ball fad passed?

By: T. Rogers

T. Rogers — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:40:23 +0000

Jeff, I agree with you about the Suns. They really increased their defensive intensity this year. I was very impressed with them this season. It is only recently that I really grew to appreciate their approach to the game. I have always been one of the fans who loved defensive basketball. However, this year’s Finals gave me a revelation. It was the ugliest playoff series I have seen in a long time. It was embarrasing to see two Finals teams in a game seven tied at 64 points midway through the fourth quater. It is one thing for the refs to “let them play,” so to speak. It is another thing to allow the game to get so ugly that people who actually understand the game of basketball no longer recognize it.
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I really believe the NBA would have benefitted if the Suns would have at least gotten one title during the Dantoni years. Maybe it would have truly ushered in a change of style league wide. A quicker, cleaner style of ball is not only more visually appealing, it harkens back to the roots of the game. It is also more in line with how the game is played internationally. Maybe our guys wouldn’t struggle so much if guys were allowed to actually be in motion while in a half court set. Maybe if the moving screens and flying elbows were more controlled our guys would be quicker to move around the floor in a half court set. The league was lucky it got LA and Boston in the Finals. Had it been any other two teams playing that ugly, MMA version of basketball most people would have turned off the TV.
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I apologize for the rant.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:56:53 +0000

Interesting point, T. Rodgers on the difference in officiating. You are also right about that iffy quote about the triangle, I was reading it and thought to myself, “wait, the guy just said the Lakers have Bynum, Gasol, and Bryant… so how can they not post-up with all these post-up options?”I think a lot of people (Pau Gasol especially) think the Lakers don’t post-up enough or whatever but you have to remember this is the team’s greatest strength, which means most teams would prepare a gameplan to take away the post options and force them to jack up a lot of 3s, which is what tends to happen to the Lakers oftentimes…
But back to you point about officiation. The level of physicality does indeed go up come playoff time, this much is undisputable. But its not like the Suns stay finesse and soft like during the reg season, they also rachet up their level of defense and physicality. They had a great run in this year’s playoffs and their level of defense impressed me more than their resiliency and team chemistry. Call me crazy, but I believe that Alvin Gentry this year formed a better team than any of D’Antoni-led Suns, the difference being that Alvin has found ways to incorporate other elements, such as a deeper bench led by a defensive-minded 2nd unit, something that D’Antoni never had much patience for. While I am not sure that the D’Antoni-led Suns would have ever won a ring under better circumstances (though I would bet that had the Suns made it to the finals in 2006 they would have beaten Wade/Shaq’s Heat) I am fairly certain this new version of the run n gun Suns could have beaten any team the old Suns teams had to face. If Amare had only averaged like 5+ rebounds they could have beaten the Lakers. Now he’s bolted for New York, good riddance. Granted, he is a great player but the Suns deserve better, and Amare does not deserve a max contract. Steve Nash deserves better teammates that know how to do other things than score the rock. Though they never won a ring, it has been a pleasure as an NBA fan to watch the Suns, and especially Nash, who is prolly simultaneously the best shooter AND passer in the league.

By: T. Rogers

T. Rogers — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:13:04 +0000

“…the Lakers won a championship without relying on post-up play, and they have Gasol, Bynum, and Kobe.”
I have to disagree with this. The Triangle offense is built around the post. Gasol operates in both the high and low posts. And Bryant spends a significant amount of time in the high post as well. The Lakers were not a great three point shooting team this past season, nor did the score much on the fast break. They won 57 games because they can pound the ball into the post better than any other team in the league.
Anyway, the reason “small ball” has not taken off is come playoff time NBA refs change the way the call the games. When teams are allowed to be more agressive on defense it makes mores sense to let the bigs battle it out inside vs. having your PG charging into the middle. In fact, aggressive defense gives teams taller guys, playing closer to the rim a marked advantage. There is a reason the Suns were able to win 60 or so games three years in a row, but still never make the Finals. The game changes in the playoffs and it is because of the refs. The smart teams have figured this out.
Two years ago the Lakers were a high scoring finesse team. Then they got beat up in Finals with help of some hands off officiating. Then they adjusted. Now they are slow, tall, and bulky. They are also back to back champs. Slow, tall, and bulky wins in the playoffs.

By: johnmaine

johnmaine — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:01:11 +0000

Read about how Pete Thamel of the New York Times purposefully misquoted a source in his Enes Kanter (Kentucky recruit) article: http://bit.ly/9v1na3