Spurs-Suns: San Antonio's Sun is Fading

Every Western Conference matchup is a virtual playoff game and Wednesday’s Suns-Spurs game was no different.

Aside from the usual storylines (playoff positioning and confidence heading into the second season), San Antonio needed to prove that they can hit the majority of their jumpers so their offense can run efficiently while Phoenix needed to show that their trade for Shaq truly does make them more prepared for the money season.

After watching Phoenix decimate the Spurs 96-79, it’s clear that the landscape in the West has radically shifted over the past few months: The Suns are more prepared for the playoffs than the Spurs are.

Why The Spurs Lost:

San Antonio’s jump shooting has abandoned them at the worst possible time. Against the Suns, the Spurs only shot 42% from the field. On their jumpers, San Antonio only shot 33% (12-36) with Michael Finley (3-4), Jacque Vaughn (2-2), and a meaningless jumper by Bobby Jones (1-1) skewing the percentage.

Phoenix sagged off in the second half and dared the Spurs to make jump shots, a challenge which was never met by San Antonio.

While Tim Duncan was effective against Amare Stoudamire early, Shaq’s length and massive bulk made it difficult for TD to finish under the basket in the second half. Duncan was certainly solid —9-21 FG, 3 TO, 23 PTS—but he wasn’t as spectacular as his team needed him to be considering the circumstances.

While Duncan’s help defense was as admirable as ever, Amare Stouemire exposed TD for being too slow and too upright to challenge him on the perimeter. While Duncan is the best help defender in the league, the truth is, his straight up individual defense is at best, slightly above average.

Manu Ginobli (3-12 FG, 0-4 3FG, 2-2 FT, 4 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 2 TO, 1 BLK, 8 PTS) made a handful of nifty passes but was a dud in every other area.

Bruce Bowen is slipping. He was unable to so much as annoy Steve Nash and made several critical defensive mistakes.

After carving up Steve Nash in the first half, Mike D’Antoni switched Grant Hill onto Parker in the second half and Hill made Parker work a mite harder to clear him to the basket. That extra second gave Phoenix’ rotations ample time to sag in and contest Parker at the hoop.

Parker also overhandled on several occasions and made key mistakes with the ball.

The Spurs did an unsatisfactory job on the backboards, yielding 40 rebounds while only gathering 36.

San Antonio rotated fairly well, but the Spurs seemed caught of guard by Phoenix’ offensive versatility.

The Spurs didn’t pressure ball handlers on any entry pass to the post, even when Shaquille O’ Neal was fronted. The lack of pressure allowed lob passes to lead Shaq to prime scoring positions at the basket.

The older, slower Spurs were a step behind the Suns throughout the second half.

Why The Suns Won:

Despite a porous first half, Shaq’s play in the second half was the biggest difference between the run-and-gun, can’t get it done, Phoenix teams of the last several years and the intriguing Suns team of 2008.

With the score tied at the half, Shaq set up in the post against Fabricio Oberto and overwhelmed him for three straight baby hooks. A fouth fouls banished Shaq to the bench, but when he came back early in the fourth, he hit two more hooks, this time over Tim Duncan.

The Spurs tried to adjust and front Shaq with Oberto and have Duncan rotate from the backside to sandwich the big man, but Shaq (7-9 FG, 9 REB, 16 PTS) was still too powerful for any Spurs defender to contend with. If Shaq can be the low post presence he’s supposed to be, the Suns will have a very difficult toy to stop in the playoffs.

Amare Stoudemire (8-13 FG, 5-5 FT, 2 AST, 21 PTS) abused any Spurs defender off the dribble and with baby hooks. Whenever a Spurs defender sagged off to protect against his first step, Stoudemire was able to drop in a number of jumpers from the outside. He wasn’t as effective in the second half, but Amare’s scoring kept the Suns close at halftime. Amare’s ability to score has rocketed upwards since he’s been moved into a power forward.

While rarely looking to shoot except to keep the defense honest (4-10 FG, 12 PTS), Steve Nash quietly controlled the game with his passing (10 AST) and his decision making (0 TO).

Leandro Barbosa (6-9 FG, 2-4 3FG, 14 PTS) was lightning in a broken field. His ability to create points out of nothing allowed the Suns offense to burst into runs, whereas the Spurs had to work diligently to generate any open look.

The Suns had great offensive balance from all of their players as at least seven Suns scored eight points or more.

Mike D’Antoni out-coached Gregg Popovich. He collapsed his defense in the second half in order to contain Tony Parker and force San Antonio’s jump shooters to beat them. He also switched Grant Hill onto Parker in the second half, making it more difficult for Parker to break into the lane. D’Antoni also broke out a zone at various points in the ball game, holding the Spurs to three made baskets in eight possessions.

No matter what lineup the Suns were in—big, small, super-small—the Suns always had the right play call to generate open looks.

The Suns won because their offense was so diverse and potent, even in the half court. Power ball with Shaq, isolations for Amare, Barbosa on the break, Nash making snappy decisions, Phoenix put so much pressure on the Spurs with their varying methods of attack.

But it should be noted, that with a tie game after the half, and only a four point lead heading into the final chapter, Phoenix made sure to get the ball to Shaq down low where the Big Diesel was never answered.

Why The Suns Could Have Lost:

Amare is still too much of a hothead to be completely reliable in the playoffs. A poor rotation led to one foul, a blatantly moving screen led to another, and a dumb charging foul led to a third. Stoudemire could have been much more of a threat if he wasn’t saddled most of the first three quarters with foul trouble.

Stoudemire refused to recover to Tim Duncan after helping in the paint, allowing Duncan to knock down two uncontested jumpers.

Shaq also committed way too many loose ball and offensive fouls limiting his minutes and effectiveness.

The Suns were poor rebounders in their zone, giving up the majority of San Antonio’s nine offensive boards.

While the Suns did allow the Spurs to shoot at will, there were innumerable open looks that San Antonio was fortunate to miss.

Boris Diaw still goes up too soft around the basket.

The Suns defense still looks average at best, a trait that has me hesitate when I look at possible Western Conference Champions. Still, the fact that their explosive offense is now centered around power basketball gives Phoenix a winning formula for the playoffs, especially considering how versatile that offense can be.

As for the Spurs, their legs are failing and their age is showing. It’s too late in the season for them to discover the fountain of youth. Unless their jump shooting miraculously returns to form, the Spurs will not be around to experience the Western Conference Finals.