Half Right is Better Than All Wrong

What a difference a total lack of defense makes, eh? After getting waxed by the Artists Formerly Known as Seattle on Tuesday, the Blazers did a little bit of waxing themselves against Phoenix last night. As I predicted, Portland fared much better against the run-and-gun Suns than they did against the Thunder, despite the fact that they were on the road and facing a more experienced and offensively explosive team in Phoenix than they did on Tuesday against the Thunder. It seemed like the Blazers were due for a strong response after getting so thoroughly embarrassed, and although I have no doubt that this was the case (along with the inspiration they got after Juwan Howard laid into them on Tuesday night), you can really chalk this victory up to a complete lack of defensive pressure from the Suns.

From the opening tip, the Blazers got just about everywhere they wanted to go and met little resistance from Phoenix en route to an impressive 108-101 victory that saw Portland ahead by almost 20 at one point. In addition to getting where they wanted to go with ease, Portland got plenty of good shots that they were able to knock down thanks again to a lack of pressure from Phoenix. With six players in double figures, the Blazers rode a balanced attack past the Suns and are now headed into the All-Star break on a positive note.

And as I postulated yesterday, the match-ups were more favorable for Portland and proved to be the difference last night. On Tuesday night, the Thunder hounded LaMarcus Aldridge and prevented him from getting the ball in his comfortable shots (or at all) and took him out of the game for long stretches. Against Phoenix last night, Aldridge repeatedly caught uncontested entry passes and was able to get into the paint with little resistance time and again. The result was a scalding hot shooting performance from the only LA we like in Portland, as he finished 11-17 from the field for a team high 22 points. Amar'e Stoudemire and Channing Frye were conscientious objectors for most of the game and paid the price for letting Aldridge establish a rhythm early on. Once LA sank a few jump hooks, the jumper started falling from all over and that was pretty much all she wrote for Phoenix.

The other match-ups I liked going into last night's game were in the backcourt, where the Blazers were able to exploit Steve Nash (and the other Phoenix defenders) all night long. Benefitting greatly from a lack of ball pressure, the Blazer guards were able to initiate their offense without impediment and established a good rhythm in the first quarter. Dribble penetration wasn't met with so many help defenders last night, and so both Andre Miller and Steve Blake were allowed to cut the Suns to ribbons by either scoring or dishing to an open teammate. Both players finished with 20 points and thoroughly outplayed the Phoenix guards on both ends of the floor.

While we're on the subject of Blazer guards, I'd like to highlight a great decision by coach McMillan: starting Steve Blake. Blake was the player of the game, pouring in 20 points and dishing out 12 assists with only one turnover. After the Blazers killed themselves with turnovers against the Thunder, McMillan inserted Blake to keep the Blazers under control and to take care of the ball, two of his specialties. Blake was aggressive early on and rose to the challenge of playing against Steve Nash admirably. When the Suns played Blake to pass, he made them pay by knocking down shots and did the opposite once they started playing him to score. Add in good defense on the other end and Blake was easily the difference between a humiliating loss to OKC and an impressive victory over Phoenix.

While it was a good win for the Blazers (they all are, aren't they?), I feel like this game said more about Phoenix than it did about Portland. It seems to me that Phoenix has only one way to win and are ill-equipped to compete in a game where their shots aren't falling and they don't establish a huge lead early on. Since they really play no defense at all, they have no recourse if they can't suck you into their style of game. In any sport, the best way to beat an opponent is to make them do things that they're uncomfortable with. To be really successful, you need more than one way to do that, and it is plain to see that Phoneix lacks this kind of balance.

The Suns way of forcing people out of their comfort zone is to outscore you and force you to play their style to try and catch up, which works great as long as Phoenix can score points and you actually fall for their trap (so many teams do). But if their shots don't fall and they can't force you to start playing from behind early on, what can they do? Most teams would use defensive effort and energy to take away your offensive sets, but the Suns can't or won't do that so they are really up a creek, especially against other elite teams that thrive on the kind of balance they lack.

Does Phoneix need to become the best defensive team in the league in order to be more successful? No, but they do need to be willing to at least make some kind of effort to keep their opponents from getting the shots they like to take. There's really no reason that a team that talented should lose to a Portland squad like this one that is so decimated by injuries (especially at home), but they have no recourse if their shots don't fall. And it's a freaking shame, because Phoenix is great to watch and Steve Nash is one of the most likable guys in the Association today. So it goes.

Check back after the All-Star break for more world class content (or not...).