People Who Play Sport

When asked about Bill Belichick’s coaching success, analyst Chris Schultz said that New England’s coach understood the difference between football players and people who play football. When asked about Sam Cassell’s potential as a coach, Sam Mitchell said that Los Angeles’ point guard must learn what to do when players don’t see what he sees.

Major-General Isaac Brock was appreciated for the charisma he employed while commanding British forces in Upper Canada. Colonel Roger Sheaffe was equally disliked for his aloofness and occasionally cruel management style. The critical trait was to treating the 49th Regiment of Foot as a group of people, not mindless soldiers.

Criticism of the Phoenix-Miami trade ignores that the Suns are people who play basketball. What if the Marion-Stoudamire rift was destroying team chemistry? Or what about Phoenix’s increased confidence playing with Shaq? Opponent reluctance to attack the basket? And Shaq’s drive to prove doubters wrong? All personal factors that cannot be easily measured.

Shawn Marion’s steals on the wing and finishes on the break can be measured, as can the disappearance of easy baskets in the playoffs. Boards mean more than strips because of the opportunities they provide. Teams can win games with 85 points in the postseason if they allow only 80. Halfcourt sets must generate high-percentage shots. All areas where Shaq succeeds and Marion does not.

Shawn Marion brought multiple positives to the Suns but the positive reaction of the people involved in the trade is a prominent reason why it might push the team to new heights. Nevertheless, Steve Kerr should sign the best wing defender in the C.B.A. in case Phoenix must stop Kobe Bryant in the second round.

Tom Coughlin changed his philosophy after New York started the N.F.L. season with two losses. Self-assurance and poise defined the Giants’ championship run. Execution improved on both sides of the ball, not because of fear of discipline but due to increased focus and reduced stress.

In the Superbowl, New England proved fallible after all. Tom Brady - the person, not the image - was pressured throughout the game and made mistakes. The Patriots faced tremendous adversity; New York’s awareness of this fact supplemented the confidence that the Giant’s gained from their Week 17 experience against the Pats.

People are not perfect and it is consequently extremely difficult for teams to do likewise. Had Belichick followed Schultz’s characterization more closely, he would have done more to eliminate outside influcences on the Patriots and coached more actively. New England seemed to need more external motivation to energize the older and tired team whose intrinsic motivation had faded after eighteen consecutive wins.

Players from the intramural to the professional levels are always affected by emotions which are as difficult to master as elite sport. Accepting that players are fallible individuals is an essential criterion for successful coaches.

Take Initiative

Sam Mitchell and the Toronto Raptors let the Phoenix Suns take a 139-123 victory last night. Earlier in the day, Mitchell boasted in the Fan 590’s morning show that the team had three ways to stop Steve Nash and the Suns.

None of them worked.

Help Defence

José Calderon - and later Anthony Parker - guarded Nash relatively well. But the double-team to stop dribble penetration was disastrous, leaving deadly shooters like Leandro Barbosa open to make three pointers all night. Phoenix is tough to defend because every player possesses unique weapons. Perhaps Grant Hill is the best starter to leave open since he shoots triples so rarely but surely someone could have defended Barbosa after he dropped twenty-two in the first half.

Screen and Roll Defence

The Raptors switched screens - creating openings upon which the Suns immediately capitalized, such as when Amare Stoudamire threw down an alley-oop dunk on T.J. Ford. Other times the team rotated well, three players switching and forcing a bad shot; exaples of the persistent defence that could have won the game if it were more consistent.

Substitution Pattern

Jamario Moon played the first three quarters, then sat for a few minutes, playing a few more minutes before the benches were finally cleared. To me, that’s an illogical rotation. If a player receives that many minutes to start the game, they should be good enough to play the fourth quarter. Moon changed several shots and totally owned Shawn Marion on a block but his thirty-nine minutes were perplexing.

I believe in planning substitutions ahead of time: taking advantage of the fact that daily practices provide a larger sample size than one quarter, keeping track of good combinations and team chemistry, and avoiding incidents were a player might be forgotten.

Lastly, Kris Humphries played fourteen minutes when he should have been riding the pine. Humphries is not skilled enough to compete with Phoenix for an entire game (he did go off for a couple of possessions after his technical foul) and was responsible for many ill-timed switches.

Three Strategies to Consider for the Next Time

The Raptors should have attacked their opponents. They did not generate enough offensive pressure to affect what Phoenix did at the other end. The one successful element that Toronto possessed that the Suns (sans Kurt Thomas) could not handle was Rasho Nesterovic inside. After a strong first half, they ignored the Slovenian and his ornate post offence, attempting to play a second rate version of the PHX game.

Carlos Delfino and Jason Kapono missed countless shots too. Had Toronto played a screen and roll game with Calderon and Nesterovic, they would have generated countless pull-up Js, post-moves, and open threes for Anthony Parker.

From the opening tip, basketball teams have to come out and take the victory. Accentuating strengths, playing physically, and showing confidence combine for victories, now and in April, May, and June. The Raptors played passively, allowing the Suns to control everything. How many times do you shoot 55%, score 123 points, and lose?

Never (if you play great transition D).

On the subject of Phoenix and San Antonio’s Game 5, Specifically

Bruce Bowen Drills Baseline Threes: So do Morris Peterson, Joe Johnson, and Donyell Marshall. Given how awkward Bowen is from the wing or the top of the key, he must shoot very well from corner in order to maintain his 38% overall three point percentage. In fact, the baseline three Bowen attempted in the last minute of Game 5 provided the Spurs with a higher expected point value (1.26) than had any of the other four players on the court attempted a two-point field goal (1.04).

Mike D’Antoni Occasionally Mismanages His Rotation: The Suns largely played six players, in light of the suspensions to Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw. Defensively, Phoenix conceded some open looks or fouled unnecessarily. Offensively, there were some atrocious possessions were Steve Nash dribbled endlessly into the defence while shooters and cutters stood still. At both ends of the court, it seems like fatigue contributed to questionable decisions.

The go-ahead three-pointer succeeded because San Antonio moved the ball away from the defence and Nash could not get to Bowen in time. I propose that if the Suns had played a deeper rotation, using Marcus Banks to spell the guards briefly and Jalen Rose to carry some of the scoring load, they would have had more energy for defence during the Spurs decisive run

The Suns Work Very Hard on Defence but their Execution Is Sometimes Lacking: Phoenix should have doubled the post entry to Tim Duncan and left Tony Parker open outside the arc, as they did. Parker was the best option out of a set of bad choices for the Suns: Manu Ginobli was en fuego, Michael Finley was draining shots from the line of 45º - when he passed on his shot, he was swinging it swiftly to Bowen in the corner - and Duncan and Parker were consistent as usual.

Why did Leandro Barbosa make such a looping turn after the ball left the double-team? The fastest guy on the court could only recover to Parker and box him out in the Russian Spot during the shot. Maybe he could have reached Bowen if he had more energy. How did James Jones, guarding Finley, get awkwardly tangled up in the strong-side with Barbosa? If Raja Bell and Nash had not played 47 and 46 minutes respectively, could they have run and jumped Parker’s penetration better? Could Nash have closed out Bowen effectively with fresher legs?

It will never be known whether the Suns too tired to close out correctly down the stretch or if they were unaware of where the San Antonio threats were positioned during the critical play.

It’s Important to Mentally Prepare for End-Game Situations: D’Antoni should have given more thought to the rotation after the initial double. It was highly probable that Parker would penetrate after receiving the pass. Had Bell plugged the foul line, Nash quickly stepped up to Ginobli, and Barbosa switched to Bowen, I think they could have prevented Parker from getting to the rim, Ginobli and Finley from shooting, and gotten to Bowen in time to change his shot, Barbosa’s physical limitations aside.

Many complicated issues would have arisen. Shawn Marion would have probably bared the onus of stopping Duncan one-on-one in a low shot clock situation. Duncan tough to stop on the block and may have gone to the line. All five Suns would have to box out. All things considered, I think that that scenario yields an expected point value of 1.02, although that figure is more art than science.

Mike D’Antoni’s Worries

It is not the end of the Phoenix Suns’ world if Amare Stoudemire is suspended for Game 5 of the Conference Semi-Finals. The actions of Bruce Bowen and others that the Association Head Office has permitted during the first four games of the series should provide some context to any suspensions assessed as a result of Robert Horry body checking Steve Nash into the scorer’s table and the subsequent melee. Suspending Stat for leaving the bench during an altercation would be neither consistent with restorative justice nor crippling to Phoenix’s chances to beat San Antonio.

First of all, the Suns would have to play Kurt Thomas more; they acquired him to defend Tim Duncan in a series like this. Thomas is a superior man-to-man defender and commits fewer fouls than Stoudemire, who has been in foul trouble frequently. The Spurs’ offence was disrupted in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game because of the multiple defences that Phoenix employed to stop the screen and roll and post play, irrespective of whether Stoudemire was on the court or not.

Thomas is smarter and quicker to rotate than Stoudemire. He can cut off Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker’s penetration in order to force a pass out without fouling as much. Thomas also possesses ten years more experience in diverse post-season situations that Stoudamire does not.

At the other end of the court, Thomas can screen and roll excellently with Nash. While he cannot create his own shot (neither can Stoudemire at this point in his career), Thomas can hit the fifteen foot shot that San Antonio will give him. Although Stoudemire is a tremendous offensive rebounder relative to Thomas, Shawn Marion is more than capable to pick up some of the slack at in that area.

When the Spurs physically pressure the ball in the halfcourt, the Suns’ man-to-man offence breaks down and all that remains is created by Nash’s ballhandling. For example, Carlos Boozer’s low-post moves drive the Utah Jazz’s inside/outside game. Phoenix lacks such a presence on the block so losing Stoudemire would be an enormous obstacle but he is not irreplaceable. Nash could continue to penetrate under defensive pressure and get the ball to other teammates in scoring positions.

Boris Diaw’s suspension is cancelled out by Big Shot Rob’s ban. Diaw’ lackluster play won’t be missed offensive but the combined absence of two players 6-8 and taller will strain Marion and Thomas on the defensive end, forcing them to expend more energy playing additional minutes. This is not a feat that those two have not performed before. Should anyone get into foul trouble inside, Phoenix will have severe problems as Game 4 demonstrated how even Fabricio Oberto can succeed in the right situations.

Mike D’Antoni’s team has many options: Four out, one in (if that). Transition baskets. Penetrate and dish/kick. Screen and roll and Circle Play options. Double-team and rotation. Run and jump. Stop the guards’ penetration off the dribble and screens. Force a lower percentage shot and starting the fast-break.

It will be exceptionally challenging if Phoenix must play without Stoudemire; hopefully the Suns won’t have to.

Individual and Team Honours

“I think back to the people who would drop by my office and say, ‘keep your head up’ when you’re feeling down. Publicly, when I was out and about, I kept my head up, you’re never going to show people that you’re struggling with things on the inside, but when you’re sitting in your office by yourself and you’ve lost three or four in a row and people come by and say kind words, you remember those times.”
- Sam Mitchell

The Toronto Raptors bested the New Jersey Nets 89-83 in Game 2 of a first-round series and Sam Mitchell claimed the Association’s Coach of the Year Award today. The former far supercedes the latter because it is the first playoff win in five seasons but Mitchell’s citation is also meaningful because it is significant of team effort and was earned because Toronto’s coaches and players kept their heads up and succeeded despite adversity, illustrating a number of clichéd verses written over the years.

April is the cruelest month. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry he could not travel both, Sam Mitchell finds a thrill in bucking fate and riding down the endless odds. Il a mis son manteau de pluie, parce qu’il pleuvait, et il est parti sous la pluie. His is not to make reply, his is not to reason why.

Oh, all the places he’ll go. If he can dream - and not make dreams his master, if he can think - and not make thoughts his aim, if he can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same, his is the Earth and everything that’s in it.

“It is the eye which makes the horizon.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Preparation and attitude are two of the few things that a coach or athlete can control on game day. I’ve found the offensive sets that the Raptors run to be completely anemic occasionally (Tuesday’s win was encouraging because it shows that Toronto can compete with New Jersey and won’t settle completely for a perimeter game if faced with a combination of a zone defence and crucial no-calls) and Mitchell’s brief experience means that he has much to learn about coaching.

H.A. Dorfman comments on the fine line between athletes who are focused on accomplishing goals and those worried by negative self-talk. Greg Maddux’s mantra is to “execute pitches”; Dorfman believes that pitchers should try to “control the strike zone” or “attack the hitter” because those who fret that “they don’t have good stuff” are doomed to be hit hard.

Likewise, Sam Mitchell has been instrumental in helping this younger team come together and reach their potential. Mitchell has modeled how to remain positive and self-evaluate correctly and the team has benefited from his perspective. Coaching in the Association is exceptionally difficult, as Bob Hill demonstrated when he got a pink slip as Mitchell was getting the Red Auerbach Award.

There is room for improvement throughout the organization and it’s possible that the best path through the yellow wood is the one that Sam Mitchell is traveling. Also, props to my 2007 Championship pick, the Phoenix Suns, for not repeating last year’s mistakes and running the Los Angeles Lakers off the court during the first two games of their first-round series.

Willy Wonka and the Association

The Suns took the Lakers apart in Game 7 of the first round series. PHX is a shallow team but make us of about seven contributors. Los Angeles is a one player team. Bill Simmons wrote that all Kobe-Jordan comparisons should cease if Kobe didn’t destroy Raja Bell in the deciding game. Simmons is right: MJ would have dropped forty-eight points after the game 5 clothesline and post game comments. Michael Jordan always came through when the season was on the line

As for the rest of the Lakers, some played as if they were not aware of 2002-03’s rule change to extend first round series to seven games. Others simply played as if they were not very good. Luke Walton, Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, and Sasha Vujacic all received Golden Tickets when they signed their Laker deals. Los Angeles played well for a few games but in the end their mediocrity shone through. Walton fell into a chocolate lake, Brown swelled up like a giant blueberry, Parker fell in the garbage shut, and Kobe got shrunk to the height of about six inches tall. Or at least it seemed like he did when he was held to three shots in the second half of Game 7. But at least they all got to be Laker fan Terrell Owen’s friends during the season, something Donavan McNab never got to do.

Steve Nash’s ability to make his teammates better is over-rated. Granted, he accentuates their strengths by forcing the defence to help, distributing the ball, and controlling the tempo. Certainly, the rest of the team wouldn’t perform as consistently with another guard. Raja Bell made his name in Game 1 of the 2001 N.B.A. Finals when he shut down Kobe Bryant. Only Steve Nash helped him do it all (well, most of the) series in 2006.

More importantly, Mike D’Antoni and Jerry Colangelo have assembled the right personnel for the team they want to have. They out-scouted everyone regarding Diaw and Barbosa and although it was thought that they overpaid Nash at the time, they definitely got their money’s worth.

Isiah Thomas signed Tim Thomas to an eight figure contract then traded him to Chicago, who wanted to unload Eddy Curry because they were worried he’d die of a heart condition. The Bulls suspended him for most of the year for being a jerk then released him. Phoenix signed Thomas to play the 3 spot in the Steve Nash miracle offence, where he rejuvenated his career and saved the Suns’ season by making a game-tying three-pointed shot at the end of regulation in Game 6.

The Knicks missed the playoffs again and the Bulls lost a tough series to Miami. PHX is still playing because they used independent thinking to solve their problems (open perimeter spots and interior injuries). Denver fired Mike D’Antoni after a fifty game season (the players were awful and necessitated a G.M. change shortly afterward). Phoenix gave him a chance, acquired players that fit his system, and filled the holes with creativity and pluck.

Stream of Consciousness, Part IV

Phoenix: Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom shot the Los Angeles back into their series with Phoenix (29 and 21 points respectively). The Suns have to respond in Game 3 and need better performances from their forwards to do so. The Lakers don’t have anyone who can guard Tim Thomas, Shawn Marion, or Boris Diaw, who must put up more than about ten points of 5 for 10 shooting each. Steve Nash needs more help. Furthermore, Phoenix can’t play any defence and will have trouble winning games in this series if they don’t score triple digits.

Detroit: I don’t feel that Detroit is the overwhelming favourite to win the championship. However, they are a good team with experienced players who play hard, play smart, and play together. They also won’t face a challenging opponent until the Eastern Conference Finals (or perhaps the Association Finals).

The Pistons had started the same five players all year - dodging serious injury - but it appears that this streak of good fortune is over. Since changing direction and cutting is critical to Richard Hamilton’s game, the Pistons should consider benching him until his sprained ankle is fully healed. In the Detroit system, Tony Delk or Lindsey Hunter can pick up the slack. The Bucks may win one game, which won’t be that important in the grand scheme of things; the Pistons should ensure that Hamilton is on the floor at 100% vs. Miami and the Western Conference Champions.

Three Lessons for Sam Mitchell

The Toronto Raptors are a frustrating team to watch. After overcoming a double-digit deficit to claw within a single point of near the end of the third quarter, the bottom fell out. Missing dunks, conceding open threes, taking early shots, not getting back in transition, leaving posts wide open -- offence and defence were both disastrous.

The Suns torched the Raptors with the high rub. They’d slip the screen or roll directly to the basket and get dunks and lay-ups, using a cute baseline back-screen to occupy the help defenders.

Lesson #1 for Sam Mitchell: If 5-10 Andre Barrett plays thirty minutes, switching the big on little screen is not an option. My friend thought they should have run and jumped the dribbler using the high screen. Personally, hedging the screen and rotating the other post on to the screener probably would have sufficed.

The Raptors played awful D; no matter what rotation was attempted with that effort, they would have failed. They scored more than twenty eight points in all four quarters and still lost. The Suns shot58% from the field, including 56% from beyond the arc. Boris Diaw, who almost triple-doubled, was guarded by a point most of the game.

Sometimes the Raptors tried to trap the ball. But they were playing at half-speed. When I double-team, I want players to trap aggressively and sprint to recover. These dudes were jogging. Furthermore, a 5-10 player is not going to trap a 6-8 player in the Association. The defenders were late, the trap was beaten, the ball got moved and someone cashed and open three.

The Suns took the lead with a three point shot about eight seconds into the game and never looked back.

Lesson #2: Don’t play at Phoenix’s tempo. The Raptors were guilty of not using enough clock to slow down the game and make Phoenix work on defence.

Morris Peterson and Mike James scored thirty eight and thirty six points respectively. Any decent guard can score twenty five against Phoenix. They play defence like a bunch of turnstiles and allowed too much penetration and too many good looks. They’ll get killed in the playoffs if they do that against a team with forwards. Peterson and James received no help from the forwards.

Lesson #3: Attack Phoenix inside (to be fair the Raptors had no forwards who could ball - Villanueva played poorly). Use posts to play inside-outside. Penetrate and kick to force the Suns to foul. Beat up Marion and Diaw so they have less to give on the offensive end. Although Mike James was feeling the step-back three pointer, other Toronto guards took shots that were low percentage.

Some severely boneheaded plays were made tonight. The Suns are committed to their philosophy and stick to it. The Raptors showed up late to the game, fought hard to get back into it, then mentally checked out for the fourth quarter.

Coach Sam Mitchell said: “They just move the ball and they don’t miss shots.” Really? Perhaps Toronto should game plan for this next time?

A Basketball Rant

On Friday night, my friend accused me of going on a “basketball rant”. I was only responding to his questions about the Pistons, Spurs, and Suns so he could have stopped me at any time by stopping his questions.

Those three teams are arguably the three best in the Association. My friend’s point was that they more or less play a motion offence with a few exceptions.

Recently, Phoenix has been using this “diamond set” often, signalled by Mike D’Antoni, in addition to their transition and pick and roll games. The “diamond set” gives Steve Nash some options by setting ballscreens (do not go under the screen -- the Timberwolves hedged with Kevin Garnett, an excellent option for teams with athletic seven foot tall players). Detroit has their Circle Play for Rip Hamilton and San Antonio has been running a lot of side screen and rolls with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

Tony Parker has been very effective lately. His high shooting percentage makes him one of the most effective point guards in the world. Apparently, he devotes significant time to practicing the difficult shots that he attempts in the paint.

Since these three teams have talent, they don’t need as many plays. They can set their three core players (Detroit: Billups, Hamilton, Prince/Wallace; San Antonio: Duncan, Ginobli, Parker; Phoenix: Nash, Marion, Diaw) in a triangle and let them play. Since they have excellent supporting casts, defences must respect the shooters (R. Wallace, Finley, Jones).

Chris Bosh has been as effective as Tim Duncan recently. Bosh is playing a lot of minutes and taking a lot of shots. However, he’s making a good percentage and getting to the line often. Duncan has been awful from the line lately, which drags down his effective field goal percentage.