Chapter 511: Taking the Double Team to the Extreme
Swish.
The free throw dropped, and the Suns moved in front 3 to 0.
The Mavericks came back on offense.
Nowitzki drifted to the left wing, just beyond the 3 point line at a 45 degree angle, and caught the ball to initiate the set. Artest cut hard without the ball, took the pass on the move, and powered two steps toward the rim, trying to bully Grant Hill with pure strength.
Hill was knocked off balance in the air, but Artest also lost control of his body and missed the layup.
The home crowd roared again. Every cheer felt like another layer of pressure on the Mavericks.
Hill grabbed the defensive rebound and pushed it ahead to Nash. Artest had missed, but his defensive intensity remained high. He immediately pressured Nash to prevent Phoenix from getting into its preferred tempo.
Only after Nash crossed half court did Dallas switch back, letting Kidd pick him up again.
At the top of the arc, Nash changed direction with a crossover, but he could not shake Kidd. Stoudemire stepped up to set the screen. Nowitzki dropped deep enough to delay Nash's drive, giving Kidd time to recover.
With 14 seconds still left on the shot clock, Nash did not waste time. An elite floor general never waits until the final few seconds to create. That would be playing into the defense's hands.
Nash accelerated hard to the right and turned the corner on Kidd, but because the space was limited, he could not fully build speed. Kidd stayed attached to his hip, and as Nash took his second step, Kidd gave him a subtle shove.
It was the kind of veteran trick officials usually ignored.
There was a clear strength gap between them. After losing his balance in midair, Nash no longer had a clean angle for the layup.
But his vision was ridiculous. He brought the ball behind his head with both hands and, just before stepping out of bounds, whipped it out to the 3 point line.
Grant Hill caught it, did not rush, and calmly gave himself space against Ray Allen before gliding into the lane for a layup.
A steady finish.
5 to 0.
Kidd walked the ball up again.
Rick Carlisle shouted from the sideline for his players to stay composed and not speed up. He was not worried about Dallas going cold. The Mavericks had too many ways to score.
Kidd and Nowitzki ran a handoff, and Dirk caught at the high post in triple threat position.
Artest cut again without the ball. In this Mavericks lineup, his on ball opportunities were limited. Nowitzki and Ray Allen were both ahead of him in the hierarchy.
Artest accepted that. He understood his role from the moment he joined Dallas. He could score when needed, but he was also willing to do the dirty work and anchor the defense.
The Suns' defense sagged. Hill and Diaw both focused on Nowitzki, leaving Artest momentarily free.
Stoudemire had to slide over from the paint to cover for his teammates. Otherwise Artest would have had a completely open path to the basket.
That rotation left Antoine Wright open on the other side of the baseline. Nash recovered quickly and got in front of him.
Nash's defense was limited mostly by his physical tools, not his effort or awareness. He always knew where he was supposed to be.
Then a strange picture emerged on the floor. All 5 Suns defenders had collapsed to within the free throw line, leaving Kidd standing on the perimeter with nearly 5 meters of open space.
Antoine Wright swung it to him, and Kidd calmly rose and fired.
Fans had long ago nicknamed him Kidd the Non Scorer, but that did not mean he had no offense at all.
His perimeter percentage was low, sure, but he was still an All Star point guard. A shot more open than a practice rep was absolutely makeable for him.
5 to 3.
"The Suns are collapsing far too much on defense, and it is giving Dallas open 3 point looks," Kenny Smith said.
"They could get away with that against Utah last round, but not against Dallas. This team has too many shooters. Dirk, Ray Allen, Artest, and even Kidd, who just hit one, all have range," Barkley added.
After Kidd's 3, the Suns inbounded quickly from the baseline.
"Get back, get back!" Carlisle shouted again.
Dallas had gone small precisely to take away Phoenix's transition game. If they still could not get back, there would have been no point in sacrificing size. They might as well have played Dampier for rebounding.
Phoenix settled into another half court possession.
Dallas ran intricate half court offense. Phoenix was the opposite. Their structure was much simpler.
Chen Yan moved along the baseline while Diaw screened his defender. Nowitzki switched onto him immediately, and Chen Yan curled into the right corner to receive the ball.
It was a 1 on 1 action D'Antoni had specifically designed for him. It not only gave Chen Yan a clean isolation, it often created a mismatch too.
Chen Yan stepped out with his right foot, paused, and then exploded off the dribble.
Kidd came flying over from the top for the trap.
Dallas had clearly studied Phoenix's sets. They were not going to let Chen Yan attack in single coverage if they could help it.
That meant the Suns had numbers elsewhere. Chen Yan gathered right away and whipped a two handed pass into the paint. Stoudemire caught it and attacked the rim immediately.
Antoine Wright had no choice but to foul. Stoudemire went to the line and made both.
Chen Yan and Stoudemire slapped hands and ran back together. Stoudemire's touch looked better tonight.
Dallas came back again. Nowitzki caught on the perimeter, and Diaw pressed up into him, refusing to give him clean airspace.
Dirk's first step was not especially fast, so Diaw did not fear being blown by. Even if Dirk got a shoulder ahead, help would arrive. Compared with the drive, the real danger was always his jumper.
Nowitzki raised the ball over his head, swung it in a wide arc, took one dribble to his right, and immediately drew a second defender. Grant Hill came over hard to trap him.
The Suns were sending pressure at Dirk early and cutting off the easy passing lanes.
He was Dallas's unquestioned offensive center. And compared with his scoring, his vision and passing were much more ordinary. The fact that he often averaged only around 2 assists despite constant double teams made that clear enough.
Dirk did not bend the defense with precise kickouts or deep skip passes. He could make the obvious read, but he was not a natural creator. Against a player like that, doubling was far more rewarding than against someone like Chen Yan.
Dirk put the ball on the floor once, then rose into a fading jumper over both defenders.
He could absolutely make tough shots, but that did not mean defense had no effect.
Clang.
The ball bounced off the rim.
Stoudemire grabbed the rebound, and Phoenix flowed right back into half court offense. They ran the same action as the previous possession.
Chen Yan curled to the corner and caught. The double team came again.
This time, he turned his body sideways, brought the ball in tight, and gave a pass fake.
Kidd did not clamp down as hard as before. He was wary of Chen Yan's passing now.
The next instant, Chen Yan pulled the ball back to his chest, turned, and rose into a jumper.
Swish.
He had frozen both defenders and knocked it down with ease.
7 to 3.
Across these two possessions, Chen Yan already understood Dallas's plan.
They were going to take the trapping strategy to the limit tonight.
That also meant he would need to work farther from the basket if he wanted to receive the ball comfortably and punish them from there.
.....
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