Houston defense tough test for Suns
Tim Tyers
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 14, 2003 12:00 AM
Tonight's game
SUNS AT ROCKETS
WHERE: Toyota Center, Houston.
WHEN: 6:30 p.m.
TV/RADIO: UPN 45/KTAR-AM (620).
SUNS UPDATE: Phoenix has lost three straight games to the Rockets and shot an anemic 39 percent in four games against them last year. Center Scott Williams (thumb) returned to practice Thursday but won't be activated for at least a week.
ROCKETS UPDATE: Houston is 5-2 after losing Thursday night at Dallas. Guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley are averaging 18.9 and 17.7 points per game, respectively, and center Yao Ming is averaging 14.9. The front line of Yao, Kelvin Cato and Jim Jackson is averaging almost seven blocks a game.
The NBA released the 2004 All-Star Game ballot Thursday, and it included three Suns: guard Stephon Marbury and forwards Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire.
Three Suns starters supposedly are All-Star caliber, but the offense against a zone resembled a fire drill in a flea circus in losses to Atlanta and Utah and even in a win over Memphis.
That should make tonight's meeting with the stingy Houston Rockets very interesting, considering that the Suns shot a weak 39 percent in losing three of four to the Rockets last season.
Entering Thursday's game at Dallas, Houston, under new coach Jeff Van Gundy, was allowing a league-low 76.8 points per game and holding opponents to 35.5 percent shooting (No. 1 in field-goal defense).
The Rockets (5-2) have moved 6-foot-11 Kelvin Cato, who was 7-6 Yao Ming's backup in the post last season, to starting power forward. Although Cato is more turtle than hare, he is one of the NBA's best shot blockers, and Van Gundy is utilizing that asset.
Suns coach Frank Johnson said he believes the Suns' offensive problems are overblown.
"We saw 11 or 12 possessions against the zone on tape after the Atlanta game," he said. "We got the shots. They just didn't go down. What happens if you make those shots? They come out of the zone.
"Somebody asked me (Wednesday) why scoring is down. Well, we're just not shooting very good."
Those without benefit of the tape saw a team that often looked confused and launched more than a couple of panic-stricken, long-distance shots at important times.
"We sometimes think too much," Johnson said. "You miss one shot, you miss two, you miss three - now everyone is putting so much pressure on themselves because they want to do it so bad. But to do it, sometimes all you have to do is make one more pass. Then maybe another guy will do it and the next guy will also make one more pass."
Right, but then you run the chance that the team could fall into a syndrome called overpassing.
"Yeah," Johnson said with a wry smile. "I'd like to see that happen."
The good news for the Suns is that the Rockets don't play much zone defense.
"Their guards are pushing at the top and funneling everything down to Yao and Cato," Johnson said. "If you run a pick and roll, Yao is always back there waiting. Cato is also a big part of their defense.
" . . . They're also getting back and eliminating layups in transition. I don't think this is just a case of them getting off to a fast start. . . . They're for real."
Then, with a touch of comic timing, Johnson offered the bad news.
"They'll probably play some zone against us," he said.
Why not? It makes sense. First, the Suns have to show they can handle a zone. Second, Rockets guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley and forward Jim Jackson have the quickness to defend shooters on the perimeter without worrying about giving up the inside.
Tim Tyers
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 14, 2003 12:00 AM
Tonight's game
SUNS AT ROCKETS
WHERE: Toyota Center, Houston.
WHEN: 6:30 p.m.
TV/RADIO: UPN 45/KTAR-AM (620).
SUNS UPDATE: Phoenix has lost three straight games to the Rockets and shot an anemic 39 percent in four games against them last year. Center Scott Williams (thumb) returned to practice Thursday but won't be activated for at least a week.
ROCKETS UPDATE: Houston is 5-2 after losing Thursday night at Dallas. Guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley are averaging 18.9 and 17.7 points per game, respectively, and center Yao Ming is averaging 14.9. The front line of Yao, Kelvin Cato and Jim Jackson is averaging almost seven blocks a game.
The NBA released the 2004 All-Star Game ballot Thursday, and it included three Suns: guard Stephon Marbury and forwards Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire.
Three Suns starters supposedly are All-Star caliber, but the offense against a zone resembled a fire drill in a flea circus in losses to Atlanta and Utah and even in a win over Memphis.
That should make tonight's meeting with the stingy Houston Rockets very interesting, considering that the Suns shot a weak 39 percent in losing three of four to the Rockets last season.
Entering Thursday's game at Dallas, Houston, under new coach Jeff Van Gundy, was allowing a league-low 76.8 points per game and holding opponents to 35.5 percent shooting (No. 1 in field-goal defense).
The Rockets (5-2) have moved 6-foot-11 Kelvin Cato, who was 7-6 Yao Ming's backup in the post last season, to starting power forward. Although Cato is more turtle than hare, he is one of the NBA's best shot blockers, and Van Gundy is utilizing that asset.
Suns coach Frank Johnson said he believes the Suns' offensive problems are overblown.
"We saw 11 or 12 possessions against the zone on tape after the Atlanta game," he said. "We got the shots. They just didn't go down. What happens if you make those shots? They come out of the zone.
"Somebody asked me (Wednesday) why scoring is down. Well, we're just not shooting very good."
Those without benefit of the tape saw a team that often looked confused and launched more than a couple of panic-stricken, long-distance shots at important times.
"We sometimes think too much," Johnson said. "You miss one shot, you miss two, you miss three - now everyone is putting so much pressure on themselves because they want to do it so bad. But to do it, sometimes all you have to do is make one more pass. Then maybe another guy will do it and the next guy will also make one more pass."
Right, but then you run the chance that the team could fall into a syndrome called overpassing.
"Yeah," Johnson said with a wry smile. "I'd like to see that happen."
The good news for the Suns is that the Rockets don't play much zone defense.
"Their guards are pushing at the top and funneling everything down to Yao and Cato," Johnson said. "If you run a pick and roll, Yao is always back there waiting. Cato is also a big part of their defense.
" . . . They're also getting back and eliminating layups in transition. I don't think this is just a case of them getting off to a fast start. . . . They're for real."
Then, with a touch of comic timing, Johnson offered the bad news.
"They'll probably play some zone against us," he said.
Why not? It makes sense. First, the Suns have to show they can handle a zone. Second, Rockets guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley and forward Jim Jackson have the quickness to defend shooters on the perimeter without worrying about giving up the inside.
