Opening Night Shows Varying Paths for Suns, Spurs

Outside of a few stubborn precincts in Michigan and South Florida, the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns, last year’s Western Conference finalists, were almost universally regarded as the two best teams during the 2004-05 NBA season. So it came as a mild surprise that both teams were especially active in the offseason, and that the value of those moves were key to each team’s season openers – the Spurs 102-91 victory over Denver and the Suns’ 111-108 double overtime loss to Dallas.The Spurs moved to address their primary weakness – bench scoring from their perimeter players – by adding savvy veterans Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel.They then fortified their interior reserves by signing Euroball pivotman Fabricio Oberto. With all the other key members of their rotation returning from last year’s championship team, the Spurs look loaded.Phoenix was even more active, trading two starters – forward Quentin Richardson and guard Joe Johnson – to acquire draft picks and frontcourt depth in the form of ex-Knicks power forward Kurt Thomas and Atlanta forward Boris Diaw. The Suns’ fetish for frontcourt depth continued as they even signed amnesty clause refugee Brian Grant.The Suns’ strategy looked curious; rarely has a 60-win team tinkered so heavily with its formula for success.But the moves had solid rationales. Swingmen who can shoot are the most commonly available commodity in the NBA talent pool. Height is the rarest. Last year’s Suns were weakest when center Amare Stoudemire left the game, so the inside focus made sense. Then the Suns filled the voids left by Richardson and Johnson by signing Utah’s Raja Bell and Indiana’s James Jones, both solid defenders who can run the floor and nail the outside shot.But when Stoudemire underwent knee surgery that will sideline him until after the all-star break, all bets were off. It became hard to envision what kind of team the Suns would be.Tuesday night’s marathon against the Mavs answered some of those questions, and what it revealed will concern Suns fans. Phoenix’s final tally was what they normally put up in regulation last year, and Dallas’ rally – the Mavericks overcame a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime – revealed how much the Suns will miss Stoudemire and how little they trust their new big men.The Suns raced out to their big lead via the passing and shooting of reigning league MVP Steve Nash. Shawn Marion, the only other holdover from last year’s starting five, played the pivot for much of the game with Diaw, Jones, and Bell running the wings.It seemed to be working. The Mavs, as they did in last year’s playoff series loss to Phoenix, struggled to match up and strained to get any kind of offensive fluidity. For three quarters, it seemed that Dallas was unaware of the offensive options presented by the small Phoenix lineup. They fired jump shot after jump shot and, entering the final period, were shooting 42.1% from the field.Then they started attacking the paint. A series of short jumpers and layups concentrated the Phoenix defense inside and left Dirk Nowitzki ample space for his three consecutive three pointers, which closed the gap to one point.The breach was obvious, but Suns coach Mike D’Antonio kept the new big men nailed to the bench.Thomas logged only 23 minutes, most in the first half, and Grant only five.By game’s end, Marion had fouled out and the tired Phoenix offense was sputtering. After shooting 48.4% for three quarters, Phoenix went 11-for-32 in the fourth quarter and overtimes.While fans can take heart from the fact that they built a big lead on a good team, the Suns’ meltdown should concern everyone in the organization.Most teams are not going to require 36 minutes to realize that the paint is being manned by a 6-foot-7-inch, 200-pound forward.The next question for the Suns is this: Will they be too far out of contention by the time Stoudemire returns around midseason?***The Spurs looked every bit as formidable as advertised in their opening night win over Denver, a team that many feel will be their foe in the Western Conference finals this season. Last year, the Spurs’ lone weakness was a tendency to go into prolonged offensive funks when either point guard Tony Parker or swingman Manu Ginobili were off their games. But the additions of Van Exel and Finley should resolve that.Finley played the biggest role of the new reserves by scoring 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, which allowed San Antonio to pull away. But he was also vital early in the game. The Nuggets took an early lead, largely powered by third-year forward Carmelo Anthony, who has has chiseled his frame and was overpowering Spurs defensive ace Bruce Bowen in the low post. Spurs coach Greg Popovich substituted Finley, who fronted Anthony, denying him easy entry passes and allowing the Spurs’ defense to rotate to the scene. Without Anthony scoring at will, a 17-8 Denver lead quickly became a 25-19 deficit.Van Exel contributed only five points and Oberto had six points and four rebounds, but both played only 14 minutes. In playing 11 men at least 10 minutes or more, the Spurs highlighted their depth. Popovich can pick and choose the hot hand from a wealth of reserves. San Antonio is also assured that it can survive a prolonged absence from anyone except perhaps all-world power forward Tim Duncan.Opening night is usually too early to be especially definitive, but last year’s Western Conference finalists are clearly moving in different directions.mjohnson@nysun.com

Opening Night Shows Varying Paths for Suns, Spurs

Opening Night Shows Varying Paths for Suns, Spurs

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