[外電]Suns face tempo battle
By Greg Boeck, USA TODAY
PHOENIX — Play it again, L.A.
Elton Brand, Chris Kaman and the Los Angeles Clippers are the next Hollywood
team to get a crack at pounding the ball inside and slowing down the
run-and-stun Phoenix Suns in the NBA playoffs.
Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom and the Los Angeles Lakers employed that strategy but
came up short in a physical, seven-game first-round series.
"It's no secret," said Suns coach Mike D'Antoni. "They pound it in to Kaman
and Brand, but they also have some outside shooters."
"If they play their tempo," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy told reporters,
"they can beat anybody in this league. They want to play one way, and we
don't want to play that way against them."
So it's small ball vs. big men all over again for the Suns, who open the
best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series at home Monday night (10:30
ET, TNT). Game 1 comes 48 hours after Phoenix stared down Kobe Bryant and the
Lakers' go-inside strategy with a 121-90 Game 7 blowout Saturday.
The win made the Suns only the eighth NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit and
handed the Lakers' Phil Jackson the first opening-round playoff loss of his
coaching career after 14 consecutive wins.
The Suns turned the Lakers series around by cranking up their running game.
"These guys," Bryant said during the series, "are like Olympic runners."
The Suns' front line is faced with another Olympian task. Forward Shawn
Marion will give up 1 inch, 26 pounds and seven days of rest to Brand, and
center Boris Diaw will give up 4 inches, 50 pounds and seven days of rest to
Kaman.
"If we play our pace and our rhythm, we should win like we did the last three
games," said Diaw, a triple-double threat from France.
That's been the Suns' refrain all season. "They have an advantage against
every team, let alone a smaller team like us," said MVP Steve Nash. "We've
seen it before."
Marion celebrated his 28th birthday with a cake after practice Sunday.
Tonight, he gets Brand gift-wrapped by the Clippers.
Brand was an MVP contender most of the season, the inside anchor of a
Clippers team that won its first playoff series since 1976 with its 4-1 romp
against Denver. The 6-8 power forward averaged 24.5 points and 10.8 rebounds
vs. the Suns in the regular season.
"He's a handful," said Marion, who averaged 20 points and 12.3 rebounds
against the Clippers. "He's a lot bigger than I am."
The Clippers are also a lot more rested than the Suns. They finished off the
Denver Nuggets a week ago, then watched the Suns survive three elimination
games.
"The Clippers are better than the Lakers," said guard Raja Bell. "And they've
had seven days to watch us. It's been an uphill battle from a rest and
scouting standpoint."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/playoffs/2006-05-07-clippers-suns-preview_x.htm
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