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When the Phoenix Suns traded for Shaquille O'Neal earlier this month, Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups was among those shocked by the move. For years, Phoenix has been the embodiment of the Western Conference's uptempo, run-and-gun style. Adding O'Neal, who moves about as quick as a melting polar ice cap these days, seemed a radical departure for them. It seems the Suns are now thinking what Billups and most of the elite teams in the East figured out a while ago."I think teams have conceded that that run-and-gun style is cool, but in the thick of things, you gotta be able to play halfcourt basketball if you're serious about winning a championship," said Billups, who cited the Los Angeles Lakers trading for Pau Gasol as another example to strengthen his point. "In the playoffs, you have to be able to execute in the half court. We've seen that run-and-gun stuff will only take you so far in the playoffs."
Phoenix still gets up and down the court with sprinter-like speed compared to the rest of the league, and often looks to score early in the shot clock. The addition of O'Neal might take away from that a bit.But even with a slower big man in the middle whose game is on the decline, the future Hall of Fame center still has a post presence that can cause problems at both ends of the floor. In addition, O'Neal at center also frees up All-star Amare Stoudemire to play his more natural power forward position. "It's going to be interesting to see how they incorporate him into their style of play," said Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations. The Pistons will be one of the first to see this new-look Phoenix squad, as they begin their four-game West coast trip with a nationally televised afternoon matchup today with the Suns.
Making matters worse for the Pistons is the fact that they're down one big man after Thursday's trade which sent 7-foot center Primoz Brezec to Toronto for Juan Dixon, a 6-3 combo guard who had three points in his Pistons debut on Friday. "Is there ever a good time to play Shaq?" said Pistons forward Jarvis Hayes. "Shaq is always a handful, no matter who you got." In the past, the Pistons have used a bevy of big men to wear O'Neal down. Saunders said the team's approach to dealing with O'Neal probably won't be all that different, despite having one less big man. "We'll play him pretty much the same way," Saunders said. "He's not the focal point of the offense in Phoenix, like he was in Miami. So we'll have to wait and see how he is, and what we have to do." Added Hayes: "They're still able to get up and down the floor, and can run with the best of them," he said. "I'm kind of excited about this because this is definitely a different kind of Phoenix team than what we're used to playing."
The Pistons embarked Saturday morning on a four-game, weeklong trip to the West, beginning with today's game against the Phoenix Suns. There's a lot to worry about any time a team from the East ventures West, but the Pistons will start by focusing on one thing -- Shaquille O'Neal, the 7-foot-1, 321-pound Goliath now circling the paint for the Suns. "Right now, I'm just worried about Phoenix," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "They're a challenge with Shaq. They're different. It's going to be a good challenge."
O'Neal is not the player he was even two years ago. He missed the All-Star team for the first time in 14 years this season. And the Suns are asking him to play an unfamiliar role, setting up first in the high rather than the low post. But he can still be a beast, and the Suns have tried to incorporate his power game without sacrificing their run-and-gun trademark style. It produced its first win Friday night against Boston -- O'Neal has now played as a Sun twice -- and it has the entire league intrigued."From what I'm hearing, he's running and doing all that stuff that they do," Chauncey Billups said. "It's going to be a little different, but I look forward to that."
After trading Primoz Brezec on Thursday, the Pistons have one fewer big man to help spread out the fouls while guarding O'Neal. Team president Joe Dumars is expected to sign a big man -- he's interested in Dale Davis and Jamaal Magloire -- but not before Monday. So today, If starters Rasheed Wallace or Antonio McDyess get into foul trouble, they'll have only 6-7 Jason Maxiell and 6-9, 210-pound Amir Johnson to call on. "We'll play him pretty much the same way," Saunders said. "He's not the focal point of their offense like he was in Miami. We'll have to see how he is and what we have to do." Once they clear the Suns, they'll hit likely playoff teams in Denver and Utah before easing out against the Los Angeles Clippers. It's not an easy road, but the Pistons can feel good about heading out to it with the right momentum after a thrashing of the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. "This trip is going to be very important, because the first three we play in Phoenix, Denver and Utah, they take your turnovers and turn them into points quick," Saunders said.
Low-Ki wrote:I think this game could get ugly for us. With Shaq and Amare, I think they'll attack our bigs early to get Sheed and McDyess in foul trouble and then feast on Maxey and Amir.
RUSSIAN LIGHTNING wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
Where's Elden when you need him.
beau wrote:On a side note, I have not seen Shaq play like this since his first year in Miami. If he could still play like his old self, why didnt he do it when Miami needed him the most? Strange...
bstein14 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
He knew even if he gave his all his team would still be out in the first or second round.
I guess busting his ass to lose in the second round didn't seem worth it?
