an outsider's perspective- Mike D'antoni, hack-a-shaq

[slickvik]

I am a canadian basketball fan, so obviously i am partial towards nash.
I have always been a shaq fan, so have been following phoenix closely since the shaq trade.

I have been closely watching the series, and like you have been disapointed by the suns' performance. Now I am sure, there are already numerous threads already discussing the merits of the shaq trade, coaching, defense, offense etc................

I wanted to approach things slightly different. I wanted everyone's opinion on this. Shaq, atleast numbers wise has done his role in the series and definitly made a positive impact during the regular season. Except for game 1, shaq has relatively held his own against Duncan. Though game 3, the whole team cam unglued. Game 2, shaq outplayed dunacn but the team was collectively outplayed.

One strategy that really strikes me and that was not employed during the season, when the suns beat the spurs, is the hack-a-shaq. For the suns' fans, it is dirty, unsportsmanlike etc......
Though have to give Popawich credit- he knows how to win at any costs. He will use any dirty, underhanded tactic in the book to win. Be it hack-a-shaq, getting horry to body check nash last year (in the dying seconds of a blowout), or using bowen to bodycheck someone in the game.
He wants to win. Employing the hack-a-shaq in this manner has been masterful. Especially using his guards as it keeps the bigs out of trouble.
Pop has very skillfully negated the shaq effect of the trade. Pop observed the two blowout losses in the regular season and knew he had to make adjustments to negate shaq who not only defensively contained duncan, but outplayed him as well.
Hack-a-shaq has absoloutely frustrated shaq, taken him out of the game and destroyed any momentum the suns gain during the game.
What makes me wonder is how come pop has never employed this in the past.
The kobe/shaq lakers were the only team that thoroughly outclassed the spurs. The spurs only trully came out of their own and reached dynasty status after the end of the kobe/shaq era.
I wonder pop would never have employed this strategy against a prime shaq? Then it occured to me Phil Jackson, who is quite the master strategist.

Why has not d'antoni adjusted? Now I am no nba coach, but i could racked my brain on how to counter pop's dirty tactic. It is playoffs, and as pop has shown you win by any means necessary.
If they want to play dirty with hack-a-shaq, why not get brian skinner or someone to get under manu, parkers or duncan' s skin?
Get one of our bench scrubs to throw a hard foul, pick a fight or throw a punch at duncan.
Sure it might cause a brawl. But horry did the same last year?
Pay the suspended player's fine if you have to. It is playoffs.
If the spurs are elavating their game and also their tactics.
We do the same as well.

What do you guys think?

[chrice]

What Horry did last season was inexcusable. I don't want to see the Suns sink to their level. If they want to win by having Bowen roll people's ankles, or Horry by checking them, pity on them. But I don't want to win that way. All but a few more reasons to hate Stern, for doing nothing.

As far as the Hack-A-Shaq technique goes, most of the time even Phil Jackson would leave him in the game, except on rare occasions. Hypothetically, if Shaq made 50% of his free throws, we would be shooting 50% efg. Against the Spurs, getting guaranteed free throw attempts and 50% scoring is a bargain. D'Antoni has confidence that Shaq will split his free throws, that's why he's leaving him in.

[Flash4thewin]

The answer is easy, Kobe. If you start Hack a Shaq with the lakers you get into the penalty early and then Kobe attacks the rim and gets to the free throw line at will. The Suns have no elite guards to make the Spurs pay for hacking Shaq.

[TASTIC]

^This is where you need a guy like Maggette.

You have Shaq, Amare and Maggette and you got 3 guys who can get to the line at will

[slickvik]

why not get one of the scrubs to pick a fight with duncan or parker?

[nba_addict]

Hack-a-Shaq destroys the Suns offensive rythm which is based on continuity. Its hurts D'Antoni system more than just how much Shaq's makes from those free throw attempts.

Amare should attack the basket more than settle for jumpers. Same with Diaw. I hope both Amare and Diaw soon realize they can outrun and outdribble Duncan, Oberto, Horry and Thomas anytime of the day.

Nash should step-up his scoring. While its quite easy to ask for him to score more in front Bowen, he needs to realize he has no choice at all.

More than how Suns and Spurs players performed in the first three games and differences in system philosophy, Popovich outcoached D'Antoni. Just try to observe Popovich's role definition, subsitution patterns and timing of time-out calls. One easy score for Amare inside the paint and its an automatic time-out. Every Spurs players know how to negate Suns players, matchups are not only pre-determined but masterred to the fullest. Plays are executed with near perfection, no unforced shots and ball rotation is superb.

I see the outcome of remaining game(s) being determined by how Grant Hill will perform.

[Barkley93]

We do have a guy that can get to the line, and his name is not Amare.

Too bad he loves to pass two feet away from the basket, and flip it up instead of just dunking the rock.

His name is Boris Diaw and he has effectively forgotten how to dunk the basketball when posting up Michael Finley, Tony Parker or Ime Udoka.

Really sad.

[co_laper]

Hack-a-shaq during the Lakers era isn't that big of a problem because the Lakers weren't a rhytem team and they're halfcourt oriented. It effects the Suns more because they're not that kind of team.

[Suns_fan_2007]

The Suns have not adjusted because D'Antoni does not adjust. Period.