http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2015/11/20/suns-guard-ronnie-prices-pressure-rattles-opponents/76138738/
DENVER – Eric Bledsoe is one of the strongest, fastest defenders on point guards in the league with the ability and athleticism to avoid screens and stay ahead of an opponent’s dribble.
Yet it might be a relief for those point guards to see Bledsoe on them again after dealing with Ronnie Price.
For the 10 to 15 minutes that Price might get in a game for the Suns, he makes his presence known with the effort and defensive pressure that turned a college scorer into a NBA 11-year veteran.
“Just having someone know that it’s not going to be an easy task, that makes me feel better than having someone look at me like, ‘I’m going to go after this guy,’” Price said.
They know better now. Price always has been an irritant for opposing ball-handlers trying to shoo him away like a pesky mosquito. This season, Price is coming up with steals at a higher pace than at any point in his career.
In Wednesday’s game against Chicago, it was striking when he picked Aaron Brooks’ and E’Twaun Moore’s dribbles in the backcourt. He had done the same to Darren Collison, stealing the ball from him as he turned to head upcourt.
Price’s penchant for picks is like a cornerback who studies receivers’ and quarterbacks’ patterns. Sometimes, it’s a blind-side swipe when a ball-handler is not looking. Other times, he has gambled or been beaten but recovers in anticipation of where the ball is going next when a teammate has left a man open to help on Price’s man.
“I watch people’s patterns,” Price said. “It’s like a game of chess. I might play you a certain way just to see what your counter move is the first two times you dribble up the floor and just see what your dribble pattern is. And then maybe the third or fourth time, I’ll see if I can jump on one of your dribble patterns.”
Price describes his team as “feisty,” which would mean they have taken on his characteristics. Bledsoe and Brandon Knight are better ball-handlers for having to deal with Price’s full-court defense since voluntary workouts.
“When he pressures the ball and takes on a team … it puts a time constraint on them and they have to rush things a little bit,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said.
The Suns did not plan for Price to be an every-game rotation player. They have Bledsoe and Knight that they could interchange at the spot for all 48 minutes but Price’s momentum-changing defensive energy is a bench boost, particularly if he continues to hit 3-pointers at a better rate (nine for 22, 41 percent).
“More than anything you’re just trying to take time off the clock,” Price said. “If I can turn a guy two, three times in the backcourt, and then he crosses half court he’s worn down a little bit, and he’s looking up and he has 15 seconds left on the shot clock, and he’s trying to get his team organized to run a play, that’s the primary reason.”
Free throws
The Suns had their best two games of transition defense Monday and Wednesday, giving up nine and seven fast-break points in those games. Hornacek said the Suns have been better about hustling back, getting off the floor to avoid four-on-five situations and communicating. “Most teams nowadays like to get in the open court and use their athleticism and take advantage there,” Hornacek said. “So if you can get them in half-court, you’ve got a better chance.
Hornacek on whether Tyson Chandler slows the tempo: “It’s probably a good slowdown. We get into some of that drag action. We’re not just coming down and firing up a quick shot or we’re trying to split two or three players and then trying to make a play. Our guards, when they see there are guys back, then they wait until Tyson comes and sets that drag screen or Markieff (Morris) or Jon (Leuer) and then we get in the offense that way.
Suns small forward T.J. Warren on the illness that kept him home from Wednesday's game: "I knew it was coming but I didn’t know it was going to be that bad, being as weak as I was and sweating. It was terrible."
In certain travel situations, the Suns are staying in the same city this season after a game, like Friday night in Denver. Hornacek said they looked at sleep-study patterns to prompt the change. “Some of these places, you are getting in at 2 or 3 in the morning and, by the time the guys fall asleep, it might be 4 a.m.,” Hornacek said. “You might be better off staying and letting them go out and have dinner and then just fly the next day.”
