Keep it deceptive, SUNS !

We as fans know this year’s Suns biggest difference from the past, is their defense, it is not just better, but much, much better, and still, very underrated, because of their deceptiveness.

…and we want to keep it that way, don’t we?

Suns have been known too long as the best-offensive team and at the same time non-defensive playoff team in the past, and defects are more enlightened than assets, and the reason of failure has always been focused on the lack of defense in this team. Thus with all these years, Suns have build a huge brand, as being non-defensive team which is not easy to overcome, and it is making critics outside phoenix hard to admit that Suns actually have (great) defense, without jeopardizing their credentials. …It’s almost a forbidden word in the NBA, it had to be parenthesized.

But there might be more important factor that is misleading the others. It is the starting line-up with no defensive star, but 36, 37 years-old players, immobile Jarron Collins, and well-known defensive-liability of Steve Nash. ( I think it’s already a perfect deception, we don’t have to mention the no-rebound & defense, Amare, of the past)

If I wasn’t a fan of the Suns and heard this starting line-up, it’s impossible to admit they have a better defense in the league. But they do, and I think they are better than most people think. The commitment to defense, chemistry of helping each other is great, but I believe, key for the Suns to constantly over-achieve opponents in defense is not about the line-up, but by out-hustling opponents with fresh legs & concentration provided by the deep 10 man rotation which you rarely hear anywhere else in the playoffs. It’s great to have a defensive star, but what is significantly important in defense, is the energy (fresh legs) and the concentration.

This 10 man rotation should give the Suns an edge over most of the teams in out-hustling opponents & concentration criteria, and the advantage will grow as the games go on, with the fatigue factor setting in. That’s why I predicted that even with their most royal fans on their back, the Blazers can not out-hustle the Suns, which was their only chance to beat them in decisive game 6, because it was deeper in the series and fatigue factor was getting serious to the depleted Blazers team.

I believe this deceptive Suns defense had its psychological implications too. After those consecutive wins in game 2 & 3 which Suns held Blazers under 40%FG in both games by the half, nobody on the Blazers side admitted that the Suns actually played great defense. Well, I guess it’s not easy to admit it when rest of the league can’t .

Just like all those psychological rehabilitation processes, it would have been easier if they just admitted it. With acknowledgment you are more prepared mentally, and in the playoffs where mentality is so much important, it is not good to possibly bring your mental state to a shock, because of that denial. I really think the Blazers team at least had that little mental collapse in games 2 & 3, not because of the well-known offense of the Suns, but by their unexpected (great) defense.

Giving it up on the hope for someone else to give them credit, Alvin & Co. had to start all the conversations by saying “it was defense”, but the headline of The Blazers Beat next day was “Forget the offense, the Phoenix Suns want to talk about their defense”, as though no one else has seen it. I understand the team should deserve more credit on the defensive end, but as a Suns fan, this deceptiveness is not bad after all.