As a writer/entertainer/dude who wants more people reading his stuff, you have to love complex things that require detailed explanations. Charts and graphs. Video break downs. Expert analysis.
But this series has defied all that. This series really has a very simple story line. I was going to break out some kind of hand drawing tool and demonstrate in simple stick figures and a cute picture but this series doesn't even need that.
Ready, here goes. Don't blink:
Other Guys (OGs)
That's it.
In Game 1, the Blazers doubled the Suns' primary weapon and the OGs didn't do squat. At the time, I gave the Blazers defense a lot of credit for shutting down the Suns, but mostly it was just poor ball movement, poor shooting and a bit of shock at the Blazers' game plan.
In Games 2 and 3, the Suns turned the tables. They doubled the ball out of Aldridge's hands, trapped Miller on the wing, zoned up the lane to deny penetration to Bayless, and the Blazer's OGs disappeared.
I could list all the shooting and scoring numbers, but why bother? We all saw it. Richardson, the OG of the Series, stepped up. Rudy, Webster, and Bayless haven't.
What's more, the Suns simply have more OGs to count on. If they stay home on JRich or he goes cold, then the original OG, Grant Hill, might take over. Maybe Frye will finally (finally!) find his stroke. Dudley shot over 55% from three in two separate months this season and hit a total of 120 long balls. LB might find his range. Goran's been pretty consistent from deep.
Gentry has plenty of cards to play until he finds the hot hand. McMillan's cupboard is bare.
...and yes, Blazer fan, I know all about your injuries and yes, it would be a different series if your team was healthy, but you know what? They are not. You go to war with the players you have, not the players you had.
Credit the Suns for executing in transition, but they don't get those looks if the Blazers put the ball in the hole. And the Suns have taken away their primary options and there's simply no other bullets in the chamber.
Unfortunately, the Suns very well could go cold from deep and drop another game, but over the course of another 4 games ... doubt it.
The scary thing is that the Suns are still not playing up to their potential. If Robin is able to come back in the next round and the Suns can go back to being a team that dominates the glass, controls the paint without having to double team, and can get those easy put-backs and little dump-offs in the paint when help rotates to Amare ... Watch out, that's the best Phoenix Suns team we've seen since 1993.