Luka’s Corner

It has been an interesting postseason so far, with many teams making somewhat surprising headlines. The Mavericks are already done and the reign of South Beach is over, but I have also been surprised by two interesting myths that I have heard in the basketball world. Here they are:

1. The Golden State Warriors are now a championship contender after defeating the Mavericks.

This is probably one of the most far-fetched myths that I have heard so far, and for one very important reason. It is not what they are bad at or lack (like any sort of defense) that will hurt Golden State, but what they are good at and known for. That is their up-tempo style of play. I know…with their exciting slams and long range bombs, it is hard not to fall in love with Don Nelson’s squad, but you will simply not make it far in the playoffs if four-fifths of your offense depends on a three-point shot. What would happen if the Warriors were suddenly cold from downtown or had trouble getting into a shooting rhythm? Or what if they were shut down by the other team at the three-point line? The other disadvantage of relying mostly on shooting is that it is very, very, very easy to lose confidence in your shot and stop shooting. And if this was to happen to any of the Golden State players, the entire team would be in deep trouble. If any of these things happened in a game, they would surely lose. And you all know how important each game in the Playoffs is. If you lose one this way, then you lose confidence and momentum going into the next game and it is ultimately very hard to get back into the series (let alone win it).

2. The Phoenix Suns will beat San Antonio and Utah easily (yes, I pick Utah to beat Golden State) and will storm into the Finals to defeat the Detroit Pistons (yes, they will advance that far).

Calling this a myth truly hurts me because the Suns are one of my favorite teams and I, like everyone else, love their up-and-down style of play. But, like the Warriors, that is exactly what will cause the Suns to lose against San Antonio, just like the Warriors will lose eventually to the Jazz. Yes…on paper, the Suns should be celebrating in June every single year, but the game is not played on paper. I, like many others, question the Suns defense. Even thought they have three all-stars (one of which is a two-time MVP) in Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, and Steve Nash, none of these stars are capable of making a large impact defensively or disrupting the offensive flow of the other team. I know… they have Raja Bell, a defensive specialist, but that is only one guy and you need a great team defense to succeed in the Playoffs (something that the Spurs have). They gave up over one hundred points per game during the season and have rarely stopped a team from executing its game plan in the postseason. To contribute to its defensive struggles, the Suns’ fast break game allows the other team to also fast break if the Suns do not convert, and this in turn gives the opponent more shots and a higher chance of scoring. All in all, Phoenix just plays too one-sided to make it farther than the Western Conference Finals and, unfortunately for them, DEFENSE DOES WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS.

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