Phoenix Suns Ride Balanced Attack To Win Over Nuggets
The Phoenix Suns rode a balanced offensive attack to continue their undefeated preseason, with a 97-89 win over the visiting Denver Nuggets
One of the biggest questions heading into the 2014-15 season for the Phoenix Suns was how they’d deal with the loss of Channing Frye — a guy who was extremely important to the Suns’ slash-and-kick offensive style. If Friday night’s 97-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets was any indication, they’re going to be just fine.
On the Suns first possession of the game, Anthony Tolliver stepped up and did his best Frye impression, making an uncontested 3-pointer. He would score 10 points on the night, going 3-for-8 from the field (all 3-point attempts).
In the lockerroom, Tolliver joked about his role:
"I might lead the league in 3-point attempts and makes. That’s one of the reasons I came here…I didn’t know how many open looks I’d end up getting."
A year ago for the Charlotte Bobcats, the 6-foot-8 Tolliver shot 41.3 percent from the perimeter, playing off of the dominant low post game of Al Jefferson. While the Suns don’t have that, they do have a trio of guards in Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas that can draw the defense with their ability to penetrate.
More from Hoops Habit
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
Tolliver set a career high in 2013-14 in both 3-point percentage and 3-point attempts (247). The key for Tolliver in continuing that trend is two-fold — he needs health and opportunity, neither of which have been givens throughout his career.
Tolliver has never played more than 65 games in a season and has topped out at 1,427 minutes, which came back in 2009-10. On Friday, Tolliver got the start at the power forward position and if he’s able to continue his shooting touch, that opportunity doesn’t seem likely to dissipate.
The Suns have Markieff Morris to play power forward as well, but coach Jeff Hornacek seems to love having the luxury of having Morris come off the bench to pair with Thomas and Gerald Green to provide an impressive offensive spark off the bench.
Friday showed their potential as a “bench mob” of sorts, as Morris (12 points), Green (11) and Thomas (8, 4 rebounds, 6 assists) seemed to jell much quicker than anyone had expected. Against a deep team like the Denver Nuggets, it was a promising sign that the bench was able to come in and perform well.
Not all went perfectly, though, as the Suns were carved up by the returning Danilo Gallinari. After missing the previous 18 months, the 6-foot-10 Italian from Sant’Angelo Lodigiano picked up where he left off in 2012-13, when it looked like he was on the cusp of stardom with averages of 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Gallinari finished the game with a game-high 17 points on 5-for-9 from the field (2-for-4 3P) and was able to do a bit of everything. On one possession, he brought the ball up court like a point guard. The next he played off the ball, spotting up at the top for an open 3-pointer. Then, he was able to put the ball on the floor to create for himself in getting to the basket and the foul line.
The Suns don’t have a lot of size — especially without Alex Len — and it showed. Tolliver isn’t a defensive specialist, Miles Plumlee can’t guard stretch-fours and the Morris Twins are much player playing within the swarming scheme and rely on their teammates too much to be stoppers.
When I asked coach Hornacek about the difficulty Gallinari gave them and if he forsees an issue moving forward, he seemed resigned to the idea that there are some players you just can’t stop:
"There are going to be players in this league that give you problems. Gallinari isn’t a typical stretch-four, either. Most are catch-and-shoot guys, but he’s one that can put it on the floor. We just have to do our best to defend as a team."
This Suns team seems to have that same swagger that got them to 48 wins last season. They’ve got just enough attitude that they’re not going to be pushed around and they truly believe they should be able to compete with anyone in the league.
While that energy and attitude is almost always a good thing, some people don’t appreciate it. Markieff Morris received a technical for arguing with referee Brett Nansel. What was interesting is that Morris seemed done with the conversation and was heading back into the team’s timeout huddle when Joey Crawford pursued him all the way into the huddle to chide him and ultimately give him a technical.
I guess some things never change.