Thinking About Boris

One of the most common concerns expressed last summer was that Diaw needed the ball in his hands at the elbow. This would conflict with how Amare is used. That is exactly what happened and Diaw was not nearly as effective as he was the year before.

In 2005-06, Boris took 852 shots compred to 566 in 2006-07. Mostly he shoots layups (or other shots in close). When he shoots in close, he hits 65.3% of his attemps.

More than anything else, the Suns offense is based on spreading the floor. Sticking Boris on the wing being guarded by wing meant he had a lot further to go to get to the basket and thus plenty of time for weak side help to come over. Granted, Boris has a tendency to pass out rather than accept contact in finishing. But unless you are Barbosa, it is hard to get to the basket from that distance without contact.

In 2005-06, Boris was matched against centers from the high post. His mid range shooting was pretty good at 44.5% But his real sweet spot is the left elbow where he hit 51.6% and 53.8% in 2005-06. Opponents had to come out to guard him.

Using Boris at the high post means the Suns can still run the pick and roll, but it is somewhat different with Boris than Amare. Amare is a great finisher while Boris is more inclined to pass.. Still, Boris was not bad at getting to the basket in 2005-06 (460 attempts) and last season hit 65.3% in close.

While Boris does not finish like Amare, running the ball through the high post with Boris gives the team some other options.

1. Short jumper when the defense hangs back.
2. Attack the basket following a pump fake.
3. Drive and kick when a help defender comes over to guard.
4. Post up the defender if a small guy comes out to guard.
5. Run back door plays and other passes to cutters
6 Run the give and go using penitrators.
7. Pass to shooters who run off screens (Nash becomes another outside shooter in this scheme)

When both Boris and Amare are in the lineup, it would mean moving Amare to the left low post. If the defender comes out to deal with Diaw, it would leave Amare defended by one guy when Boris makes a dump off pass following a drive.

Errntknght and I have been talking about the need to develop a high post offense for a while (different versions though). The decision to move Diaw permanently to the high post suggests that at least something of this kind is being contemplated. If nothing else, it would create a new set of problems for defenses that try to defense the Suns by stopping Nash.