THE Suns were warned. Saturday evening, the Wolves exploded against the Cavaliers in the second half, conceding a big 16-0. “I don’t know if it was their defense or if we just stopped playing”commented Rudy Gobert, without it being incompatible. “Maybe it’s fatigue or maybe it’s what they did on defense. »
The Wolves pivot doesn't say the precise word, but when he talks about Cleveland's defense, he is undoubtedly referring to the zone, which had bothered Minnesota so much. Again against Phoenix, with new sequences with this style of defense. And new success, with the Suns stuck and largely beaten.
“We watched the game against Minnesota”, ensures yet Devin Booker. “We saw how they used this and it’s very effective. It slowed us down a bit. »
A team lacking tools facing the zone
For what ? “We can’t just make wide passes. This is what they want,” responds and notes Kevin Durant, not a big fan of handball. “We have to go in the racket. They have players waiting in the paint and they see us passing without taking a shot. It's hard to score against such a defense if we think a shot is going to be available to us without forcing things. »
So, as the Phoenix star says, “we could have penetrated more, but we don’t play zones in every match. We do not yet have the weapons to confront an area”.
Will they get them at some point? In any case, they will end their “road trip” to the East on Wednesday in Brooklyn, facing the Nets who have 11 defeats in 13 matches… “It’s a mandatory victory for us”warns Bradley Beal.
