Game 1, Redux

Last night's Game 1 felt a lot like Game 1 of the Dallas series.There are a lot of things we can look at. Defensively, the only positive thing we really accomplished was limiting their 3-point shooting. Of course, they hit a couple of clutch 3s late that helped put the game out of reach. We weren't able to stop Nash from scoring (33 points) or playmaking (10 assists). Usually our modus operandi with playmaking point guards is to make them scorers and not allow anyone else to get involved. But Stoudemire and Richardson both had 20+ point games, and Nash completely controlled their offensive game, outmatching George Hill in almost embarrassing fashion. Our offense, in turn, looked really flat, especially in the first half. There seemed to be very little ball and player movement. We let them dictate our offense with their defense. Our 3-point shooting was horrendous. Nobody seems to be shooting the ball with confidence. Late in the game, when Richard Jefferson was on ...