How the West was won... defense?

It seems hard to believe, especially after Game 1, which I described as a "really entertaining pickup game." But in Game 6, the clincher for the Mavs, it was all about the defense.

After one half, the Suns were up 51-39, but they were basically getting any shot they wanted. In the 2nd half that changed, as the Mavs were better at guarding the pick & roll, got out on shooters, and made Phoenix work for every shot, limiting the Suns to 42 2nd half-points (only 15 in the 3rd).

For the second straight game, Dirk Nowitski led the offensive firepower in the 2nd half, but the MVP for the Mavs was undoubtedly Josh Howard. He was great on the glass with 15 rebounds, he scored 20 points, but most of all he was fabulous defensively. You may remember him taking over and guarding Steve Nash in the 2nd half, which shut down the pick & roll game (as outlined by Steve Kerr during the broadcast), but his height and quickness didn't allow any easy or open shots for Nash. But when looking at Howard's defense, don't discount him drawing Boris Diaw's 4th foul with a charge in the 3rd quarter, which bogged down Phoenix's offense even more.

And so it ends for the toughest team in the NBA Playoffs. Yes, a finesse team (that featured Tim Thomas no less!) was the toughest team. Consider this, by the end of the Mavs series they had a 7-man rotation. 1 of those 7 was Raja Bell, who was basically ineffective the final 2 games because of the calf injury. Another of the 7 was James Jones, who was just awful throughout these playoffs. Meanwhile, the Mavs are so deep that Devin Harris, who was the difference in the Spurs series, played only 12 minutes in Game 6. The Suns are an extremely talented bunch, but with the minutes that some of these guys were forced to play (and factoring in the pace of pla), it's amazing they were able to go this far.

TrueHoop said Phoenix looked tired, and that is true, they did. But I can't blame them for it. Raja Bell had to play 35 minutes on one leg, and he didn't score for the first 47 minutes of the game. And they were still ahead going into the 4th quarter.

So it's with remorse, Phoenix Suns, that we say goodbye to you. It was fun watching you this year. See you next year.