Breaking down the pick-and-roll  Updated: May 19, 2010, 2:42 PM
ET By Dave Miller | Special to  The Phoenix Suns run more pick-
and-roll action than any team in the NBA. They run it against
zone defense and man-to-man, and they run several variations of
it, with names like "drag," "double-drag," "step-up," "angle,"
"21-series" and "fist-up."  They run it on just about every
possession. And if they hope to even the Western Conference
finals series with the Los Angeles Lakers, they will have to run
it to perfection Wednesday night.  So how exactly does the pick-
and-roll work? And how should the Lakers best defend it?  Let's
break it down:  The Suns tend to favor the high pick-and-roll,
the most popular pick-and-roll play at the NBA level. On the
play, you have a ball handler out beyond the 3-point arc, a
screener at the top of the key (usually the 5), and then your 2,
3 and 4 are flattened out along the baseline.  Phoenix also
often relies on the spread pick-and-roll. In this action, your
ball handler and screen