Getting Ready for the Spurs

[mathbzh]

Iverson was only 9 of 25.

Parker plays great defense against A.I. so Bowen can concentrate on Melo. IMO this is big part of SA lead.

 

[Suns_fan69]

I'm watching the end of the Nuggets/Spurs game right now and I'm terrified of them if they continue to play like this. More specifically, if they can get large contributions from guys like Michael Finley then it's going to be awfully hard to match with them as they're always solid defensively.

I'm not saying the suns can't take them, but it's definitely not going to be easy by any stretch of imagination.

 

[arwillan]

keys to winning over the spurs are simple:


-Their 3 vs our 3
marion amare nash vs duncan parker ginobili. We need to keep duncan off of the offensive boards, keep parker outside, and make ginobili work for his shots
-Outside contributers
-when the D collapses, who will hit the outside shots? will it be finley and horry or will it be bell JJ and even barbosa at times
-Bench
- will more contributions come from barbosa and the ever-important KT as well as diaw or will it be the spurs less-anounced bench? Kt has to keep duncan off of the offensive boards and make him take tough shots, and barbosa just has to do what he has done lately.we've seen diaw be agressive at stretches as well as pass at times, so if he can get that ying and yang balance if you will, i think he'll be in good shape

 

[SO91]

KT has to play a big role in this series. This is exactly what he's here for, and if we're unable to run, D'Antoni better play him extensively

 

[Nasser22]

I'll be writing a preview for the blog on this great series.

The NBA Finals start Sunday guys!

 

[dodie53]

imo,

the suns shouldn't double duncan because it will lead to shooters (finley, bowen, manu) being open..
let duncan score 50 points but limit the other contributors..

and if parker and manu slashes to the basket, give them a hard foul, down let them make a three point play

 

[Nasser22]

imo,

the suns shouldn't double duncan because it will lead to shooters (finley, bowen, manu) being open..
let duncan score 50 points but limit the other contributors..

and if parker and manu slashes to the basket, give them a hard foul, down let them make a three point play

They shouldn't need to double Duncan if Kurt Thomas gets sufficient playing time. He did a great job against him last time and should continue it in the series. Amare can also do a decent job when he's not in foul trouble.

 

[elindholm]

The NBA Finals start Sunday guys!

That gives me a weird idea:

I think it's better for the Suns if Dallas survives against Golden State. That's not because I'd rather the Suns play the Mavericks than the Warriors. It's because, if Dallas gets eliminated, the Suns/Spurs matchup stands a good chance of being for the championship. Are the Suns ready for that kind of pressure, so early in the playoffs? I have my doubts. The Spurs, on the other hand, will smell blood if they know that only the Suns stand in their way for another title. I'd rather have the Spurs worried about Dallas in the WCF rather than knowing that all they really need to do is beat the Suns four times.

Then, if the Suns advance to face the Mavericks, I'll take my chances.

 

[Cheesebeef]

my god man, is it just me or does it feel like we're gearing up to play DARTH VADER?

 

[arthurracoon]

this is just gonna be a tough, hard fought series.

I cant wait!

 

[Furio]

my god man, is it just me or does it feel like we're gearing up to play DARTH VADER?

It's gonna be tough, but if we want to be real champs, we have to slay at least one dragon.

I'm hoping the Suns can turn it up a notch. Get better spacing and use our speed to an advantage. But we can't forget about guarding Parker and Manu, as they always kill us when we're lazy on D.

 

[az1965]

It will be a physical series. We MUST control the tempo which will be tough. We run, we can take control of the game. They are going to take away our 3 point shooting so feed Amare, the monster.

 

[arthurracoon]

We need to guard Parker and Ginobli

 

[NastyOne]

Kurt Thomas if not starting has to play atleast 25+ minutes a game in this series.

Kurt doesnt need help on Tim Duncan and this allows guys like Marion, Bell and Barbosa a better chance at containing Manu, Parker and Finley.And it also allows Amare to do his thing by roaming around and blocking shots while staying out of foul trouble when trying to D up Duncan and keeping him off the boards.

D'Antoni cant be stubborn in this series and try small ball, cause the Spurs have proven time and time again that it doesnt work against them.

We can still play an uptempo game with Kurt Thomas starting, and now that his outside jumper has been falling, hes actually another offensive weapon out there.

Let Thomas start and send Jones to the bench.

 

[Griffin]

The Suns need to remember they can't simply try to outscore SA. That did not work two years ago and won't work this year, because SA can put up a lot of points and keep up rather easily. Two years ago I remember a number of those games were close in the 4th, but Spurs were clutch and our lack of experience showed. This should not be such a big factor this time around.

The Suns need to make sure the home court advantage does not turn into a disadvantage. It is difficult to win both games at home to start a series, but those game are must-win for Phoenix.

This series is going to be a test. How much have we improved? Can we not give up easy layups to Parker and Manu? Can we keep Duncan off the offensive glass? Can we hit the clutch shots when the game is on the line? Can we maintain our energy for 48 minutes? Can't wait to find out.

Oh yeah, almost forgot... never leave Horry open please.

 

[arwillan]

to win those 1st two at home, i dont see why we cant go with the lineup that Hawk and i discussed in game time chat today.


Nash
Bell
Marion
Stoudemire
Thomas

offensive and defensive weapons, marion could create a matchup problem at the 3 guard, and we have 2 guys to help rebound

 

[playstation]

this is it

this is why amare stoudemire spent 18 months in rehab. this is why steve nash does 2 a days. this is going to decide it

this is what happened last time:

1 2005-05-22 PHO SAS L 114-121 SAS leads 1-0
2 2005-05-24 PHO SAS L 108-111 SAS leads 2-0
3 2005-05-28 PHO @SAS L 92-102 SAS leads 3-0
4 2005-05-30 PHO @SAS W 111-106 SAS leads 3-1
5 2005-06-01 PHO SAS L 95-101 SAS wins 4-1

JJ missed the 1st 2 games, Q avg'd 10ppg, matrix had 8ppg, barbosa had 1ppg. looking back at it, its a wonder we were even able to be close for the games we did.

they're going to make Boris hit jumpshots, and he's not going to. I hope this means KT will play lots of minutes. please play KT a lot. right now is why he is getting paid $8+ Million.

bowen will shut down marion as he always does. fine. accepted. barbosa and bell, better hit them 3's, cause they're going to be contested. amare, gotta make them pay for playing you 1 on 1 (cause they're gonna). and by make them pay, i mean pile up FOULS.

if we're going to win, its with nash, barbosa, bell/marion, amare, and KT playing most of the minutes to counter parker, finley/ginobili, bowen, oberto, and duncan. if it were me, the matchups would be:

barbosa on parker
bell/marion on finley/ginobili
nash on bowen
amare on oberto
KT on duncan

and hope KT can stomach 30 minutes a night. we've gotta force to 7 to have a chance imo. this means we gotta leave game 5 with a 3-2 lead because a close out on their home court would be VERY tough to fight from.

i am excited for the suns to prove they are better than the spurs, or at least to find out one way or another. hopefully no injuries on either side. if the suns are fully healthy and lose, in my opinion it would be an indictment of the system/coaching because i think overall we have more talent and more hunger. go suns

 

[NastyOne]

to win those 1st two at home, i dont see why we cant go with the lineup that Hawk and i discussed in game time chat today.


Nash
Bell
Marion
Stoudemire
Thomas

offensive and defensive weapons, marion could create a matchup problem at the 3 guard, and we have 2 guys to help rebound

Thats the lineup most of us want to see against the Spurs.

Kurt Thomas has shown before that he can contain Duncan and keep him from dominating.

This allows us to focus on their guards, and in the end its going to come down to how well we defend Manu and Parker.

We just cant allow those two to kill us.(Especially Manu)

 

[elindholm]

I believe the Spurs are the better team. But, contrary to cliche, the better team does not always win. The Suns have Game 7 at home and more heart. Let's hope they are ready to play hard for 7*48 minutes, because they have no margin for error.

 

[Chaplin]

This series is EXACTLY why Kurt Thomas was traded for in the first place. Period.

 

[Griffin]

1 2005-05-22 PHO SAS L 114-121 SAS leads 1-0
2 2005-05-24 PHO SAS L 108-111 SAS leads 2-0
3 2005-05-28 PHO @SAS L 92-102 SAS leads 3-0
4 2005-05-30 PHO @SAS W 111-106 SAS leads 3-1
5 2005-06-01 PHO SAS L 95-101 SAS wins 4-1

SA averaged 108.4 points per game in that series. They scored > 100 points in every game. We cannot allow that again. Not sure what their FG% was, but a lot of those points came on second chances. But both Amare and Marion were huge on the glass vs. the Lakers, so if they can do that again in the second round that would go a long way helping us win this series.

 

[Chaplin]

SA averaged 108.4 points per game in that series. They scored > 100 points in every game. We cannot allow that again. Not sure what their FG% was, but a lot of those points came on second chances. But both Amare and Marion were huge on the glass vs. the Lakers, so if they can do that again in the second round that would go a long way helping us win this series.

Contrary to many media pundits, the defense of this Suns team is much better than the defense of that Suns team. So it's going to be a much different series. (Although having Amare average 37.8 points per game against the Spurs would be a welcome repeat)

 

[elindholm]

This series is EXACTLY why Kurt Thomas was traded for in the first place. Period.

You're right, but I don't think D'Antoni knows that. His preference is to play Thomas only when he absolutely has to.

 

[Chaplin]

You're right, but I don't think D'Antoni knows that. His preference is to play Thomas only when he absolutely has to.

You mean against teams that don't have Tim Duncan?

 

[Cheesebeef]

the lineup that should see HEAVY minutes is:

Nash
Bell
Barbs
Amare
KT

It spreads the floor with three point shooter and it makes Finley or Ginobli have to guard Barbosa, which they can't do. At the same time, it allows KT to play Duncan straight up and Bell to play Ginobli straight up - it also doesn't allow the Spurs to just throw Bowen on Marion and make him Chevy Chase in John Carpenter's Memoirs of an Invisible Man. This isn't a slam on Marion - the guy just had a very good series and I think will be invaluable if we get to the next round, but we need size and shooting and the ability to create off the dribble and none of those are Shawn's strong-points against this team.

if the Spurs throw out this lineup for extended periods of time:

Parker
Ginobli
Bowen
Oberto
Duncan

we can match up perfectly with them with the above lineup, without having to double. I worry a little about Nash or Barbs getting killed by Tony, but if we can shut everyone else down, I'll take my chances there.

man, this is going to be good.