I'm glad SA eliminated Dallas

[Mainstreet]

Of all the teams in the Western Conference playoffs, the team I feared the most (besides the Lakers) was Dallas. They are deep and talented. They also would have played an uptempo game (if they faced Phoenix) which I think would have contributed to their strength. The Suns owe a debt of gratitude to the Spurs for eliminating them. I actually think the Spurs were a better matchup for Phoenix this season.

 

[ARZCardinals]

agreed...I also think because of their hard fought battle...it made it a little easier on the Suns.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Disagree completely. Being that we swept the Spurs, I like to think we would have absolutely murdered the mentally soft Mavs.

I don't think you are giving this Suns team enough credit. Dallas may have gotten hot and taken a game but I also think we would have blown them out a couple times opposed to the hard fought games we played against the Spurs for all 4 victories.

JMHO

 

[AfroSuns]

Disagree completely. Being that we swept the Spurs, I like to think we would have absolutely murdered the mentally soft Mavs.

I don't think you are giving this Suns team enough credit. Dallas may have gotten hot and taken a game but I also think we would have blown them out a couple times opposed to the hard fought games we played against the Spurs for all 4 victories.

JMHO

This.
I was scared of Dallas before the Blazers series, but after that i felt the Suns can hold their own against any team. People keep saying the Blazers were missing players but i still think they are the tougher team compared to the Spurs, people also forgot while missing Roy, they beat SA, LA and OKC among others.

 

[ReddBird]

Absolutely agree. Thanks for posting what I was thinking.

 

[cly2tw]

This.
I was scared of Dallas before the Blazers series, but after that i felt the Suns can hold their own against any team. People keep saying the Blazers were missing players but i still think they are the tougher team compared to the Spurs, people also forgot while missing Roy, they beat SA, LA and OKC among others.

As I have been saying for a while, the key to Suns success is to have Nash fresh for crunch time and for giving effort on defense. At the start of the Blazers' series, Gentry was still playing Nash too much and not holding him accountable on defense. He changed out of necessity. He now fully trusts his bench. And Nash tries his best on defense while not overdribbling on offense. With this mindset and confidence, we'd have had no problem with Mavs either. With this mindset, Kidd and Terry wouldn't blow off against us as they did in Mavs wins in regular season. With this mindset, Fisher and Farmar won't kill us either as they used to.

 

[Bert]

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[AzStevenCal]

Of all the teams in the Western Conference playoffs, the team I feared the most (besides the Lakers) was Dallas. They are deep and talented. They also would have played an uptempo game (if they faced Phoenix) which I think would have contributed to their strength. The Suns owe a debt of gratitude to the Spurs for eliminating them. I actually think the Spurs were a better matchup for Phoenix this season.

I felt the same way about Dallas going into the playoffs. However, it was clear that Terry still wasn't himself and even more importantly Kidd looked like he was completely done as a player. I don't know if he was injured or if Carlisle played him too many minutes down the stretch but he looked slow and lethargic out there. And that's a guy who was famous for his motor. Anyway, I think we handle that Mavs team fairly easily. I'm not positive we'd have fared as well against the Mavs of March but that's a different story.

Steve

 

[GorrilaLips]

A little bit before the playoffs when the 1st playoff pieces were starting to look complete....I too believed Dallas to be a tough opponent. They are in a way, but didn't match at all with SA's team. SanAntonio completely exposed Dallas and shut down their key elements, leaving the team to do off balanced bank shots and perimeter shooting; while SA ran into the paint and sliced them everytime. Dirk was the only one trying to pull but it wasn't enough as Terry and Kidd melted under pressure and couldn't make a shot. They were non-existent and not even a factor.

SA had Dallas's number the whole time, just as the Nuggets feared the Suns.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns have never had anyone to defend Dirk because of his height and shooting skills. The Mavericks PGs also have given the Suns fits. Kidd gives the Mavs height and defense at the PG position and Barea seems to thrive playing the Suns as well. I also think the Mavs depth and uptempo style would play to their advantage. It's tough to play a team that plays the same style. It worked to the Suns advantage that the Spurs were not blessed with depth. I'm just thinking Dallas would have been a tougher matchup for Phoenix.

 

[Mainstreet]

SA had Dallas's number the whole time, just as the Nuggets feared the Suns.

Some teams just have the other team's number. Basketball is all about matchups.

 

[Chaplin]

You look at these playoffs and to me, the toughest road was BY FAR, Portland, San Antonio and the Lakers. Only Utah would be the team I'd maybe include in that list, but with no Okur, I don't think we'd have a problem with them.

So we've taken the toughest possible road in the playoffs (IMO) and are 2/3 of the way through to the Finals.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'm kinda with you Mainstreet. The NBA's all about matchups and bottom line is we match up pretty poorly with Dallas, mostly because they're MUCH bigger than us and we have no one that could come close to guarding Dirk. SA, all history aside was the perfect matchup for us seeing as a) they were just as small as we were and b) their big guy who we couldn't match up with is in the twilight of his career... and the Dallas bench (especially with Beabouis who probably would have gotten more run in a series against us versus the Spurs) wasn't nearly as pathetic as the Spurs... and of course, no HCA.

 

[Lorenzo]

going into the playoffs i felt like the suns were the team that dallas could have defeated quicker than any other playoff team. I was hoping dallas would draw phoenix in the first round. dallas struggled against OKC(and I feel the thunder would have eliminated the mavs), portland(with a healthy roy), Utah, LA...eventhough they beat those teams in the reg season. I felt like any of those 4 would have defeated dallas in a series.

then I'd say SA, phoenix, and denver were favorable matchups based on the regular season. the problem with that was the spurs were never healthy when they played one another so you didn't really have a true gauge of the matchup. however, i think the mavs/suns matchup was more favorable for dallas given the results during the season.

 

[Lorenzo]

A little bit before the playoffs when the 1st playoff pieces were starting to look complete....I too believed Dallas to be a tough opponent. They are in a way, but didn't match at all with SA's team. SanAntonio completely exposed Dallas and shut down their key elements, leaving the team to do off balanced bank shots and perimeter shooting; while SA ran into the paint and sliced them everytime. Dirk was the only one trying to pull but it wasn't enough as Terry and Kidd melted under pressure and couldn't make a shot. They were non-existent and not even a factor.

SA had Dallas's number the whole time, just as the Nuggets feared the Suns.

terry was not the same player all season long. I give him credit for his 4th qtr numbers. but the guy was way too inconsistent all year long. at this point he is a spoiled jump shooter that takes too many jump shots. for every 20 point game he had 2 single digit games which really hurt the mavs based on the mins that they gave him. he needs to take on a 7th man role or be ousted. he takes up too many vital mins and is a nightmare matchup defensively when he and kidd play the 2 guard at the other end when they're both on the court. I would say terry and mo williams are thorns in the side of their respective clubs based on the money they are making and the expectations they have on their shoulders as far as being a robin.