It's not over!!!

[arthurracoon]

was right about the Suns playing a dud on JJ's return, I'll be right on this one too.

God I hope you're right!

 

[George O'Brien]

Even though the Spurs lost a couple of games against the Sonics, I did not remember them losing their composure like they did tonight. Duncan shot only 3 of 12 from the line and I thought Pop was going to pop a vein on a couple of calls.

Except for the second quarter of game 3, the Spurs have not really succeeded in stopping the Suns offense.

Game 1, the Suns scored 114 points and shot 48.8%
Game 2, the Suns scored 108 points and shot 55.7%
Game 3, the Suns scored 92 points and shot 44.2%
Game 4, the Suns scored 111 points and shot 57.1%

Game 4 showed that the return of JJ had more impact than just his 25 points. All of a sudden the Suns start hitting their threes: Q goes 3 of 7 and JJax is 2 of 2 as the Spurs have another major threat to worry about.

 

[lancelet's cousin]

Only the 5th home game they lost all year. I hope we shook their confidence. Duncan was hesitent to answer that question in the press conference. He really looked out of sorts.

 

[elindholm]

Except for the second quarter of game 3, the Spurs have not really succeeded in stopping the Suns offense.

Right, exactly. That's why it's going to be so annoying if the Spurs win this series and all the Experts say, "See, you have to play great defense to go far in the playoffs." They just say the same things over and over, without paying any attention to whether the evidence backs it up.

 

[sly fly]

- Manu is one helluva player. But, he took a step down in my book after that flop with Amare. That was utter BS, and I would have been pissed as hell if that cost us the game.

- Manu is a carbon copy of Dan Majerle (minus the flopping). Hits big shots, takes the ball strong to the hole, etc.

- PHX has to seize the oppurtunity in what they just did. They CONTROLLED this game. They outplayed SA the last two quarters of Game 3, as well. Come out and play Suns basketball. Don't let SA dictate any tempo.

- MAKE TONY PARKER GO RIGHT!!!!! He has no game going right! He'll even shuffle his feet when forced to go right! Just make sure the help is there, and he'll usually dish it off or try the Marbury floater.

- MAKE TONY PARKER BEAT YOU FROM OUTSIDE. He'll hit a couple, but that's fine. As long as it keeps the ball out of Tim-Droid's hands, that's all we can ask for. Plus, Tony Parker's butt cheeks tighten up the closer the game is.

- Knock the living crap out of Manu. I want to see him wiggle on the ground. Nothing bush-league. Just a good, hard forearm shiver to the adam's apple would be fine.

- Keep Marion involved. I LOVED Steve Nash's line tonight. 17 and 12 is what we need to see. If Nash is scoring 50, we have problems elsewhere.

- One game at a time, boys.

 

[George O'Brien]

Except for the second quarter of game 3, the Spurs have not really succeeded in stopping the Suns offense.

Right, exactly. That's why it's going to be so annoying if the Spurs win this series and all the Experts say, "See, you have to play great defense to go far in the playoffs." They just say the same things over and over, without paying any attention to whether the evidence backs it up.

I wish the Suns had a great defense too, but for some reason people seem to think that the only way to have a great defense is to have a cruddy offense. Oh, I'm sure that playing a slow down game helps the defensive stats somewhat and it probably helps a defense to have specialists like Ben Wallace.

None the less, I think an up tempo team can be a very strong defensive team. The keys are effort and defensive fundimentals on top of talent. The most important talent is athleticsim - which the Suns have.

In any case, the ability of the Suns to score against the Spurs suggests the era of dominance by slow down teams may be coming to an end.

 

[WildBB]

SUNS SHOWED HEART. GO PHX SUNS! PUT SOME HURTIN ON THE FLOPPIN SPURS.

 

[haverford]

I may not be "getting it," but when smart commentators say you can't win without a reliable defensive mindset, I think what they mean is that some teams can stop other teams when necessary. The Suns are finally bearing that out, game 4 notwithstanding. I understand the meaning of that--while the Spurs are giving up a "lot" of points, relatively speaking, they get the stops when they need to. The Suns, not so much....

 

[Chaz]

- Manu is one helluva player. But, he took a step down in my book after that flop with Amare. That was utter BS, and I would have been pissed as hell if that cost us the game.

- Manu is a carbon copy of Dan Majerle (minus the flopping). Hits big shots, takes the ball strong to the hole, etc.

- PHX has to seize the oppurtunity in what they just did. They CONTROLLED this game. They outplayed SA the last two quarters of Game 3, as well. Come out and play Suns basketball. Don't let SA dictate any tempo.

- MAKE TONY PARKER GO RIGHT!!!!! He has no game going right! He'll even shuffle his feet when forced to go right! Just make sure the help is there, and he'll usually dish it off or try the Marbury floater.

- MAKE TONY PARKER BEAT YOU FROM OUTSIDE. He'll hit a couple, but that's fine. As long as it keeps the ball out of Tim-Droid's hands, that's all we can ask for. Plus, Tony Parker's butt cheeks tighten up the closer the game is.

- Knock the living crap out of Manu. I want to see him wiggle on the ground. Nothing bush-league. Just a good, hard forearm shiver to the adam's apple would be fine.

- Keep Marion involved. I LOVED Steve Nash's line tonight. 17 and 12 is what we need to see. If Nash is scoring 50, we have problems elsewhere.

- One game at a time, boys.

Excellent points all of them Sly Fly,

When Steve scored 50 we did have problems, no JJ.

 

[az1965]

Even though the Spurs lost a couple of games against the Sonics, I did not remember them losing their composure like they did tonight. Duncan shot only 3 of 12 from the line and I thought Pop was going to pop a vein on a couple of calls.

Except for the second quarter of game 3, the Spurs have not really succeeded in stopping the Suns offense.

Game 1, the Suns scored 114 points and shot 48.8%
Game 2, the Suns scored 108 points and shot 55.7%
Game 3, the Suns scored 92 points and shot 44.2%
Game 4, the Suns scored 111 points and shot 57.1%

Game 4 showed that the return of JJ had more impact than just his 25 points. All of a sudden the Suns start hitting their threes: Q goes 3 of 7 and JJax is 2 of 2 as the Spurs have another major threat to worry about.

The first two games Spurs shot exceptionally well, not their style. We keep our game and come up with some stops like we did today there is not way they can match us offensively night in and night out. We still gave way too many offensive boards and put backs, got to cut those down.

 

[az1965]

It seems like nobody (meaning the announcers) said anything about that amazing pass Nash made to Amare when he was falling back on the baseline. That was amazing as well.

I was thinking turnover on that play. It was really really amazing pass by Nash and finish by Amare.

 

[az1965]

- Manu is one helluva player. But, he took a step down in my book after that flop with Amare. That was utter BS, and I would have been pissed as hell if that cost us the game.

- Manu is a carbon copy of Dan Majerle (minus the flopping). Hits big shots, takes the ball strong to the hole, etc.

- PHX has to seize the oppurtunity in what they just did. They CONTROLLED this game. They outplayed SA the last two quarters of Game 3, as well. Come out and play Suns basketball. Don't let SA dictate any tempo.

- MAKE TONY PARKER GO RIGHT!!!!! He has no game going right! He'll even shuffle his feet when forced to go right! Just make sure the help is there, and he'll usually dish it off or try the Marbury floater.

- MAKE TONY PARKER BEAT YOU FROM OUTSIDE. He'll hit a couple, but that's fine. As long as it keeps the ball out of Tim-Droid's hands, that's all we can ask for. Plus, Tony Parker's butt cheeks tighten up the closer the game is.

- Knock the living crap out of Manu. I want to see him wiggle on the ground. Nothing bush-league. Just a good, hard forearm shiver to the adam's apple would be fine.

- Keep Marion involved. I LOVED Steve Nash's line tonight. 17 and 12 is what we need to see. If Nash is scoring 50, we have problems elsewhere.

- One game at a time, boys.

Great points! I have been saying all along, foul Parker and Flopping guy hard when they try to drive to the bucket and foul early in the game so they get the message. Ginobili likes to flop, let's put him on his ass few times for real.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Ouchie, the Spurs will be FLAT Wednesday. There's no way they were expecting to come bac to Phoenix. And there's no way, no matter what Popovich says, they will feel like it's a must win. It's human nature, I'm telling ya, they will lay an egg. I was right about the Suns playing a dud on JJ's return, I'll be right on this one too.

check the archives, i said the same thing about jj's return. and now we're differing on our opinions here. i guess we'll see who has a better command of the force.

the spurs do not play based on emotion. coming out flat is not something they do. they are workmanlike in their approach. this is a bump in the road to them. they are not content, they are not frazzled, they weren't jazzed before this loss, they just show up and do their jobs. and often that means winning. to expect anything less is folly.

 

[az1965]

check the archives, i said the same thing about jj's return. and now we're differing on our opinions here. i guess we'll see who has a better command of the force.

the spurs do not play based on emotion. coming out flat is not something they do. they are workmanlike in their approach. this is a bump in the road to them. they are not content, they are not frazzled, they weren't jazzed before this loss, they just show up and do their jobs. and often that means winning. to expect anything less is folly.

I don't think Spurs will be flat. They are a great team. It will be a fight again like today on Wednesday. We just need to come out even hungrier, riding on today's emotional win.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I don't think Spurs will be flat. They are a great team. It will be a fight again like today on Wednesday. We just need to come out even hungrier, riding on today's emotional win.

agree - I'm just stoked that we have another game to play - hopefully the guys look at it that way. One more game to play - that's all they can think. Gotta give it everything - in front of the home crowd - 1 at a time - juist have to think ONE GAME AT A TIME.

Should be fun - hell, besides Game 3's meltdown, we've led going into every 4th quarter (damn - if we only could have won ONCE in Phoenix)!

again - huge heart shown by the boys and even bigger composure at the end - they just wouldn't lose tonight - it was great to see.

 

[ajcardfan]

I don't think Spurs will be flat. They are a great team. It will be a fight again like today on Wednesday. We just need to come out even hungrier, riding on today's emotional win.

I honestly don't think so. Suns will win in double digits, maybe even by 20. Just so you don't think I'm drunk on the Kool-Aid, I think the Spurs will win game 6.

 

[SASpursfan]

Im not sure why people think that knocking Manu hard to the floor while he is driving will serve a purpose. Fans of the three teams the Spurs have played this season have said the same thing. And he had been knocked down many times in the playoffs but he keeps getting back up. This guy plays with such heart he doesnt know any other way to play.


Now about the flop that he did in the 4th quarter, when I first saw the play it looked as if Amare just decked him and I wanted a technical called on him. But upon further review, I did notice Manu actting as if he got hit. However, what would any other player do. A player makes a move right into him, why not and try and sell to the refs.

Great game by the Suns they really came out and doubled Tim more agressively and let the Spurs shooters decide the game. And they missed too many outside shots. Along with the poor freethrow shooting it wasnt just their day.

 

[SASpursfan]

BTW did anyone notice the great block at the end of the game by Amare was actually a goaltend. The ball was above the cylinder. Although it was still in Tims hands. But with how fast things happened how could have a ref seen it.

 

[Chaz]

BTW did anyone notice the great block at the end of the game by Amare was actually a goaltend. The ball was above the cylinder. Although it was still in Tims hands. But with how fast things happened how could have a ref seen it.

Sorry, you are wrong. There was no goaltend.

If you want to argue this start a thread. Don't put that crap in here.



The Suns just needed to find a way to get a win.
They still haven't played a complete game yet. That 2nd quarter was horrible.

A win keeps us alive. Not dead yet.

GO SUNS!

 

[Chaz]

Im not sure why people think that knocking Manu hard to the floor while he is driving will serve a purpose. Fans of the three teams the Spurs have played this season have said the same thing. And he had been knocked down many times in the playoffs but he keeps getting back up. This guy plays with such heart he doesnt know any other way to play.


Now about the flop that he did in the 4th quarter, when I first saw the play it looked as if Amare just decked him and I wanted a technical called on him. But upon further review, I did notice Manu actting as if he got hit. However, what would any other player do. A player makes a move right into him, why not and try and sell to the refs.

Great game by the Suns they really came out and doubled Tim more agressively and let the Spurs shooters decide the game. And they missed too many outside shots. Along with the poor freethrow shooting it wasnt just their day.

I agree, the Suns don't need to knock people down or intentionally foul or injure to win. They just need to contest the shot. Hunter standing there like his feet are nailed to the floor won't get it done. Shut down the lane and make them pass the ball out. They did a much better job of it tonight.

 

[mribnik]

BTW did anyone notice the great block at the end of the game by Amare was actually a goaltend. The ball was above the cylinder. Although it was still in Tims hands. But with how fast things happened how could have a ref seen it.

It wasn't a goaltend, Duncan was going for a Dunk. How can you goaltend a dunk? By that reasoning, every dunk should be an offensive interference.

Found this on basketball.com regarding goaltending rules...

Section I-A Player Shall Not:

a. Touch the ball or the basket ring when the ball is on or within either basket.

b. Touch the ball when it is touching the cylinder having the basket ring as its lower base.

EXCEPTION: In (a) or (b) above if a player near his own basket has his hand legally in contact with the ball, it is not a violation if his contact with the ball continues after the ball enters the cylinder, or if, in such action, he touches the basket.

Edit: Oh, but anyways that's all moot cause it was a dunk attempt anyways. They just mentioned it on sportscenter that it wasn't goaltending because of the rules regarding a dunk attempt. The fact is that this doesn't happen often because not many players have the ability to throw back a dunk attempt like that.

 

[sly fly]

BTW did anyone notice the great block at the end of the game by Amare was actually a goaltend. The ball was above the cylinder. Although it was still in Tims hands. But with how fast things happened how could have a ref seen it.

That was not a goaltend. That was simply one of the best blocks you'll ever see.

As a ref, you just can't call that. No matter what. That no-call resides deep in the "Code Of Ball" handbook.

As a Spurs fan, I'm sure that hurt quite a bit.. I would be just as shocked if Duncan did it to Amare.

 

[az1965]

That was a great great block, sick!!!

 

[lancelet's cousin]

That was not a goaltend. That was simply one of the best blocks you'll ever see.

As a ref, you just can't call that. No matter what. That no-call resides deep in the "Code Of Ball" handbook.

As a Spurs fan, I'm sure that hurt quite a bit.. I would be just as shocked if Duncan did it to Amare.

I'm shocked that anyone is stong enough (outside of Shaq) to block TD's dunk. But nobody would be dumb enough to get there hand in the way of one of Amare's wide-open dunks. Nobody.

 

[mribnik]

Alright guys, this came from the ESPN board, but it's too hilarious to pass up...

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