az1965
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Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Are You Blinded By The Suns?
It seems everyone is ecstatic over the Suns victory yesterday against the Spurs. Phoenix put on a gutsy performance to avoid being swept and did so on San Antonio's home court. However, for everyone in the press writing the one zillionth version of "The Suns Aren't Done Yet", I've got good news and bad news.
Let's start with the good news. Phoenix gave viewers yesterday the NBA version of sports anatomy 101. Here is our heart, here is our soul, our spine and our guts. We are not going to show you our tails heading out the door. Let's give credit where it is due. The Suns staved off elimination in one of the most hostile houses in the NBA neighborhood. Not only that, but they actually played good defense at critical times in the game.
Hey, let's just say it. As a team, Phoenix played one of their best games, if not their best, of the entire postseason. Credit to Amare Stoudemire for a great job on defense, and what about that block at the end of the game? I don't have words for that play. Not only did Stoudemire block Duncan's dunk, but he rotated to the opposite side of the basket to do so. The dunk would have changed the game while the block most certainly did.
On offense, the Suns were virtually unstoppable. The passing started with their floor leader Steve Nash. What's up with him lying down swaddled in towels on the sideline? Someone please explain. The manic guard Nash. If he's not semi-comatose on the bench (or floor), he's in a fevered frenzy on the court. The starting five scored 99 of their 111 points. The ball movement was great and every shot was going in.
While STAT was his usual Spurs killing self, Joe Johnson joined the party. Maybe Johnson needed a game to get back to being himself, because last night, he was unstoppable. Johnson scored 26 points, hit the three, and was money from the inside and out. Without the masked man, the Suns don't rise to see another day.
Bad news time. It won't be enough.
If you remember, or even care, I told you that Phoenix would be done in 5 games, 6 at the very most. I'm sticking to 5, although I have enough respect for the Suns' north-south attack to believe they could squeak out another win. Now that our little coddling session is over, let's talk facts.
The Suns played the best defense they have to offer, while San Antonio hardly played an average version of their offense and the Spurs still put up 106 points. Tim Duncan for most of the game was timid on offense. He wasn't demanding the ball and the defensive attention that goes with it, frequently settling to pop out and set a pick as opposed to working the inside-out game. When he did want the ball in the post, the defense collapsed and the Spurs got plenty of open looks. But it was too little. In the fourth quarter, Duncan tried to turn on the aggressive switch, but it was too late.
Phoenix showed San Antonio everything they have. All the cards were placed on the table. They are left holding nothing in their hand and so now the Spurs can plan what to bring for game 5 without wondering about surprises.
You can be sure of this:
San Antonio will not be late to rotate to the open man in tomorrow's game like they were in game 4 (Phoenix was 50% from the 3).
Tim Duncan better not be 3-12 from the charity stripe. While he's no Reggie Miller from the line, Duncan can do better than that.
Speaking of Duncan, expect a completely different player on offense. The Spurs will be on the opposing court and understand that the big man has to get going early and often. I'm sure the Big Fundamental was dreaming of Pops up in his grill over the lack of offense.
Tony Parker, Brent Barry and Nazr Mohammed will all have to step up for game 5. It would be a surprise for Parker to have back-to-back bad games offensively. Barry will hopefully get rid of the scared and confused look after experiencing a good dose of Joe Johnson "in your face" defense. Mohammed played well but could be more of the solid presence that he has been in most of the postseason.
Lastly, it would be nothing short of a miracle to see the Suns duplicate their game 4 performance. While they avoided elimination, they only did so by a narrow margin, at times looking like they were going to let the game slip away. Phoenix may be tired of hearing about San Antonio's experience and championship ways, and yes, the truth hurts. But if they want to get to where the Spurs have been, they better learn from it.
http://www.thepostgame.com/2005/05/are-you-blinded-by-suns.html
Are You Blinded By The Suns?
It seems everyone is ecstatic over the Suns victory yesterday against the Spurs. Phoenix put on a gutsy performance to avoid being swept and did so on San Antonio's home court. However, for everyone in the press writing the one zillionth version of "The Suns Aren't Done Yet", I've got good news and bad news.
Let's start with the good news. Phoenix gave viewers yesterday the NBA version of sports anatomy 101. Here is our heart, here is our soul, our spine and our guts. We are not going to show you our tails heading out the door. Let's give credit where it is due. The Suns staved off elimination in one of the most hostile houses in the NBA neighborhood. Not only that, but they actually played good defense at critical times in the game.
Hey, let's just say it. As a team, Phoenix played one of their best games, if not their best, of the entire postseason. Credit to Amare Stoudemire for a great job on defense, and what about that block at the end of the game? I don't have words for that play. Not only did Stoudemire block Duncan's dunk, but he rotated to the opposite side of the basket to do so. The dunk would have changed the game while the block most certainly did.
On offense, the Suns were virtually unstoppable. The passing started with their floor leader Steve Nash. What's up with him lying down swaddled in towels on the sideline? Someone please explain. The manic guard Nash. If he's not semi-comatose on the bench (or floor), he's in a fevered frenzy on the court. The starting five scored 99 of their 111 points. The ball movement was great and every shot was going in.
While STAT was his usual Spurs killing self, Joe Johnson joined the party. Maybe Johnson needed a game to get back to being himself, because last night, he was unstoppable. Johnson scored 26 points, hit the three, and was money from the inside and out. Without the masked man, the Suns don't rise to see another day.
Bad news time. It won't be enough.
If you remember, or even care, I told you that Phoenix would be done in 5 games, 6 at the very most. I'm sticking to 5, although I have enough respect for the Suns' north-south attack to believe they could squeak out another win. Now that our little coddling session is over, let's talk facts.
The Suns played the best defense they have to offer, while San Antonio hardly played an average version of their offense and the Spurs still put up 106 points. Tim Duncan for most of the game was timid on offense. He wasn't demanding the ball and the defensive attention that goes with it, frequently settling to pop out and set a pick as opposed to working the inside-out game. When he did want the ball in the post, the defense collapsed and the Spurs got plenty of open looks. But it was too little. In the fourth quarter, Duncan tried to turn on the aggressive switch, but it was too late.
Phoenix showed San Antonio everything they have. All the cards were placed on the table. They are left holding nothing in their hand and so now the Spurs can plan what to bring for game 5 without wondering about surprises.
You can be sure of this:
San Antonio will not be late to rotate to the open man in tomorrow's game like they were in game 4 (Phoenix was 50% from the 3).
Tim Duncan better not be 3-12 from the charity stripe. While he's no Reggie Miller from the line, Duncan can do better than that.
Speaking of Duncan, expect a completely different player on offense. The Spurs will be on the opposing court and understand that the big man has to get going early and often. I'm sure the Big Fundamental was dreaming of Pops up in his grill over the lack of offense.
Tony Parker, Brent Barry and Nazr Mohammed will all have to step up for game 5. It would be a surprise for Parker to have back-to-back bad games offensively. Barry will hopefully get rid of the scared and confused look after experiencing a good dose of Joe Johnson "in your face" defense. Mohammed played well but could be more of the solid presence that he has been in most of the postseason.
Lastly, it would be nothing short of a miracle to see the Suns duplicate their game 4 performance. While they avoided elimination, they only did so by a narrow margin, at times looking like they were going to let the game slip away. Phoenix may be tired of hearing about San Antonio's experience and championship ways, and yes, the truth hurts. But if they want to get to where the Spurs have been, they better learn from it.
http://www.thepostgame.com/2005/05/are-you-blinded-by-suns.html
