Spurs At Suns Game Thread

[AfroSuns]

After a rare loss, the Phoenix Suns return home looking to begin a new winning streak. A matchup with the surging San Antonio Spurs could make that difficult.
Phoenix begins its final five-game stretch of the regular season Wednesday night against the Spurs, who are looking to win five straight for the first time since the first week of the year.
Looking to extend their season-high winning streak to 11, the Suns (50-27) fell 107-98 to Milwaukee on Saturday—their first defeat since March 12.

“It makes us 10-1 in our last 11,” said coach Alvin Gentry. “It’s a tough game to lose, especially the way we’re fighting for position in the Western Conference, but (the Bucks) played great.”
In a third-place tie with Denver and Dallas and one-half game behind Utah in the West standings, Gentry’s team will likely have to play at a high level if they’re going to earn a top-4 seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Following San Antonio, the Suns close out the season against Oklahoma City, Houston, Denver and Utah.
The Spurs (48-29), meanwhile, still have games at Phoenix, Denver and Dallas, but with four straight wins, the two-time defending Southwest Division champs are playing with plenty of confidence down the stretch while moving into a sixth-place tie with Oklahoma City.
A victory over Phoenix would give San Antonio its first five-game winning streak since Dec. 26-Jan. 2.
The play of Manu Ginobili(notes) has been instrumental in the Spurs winning 16 of 21 and moving within two games of the division-leading Mavericks. Ginobili shot just 5 of 13 on Tuesday, but scored 11 of his 16 in the fourth quarter of a 95-86 victory in Sacramento.
“I’m feeling really confident right now,” said Ginobili, averaging 24.9 points in his last 16 games. “I couldn’t make shots for three quarters, but I know the team trusts me. They ran some plays for me and I took some big shots and they went in.”
Tony Parker(notes) scored eight points Tuesday after missing 16 games with a broken right ring finger, but it was the play of guard Garrett Temple(notes) that impressed coach Gregg Popovich.
“I thought Garrett was fantastic tonight,” Popovich said after the undrafted rookie from LSU had season highs with 15 points and four assists in his first career start. “It’s really impressive to see a young guy go out there and be that aggressive and not worry about making mistakes.”
Two-time MVP Steve Nash(notes) could cause plenty of mistakes no matter who starts in the Spurs’ backcourt.
Nash, the league leader with 11.0 assists per game, had 25 points and 13 assists in San Antonio’s last visit to US Airways Center - a 116-104 Phoenix win on Dec. 15.
Nash recorded his fourth straight double-double against the Spurs on Feb. 28 with 18 points and 11 assists, but the visiting Suns fell 113-110 after Jason Richardson(notes) missed a breakaway, game-tying dunk with 41.8 seconds left.
The matchup between Tim Duncan(notes) and Amare Stoudemire could be critical in deciding which team wins the season series. Duncan is scoring 23.4 points per game with 14.2 rebounds while posting five straight double-doubles against Phoenix, and Stoudemire has been nearly unstoppable against San Antonio this season, averaging 34.5 points and 13.0 rebounds.
Spurs guard George Hill(notes) will miss his second straight game with a sprained right ankle.
San Antonio has won four of five against Phoenix.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2010040721



Go Suns!!!!! Beat the Spurms!

 

[Bert]

I've been lookin forward to this game all week! GOD I HATE THE SPURS!

LETS GO SUNS!

 

[dreamcastrocks]

If we lose this game, they will have a tiebreaker on us and will be only down 1 game. Without this game, it may be hard to get home court advantage.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Not so confident in this one...even with Rolo we lost the last matchup and the Spurs are just as hot as we are, only they've been beating legit teams. Those who were wishing for a 1st round matchup with the Spurs are just insane.

Like clockwork, a major injury looks like it'll derail any hopes of getting out of the west. Based on Gentry comments today, among others, it sounds less and less likely that Lopez will play in the playoffs. Just another giant kick in the nuts to a team that was really starting to come together, especially with him as a starter.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Not so confident in this one...even with Rolo we lost the last matchup and the Spurs are just as hot as we are, only they've been beating legit teams. Those who were wishing for a 1st round matchup with the Spurs are just insane.

Like clockwork, a major injury looks like it'll derail any hopes of getting out of the west. Based on Gentry comments today, among others, it sounds less and less likely that Lopez will play in the playoffs. Just another giant kick in the nuts to a team that was really starting to come together, especially with him as a starter.

He had a great chance with that one. J Rich had that breakaway dunk and he missed it. It was the craziest thing. That would have tied the game with like 40 seconds left.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

He had a great chance with that one. J Rich had that breakaway dunk and he missed it. It was the craziest thing. That would have tied the game with like 40 seconds left.

True...no matter what though, it's always something against the Spurs. I remember just laughing at the time, just classic Suns luck.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Not so confident in this one...even with Rolo we lost the last matchup and the Spurs are just as hot as we are, only they've been beating legit teams. Those who were wishing for a 1st round matchup with the Spurs are just insane.

Like clockwork, a major injury looks like it'll derail any hopes of getting out of the west. Based on Gentry comments today, among others, it sounds less and less likely that Lopez will play in the playoffs. Just another giant kick in the nuts to a team that was really starting to come together, especially with him as a starter.

agreed on all counts. seriously, I'm a glutton for punishment but those folks who WANT the Spurs in the first round have to be suicidal!

 

[Cheesebeef]

True...no matter what though, it's always something against the Spurs. I remember just laughing at the time, just classic Suns luck.

yup... i didn't even get mad either. just chuckled and shook my head. and some people WANT to see what unfathomable way we to lose to them in
the playoffs this year. that's insane to me.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

yup... i didn't even get mad either. just chuckled and shook my head. and some people WANT to see what unfathomable way we to lose to them in
the playoffs this year. that's insane to me.

Fans of the Cards...... we are a crazy bunch. A glutton for punishment.

 

[Cheesewater]

Great, it's the second of a double header on ESPN so I'll miss the first quarter again.

 

[Cheesewater]

Based on Gentry comments today, among others, it sounds less and less likely that Lopez will play in the playoffs.

What did he say?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Great, it's the second of a double header on ESPN so I'll miss the first quarter again.

I'll be sure to record both ESPN and ESPN just in case.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

What did he say?

"Lopez's bulging disk will be re-evaluated in a few days to see if he can add an interior presence.

"We don't anticipate him coming back," Gentry said. "If he does, that'll be a great thing. We're trying to move ahead and prepare as if he's not going to be there."

 

[AzStevenCal]

"Lopez's bulging disk will be re-evaluated in a few days to see if he can add an interior presence.

"We don't anticipate him coming back," Gentry said. "If he does, that'll be a great thing. We're trying to move ahead and prepare as if he's not going to be there."

I wonder, has there ever been a more marginal player to be so pivotal for a team's chances? I mean really, is he even one of the 200 best players in the NBA? I'm not sure and yet our success the next 5 games and throughout the playoffs may very well hinge on his health.

On the plus side, if this team comes back fairly intact next season it should be obvious to management what kind of player they need to put next to Amare. If not Lopez there should be another financially reasonable option as he clearly doesn't need a superstar down low with him.

Steve

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I wonder, has there ever been a more marginal player to be so pivotal for a team's chances? I mean really, is he even one of the 200 best players in the NBA?

I think you severely underrate Lopez. He is one of the few true centers left in the league, and arguably a top 10 center. It's no coincidence that the Suns have been a much better team and borderline contender with him starting.

Not only does he contribute with blocked shots and rebounds, his length affects many shots as well. In addition, while his offensive game is still very raw, he's shown some aptitude in running the pick and role and finishing around the rim. He's definitely much better than you give him credit for, and it's pretty clear that Jarron Collins is a major downgrade.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think you severely underrate Lopez. He is one of the few true centers left in the league, and arguably a top 10 center. It's no coincidence that the Suns have been a much better team and borderline contender with him starting.

Not only does he contribute with blocked shots and rebounds, his length affects many shots as well. In addition, while his offensive game is still very raw, he's shown some aptitude in running the pick and role and finishing around the rim. He's definitely much better than you give him credit for, and it's pretty clear that Jarron Collins is a major downgrade.

I certainly have underrated Lopez. I was against him as a draft choice but I don't think I'm underrating him now. If you look at his role in the team's success you'd have to rate him quite a bit higher than I did but I'm just talking about comparing all the players individually.

Go through our roster and I think you'll see what I mean. You could argue that Nash, Amare, Jason, Grant, Dudley, Barbosa and Dragic are all better than him (not saying they are, just that it's arguable). Now extend that number to a league-wide number and it's not unreasonable to place him below 200 others. Even if you look at him through the most rose-colored glasses it would be difficult to put him in the top 100 or so. And yet for us, we'll feel his loss as if he were a top 50 player.

Steve

 

[dodie53]

go suns!

beat those f*ckers!

 

[jbeecham]

I agree with ASUChris... Robin Lopez has probably been a top 10 center since being inserted into the starting lineup. It's surprised the crap out of me because I didn't expect anything from him.... ever. He still has issues that he needs to work on... defensive communication, no lefty hook, marginal footwork & post moves, no jump shot... but he's shown a lot of strength down low on the offensive boards, decent hands & ability to finish on pick & rolls & dump offs around the basket, decent free throw shooting for a 7ftr, decent mobility & of course fairly a solid defensive presence.

 

[Griffin]

You could argue that Nash, Amare, Jason, Grant, Dudley, Barbosa and Dragic are all better than him (not saying they are, just that it's arguable).

Lopez may not be as good as those players (certainly is not better than Amare, Nash, JRich or Grant, though I hate the word "better" because it doesn't say much), but he is certainly one of the most difficult to replace on our team. We simply have no one else with that size and ability, even if his contribution is still somewhat limited. We could place Barbosa in place of JRich or Dragic, Dudley in place of Hill, and on a good day not miss a beat. But there's just no one we can put in there in place of Lopez and expect the same type of impact. Frye is a completely different type of a player and Collins is too limited offensively and doesn't do much on defense either. We need Lopez to play not because he's so good, but simply because he's much better at what he does than whomever we can put in his place.

 

[AzStevenCal]

... but he is certainly one of the most difficult to replace on our team.

Sure, but that's my point. No matter where you rate him as a player his absence will weigh heavily against us. But ask a non-Suns fan to rank every player in the NBA and I'm pretty sure Lopez would rate in or near the bottom third. Even if you ask every Suns fan to rate them all the result wouldn't be much higher.

Steve

 

[BC867]

It's why the Suns have not won a Championship in their 40+ seasons.

They have always put their five best players on the court (regardless of position), especially with the game on the line, instead of the best player at each position.

Lopez doesn't have to be the best player on the team or even one of the top 8.

Just a good traditional Center.

If Amar'e had one playing alongside him throughout his career, I believe he would be one of the top five players in the league.

He would have developed into a good rebounding and defensive Power Forward. Instead of a frustrated pretend Center on everything but offense.

 

[Covert Rain]

Seriously guys this stretch of games is very important. Not only for adding some legitimacy to what the Suns have been doing but from a psychological aspect. This team needs a mental edge IMO going into the playoffs.

If they lay in egg in this stretch nobody will remember what the Suns have done in the past month and nobody will care. They need to finish strong against these teams. They need to continue to play defense and win these games.

The Spurs are always a big test for the Suns.

 

[AfroSuns]

Seriously guys this stretch of games is very important. Not only for adding some legitimacy to what the Suns have been doing but from a psychological aspect. This team needs a mental edge IMO going into the playoffs.

If they lay in egg in this stretch nobody will remember what the Suns have done in the past month and nobody will care. They need to finish strong against these teams. They need to continue to play defense and win these games.

The Spurs are always a big test for the Suns.

I agree and they better bring it against a Spurs team that played late last night.

 

[AfroSuns]

looking like Suns game will start as schedule on ESPN, with the Jazz trailing Rockets by 23

 

[elindholm]

I wonder, has there ever been a more marginal player to be so pivotal for a team's chances?

Bruce Bowen.