azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Tim Tyers
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 18, 2005 12:00 AM
If the status quo remains, the Suns and Memphis Grizzlies will meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the opening game of which will be announced on Wednesday.
The Grizzlies, despite a four-game losing streak, clinched the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference on Sunday, when Minnesota was eliminated with a 109-94 loss to Seattle.
However, if the Suns suffer a couple of hiccups in their last two games, combined with two San Antonio wins, they would drop into a tie with the Spurs for the best record in the NBA and become the No. 2 seed in the West behind the Spurs, who own the tiebreaker by winning the season series from Phoenix.
In that case, they could drop into a playoff meeting with the NBA's hottest team, the Denver Nuggets. Phoenix is 3-0 against Denver this year, but the Nuggets have held a lead late in the fourth quarter of each game.
The Suns can end all speculation tonight by defeating the Nuggets at America West Arena. A win would clinch the top seed for Phoenix and give it home-court edge throughout the playoffs. It would also give the Suns their first series sweep over the Nuggets since 2000-01.
Since Jan. 28, when George Karl was given a multiyear contract to take over an underachieving 17-25 team, the Nuggets are 31-7. Since the All-Star Game, they are 24-3, which is the team's best streak since it joined the NBA in 1976.
The only thing between the Nuggets and an undefeated month of March were losses of 106-101 and 123-114 to the Suns. The third post-All-Star loss came Saturday night at Houston, a 115-87 pasting that stands as Denver's worst loss of the season, although center Marcus Camby didn't play because of a hamstring strain and is questionable for tonight.
The Nuggets are healthier, running more and spreading the ball around much better under Karl. Young star Carmelo Anthony is averaging more points per game (20.4), while taking three fewer shots and playing 3 1/2 minutes less. A rebuilt bench now is relied on more.
The turnaround has surprised many, but not Sacramento coach Rick Adelman, whose team owns a one-game lead over Denver for the No. 6 playoff spot.
"When you look at that team earlier this year, (former coach) Jeff Bzdelik was put at a disadvantage," Adelman said. "They had injuries and they played a really tough schedule with a lot of road games. They won 43 games last year and they added Kenyon Martin. This is a better team. It doesn't surprise me that George has come in and got them playing well."
The signing of Wesley Person also brought in a long-range threat and has helped spread the court. The Nuggets were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league (30.9 percent) during the first four months, but since Person joined the team on March 3 they've shot 41.4 percent from long distance (116 of 280).
Before Person arrived, their season high for three-pointers was seven. They have since topped that mark seven times and have twice made 10. The addition of Eduardo Najera and the return of a healthy Nene, who has missed 27 games to a variety of causes, have provided a strong bench that has averaged 42.2 points a game since Person's arrival.
"The biggest change is the confidence and swagger that they have," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They're running a little bit more, but it's mostly confidence. This game is mostly psychological. Once you get it going you can do some good things on the court, otherwise you struggle.
"George does a great job. Once you change coaches you put the onus on the players. It helps because it takes all the doubt away about whether the guy is going to be there or not. That changes a lot, especially when things go bad. When you have that doubt in there it plays a part."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0418suns0418.html
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 18, 2005 12:00 AM
If the status quo remains, the Suns and Memphis Grizzlies will meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the opening game of which will be announced on Wednesday.
The Grizzlies, despite a four-game losing streak, clinched the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference on Sunday, when Minnesota was eliminated with a 109-94 loss to Seattle.
However, if the Suns suffer a couple of hiccups in their last two games, combined with two San Antonio wins, they would drop into a tie with the Spurs for the best record in the NBA and become the No. 2 seed in the West behind the Spurs, who own the tiebreaker by winning the season series from Phoenix.
In that case, they could drop into a playoff meeting with the NBA's hottest team, the Denver Nuggets. Phoenix is 3-0 against Denver this year, but the Nuggets have held a lead late in the fourth quarter of each game.
The Suns can end all speculation tonight by defeating the Nuggets at America West Arena. A win would clinch the top seed for Phoenix and give it home-court edge throughout the playoffs. It would also give the Suns their first series sweep over the Nuggets since 2000-01.
Since Jan. 28, when George Karl was given a multiyear contract to take over an underachieving 17-25 team, the Nuggets are 31-7. Since the All-Star Game, they are 24-3, which is the team's best streak since it joined the NBA in 1976.
The only thing between the Nuggets and an undefeated month of March were losses of 106-101 and 123-114 to the Suns. The third post-All-Star loss came Saturday night at Houston, a 115-87 pasting that stands as Denver's worst loss of the season, although center Marcus Camby didn't play because of a hamstring strain and is questionable for tonight.
The Nuggets are healthier, running more and spreading the ball around much better under Karl. Young star Carmelo Anthony is averaging more points per game (20.4), while taking three fewer shots and playing 3 1/2 minutes less. A rebuilt bench now is relied on more.
The turnaround has surprised many, but not Sacramento coach Rick Adelman, whose team owns a one-game lead over Denver for the No. 6 playoff spot.
"When you look at that team earlier this year, (former coach) Jeff Bzdelik was put at a disadvantage," Adelman said. "They had injuries and they played a really tough schedule with a lot of road games. They won 43 games last year and they added Kenyon Martin. This is a better team. It doesn't surprise me that George has come in and got them playing well."
The signing of Wesley Person also brought in a long-range threat and has helped spread the court. The Nuggets were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league (30.9 percent) during the first four months, but since Person joined the team on March 3 they've shot 41.4 percent from long distance (116 of 280).
Before Person arrived, their season high for three-pointers was seven. They have since topped that mark seven times and have twice made 10. The addition of Eduardo Najera and the return of a healthy Nene, who has missed 27 games to a variety of causes, have provided a strong bench that has averaged 42.2 points a game since Person's arrival.
"The biggest change is the confidence and swagger that they have," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They're running a little bit more, but it's mostly confidence. This game is mostly psychological. Once you get it going you can do some good things on the court, otherwise you struggle.
"George does a great job. Once you change coaches you put the onus on the players. It helps because it takes all the doubt away about whether the guy is going to be there or not. That changes a lot, especially when things go bad. When you have that doubt in there it plays a part."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0418suns0418.html
All the Nuggets fans think they CAN own us... well, we'll see about that. 
