Suns vs Spurs GAME 3 Thread !!

[Billythekid]

Like goldseraph said, it is painful watching the suns play sometimes. We had NO urgency what so ever! Look at how Parker is up in Nash's face, yet on the other end Parker dribbled almost to the foul line for jumpers, barely contested. Why was Nash and JJ backing off Parker so much and trying to go under the screens all the time! Also, when we finally got stops in the 1st half, we couldn't rebound the miss to save our lives! They were gathering every offensive rebound which totally demoralized EVERYBODY!!! I actually fast forwarded a lot of our defensive sequences as i just couldn't watch regular season intensity in the Western Conference Finals! The Spurs are a GREAT team who execute flawlessly, though aided by our Interior defense which was SHOCKING! They just waltzed into the lane all night.

Our once feared offense looks very suspect against good defense... No prize for stating the obvious. Nash played terrible, he was due for a bad game, gotta love his effort though, but when he's dribbling around (no set plays of course) the other guys don't know when he's going to jack up a WILD fade away J, thus there's absolutely no rebounders there.

I was disappointed in the lack of urgency.

I was embarrassed by our defense.

I was frustrated with Shawn Marion.

I was proud of Joe Johnson. He was one of the few that played very well. I think he's the most skilled player on the team and i would get rid of anyone bar Stoudemire and Nash to be able to re sign him, hopefully we can keep him and everyone else and add a tall and/or a defensive presence.

As much as we were dominated by the Spurs we've got a damn good side that needs experience and displine. We can't judge everything by this series. We're good. Real good. We are getting done by a great side and we're learning about our team.

Growing pains.


GO SUNS!

 

[dyle_ph1]

Like goldseraph said, it is painful watching the suns play sometimes. We had NO urgency what so ever! Look at how Parker is up in Nash's face, yet on the other end Parker dribbled almost to the foul line for jumpers, barely contested. Why was Nash and JJ backing off Parker so much and trying to go under the screens all the time! Also, when we finally got stops in the 1st half, we couldn't rebound the miss to save our lives! They were gathering every offensive rebound which totally demoralized EVERYBODY!!! I actually fast forwarded a lot of our defensive sequences as i just couldn't watch regular season intensity in the Western Conference Finals! The Spurs are a GREAT team who execute flawlessly, though aided by our Interior defense which was SHOCKING! They just waltzed into the lane all night.

Simply put, Parker is just too fast for JJ or Nash so they have to back off on him. Also Parker's jumper is not as accurate as say, Nash's so on the other end, they really had to be up in Nash's face.

Spurs are playing out of their minds. They are a great team but they have been unbelievable with their shooting the past four games. Something about the Suns has inspired them to play on a higher level than they usually do and the Suns have yet to match that.

I would have liked the big men (well, sort of big men) of the Suns take command of the paint more, draw more charges, and box out. I know the NBA has cut back on the charging calls but Ginobilli and Parker have had straight pathways to the hoop. At least stand in front of them or if too late, give them the ol' playoff foul to make them think next time.

 

[Joe Mama]

I will watch the game again today, but it looked to me like the Phoenix Suns defenders were consistently out of position on the pick and roll. There's simply no excuse for allowing Tony Parker to penetrate so easily when the defense is going under the screen. The Phoenix Suns get away with moving screens as much as any other team in the NBA. However one thing I noticed San Antonio, especially Tim Duncan, was doing a lot was moving after the screen was set almost like a blocker in the NFL. That makes it very, very difficult to defend. It's even worse when you are a struggling defensive team already.

San Antonio played a fantastic game. I thought Tony Parker was as good or better defensively as he was offensively. The Spurs just smothered Nash on the pick and roll.

Joe Mama

 

[sly fly]

That was very hard and frustrating to watch. SA had an answer for every run.

I'm just mystified by Marion's AWOL-type performances. And, Q has really been exposed as a one-dimensional player.

On one hand, you don't want to see Nash dominating the ball as much as he's been doing. On the other hand, you realize he's pretty much alone out there (except for Amare).

 

[elindholm]

On the other hand, you realize he's pretty much alone out there (except for Amare).

And Joe Johnson. I think the Suns would have lost the series anyway, but having Johnson the whole way really could have helped. His game is much better suited to the playoffs than Marion's or (especially) Richardson's.

 

[jibikao]

That was very hard and frustrating to watch. SA had an answer for every run.

I'm just mystified by Marion's AWOL-type performances. And, Q has really been exposed as a one-dimensional player.

On one hand, you don't want to see Nash dominating the ball as much as he's been doing. On the other hand, you realize he's pretty much alone out there (except for Amare).

That's Spurs' gameplan!!! Can't D'Antoni see that?

I didn't watch the game last night but I bet our offense looks horrible... with only 10 assist as a team and Nash only had 3 assists and 6 TOs?


JJ took too many shots IMO. Our offense was FINE without him. He played 'cause we need his defense more than his offense. He took 14 on the first day of his return. That's not a good sign.

Nash had been shooting well over 50% for the past 4-5 games. And as I expected, when JJ returns, Nash turns into "should I pass, or should I score" mentality and I bet he did.

We are better off with Nash scoring now because Spurs choose to stay with our shooters. That's why Amare/Nash could have their games in Game 1 and Game 2. Now JJ comes back and the only thing we have on our mind is "we gotta get other guys involved". NO!!! That's exactly what Spurs wants us to do and we fell into it. Nash/Amare combo can score 60+ in ANY game. Why going through Marion when he can't hit ****? Oh yeah, I know Marion complains but this is WCF and he either chooses to stay in the same boat with Suns or not.


D'Antoni should play Hunter MORE. He proved he can stop Spurs' runs. I say go back to our old strategy in Game 1/2. Let Nash/Amare be the MAIN scorer and other guys try to fight EVERY F**KING LOSS ball and rebounds. That's our only hope now.

Now every team knows to beat Suns, just shut down our shooters and let Nash shoot and Amare score because our shooters don't know how to create shots for themselves!!!!!