Yes, yes, yes!!!
One more shot to defeat that team! I honestly don't know how to think about the series as far as our chances are concerned and felt more confident in 2007 surely.
But playing the Sterns is just special. The message board comes to life and you feel the excitement even across the Pacific! Beating them would mean so much, and hey - the Suns don't have anything to lose. They could finally get past their nemesis. And if they don't (IF... of course, they will!!!), nothing would have changed, really. If you look back in a few years, it won't matter whether the Sterns won 4 or 5 series.
Let's have a quick reminder of how the last decade Suns vs Spurs turned out:
2003 Spurs won 4-2 in Round 1. Amar'e was a rookie, and Stephon Marbury was our point guard. Phoenix was clearly out-matched and required the magic of buzzer beaters by Amar'e, Marbury and Jake Voskuhl to win two games.
2005 Spurs won 4-1 in Conference Final. Phoenix had possible the best regular season in franchise history, recorded a 33-4 start and finished with 62 wins while becoming the love of every neutral basketball fan. Nash won the MVP, Barbosa was 6th MoY, and the All Star Game was all about Phoenix. After easily dispatching Memphis, Nash proved why he was the MVP with a stellar performance against Dallas. Joe Johnson was missed dearly against San Antonio, and although Phoenix competed well in most games, San Antonio were just better. Amar'e had a special series with 35ppg and will be remembered for that block against Duncan in game 4.
2007 Spurs won 4-2 in Round 2. The Suns had home court advantage but started with having bad luck in game one. Nash's bleeding nose couldn't be fixed, and the Spurs took the game. After Phoenix blow the Spurs out in game 4, the Horry incident happened. Without Amar'e and Diaw (yes, he was actually an important part of the team at that point), Phoenix was doomed. The nearly pulled out an unlikely win but in the end, it wasn't enough. The series were the most important of the season, and San Antonio had an easy time to claim the title afterward. Game 3 might have been the worst refereed game in ages, and the involvement of Tim D (the other one) made the loss even worse than it already was.
2008 Spurs won 4-1 in Round 1. Phoenix finally had the right piece to counter the Spurs - 'I-match-up-well-with-these-guys-and-win-championships-when-angry'-Shaq. They had no answer to Duncan's three in game one, and I don't remember too much of the rest of the series. Both teams weren't contenders that year, and Phoenix just were a team that seemed to have lost its spirit.
2010 What is different? Duncan's age finally seems to show, and neither him nor Parker seem the most worrying player out there. The great flopper is playing great ball and will give Phoenix trouble. SA also has George Hill playing fantastic. The Suns on the other hand have two things they missed in previous encounters with SA: Defense and a bench (or a coach willing to use it, anyway).
The Spurs had the clear tendency to stay with our shooters, and this will put even more pressure on Amar'e and Steve. However, J-Rich will need to find other ways to get involved in our offense, and a lot will depend on Lopez, too.
Oh, let's get it started already!
GO SUNS!!!!!
