Western Conference Finals Game 5- Spurs @ Suns Game Thread

[Amare32]

WESTERN CONFERENCE​

FINALS-GAME 5​

San Antonio Lead Series 3-1​

San Antonio @ Phoenix Suns​

When Wednesday 1st June
Time: 6.00 PT
Location: AWA, Phoenix
TV: ESPN

Probable Playoff Starting Lineups:

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PG-Tony Parker
SG-Manu Ginobili
SF-Bruce Bowen
PF-Tim Duncan
C-Nazr Mohammad

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PG-Steve Nash
SG-Joe Johnson
SF-Quentin Richardson
PF-Shawn Marion
C-Amare Stoudemire


Key's To The Game

Spurs

• Get to the basket early and try and get the Spurs guards going early. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli are both very good when they get into the paint. The Spurs seemed to settle for jumpshots alot more in game 4.

• Get Tim Duncan good low post positioning. When he gets the so deep he is impossible to stop. He might not be 100% which is why any easy buckets will help him through the game

• Might sure you guard Joe Johnson. JJ poured in 26 points in game 4 and went 10-15 from the floor. It is important to guard him closely so he doesn't go crazy shooting the ball

• Defend at the start of the 2nd half. The Suns scored 35 points in the 3rd quarter which was a deciding factor in the Suns winning the game. Spurs must be able to get stops when the offense isn't clicking.

Suns

• Shawn Marion must come to play. He had struggled all through the series but had a good game in game 4. With 11 points and 14 rebounds which included 3 blocks. When Johnson is in the line-up scoring, Marion scoring 20 isn't as important but what he does elsewhere does.

• With Joe Johnson back he will need to give the kind of offense he has given all year but mainly in game 4 when he scored 26 points on 10-15 shooting. JJ is a real key to this team and having him back gives the Suns a great shot at winning at least 1 more game in this series

• Amare Stoudemire must keep attacking the Spurs and crashing the boards. He has had some crazy offensive games in this series but needs to make an impact defensively and on the boards

• With the Suns facing another must win game they must put their hearts on the line and never give up. They showed great heart and passion to take game 4 in San Antonio. They now need to put pressure on the Spurs by forcing a game 6.

Final Thoughts

The Phoenix head home for game 5 after avoiding a sweep in San Antonio for game 4 after a 111-106 win at the SBC center. The Suns showed great heart to stay alive in this series and they came up with some huge defensive plays late in the game. Mainly the block by Amare Stoudemire on Tim Duncan's dunk that stopped the Spurs cutting the Suns lead to 1 with 30 seconds remaining.

Amare finished with 31 points, Joe Johnson had a big night with 26 points in only his 2nd game of the series. He made 10 of 15 shots. League MVP Steve Nash had 17 points and 12 assists while Shawn Marion had 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. In total the Suns had all 5 starters in double fiqures while Jimmy Jackson had 8 off the bench

Now game 5 heads to Phoenix where you know the crowd will be pumped up with the Suns taking game 4 and here with a win tonight the Suns have a chance to put some real pressure on the Spurs. Cutting their series lead from 3-0 to 3-2 will put alot of doubt in their minds heading back to San Antonio. The situation may be different but the Spurs lead 2-0 last year vs the Lakers and lost the next 4 games. The Suns are hoping they can get one game at a time and shock the world.

But as mentioned you can't look ahead when you are down 3-1. The Suns need to play their style of basketball and forget about the Series scoreline and just play the game. Every game from now on Is huge for the Suns. It really is win or go home. The Suns fans will need to get behind the team throughout and let them know we are here to support them.

I like our chances of forcing a game 6 tonight but If this is the last game of the season then the Suns fans need to get behind them as this could be the last game of the year and It will be a look wait til we watch this team again If we lose. Suns need to play with their heart and see what happens. With Joe Johnson back, It gives the Suns more confidence and with JJ's first game back in front of his home fans since he picked up his injury he will be motivated to have another huge game in front of his home fans.

 

[Joe Mama]

Tim Duncan will be waiting for Joe Johnson to double-team him tonight. I don't think the Phoenix Suns can do it every time they are on defense again. The Spurs are too good at making adjustments. They will have adjusted.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaz]

Tim Duncan will be waiting for Joe Johnson to double-team him tonight. I don't think the Phoenix Suns can do it every time they are on defense again. The Spurs are too good at making adjustments. They will have adjusted.

Joe Mama

If they pay more attention to JJ that will create opportunities for someone else.

This is the beauty of having the team complete once again.


Suns win 116-108.


GO SUNS!

 

[Joe Mama]

If they pay more attention to JJ that will create opportunities for someone else.

This is the beauty of having the team complete once again.


Suns win 116-108.


GO SUNS!

I'm talking about the Phoenix Suns defense against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaz]

I'm talking about the Phoenix Suns defense against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.

Joe Mama

DOH

As long as Parker and Ginobili are not getting layups the Suns will be fine.

If they beat us with jumpshots so be it.

 

[CardNots]

My only concern? JJ seems to play better on the road. Or at least that was the earlier take on him. Don't remember how he played on the home floor the last month of the season.

You know everyone is talking about how we played lights out in game 4. How about SA playing lights out the first three games...

My heart says we have a big game, but my mind screams

"CRAP WE HAVE TO PLAY SA AGAIN. WHEN WILL THIS END. I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE?"

 

[az1965]

"CRAP WE HAVE TO PLAY SA AGAIN. WHEN WILL THIS END. I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE?"

It will end after game 7 of this series...

 

[JS22]

Don't forget to join the chat:
http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/chat.php



My prediction? The Spurs will come out wanting blood, but I think Phoenix pulls it out in the final minutes.

Suns: 109
Spurs: 107

If they happen to make it to game six:

Spurs: 119
Suns: 104

 

[F-Dog]

Well, the team showed heart and guts in game 4--exactly what I was hoping for. Even better, they pulled out the win.

Tonight, I expect the Spurs' stars (Parker and Duncan) will play better, but the role players (Bowen and Horry) won't shoot as well. For the Suns, it's going to come down to three-point shooting and defensive rebounding. The Suns started to face-guard Duncan with Amare in the second half of game 4, and that seemed to help them stem the tide on the boards.

Q finally started to loosen up a little on Monday. If the Suns can run their way to some easy looks, they might have one of those spectacular 3-pt shooting games they've been missing since the Memphis series...


It would be great if the Suns won this game. They manufactured a lot of hope and optimism for the offseason with the game 4 win, and they'll give some of that back if they turn around and dump game 5 at home. Plus, if they keep winning these elimination games, anything can happen, right?

The main thing is to play hard and play well, though. Here's hoping!

 

[F-Dog]

One more thing...the Suns are 2.5-point favorites, the last time I checked. They started the day as 4-point favorites, but big betters supposedly were responsible for knocking the line down.

 

[PHX2]

Getting back to back wins against the Spurs after they are up in the series 3-0 would be great forcing a game 7 would be like a dream come true at this point...one game at a time...I'm really expecting the Suns to win this game or I should say I'm really hoping...I predict that its a close game the whole way through and one team (hopefully the Suns) breaks through at one point in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach...the Suns must keep up their defensive intensity the entire 48 mins and make a committment to gang rebounds...they won't be able to get away with getting embarrased on the boards and still win against the Spurs again especially in back to back games...

GO SUNS!! LETS ROLL!!

 

[Billythekid]

Lets go SUNS!!!

Man, i'm so pumped! This is gonna be HUGGGE!

If we can pressure Ginnobili annd Parker and make it hard for them, rather than letting them both get into the paint i hope we can win.

Suns HAVE to get to the defensive boards! They can't give up as many offensive rebounds and expect to win.

Basically, lets plays Suns ball, control the tempo, get a lead at the end of 1 and go from there!

GO SUNS!

REBOUND!
&
DEFEND!

 

[Cheesebeef]

hopefully not for the last time:


DB!

I'd love to see a win - but I really just want to see us fighting again.

ONE GAME AT A TIME!

 

[elindholm]

Okay, here goes nothing.

 

[elindholm]

Guess everyone's in the chat room...

Good first half! The roof would have come off AWA if Stoudemire had made that dunk over Ginobili. It would be nice to see Marion hit a shot, but at least the Spurs' role players aren't doing much either.

I'll have to watch the second half mainly on delay, so good luck, everyone who's witnessing it live!

 

[az1965]

Up by 1 at half even with only 1-7 14% 3 point shooting. Need to come out and have a very strong 3rd quarter.

Again, 5-10 disadvantage on offensive rebounding. Must control the boards.

 

[JS22]

Guess everyone's in the chat room...

Good first half! The roof would have come off AWA if Stoudemire had made that dunk over Ginobili. It would be nice to see Marion hit a shot, but at least the Spurs' role players aren't doing much either.

I'll have to watch the second half mainly on delay, so good luck, everyone who's witnessing it live!

Do you ever join the chat? You should.

 

[Brian]

Just had to get this out there one more time....













Ginobili is a bitch.

 

[az1965]

Too much 1 on 1 ball by Suns to start 3rd quarter... not good.

 

[Chaz]

Well that sucks.

The Spurs really stepped up the defense and took the Suns out of their game.

Only the second sub 100 pt game in the playoffs.

 

[elindholm]

The Suns collapsed into one-on-one play in the second half. It was like Game 3. I'm not sure why they stopped moving and passing, but it did them in. The crucial stretch was at the beginning of the third quarter. The Spurs picked up some fouls and it seemed like the Suns were catching every break, but they couldn't make a shot, so they were falling behind right at the moment when they should have been seizing control.

But anyway, a great season.

 

[cly2tw]

The Suns collapsed into one-on-one play in the second half. It was like Game 3. I'm not sure why they stopped moving and passing, but it did them in. The crucial stretch was at the beginning of the third quarter. The Spurs picked up some fouls and it seemed like the Suns were catching every break, but they couldn't make a shot, so they were falling behind right at the moment when they should have been seizing control.

But anyway, a great season.

I think they saw an opportunity and pressured themselves to much to get points quick and forced things. They underestimated the will power of the opponents under pressure to fight back. Spurs played even more focused defense while the Suns particularly Nash weren't patient enough.

 

[JPlay]

The Suns biggest weaknesses killed them.

Couldn't get stops.

Allowed too many offensive rebounds.

I think they need to hire a defensive minded assistant coach from another team. The defense is beyond horrible. If it was average or better we would be nearly unstoppable.

The play where Marion was out of position and let Horry dunk the ball was awful. Another play was Ginobli getting past JJax with nobody coming from the weakside to help.

 

[Chaz]

The Suns biggest weaknesses killed them.

Couldn't get stops.

Allowed too many offensive rebounds.

I think they need to hire a defensive minded assistant coach from another team. The defense is beyond horrible. If it was average or better we would be nearly unstoppable.

The play where Marion was out of position and let Horry dunk the ball was awful. Another play was Ginobli getting past JJax with nobody coming from the weakside to help.

Statistically (defensive effiency) the Suns were average on defense.

You are right though, too many mental breakdowns and layups allowed.

 

[Amare32]

Got to say I was proud to be a Suns fan last night, as we have done all season we played with heart and never gave up. Down 12 in the 4th and cut it down to just 3, we had a chance but the Spurs were just too good.

Can't wait til next year

the main focus this summer will be to re-sign Joe and try and get another big man.