what does a win/loss v. Spurs mean?

[George O'Brien]

i think that if JJ and Q get hot there is no way they can hang with us. and i think that after JJ's few game skid he should be hot and ready to fire. when is jake going to be back? he would be a huge help on duncan. Ithnk that JJ will shut down Ginobili. we have played really well on the road so i look for phx to keep it close and pull it out in the end.

Hope so.

The Spurs are not a good team to play when in a slump. They don't give many open looks and they don't have to double team Amare to keep him from scoring 50. Nash will be the key because PG is the one position the Suns have a major advantage at - if Nash is healthy.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I don't think there are any "great teams" anymore. The Spurs are possibly the best, but they could lose to any of the top 8 in the WC and I would not be suprised.

The Suns are close though, if they can keep the core together. We are the youngest team in the NBA after all.

There no great teams in the NBA right now because the league is so diluted. Once Kobe and Shaq went their separate ways, no team remained that had more than one "great" player on it's roster unlike many of the great teams of old (Bulls, Celtics, Showtime Lakers).

Of course there have been exceptions to the rule, such as the Rockets and Pistons which are teams who had the one superstar surrounded by superb supporting casts. The Suns could fit into the second category because they have the one superstar (Amare) and he's surrounded by an excellent supporting class of very good players who buy into the team concept just like the two teams mentioned. The measuring stick is always postseason success.

 

[Chaz]

Hope so.

The Spurs are not a good team to play when in a slump. They don't give many open looks and they don't have to double team Amare to keep him from scoring 50. Nash will be the key because PG is the one position the Suns have a major advantage at - if Nash is healthy.

I am not so sure the PG advantage is so clear cut for the Suns. Nash is not a great defender and Parker a very capable offensive player. One the other hand Parker is no where near the passing PG that Nash is.

I think the Suns have a big advantage on the wings while the Spurs have the advantage in the paint with their size. Suns have to box out and at least compete on the boards. I imagine the Suns will do a lot of rotating and scrambling on defense to shutdown the inside. If they can force turnovers they will be able to run and I don't think the Spurs can keep up with them in the open court.

Interesting matchup to say the least.

 

[Joe Mama]

Hope so.

The Spurs are not a good team to play when in a slump. They don't give many open looks and they don't have to double team Amare to keep him from scoring 50. Nash will be the key because PG is the one position the Suns have a major advantage at - if Nash is healthy.

Steve Nash is a better point guard than Tony Parker. I don't think anyone outside of San Antonio would really argue that. There's no way I would say the Suns have a major advantage at point guard though. Tony Parker is going to give Nash fits on the defensive end of the court. Parker is incredibly fast and capable of getting hot from outside. He did it last night against Gary Payton and the Celtics.

I really don't like the idea that it would come down to this, but if Shawn Marion, Q, and JJ are making their outside shots, especially the 3's, I like the sun's chances. Otherwise it's going to be difficult for them to win.

Joe Mama

 

[jibikao]

Yeah, I think JJ has to step up. His recent bad shooting should be over soon.

I think Q has been playing about the same level we expect him to play.

Amare may get into trouble with that big center and Marion will definitely not have an easy inside game.

However, the reason Suns is so hard to beat is because it's a 5-Men team. Shutting down one doesn't mean you win the game. You can shut down Amare, but you still have JJ, Q, Marion and Nash to guard.

I like it that this is a Road Game because Suns seems to play better on the road especially against tougher teams like Sonics and Lakers. If it's a home game, they may be playing NOT TO LOSE which is different from playing TO WIN. Suns is very competitive on the road which I like.

Nash probably won't be the advantage in this game unless his 3pt is on fire which he can from time to time. One thing about Nash is that he may have bad shooting night because of tough defense but his passing and penetration should always be there. As long as the Suns doesn't just jack up 3pts in the game, Suns can definitely compete with Spurs. Great 3pters are great but I don't think Suns has any chance to get offensive rebounds if the shots don't go in.

I would rather have more cuts into the lane to scramble their defense and to draw Duncan out. Marion should be the key. Suns needs to do more fastk break because Duncan can't catch up Marion.

Jimmy

 

[Dr. Dumas]

I would like to see Hunter get big minutes in this game. In the past, the Spurs have a tendancy to struggle with athletic, running teams. I think that the Suns will win this game if they can get out and run.
Either way, should be a good game.
Suns 104
SA 98

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I doubt it. They may sub early if they need Hunter but I don't think D'Antoni will change his approach to match the Spurs.

The Spurs will have a tough time matching up with the Suns on the other end and in transition.

When you are 24-3 why change?

bingo. i was thinking the suns would have troubles too, then it dawned on me, which of duncan or nesto is running down the court w/ matrix and amare. of course, this is all predicated on us getting rebounds for run-outs, which could be a problem.

i disagree with a majority of you here. i think this is a very important game. it is a gauge. beating all the mediocre teams is nice b/c you have to beat those teams, and we've done it at an amazing rate, but you also have to salt away the good teams during the season to see where you are verses your playoff opponents. the seattle win was a good one. this is more important b/c the spurs are largely recognized as prolly THE team to beat in the west.

what i'd like to see is amare not get too hyped up. he seemed waaaaay to amped at the beginning of the sonics game. perhaps it was b/c it was nationally televised, but it really affected his game. i want to see him fired up, but under control. when he's under control he's almost indestructible.

is this game televised nationally? if not, someone at the networks is making a HUGE mistake not getting it on the telly.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Hope so.

The Spurs are not a good team to play when in a slump. They don't give many open looks and they don't have to double team Amare to keep him from scoring 50. Nash will be the key because PG is the one position the Suns have a major advantage at - if Nash is healthy.

i don't think nash is a "major advantage" over parker.

 

[George O'Brien]

i don't think nash is a "major advantage" over parker.

Unless he's improved a lot, Parker has trouble keeping quality PG's out of the lane. Nash causes havoc when he gets into the lane, so Parker may be forced to playoff one of the best three point shooters in the game. Unless the flu has him under the weather, I look for Nash to get well over 20 points.

 

[JCSunsfan]

We are bound to lose another game. In fact, at some point, we will get blown out in a game. It is incredible that it is nearly January and this team has not suffered a blowout loss yet. It says alot for the consistency of play and the quality of play.

If we lose to SanAntonio, I don't think it is that big of a deal. They are a very good team and we are playing them on the road. In fact, a loss might help this young team focus a little more.

I am looking to see whether the Suns are able to control the pace of the game. I am looking to see if Duncan gets inside Amare's head or not. I want to know if Amare and Hunter will be able to stay out of foul trouble.

If we are able to run some, get good looks from outside, and play some decent D in spurts I will be happy. If we get clean looks but for some reason we just cannot hit the broad side of a barn on that night, so be it. We've already proven that kind of shooting is aberration for this team.

We must not feel compelled to try to beat the Spurs at their own game. We need to try to make them beat us at ours.

Its going to be fun to watch.

 

[SirStefan32]

Unless he's improved a lot, Parker has trouble keeping quality PG's out of the lane. Nash causes havoc when he gets into the lane, so Parker may be forced to playoff one of the best three point shooters in the game. Unless the flu has him under the weather, I look for Nash to get well over 20 points.

It all depends on the tempo. If Phoenix forces San Antonio into a running game, Nash will score 20+ and Phoenix will win by 15. If the Spurs slow the game down, Nash will not score 20 points and the Suns will not win.

But I agree you with you that overall, Nash is much better than Parker.

Stefan

 

[Chaz]

It all depends on the tempo. If Phoenix forces San Antonio into a running game, Nash will score 20+ and Phoenix will win by 15. If the Spurs slow the game down, Nash will not score 20 points and the Suns will not win.

But I agree you with you that overall, Nash is much better than Parker.

Stefan

I can't argue with that.