Suns-Spurs

[RadioFan]

Second year in a row this series is happening too early in the playoffs.

I think Phoenix has a real shot this year, especially given how Jekyll and Hyde San Antonio has played this season ... i.e. Jekyll on Wednesday night, Hyde during the last home game against the Suns.

A couple of keys to this series: 1. The Spurs have got to find some offense, particularly from the bench. If Finley, Udoka, Barry and hopefully Horry, if he's able to play, can hit some shots, the Spurs should be OK. If they all tank -- as has been the case in some games this year -- this will be a very short series. 2. Ginobili and Parker must stay healthy. Ginobili has had a hamstring injury that cannot become aggravated. If it does and he can't play, or even can't play near 100 percent, the Spurs are toast. 3. Foul trouble for O'Neal and Amare. Hate to say it in light of what happened last year, but I have a feeling the refs are going to end up playing a major factor in this series, especially fouls or non-fouls, inside.

Most "experts" are picking the Suns to win in 6. Though I fucking hate O'Neal, I've always liked Nash and many of the other Suns' players, and I'm going to enjoy the hell out of watching Tony Parker and Steve Nash go at it -- arguably the best point guard matchup in the league, given how incredibly quick both of them are.

I'll say this series goes 7 games, with each team taking one game on the other's home court. Barring an injury I think the Spurs can win a game 7 at home.

I also think whichever team wins this series is going to roll either Dallas or New Orleans, in 5 games, or less.

Dio, bbq: in for a sig bet on the series?

[Diogenes]

First of all, no bets. The Suns don't need my jinx factor to overcome-especially against this team. They're getting Berry back at just the wrong time, Ginobli seems to be doing better than I like, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Horry in there. Oh, yeah, there's the rest of those fuckers.
Keys for the Suns...

1) Grant Hill. They need him on both sides of the court, and his leadership. They should try him defending Duncan, TD has the size, but all we want is...

2) Keep Duncan out of the paint. Make him a jump shooter, if he gets in deep and starts drawing fouls, there's trouble.

3) Attack the paint. Get their players in FT, they won't kill you on the other end.

4) Someone aisde from, Shaq, Steve, Amare and Grant needs to step it up. Look for Leandro or Boris to get an attitude and play like they're going against the NBA champs.


And if all this is obvious, I don't give a fuck. Blazerfan.

No predictions, this could go either way. With or without competent officiating.

[RumpleForeskin]

By far the most intriguing series of the first round...perhaps the entire playoffs. I tell you what, its tough seeing who comes out of this alive. Alls I know is these teams are going to beat the crap out of each other before its all said and done. Some bad blood between these two and the winner will be licking their wounds when hobbling into the second round matchup against Dallas or NO.

Honestly, how can you break this series down and decide on a winner? The only think I DO know is that D'Antoni had Suns personnel install shackles on the bench. No need to cost yourself a game because of stupidity and emotion.

Aw fuck it...

Suns in 7

[Diogenes]

Here come old Shaqtop he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please

Grant wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola
He say "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me

Steve bag production he got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard he one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me

STAT roller-coaster he got early warning
He got muddy water he one mojo filter
He say "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me

[Dinsdale]

So... your forward thinking strategy to beat the Champs is...

Try to force Tim Dunk King out of the paint with...

Grant Hill?


I think I've mentioned that Grant is the uberdude, and may possibly cure cancer and end famine when he retires...


But I don't see banging with TD ending particularly well for Over The Hill.


And therein lies the problem -- Shaq is too old and slow to defend the paint against Timmy, and Amare is just too fucking dumb, and can't gaurd any decent 4. Guy still.... how many years deep in a pro career... still has no idea what "move your fucking feet" means. To be sogood on offense, and so clueless on defense is ponderous to say the least. He'll be riding pine most of the series.

Since the Champs are the Champs until the moment someone proves otherwise, I gotta go with SA... but get'cha popcorn ready.

[Diogenes]

So... your forward thinking strategy to beat the Champs is...

Try to force Tim Dunk King out of the paint with...

Grant Hill?

Exactly.

I never said I was an NBA coach. Or sane.

[Diogenes]

Look for Leandro or Boris to get an attitude and play like they're going against the NBA champs.

So far, so good.

[Diogenes]

Ffoor the record, I Hate This Game.

[Dinsdale]

One of the Suns' key pieces is a barely-functioning retard, which was on display yesterday.

I just don't see any team with Amare as a major player getting very far.

[RadioFan]

That was probably the best playoff game involving the Spurs I've ever seen, this side of the Memorial Day Miracle (sorry, Dins). But hell, that game didn't even go into OT.

(As a sidenote, Pooldoc and his crew had RF's home-made lasagna after the game, then PD's wife and he and I saw Alter Bridge at an outdoor concert. Best rock show I've seen in many, many years. An absolute Epic day, indeed).

This series is going to be an absolute war.

I stand by my prediction that whoever wins this series will take care of the Mavs-Hornets winner in 5.

[MiketheangrydrunkenCUfan]

With or without competent officiating.

I laughed.

[bbqjones]

so far i dont like this thread.

game two-

suns 103
spurs 89

[RadioFan]

Way to man up for the sig bet, bro.

:rolleyes:

[RadioFan]

Good Game 2, so far. Even though SA is down, Phx is on fire from the outside. They were bound to cool off.

[bbqjones]

you're up a game already. ill take the bet.

suns in six is on.

[Dinsdale]

Phoenix has got to be the dumbest team I've ever witnessed.

Its not one guy -- it's all of them. I mean, sure, ditching Marion raised the collective IQ a bit (anyone remember him going on Jim Rome after e got drafted? He stammered and said "uhhh" so many times while giving nonsensical answers to the questions, that Rome actually hung up on him mid-interview... classic), but they're just fucking dumb.

I even watched some of te game with pretty much a non-follower of the NBA, although he'll sit down and watch Nash. Even the non-hoops guy ended up asking "Does that guy ever play defense?" Sorry, but you're not beating Tony Parker's team by rotating the point guard out to the corner on Bowen to try and hide his weaknesses. I think the results spoke for themselves last night.

From Amare (although he wasn't as bad as usual) to Diaw to Bell to Nash... there was so much stupid going around, it was almost shocking... I say "almost" because it is Phoenix.


Fun team to watch, and D'Antoni is a very likable guy... but Kerr needs to blow tha disaster up. Best bet would be to trade Amare to a team that they think is going to be a contender in the West for several years, which sould ensure they never get past the second round. Bell is horribly overrated. Diaw doesn't ever seem to get any better. Just a bad mix of pieces.


But as a Suns-hater, I'm loving this shit. Some Sun is going to have a meltdown before it's over (in 2 more games).

[bbqjones]

the only thing stupid about the last two games has been dantoni.

how about calling a timeout before dropping 12 pt leads. amare didnt play the first 4 or five minutes of the third. he wasnt tired, wasnt in foul trouble. somebody (probably sarver paying 9 mil to diaw) thinks boris should get minutes. many. softest player on the team. hack a shaq is cheesy and doesnt belong but its allowed in the current rules. so im pretty sure this series is not going to end in phx now. but ill stick with my boyz and say seven.

raja bell is not overated. he is a solid player that really doesnt get much credit. keep your hatred of the suns to yourself dins until you make the playoffs. perhaps 2010.

[Dinsdale]

the only thing stupid about the last two games has been dantoni.

Yeah, I agree. When he called that timeout in Game 1, and told Amare to turn the ball over the consecutive possessions at crunch time, and then commit dumb fouls afterwards, it was really a bad coaching move, and set the tone for the whole series.


:rollinghard:

hack a shaq is cheesy and doesnt belong but its allowed in the current rules.

Yes, it is cheesey -- it's cheesey that a so-called "professional" can't muster 50%, like I'm guessing everyone posting in this forum can do all day long at the playground.

Don't like it? Make some free throws.

so im pretty sure this series is not going to end in phx now.

I wouldn't be too sure about that.

raja bell is not overated.

Why yes... yes he is. Dude's got little-to-no offense, and as a "defensive spoecialis," every time he goes up against a decent 2/3, he's on the recieving end of someone's personal Sportcenter highlight reel.


Every time.


Or in the words of one Mr. Bryant...

"Who?"

keep your hatred of the suns to yourself dins until you make the playoffs. perhaps 2010.

You didn't really type that, did you?

Sunsfan... just look what all te years of building has brougt the Phoenix -- a quickly-imploding "dynasty" that couldn't come anywhere close to sniffing the dirty jock straps of te Western Conf Champs. A window that's been slammed shut before it ever really got opened. Aging stars, and a bunch of role players that can be described as somewhere in between "one-dimensional" and "no-dimensional." And there's the crown jewel -- a freakishly athletic giant with an IQ similar to that of the dump I took this morning.


What does my team have going for it?

Lots. In small part, some of that is even due to raping Phoenix for a handful of beads (you'll become much more familiar with your gaffes next season, when you get a look at the guy who whooped the USA and every other national team in 06, that you traded for like $20 or something).


Got the best emerging young superstar in the game, who doesn't come with the associated ego/ball domination problems of others of his ilk.


They've got a center who teams were tanking seasons and losing season tickets sales to get... that "let's print up a jersey now, just in case we score on lottery day" guy.

Hell, we've got to et rid of players we eally like, to open roster spots for the new stars. Phoenix can't even come up with 8 competant guys for a playoff rotation.


Let's face it Sunsfans -- all you've got left is this series (and a bunch of disasterous contracts when it's over). And this series ain't looking so good. Blazerfans? Nothing but rosey skies ahead, my friend. You know it. I know it. Every NBA fan in the world knows it.

Just lie back and enjoy what's going to happen over the next 10 years... trust me -- we will.

[Goober McTuber]

This hack-a-Shaq shit is a fucking joke. There's a real easy way to deal with it. Call the intentional foul. Two shots and offensive team gets the ball out of bounds. Now I remember why I stopped watching this horseshit league.

[RumpleForeskin]

What a choke job down the stretch by the Suns. Reminds me of the Houston Oiler teams of the '90s. What a fucking colossal collapse at the end. Nash looked lost. Terrible.

[Diogenes]

Props to the Champs. And best of luck the rest of the playoffs.

I'll comment more after the nervous breakdown wears off.


BTW, I hate you all right now (except RF, but you still annoy me for the moment).

Not as much as I hate Tony Parker though...

[indyfrisco]

While I'm a semi-Spurs fan (see my blackface D-Rob pic), I thought PHX got the short end of the calls last night. Seemed a lot of bad calls went against them and calls that should have gone against the Spurs had the whistle swallowed. Spurs would have won the series anyhow, but I kinda felt bad for the Suns but not really because the NBA is still the suck...but it is getting better. Slowly.

[Dinsdale]

I thought PHX got the short end of the calls last night.

Really?

Although I hate the Suns with a passion (you might have noticed), I consider myself pretty neutral and objective. I'll call a spade a spade, and a rig-job by the refs a rig-job by the refs.

And I didn't really see that last night.

Sure, the loser is always going to bitch about the refs. But it's not like we witnessed Bryon Russell being physically assaulted, thrown to the ground to make way for a championship winning shot... how Stern can keep rolling that out as promotional, wenall copies of the video should be destroyed to save the NBA some shame...

Anyhoo, just didn't see it that way. What I saw, again, was the worst-coached team in the NBA constantly out of position on defense, teaching all of the youngsters watching exactly how to not defend a pick-and-roll. When they ecide to go underneath, there's never any help shading the middle. When they go over, it becomes a free-for-all. To counter the P&R, at some points they decided to just back off and let bigtime shooters sit back and take target practice.


Of the last 15 possessions Phoenix had, how many of them were blown by Amare or Nash?

9? Something like that?

Im even more pissed about the "tainted" (Shaq's word, not mine) MVP awards. Straight-up racism, right there. A guy who plays NO defense and tries to push the ball at completely inappropriate times isn't the "most valuable" palyer, and Parker has shown himself to be a far superior PG.

Time for Kerr and Co. to blow that team up. The Big Desperation Move didn't work out, although I don't think it made them any worse, but he's borderline-untradable with that contract (the day has come when no one wants him... whowouldathunkit).

Nash is a good guy to keep a year or two more, and maybe have him groom a new cornerstone PG (like Phoenix has been trading away for years). Makes too much money to get much in trade for, anyway. Maybe some draft picks and an overpaid malcontent.

Bell -- If anyone wants him, deal like a mofo. I've made my point about the "defensive specialist" wo ets lit up like a christmas tree every time he defends anyone... and he brings next to nothing at the offensive end. Not a reliable enough shooter to be a pure zonebuster, and is now in his 30's and has yet to display any ability to create off the dribble. If an outside player can't put it on the floor and go inside, he's very easily schemed against defensively. Grossly overrated player. Who?


Diaw -- tough call. They have time invested in him, and while his progress has come very slowly over the last few years, he appears to be getting better. Probably a decent risk to keep around, has shown some hints at having a little game on both sides of the ball.

And then there's Amare. Some team that's rebuilding and needs a marquee guy would be drooling over getting him, and might overpay in draft picks and expiring contracts. And although there's few players more fun to watch on the offensive end, this is what... year 6 for the guy... and his progress report reads "Incomplee... Incomplete... Incomplete." The 75-IQ lug has learned so little in 6 years (yes, I realize he knew nothing coming out of high school... well, here's the deal -- the Blazers took a first round flier on an athletic freak of nature with the IQ of plant life 5 years ao, and his learning curve has been very steady, albeit slow, but doesn't have the complete cluelessness Amare does), I don't see him getting much better at the mental part of the game. If you put him in a comfortable situation, he can drop into is footwork and torch fools on offense. Put him in a situation where he has to digest multiple things going on (like say on defense), and he's a deer in the headlights. How many game-changing turnovers did he have in this series alone? There was 3 consecutive ossessions in Game 4, then some dumb out-of-position fouls.


I'm sure Kerr knows it, and is trying to figure tings out, but dealing Amare is their best chance to stay competitive in the West. Not exactly sure who might be available for him, but there's other teams that are going to be blown up. Maybe Dirk might get moved in frustration, maybe Jermaine (there's a softy for the West), maybe the Clips would pony up Brand... who knows. Maybe even a trade for an established 2 and a project big man.

But in a conference that's getting fierce, and is in the midst of ringing out the old and in with the new, they need to do something. The Lakers are reaping the benefits of their brief rebuilding effort. If you don't think the Blazers are going o be a major factor in the West race next year, you're an idiot. If NO actually comes up with some kind of bench (and resigns players), they're not going anywhere. Sacto, I believe, will havesalary cap money to beef things up. The Clips get Brand back, and sould win a few more games (and finish out of the playoffs). I'd have doubts about Houston, exvcept teir rookies made such a splash this year. The Wolves will still suck, but will win more games next season.

Basically, the West is getting better, with what looks like 3 exceptions -- Phoenix, Dallas, and Denver. If those teams don't make moves now, their chances of finding the cellar of the West become quite high.

[indyfrisco]

As I was partaking in adult beverages last night, I watched the game. I just remember saying to myself quite a few times that the Suns were robbed on that call. Seemed to happen more and more. The icing on the cake was when Duncan tripped over himself and they blow Shaq for the foul. He never touched him. There was also a rebound at a critical point I believe they said Nash knocked it out when it was obvious, I beleive, Thomas who knocked it out. Then there were all the ticky-tack fouls called on the Suns after the Spurs started the 4th qtr with 3 quick fouls.

Refs: Ooops! We keep this up and PHX is gonna be shooting free throws with 8 minutes to go! Gotta even this bad boy up!

As I said, I could care less. I like the Spurs. Indifferent on the Suns. The Spurs had more fould because of hack-a-Shaq. I saw a lot of "evening out of fouls" I guess.

[Dinsdale]

The icing on the cake was when Duncan tripped over himself and they blow Shaq for the foul. He never touched him. There was also a rebound at a critical point I believe they said Nash knocked it out when it was obvious, I beleive, Thomas who knocked it out.

I guess you didn't watch the slo-mo replays.

Shaq did indeed bump Timmy's foot into his own leg, causing him to trip. The replay (which granted, I saw on DVR multiple times) showed this quite clearly, despite Shaq's protests. Good call. If you say "he didn't even touch him," you need glasses -- he VERY CLEARLY DID... knocked his foot into his own calf... you could clearly see Duncan's foot bounce off Shaq's leg in the replay... clearly.

Same with the out of bounds play. Came off Nash, who doesn't seem to have the "at crunch time, the ball is your friend" mentality. Also a good call, the replays showed. Thomas touched it, Nash lost the handle while trying to get it back... was CLEARLY the last one to touch it.

As far as ticky-tack fouls... what do you expect from a team with Amare? He's the King. He led the NBA in fouls... for a reason. Funny how the least cerebral team in the league is prone to stupid fouls, and the most intelligent team not nearly so much.


Funny how that works.

[indyfrisco]

No, i did not watch slo-mo replays. I was chatting online with the Mag7 Hitemn and watching the game at the same time. Anyhting that was not live action, I tuned out As I said, I could still give a shit about the NBA, but hey, what else is on? I don't pay for the baseball package so I can't watch my 'Stros. NBA has gotten better in the last couple years so I figger better that than nothing.

[bbqjones]

if you watch the replays close enough, it will show that portland is the team to beat for the next decade or ten. i couldnt be any clearer.

if it doesnt happen next year, it will the next and continue on forever.

dont listen to dinsdale. hes a prick.

[indyfrisco]

dont listen to dinsdale. hes a prick.

So what? I'm a prick too. Dins and I can spar on sports topics and relate on sports topics. Just because he disagrees with me does not mean I have to devalue his opinion or vice versa. I saw the game from my perspective and it was different than his vantage point.

Just because you and him have a chronic bicker does not mean he and I have one. We disagree regularly, but I respect that. I would hope he does too, but I do not speak for him. If not, so be it. I don't back down from my stances and neither does he, but we seem to debate at a rational level. To me, that's what this board is all about.

CFB Vet here. Dins know my type. Do you?

[Dinsdale]

Q is just funnin' ya.


He's one of my very bestest internet buddies in the whole wide world wide web.

Although he hasn't sent me a threatening PM lately, so I'm feeling kind of alienated.

[bbqjones]

So what? I'm a prick too. Dins and I can spar on sports topics and relate on sports topics. Just because he disagrees with me does not mean I have to devalue his opinion or vice versa. I saw the game from my perspective and it was different than his vantage point.

Just because you and him have a chronic bicker does not mean he and I have one. We disagree regularly, but I respect that. I would hope he does too, but I do not speak for him. If not, so be it. I don't back down from my stances and neither does he, but we seem to debate at a rational level. To me, that's what this board is all about.

this sounded really gay this morning when i was still groggy. i figured id slam some beers and read it again.

CFB Vet here. Dins know my type. Do you?

yeppers, big faggot post.


ps. i love you too dinsy