The Spurs are 2007 champs!(much more inside)

[Andrew]

Personally, I'm hoping to see a Cleveland/Utah Finals series. I'd watch a Spurs/Pistons rematch with interest (though I'd be disappointed if the first four games turned out to be blowouts again; Game 5 really saved that series from being anti-climactic) but a Cavs/Jazz series would ensure a team winning the first title in franchise history.

That's what I liked about last year's Finals; if the Bulls can't win it all (and obviously they won't this year) I'd like to see the most interesting or historically noteworthy series possible and two teams that have never won the championship or even made the Finals will achieve that. The Jazz of course have made the Finals before but the Cavs haven't and both teams would still be chasing their first NBA title. Plus, they'd be knocking out favourites from each conference adding yet another twist to this postseason of upsets.

As far as the Suns are concerned, they dropped two very winnable games and no doubt the suspension of Amare and Diaw will foster "What If?" scenarios until the 2008 Playoffs roll around. I was a little perplexed that the Suns didn't attempt to dip into their bench more often. I know D'Antoni is fond of the shorter rotation and they don't have the deepest bench in the league but they do have some talent there. Conversely, the Spurs went to their bench and for the second time in three years, they came out on top.

[ixcuincle]

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes :

No season's expectations were higher than this one - Nash had declared this his best team. But Phoenix will either wonder if is it built to handle the playoffs' more physical play, or to lament the suspensions of Amaré Stoudemire, who scored 38 Friday - much like he had 42 when the Spurs eliminated the Suns two years ago - and Boris Diaw for coming onto the court in reaction to Robert Horry's flagrant fouling of Nash in Game 4.

The "run and gun" offensive style the Suns have built up still hasn't won the championships , and you can debate on whether it would have had Stoudemire and Diaw played Game 5. I think that , if they had played Game 5 , and Horry was suspended for the rest of the playoffs for the hockey check on Nash , that the Spurs would have still come out on top. The game would have probably passed the century mark , but the Spurs likely would have won regardless.

I continue to remain convinced that the style of Phoenix offense simply doesn't work in the postseason...because Duncan would still score his 30 points with Amare playing center or with him suspended. Maybe it was the Spurs "dirty" defense , or Bowen's allegedly dubious defensive tactics , but the Suns cannot continually expect to win championships depending on their scintillating offense. It hasn't worked the past 3 years , so why would it next year? Play some defense , and maybe they will finally reach the NBA finals instead of being eliminated year after year.

The Suns didn't lose the series because Stoudemire and Diaw were suspended for 1 game...this is why they lost in the long run

GAME 1
PARKER 32
DUNCAN 33

GAME 2
DUNCAN 29

GAME 3
DUNCAN 33
GINOBILI 24

GAME 4
DUNCAN 21
PARKER 23

GAME 5
DUNCAN 21
GINOBILI 26

GAME 6
PARKER 30
DUNCAN 24
GINOBILI 33

[3PK]

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes :

Quote:
No season's expectations were higher than this one - Nash had declared this his best team. But Phoenix will either wonder if is it built to handle the playoffs' more physical play, or to lament the suspensions of Amaré Stoudemire, who scored 38 Friday - much like he had 42 when the Spurs eliminated the Suns two years ago - and Boris Diaw for coming onto the court in reaction to Robert Horry's flagrant fouling of Nash in Game 4.


The "run and gun" offensive style the Suns have built up still hasn't won the championships , and you can debate on whether it would have had Stoudemire and Diaw played Game 5. I think that , if they had played Game 5 , and Horry was suspended for the rest of the playoffs for the hockey check on Nash , that the Spurs would have still come out on top. The game would have probably passed the century mark , but the Spurs likely would have won regardless.

I continue to remain convinced that the style of Phoenix offense simply doesn't work in the postseason...because Duncan would still score his 30 points with Amare playing center or with him suspended. Maybe it was the Spurs "dirty" defense , or Bowen's allegedly dubious defensive tactics , but the Suns cannot continually expect to win championships depending on their scintillating offense. It hasn't worked the past 3 years , so why would it next year? Play some defense , and maybe they will finally reach the NBA finals instead of being eliminated year after year.

The Suns didn't lose the series because Stoudemire and Diaw were suspended for 1 game...this is why they lost in the long run

I agree it's about time the suns did something about there dismal defence they could've won a championship by now so i think they should work hard in the off-season on their defence and make it sole focus. Even getting a few new player because with a good defence they would've bet spurs

Back to the present series's i really want Detroit to beat the cavs and think they will and because i love Detroit so much i want them to no only get it for themselves but also for webber.

Out of the spurs, Jazz series i think all are underestimating the jazz which i think is ridicoulous because when you go deep into this they beet the Warriors who beet the Mavs who beet the spurs 3-1 in the season head to head

[Its_asdf]

The Suns aren't a bad defensive team. They're not defensive juggernauts like the Spurs but they still have the second highest point differential during both the regular season and playoffs. That means that they play enough of a defence to make a difference to win games by a fairly large margin. What's the point of holding a team to only 60 points when you score 50 yourself?

[Matt]

The problem with the Suns is still the defence. They had no answer for Duncan. Duncan had his way with Thomas' more than solid efforts, and he ate Amare's lunch all day. Gino & Parker also had a field day at the basket with layup after layup. No intimidator in the middle. Sometimes Stoudemire can play that role but he hasn' shown consistency. He's too eager to block shots and ends up in foul trouble.

Offensively Suns got nothing from Barbosa, who didn't enjoy the freedom he got in the reg season. Bell is just a spot up shooter, Marion cleans up plays but he's ineffective @ 3, Thomas can knock down some shots and Amare is reliant on Nash. In essence these guys have only one guy that can create....Nash....and he was hounded superbly by Bowen.

[Clock]

Personally, I'm hoping to see a Cleveland/Utah Finals series.

Too bad it's not going to happen...(Though I'd love it to)

Anyway, as long as the Spurs won't be in the finals, I'm happy.

[Axel]

It really all comes down to one quite overused saying...

Defense wins championships.

Are the Suns ever gonna be able to get past the Spurs in the playoffs?

Bull shit.

The Spurs are a great offensive team. It's not just their defense that won it.

The problem with the Suns is still the defence. They had no answer for Duncan.

Who does? The Suns aren't a bad defensive team, Duncan is just simply unstoppable. Ben Wallace is probably the only guy in the entire league who would defence him and even he would still get eaten up most of the time.

The Spurs played really well, but I still believe they get away with so much more on defense than any other team. It's reputation calls really. Each and every time Duncan made a play on the ball, it was just a superb defensive play.... Kurt Thomas... always a foul. Duncan comes across the opposite arm so many times in making his blocks yet it always went unnoticed.... Bruce Bowen routinely had his forearm pressed up against Nash but he always shielded it with his body... only was called once or twice all series. They're good, but the refs make them much better... I mean, come on, with the minimal contact it takes to put Wade, Bryant, Arenas, etc on the line it's amazing how much the Spurs can get away with.

The announcers routinely said "the refs are letting them play, and both teams like that". What a load of BS. The Spurs like it... not the Suns. "Letting them play" helps the team that plays extremely physical, and obviously that team is San Antonio. I just don't get how some times they can play physical, others they cant, and how when San Antonio is playing, the refs always just "let them play". *sigh*

I'm predicting record lows in conference finals and nba finals this year (does that happen every year though?). Jazz and Spurs will be mundane, and in the ECF we get to watch Lebron choke and the Pistons play lax again. Certainly not watching that...

[Lamrock]

It will be Detroit vs. San Antonio again. However, I'm changing my prediction for the WCF to Spurms in 7.

[dan_suth]

It really all comes down to one quite overused saying...

Defense wins championships.

Are the Suns ever gonna be able to get past the Spurs in the playoffs?

Bull shit.

The Spurs are a great offensive team. It's not just their defense that won it.

The [much] superior defensive team won, though, no? I never said the Spurs aren't great on offense. They are much better on defense, and they have proven that saying correct once again.

I'm getting kind of annoyed with all the whining going on about this year's playoffs, especially about the Suns/Spurs series. I was pulling for the Suns hardcore, and yes, while there were some questionable calls made, the fact of the matter is the Suns lost. They had an excellent chance to win game 5 even with their players out... but they gave up a huge lead at the end. In game 6, with about 4 minutes left, they played with a TON of energy, as they were very desperate to get back in it. If they played the entire game with that amount of desperation, they probably would have won. It was just too little, too late. With all that said, the Suns blew game 1 at home and gave up home court advantage well before any of the questionable decisions were made. You really can't blame the refs, Stu Jackson/David Stern, Robert Horry, or anyone else except for the Suns (with some emphasis on Amare + Diaw )

[ixcuincle]

It really all comes down to one quite overused saying...

Defense wins championships.

Are the Suns ever gonna be able to get past the Spurs in the playoffs?

Bull shit.

The Spurs are a great offensive team. It's not just their defense that won it.

The [much] superior defensive team won, though, no? I never said the Spurs aren't great on offense. They are much better on defense, and they have proven that saying correct once again.

I'm getting kind of annoyed with all the whining going on about this year's playoffs, especially about the Suns/Spurs series. I was pulling for the Suns hardcore, and yes, while there were some questionable calls made, the fact of the matter is the Suns lost. They had an excellent chance to win game 5 even with their players out... but they gave up a huge lead at the end. In game 6, with about 4 minutes left, they played with a TON of energy, as they were very desperate to get back in it. If they played the entire game with that amount of desperation, they probably would have won. It was just too little, too late. With all that said, the Suns blew game 1 at home and gave up home court advantage well before any of the questionable decisions were made. You really can't blame the refs, Stu Jackson/David Stern, Robert Horry, or anyone else except for the Suns (with some emphasis on Amare + Diaw )

Agreed...I don't think the suspensions hurt the Suns as much as many people are claiming they did. I remain unconvinced the Suns would have won that game had Amare and Diaw not been suspended...Duncan was dominant all series and would have just scored more points had those 2 not been suspended. If not him , then Ginobili or Parker.

[The X]

I almost shed a tear after the Spurs-Suns game, it was very disappointing....to see them work so hard & to fall short again, it's very disappointing....especially with all the adversity that they've had to overcome in this series....not to take anything away from Spurs, it was a great series, but I would've like to have seen a 7 game series without the suspensions & without Nash missing last few minutes of game 1 due to nose, well at least without the suspensions....in the end, the way Ginobili was playing, the struggles of Barbosa & their inability to score consistently, the Spurs probably still would've won the series, but it is still disappointing nonetheless....

all I can hope for is a Pistons-Jazz NBA Finals with the Jazz finally winning it all....but as a casual NBA fan, I can't say I'll be making sure to watch every single game now that the Suns are knocked out....I couldn't think of anything more boring than watching Lebron & the Cavs play, so I won't watch East Finals....hopefully Pistons take care of them....I might watch some Jazz-Spurs games, just because it's good basketball viewing watching a Jerry Sloan coached team go against a team like the Spurs....

as what I think the Suns should do:
1. Either use Diaw effectively or package him in a trade to get something that they will use....
2. I still think Marion can be effective as he provides the defensive factor that the team can't afford to give up....it wouldn't feel right having a Suns team without him after all....
3. I'd like to see them get a backup PG....Marcus Banks was never the answer, I don't know why they even signed him in the first place....I just don't think the team is better with Barbosa at PG whilst Nash is off the floor....
4. Draft Joakim Noah in the 4-6 spot if they get Hawks' pick....like everyone else, I think his style, hustle & emotion will help this team....I think he would make a great 7th man for this team, & he doesn't need to shoot the ball....
5. If you're going to sign a star like Sean Marks, why don't you play him....he practiced against Duncan daily for years....surely he could've helped, even if it was just to foul him....memo to Sean Marks, get a hair cut

EDIT: If not Noah at 4-6, maybe they should draft Corey Brewer....a long swingman who can shoot from the outside, is athletic & can run with Suns, but more importantly, defend on the perimeter....

[Matt]

Who does? The Suns aren't a bad defensive team, Duncan is just simply unstoppable. Ben Wallace is probably the only guy in the entire league who would defence him and even he would still get eaten up most of the time.

Suns aren't bad, but they just can't defend the post. There are guys that can make Duncan work harder for points...Utahs collective "beat him up" effort will test him, as will Rasheed!

The announcers routinely said "the refs are letting them play, and both teams like that". What a load of BS. The Spurs like it... not the Suns. "Letting them play" helps the team that plays extremely physical, and obviously that team is San Antonio. I just don't get how some times they can play physical, others they cant, and how when San Antonio is playing, the refs always just "let them play". *sigh*

it's not like letting them play is a new concept to playoff ball.

[CMJ3]

Wow i got a good chance of getting my prediction i made in like feb to come true. I predicted the Spurs would win the NBA finals and beat Cleveland 4-2 in the finals. I should of put some money on that cos i think i got a chance.

Sad to see PHX go, this was their best shot at a title with Nash's age and all, they might be up there next year but i think rebuilding with their young guns like Barbosa and Amare is on the Horizon.

[Axel]

it's not like letting them play is a new concept to playoff ball.

That's not what what people claimed last year when Dwyane Wade single handedly won the NBA Championship.

[magius]

actually 'letting them play' helps the suns, without stoppage they go end to end in a heartbeat. with stoppage, the game will slow down to a half court game, giving td time to setup on both ends. in which case phoenix imo is dead.

sa will have a harder time of it than most people expect in utah, and IF they get through that with detroit (assuming detroit beats cleveland). i'd take the spurs over detroit though, because sheed + 1 other at times is going to be tied up, and theres no ben to help anywhere else. cwebb is hardly the paint presence to even cause manu or tp to blink twice, and if you put him 1on1 vs td to free sheed to patrol the paint, he will get eaten alive; perhaps mcdyess would be a better choice. sa has a better chance of controlling detroit offensively i think. but as is always the case we will see. detroit has the best man on man defense in the league imo, but sa has the best team and interior defense due to td and the system.

[maes]

I guess i'm the only one not surprised. In the NLSC awards thread my votes went
MVP: Duncan
6th Man: Ginobili

And i don't even like the Spurs.

Phoenx, like the Bulls, play 100% every night in regular season and amass an excellent regular season record. Teams like the Spurs & Detroit slack off during the regular season and go into "go to work" mode once the postseason starts and hit 3rd gear in the 2nd round.

27 ppg 14 rpg 4.2 bpg 57% FG = the "real" Duncan.

[McDwyane]

spurs win over the jazz.

[Matt]

Phoenx, like the Bulls, play 100% every night in regular season and amass an excellent regular season record. Teams like the Spurs & Detroit slack off during the regular season and go into "go to work" mode once the postseason starts and hit 3rd gear in the 2nd round.

Well regular season record doesn't guarantee anything. Pistons with #1 record in East have lost twice in the ECF, but with a lower seed have won twice. Spurs have only had success once with a #1 record and that was in 03. Best team always win a 7 game series so i guess records dont matter.

[maes]

Well regular season record doesn't guarantee anything.

That's the point i was making...everyone (including the professional writers) picked Dallas/Phoenix to win it all based on regular season records...which have been proven over many years to not be a good indicator of playoff success.

MJ's Bulls completely dominated their era and still had the best record for only 3 years.

[Sauru]

i had picked the suns this year not based on thier record but mainly cause i felt this was thier year. i honestly thought that from day 1 this season they were the team to beat for the title. now the spurs have done that so i mark them as the team to beat and imo they should take the title with only losing 2 more games the entire playoffs. i never picked dallas to win cause they choke alot, and the suns also choke, alot, but i thought they would get over this year. i was wrong and i wont blame it on what happened like alot of the writers have. the suns were in control of game 5 and blew it, simple as that. so anyway i root for utah now. they have always been my 3rd fav team, loved watching stockton and malone.

[Scorer--20]

Well , when i saw the game i was thinking " Spurs win 4-0 "

But damnn Deron Williams he is too good , if any other utah's player will play good in the game 2 , the jazz will be hard to beat.

Anyway , the spurs have more experience and they are playing together since 2003 , so they know how to run better the offense with great passes ( not flashy , but great )

[dan_suth]

Whew!! Marshall's go-ahead wide-open 3 ball clanked off the rim with 6 seconds left... Pistons win a pretty hard fought, close, low scoring game and hold Lebron to a career playoff low of 10 points. Rip Hamilton was lights out

[cheater1034]

the cavs didnt finish off.

But anyone who watched the game saw that cleveland SHOULD of won with fouls. They called everything detroit's way.

LeBron underneath got hammered 2-3 times shooting, the ball went out of bounds but they didnt call a foul, and the same thing happened to sasha pavlovic. You can't beat that.

[dan_suth]

Pretty pathetic to blame the loss on the refs, IMO... both teams got 17 free throws. The fact is, Lebron got shut down all game and his teammates were unable to make up for it, especially down the stretch.

The media is terrible... I can't believe that people are actually blaming Lebron for dishing it out to a wide open Donyell Marshall with 6 seconds left instead of jacking up an impossible shot in the lane with 3 Pistons guarding him tight. He made the right play, and I don't think there's any doubt about that. Blame Marshall for missing the wide open shot, blame Lebron for playing a poor game overall... but don't blame him for making that last play. If Marshall had made that shot, they would all be hailing King Lebron as the best decision maker in NBA history.

[cheater1034]

Pretty pathetic to blame the loss on the refs, IMO... both teams got 17 free throws. The fact is, Lebron got shut down all game and his teammates were unable to make up for it, especially down the stretch.

The media is terrible... I can't believe that people are actually blaming Lebron for dishing it out to a wide open Donyell Marshall with 6 seconds left instead of jacking up an impossible shot in the lane with 3 Pistons guarding him tight. He made the right play, and I don't think there's any doubt about that. Blame Marshall for missing the wide open shot, blame Lebron for playing a poor game overall... but don't blame him for making that last play. If Marshall had made that shot, they would all be hailing King Lebron as the best decision maker in NBA history.

I would never normally blame the refs, but he did get hacked several times down low but never got a call.

Even the guys on sportscenter said there was contact and he was getting no respect, which tells you something.

LBJ to marshall was a great play, he's their best 3pt shooter and LBJ would of had to force a shot in the double team where he would of got fouled anyway but they wouldnt of called it again :\