Thurdays Suns/Spurs

[Big Shot Rob]

The championship is Dallas' to lose.

I think the Mavs are a year older, wiser, and overall better than last year.

But I still think the WCF will be better than last year.

Chum--you don't post as much as usual--is everything okay?

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Wow, I just noticed that the "dominant" Suns have had 5 of their 19 losses since that double OT "thriller" in Dallas... They really seem to be wearing thin down the stretch... On the other hand, the "struggling" Mavs have only lost 1 since that game!

My prediction midway through the season was that Phoenix would eventually lose steam and finish 62-20. The homer in me said the Mavs wouldn't and would finish 68-14. Looks like I'll be pretty close.

[Big Shot Rob]

BTW--

Ring the Bell--

If it is any consolation to you today,

This morning, Greg Popovich's comments after the game seems to indicate that he agrees with your overall assessment, i.e., many of the Suns' shots that failed to land were wide-open shots that the Suns usually make:







Spurs narrow the gap: Parker's night helps shrink Suns' lead

Web Posted: 04/06/2007 01:34 AM CDT

Johnny Ludden
Express-News

In this over-caffeinated NBA era of frenetic offenses, unorthodox matchups and 6-foot-7 power forwards, the Spurs can take solace in the fact that there are still some nights when size does matter. And on those nights that it doesn't?
The Spurs have at least one pair of legs quick enough to help them keep pace.


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With Tony Parker scoring a season-high 35 points and Tim Duncan adding 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, the Spurs held off the Phoenix Suns for a 92-85 victory Thursday at the AT&T Center.

The victory moved the Spurs within two games of the Suns in the Western Conference and captured the tiebreaker between the teams, keeping alive their slim chances of landing the No. 2 playoff seed.

"They're still in charge of their own destiny," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "And as we all know, to win the whole enchilada you have to win at home and you have to win on the road."

The Spurs should do well in the playoffs regardless of their locale if they employ the level of defense they played Thursday. Phoenix, which has the league's most prolific offense, shot a season-low 38.6 percent and its 85 points were the Suns' second-fewest of the season and more than 25 below their nightly average.

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With Bruce Bowen hounding him most of the night, Suns point guard Steve Nash finished with 20 points (on 6-of-14 shooting), seven assists and six turnovers.

Francisco Elson and Fabricio Oberto combined for 19 rebounds while helping Duncan check Amare Stoudemire, who missed 12 of 19 shots and finished with 15 points.

The Suns also missed their share of open shots, making just two 3-pointers, and shot an uncharacteristic 70.4 percent from the free-throw line.

"The team defense was pretty good," Popovich said. "You're not going to stop Steve or Leandro (Barbosa) or Amare — or any of those guys. They're really good players and their system is great.

"We're fortunate they didn't knock down shots tonight, but we did play good 'D.' That was the key for us."

Michael Finley helped Parker and Duncan provide much of the Spurs' scoring, making five 3-pointers and finishing with 19 points and a season-best 10 rebounds while starting in place of Brent Barry for the second consecutive game.

Spurs 92, Suns 85
• Spurs narrow the gap
• Mike Finger: Spurs not ready to relinquish control to Phoenix
• Spurs' defense keeps Suns running on empty
• Box: Spurs 92, Suns 85
• Suns coverage: Arizona Republic
• Your turn: Give your thoughts on the game



While the Spurs had reason to be proud of their defense, the whistle-heavy officiating crew of Joe Forte, Derrick Stafford and Sean Wright also helped control the game's tempo. Neither team was happy, and the Spurs' frustration boiled over when Bowen picked up a technical foul midway through the fourth quarter after being called for a foul while trying to fight off Nash for a long rebound.

The Spurs still appeared to have a fairly comfortable 85-72 lead with less than four minutes left. But for the Suns, swallowing a 13-point deficit is merely a hiccup away. After Nash knocked down an open 3-pointer and Stoudemire threw in a 7-footer, the Spurs' lead was down to 85-79.

The Suns then intentionally fouled Duncan away from the ball and the move paid off as Duncan missed both attempts and Shawn Marion made a runner to make it a four-point game with 1:55 left. Leandro Barbosa had a chance to bring Phoenix within two, but Duncan blocked his layup attempt.

After Parker made one of his two free throws, Nash threw away a pass. Parker then put the game out of reach by burying an open 18-footer.

"They kind of sped us up and got us out of our comfort level," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "You have to go fast, but you can't get in a hurry and I think we did a little of that on offense."

After watching Duncan throw in a hook shot on the opening possession of the second half, then bank in another attempt less than two minutes later, D'Antoni dumped his small lineup and matched up to the Spurs, replacing Barbosa with center Kurt Thomas.

"Pop forced that point," Duncan said. "I think he's just decided: 'You know what, we're just going to stay big,' and I thought we did a great job of it."

The Spurs then began to take control late in the third quarter by showing off their own speed. With Marion having gone to the bench with his fourth foul, Parker beat Phoenix down the floor for a layup, drawing a foul in the process.

After Duncan stripped the ball from Thomas, Parker found Finley open on the left wing for a 3-pointer in transition, hiking the Spurs lead to 60-50.

"We played good defense for 48 minutes," Popovich said, "and that gave us an opportunity to win."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jludden@express-news.net



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[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Big Shot Rob

Flaco--how is married life my friend?

Been away for a while--usual medical problems have kept me away for a while.

Still--I was curious how you guys felt about the game.
.
.

Very nice. I'd highly recommend it. Thank you for asking.

I agree with spiral. San Antonio is the better team IMO, but I'd still rather play them in the WCF if we get there.

[alexamenos]

just my few cents....

the number one thing I wanted to see last night was whether pop would stay big -- a combined 48 minutes from F. "I really suck" Elson and F. "I don't suck quite as much as elson" Oberto means props to pop for staying big most of the night....10 rebounds by Elson and 9 more from Oberto is pretty sweet if you're a spurs fan. still, pops went small in the last two minutes. it's like he's addicted to small ball, he's fine when things are going well but when things get stressful he cracks and has to get his smallball fix.

the little rappin' frenchman was the shit last night...it's bad enough to see the spurs play well but it really sucks to see a French Spur play that well....polly vew kiss my ass (that's all the french I know).

with all due respect to the Spurs Defense, the Suns were terrible last night. Think Mavs at Chicago.....let's just say that the mighty Spurs D was not the reason Amare Stoudemire went 1 for 5 from the free throw line. Boris Diaw was just atrocious....I love Michael Finley, but it wasn't Michael Finley's awesome low post defense that caused Diaw to dribble the ball of his own knee about a hundred times. The Spurs D was awfully good, but they got more than a little help from a smelly Suns performance. The suns just weren't aggressive until they absolutely had to be (with about 6 minutes to go). From that point on they were still bad but managed to make a game of it.

also, charles barkley is not a rocket scientist.

anyhoo....i've thought all along the Suns will win the series. i still think if they hold the 2 seed they will, but i don't feel strtongly enough about this to lay any money down.

either way, mavs are gonna get 6 or 7 good games to study.

cheers

[left texas]

Originally Posted by Big Shot Rob

Pop is notorious for not showing his hand before the playoffs.

Whatever the Spurs do Thursday--you can pretty much bet that the Spurs will do something else come the semi finals.

I think Pop just did the opposite last night. He showed the Suns exactly what he will do in the playoffs.

[purplefrog]

I was pretty encouraged after seeing the game last night. I think we match up with both teams just fine thank you.

Do we have to play the last eight games? Let's get this thing started!

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

F. "I really suck" Elson and F. "I don't suck quite as much as elson" Oberto

Two more nicknames make the books.

We need to make an official list.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by left texas

I think Pop just did the opposite last night. He showed the Suns exactly what he will do in the playoffs.

There's no fear in showing your hand when you know it can't be beat (by the Suns, anyway)...

[Tokey41]

I think we should all take a moment to reflect on how great it is that we don't have to play both of these teams this year in the playoffs. We have to worry about the one who comes out on top of what will no doubt be a grueling series, all we have to do is capitalize. Not looking past the Rockets/Jazz though, at least it will keep us sharp if anything.

[kingmalaki]

Spurs will be tough to beat. Should be a good postseason....