wijayas
12-26-2008, 12:37 AM
Suns-Spurs rivalry remains hot
Playoff defeats burn Suns players, fans still
25 commentsby Paul Coro - Dec. 24, 2008 08:34 PM
The Arizona Republic
The Suns have been bestowed the supposed honor of playing on Christmas. The San Antonio Spurs visit today for a 12:30 p.m. game that all NBA fans will watch . . . if they're tuning into ABC early for the Lakers-Celtics 3 p.m. tilt.
So why does it feel like the Grinch is coming to Whoville? It's those vilified Spurs. Steve Nash, Amaré Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa are the only Suns left from a 61-win team that was ousted by San Antonio in a suspension-marred 2007 playoff series.
But the Spurs still raise the ire of the Suns and their fans, no matter how long they've been a part of the rivalry.
Stoudemire has played in four postseasons. Each was ended by the Spurs.
Since, Nash has orchestrated the most victorious four-year run in Suns' history, but three playoff exits have come at the hands of the Spurs.
Grant Hill came to Phoenix last year seeking to play in his first winning playoff series, but he, too, was denied by the Spurs.
The Suns have won the past three regular-season games against the Spurs, including this season's opener. The bad news is they spent the past eight weeks circling the airport, trying to play a game as well as they did in the Manu Ginobili-less opener.
"As much change as we've gone through, I didn't feel like there was that much change in that game," Nash said of the 103-98 win on Oct. 29. "If you watched that game and you watched last year's playoffs, I don't think you'd see a ton of change. Since then, we've tried a lot of different things and had our ups and downs. Hopefully, it's not for nothing. Hopefully, that will really add to the experience and understanding of where this team can go."
The Suns massaged the roster in past years with toppling the Spurs in mind, but now they have a mountain of West teams to climb to regain elite status.
"It's still one of the most intense rivalries," Hill said. "There's a lot of history and bad blood. If you go by the track record, it's always a good game. I think this game has meaning. Both teams want to go into January feeling good about themselves."
As much as the Suns need to contain Tony Parker and Ginobili in transition, check the Spurs' 3-point shooters and have Shaquille O'Neal control Tim Duncan, they are still busy finding themselves. That opening-night team had a remarkable carryover, punishing the Spurs with pick-and-roll execution despite hardly using it in a preseason focused on half-court sets and new defensive schemes. The Suns are the NBA's worst turnover team, but they committed only 10 that night for what remains a season low.
Since then, the team's core was jarred by trading Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, the top scorers of the final two Suns-Spurs playoff games. The defense remains vulnerable, yielding more than 100 points in 12 consecutive games - the longest such Suns' streak since 1995.
It has been offset in the current 5-2 stretch by a return of up-tempo offense. Coach Terry Porter put the ball back in Nash's hands more, and the Bell/Diaw trade gave him a new wing weapon in Jason Richardson, who has made 13 of 24 3-pointers as a Sun.
"It benefits our team to beat people down the floor and get early shots," Nash said. "At the same time, we have that balance now where we can go into Shaquille and find a rhythm in the half-court. I think our team is good offensively at all three (ways), but obviously we're going to score at a high percentage if we get down the floor quickly and create an opening. I think we're extremely difficult to defend that way."
Unless Boston is going for a NBA record-tying 33rd consecutive win when Phoenix visits there Jan. 19, this might be the Suns' biggest stage for a while. They have lost their past seven nationally televised games since opening night. But it's business as usual for O'Neal, who will play in his 11th Christmas game.
"It just shows they still figure whatever team I'm on is still one of the marquee teams when you talk about marketing and all that," O'Neal said. "It's going to be a highly watched event. People get to see my pretty face. My kids understand to wake up early, have some fun and Daddy's got to get to work."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/12/24/20081224sunsspurs1225.html
Playoff defeats burn Suns players, fans still
25 commentsby Paul Coro - Dec. 24, 2008 08:34 PM
The Arizona Republic
The Suns have been bestowed the supposed honor of playing on Christmas. The San Antonio Spurs visit today for a 12:30 p.m. game that all NBA fans will watch . . . if they're tuning into ABC early for the Lakers-Celtics 3 p.m. tilt.
So why does it feel like the Grinch is coming to Whoville? It's those vilified Spurs. Steve Nash, Amaré Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa are the only Suns left from a 61-win team that was ousted by San Antonio in a suspension-marred 2007 playoff series.
But the Spurs still raise the ire of the Suns and their fans, no matter how long they've been a part of the rivalry.
Stoudemire has played in four postseasons. Each was ended by the Spurs.
Since, Nash has orchestrated the most victorious four-year run in Suns' history, but three playoff exits have come at the hands of the Spurs.
Grant Hill came to Phoenix last year seeking to play in his first winning playoff series, but he, too, was denied by the Spurs.
The Suns have won the past three regular-season games against the Spurs, including this season's opener. The bad news is they spent the past eight weeks circling the airport, trying to play a game as well as they did in the Manu Ginobili-less opener.
"As much change as we've gone through, I didn't feel like there was that much change in that game," Nash said of the 103-98 win on Oct. 29. "If you watched that game and you watched last year's playoffs, I don't think you'd see a ton of change. Since then, we've tried a lot of different things and had our ups and downs. Hopefully, it's not for nothing. Hopefully, that will really add to the experience and understanding of where this team can go."
The Suns massaged the roster in past years with toppling the Spurs in mind, but now they have a mountain of West teams to climb to regain elite status.
"It's still one of the most intense rivalries," Hill said. "There's a lot of history and bad blood. If you go by the track record, it's always a good game. I think this game has meaning. Both teams want to go into January feeling good about themselves."
As much as the Suns need to contain Tony Parker and Ginobili in transition, check the Spurs' 3-point shooters and have Shaquille O'Neal control Tim Duncan, they are still busy finding themselves. That opening-night team had a remarkable carryover, punishing the Spurs with pick-and-roll execution despite hardly using it in a preseason focused on half-court sets and new defensive schemes. The Suns are the NBA's worst turnover team, but they committed only 10 that night for what remains a season low.
Since then, the team's core was jarred by trading Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, the top scorers of the final two Suns-Spurs playoff games. The defense remains vulnerable, yielding more than 100 points in 12 consecutive games - the longest such Suns' streak since 1995.
It has been offset in the current 5-2 stretch by a return of up-tempo offense. Coach Terry Porter put the ball back in Nash's hands more, and the Bell/Diaw trade gave him a new wing weapon in Jason Richardson, who has made 13 of 24 3-pointers as a Sun.
"It benefits our team to beat people down the floor and get early shots," Nash said. "At the same time, we have that balance now where we can go into Shaquille and find a rhythm in the half-court. I think our team is good offensively at all three (ways), but obviously we're going to score at a high percentage if we get down the floor quickly and create an opening. I think we're extremely difficult to defend that way."
Unless Boston is going for a NBA record-tying 33rd consecutive win when Phoenix visits there Jan. 19, this might be the Suns' biggest stage for a while. They have lost their past seven nationally televised games since opening night. But it's business as usual for O'Neal, who will play in his 11th Christmas game.
"It just shows they still figure whatever team I'm on is still one of the marquee teams when you talk about marketing and all that," O'Neal said. "It's going to be a highly watched event. People get to see my pretty face. My kids understand to wake up early, have some fun and Daddy's got to get to work."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/12/24/20081224sunsspurs1225.html