Spurs at Suns Game Two Previews: Confident Spurs: Mistakes can be fixed for Game 2

[duncan228]

Confident Spurs: Mistakes can be fixed for Game 2 (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=txspurssuns)

San Antonio at Phoenix (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2010050521)
Game info: 9:00 pm EDT Wed May 5, 2010
TV: TNT
By Bob Baum

The San Antonio Spurs need only look back a few days for a reminder that a Game 1 playoff loss in Phoenix is not the end of the world.

“Honestly we’d love to have got that one to kind of get them on their heels,” Tim Duncan said after the Spurs practiced on Tuesday, “but we still have an opportunity to steal homecourt here tomorrow, and we’re going to do just that. We’ve got a lot of things to clean up. We feel if we do just that, we give ourselves a real good chance.”

A San Antonio victory in Game 2 Wednesday night would send the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series to San Antonio tied 1-1. In the first round, the Spurs lost Game 1 in Dallas, then won Game 2 and eliminated the Mavericks in six.

The Spurs watched video of Monday night’s 111-102 loss and came away liking their Game 2 chances.

“We made so many mistakes,” Manu Ginobili said, “but at the same time, with all those mistakes, all those flaws we had, we were pretty close. … We are optimistic in that regard. We can play so much better.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said “I don’t know” when asked if he would move Tony Parker into the starting lineup after the speedster’s big game off the bench Monday night.

Parker said an abrupt “no” when asked if thought he would start.

He has been coming off the bench since his return April 6 after missing 16 games with a broken bone in his right hand. George Hill has been the starter, but Steve Nash made Hill look like a statue early in Game 1. The Suns’ playmaker made his first five shots and had 17 points by the end of the first quarter. He finished with 33 points and 10 assists, the sixth “30-10” playoff game of his career.

Hill struggled all night at both ends of the court, finishing with nine points on 2 of 7 shooting.

Parker has given the Suns fits throughout his career. He had 26 points in 35 minutes on Monday.

“They go up-tempo. There are a lot of possessions,” Parker said. “I like to play up and down. That’s why I think I’ve always been very successful against them.”

Ginobili said Parker “is huge in this series because of the way he attacks seams.”

“It also puts Nash in trouble, too, having to chase him,” Ginobili said. “So we definitely need Tony a lot, but the same way we need everybody else.”

Nash had rested his strained right hip for three days, and was uncertain how he would feel when Game 1 tipped off.

“I was a little nervous about it,” he said on Tuesday. “But I felt great and I had no setbacks, so I am really excited about that. I hopefully can play the series out and be as much help as possible.”

Parker said Nash’s early offensive assault was “a little bit” of a surprise. Nash expects a much more aggressive defense against him on Wednesday.

“This team’s been through it all,” he said of the Spurs. “They know what they’re doing. They’ve come back from deficits or losses already this year. We expect a great effort for them. They’ll make adjustments and we have to be ready to respond.”

Ginobili, playing with a broken nose and defended most of the game by Grant Hill, overcame a slow start to finish with 27 points on 9 of 20 shooting, 2 of 9 from 3-point range. Overall, the Spurs made 4 of 19 3s to 7 of 20 for Phoenix.

Ginobili, Parker and Duncan scored all but 29 of San Antonio’s points. Richard Jefferson made 1 of 3 shots and finished with five points and three rebounds in 32 1/2 minutes.

Jason Richardson had another big offensive game for the Suns with 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting. He made 3 of 6 3-pointers, including a huge one with 1:23 to play. He is averaging 24 points per game in the playoffs, shooting 54 percent overall and 51 percent on 3s.

He is an impressively accurate barometer of Phoenix’s success. The Suns are 30-4 this season when Richardson scores at least 20.

“It’s great right now,” he said. “In the playoffs, there’s so much energy and so much action. This is what players live for. This is all I’ve wanted for my whole career and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Suns coach Alvin Gentry called it “a longshot” that center Robin Lopez would play Wednesday.

“After that, we’ll see,” Gentry said.

The 7-footer has been out since March 26 with a back injury (bulging disk) but has been increasingly active in practice.

Before Monday’s win, Phoenix had lost three straight Game 1s to the Spurs, two of them at home. San Antonio still has another, ultimately more important, streak going. The Spurs have won four straight playoff series against the Suns.

*********************

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Tim Duncan SA 17.9
Amar'e Stoudemire Pho 23.1

Rebounds
Tim Duncan SA 10.1
Amar'e Stoudemire Pho 8.9

Assists
Tony Parker SA 5.7
Steve Nash Pho 11.0

*********************

Series Breakdown (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/playoffs/2010/saspho)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/playoffs/2010/saspho

[m33p0]

that's what it felt like.

Suns playing near peak efficiency and still couldn't throw off the Spurs.

[Russ]

I had a hard time getting excited about last night's game. Maybe the team had the same problem.

But I'll be ready tomorrow! (And that makes all the difference, of course.):flag:

This could be the same pattern as the Dallas series unfolding.

[Shastafarian]

Not playing Mason a single minute would be a start.

[edgar]

Not playing Mason a single minute would be a start.

This.

Also, I am 99.9% sure that the Spurs will even the series out tommorow 1-1. You can book it

:pimpslap

[pawe]

Nash wont score 33 again. He had a lot of days to rest and Hill was shocked when Nash went at him full throttle. 1-1 by tomorrow with parker scoring 30.

[duncan228]

Suns' Big 3 countered Spurs' Big 3 (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2010/05/04/20100504phoenix-suns-big-three-san-antonio-spurs.html)
With all the star players doing their thing, the key to Game 2 could be what supporting actor rises up
by Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic

The Suns were caught up in how they could limit Tim Duncan's touches, Manu Ginobili's penetration and Tony Parker's transition game.

The Spurs were just as worried about Steve Nash's playmaking, Amar'e Stoudemire's rolls and Jason Richardson's torrid shooting.

So when the Spurs' Big 3 did their thing, each scoring at least 20, and the Suns' trio was a tad bigger with a pair of double-doubles and 83 points combined for a Game 1win, that leaves a door open for someone else to be the difference Wednesday night in Game 2 of the second-round series at US Airways Center.

After San Antonio lost Game 1 of its first-round series against Dallas, Richard Jefferson went from four points to 19 and George Hill averaged 19.8 points over the series' final four games. Hill said before the series that he thought the better bench play would dictate the series, but that's a warped analysis when Parker comes off the bench for 36 minutes and 26 points.

No Suns complimentary scorer had more than seven, Grant Hill's total, but he defended Ginobili aptly, while the Suns bench scorers, Jared Dudley and Channing Frye, starred more on defense.

"If our Big 3 plays the way they did and their Big 3 plays the way they did, then we like our chances," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "The difference may be who has one of the X factors step up. Is it going to be DeJuan Blair? Is it going to be Grant? Those are the things you have to look at that could be the difference in the series."

Even with Nash's 33-point, 10-assist game Monday, it is hard to get away from Richardson's "XX factor" now that his 27-point Game 1 made the Suns 30-4 when he scores 20, including wins on the past 11 occasions. Phoenix is 12-0 when Richardson scores more than 25.

When San Antonio took a 67-64 third-quarter lead, it was Richardson scoring 10 points in the next five minutes to put Phoenix back ahead by 10. When the lead was five late, it was Richardson's 3-pointer icing the win with 1:23 to go. He is averaging a team-high 24 points in the playoffs with 51 percent 3-point shooting.

"He's scoring a lot in the first seconds of the possession," Ginobili said. "We've got to be ready to guard him in transition especially and then rotations. We know Steve Nash is the head of the snake. He finds everybody. Rotations have got to be quicker, especially with Jason Richardson. We've got to be closer to him."

The Spurs regretted much more than letting Richardson go. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich mostly bemoaned how they let the Suns have 27 fast-break points in Game 1. He deflected questions about Jefferson's passive play or whether he would start Parker, who believes he will remain on the bench, to focus on a need for his defense to retreat.

"We didn't get back a couple times in dead-ball situations," Popovich said. "Transition defense really hurt us."

With all the regrets, the Spurs trailed by one on the road with 4:26 remaining before missing five of their next six shots, all jumpers.

"We understand that Game 1 means nothing," Grant Hill said. "All it did was upset them and make them mad. We're not going to lose our edge, our effort or our focus.

"The Big 3 can kill you so we weren't pleased with what they did. We feel like we need to do a better job against those guys. They're great players. They're going to make plays. You just try to make them work. But our Big 3 played well as well."

[KaiRMD1]

It's much like the Dallas series, little things helped the Suns squeak by. The Spurs made a ton of mistakes yet were able to cut two double digit deficits. I'm feeling good about tomorrow.

[Giuseppe]

Try and act like somebody tomorrow night.

Savvy?

[kobeisgod899]

Naw you guys will always suck go lakers go we will sweep your asses or the suns will

[Xylus]

that's what it felt like.

Suns playing near peak efficiency and still couldn't throw off the Spurs.

That's not what it felt like to me. I don't think the Suns played anywhere near peak efficiency.

[Kibic]

that's what it felt like.

Suns playing near peak efficiency and still couldn't throw off the Spurs.
I don't think so. I mean about near peak efficiency.

[AnthonyM]

That's not what it felt like to me. I don't think the Suns played anywhere near peak efficiency.

Serious question. How much better do you think the Suns can play?

Nash having another 30 and 10 game? Richardson playing that well again?

I didn't see much of the Suns this season but it sure looked like they couldn't play any better...on both sides of the ball. Had some very nice defensive stops on Duncan down low throughout the game.

I think game 2 will be close, but I don't see Richardson, Nash, and Amare all playing that well and scoring over 80 again.

[Xylus]

Serious question. How much better do you think the Suns can play?

Nash having another 30 and 10 game? Richardson playing that well again?

I didn't see much of the Suns this season but it sure looked like they couldn't play any better...on both sides of the ball. Had some very nice defensive stops on Duncan down low throughout the game.

I think game 2 will be close, but I don't see Richardson, Nash, and Amare all playing that well and scoring over 80 again.

The Suns are playing at peak efficiency when they're getting contributions from multiple bench players. It's hard enough to worry about Nash, JRich, and Amare; when guys like Dudley and Frye and maybe Dragic are killing you from the perimeter, the Suns are practically impossible to defend. Keep in mind, I'm talking about peak efficiency. The Suns bench played a relatively subpar game on Monday, which is unusual for a home game. Hopefully they can shake off the jitters.

They also need to rebound the ball a little better. I know the Spurs got outrebounded in Game 1, but they also trotted out a smaller lineup. If Pop wants to play small ball, then Gentry needs to find some way to punish that strategy. Attacking the glass is the way to do just that. Amare did a great job at grabbing boards in Game 1, but he needs to keep it up. If Duncan starts owning him on the glass, the Suns are in trouble.

Also, the Suns are at their absolute best with Robin Lopez at Center. I know I've beaten this horse senseless over the last few days, but it's true. From what I'm hearing, Lopez won't be back for Game 2, but will be re-evaluated before the team flies to San Antonio. So he could theoretically play for the bulk of the series. If he's healthy and his conditioning is up to par, then the Suns instantly improve their interior defense and rebounding.

[Doctor J]

Ginobili, playing with a broken nose and defended most of the game by Grant Hill, overcame a slow start to finish with 27 points on 9 of 20 shooting, 2 of 9 from 3-point range. Overall, the Spurs made 4 of 19 3s to 7 of 20 for Phoenix.

Ginobili, Parker and Duncan scored all but 29 of San Antonio’s points. Richard Jefferson made 1 of 3 shots and finished with five points and three rebounds in 32 1/2 minutes.


Ginobili actually made 3 of 9 from 3-point range.

[Whisky Dog]

I hate the mavs. But I don't hate the suns. Especially now that dantoni is gone. I still want to whip their asses but there isn't that hate for me that there was last series.

[dreamcastrocks]

the suns are playing at peak efficiency when they're getting contributions from multiple bench players. It's hard enough to worry about nash, jrich, and amare; when guys like dudley and frye and maybe dragic are killing you from the perimeter, the suns are practically impossible to defend. Keep in mind, i'm talking about peak efficiency. The suns bench played a relatively subpar game on monday, which is unusual for a home game. Hopefully they can shake off the jitters.

They also need to rebound the ball a little better. I know the spurs got outrebounded in game 1, but they also trotted out a smaller lineup. If pop wants to play small ball, then gentry needs to find some way to punish that strategy. Attacking the glass is the way to do just that. Amare did a great job at grabbing boards in game 1, but he needs to keep it up. If duncan starts owning him on the glass, the suns are in trouble.

Also, the suns are at their absolute best with robin lopez at center. I know i've beaten this horse senseless over the last few days, but it's true. From what i'm hearing, lopez won't be back for game 2, but will be re-evaluated before the team flies to san antonio. So he could theoretically play for the bulk of the series. If he's healthy and his conditioning is up to par, then the suns instantly improve their interior defense and rebounding.

+1

[in2deep]

The Suns are playing at peak efficiency when they're getting contributions from multiple bench players. It's hard enough to worry about Nash, JRich, and Amare; when guys like Dudley and Frye and maybe Dragic are killing you from the perimeter, the Suns are practically impossible to defend. Keep in mind, I'm talking about peak efficiency. The Suns bench played a relatively subpar game on Monday, which is unusual for a home game. Hopefully they can shake off the jitters.

They also need to rebound the ball a little better. I know the Spurs got outrebounded in Game 1, but they also trotted out a smaller lineup. If Pop wants to play small ball, then Gentry needs to find some way to punish that strategy. Attacking the glass is the way to do just that. Amare did a great job at grabbing boards in Game 1, but he needs to keep it up. If Duncan starts owning him on the glass, the Suns are in trouble.

Also, the Suns are at their absolute best with Robin Lopez at Center. I know I've beaten this horse senseless over the last few days, but it's true. From what I'm hearing, Lopez won't be back for Game 2, but will be re-evaluated before the team flies to San Antonio. So he could theoretically play for the bulk of the series. If he's healthy and his conditioning is up to par, then the Suns instantly improve their interior defense and rebounding.

agree the suns bench didn't play at peak. Maybe at 70%. But the Suns starters sure damn well played well above 95%.

On the other hand the Spurs starters played at 75% and the bench at 60%. In other words it's true overall the SUns played close to their efficiency while spurs not so close.

And that's not even counting the defense. Defensive wise Suns were as good as have been all season, SPurs maybe at 50%. Even Kenny Smith said it, "I haven't seen Spurs play this bad defense all season"

[shelshor]

Referee Assignments
Wed. May 5
San Antonio @ Phoenix: Joe Crawford; Ron Garretson; Derrick Stafford

[WeNeedLength]

http://www.nbaloud.com/userimages/user1195_1176812957.jpg
Don't worry, Duncan will beat his ass if he starts throwing techs...:lol

[guzmangm]

The Suns seemed pretty damn good to me Monday. Only their 3 point shooting was off for them. 35%. Other than that they seemed pretty peak to me, energy level defense, and it was still close... We'll see tonight.

[dreamcastrocks]

agree the suns bench didn't play at peak. Maybe at 70%. But the Suns starters sure damn well played well above 95%.

On the other hand the Spurs starters played at 75% and the bench at 60%. In other words it's true overall the SUns played close to their efficiency while spurs not so close.

And that's not even counting the defense. Defensive wise Suns were as good as have been all season, SPurs maybe at 50%. Even Kenny Smith said it, "I haven't seen Spurs play this bad defense all season"

Amare played about 50 or 60%. Nash and J Rich played about 90% and Grant Hill played about 60% as well when you don't have the offensive game you can get from him.

No way the Suns starters played at 95% unless you are only talking about Nash and J Rich.

The benches for both teams played at about 25%. I didn't include Parker in the 25% for the Spurs.

[mingus]

RJ needs to be involved. it was the same stroy after game 1 against Dallas. this team has been EXTREMELY successful against team when RJ scores 14 or more. Duncan also has to be established early on. feed him and let im go to work.

[wildbill2u]

Suns defense is so much better than in previous years that they are more difficult for us. Nevertheless, the seams are there in their interior defense to exploit.

This will be another hard-fought series with the teams so evenly matched that it will come down to which team, including the bench, plays up to their peak ability.

However, after all physical skills are applied, I think the mental thing comes into play--and there the Spurs have the edge.

"The Spurs do not beat you so much as they grind you into tiny shards of psychological wreckage." -Denver Post

We beat Dallas because they lost the psycological battle and the best evidence of that was the misses Dirk and the Mavs started making in the 4th quarter.

We can be beat, but we don't choke.

[Fpoonsie]

“Honestly we’d love to have got that one to kind of get them on their heels,” Tim Duncan said after the Spurs practiced on Tuesday, “but we still have an opportunity to steal homecourt here tomorrow, and we’re going to do just that. We’ve got a lot of things to clean up. We feel if we do just that, we give ourselves a real good chance.”

:wow

Did Timmy REALLY say that? Huh. Seems out of character for him. Like the confidence, though...I guess.

Gotta admit, the Jason Terry-hating Spur fan in me feels a little hypocritical right now.

[phyzik]

:wow

Did Timmy REALLY say that? Huh. Seems out of character for him. Like the confidence, though...I guess.

Gotta admit, the Jason Terry-hating Spur fan in me feels a little hypocritical right now.

Yeah, thats as close to a guarantee as I have ever heard from ANY Spurs player.... Tim must be really pissed off about game 1.

[duncan228]

Game 2 Preview: Spurs Must Slow It Down (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-gamepreviewspursmust)
SportingNews

Three things to watch as the Suns look to take a 2-0 series lead over the Spurs:

1. Spurs’ transition defense. The Suns put up 111 points in Game 1, and that’s just not the kind of pace that the Spurs can handle in this series. San Antonio, generally, plays solid transition defense, but they failed to do so in the opener. After allowing 14.8 fast-break points per game in the first round against Dallas, the Spurs yielded 27 to the Suns in Game 1—it didn’t help that Suns point guard Steve Nash was having a 13-for-19 shooting night, finishing with 33 points and 10 assists. George Hill will have to do a better job, individually, on Nash. As Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “He ran it down our throat.”

2. Wing men. There were some signs in the first round that Spurs small forward Richard Jefferson might come around. He averaged just 9.2 points, but shot 54.1 percent from the field and actually had a 19-point effort in Game 2. But against the Suns in Game 1, Jefferson was once again invisible, scoring five points on 1-for-3 shooting. Worse, he was utterly torched by Jason Richardson, who scored 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Richardson has been unstoppable in the postseason, averaging 24.0 points on 54.1 percent shooting.

3. Suns’ brains. Phoenix players have heard quite enough about how they can’t beat the Spurs, thank you very much. They got off to a blitzing start in Game 1, withstood the Spurs’ runs and came out with a pretty convincing victory. But they’ve got to know the momentum of that win can be erased pretty quickly by a Game 2 letdown. San Antonio got the usual big games from stars Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, but the Suns can’t count on the rest of the Spurs scoring just 29 points on 37.0 percent shooting. They need to continue to show some mental toughness. “They’re just a really, really good team and as I said to our guys, they’re not going to give up, they’re not going to lay down,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said.

[EVAY]

Yeah, thats as close to a guarantee as I have ever heard from ANY Spurs player.... Tim must be really pissed off about game 1.

I hope that he is pissed off at his own inconsistency and inability to deliver at the foul line. We all love, adore him, give him a zillion excuses and guarantee that he 'will always come back stronger', but I have to say that I'm getting ticked off at the team's predictably poor mental set for game one of virtually every series.

The guys are, according to Pop, 'grown', so they don't have to be told how important something is. I think Pop may be assuming facts not in evidence.

[duncan228]

Phoenix Suns center Robin Lopez doubtful for Game 2 vs. San Antonio Spurs (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2010/05/05/20100505phoenix-suns-robin-lopez-doubtful-for-game-2-nba-playoffs-san-antonio-spurs.html)
by Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic

Suns coach Alvin Gentry said it would be a long shot for center Robin Lopez to play in Game 2 tonight against San Antonio.

Gentry said that he would assess Lopez's availability again at Thursday's practice before going to San Antonio.

"He's getting better and making progress," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "We just take it day by day. We won't rule anything out but it (playing Wednesday night) is doubtful."

When Lopez returned from a foot fracture in November, the Suns waited until a road trip for his return. Lopez's main issues are conditioning and right leg strength due to a nerve that was pinched by the bulging disk that sidelined him in late March.

[duncan228]

Preview: Phoenix Suns vs San Antonio Spurs, Game 2 (Throat Stepping Time) (http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2010/5/5/1459462/preview-phoenix-suns-vs-san)
by Seth Pollack
Bright Side of the Sun

Did you hear the news? It's Cinco de Mayo and the Suns will be wearing their "Los Suns" unis. There's some politics mixed in with that, as well, which Steve Nash after shootaround wanted no part of.

Asked about the reaction, he would only say, "I haven't really heard about any reaction, so I don't know. I haven't been to any rallies."

Asked a follow-up question, he would only say, "I just want to talk about the game tonight."

So that's all I'm going to say about that. We'll let Keith Olbermann and Sean Hannity duke it out from here.

Game 1 Chess Match

Thinking more on this, it seems pretty clear that the Suns won the chess match in Game 1. Everyone and their brother expected Amare to get going early and continue his domination against the Spurs. The Spurs included. So they they committed to keeping McDyess glued to his side and the Suns hit them where they weren't looking, with a quick Canadian jab to the bread basket.

The Suns insist that Nash was only "taking what the defense gave," but you have to wonder how much of that was a planned reaction to an anticipated Popovich move. I choose to think it was. Both sides felt that early boost set the tone for the game and was a deciding factor.

Gentry 1, Popovich 0


***

Game 2 Adjustments

Parker starting

The common question is if the Spurs will start Tony Parker or not. I don't think this matters in the least. Not only will Tony get his 35 minutes regardless, the Suns are obviously not going to try the same Nash quick punch again.

Starting Tony to help slow down Nash at the start of the game will only play into the Suns' hands by giving the Suns a smaller help defender to worry about. It also would be a huge boost for Dragic and Barbosa, who would be coming in against Parker after he'd already played more minutes.

Mostly though, Popovich loves George Hill and I don't see him benching the kid just because he had one bad game. The Spurs need Hill to play well to win this series and benching him this early isn't going to help.

My guess is that George starts, but if not, it won't make a difference.

Small vs Big

This, to me, is going to be the biggest decision (no pun intended) that Pop will have to make in this series. His small line-up was used at the end of the 1st half and again to close the game. It was effective in the fourth quarter and sparked a 13-0 run, but I don't think the Spurs can count on that for the entire series.

Steve Nash seems to think Pop will use it, while Amare yesterday said he doesn't think that the Spurs small-ball will get as much play. We will certainly find out.

If/when the Spurs do use it, there are two match-ups the Suns need to exploit. Duncan guarding Amare is the first and most important. 4 times in Game 1, Amare iso'd Timmy from the high elbow and he scored on three of those plays. Amare knows that Tim can't guard him from there. As does Tim and everyone else, which is why you won't see Duncan on Amare until later in the game.

On the other side, that leaves Amare having to guard Tim in the post which isn't great either, but the Suns did a much better job with their team defense against Duncan's post play, holding him to 1 of 7 -- and that was against a rested Tim.

The other match-up is Channing Frye. If Gentry leaves Frye on the court against Jefferson, the Suns have to take advantage of this by having Amare pull Duncan out of the paint. Frye isn't a great post player but he can score on Richard.

Other Adjustments

Both teams will throw some different looks at the others' pick and rolls, but there's really only so many ways you can cover that and these guys will adjust on the fly.

In the end, it comes down to the Suns pushing the tempo, which is always easier when they are winning on the glass.

Not a Must Win, but a Deadly Blow

I read or heard a stat that 2nd round playoff teams that go up 2-0 win 113% of time (or thereabouts). A loss tonight for the Suns won't be a big blow and will only mean this series is going to go long as everyone expects.

If, however, the Suns can clean up the fouls -- which Gentry talked about today -- and get a little more bench production, this game could easily go to the Suns. In fact, a big win wouldn't surprise me. I just don't think the Spurs defense can slow down this Suns team and, while they can score some points, they will be playing from behind just as the Suns did in past years. We know how that went.

Other Notes:

Nash said he's feeling great going into tonight's game. Gentry said Robin won't play today but is hopeful for the near future.

The Spurs didn't hold shoot around. I guess they just hung out in their cushy robes and enjoyed a nice brunch at the Ritz.

[duncan228]

Game 2 preview: Spurs at Suns (http://valleyofthesuns.com/2010/05/05/game-2-preview-spurs-at-suns/)
by Michael Schwartz
Valley of the Suns

Game 1 (http://valleyofthesuns.com/2010/05/04/steve-nashs-scorching-first-leads-to-game-1-win/) was the type of satisfying victory Suns fans have yearned for since the start of the Nash Era, taking their first series lead on the Spurs since Stephon Marbury’s shot banked in in 2003.

Just don’t expect the Suns to savor it for long because, you know, they have a kind of important game coming up tonight.

“I’m going to be happy for about an hour, oh, 15 minutes, and then [Tuesday] get ready to get back to business,” Channing Frye said after Game 1.

There’s no question that winning game one could set the tone (http://valleyofthesuns.com/2010/05/04/game-1-win-sets-the-tone-for-the-series/) for a series that the Suns hope to be different than all the rest against San Antonio this past half decade.

But that will only be the case if the Suns follow that up with an equally monumental win in Game 2 tonight against the Spurs.

If the Spurs win, then they got what they came for, the split that they needed to regain home-court advantage.

If the Suns win they will have a stranglehold on the series and we can forget about whether any curse has any bearing on this series. (Well, that is unless the Suns choke up that lead). But if history is our guide, Suns fans would be comforted to know that home teams that win the first two games in the conference semis boast a sterling 84-3 record in those series (.966 winning percentage).

“We’ve still got to hold home court in the next game,” Steve Nash said. “We haven’t really done anything yet. We did our job in Game 1, but we’ve got to have a better performance in Game 2. They’re going to come out extremely desperate in Game 2, and we’ve got to match it.”

In the Portland series, the more desperate team often won that basketball game. In that series’ Game 2, the Suns gave an inspired effort while the Blazers were content to take Game 1. The Suns should not be content with anything. They put themselves in a good spot, sure, but much of the luster will be taken off that Game 1 win if it’s not complemented by a victory in Game 2.

Just as Gentry made the genius move to switch Grant Hill onto Andre Miller between Games 1 and 2 of the Spurs series, you know both coaches will be cooking up adjustments before this battle.

Many people expect the Spurs to start Tony Parker at point guard instead of George Hill. To me it’s not such a big deal whether Parker starts or not because he still logged a hair under 36 minutes in Game 1, more than any Spur not named Tim or Manu. He will play a lot, and he will play a lot with Hill regardless.

We all know that Nash can’t guard Parker — who can? — nor can he check anybody else in San Antonio’s starting lineup if Parker starts. At the same time, as we saw in his 33-point, 10-assist Game 1 effort, not even the great George Hill can stop Nash either.

After Game 1 Grant Hill was talking about how the Suns played well, but there are some things they can improve upon. For one, their 16 turnovers were a tad high, and they can’t rely on the Spurs hitting just 4-of-19 three (21.1 percent) every game. The Suns will also need to get more offensive production from their role players after nobody outside of Nash-Amare-Richardson scored more than seven points.

On a night that will be charged by the Suns’ political statement (http://valleyofthesuns.com/2010/05/04/phoenix-suns-smart-to-don-los-suns-jerseys/) of wearing “Los Suns” on their jerseys, the Suns have a chance to make the Spurs play catchup after the first two games in a series for the first time in the Nash Era.

This team knows that the Game 1 win doesn’t matter if they don’t also win Game 2, so their level of desperation should match that of the Spurs.

“You can’t get too excited,” Amare Stoudemire said. “They’re a team with a great pedigree that knows how to come back in a series. I think we played well on both ends, did a phenomenal job on the boards, but we’ve got to stay hungry and get ready for Game 2.”

[mingus]

i have to give props to amare this year. he's really improved his basektball IQ and he doesn't sound like the d-bag that he sounded like in years prior.