Finally-the WCFs!!

[Jimcs50]

Here Comes The Suns


Here come the Suns, here come the Suns
And I say it's all right
Little darlin' it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darlin' it feels like years since it's been here
Here come the Suns, here come the Sun
And I say it's all right
Little darlin' the smiles returning to their faces
Little darlin' it seems like years since it's been here
Here come the Sun, here come the Suns
And I say it's all right
Suns, suns, suns, here they come
Suns, suns, suns, here they come
Suns, suns, suns, here ithey come
Suns, suns, suns, here they come
Suns, suns, suns, here they come
Little darlin' I feel the ice is slowly meltin'
Little darlin' it seems like years since it's been clear
Here come the Suns, here come the Suns
And I say it's all right
Here come the Sun, here come the Suns
It's all right, it's all right

:spin



Confidence not lacking, despite Spurs' history

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
May. 22, 2005 12:00 AM

This is where the Suns were supposed to wind up. This is where the Spurs are always supposed to be and have been every other year since 1999.

For a Suns team that dramatically surpassed preseason expectations, just meeting postseason expectations won't do. The Suns have their chests out and heads up as they ready for today's Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, the franchise's first appearance in 12 years.





• Asked his thoughts on defending a perennial MVP candidate (Tim Duncan), Suns forward Shawn Marion said, "I am, too." :rolleyes


• Asked about facing a team with many players who have won two championship rings with the Spurs, Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said, "Yeah, but you don't play with rings." :rolleyes

• Asked about stepping up in quality from Dallas to San Antonio, Suns post man Amaré Stoudemire said, "We still have the advantage with the bigs, the guys in the paint - me and Shawn. We can outquick and outrun Tim (Duncan) and (Nazr) Mohammed." :rolleyes

If confidence can be contagious, it's good that the Suns locker room is full of optimism - despite what happened in the regular season with San Antonio. The Spurs were the only team to have a winning record against Phoenix, going 2-1 with their only loss coming without Duncan and Manu Ginobili.

"We didn't have a lot of success against them this year," said Suns guard Steve Nash, who is on a spectacular postseason tear. "So it's going to be a big challenge for us. But we feel like were a team that's continually improving, and if we continue to show the poise and fight we've shown thus far in the playoffs, I think we'll be good."

Even throughout their campaign to a league-high and franchise-best-tying 62 wins, the Suns have acknowledged that the Spurs were still the Western favorites.

"Their experience is a factor as far as understanding how to win and understanding the situation," said Suns guard Jim Jackson, who will remain in the starting lineup with Joe Johnson at least out for Game 1. "We've grown up so much since the Memphis series (a first-round sweep) that it's going to help us.

"The Spurs have a certain demeanor about them. They're very methodical about what they do. It's going to be a test for us to inflict our will on them and play the way we want."

It was a rapid turnaround for the Suns to play a day game today after arriving home from their Dallas triumph early Saturday. San Antonio needed the rest just as much for Duncan, who is recovering from a left ankle sprain that counters the right ankle he sprained three times this season. Duncan did not practice Saturday.

With the Spurs intent on denying the Suns' three-point shots, Stoudemire averaged 38.7 points (on 73.3 percent shooting) and 7.0 rebounds in the regular-season series. Duncan averaged 30.5 points (on 65.5 percent shooting), 15.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

"We can't guard him (Duncan) one-on-one, just like they can't guard Stoudemire one-on-one," D'Antoni said. "Nobody can. So our schemes have to be tight, and we'll have to show a lot of heart and we'll have to run."
Suns defeat Mavericks 4 games to 2
Game 1

May 9 at Phoenix: Suns 127-102.

Steve Nash was awarded his MVP trophy and the Suns played like All-Stars, shooting down the Mavericks behind AmarÈ Stoudemire's 40 points, 25 of which came in the first half. Shawn Marion and Nash added

Game 2

May 11 at Phoenix: Mavs 108-106.

Dirk Nowitzki hit a fadeaway jumper in the closing seconds to help Dallas take the home-court edge away. Mavs swingman Michael Finley added 31 points. Stoudemire kept the Suns in it with 30 points and 16 rebounds.

Game 3

May 13 at Dallas: Suns 119-102.

Phoenix held a 97-96 lead in the fourth quarter before going on a 15-0 run and taking back the home-court edge. Stoudemire again shouldered the offensive load, collecting 37 points, and Nash added 27 points and 17 assists.

Game 4

May 15 at Dallas: Mavs 119-109.

Nash could not miss, it seemed, and yet the Suns could not get over the hump. Nash finished with 48 points, mainly because Dallas chose to stop Stoudemire and let Nash shoot. Josh Howard led Dallas with 29 points.

Game 5

May 18 at Phoenix: Suns 114-108.

Nash lifted his MVP stature a little more, scoring 34 points, handing out 12 assists and pulling down 13 rebounds. Jim Jackson and Stoudemire also were terrific as Phoenix pushed Dallas one game from elimination.

Game 6

May 20 at Dallas: Suns 130-126 (OT).

With the appropriate dramatics for a close-out game, Nash delivered a clutch, score-tying three-pointer with 5.7 seconds remaining. Phoenix needed every one of Nash's 39 points, as well as Marion's 38 points and 16 rebounds.
San Antonio defeats Seattle 4 games to 2
GAME 1: Spurs 103-81

At San Antonio: Tony Parker and Tim Duncan each scored 11 points in the first quarter as the Spurs built a big lead and never trailed. San Antonio shot 67 percent (12 of 18) in the first quarter. Parker finished with a game-high 29 points. Seattle's Ray Allen and Vladimir Radmanovic sprained ankles in the loss.

GAME 2: Spurs 108-91

At San Antonio: Manu Ginobili made 9 of 11 shots from the field and scored 28 points to lead San Antonio to a 2-0 lead in the series. Allen played despite a sprained right ankle and led Seattle with 25 points. The victory was San Antonio's sixth in a row since losing to Denver to start the first round.

GAME 3: SuperSonics 92-91

At Seattle: Duncan missed a short turnaround jumper as time expired, allowing Seattle to escape with its first victory. San Antonio shot just 8 for 16 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Duncan had 23 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in the loss. Allen didn't score in the fourth quarter but led Seattle with 20 points.

GAME 4: SuperSonics 101-89

At Seattle: Allen scored 32 points as Seattle never trailed en route to tying the series. Luke Ridnour chipped in 20 points and handed out six assists. Duncan scored 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds but got little help from teammates.

GAME 5: Spurs 103-90

At San Antonio: Ginobili, benched in the Denver series, returned to the starting lineup and scored 39 points. The Argentine made 10 of 15 field goals and 15 of 17 free throws. Ginobili and Nazr Mohammed combined to score San Antonio's first 20 points of the third quarter as the Spurs pulled away. It was the fifth victory for the home team in five games.

GAME 6: Spurs 98-96

At Seattle: Duncan scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning layup with less than a second left as San Antonio ended the series on Seattle's home floor. Ginobili set up the play by penetrating to the left side of the foul line and tossing a pass to Duncan in the post for a shot off the glass. Duncan, who missed his first nine shots, did not make a basket until the third quarter and suffered a minor ankle injury.

- David Vest








Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic
Suns forward Shawn Marion celebrates their win over the Mavericks. The Suns are confident about their upcoming series against the San Antonio Spurs.




• Suns to get aggressive at both ends
•Johnson may sit out first two contests
• Postseason past is rich with memories and thrills
• Voices: Bickley | Boivin | FanBoy's Game 6 blog
• 5 reasons: They'll win | They'll lose
• Q&A with Mike D'Antoni
• One-on-One | Season in review | Photos | Audio







Stories
Stats
Results
Scores
Poll
Tickets
Bracket
Schedule
Sights and sounds

[Jimcs50]

Trying to solve the Nash equation
MVP season a product of numerous variables

Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
May. 22, 2005 12:00 AM

In the sci-fi world it's called hypertime, a state of molecular acceleration that makes the rest of the world appear to stand still while a single object continues moving.

In the NBA world it's called Nashtime, a state of point guard acceleration that allows the Suns standout to see the game unfold in slow motion. It explains the no-look assists, the last-second bounce passes, the off-balance three-point fadeaways with time expiring.

It's 48, 34 and 39 playoff points, respectively. advertisement




It's ESPN analyst Greg Anthony saying Friday night that he wished he could change his MVP vote.

It's the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1993.

"I think his soccer background has something to do with it, but I definitely think some of it is innate," said former NBA guard Steve Kerr, a Suns minority owner and consultant. "Larry Bird had it, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't playing soccer in French Lick."

"He had it in high school," said Ian Hyde-Lay, Nash's basketball coach at St. Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia. "He was always two steps, three steps ahead of what was happening on the court."

Nash is the Bobby Fischer of the NBA, a point guard who anticipates his opponents' moves and goes in for the kill. It's why in an evolving league with bigger and stronger point guards, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Nash was better than all of them this season. It's why a player who TV analyst Bill Walton calls the most "unathletic in the NBA," is athletic enough to carry home the MVP trophy.

"I kind of just think it's the way I am," Nash said. "It's an ability to be aware of what's going on around you, and I think some people are just aware more continuously than others. You're kind of able to keep a running dialogue of what's happening around you rather than it being fragmented and segmental."

Is Nash as astute off the court?

"Oh, I don't know. I don't think so," he said. "I wouldn't want to make some sort of legend out of it."

With Nash, it's hard to not take paths of mythical proportions. Rarely a game goes by that the 31-year-old doesn't inspire disbelief. Several times during the Western Conference semifinals, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban raised his hands in the air and looked toward Nash as if to say, "I surrender to my free-agency stupidity."

What makes Nash's ball-handling skills unique is a convergence of traits that range from innate talent to an unparalleled work ethic. His vision, his soccer background and his relationship with teammates also play a role.


The soccer theory


On his first birthday, Nash received a soccer ball as a present. Nash's father, John, played for a semiprofessional league in England before moving to Johannesburg, South Africa, where a better-paying team was courting him. The family soon relocated to Canada because Nash's parents didn't want their son exposed to a culture of apartheid.

A love for soccer moved with the family.

Although Nash excelled in a variety of sports in high school, the year he was both his school's chess tournament champion and soccer MVP best foreshadowed what was to come.

"I've always thought soccer was a good explanation of who is he as a basketball player," said brother, Martin, 29, a professional soccer player in Canada. "Soccer is not a sport where you can be an individual. The role he played in soccer, playmaker, basically the point guard, is kind of the role he played in every sport, from rugby to lacrosse to hockey."

Steve Nash said people tell him that he "looks like a soccer player playing basketball."

"I'm not sure how it's manifested itself, but it certainly had an impact on me," he said.


The vision theory


Many top professional athletes have excelled because of superior vision. Although stories that he could read the label of a spinning phonograph record weren't true, Ted Williams' 20-10 vision helped him become one of baseball's greatest hitters, not to mention a decorated Navy fighter pilot.

Tiger Woods, who has undergone Lasik eye surgery, credits his vision, which he says is 20-15, with giving him an edge.

During the past decade, vision training has become one of the hottest trends in professional sports. Lawrence Lampert, an optometrist who specializes in sports vision training in Boca Raton, Fla., said excelling in this area can be inherent or learned, but it's always beneficial.

"In basketball, the great gift is to have great peripheral vision," he said. "It's faking a pass to one person and then passing it to someone else, someone else who another person without great vision might not see."

Nash is unsure why he has the gift, he just knows he has it. It's on display when he's penetrating the defense and suddenly kicks out a pass to someone in three-point range that a defender doesn't have time to cover. Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson often are beneficiaries.

Athletes who integrate their peripheral (side) vision with their center vision thrive, Lampert said. It's why Nash sees the court so well and what helps him determine whether to drive the lane or pass.

"Three, four years ago I was in Dallas, and I'm watching him over and over go down the floor with this amazing awareness, presence of mind and excitement," Kerr said. "I go up to him after the game and tell him, 'You're my favorite player in the league to watch.' I mean, it was kind of embarrassing. I was still playing at the time." :lol


The body theory


It's not simply about the decisions Nash makes on the court. It's about when he makes those decisions.

The bounce pass to Amaré Stoudemire, the off-balance dish to Richardson, often come at the last second. Vision and intelligence play a part, but body control makes it happen, and this season Nash is in the best shape of his career.

He credits a program designed by Vancouver physiotherapist Rick Celebrini that is training tied to practical basketball moves. For more than a month last summer, the two met five or six times a week for five hours a day.

"Honestly, I'm kind of embarrassed to be implicated in this," Celebrini said. "I can honestly say that in the 13 years I've been doing this, and that includes all the Olympic athletes I've trained, I've never met a person more committed to his sport than he is."

Nash and Celebrini focused on the core - the muscles associated with the torso - and how they relate to basketball.

"The idea was to give him the physical tools that would let things flow on the court, and allow his mind to be able to react without having the potential inhibitor effects of the body that can't take you there," he said.

The result: Nash demonstrates great body control to make those shots that leave fans shaking their head.

"For me, it's the fadeaway that he shoots when he's down in the lane," Kerr said. "Nothing is open and then all of a sudden he spins and shoots a high arcing fadeaway that's so drastic you can't believe it.

"When you have to improvise like that, body control is difficult for anybody. But he has amazing balance and awareness, even when he looks out of control."


The trust theory


Nash's magic on the court comes from the trust he has in his teammates to be in the right spots and his teammates' trust in him to make the right decisions. It's a synergy with its roots in strong team chemistry.

Nash has seen first-hand how poor chemistry can slow a team. He hoped for something different in Phoenix. It's why he often spoke Spanish and watched televised soccer with Leandro Barbosa early on. It's why a month before training camp began, General Manager Bryan Colangelo spotted Nash in the Suns gym. Richardson showed up a week later and the team had a head start on learning about each other.

"He was always that way," Hyde-Lay said. "There were a number of times in school that a play would go wrong, and he'd be the first to put his hand up and say, 'That's my fault,' even when it wasn't.

"He's very in tune with his team. He knows which guys need a gentle stroke, which guys need a kick in the butt. He's very accomplished at getting everyone to work together."

That helps explain why the Suns, down 16 points in the third quarter Friday night, never self-destructed. Nash set a tone of poise and positive energy, and the rest of the team responded.

"When you get to the level these players are, when you've dominated your whole life, it would be easy for any player to become a ball hog," Martin Nash said. "Steve has never been interested in that. He's always been unselfish, always a team player."

Dick Davey, Nash's coach at Santa Clara, said, "I've always believed that at any level Steve played, he could take a team to new heights."

Who knew those heights included the Western Conference finals?

[Jimcs50]

Ok, I am off to my tournament. I am recording the game, so I do not want anyone telling me the score, or I will have to kill you.

:)



Go Spurs Go!!!

[ALVAREZ6]

Interesting article...

[td4mvp21]

We HAVE TO HAVE TO beat the Suns. I am sick of this arrogance they display towards us. Sick of it. Marion an MVP candidate? NO STINKIN WAY. Our front court WORSE than theirs? NO STINKIN WAY. I hope we beat this team so bad and prove why we are here.

[Catharsis]

We HAVE TO HAVE TO beat the Suns. I am sick of this arrogance they display towards us. Sick of it. Marion an MVP candidate? NO STINKIN WAY. Our front court WORSE than theirs? NO STINKIN WAY. I hope we beat this team so bad and prove why we are here.

Is it arrogance or confidence?

[td4mvp21]

Arrogance. Marion calling himself better than TD is arrogance. Amare saying our front court is worse than his is arrogance. D' Antoni's comments were arrogant. They were bs comments made by a young team. Read Nash's comments-his are confident and respectful. You better appreciate him. He may be the only one to tame the young Suns.