Jimcs50
05-26-2005, 07:44 AM
azcentral.com
May 24, 2005
cont.
You can fill up the stat sheets with gaudy numbers and you can play above the rim with the best to ever lace up some high tops. But if you don't know how to close out a game then all the blood, sweat and tears that has been left on the court can evaporate in the span of a minute or two.
That is precisely what happened to the Suns on Tuesday night. They had high-flying dunks, long range bombs and fancy passes, but in the end the Spurs were the ones making the plays while the Suns were left looking like a squad of rookies.
In less than one minute late in the fourth quarter the Spurs were able to turn a 102-100 deficit into a 107-102 lead. A Robert Horry three and two baskets by Manu Giniboli in 51 seconds is all it took for the Spurs to take a commanding 2-0 in the best of seven Western Conference Finals.
In the end experience won out and the Suns are having to deal with the harsh lessons that come from facing a battle-hardened team. It no longer matters how many points Amare scores or how many assists Nash finishes with. All that matters is how you play in those critical moments of the game.
The Spurs have that "been there done that" attitude and the Suns don't. That is the reason the Spurs return to San Antonio with a real possibility of ending the Suns season in four games.
"Sometimes you got to sample the waters before you jump in," Mike D'Antoni said in response to a question about the Spurs' playoff experience and the Suns' lack of it.
To use D'Antoni's analogy the Suns are the kid standing on the pier sticking their toe in the water to make sure the tempature is OK, while the Spurs have jumped in the lake, gotten out and are already toweling themselves off.
"It is very tough, very frustrating," Marion said. "We came out with a lot of energy tonight but turnovers killed us, they caught up with us at the end of the game."
If the Suns want to go out as simply a nice little footnote to the 2004-05 then they will travel to San Antonio make some plays, hit a couple of threes and then start their vacation a little earlier than expected.
But if the Suns arrive at the SBC Center with the same swagger with which they played the first 46 minutes of Game 2, then the series can change rather quickly. The Suns have taken their hits and have seen up close and personal what a championship team looks like and now it is up to them to look in that mirror and figure what exactly is looking back at them.
Is it a team that is content with beating everyone's expectations this season or is it one that still has some fight left in them? We won't know until Saturday night.
The Suns know that the odds are staked very much against them, but they have been stacked against them all season long. No one believed in this team or their style and they still don't. That should make them come out loose and fast on Saturday night.
"We played against the odds all season," said Quentin Richardson. "We play well on the road and we aren't going to lose our confidence. Now is not the time to lose confidence. It is gut check time."
The Suns can easily get swept in this series or they can go down to San Antonio, win the next two games and make this a series again. It all comes down to making one play here and one play there.
Experience might be a something acquired over seasons or it could come as quickly as making one play in one critical situation. Each team's learning curve is different, we don't know how long it will take the Suns to figure it out. But if the Suns are able to make that one play, then this will become a series again.
"We are resilient and we know we are in hole", D'Antoni said. "We will go to San Antonio on Saturday night and leave it on the line in Game 3 and see what happens. There is no doubt that we can win."
May 24, 2005
cont.
You can fill up the stat sheets with gaudy numbers and you can play above the rim with the best to ever lace up some high tops. But if you don't know how to close out a game then all the blood, sweat and tears that has been left on the court can evaporate in the span of a minute or two.
That is precisely what happened to the Suns on Tuesday night. They had high-flying dunks, long range bombs and fancy passes, but in the end the Spurs were the ones making the plays while the Suns were left looking like a squad of rookies.
In less than one minute late in the fourth quarter the Spurs were able to turn a 102-100 deficit into a 107-102 lead. A Robert Horry three and two baskets by Manu Giniboli in 51 seconds is all it took for the Spurs to take a commanding 2-0 in the best of seven Western Conference Finals.
In the end experience won out and the Suns are having to deal with the harsh lessons that come from facing a battle-hardened team. It no longer matters how many points Amare scores or how many assists Nash finishes with. All that matters is how you play in those critical moments of the game.
The Spurs have that "been there done that" attitude and the Suns don't. That is the reason the Spurs return to San Antonio with a real possibility of ending the Suns season in four games.
"Sometimes you got to sample the waters before you jump in," Mike D'Antoni said in response to a question about the Spurs' playoff experience and the Suns' lack of it.
To use D'Antoni's analogy the Suns are the kid standing on the pier sticking their toe in the water to make sure the tempature is OK, while the Spurs have jumped in the lake, gotten out and are already toweling themselves off.
"It is very tough, very frustrating," Marion said. "We came out with a lot of energy tonight but turnovers killed us, they caught up with us at the end of the game."
If the Suns want to go out as simply a nice little footnote to the 2004-05 then they will travel to San Antonio make some plays, hit a couple of threes and then start their vacation a little earlier than expected.
But if the Suns arrive at the SBC Center with the same swagger with which they played the first 46 minutes of Game 2, then the series can change rather quickly. The Suns have taken their hits and have seen up close and personal what a championship team looks like and now it is up to them to look in that mirror and figure what exactly is looking back at them.
Is it a team that is content with beating everyone's expectations this season or is it one that still has some fight left in them? We won't know until Saturday night.
The Suns know that the odds are staked very much against them, but they have been stacked against them all season long. No one believed in this team or their style and they still don't. That should make them come out loose and fast on Saturday night.
"We played against the odds all season," said Quentin Richardson. "We play well on the road and we aren't going to lose our confidence. Now is not the time to lose confidence. It is gut check time."
The Suns can easily get swept in this series or they can go down to San Antonio, win the next two games and make this a series again. It all comes down to making one play here and one play there.
Experience might be a something acquired over seasons or it could come as quickly as making one play in one critical situation. Each team's learning curve is different, we don't know how long it will take the Suns to figure it out. But if the Suns are able to make that one play, then this will become a series again.
"We are resilient and we know we are in hole", D'Antoni said. "We will go to San Antonio on Saturday night and leave it on the line in Game 3 and see what happens. There is no doubt that we can win."