See you in the WCF's

[BillsCarnage]

These two teams are headed towards another WCF showdown if the standings continue the way the've gone.

This Suns team with Amare and Bobo against a healthy Spurs team could go down as a classic series. It won't be a cake walk like it was last year.
:drunk :drunk

[Solid D]

As Steve "The Black Knight" Nash would say, "I'll see you in the Conference Finals! Losing in the playoffs to you guys is merely flesh wounds."

http://www.rocketreviews.com/reviews/descon9/bknight3.jpg

[FreshPrince22]

You gotta admit. Consider how dominant Amare was against the Spurs in the playoffs, and considering how well they're playing without him and Barbosa... They're going to be Scary come playoff time. Diaw, Bell, Jones, and Thomas were HUGE additions for them. Plus they've got some high picks coming up here in the next few years from ATL.

[BillsCarnage]

Come back and I'll bite off you knee caps.

[BillsCarnage]

You gotta admit. Consider how dominant Amare was against the Spurs in the playoffs, and considering how well they're playing without him and Barbosa... They're going to be Scary come playoff time. Diaw, Bell, Jones, and Thomas were HUGE additions for them.

The Suns need @ 20 games to adjust with Amare, or one month. I'm guessing he comes back at the beginning of March. Boris needs to develop a 15-18ft'er and learn how to finish around the basket.

Phx fans have been antsy to get Amare, KT and Marion on the front line together.

[phyzik]

It was a regular season game with Spurs shooting like crap. Do I have to use the image from your sig for what I think about the Suns winning (hint: not the one with Barkley)?

:angel

[Amuseddaysleeper]

i'll take the spurs in 6


phoenix is gettin there no doubt

but i'm still puttin dallas ahead oh phoenix in terms of teams to watch out for in the western conference. and that includes PHX with amare and barbosa

[BillsCarnage]

i'll take the spurs in 6


phoenix is gettin there no doubt

but i'm still puttin dallas ahead oh phoenix in terms of teams to watch out for in the western conference. and that includes PHX with amare and barbosa

Dallas will get the 4 seed and the Spurs will beat them in 6, just like the Suns did last year.

[T Park]

Spurs would beat both in 5.

Again.


Point?

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Dallas will get the 4 seed and the Spurs will beat them in 6, just like the Suns did last year.


yeah the playoff seeding is TERRIBLE. having said that HUGE props to the suns. everyone and their mother left them dead in the water when amare went down. and the forced johnson for diaw trade looked incredibly one sided at first but it's def. looked a lot better for the suns by the week.

[T Park]

Who the fuck is Bobo???

BOBO!?!?!?!

[BillsCarnage]

Who the fuck is Bobo???

BOBO!?!?!?!

Barbosa.. I started calling him Bobo because he looked like a clown his first few years on the court.

[T Park]

uhhh ok.

[baseline bum]

Phoenix has a bye to the WCF. Timberwolves vs Clippers would be the worst playoff series in NBA history.

[MI21]

The Sun's defense with Amare is going to take a huge hit.

Interesting to see how they adjust to that, but they are definatly a very good team capable of beating anyone else out there.

[mavsfan1000]

Underestimating the mavs. I hope the spurs do the same in the second round.

[leemajors]

neither team has any guarantees about getting to the wcf's. i hope there is a rematch but i wouldn't plan on it.

[reader]

Barbosa.. I started calling him Bobo because he looked like a clown his first few years on the court.

A bit of an unfortunate choice, as the French refer to Boris as Bobo. Mass confusion ..... now how often would that happen, you start to call a player Bobo and the team trades for another Bobo.

[AlamoSpursFan]

"I'm not a homo...I'm a BOBO!" -- Howie Mandel, Walk Like A Man

[SouthernFried]

If Phoenix can sit Amare for this long...mebbe we could sit Duncan for a month, or 2.

[Rummpd]

I respect the Suns highly and it more to do with Steve Nash then Amare, Marion and the rest of a talented squad put together.


He has raised his already pretty good game as much at the mid point to later parts of a career to simply greatness, as much as anyone I can remember. Simply a fabulous player period.

Suns would be a test and a good one. Spurs have to be healthy and motivated to win over them.

[FromWayDowntown]

I think the notion that Amare will just go nuts with another performance like he had in the 2005 WCF is short-sighted. The Suns have changed offensively, even with Amare, which means that the Spurs would defend them differently in a series this season. Last year, the Spurs couldn't afford to send doubles at Amare at all, because doing so would leave open shooters and play into the Phoenix offensive scheme. With the Suns employing slightly less offensive firepower in an effort to get defensive, I suspect that Pop would take a different tack and would be more willing to double Amare and trust rotations on the perimeter to cover for the doubling man.

If Amare can average 37 through lots of doubles, he's hall-of-fame material immediately and the Suns will win. I don't think that would happen, though.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

I think the notion that Amare will just go nuts with another performance like he had in the 2005 WCF is short-sighted. The Suns have changed offensively, even with Amare, which means that the Spurs would defend them differently in a series this season. Last year, the Spurs couldn't afford to send doubles at Amare at all, because doing so would leave open shooters and play into the Phoenix offensive scheme. With the Suns employing slightly less offensive firepower in an effort to get defensive, I suspect that Pop would take a different tack and would be more willing to double Amare and trust rotations on the perimeter to cover for the doubling man.

If Amare can average 37 through lots of doubles, he's hall-of-fame material immediately and the Suns will win. I don't think that would happen, though.

Really? I think that they have just as many shooters this year after watching them put 47 against Miami in the 1st quarter. They still have Jim Jackson, Raja Bell can light it up from the outside, Nash can hit from out there, Shawn Marion can hit them as well if he gets a good look. I think the same defensive scheme will work even better this year if Amare's leg isn't fully recovered by the playoffs (and everything I've read about his injury and surgery leads me to believe that he'll be far from 100%). Without his explosiveness Stoudemire's game will be rather limited, making it that much easier to stay at home on the shooters.

[Rummpd]

Funny who when the Suns were like 31-4 last year we heard how they were unbeatable. This year they do have a better all around team than last year and I respect very them highly (as I do the Mavs).

That being said the road to the championship goes through the Spurs period. This team has another gear and has proven it before.

[leemajors]

i am glad amare is confident about them dominating when he returns, but he has not even tried running yet. i'm sure him even attempting to hop is still more than a week off. i highly doubt he will have the same explosiveness even after a year from the surgery. luckily for the suns, even a limited amare can still do some damage. i just don't believe he would average 37 ppg vs the spurs again this year. this is a career threatening injury and i really hope he and the suns will be as careful as possible with his return.

[reader]

I respect the Suns highly and it more to do with Steve Nash then Amare, Marion and the rest of a talented squad put together.

He has raised his already pretty good game as much at the mid point to later parts of a career to simply greatness, as much as anyone I can remember. Simply a fabulous player period.

Suns would be a test and a good one. Spurs have to be healthy and motivated to win over them.

Nash is one thing for certain, not stupid. He knows who the team to beat is and he knows they will probably struggle when Amare returns.


The trick will be building a different team. Phoenix has carved its niche with a Stoudemire-less squad, going from 4-5 to 22-11. Nash and Marion found their forms on a team that relies more on perimeter shooting and defense and less on speed and dunks.

But bringing back Stoudemire as soon as next month and Leandro Barbosa as soon as this weekend does not make for simple math. The Suns won't be scoring an extra 40 points just because Stoudemire averaged 26 last season and Barbosa was averaging 14 this one.

"Everyone always says, 'Wow, you add Amaré and Leandro to this team, and it's unstoppable,' " Nash said. "But that's not really how basketball works. Obviously, you add two good pieces, and that will help us make a better team. It does not add up like you think it would. You're still in a dogfight every night no matter who's on the floor. We've got to think of our team no matter who's on the floor as our team. Getting a win with or without players in the lineup to me, in many ways, is irrelevant.

"It's going to be a different ebb and flow into a new team, especially this far into the season. We're going to go through some growing pains again, as we have at times this year losing four or five winnable games that would put us right next to the Spurs."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0109sunsstory0109.html

[Bruno]

Barbosa.. I started calling him Bobo because he looked like a clown his first few years on the court.

after JJ1, JJ2 and JJ3, you have Bobo1 and Bobo2 : Boris' friends call him "Bobo".

[Solid D]

BoBo Forum

:smokin

[1Parker1]

^:lmao I can't believe what this thread has evolved into...

[Duncanoypi]

bobo in the philippines means has low IQ, stupid....

[1Parker1]

bobo in the philippines means has low IQ, stupid....

Bobo in the United States refers to no-name, brandless shoes (Bobo's for plural)...or you know, Bobo the Clown :lol

[SenorSpur]

In the immortal words of the great Roger Staubach, "we'll see you chokers in the playoffs"

[Rummpd]

Lets not rule out the Mavs just yet = they seem to have a habit lately of pulling wins out of their *&% in the last seconds - but how long can that house of cards last?

[boutons_]

This Mavs' habit of pulling out close games late is not totally house of cards.

Those are tough games to win, good tests (Pop likes good tests, not blowouts), require execution/shot-making/stops/FTs in the crunch, are great confidence builders. After the Celtics game, the Mavs guy interviewed said they now just believe in themselves in those situations.

[Rummpd]

It goes both ways though, it they typically let teams in and some slip they could lose confidence real quick but you make a good point.

Spurs used to get hammered for losing leads, Mavs making a point of it and then pulling them out sometimes on remarkable plays - got to give them credit but they maybe playing with fire? (in Duck speak)

Love to see them lose some of these to give some breathing room.

[DDS4]

The Suns certainly are not the 3-point threats they used to be w/o Q and JJ. They got more athletic.

Until they find some playoff type defense to stop the Spurs, the same result will ensue.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

If the Lakers finish in the 7 spot I think a Suns-Lakers first round series would be interesting.

What's ironic with the way things are shaping up this year is that the Suns with a 2-seed will probably have an easier walk to the WCF than the Spurs with the 1.

Of course, you could argue that the Spurs tough series against the Sonics and Nuggets helped them in the Suns series and then against the Pistons.

[reader]

The way the seedings are currenlty structured, the Spurs will meet the Mavs in round two, regardless of who has home court. There is alwlays a battle of Texas.