Nash will be the difference

[Durruti]

I'm a Warriors fan so i don't really have a dog in this fight but I gotta say, if anyone can beat the Spurs this year it's the Suns. This should be a great series. I've been watching Nash since he entered the league, at first mildly impressed but now literally astonished. This guy is the best point guard since Stockton. At the end of his career he may well be regarded as the best of all time, next to Magic of course. I have seen significant improvement in his game since the last playoff matchup between the Suns and Spurs. He would have broken the record for assists against the Lakers the other day if the Suns weren't shooting poorly. He can take apart any defense on any team in the league. For all the talk about Barbosa and Amare, I think Nash will be the key. If he plays with the intensity and focus he did in game four against the Lakers, you guys are in serious trouble. The key will be whether or not he maintains that level of play. If he doesn't, the Spurs should win it all.

[timvp]

Lifelong Warriors fan, I'm sure.

[Durruti]

I'm a realist. I think we'll take the Mavs but I don't expect us to get out of round two. Admittedly, I do prefer the Suns to the Spurs in terms of entertainment value, however.

[johngateswhiteley]

difference between a sweep and losing 4-1?...i agree, Nash gets them a game.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Nash you say? Never heard of him. There was a Kevin Nash, played college ball for Tennessee some years ago, but he was a center. He wound up as a professional wrestler instead of going into the NBA, though.

[Durruti]

The Spurs have the edge, I agree, but I think 4-1 is incredibly optimistic. Like I said, if Nash brings his A game every game Spurs fans may be in a rude awakening. My hope is to see a finals between Warriors and Suns (unlikely I realize), so I AM rooting for the Suns, but I also think they have a legitimate chance of taking you guys out. Should be interesting.

[Durruti]

Nash you say? Never heard of him. There was a Kevin Nash, played college ball for Tennessee some years ago, but he was a center. He wound up as a professional wrestler instead of going into the NBA, though.

:fro

[sunsbum]

for a team that got knocked out of the playoffs last year you guys seem pretty overly confident. youre always quick to point out how tim and manu were injured yet in 2005 when we would point out that marions wrist was bad, or the fact that JJ was just comming off a a serious injury you really wanted nothing to do with the excuses.

im glad both teams are healthy because really, there arent any excuses after this series. you guys have dominated us for the past few years but i think youre giving us a lot less credit than we deserve. esp since weve virtually had to retool how we play with amare comming back...

[Kevin Blackistone]

I have a lot of respect for the Suns' offensive abilities. I have next to no respect for the defensive performance of the leaders of the Suns, namely Nash and Amare. Nash will get some points and assists, but not as much as against other teams. The difference is, he will get ABUSED by Parker or whoever he guards. The Nuggets had Camby and Nene to clog the middle, and still couldn't contain the Spurs shooting. The Suns are going to have to pack the middle completely because they don't have anyone near Camby ability and their guards outside of Bell are defensive liabilites. I see wide open shots for the Spurs, and if they continue to make them they will win. When will people learn, team defense wins.

[JamStone]

If the Suns win, it won't be Nash but Stoudemire that will be the difference in the series.

[Kevin Blackistone]

for a team that got knocked out of the playoffs last year you guys seem pretty overly confident. youre always quick to point out how tim and manu were injured yet in 2005 when we would point out that marions wrist was bad, or the fact that JJ was just comming off a a serious injury you really wanted nothing to do with the excuses.

im glad both teams are healthy because really, there arent any excuses after this series. you guys have dominated us for the past few years but i think youre giving us a lot less credit than we deserve. esp since weve virtually had to retool how we play with amare comming back...

If the Suns get the same treatment from the refs that the Mavs got in the 4th quarters of games 3 and 4 last year, they could win. But if that's the case, did they really beat the Spurs? The Mavs posed complete matchup nightmares for the Spurs centers last year and still needed ref intervention to take the series. The Spurs pose matchup nightmares for the Suns. It would take fluke occurences, or divine or serious ref intervention to balance the scales in this one.

[NASHville]

I hate when fans blame refs. That is old and lame. Players win championships.

[sunsbum]

It would take fluke occurences, or divine or serious ref intervention to balance the scales in this one.


wow.

[judaspriestess]

I think the bench will be a major contributing factor. The suns bench is still not very deep. The Spurs bench is. If one of Phoenix's starters gets in foul trouble, then what? and also the lack of defense Phoenix plays is also going to be a detriment.

We shall see..........

[Durruti]

Nash will get some points and assists

Wow. Like I said, you guys could be in for a very rude awakening. Are we talking about the same guy here? 23 assists? I wouldn't dream of talking about Tim Duncan or any other superstar in the league in such a dismissive tone. Ok maybe Dirk, but he deserves it. Dirk is overrated. Nash is not. I love my Baron but neither him nor any other point guard in the league can approach Nash's skill level. I've been watching him all season and I can't see him buckling under any defensive strategy you throw at him. He's taken his game to a whole new level and will find a way to get the ball in the right guy's hands no matter what. Tim Duncan is also one of my favorite players, i consider him runner up to Nash in the MVP debate, but I found the Spurs mind-numbilngly boring to watch. So I"m hoping you'll lose. At least then when (if) my team gets knocked out I'll get to enjoy the playoffs. THe Suns are the second most exciting team in the leauge to watch, next to the warriors.

Anyway, in sum, I think you guys are extremely overconfident. You're about to go up against the arguably the best player in the game in Steve Nash, and he's surrounded by some amazing talent. I can only hope that by some miracle the warriors get out of round two and we get to meet the Suns in the finals. If it's the Spurs, the excitement level will drop by about 10,000 points.

[sunsbum]

If one of Phoenix's starters gets in foul trouble, then what?



ummm the 6th man of the year? how bout the most improved player (boris diaw in case you forgot) last year?

call boris what you will but he avg 30ppg vs the mavs in last years playoffs.

kurt fracking thomas?

[mardigan]

I think most b-ball fans realize Nash is the difference for the Suns, not exactly news breaking. Should I start a thread saying Duncan will be the key? Nash doesnt play that well against the Spurs, so Im really not to worried about him. If anyone could beat the Spurs its the Mavs. Parker cant be guarded by Nash, and runs him ragged on d. Amare cant guard Tim, Bowen always shuts down Marion, and the Spurs bench is far superior. I really dont think the Suns have have a chance. They have lost like 14 out of the last 18 in the series, and I really think the Spurs are in their heads

[ATXSPUR]

Nash you say? Never heard of him. There was a Kevin Nash, played college ball for Tennessee some years ago, but he was a center. He wound up as a professional wrestler instead of going into the NBA, though.

I remember kevin nash!!! He is the first nash I ever heared of.

[sunsbum]

I think most b-ball fans realize Nash is the difference for the Suns, not exactly news breaking. Should I start a thread saying Duncan will be the key? Nash doesnt play that well against the Spurs, so Im really not to worried about him. If anyone could beat the Spurs its the Mavs. Parker cant be guarded by Nash, and runs him ragged on d. Amare cant guard Tim, Bowen always shuts down Marion, and the Spurs bench is far superior. I really dont think the Suns have have a chance. They have lost like 14 out of the last 18 in the series, and I really think the Spurs are in their heads


just to clear the air on the bowen owns marion thing, i think is a bunch of garbage..in 2005 marion sat out on the 3pt line waiting for the ball to come to him in effect taking himself out of the game... the guy lives off put backs and garbage points and theres no one that can stop him from doing that...id be happy if they put bowen on marion again.

[judaspriestess]

ummm the 6th man of the year? how bout the most improved player (boris diaw in case you forgot) last year?

call boris what you will but he avg 30ppg vs the mavs in last years playoffs.

kurt fracking thomas?


WHO??? kurt thomas :lol oh I forgot this years "Joe Johnson" the savior of 2005 for ya'll

boris diaw averaged 30ppg against the mavs NOT the Spurs. The sixth man of the year, shit why not give him the MVP?
:drunk

[Trainwreck2100]

.. the guy lives off put backs and garbage points and theres no one that can stop him from doing that...id be happy if they put bowen on marion again.


Thats exactly why Pop put Bowen on him.

[LakerLanny]

Nash is sensational. A lot of Lakers fans are trying to tear down his game since his team handed us our asses two years in a row, but anyone who knows anything about basketball realizes that what this guy is doing is historic.

He is a deadeye shooter, the best PG in the league by far and a clutch player. Tony Parker is excellent, but he is going to have his hands full.

That is a great matchup on the point, look for the Spurs to really attack Nash when he is on defense by sending Parker at him over and over in isolations.

[conversekid]

I'm a Warriors fan so i don't really have a dog in this fight but I gotta say, if anyone can beat the Spurs this year it's the Suns. This should be a great series. I've been watching Nash since he entered the league, at first mildly impressed but now literally astonished. This guy is the best point guard since Stockton. At the end of his career he may well be regarded as the best of all time, next to Magic of course. I have seen significant improvement in his game since the last playoff matchup between the Suns and Spurs. He would have broken the record for assists against the Lakers the other day if the Suns weren't shooting poorly. He can take apart any defense on any team in the league. For all the talk about Barbosa and Amare, I think Nash will be the key. If he plays with the intensity and focus he did in game four against the Lakers, you guys are in serious trouble. The key will be whether or not he maintains that level of play. If he doesn't, the Spurs should win it all.

Nash WILL be the difference. Tony locking him up, running him and making him play D, team defense taking away the passing lanes... it will render the Suns ineffective.

[mardigan]

just to clear the air on the bowen owns marion thing, i think is a bunch of garbage..in 2005 marion sat out on the 3pt line waiting for the ball to come to him in effect taking himself out of the game... the guy lives off put backs and garbage points and theres no one that can stop him from doing that...id be happy if they put bowen on marion again.
Bowen owns Marion and anyone that has ever watched him guard marion could tell you that

[Trainwreck2100]

That is a great matchup on the point, look for the Spurs to really attack Nash when he is on defense by sending Parker at him over and over in isolations.


D'Antoni will put Marion on Nash, cause Parker rapes Nash on the offensive end.

[sunsbum]

WHO??? kurt thomas :lol oh I forgot this years "Joe Johnson" the savior of 2005 for ya'll

boris diaw averaged 30ppg against the mavs NOT the Spurs. The sixth man of the year, shit why not give him the MVP?
:drunk



youre the one that said we have no bench, i poke holes in that argument as fast as tony parker can blow by nash and you try to sit there with a straight face and tell me barbosa KT and boris diaw are no big deal?

:grim:

[sunsbum]

Bowen owns Marion and anyone that has ever watched him guard marion could tell you that


i went to every home playoff game in 2005. bowen DOES own marion to an extent... bowen knows marion cant put the ball on the floor and uses that advantage well. shawn just needs to go to plan B and crash the boards, get the tips, and just do his typical garbage man thing...bowen cant stop him there.

[mardigan]

youre the one that said we have no bench, i poke holes in that argument as fast as tony parker can blow by nash and you try to sit there with a straight face and tell me barbosa KT and boris diaw are no big deal?

:grim:
Barbosa yes, for sure, but Thomas? COme on man, thats like if I brought up Matt Bonner. You mine as well bring up Piatkowski or Jalen Rose then, they score about as much as he does. The Suns have 2 guys off the bench, thats pretty much it. You better hope those 2 score around their season averages, because Smith and Klieza didnt last series and it sealed the Nuggs fate

[phyzik]

for a team that got knocked out of the playoffs last year you guys seem pretty overly confident. youre always quick to point out how tim and manu were injured yet in 2005 when we would point out that marions wrist was bad, or the fact that JJ was just comming off a a serious injury you really wanted nothing to do with the excuses.

im glad both teams are healthy because really, there arent any excuses after this series. you guys have dominated us for the past few years but i think youre giving us a lot less credit than we deserve. esp since weve virtually had to retool how we play with amare comming back...


I understand all the re-tooling and I believe it is a slightly stronger team than 2005 (I say slightly only because Amare is still not 2005 Amare) but even with that, how do you explain April 5th? Bad shooting? Suns where tired? Team still not jelled (coulda fooled me)?

I'd also like to Submit that anyone can easily make the argument that Denver vastly improved their lineup from 2005 compared to the suns (Im not saying they are better than the Suns, just stating that the improvement was more pronounced in Denver than it has been in Phoenix).... I believe we beat both teams in 5 back then and recently did it again to the much improved nuggets just the other day..... Food for thought.

[sunsbum]

Barbosa yes, for sure, but Thomas? COme on man, thats like if I brought up Matt Bonner. You mine as well bring up Piatkowski or Jalen Rose then, they score about as much as he does. The Suns have 2 guys off the bench, thats pretty much it. You better hope those 2 score around their season averages, because Smith and Klieza didnt last series and it sealed the Nuggs fate


im not talking about KT as someone with offensive punch of the bench ( but if hes hitting his midrange jumper like last series it could be a big help) KT is brought in to anchor our interior defense...KT can somewhat effectively gaurd tim 1 on 1 better than anyone else we have.

[Extra Stout]

The Spurs against the Suns typically have taken the strategy of containing Steve Nash and the Suns' 3-point shooters, and guarding Stoudemire one-on-one as a tradeoff. They also focus HARD on transition defense, and therefore do a much better job of limiting Phoenix's fast break points than other teams do.

The thinking is that Stoudemire may put up 35 a night, but Nash will be held below his averages, and the rest of the Suns will have a hard time getting into the flow of the game without the momentum of the easy fast-break hoops, and the barrage of 3's.

This defensive strategy has been very successful over the past three years.

The Suns don't really shut down much of what the Spurs do on offense. They rely on individual defenders in specific matchups, like Thomas on Duncan, or Bell on either Parker or Ginobili. This strategy, I think, is limited in what it can do independent of a sound team defensive scheme. The problem is that both Nash and Stoudemire are lacking as defenders.

The Suns are going to have to execute at a high level on offense to overcome these matchup problems, and find a few wrinkles to mitigate them, in order to advance.

[sunsbum]

I understand all the re-tooling and I believe it is a slightly stronger team than 2005 (I say slightly only because Amare is still not 2005 Amare) but even with that, how do you explain April 5th? Bad shooting? Suns where tired?

I'd also like to Submit that anyone can easily make the argument that Denver vastly improved their lineup from 2005 compared to the suns (Im not saying they are better than the Suns, just stating that the improvement was more pronounced in Denver than it has been in Phoenix).... I believe we beat both teams in 5 back then and recently did it again to the much improved nuggets just the other day..... Food for thought.

the reason we lost is becuase the spurs are the best in the buisness at rotating on defense and closing out our shooters. PERIOD. im not denying that the spurs are a better team than us..it just makes me laugh to think that most of yall think we will STEAL ONE game from this series.

[LakerLanny]

i went to every home playoff game in 2005. bowen DOES own marion to an extent... bowen knows marion cant put the ball on the floor and uses that advantage well. shawn just needs to go to plan B and crash the boards, get the tips, and just do his typical garbage man thing...bowen cant stop him there.

Marion is great at that. He has absolutely killed my beloved Lakers with those garbage man plays over the years.

No one is quicker off the floor the 2nd or 3rd time, he seemed to be moving in 5th gear vs Lakers moving in 2nd gear despite playing huge minutes compared to most of our guys.

Marion can play, but that shooting form makes me want to :vomit:

[Trainwreck2100]

the reason we lost is becuase the spurs are the best in the buisness at rotating on defense and closing out our shooters. PERIOD. im not denying that the spurs are a better team than us..it just makes me laugh to think that most of yall think we will STEAL ONE game from this series.


The reason you lost is because the Spurs are the only team that you have to adapt to. Normally teams take out their big man to match up with the Suns. You have to put one in to match up with the Spurs.

[mardigan]

im not talking about KT as someone with offensive punch of the bench ( but if hes hitting his midrange jumper like last series it could be a big help) KT is brought in to anchor our interior defense...KT can somewhat effectively gaurd tim 1 on 1 better than anyone else we have.
I agree with you on d, Thomas def bothers Timmy, I thought you were talking about points. I really think the Suns are a good team, and Im not trying to discredit them, I just think the Spurs are a nightmare matchup for them. I think the Suns would have rather met up with any other team in the West over the Spurs

[Kori Ellis]

Barbosa yes, for sure, but Thomas? COme on man, thats like if I brought up Matt Bonner. You mine as well bring up Piatkowski or Jalen Rose then, they score about as much as he does. The Suns have 2 guys off the bench, thats pretty much it. You better hope those 2 score around their season averages, because Smith and Klieza didnt last series and it sealed the Nuggs fate

I guess you haven't noticed that KThomas pretty much shuts down Duncan. He takes him completely out of his game.

[mardigan]

I guess you haven't noticed that KThomas pretty much shuts down Duncan. He takes him completely out of his game.
Look up one post

[Trainwreck2100]

Marion is great at that. He has absolutely killed my beloved Lakers with those garbage man plays over the years.

No one is quicker off the floor the 2nd or 3rd time, he seemed to be moving in 5th gear vs Lakers moving in 2nd gear despite playing huge minutes compared to most of our guys.

Marion can play, but that shooting form makes me want to :vomit:

I actually tried shooting like him one time.............ended up throwing it over the backboard

[sunsbum]

Marion is great at that. He has absolutely killed my beloved Lakers with those garbage man plays over the years.

No one is quicker off the floor the 2nd or 3rd time, he seemed to be moving in 5th gear vs Lakers moving in 2nd gear despite playing huge minutes compared to most of our guys.

Marion can play, but that shooting form makes me want to :vomit:


whats crazy is for 2 years straight marion shot 38 and 39% from 3pt range... but yea, everytime he puts up a shot i cringe...i think all of arizona does infact...probably half of canada ta boot ;)

[mardigan]

whats crazy is for 2 years straight marion shot 38 and 39% from 3pt range... but yea, everytime he puts up a shot i cringe...i think all of arizona does infact...probably half of canada ta boot ;)
Cambys shot makes marions look like Ray Allens though

[sunsbum]

I agree with you on d, Thomas def bothers Timmy, I thought you were talking about points. I really think the Suns are a good team, and Im not trying to discredit them, I just think the Spurs are a nightmare matchup for them. I think the Suns would have rather met up with any other team in the West over the Spurs

haha, i gaurantee you we as fans would rather play ANYONE else than the spurs...but ya know, if we didnt beat the spurs on the way to a trophy..i just wouldnt feel right about it. i want us to prove to the world that we can beat the best team in the nba. so i look forward to this series, i know us fans have been waiting since 2005 for this rematch.

[phyzik]

the reason we lost is becuase the spurs are the best in the buisness at rotating on defense and closing out our shooters. PERIOD. im not denying that the spurs are a better team than us..it just makes me laugh to think that most of yall think we will STEAL ONE game from this series.


I can realistically say Spurs can end this in a 5 game series, recent history (april 5th) is all we can go by... we havnt seen each other since then. but The suns "stealing one" is rediculous... they WIN 1...

personally Im saying Spurs in 6 close games, but I think its completely resonable to say Spurs could take this in 5... Again, the reason I dont think the Suns can is because all we really have to go off of is our most recent game, at least until after game 1, and Spurs dominated.

Until I see different from Suns, Spurs own them.

[Kori Ellis]

Look up one post

I know, we posted at the same time. But your initial post looks silly to discount Thomas when he's their only effective interior defender. D'Antoni should actually start him ... but he won't.

[Trainwreck2100]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae-xqW2pfyg

http://www.ebsports.net/bbs/images/smilies/evillaugh.gif

[conversekid]

the reason we lost is becuase the spurs are the best in the buisness at rotating on defense and closing out our shooters. PERIOD. im not denying that the spurs are a better team than us..it just makes me laugh to think that most of yall think we will STEAL ONE game from this series.

Sunsburn... i admit KT does as good a job on timmy as any one. he frustrates him and man handles him on the block. Tim will have his hands full for sure. I don't think this will be an easy series. I think the Suns will give us all we can handle and I expect a great series.

[sunsbum]

nothing to do with the conversation but his is a funny video of dirk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrQzRBcrCts

[Hillcrest]

I'm a Warriors fan so i don't really have a dog in this fight but I gotta say, if anyone can beat the Spurs this year it's the Suns. This should be a great series. I've been watching Nash since he entered the league, at first mildly impressed but now literally astonished. This guy is the best point guard since Stockton. At the end of his career he may well be regarded as the best of all time, next to Magic of course. I have seen significant improvement in his game since the last playoff matchup between the Suns and Spurs. He would have broken the record for assists against the Lakers the other day if the Suns weren't shooting poorly. He can take apart any defense on any team in the league. For all the talk about Barbosa and Amare, I think Nash will be the key. If he plays with the intensity and focus he did in game four against the Lakers, you guys are in serious trouble. The key will be whether or not he maintains that level of play. If he doesn't, the Spurs should win it all.

It's amazing. We've beaten the Suns at their own game, MVP Nash and everything...repeatedly!

They are offensively potent, but so are the Spurs. We'll run and gun with the Suns all day.

The difference is that we play insanely disciplined defense...best defense in the league in fact.

Nash is good. He's not the best in the game. Nor is he new to the Spurs. We've been there, done that many times. If we lose, it's not cuz Nash is so dangerous all the sudden now...

[Trainwreck2100]

my link is better though

[sunsbum]

my link is better though


the antoine walker one is prolly my fav...shits hilarious, i remember reading that thread last year

[dbreiden83080]

I guess you haven't noticed that KThomas pretty much shuts down Duncan. He takes him completely out of his game.

Nobody stops Tim but Tim himself. He will own every Sun defender over the course of a long series.

[Suck My Blurr]

http://attachments.wetpaintserv.us/QH4oBlj%24trSvLBldI2BoRw%3D%3D17064

[Trainwreck2100]

the antoine walker one is prolly my fav...shits hilarious, i remember reading that thread last year

the antoine walker thread or the Steve Nash thread?

[Trainwreck2100]

http://attachments.wetpaintserv.us/QH4oBlj%24trSvLBldI2BoRw%3D%3D17064


Robot beats six armed cancer patient 10/10 times.

[sunsbum]

the antoine walker thread or the Steve Nash thread?


the nash photoshop thread.

[TampaDude]

http://attachments.wetpaintserv.us/QH4oBlj%24trSvLBldI2BoRw%3D%3D17064

LOL...good one! :lol

[Suck My Blurr]

A simple picture can tell a thousand words!

http://attachments.wetpaintserv.us/QH4oBlj%24trSvLBldI2BoRw%3D%3D17064

[Lakerhater1]

Title of this thread should be ...
Nash should be the difference.

Thus far the Spurs have been able to in a lot of cases, modestly, contain Nash. Amare will get his cause Spurs will seldom double team.

Either way this will be another great series. Spurs in 6.

[zekes]

I actually tried shooting like him one time.............ended up throwing it over the backboard

:lol :lol :lol

[Deede4525]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae-xqW2pfyg

http://www.ebsports.net/bbs/images/smilies/evillaugh.gif


:clap OMG! That was so funny! I loved the one's with Sheed in them. :p:

Thanks for the laughs..... :lmao

[Rummpd]

"for a team that got knocked out of the playoffs last year you guys seem pretty overly confident."

Same team knocked you out last year the Mavs - the Suns just got a pass to the finals in the WCF due to an aberration in playoff seeding - Spurs would have cleaned their clock last year like they are going to this year - Suns fans!

Suns fans have so much hubris for an organization that has not done squat EVER!

[cherylsteele]

A simple picture can tell a thousand words!

http://attachments.wetpaintserv.us/QH4oBlj%24trSvLBldI2BoRw%3D%3D17064
Isn't Nash carrying the ball in the picture?

[sunsbum]

"for a team that got knocked out of the playoffs last year you guys seem pretty overly confident."

Same team knocked you out last year the Mavs - the Suns just got a pass to the finals in the WCF due to an aberration in playoff seeding - Spurs would have cleaned their clock last year like they are going to this year - Suns fans!

Suns fans have so much hubris for an organization that has not done squat EVER!


coulda shoulda woulda.....you mean just like we "woulda" killed the heat in the finals if we beat the mavs? go fly a kite.