Focus

[Ghost Writer]

These playoffs have been full of interesting twists and turns.

Last year's Finalists were both bounced in the first round, with an 8-seed beating a 1-seed.

And then the Spurs/Suns.

The Spurs showed me a lot to hang in there and chip away to win that Game 5. That really cemented in my mind the character, resolve, drive and determination of this team. This is not one of those Spurs teams who get their hearts broken and mail it in. These guys have that swagger we talked about.

And then slamming the door in Game 6 was brilliant. I had my doubts if they lost Game 6.

So this is awesome, right? The winner of Phoeniz/San Antonio is the shoo-in champs, no doubt.

Not exactly.

I have seen many times where two "favorites" battled and the victor was left so draine dor so overconfident that they got hijacked in the next round.

The 2004 Yankees who beat the Red Sox on that Aaron Boone homerun got steamrolled by the underdog, wild card Marlins in the World Series.

Do I think the Spurs will beat the Jazz? Of course. I think these two teams match up very well, but the Spurs are just a notch better at what both these teams do. The Spurs play better team defense and I think San Antonio trumps Utah's stars at the skill positions.

And not to look too far ahead (the point of this thread), but I'll take my chances with Bowen fireblanketing LeBron or the Spurs having Detroit's number once again in the Finals.

Conventional wisdom says the title is the Spurs for the taking.

All I am hoping is that they stay true to the way they play and take one game at a time in getting there.

They've come this far. The outlook is bright. Now just focus and get there.




















:cooldevil

[ducks]

get ready to buy championship gear
pistons will be tough though

[timvp]

Nicely done.

The Spurs definitely are in a good place right now. I too though worry about the physical and emotional drain of the Phoenix series taking it's toll. The short turnaround time for Game 1 also work against the Spurs.

But right now, there are no excuses. It's time to buckle down, focus and stay on this road.

[ducks]

spurs in 5
lose is game one or 3

[Ghost Writer]

Yeah, tim.

I think the Spurs lose a low-scoring Game 1. For real.

I could totally see the well-rested Jazz playing a faster defense on the Spurs, who could be drained and have one of those games where they can't throw one into the ocean.

Then San Antonio will wake up and win the next 4 in a row.




:cooldevil

[Ghost Writer]

Hey, me and ducks are on the same page. I think they lose Game 1 and then plow through the next four.




















:cooldevil

[timvp]

Yeah, tim.

I think the Spurs lose a low-scoring Game 1. For real.

I could totally see the well-rested Jazz playing a faster defense on the Spurs, who could be drained and have one of those games where they can't throw one into the ocean.

Then San Antonio will wake up and win the next 4 in a row.




:cooldevil


If the Spurs can go out and get Game 1, that'd be huge. It'd send a message that they ain't messin' around.

With everything being equal, there's really no excuse for the Spurs to drop a seven game series to the Jazz. Time to start showing it tomorrow.

[ducks]

spurs win by double digits in the first two games it will be a sweep

[Ghost Writer]

I will say that if they win Game 1, the Spurs will sweep.

That's not bold, homer talk, either.

I just think the Spurs and the Jazz play the same kind of game and have strengths at the same positions, but that San An is better on all fronts.















:cooldevil

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

Rebound, rebound, rebound... and this is a 4 or 5 game series

[ducks]

I am with GHost spurs win game one sweep

[duncan228]

I started out thinking Spurs in 6.
As the day disappears I'm starting to think maybe 5.
As timvp said, they are in a good place right now. Momentum and emotion can take you far. Duncan wants it and was a monster in the PHX series.

Whatever it is, 4, 5 or 6, I'm ready. Go Spurs.

[Warlord23]

I don't think it'll be a sweep. I think the Jazz win at least 1, probably 2. I think Tim will have a bit of a hard time in this series. All due respect to Kurt Thomas, but I chuckled whenever Suns fans or the media were talking about the Suns' "improved post defense". Not often does Duncan have the edge in both size and quickness; but Thomas was just short enough and slow enough for Tim to do whatever he wanted. Thomas was quite the savvy vet, but way overmatched.

In this series Duncan will see size or mobility in whoever guards him. The Jazz will throw big klutzes like Collins and Araujo at Duncan, or they'll have smaller but quicker forwards like Boozer, Millsap. And Okur is a bitch on the offensive boards. In a way, I'm glad that the Spurs play the Jazz rather than the Warriors, because Duncan needs all the preparation he can get before running into the likes of Sheed, Dice, Webber, Maxiell and Prince.

From hereon in, Duncan will need to be superman because Elson/Oberto/Bonner will be the weakest link. Both the Jazz and the Pistons have a deep, versatile frontcourt that can defend and rebound. All the Spurs have is Duncan; and a few spurts from Horry. I think Timmy might struggle for a game or two with the Jazz bigs before figuring them out; and that'll keep him right on his toes for the Pistons frontcourt.

Spurs in 6.

[T Park]

I think this series plays out like the Nuggets series.

Wich I pray would be so, game 5 would be my last game of the year :(

Going out on a winning note would be nice :depressed

[SequSpur]

The Spurs aren't losing a home game against the fucking Jazz.

Come on........

This shit is over.

[spurster]

In comparison to the Suns, I think the Jazz play in slow motion.

[CubanMustGo]

In comparison to the Suns, I think the Jazz play in slow motion.

In comparison to the Suns, the Jazz play defense and have a helluva lot smarter coach who's never lost a home playoff game to SA.

I'm perplexed as to why people are talkin' sweep. 2-2 in the regular season and Sloan knows how to play Pop ... plus Pop admits his concept for the Spurs play is based on Sloan. SA in six.

[SpursFanFirst]

I wish I was as confident in this series as all of you are. This Jazz team makes me nervous. I'm picking the Spurs in 7

[baseline bum]

I don't think the Spurs can sweep Utah. Everything has to go perfect 4 times to break out the brooms. I don't know how the hell they kept doing it in '99.

I get the feeling Utah is the one who has to deal with overconfidence more than the Spurs do. They might be feeling too good about themselves after going through two really weak teams in the first two rounds.

[SequSpur]

The Spurs aren't losing a home game against the fucking Jazz.

Come on........

This shit is over.

:dizzy

[SequSpur]

Yeah, tim.

I think the Spurs lose a low-scoring Game 1. For real.

I could totally see the well-rested Jazz playing a faster defense on the Spurs, who could be drained and have one of those games where they can't throw one into the ocean.

Then San Antonio will wake up and win the next 4 in a row.
:cooldevil

I think you should go back to wherever you were.

[samikeyp]

Focus is the key....they got a good win today but Sloan will have his team ready to bounce back Tuesday night. The Spurs have to keep doing what is working and defend the home court.

[Warlord23]

And the Jazz are an exceptional home team to boot ... there's still a lot of ball to be played in this series