Louie Vega
04-27-2008, 02:28 AM
Your own beat writers in Phoenix are closet Spurs fans!
The aftershock of Game 3
Was it a crack or a thud? Was it the sound of hearts breaking or a window finally closing?
Whatever that terrible noise was Friday night, the aftershock of Game 3 has turned the Valley into a somber, muted, humble place. It must be how Michael Spinks felt when he tasted Mike Tyson's fist. And it would be really nice if these splintering Suns could win just one game before checking out for the summer, thus denying a San Antonio broomstick party in Phoenix Sunday afternoon.
No one is ready for that.
Ugh. This is beyond nauseating. The Spurs are leading 3-0 in this series because of one miracle shot (Tim Duncan's 3-pointer in the opener), one perfect game (Game 3), and one hellacious, 12-minute mugging (the third quarter of Game 2). But it all seems to represent something bigger.
It wasn't long ago that the Spurs were struggling to score 80 points a game. They looked old, vulnerable, even preferable as a first-round draw. As silly as it seems now, the Suns once were extremely confident in their ability to match up against their nemesis. And heading into Game 1 of this series, the Suns actually were inside the Spurs' heads a little bit.
"Yes, you always have doubts," Spurs star Manu Ginobili said. "We were not playing good, except for that last game in Utah. We were not scoring well. We were not moving the ball well. We didn't look good."
Now the Spurs look like a team that has won four championship trophies in the past nine years, about to reduce the Suns to nothing but a footprint in the path of a dynasty. The transformation in this series has been stunning, so much that the Spurs didn't even bother to practice Saturday. They met the media in their posh Biltmore hotel and then dispersed for the afternoon.
"It's been seven years," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. "We've been doing the same things. We have the same core players. We have great coaches and a great organization, and I think it just works for us."
As a head coach, it must be nice to have a team so focused and driven, and as much as this might be sacrilege in the Valley, it's hard not to respect the bedrock of these Spurs.
At the very least, you wish our sixth man from South America (Leandro Barbosa) could be more like theirs (Ginobili). You wish our French player (Boris Diaw) had the drive and motor of their French player (Tony Parker). You wish our defensive stopper (Raja Bell) were more like their defensive stopper (Bruce Bowen), the one who put Nash through the ringer in Game 3.
But as you look about the Spurs, there are other poignant faces attached to our struggle, such as Kurt Thomas'. The Suns once acquired him as an antidote to Duncan, let him go for cost measures, and then he resurfaced in San Antonio as a defensive option against Shaquille O'Neal.
By the way, Kurt seems very happy to be missed so much.
There also is Brent Barry and Michael Finley, players the Suns courted in recent years when they desperately were trying to keep their championship puzzle intact on the fly and on the cheap, with a constant eye on the budget. They all are symbols for what is happening here in Phoenix, and it's not pretty.
Of course, we all know when it began. It began when Robert Sarver wouldn't budge another $5 million to satisfy Joe Johnson, who wanted a $50 million extension. That led to the Diaw myth, the Diaw contract extension and, ultimately, this 3-0 deficit against the Spurs.
Back in time, when that awe-inspiring, hugely popular, high-flying team from 2004-05 was busting apart over money, the worst fear was that someday we'd look back with no parades in our hearts and no rings on their fingers. We'd wonder what happened to our championship-caliber team and how it all slipped away.
That's what it felt like Saturday. And it would be really nice if the Suns could show some pride, win a game and change the script just a little bit.
Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 06:22 PM
Report a Violation
Topics: SPORTS, suns, NBA, Spurs, dan bickle
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/DanBickley/22444
The aftershock of Game 3
Was it a crack or a thud? Was it the sound of hearts breaking or a window finally closing?
Whatever that terrible noise was Friday night, the aftershock of Game 3 has turned the Valley into a somber, muted, humble place. It must be how Michael Spinks felt when he tasted Mike Tyson's fist. And it would be really nice if these splintering Suns could win just one game before checking out for the summer, thus denying a San Antonio broomstick party in Phoenix Sunday afternoon.
No one is ready for that.
Ugh. This is beyond nauseating. The Spurs are leading 3-0 in this series because of one miracle shot (Tim Duncan's 3-pointer in the opener), one perfect game (Game 3), and one hellacious, 12-minute mugging (the third quarter of Game 2). But it all seems to represent something bigger.
It wasn't long ago that the Spurs were struggling to score 80 points a game. They looked old, vulnerable, even preferable as a first-round draw. As silly as it seems now, the Suns once were extremely confident in their ability to match up against their nemesis. And heading into Game 1 of this series, the Suns actually were inside the Spurs' heads a little bit.
"Yes, you always have doubts," Spurs star Manu Ginobili said. "We were not playing good, except for that last game in Utah. We were not scoring well. We were not moving the ball well. We didn't look good."
Now the Spurs look like a team that has won four championship trophies in the past nine years, about to reduce the Suns to nothing but a footprint in the path of a dynasty. The transformation in this series has been stunning, so much that the Spurs didn't even bother to practice Saturday. They met the media in their posh Biltmore hotel and then dispersed for the afternoon.
"It's been seven years," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. "We've been doing the same things. We have the same core players. We have great coaches and a great organization, and I think it just works for us."
As a head coach, it must be nice to have a team so focused and driven, and as much as this might be sacrilege in the Valley, it's hard not to respect the bedrock of these Spurs.
At the very least, you wish our sixth man from South America (Leandro Barbosa) could be more like theirs (Ginobili). You wish our French player (Boris Diaw) had the drive and motor of their French player (Tony Parker). You wish our defensive stopper (Raja Bell) were more like their defensive stopper (Bruce Bowen), the one who put Nash through the ringer in Game 3.
But as you look about the Spurs, there are other poignant faces attached to our struggle, such as Kurt Thomas'. The Suns once acquired him as an antidote to Duncan, let him go for cost measures, and then he resurfaced in San Antonio as a defensive option against Shaquille O'Neal.
By the way, Kurt seems very happy to be missed so much.
There also is Brent Barry and Michael Finley, players the Suns courted in recent years when they desperately were trying to keep their championship puzzle intact on the fly and on the cheap, with a constant eye on the budget. They all are symbols for what is happening here in Phoenix, and it's not pretty.
Of course, we all know when it began. It began when Robert Sarver wouldn't budge another $5 million to satisfy Joe Johnson, who wanted a $50 million extension. That led to the Diaw myth, the Diaw contract extension and, ultimately, this 3-0 deficit against the Spurs.
Back in time, when that awe-inspiring, hugely popular, high-flying team from 2004-05 was busting apart over money, the worst fear was that someday we'd look back with no parades in our hearts and no rings on their fingers. We'd wonder what happened to our championship-caliber team and how it all slipped away.
That's what it felt like Saturday. And it would be really nice if the Suns could show some pride, win a game and change the script just a little bit.
Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 06:22 PM
Report a Violation
Topics: SPORTS, suns, NBA, Spurs, dan bickle
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/DanBickley/22444