Spurs 90
Suns 77
Manu has 30
Parker has 30
Duncan has 20 pts and 15 reb and 3 blks
I'm tired of waiting for it! The other games have threads up already. So if Kori and LJ don't mind me starting it the day before, here goes!
Things I look for in Game 1
First half:
The Spurs usually come into the playoffs completely flat, so normally I would be thinking along those lines. But with how they've played against Utah, I expect Parker to be right in the lane making big shots and the Spurs to race out to an early lead. Shaq will be in foul trouble within 10 minutes to play in the 2nd quarter and queue a big Spurs run that puts us up 14. The Suns fight back to within 8 at halftime.
The key to the first half is maximizing the Suns miscues on offense and getting up the floor before Shaq can get set. I think Parker and Manu are going to blow the doors wide open with slashing in the first 20 minutes. The Suns think they have an advantage when in reality they haven't seen the true Spurs team on the floor, from a level of play OR a health perspective (see: Denver the past two years). Whereas Pop just used the previous games to gauge the defense of the Suns and player performances, now he is going to actually utilize mismatches and deficiencies in the Suns style of play. The Suns are confident that Shaq is the answer defensively, but a good general knows how to check an opponent where they feel most secure. If Shaq is unable to contain Parker drives and Duncan's post game in the first game, it could set a devastating tone for the series for the Suns.
Pop has caught a lot of criticism in the regular season over the past few years, perhaps deservedly so, but I think his playoff rotations and attacks are going to seriously disrupt anything the Suns have planned. "No good battle plan survives first contact with the enemy," and I expect this is doubly so for "Yeah! Let's go get 'em! Play hard!"
Key quarter: 3rd. We either bust it wide open if Manu's hot, or watch our lead dwindle down until Phoenix is up on us by a couple of baskets. If Manu is hitting his shots though, I see us up 12 going into the 4th with Bowen draped all over Nash, making him work for every pass.
The fourth quarter sees the Suns fire away from downtown and bring it back to within two possessions, but the Spurs trademark defense clamps down. The Suns put Shaq in, but the Spurs use a combo of high screen and rolls and double teams mixed with single coverage to confuse Shaq and put him on the charity stripe. Oberto gets under Shaq's skin and the Diesel picks up a tech foul as the Spurs pull away to win by 9 points and take a 1-0 series lead.
You think you've seen the Spurs play... but in reality, we've only just begun.
Believe.
Last edited by Cry Havoc; 04-18-2008 at 04:59 PM.
Spurs 90
Suns 77
Manu has 30
Parker has 30
Duncan has 20 pts and 15 reb and 3 blks
Edited to make it a little more pleasing and colorful to read.
Obstructed_View brings out the Duncan avatar for the Playoffs. Nice.![]()
The quest for the repeat has started
We will repeat.
Scratch.
We will threepeat; that's right, we'll get that 2009 le too.
Book it.
You've got to stop watching porn
Got a great feeling about this game.
The game against Utah really showed me this team can flip the switch especially Duncan.
If Duncan's porn we've got a problem...I won't stop.
Don't kid yourself...Utah rolled over like a 401K.
The wait is killing me...
Spurs 99
Suns 88
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Yeah, the Spur's beat-down of the Jazz caused the rest of the league to moan "Ah, . Not those guys again!"
It sure warmed my heart to see Our Spurs "back and in the saddle again" yippee kye yie yo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Daz6B...FnYVIznZBTDgLx
Your seriously think that the Big 3 will have 80/90 of the points? That's too much. If the Spurs cannot get any other contributors tomorrow they lose Game 1.
Why is it still Friday!
I can't wait this long!!
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Yeah, because Utah was tanking so hard that they willed 72% of our shots to go in by halftime.![]()
Last edited by Cry Havoc; 04-18-2008 at 07:40 PM.
Nice work, Obstructed View.![]()
Why are these games scheduled in the afternoon?
We're getting a nice sunny weekend, I want to enjoy it!
I'll have to stay home to watch the game
ing Stern-ABC![]()
I know I say this every single year, but I seriously miss when the playoffs used to start on a Thursday or Friday night and we could get simultaneous double headers on TNT and TBS. That was basketball bliss for me. Now if the Spurs play on Saturday game one is, like, Wednesday. Ridiculous.
:yawn
Whatever makes you feel better.
1Q- Spurs 26 - Suns 17
2Q- Spurs 20 - Suns 23 (46-40)
3Q- Spurs 18 - Suns 25 (64-65)
4Q- Spurs 26 - Suns 18 (90-83)
Tim: 18 pts. 15 rebs.
Manu: 22 pts. 6 rebs. 3 assts. (and the clutch FT's)
Tony: 26 pts. 6 assts.
Nash: 16 pts. 8 assts.
Amare: 31 pts. 4 PF
Shaq: 8 pts. 5 PF (and 0 dives 'cause the game isn't in phoenix)
...or something like this.
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