Kurt Thomas guarded Duncan last year
Ok, first of all to start out, Im not a Suns fan, nor am I a Spurs fan (obviously). Im a Bulls fan. Talk as much as you want against my team I really dont care considering this thread has nothing to do with the Bulls.
Im going to explain why I THINK the Suns will beat the Spurs 4-3
First of all, what was the difference between last year's playoff series and this year? One word, Shaq
Summary of Last Year's Playoff Series
1-Duncan Dominated last year's playoff series only because Amare couldn't stop him. Yes Amare might be quicker, faster, and even more athletic than Duncan but Tim's fundamentals overpowered Amare hence the stats show everything.
2- The Suns had to double team Duncan which left other players such as Ginobli, Finley causing easy baskets. But thats not it. What people don't know is Popavich devised of a scheme to confuse the defense(Suns) whenever they double teamed Duncan. This scheme caused confusion among the Suns players and Spurs took advantage of those plays. As a result, the Suns stopped double teaming Duncan as a result of this flaw which led to Duncan's domination
Whats going to happen this Year's Playoff
There won't be any need to double team Duncan considering Shaq is the size of two bodies. Shaq might not do much offensively, infact he might not even do much defensively (OVERALL) but his Defense on Duncan is going to be something. People think Defense is all about rebounds, blocks and steals. Its not. Its also about guarding the player and smothering him and lowering his percentage shots which is what Shaq is going to do in this series. (Evidence??? The season series)
ConclusionThe series is going to 7 games. Its all going to depend on Shaq vs Duncan. If Shaq can stop Duncan, Suns have this series. If Duncan can overpower Shaq, then Spurs in 6
Kurt Thomas guarded Duncan last year
Its funny watching Nash turn into a whiny bish when Bowen is hounding his ass the whole game.
Actually the series isnt going to be about whether Bruce "Lee" Bown can guard Nash or not. Its all about the Duncan Shaq matchup.
ST admins, I can't add xbocker to my ignore list
a similar type of ignorant mentality usually leads to the Suns' demise.
Actually, as people have mentioned, there are several very important matchups going on here.
Does Amare stay out of foul trouble guarding Tim?
Does Grant Hill guard Tony well?
Does Bruce neutralize Nash's scoring?
Does Bell neutralize Manu's scoring?
The individual matchups in this case are pretty important. I think it will not just come down to Shaq defending Duncan, but that is an important one as well.
A BIG question which I think is as important as individual matchups; do the Spurs make the Suns pay for zoning us up like they did last game? If not, things will be tough. We have to hit outside shots.
Hi Louis, and Louis.
you're a ing moron.
I think that Popovich is a better coach by a mile than D'Antoni. I think Phoenix has nobody like Manu Ginobili and I think Parker will use his quickness to mix things up on offense. I think that the Spurs have shooters who are all proven playoff performers. I think that you need to pop in the 2003 Spurs Championship DVD and watch the clinching 4th quarter against the Lakers and see the havoc Duncan wreaked against Shaq and his mates. While I give that Duncan is older, but so is Shaq. Duncan is also more experienced than he was in 03. And funny how people forget that Duncan is one of the greatest playoff performers in NBA history, and he's healthy, hungry and only 31, almost 32. That is not old for the type of game Duncan possesses.
Bruce Bowen will continue to give Nash and whomever else headaches, and the show goes on.
Spurs in six.
Ehh...Ginobili will be the difference against the Suns in the playoffs. It'll be over soon. He'll kill you in your own house. We are going to run all over the Suns.
See you in June Batman.
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