Jon Barry, ESPN: Are The Best Years Behind The Suns And Spurs?

[duncan228]

Are The Best Years Behind The Suns And Spurs?
By Jon Barry
ESPN.com

The news on Amare Stoudemire this week was devastating for the Phoenix Suns. Had he been healthy, I think, they would have made the playoffs with relative ease. He is so important to that team. He's a guy who can put up 25 points and 10 rebounds a night without question, and they don't have the personnel to survive his season-ending injury.

Shaquille O'Neal has done what he can do to make up the difference this season, but they just don't have enough, really. I said a few days back that this week's four-game road trip would probably eliminate them. Even a win against the Spurs won't do much for their confidence. They had a great win against the Lakers on March 1 and couldn't really build off that, so I just don't see it for them this season. They added Stromile Swift to their roster recently but I don't think he'll make much of a difference.

The Spurs are a whole different story. I think Drew Gooden could turn out to be one of the bigger late-season acquisitions in the league. He fits their system perfectly. He's a guy who can stretch the defense out to about 20 feet, since he's a quality shooter from that range. He can rebound the basketball, and he can defend, too. Matt Bonner stepped in and did a great job at that 4 spot for them, but he can't rebound or defend the way Gooden can. It wouldn't surprise me to see Gooden starting soon, but either way, they've strengthened their rotation in a major way.

Next season doesn't look a lot brighter for the Suns. I think their best basketball for this current nucleus of players may be behind them. If Shaq were able to duplicate his play from this season, I'd be really surprised. Steve Nash certainly hasn't had the impact he once had. I don't think much of a window is left for them, and with their salaries, they don't appear to have much maneuverability, either. Unless they can move Shaq, who is on the books for $21 million, I don't know who they'll be able to add to improve themselves.

I would say that the Spurs also have probably peaked as a unit with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but they still are in much better shape than Phoenix. While they may have fallen off a bit, their best could still be enough to win an NBA le.

I've sensed somewhat of a change in their style. This used to be a lockdown defensive team. You'd see a lot of games with scores in the 80s. They would slow the tempo and be very hard to score against.

Now they are looking a little more like an up-tempo team. I think Gregg Popovich realizes that the goal for everyone in the Western Conference has to be to beat the Lakers. The only way the Spurs will do that is by improving their offense. I think that's why there were serious talks about bringing Vince Carter to San Antonio. I really think that was close to happening. They wanted to get more athletic and offensive. Ultimately, that's why they ended up with Gooden.

They haven't stopped playing defense, but if you look at the numbers, they are nowhere near what they have been in the past decade. The style they are playing now is easier on them physically as well.

All that being said, I can't see them beating L.A. in a playoff series. I know Ginobili was hurt when the Lakers beat them in five games in last season's Western Conference finals, but they just seemed to run circles around the Spurs. Even without Andrew Bynum, the Lakers are better, and I'd have to take them again in the West this season.

[duncan228]

A couple of other pieces from the Sunday Dime.

Adding Firepower For The Stretch Run
By John Hollinger | ESPN.com

SPURS: DREW GOODEN

One big reason to think Drew Gooden can make an impact in San Antonio is how poorly the Spurs' frontcourt reserves have played. Fabricio Oberto, in particular, might have hit the wall at age 33. He has a 10.59 player efficiency rating despite shooting 59.1 percent from the floor, which is a nice way of saying that he creates plays so rarely that even playing efficiently can't save him. And 36-year-old Kurt Thomas has been adequate for a backup at the offensive end but too often has been a step slow on D -- particularly when he's asked to help on the perimeter instead of defending the block.

Gooden, for all his faults, has been consistently productive as a scorer and rebounder and is quick enough to handle switching against guards on the perimeter. I don't think this move makes the Lakers quake in their boots, but it'll unquestionably make San Antonio a tougher out in the playoffs.

SUNS: STROMILE SWIFT

Don't overlook the addition of Stromile Swift to the Phoenix Suns. Swift is a good athlete who has struggled with some of the mental aspects of the game, but this is exactly the situation he needs. All the Suns want him to do is run the floor and dunk in transition, and that's exactly what he was put on this Earth to do. Phoenix had great success several years ago with a similar player, Steven Hunter. The Suns kept it simple and let him feast off feeds from Steve Nash, and everybody was happy.

I'm not saying he'll be a game-changer, but if the Suns keep playing up-tempo as they've been doing since Alvin Gentry took over as coach, Swift can be a very productive reserve. His numbers from the three seasons before this one were very solid (17 points and nine boards per 40 minutes while shooting in the high 40s), and those were in half-court systems that didn't play to his strengths. He won't defend much, and his bad hands will bungle some easy buckets, but the run-and-gun Suns just got even faster with this move.

[duncan228]

Shaq Aging Beautifully
By Eric Neel
ESPN The Magazine

Shaquille O'Neal turned 37 on Friday, a fact that raises at least two important questions: One, if you're Stan Van Gundy, what sort of gift do you send the Diesel now? And two, if you're an NBA fan, what sort of gift does the big fella have in store for you?

After missing 84 games the previous three seasons, Shaq has played in 55 of Phoenix's 62 games this season, thanks in large part to the wizardry of Suns trainer Aaron Nelson. Shaq played just 28 games with the Suns after getting traded by Miami late last season and never really clicked. But two-thirds of the way through his first full season with Phoenix, he's had the chance to develop a consistent rhythm and rapport with his teammates. As it turns out, a healthy, happy Shaq -- even with 17 years' worth of wear on the tires -- still can ball.

In fact, there have been only three seasons by centers 36 or older that compare to the one Shaq is putting together. In 1999, Hakeem Olajuwon posted a player efficiency rating of 23.1 (but played only 50 games because of injury). And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at ages 36 and 37, (while missing only five regular-season games combined) put up PERs of 21.3 and 22.9. Leading up to Friday night, O'Neal's PER stands at 22.6, which isn't just third all-time for a center his age -- it's 11th among all players in the league right now.

[Chieflion]

Jon Barry is neither wrong nor correct.

[lefty]

Is he bitter that we didn't resign his brother

[Chieflion]

Is he bitter that we didn't resign his brother

Which one?

[whottt]

Jon Barry insults the Spurs by acting like the Suns and Spurs are equivalent in any way.

It's almost a certainty that the Spurs best years are behind them...the years behind them produced 4 championships. I doubt we'll be winning another 4 any time soon. Even if we repeat this year and next the Spurs best years will still be behind them right now. It would take 5 championships in the immediate future for their best years to be ahead of them.

The Suns OTOH have done squat....it's not going to take much for their best years to be ahead of them...a single finals appearance would do it...or it would at least tie their best years.


Jon is the Barry that needs to shut his hole.

[InK]

Is he bitter that we didn't resign his brother

[whottt]

All that being said, I can't see them beating L.A. in a playoff series. I know Ginobili was hurt when the Lakers beat them in five games in last season's Western Conference finals, but they just seemed to run circles around the Spurs. Even without Andrew Bynum, the Lakers are better, and I'd have to take them again in the West this season.

He evidentally is unaware of the brutal 7 game series with the Hornets in which the Spurs expended a ton of energy attempting to contain the royal pain in the ass known as Chris Paul. That series took a lot out of them while the Lakers were plenty rested...and let's not forget the refs swallowed their whistles on a pivotal play.

The Spurs lost that series because

1. Manu wasn't Manu.
2. A young, feisty and confident Hornets team beat the crap out of them and took them to the limit.
3. Everyone and their mother knows the league wanted a Celtics Lakers Final...and it's just a little too convenient that they actually got one coming off a few years of poor ratings.
4. The Lakers were younger and more athletic.


In that order.


Now the problem with them is that they are actually more experienced 1-15, while still younger, and they know they can beat the Spurs.

[lefty]

Another useless post from you

[m33p0]

i was waiting to see where he would bash the Spurs... and there it is right at the end. Jon Barry, you never fail.

All that being said, I can't see them beating L.A. in a playoff series. I know Ginobili was hurt when the Lakers beat them in five games in last season's Western Conference finals, but they just seemed to run circles around the Spurs. Even without Andrew Bynum, the Lakers are better, and I'd have to take them again in the West this season.

[The_Game]

He evidentally is unaware of the brutal 7 game series with the Hornets in which the Spurs expended a ton of energy attempting to contain the royal pain in the ass known as Chris Paul. That series took a lot out of them while the Lakers were plenty rested...and let's not forget the refs swallowed their whistles on a pivotal play.

The Spurs lost that series because

1. Manu wasn't Manu.
2. A young, feisty and confident Hornets team beat the crap out of them and took them to the limit.
3. Everyone and their mother knows the league wanted a Celtics Lakers Final...and it's just a little too convenient that they actually got one coming off a few years of poor ratings.
4. The Lakers were younger and more athletic.


In that order.


Now the problem with them is that they are actually more experienced 1-15, while still younger, and they know they can beat the Spurs.

If the Spurs were that great we wouldn't of struggled to beat that Hornets team. You simply can't use that as an excuse.

[Danny.Zhu]

He evidentally is unaware of the brutal 7 game series with the Hornets in which the Spurs expended a ton of energy attempting to contain the royal pain in the ass known as Chris Paul. That series took a lot out of them while the Lakers were plenty rested...and let's not forget the refs swallowed their whistles on a pivotal play.

The Spurs lost that series because

1. Manu wasn't Manu.
2. A young, feisty and confident Hornets team beat the crap out of them and took them to the limit.
3. Everyone and their mother knows the league wanted a Celtics Lakers Final...and it's just a little too convenient that they actually got one coming off a few years of poor ratings.
4. The Lakers were younger and more athletic.


In that order.


Now the problem with them is that they are actually more experienced 1-15, while still younger, and they know they can beat the Spurs.

Totally agree.

There're also another two factors:
a. Bynum is back.
b. Gasol know Lakers' system better as in his second season with the Lakers.

[whottt]

If the Spurs were that great we wouldn't of struggled to beat that Hornets team. You simply can't use that as an excuse.

Dude...Chris Paul was pretty amazing in that series and West wasn't missing many shots. It's not that the Spurs sucked or were mediocre...it's that the Hornets were that good. Take a look at what Chris Paul does night in and night out and it's easy to see that it's no fluke what he did in that series. He's a fantastic player and is going to be in the Hall of Fame as a top 5 PG all time someday...

So I definitely think the Hornets had something to do with it...and that's not even taking into account the plance incident.

[urunobili]

Jon Barry is an all time Spurs hater/envious ... couldn't care less about what he says/writes...

as whottt said he is disrespecting the Spurs by putting them next to the Suns...

[Spursmania]

I agree with Whott. I really believe spending the night in an airplane tarmac before facing the Lakers after a brutal series and Manu not being 100%, and all the rest of the factors including the no whistle blow, were a big part of the Spurs' loss. Of course, this is the NBA happens and you still have to play and win.

That is exactly why I think Jon Barry is wrong. We can beat the Lakers because anything can happen. If we are healthy, we are a damn good basketball team. And, this time we may get the whistles.

[Kindergarten Cop]

Jon Barry insults the Spurs by acting like the Suns and Spurs are equivalent in any way.

It's almost a certainty that the Spurs best years are behind them...the years behind them produced 4 championships. I doubt we'll be winning another 4 any time soon. Even if we repeat this year and next the Spurs best years will still be behind them right now. It would take 5 championships in the immediate future for their best years to be ahead of them.

The Suns OTOH have done squat....it's not going to take much for their best years to be ahead of them...a single finals appearance would do it...or it would at least tie their best years.


Jon is the Barry that needs to shut his hole.

I agree with Whott.

I believe that reasoning behind Barry comparing the two teams is due to them facing off this afternoon - not necessarily because he believes them to be similar teams.

I was actually pleasantly surprised that Barry didn't take more shots at the Spurs, because it is obvious that he dislikes them a great deal and has been known to go overboard with his critiques and observations. I'd have to say that this piece here was actually very reasonable and I agree with most of it. Perhaps Jon was out late last night and forgot to turn his piece in and had to have someone else write this for him.

[Horse]

If the Spurs were that great we wouldn't of struggled to beat that Hornets team. You simply can't use that as an excuse.

That was and is a very good very young hornets team and without Ginobili it all feel apart. I would argure that last years hornets very well could've beaten the lakers.

[Horse]

I agree with Whott. I really believe spending the night in an airplane tarmac before facing the Lakers after a brutal series and Manu not being 100%, and all the rest of the factors including the no whistle blow, were a big part of the Spurs' loss. Of course, this is the NBA happens and you still have to play and win.

That is exactly why I think Jon Barry is wrong. We can beat the Lakers because anything can happen. If we are healthy, we are a damn good basketball team. And, this time we may get the whistles.

Right on! jon barry!

[SenorSpur]

Jon Barry is neither wrong nor correct.

.....he's simply irrelevant... just like his playing career.

[Spursmania]

.....he's simply irrelevant... just like his playing career.

That's good...

[CubanMustGo]

Jon Barry is an all time Spurs hater/envious ... couldn't care less about what he says/writes...

as whottt said he is disrespecting the Spurs by putting them next to the Suns...

+1. The dude has NEVER said anything positive about SA that I can remember.

[Old School 44]

When I saw the le of the Barry article I thought how can he even compare the futures of the Suns and the Spurs. There's just no comparison.

The article he should have wrote is "Two Teams Going In Different Directions"
or "Are the Best Years Behind the Suns and the Mavs?".
Jon Barry does not like the Spurs. At first, when Brent played here, I thought he was overcompensating to show his employer he could be unbiased, but as time went on I realized he's just a Spurs hater.

[Flux451]

Jon Barry has always hated on the Spurs. Even when they were #1. Even when he is complimenting it sounds like he is belittling.

Plus, the dude sucks as a analysists.

I am taking an unbiased approach here.

ANyone else noticed this?

[balli]

ANyone else noticed this?

Yes.