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Steve is usually the one that sounds least confident in this kind of situation. I'm kind of surprised he's pulling an Amar'e.
Confident Nash says Suns will win Game 6
By Bob Baum
Steve Nash says he’s no “Joe Namath who walked in in his fur coat” but the Suns playmaker is not backing away from his post-game promise that Phoenix will beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.
Not might win, not try hard to win, not hope to win.
“I just said we’re going home and win Game 6 and come back in Game 7,” Nash said after practice on Friday. “Take it how you want to take it.”
The Suns didn’t seem devastated by Thursday night’s last-second 103-101 loss in Los Angeles. Quite the opposite. The close call seemed to bolster their belief they can win this series, even though the Lakers are up 3-2 and can advance to the NBA finals for the third straight year with a victory in Phoenix on Saturday night.
“There’s some really good things that we did last night, some things to build on,” the Suns’ Grant Hill said. “I think the main thing is the confidence that we can beat this team. Obviously we’ve done it twice, and we’ve got to try to do it twice more.”
Nash’s assurance may not have packed the flamboyance of Namath’s famous guarantee that his huge underdog New York Jets would beat Baltimore in the Super Bowl, but it was enough to rile Game 5 hero Ron Artest.
“That’s like no respect for us. There’s no respect. That’s how it’s been for a long time this season. I’m sure we’ll talk about it,” Artest said before the Lakers left Los Angeles on Friday. “Coaches have no respect for the Lakers at all. They have no respect for me. The players don’t respect—a lot of the guys don’t respect. … I’m sure Kobe heard that (what Nash said), and I’m sure he’ll do his part tomorrow.”
Artest’s comments came after he was fined for showing up late for practice on Friday.
Phoenix rallied from 18 down in the second half to tie at 101-101 when Jason Richardson banked in a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds to play. The Lakers pulled it out when Kobe Bryant threw up an air ball and Artest hustled to retrieve it, then banked in a shot at the buzzer.
“It was a great moment for him, for our team,” the Lakers’ Derek Fisher said. “Ron has really sacrificed a lot for our team. He’s a big part of our team. A lot of things he does go unnoticed on the stat sheet, but he’s committed to doing one thing, and that’s helping us win.”
The home team has won every game so far in this series, which looked to be a Lakers romp after Los Angeles scored 128 and 124 points and shot 58 percent in the first two games. Suns Coach Alvin Gentry turned to a zone defense and, buoyed by a raucous home crowd, Phoenix won the next two. Game 5 was the first truly close finish of the series.
The Suns have won six straight playoff games at home since losing to Portland in their first-round opener. The Lakers can earn their 31st trip to the NBA finals by ending that streak.
“We don’t plan on going to Phoenix and losing three times on their home court,” Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said. “We’re not making this trip over there just to fill a date. We’re going over there to win a game. We’re highly motivated for this game, but we understand that if it has to go seven, we’re damn well ready to come back home and defend our home court again. This is a series that has taken a lot of different faces to it in the course of these five games, and we don’t expect Game 6 to be any different.”
Hill said the only constant for either team in the series has been the magnificence of Bryant, who is averaging 33 points, 9.6 assists and 7.4 rebounds in the five games. Bryant had 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists on Thursday night.
“He’s made unbelievable shots,” Hill said, “against our man-to-man, against our zone. I mean, the guy’s due for an off game. I mean he’s just hit some shots like you wouldn’t believe. We watched the film (of Game 5) and there was one shot he took where it wasn’t contested. Other than that every shot for the most part was a hand in his face. He’s been awesome.”
The difference has been how much help he gets from his teammates. On Thursday it was Pau Gasol (22 points) and Fisher (21).
This could be the last, and most important, game Amare Stoudemire plays for the Suns. The All-Star power forward can opt out of the final year of his contract after this season and said chances are “50-50” that he will be back.
“We’ve played all season for this game,” he said. “We’ve got to take advantage of it. It’s all about determination now.”
Richardson blamed the loss on himself because he failed to box out Artest on Bryant’s errant last shot.
“I boxed out every time but one,” he lamented.
But Nash said no one on this team is pointing fingers.
“We all make mistake and it’s misleading to pin the game on the last play when there were hundreds of plays at both ends of the court that determine the game,” Nash said. “We lost the game. J-Rich did a lot of great things for our team and we believe in him. We need him, so I don’t place any blame on him.”
Nash had a series high 29 points and 11 assists on Thursday night, his 117th playoff game, more than any other player in NBA history who has not made it to the finals. He didn’t expect to get this far with this undersized group of overachievers and the 36-year-old point guard may never get this close again.
“I thought we could make the playoffs. I thought we could get out of the first round and who knows what happens from there,” he said. “But to be right here with a real opportunity where we believe, that’s pretty outstanding and special.”
Steve is usually the one that sounds least confident in this kind of situation. I'm kind of surprised he's pulling an Amar'e.
He's gotta be vocal. The team's collective psyche is shattered. The confidence of Richardson, Frye, others needs to be pieced back together. Staying quiet won't do it this time. We'll see how everyone responds.
Queensbridge?
I'm not that worried about J-Rich. I expect him to bounce back. Hopefully he's not the only one.
That is nice and all that he is confident. Good for him. They are still going fishing tonight. Against the Lakers post-Houston series...you DONT go down 3-2 to them. Lakers smell blood which spells all kinds of trouble for the Suns. I fully expect LA to impose their will on them now. I expect them to come out focused and ready to play. Lakers won their last 4 closeout games and all were on the road. The streak extends to 5 in less than 24 hours.
Not too sure about that. That Phoenix bench came alive in Games 3 and 4 at home..and they even took their games on the road to LA in Game 5. Phoenix is confident that they can beat the Lakers now that they pushed them at home....
They "pushed" them after being down by 18 points. It's over. Lakers know how to close out series especially on the road. You don't go down 3-2 to these Lakers. Suns lost by some luck but they were also in that position due to luck.
I also heard how "confident" Denver was last year going into game 6. I know everyone here was saying they would force a game 7. How exactly did that game turn out?
The only way this goes 7 is if the Lakers let it go 7.
There is no way in you can compare last years Denver team to this years Phoenix team. This Phoenix team is a of lot more controlled than that Denver team. They are better coached, have a better PG, and play better with each other. Last years Nuggets got so far because of talent, but when brains came into play...they folded.
Suns just lost a game where they were down 18 at one point, got some lucky bounces to tie it and then that luck turned against them. They are down 3-2 to the defending champs. Suns haven't faced a situation like this all postseason. I am sure they will put up a good fight tomorrow. It just won't be enough. Lakers know how to close teams out now. Lakers don't want a game 7. They want to close this out tomorrow. When the Lakers come focused and hungry in a closeout game, good luck denying them the victory.
If you're a Celtics fan, wouldn't you want the Celtics to play the Suns in the Finals rather than the Lakers?
I think Celtic fans are foaming at the mouth for the Lakers.
Yeah, we saw that long before they were even close to winning the series they were chanting "Beat LA". They may have to wait till next year to beat LA because this Suns team is not folding.
Stop sucking Laker . They're the 4th best team in the NBA THIS YEAR... not an all time great team as you make them out to be
So many predictions. To be honest, none of us knows what will happen in game 6 on Saturday. Never count out the Suns. I don't care who they play. They are not intimidated by anyone (they got it out of their system in games 1 & 2 of the WCF series).
If a Celtics fan would rather play the Lakers than the Suns, what does it indicate? You must think Lakers are beatable and Suns are not (by the Celtics of course).
Suns played one of the worst games of the playoffs in game 5 and still tied the game with 3.5 sec left. But for a lucky bounce in the Lakers favor the game could have gone into OT. There's no way to tell what would have happened in the OT but what it does tell is that - 1) this Suns team can play against any team in the NBA, and 2) the Lakers are vulnerable right now.
Suns confidence has grown since the start of the series. I would not count them out, regardless of who they play.
Why would the Celtics or their fans want anything to do with Phoenix? The Lakers play a style the Celtics are comfortable with.
It all depends which Amare Stoudemire shows up. The scared in Games 1, 2, and 5 that was intimidated all game long and couldn't grab a rebound to save his life or the assertive Amare in Games 3 and 4 that was taking it at Gasol and Bynum and treating them as if they were midgets. If he does his Carlos Boozer imitation they're going home tomorrow. If he brings it like he's capable there will be a Game 7 (where he'll fold like a lawn chair).
If he was really confident, he would say they are confident they will win game 4... against Boston.
I don't. Pick'n'roll, shooting, quick perimeter bigs, transition game... nah, matching up with the Lakers is way more comfortable.
Jackson & Bryant will go for it tonite like they did in Game 3. Just have to hope when they thrust they'll have company this time around.
Confident Lakers responded to Nash's prediction by shoving game 6 in his face.
You should put him on your ignore list.
No need he's history now. Bye Bye Nash.
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