Nah Phoenix hasnt figured anything out.....

[cherylsteele]

Boutons the genius brought it up.

He also said the Spurs were terrible on the road.

.

T Park......were you not one of those who lost confidence and jumped off the wagon during the Seattle series?

Part of the reason our road record was not as good as hoped was at the end of the year Timmy was hurt and Manu was hobbled with a groin injury...or a thigh bruise...can't remember which it was......plus Rasho was hurt and all those injuries disrupted the chemistry.

[SPARKY]

The Suns have some fouls sitting on that bench and putting the Spurs on the line is probably a better proposition than trying to beat them in an open court game. The Suns got back into the game on Saturday night when they slowed it down, ran some plays, and also did their best to D up. Sure, it's an uphill climb for them but it's not entirely out of the question that they can play that way for a night and put themselves into a position to get the W.

Seattle pushed the Spurs to nearly 7 games doing that.

[waly.mg]

WAIT A MINUTE:

The Suns´s problems, isn´t to guard TD or TP now, it´s if they can win with 92 points in offense

They have now, they offense problems too

The problem is SA deffense, not SA offense

[waly.mg]

The Suns have some fouls sitting on that bench and putting the Spurs on the line is probably a better proposition than trying to beat them in an open court game. The Suns got back into the game on Saturday night when they slowed it down, ran some plays, and also did their best to D up. Sure, it's an uphill climb for them but it's not entirely out of the question that they can play that way for a night and put themselves into a position to get the W.

Seattle pushed the Spurs to nearly 7 games doing that.

May be, but the Suns don´t have points in the bench

[SPARKY]

Nash, JJohnson, and Stoudemire are quite capable in the halfcourt. Again, it's if the Suns can commit themselves to playing like that for a game. Defensively, they can pack the paint, run some zone, and force the Spurs to make some shots.

Two years ago Spurs fans saw their team was one win away from the NBA Finals and were calling that series over. Relax? no.

[SPARKY]

They use the bench for bodies up front. If D'Antoni is desperate (and smart) enough perhaps he changes up his game plan.

[MadDog73]

Seattle pushed the Spurs to nearly 7 games doing that.

Lies. The Sonics won one game. "Nearly seven games..." Give me a break.

Game 3 was a Spurs' loss, pure and simple. Two free throws or Tim making his shot at the end, would have probably meant a sweep.

No matter. Let's say you're right, the Suns play their best and the Spurs their worse, and the Suns win.

They have to do that 3 more times to win the series.

Care to make a bet on that happening?

[SPARKY]

Lies. The Sonics won one game. "Nearly seven games..." Give me a break.

Game 3 was a Spurs' loss, pure and simple. Two free throws or Tim making his shot at the end, would have probably meant a sweep.

No matter. Let's say you're right, the Suns play their best and the Spurs their worse, and the Suns win.

They have to do that 3 more times to win the series.

Care to make a bet on that happening?

You want to bet on whether the Sonics won only one game? Did you watch that series? That series was one shot from heading back to SA for an elimination game.

[ChumpDumper]

It's too late to change strategies. Bosco and Outlaw have combined for a grand total of two minutes in the entire playoffs -- rust doesn't begin to describe them. We might see more Hunter but that's about it. I'd be very surprised otherwise.

[spurster]

I don't see how the Suns could win playing this way. They have had next to zero experience playing a tough D game.

[MadDog73]

You want to bet on whether the Sonics won only one game? Did you watch that series? That series was one shot from heading back to SA for an elimination game.

, yeah. As soon as Tim had that look in his eye, I knew the series was over. I knew we'd find a way to win.

Look, your a pessimist, I'm an optimist. You say we were one shot away from losing. I say we were one Tim Duncan shot in Game 3 away from a sweep.

To be clear, I know the Spurs lost 2 games vs Seattle. But Game 3 was more a Spurs loss, than a Seattle win, if you take my meaning. That's what I meant when I said that the Sonics only really won one game: Game 4.

[SPARKY]

I don't see how the Suns could win playing this way. They have had next to zero experience playing a tough D game.

They have guys who can play in the halfcourt on the offensive end. If they do what they can defensively to limit penetration and force the Spurs to work offensively then that would probably be enough for them. The Spurs can look like an offensive juggernaut in a run and gun game but if you slow it down they are susceptible to struggling. The 4th quarter of Game 3 is a good example of that.

[2centsworth]

As I said when the series began, Jake Voskhul is the white flag. If he plays Phoenix has given up on everything they did to win 62 games.

[MadDog73]

They have guys who can play in the halfcourt on the offensive end. If they do what they can to limit penetration and force the Spurs to work offensively then that would probably be enough for them. The Spurs can look like an offensive juggernaut in a run and gun game but if you slow it down they are susceptible to struggling. The 4th quarter of Game 3 is a good example of that.

Just curious Sparky, are you picking the Suns to win tonight?

FACT: As bad as the Spurs played in the 4th quarter, we still won. Spurs won't give it away tonight. Have faith.

[ChumpDumper]

The 4th quarter of Game 3 is a good example of that.

Then we should see more zone and 5 down from them, not Seattle defense.

[exstatic]

Seattle was able to do it because they actually play defense, and they have a bevy of four bigs who can bang, whack you in the head, and rebound. That's like 24 free fouls, since they don't rely on their post scoring. Suns rely on Amare as their primary scorer, and really only have Hunter to bring in as a big, so they're much less likely to use their big men fouls on penetrators.

With a seven man rotation, they really can't afford to play bang bang defense.

[cherylsteele]

You want to bet on whether the Sonics won only one game? Did you watch that series? That series was one shot from heading back to SA for an elimination game.

Let see.....

Spurs won 4 games
Seattle won 2

One shot still would not have made a difference.

Spurs advance....Sonics are fishing at the pond behind the Boenig plant.

[NASHville]

It's time for Steve to step up!

[spurschick]

It's time for Steve to step up!

Actually, I think he has. He's just not getting a lot of help. To ask your starters to play those kinds of minutes every single game is brutal. Especially at this level. The Suns need a bench.

[exstatic]

It's time for Steve to step up!

Nash hasn't been the problem. He's had only one subpar game.

[MadDog73]

It's time for Steve to step up!

Nash has already been playing the best he can. Do you think he and Amare can play better?

Suns are a great team, and they gave San Antonio their all. Spurs are just better, with more experience, and a deeper bench.

[spur219]

Clog the lane. Phoenix can't do that. Their team defense is too weak. They haven't done it all season and all of a sudden they think they can turn the switch and play defense to where they can clog the lane and turn it up. The Suns are heavily mistaken. The Suns played a nearly perfect game in game 2 and lost. The only hope the Suns have of winning is if the Spurs lose the games themselves.

[NASHville]

It sucks not having a bench and I give props to the Spurs for having one of the best if not THE best benches in the league.
I love the Suns but even with a win tonight it is just prolonging the inevitable conclusion to this series.

[Spurminator]

I'll wait until they actually succeed with this strategy before giving them credit for "figuring" anything out.

The Suns maximized their potential this year, winning 62 games with a very distinct style. And while I don't blame them for trying something different in the face of a 4-0 elimination where they really have nothing to lose, I'm not all that fearful of a team diverting from an approach that won 62 games for them this year... and using an approach that plays into our usual gameplan.

[3 Ring Timmy]

I say bring it on,we love games when our opponent scores under 80.There cooked,the Spurs are the class of league,it`s over!