5 for us and 5 for the Suns

[Leetonidas]

We are a completely different team than when we played the Spurs with Amare dominating. You have to take into account the players we had last year and this year. I actually think the Spurs have taken a step back, more so than the Suns or Mavs. You have gotten older and we have a young core still and a very skilled point guard in Nash who is feeling the best he ever has. Amare is not doing as bad as you all seem to think. He has been throwing down dunks and elevating very close to what he did before and he has been working on his fundamentals while rehabbing very hard this summer. The media in Phoenix likes to dramatize things a bit about Amare. He will get there. It is a twelve to eighteen month recovery period for this type of surgery so I think he is doing well from the games I have seen him in. Don't under estimate him or the Sun's.

Um, older? I believe Jackie Butler and Francisco Elson are younger than Rasho and Nazr, and Vaughn is younger than Van Exel.

[ponky]

haha, espn, that's cute...the only guy i ever really listen to when it comes to espn is mark stein...funny that scoop jackson picked the spurs to win it all, same guy who said the heat got ridiculous calls in their favor during the finals and that the finals of last season were a joke (not verbatim but basically he said the officiating was absurd)...i'm not necessarily agreeing but if you wanna post espn *expert* crap then remember what they said in the past and then consider the value of their *expertise*...i'm sure all of those suns predictions would have a big fat asterisk next to them because of amare

[samikeyp]

.funny that scoop jackson picked the spurs to win it all,

actually....Scoop has the Suns winning...not the Spurs.

[ponky]

Here are the fans results...they like Phoenix too, I see.

OMG, stop already. 7000 fans? Wow, that's an accurate assessment. Besides, these are probably fans that tune in right around May and have no clue as to what goes on during the season except for the occasional news like when Kobe drops 81 or when Artest charges into the stands. These are the same lame fans who vote for injured stars and guys who haven't played much during the season when it comes time for All-Star voting.

[ponky]

actually....Scoop has the Suns winning...not the Spurs.

Then he's even dumber than I thought. If it had been the Spurs he'd have at least some credibility, picking the Suns is downright moronic.

[samikeyp]

He also has the Rockets winning the SW division.

[dirk4mvp]

He also has the Rockets winning the SW division.

[ponky]

He also has the Rockets winning the SW division.

He should worry about two things: T-Mac's back and Nash's back...oh yeah, and of course, Amare. Dang, tomorrow can't come soon enoughm let the games begin!!!

[dirk4mvp]

Dang, tomorrow can't come soon enoughm let the games begin!!!

[Nashfan]

What I meant about the Spurs getting older is your core is older. Diaw is 23, Amare is 24,(he will start eventually), Marion 29, Nash 32, Bell 29, Thomas 33 (I think). Our bench is still young and athletic. Barbosa is 23, Banks 24 (I think), James Jones 25, Jumaine Jones 26 ( I think) and then we have veterans like Marks and EP. I hardly call Elson a quality player or Vaughn for that matter. Now Butler could be good eventually if he loses weight but he is also inexperienced. Bowen is slipping and I think a lot faster than Nash plus he is useless on offense for the most part. Parker cannot contain Nash either and Nash is a much better point guard all the way around so no comparison. Dallas would not have won if Raja had not been injured or if Amare and Thomas had not been injured. About the seeding, if you are the best you have to go through the best so our path to the Western Conference Finals was not any easier than yours. If you were that good you would have beat the Mavericks plain and simple.

[dirk4mvp]

Bowen is slipping and I think a lot faster than Nash

Like another poster here said, Bowen is ageless unless proven otherwise.


Nice post, btw

[RC's Boss]

What I meant about the Spurs getting older is your core is older. Diaw is 23, Amare is 24,(he will start eventually), Marion 29, Nash 32, Bell 29, Thomas 33 (I think). Our bench is still young and athletic. Barbosa is 23, Banks 24 (I think), James Jones 25, Jumaine Jones 26 ( I think) and then we have veterans like Marks and EP. I hardly call Elson a quality player or Vaughn for that matter. Now Butler could be good eventually if he loses weight but he is also inexperienced. Bowen is slipping and I think a lot faster than Nash plus he is useless on offense for the most part. Parker cannot contain Nash either and Nash is a much better point guard all the way around so no comparison. Dallas would not have won if Raja had not been injured or if Amare and Thomas had not been injured. About the seeding, if you are the best you have to go through the best so our path to the Western Conference Finals was not any easier than yours. If you were that good you would have beat the Mavericks plain and simple.

The Mavs/Spurs series was an epic battle of anic proportions. I don't mean to offend Mavs fans here, but some teams have other teams numbers, and until you get some sort of a defense out there in PHX we will ALWAYS own you jack! With or w/ out Amare, we own you. Get over it already... Calling us old. The only chance you had of making it out of the west was last year when the REAL WCF took place in the 2nd round. Pray you get a 1 or 2 seed, b/c if you don't.. you may have SA spanking your asses in the 2nd round! You guys kill me w/ this old . Miami should be called the grey foxes and they have the trophy! I can go back and forth w/ a Mavs fan and argue about dominance til I'm blue in the face... But a Suns fan is not an argument, it's a freaking joke.... I'm looking for the punchline to this !

[RC's Boss]

Marks sits on the pine in May And June

[Nashfan]

You are an idiot.

[5ToolMan]

I fail to see how age would be a bigger problem for the suns considering only nash and thomas are really oldish.

spurs are more easily to struggle through a long season and playoffs due to the age factor and lack of depth.

of course it all depends on duncan's health. He could bounce back really well or continue to decline.

will be an interesting season.

So the word is the Spurs "got old" and have "no depth" when they have essentially traded Rasho, Nazr, NVE and the Aussie for younger, faster and more athletic replacements. LOL!

Elson can run the floor better than any big in the league and has both a mean streak around the hoop and a better midrange shot than either Nazr or Rasho. Butler will be a much better post scorer once he is in gets in the shape the Spurs will demand and gets used to his role with this team. Williams is a much better defender than anything lost. And JV is bound to have more in the tank than the sputtering NVE managed to deliver last year.

If the big three stay healthy there is plenty of youth and plenty of hand selected pleyers with just the correct experiance to give Spurs fans a of a ride, and other teams fans plenty to cry about for the next few years.

[elbamba]

What I meant about the Spurs getting older is your core is older. Diaw is 23, Amare is 24,(he will start eventually), Marion 29, Nash 32, Bell 29, Thomas 33 (I think). Our bench is still young and athletic. Barbosa is 23, Banks 24 (I think), James Jones 25, Jumaine Jones 26 ( I think) and then we have veterans like Marks and EP. I hardly call Elson a quality player or Vaughn for that matter. Now Butler could be good eventually if he loses weight but he is also inexperienced. Bowen is slipping and I think a lot faster than Nash plus he is useless on offense for the most part. Parker cannot contain Nash either and Nash is a much better point guard all the way around so no comparison. Dallas would not have won if Raja had not been injured or if Amare and Thomas had not been injured. About the seeding, if you are the best you have to go through the best so our path to the Western Conference Finals was not any easier than yours. If you were that good you would have beat the Mavericks plain and simple.

I must take issue with a few things you said.
1. Parker cannot contain Nash? Parker has been kicking Nash's butt since his second year in the league. Parker is not as good a passer as Nash, but he blows by him every time and it becomes a liability to the Suns because Nash certainly can't gaurd Manu.

2. Common sense would show you that the two LA teams were nothing compared to Sac and Dallas. We took Dallas to 7 and lost by a few points in most of our games. How did the Suns do?
We lost to the Mavs and they beat us fair and square, but nobody with rational thinking would say the Suns had to play teams that were just as good as the Spurs.

[elbamba]

One last thing, how many times have Nash's teams beaten Parker's in the playoffs?

[YoMamaIsCallin]

You are an idiot.

No, anyone who says "us" and "our" when talking about an NBA team is an idiot. You are not a member of, or associated with, the Phoenix Suns. OK? Get over it.

[YoMamaIsCallin]

Nash certainly can't gaurd Manu

Nash can't guard the screen door on my porch.

[ploto]

If the Suns hadn't been so beaten down, they could have knocked out Dallas in the WC Finals.

[ploto]

Elson can run the floor better than any big in the league and has both a mean streak around the hoop and a better midrange shot than either Nazr or Rasho.

Williams is a much better defender than anything lost.

Someone's had one too many sips of the Kool-aid.

[Leetonidas]

Someone's had one too many sips of the Kool-aid.

Eh, but I do agree that Elson runs the floor very well for a big.

[Leetonidas]

You are an idiot.

So says the owned Suns fan.

[Zunni]

What I meant about the Spurs getting older is your core is older. Diaw is 23, Amare is 24,(he will start eventually), Marion 29, Nash 32, Bell 29, Thomas 33 (I think). Our bench is still young and athletic. Barbosa is 23, Banks 24 (I think), James Jones 25, Jumaine Jones 26 ( I think) and then we have veterans like Marks and EP. I hardly call Elson a quality player or Vaughn for that matter. Now Butler could be good eventually if he loses weight but he is also inexperienced. Bowen is slipping and I think a lot faster than Nash plus he is useless on offense for the most part. Parker cannot contain Nash either and Nash is a much better point guard all the way around so no comparison. Dallas would not have won if Raja had not been injured or if Amare and Thomas had not been injured. About the seeding, if you are the best you have to go through the best so our path to the Western Conference Finals was not any easier than yours. If you were that good you would have beat the Mavericks plain and simple.

ATL is young too. Doesn't mean much. PHO plays gimmick basketball, fun to watch, but they'll be golfing some time in May. It's like the Run 'n' shoot offense in the NFL 10 years ago. Teams were piling up loads of points...in the regular season. No run and shoot team ever made it to the SB. PHO also made it to the WCF because of a seeding anomaly the first year of 3 divisions per conference that matched the top 2 teams in the West in the second round. That glitch has been fixed.

[ploto]

Um, older? I believe Jackie Butler and Francisco Elson are younger than Rasho and Nazr, and Vaughn is younger than Van Exel.

Elson is older than both Rasho and Nazr.