I think the answer for the loss is clear: Manu, Parker, Finley, Bowen, and Barry all couldn't buy a shot tonight. Duncan cannot win by himself, and even he couldn't hit it in he 4th.
Some of that has to be credited to the Suns's improved defense (Bell on Manu, Marion on Parker) but that doesn't explain everyone else's collective failure offensively.
But the Spurs were getting a lot of lousy offensive foul calls early on in the game, and that may have made them less aggressive offensively. They can't let that happen, and I suspect it won't in SA, where the calls will be more likely to go their way. They have to punish the Suns defense, which shouldn't be able to stop them like it did tonight, because it's not that good.
While the focus is understandably on his defense, he also went 6-7 and had 12 points- almost all off mid-range jumpshots.I see him as +22 and +29 now for the series. That's the highest out of anybody on either team. All eight times Thomas has been on the court, the Suns have grown their lead.
But yeah, Spurs fans laughed at me when I said D'Antoni made a great move by putting Thomas into the starting lineup. The Spurs played like they didn't think much of the move either.
I didn't see the game but I don't buy into this great Suns defensive thing. It sounds to me like it was just an off night at everything from free throws to effort. I'm not exactly worried about the Suns defense, nor the Spurs' effort come Game 3. So the Spurs lost by 20 to a damn good team desperate for a win in front of their home crowd. Give me a damn break! It happens! No, the series isn't over, but I am all but positive the Spurs will make adjustments, maybe even survive a scare in Game 3 or 4, but will ultimately win this probably in 5. Phoenix had their moment. The Spurs now have nearly 4 days to soak this in and make their adjustments. Don't expect Manu to be a bystander on offense starting Saturday, and if Phoenix goes single coverage on Tim again, they will pay.
manu is sucking nuts right now. bottom line is that w/o him this series is over. he needs to score and take the burden off parker as the only slasher and collapser of defense. barry needs to find his nutz and pop/the whole ing team needs to stop underestimating this team
I thought so too, at first, but then I watched some of the game again. They were pretty good at keeping the guards out of the paint. We couldn't move the ball very well with no penetration and it ended up being one of those flashback games where we feed Duncan and all the guards kindof stand around watching Duncan post up Thomas. The Suns are content to let that happen, if they can force everyone else to be jump shooters. Couple this with a bad shooting night and you get a 20 point blowout. Pop better adjust to this quick or the Spurs will be in trouble.
I think a BIG difference between this Suns team and the Suns teams we've beaten in the past is Raja Bell. He's pretty good at keeping Manu in check.
The bottom line is this...
Either the Spurs lost because they just had a bad night against a Suns team desperate not to lose, or they lost because the Suns are indeed a much better overall team. Right now, I think it's the former. Game 3 will tell us which.
Hopefully, the Spurs got that one bad game out of their systems and will get back to their dominating form. They need to lay a beating on PHX in Game 3...that will make me feel more confident that they can actually win the series and go on to win the le.
my how the tide has turned.
Only grade that matters is this one -
F----------
Pathetic performance all around, can't blame them but still ... it was pathetic.
Elson deserves an F.... The dude simply can't finish around the basket and the slightest touch causes him to fumble the ball on his way to the hoop. He annoys me to no end. And his rebounding instincts down right suck. He had 3 rebounds snatched away from him simply because he couldn't hold on to them. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!
Any defense that can get away with single coverage on Duncan is a great defense against the Spurs.
How did Elson not get an F? Even by Elson standards, that was miserable. I felt embarassed for him the way he was fumbling the basketball. It's like he's afraid of the ball.
He makes Nazr "Butterfingers" Mohammed look like a ball-handling god.
If we keep him, he seriously needs to work on the fundamentals.
Timmay was good to go and ready to win as usual. I give him an A- for not playing quarterback very well...but the DTs did come pretty slow. I think Coach PopAzit was horrible. He needed to motivate his team and kick them in the ass. Veteran team or not, they need a reminder of what's at stake here.
I will forward all questions regarding Elson to Elson's fan club presidents Aggie Hoopsfan, T Park and Obstructed View.
I hope this doesn't mean I'm gonna be forwarded the Manu questions.
I don't think they are going to double him much nomatter what. He basically had his way with Thomas but they seem to be wanting to try and shut down our other players and let Tim do what he wants. If the main issue is double teams i don't see him getting very many of them nomatter who is guarding him.
LOL at someone having to mention duncan 1 on 1 is the best possible option on the offensive end
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