I feel.....Sorry for them

[ObiwanGinobili]

I feel sorry for Steve Nash.
thast about it.
He's a nice guy, works hard and plays without a lot of caveman chest beating.
*sigh*


ok, i'm done, moved on.. my moment of pity has passed.
SPURS KICK ASS!

[CosmicCowboy]

Do I feel sorry for the Suns? Yes and No...and heres the breakdown...

I feel sorry for:

Steve Nash...talk about highs/lows...the man gets dumped from his team so they can sign Erick Friggen Dampier......turns a struggling team around and wins the league MVP and gets the award on the night of the first game of the West Finals with the Spurs at home with well deserved home court advantage...then despite superhuman effort/performance setting an alltime record 4 straight games in the playoffs with 25+/10+ meets a Spurs team that steps it up to brand new level...(be honest Spurs fans...anyone that predicted the Spurs would shoot 70% in the fourth quarters of games one and two before the series started would have been laughed out of this forum)...and wins the first three on the way to a probable sweep...what an awful way to end a season...Spurs fans...remember David Robinsons MVP trophy that he keeps in the closet to this day?...thats what Nash feels like...it's hard to gloat about something like that especially if you have been a long time Basketball/Spurs fan...

I feel sorry for Suns fans...they have been the classiest fans we have met in the playoffs and for the most part I have really appreciated their participation in this forum...Even the newest of Spurs posters should remember that "lowest of the low stomach churning want to puke" feeling we all got last spring getting swept out of the playoffs...show a little class guys...

I DON'T feel sorry for the Suns because:

Like the Spurs, they have their core of Nash, Stoudamire, and Marion, and Q locked up for several years...this series could be the crucible that forges their resolve to work hard and come back next year and prevail...or they could implode...but this team likes winning and has fun doing it...my guess is that they pull together and go back to the drawing board and start building a team to beat the Spurs just like the Spurs went back year after year to build a team to beat the Lakers...the fact that the Lakers imploded just at the time that formula was perfected doesn't change the fact that it gave the Spurs the motivation to continue to seek perfection individually and collectively year after year...

The overwhelming consensus in this forum seems to be that the Suns "can't" play defense...you guys are whistling in the dark on that one...they can and will learn to play defense and my bet is that Stoudamire will continue to improve...big guys typically don't reach their prime till 26 or 27 and Tim Duncan was just coming out of college when he was Stoudamire's age...and had the luxury of playing next to David Robinson in his formative NBA years...The Suns can and will learn to play better help defense and if it slows their run and gun game down that devastating pick and roll of theirs works just as well out of a half court offense...and will continue to be effective as long as Nash holds out...his game is predicated on ball handling and phenomenal court vision and shooting instead of quickness and athleticism...and he could be effective for many years to come (see John Stockton)...

The Suns biggest weakness is their bench...and it may take two or three years for them to fix that but don't forget that D'Antoni is probably the best connected coach in the NBA to the European league...in case you have forgotten he was a Spurs European scout that gave them the initial heads-up to watch for Manu Ginobili in the draft...

The Suns have a very bright future and we are their "Lakers" now...they have all summer and almost 100 games to build a team to beat us...

THAT BEING SAID...Lets sweep these guys, get healthy, and start getting ready for Pistons/Heat...

[CosmicCowboy]

bump...I can't believe the homers are gonna let that post drop off the page...

[Rydia]

I feel sorry for Nash!
He is the leagues reigning MVP and he can't even get to the basket with our 'rookie' Tony Parker. Tony has been the man with him!
It was also kind of sad that the whole crowd was yelling "MVP!" AT Tim Duncan when Nash was standing right there. That sucks...But it was awesome!! I was yelling at my TV so happy with all of you that went to the game! You did us proud!

And then I don't feel sorry for them when I see dumb Amare. Hey, At least they got beat by the CHAMPIONS. Right?

[RobinsontoDuncan]

That was a good breakdown Cosmic, and yeah I think with D'Antoni they may retool very quickly on their bench.

[Tom_Foolery]

I hope the Spurs beat them so bad that it puts permanent fear in their hearts every time they step on the floor with Tim, Tony, and Manu.


This is the same team that "questioned" the Spurs integrity by saying that Pop purposely held Tim & Manu out of the last regular season meeting just to put "doubt" in their heads and that we were afraid of playing them with a full squad.

Forget it. I hope we beat them so bad they cry, I honestly do.


They wanted the Spurs at full force, well they got them.

Moral of the story is: becareful for what you wish for.

No mercy.

"Sweep the leg, Johnny. You got a problem with that? NO MERCY!"

[foodie2]

Pop purposely held Tim & Manu out of the last regular season meeting just to put "doubt" in their heads

Anybody think now that Pop really did do that? I think he did, and it was a great move.

[Tom_Foolery]

Anybody think now that Pop really did do that? I think he did, and it was a great move.

Yeah, Pop sure fooled us!

He continued that little game by holding out Manu & Tim even longer after that Phoenix game.


Does anyone else have a feeling this is a SUNS troll?

[beirmeistr]

I tend to agree with Catharsis. I think the Suns would kick Detroit's ass off the court...in fact I watched the Suns do just that late in the season.

Contrary to what the Pistons' like to claim...they can't run, they are too slow to do it, and they don't have any great finishers other than Prince(and maybe Rasheed).

They got their asses kicked off the court by just about every "healthy" running team they played this season...

OTOH...I think they might just be the best half court OFFENSIVE team in the NBA, their offense is so decentralized it's very hard to predict where it is going to come from....and their money scoring comes from the hardest area on the court to defend in the half court set. But they still couldn't stop the Phoenix running game in the game I watched...and they were trying very hard to do so...


Phoenix just slapped them in the final moments of the game...and left them standing there holding their asses with a funny looking expression on their faces.


The Pistons have two very blatant weaknesses(Pistons still in 6 though)...they are not a fast team, and they have absolutely no post scoring presence...Period. I'd say that their frontcourt is kind of small too, cept for Sheed...but it doesn't matter because of the types of games Billups and Hamilton have...they still get their bigs plenty of shots...and those guys are totally comfortable scoring out on the perimeter or from midrange...

I also think Phoenix might be too strong offensively for the Pistons. Hopefully, we won't have to find out in this year's finals. I don't feel sorry for Phoenix---their future is too bright for that---their problem was that they ran up against the juggernaut the Spurs can be when they play well as a team. But I think if the Suns had played as well as they did in the first two games of this series and their opponent was either Detroit or Miami, they would have been up 2-0 against either one. just my opinion. PS---I think the Spurs will win game 4.

[mookie2001]

as long as steve nash stops aging
theyll be fine

[whottt]

I think D'antoni has done the best with what he had, yeah he needed to focus more on D(I bet he will in the future)...but he doesn't have the personnel to be a great half court team, he doesn't have the personnel to be a great defensive team...

Amare can't guard Duncan but their best chance in beating us lies with him defending Duncan...ditto Marion playing PF and all their starters logging heavy minutes.

What D'antoni did this season was pretty amazing...if he gets the personnel to shore up their weaknesses and doesn't act on it, then he'll deserve criticism IMO, but he doesn't deserve any criticism for winning 62 games, and having the best record in the NBA, with a team that was in the lottery last year.

D'antoni got the most out of the type of talent he has to work with.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

He can get that personel too, if he can pick up the players he wants from europe

[Catharsis]

I feel sorry for Nash!
He is the leagues reigning MVP and he can't even get to the basket with our 'rookie' Tony Parker. Tony has been the man with him!
It was also kind of sad that the whole crowd was yelling "MVP!" AT Tim Duncan when Nash was standing right there. That sucks...But it was awesome!! I was yelling at my TV so happy with all of you that went to the game! You did us proud!

What? Nash is averaging 26 pts per game this series with Parker guarding him--looks like he's getting to the basket to me. That's over 10 pts over his scoring avg for during the season. Is Parker that bad of a defender?

And it's hard to call someone in their 4th season a "rookie."

[mavsfan1000]

San Antonio is not letting Nash get a bunch of assist. If they let Nash score 30 and only have 3 assist against an offensive juggernaut in the suns San Antonio wins.

[Catharsis]

That remains to be seen. Remember - Minnesota won the most games in the West last season, and didn't even make the playoffs this year. They still had a lot of the same players; it was the personalities that poisoned their results. Team chemistry is important to any team, but maybe more so to Phoenix because that offense really needs to mesh well to work. I heard some of Amare's comments about Nash winning the MVP award. I wonder how Amare is going to feel next season, knowing that he is making $2.5 Million, while Nash is Making $9.5 Million, and Shawn Marion is making $12.5 million. Some players would be satisfied knowing that their time for the big payday will come soon enough. I don't think Amare is one of those kinds of players.

...

The Suns' players have all had career seasons this year, and ran the run-and-gun offense about as well as it could be done. Even so, there was a case to be made at the end of the year that you can't win a championship without defense. But if the Suns slow down to play defense, I guarantee you the players will never shine the way they did this year. And if the (new?) guys aren't hitting 3-pointers at a record pace, the other teams are going to be able to sag on Amare a lot more.

Who knows? Maybe the Suns will be contenders for several years to come. But I wouldn't start talking "dynasty" just yet.

Minnesota is a poor comparision. They had many of the same players, but they were not the same team. Cassell is 35 and Spreewell is 34. Ervin Johnson is 37. Szczerbiak Hudson and Cassell were hurt a good chunk of the year while never really making an impact. And then there was Eddie Griffin who's a head case.

With the exception of Nash, the Suns team is young.

Amare Stoudemire: 22
Leandro Barbosa: 22
Steven Hunter: 23
Joe Johnson: 23
Quentin Richardson: 25
Shawn Marion: 27
Steve Nash: 31
Jim Jackson: 34

That's their core--or at least the players who actually play. All of them are under contract next season with the exception of Joe Johnson who is a restricted free agent. Rumors are he'll be resigned as Phx isn't convinced they can be as competetive without him--and they're right. The Suns have put themselves enough in the black this season that they would consider dipping into the luxury tax.

As for Joe Johnson and his 3pt shooting average jumping up this year, well, there's a reason he did really poor in the 3 pt shootout this year. He needs the ball passed to his chest to put himself in position to shoot. He almost never hits a three off the dribble. Usually it's off a fast break where he's wide open. As long as that continues, he's going to be one of the most accurate 3 pt shooters in the league. He forced a lot of bad shots last season. Richardson, on the other hand, reminds me of Dan Majerle. Like Majerle Richardson was a scrappy player who got his pts off of taking it to the rim. The offense was so good at fast breaks that he kept stepping back and bombing. If the Suns ever slowed it down a bit he would actually benefit the most, imho. It pissed me off when Majerle was comfortable with staying back and taking the 3. In his early days he was the guy who dunked over Bol.



I wish Q would find more of that game.

But the Suns have a decent amount of roster flexibility this off season with three players definitely gone (McCarty, Outlaw, and Shirley). They may waive or trade Voskuhl and if Johnson isn't resigned, they will have A LOT of financial flexibility to sign a top defender--he'll just need to have some scoring ability for D'Antoni to want him. Illguaskas is available (although over priced), as well as Mutombo and Swift. But who am I kidding, they will probably go after Luke Walton.

[Catharsis]

San Antonio is not letting Nash get a bunch of assist. If they let Nash score 30 and only have 3 assist against an offensive juggernaut in the suns San Antonio wins.

No doubt, but they also let him get 13 and 15 in the first two games. One game doesn't mean they've shut him down.