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"Pop"-ping off
05/12/2007 11:05 PM
http://www.azcentral.com/blogs/index...logtype=Sports
Before Game 3, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked about Amare Stoudemire's dirty accusations again.
"We're right up there with the Raiders and the Pistons," Popovich said. "We've been the big, bad, black-and-silver machine for decades."
It was supposed to be a joke. The reporters laughed.
But after the Spurs lived up to it, taking the Suns into the octagon that Kobe Bryant never did, some of the Suns were not laughing so much.
"If that's the way everybody wants to play it, then we'll play that way too," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said before angrily leaving his postgame conference.
They better because the Spurs were enjoying themselves a bit too much Saturday, from Tim Duncan's preening to Bruce Bowen's kneeing. Raja Bell did issue his summer workout friend a warning about the kick to Steve Nash's groin, a game after Bowen's questionable kick at the back of Amare Stoudemire's leg. But the Suns are going to need to be tougher in actions.
By player, let's review how the Suns lost a game in which it outshot its opponent. The Suns only lost six of 57 regular season games in which they outshot their opponent.
Shawn Marion. First, an apology for questioning whether he should still be shooting three-pointers. He has hit 5 of 10 threes this series so that obviously was shot down but you still have to wonder if it will last and if the Spurs aren't tickled that he's taking them rather than Leandro Barbosa, Raja Bell or Steve Nash. Marion broke out offensively for 26 points but he did misstep in a critical moment. Leading 60-59, Marion lost the ball going up for an easy layup and Bruce Bowen hit a three-pointer on the other end. San Antonio never trailed again. Moments later, Marion had his shot blocked by Duncan and protested the call. He wound up being the last downcourt and Bowen hit another wide open three because of it.
Kurt Thomas. He is not exactly shutting Duncan down or even limiting him. But he is giving Amare Stoudemire time off of Duncan and who knows how much faster Stoudemire would get in foul trouble otherwise. Thomas' mid-range jumper is his game. He got away from that in trying to drive three times, missing two layups and getting a traveling call.
Amare Stoudemire. It's fine to get some fouls on Duncan, even though he was rotating late on help and probably needs to learn just to let Duncan have a dunk sometimes. But the killer fouls were the ones he wasted on Robert Horry, who drove on him, and Fabricio Oberto, who flopped on a needless offensive move by Stoudemire because the ball wasn't on his side of the court. Stoudemire scored 21 points in 21 minutes. The Spurs still can't stop him if he's on the floor.
Raja Bell. Bell hit his first four three-pointer sin the game's first 14 minutes. The Spurs called time out after his last two came on consecutive trips and Bell never shot a three again. Bell said he could not explain why he did not get another shot. He was perturbed but it's not clear who had him upset.
Steve Nash. You just don't expect to see that type of game out of Nash. He was fine in the game's final 17 minutes but it was too late by then. He missed his first nine shots. You can complain all you want about how Bruce Bowen is allowed to manhandle him but Nash is still missing shots that he normally makes. He let Manu Ginobili poke the ball loose in the first quarter and Bowen stripped him in the second quarter. He lost a round-the-back dribble in the second and missed a jumper and a take to the hoop. He threw a pass out of bounds to Kurt Thomas to start the second half and had three straight trips in which he missed shots, including two drives against Duncan.
Leandro Barbosa. The Spurs have taken his impact out of the series. He has taken fewer shots with each game (17 to 13 to six) and looks like a careless young player again. He threw the ball twice to nobody and did not make a shot in the second half.
Boris Diaw. It looked like it was going to be a brilliant carryover from the way he finished Game 2. Diaw came in the game midway through the first quarter and looked aggressive, starting with making a jumper and then driving on Robert Horry and Duncan for first-quarter baskets. He made a nice inside move to split Duncan and Horry in the second quarter and drew a Duncan foul a play later. He had a 10-point, two-assist first half but it ended badly when he had to try to guard Duncan after Kurt Thomas' third foul. Then he had a scoreless, one-assist second half. He could not even score on his little buddy Tony Parker inside.
James Jones. There would be all zeroes on that line of 6:42 if he had not got fouled once. There was nothing memorable except for the time Diaw's pass went directly to Bowen because Jones did not run to the ball.
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Stoudemire’s walk fails to back up his talk
Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/89620
SAN ANTONIO - Amaré Stoudemire is an immensely talented player who one day may lead the Suns to an NBA championship. But he still has some growing up to do.
That was evident this past week by what he said — calling San Antonio’s Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili dirty players — and the way he played in Phoenix’s 108-101 Game 3 loss Saturday.
Or should that be the way he didn’t play?
Stoudemire was limited to 20 minutes because of foul trouble — including just seven minutes of the second half — and his absence crippled the Suns’ chances.
It also inspired the usually mild-mannered Tim Duncan to call Stoudemire out.
“(There were) a couple of comments between games and we had a chip on our shoulder,” Duncan said.
Stoudemire’s brash talk wouldn’t have been as big an issue if he had backed it up with a strong game Saturday.
The Suns expected him to. Coach Mike D’Antoni said Stoudemire loves to meet a challenge head on.
Unfortunately for Phoenix, Stoudemire never gave himself that opportunity. He played well when he was in the game, scoring 21 points with five rebounds, but the Suns can’t win if he’s on the court for just 20 minutes.
“He’s still figuring it out,” Steve Nash said. “He’s a young player that just got caught up in some tough situations and was on the bench. He’ll have to try to not let it happen again.”
As you would expect, Spurs’ fans had their homemade signs ready for Stoudemire. “Stoudewhiner,” read one. “Amaré Big Crybaby,” read another. “There’s No Crying In Basketball,” said a third.
When teammate Marcus Banks pointed out the signs before the game, Stoudemire laughed. He knew what he was in for after trashing Bowen and Ginobili. What he couldn’t anticipate was being chained to the bench.
“I just play hard out there and get penalized sometimes,” he said. “It’s tough to play so hard and not quite have things go your way.”
It’s one thing to play hard. It’s another thing to play smart, and Stoudemire failed in that regard Saturday.
Stoudemire picked up his third foul just 35 seconds into the second half when he went up to try to block a slam dunk attempt by Duncan. The foul call enraged coach Mike D’Antoni and mystified Stoudemire.
“I thought it was fairly clean,” he said. “(The official) didn’t explain it to me.”
Fifty seconds later, Stoudemire had his fourth foul when, trying to establish position in the lane, he needlessly bowled over San Antonio’s Fabricio Oberto.
Stoudemire didn’t play the rest of the period. D’Antoni inserted him into the game at the start of the fourth quarter to try to erase the Spurs’ 80-72 lead, but what did Stoudemire do?
Try to block another Duncan slam on which he picked up his fifth foul just 19 seconds into the quarter.
There are times to be aggressive. There are also times to back off and understand your team needs you on the floor.
“I guess you have to let a guy dunk at times,” Stoudemire said.
Before the game, Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich was asked about Stoudemire’s comments regarding Bowen and Ginobili for about, oh, the 100th time. Finally, he bit. “Amaré is a great player and he’s very young,” Popovich said. No other words were needed then. Or now.
It was supposed to be a joke. The reporters laughed.
But after the Spurs lived up to it, taking the Suns into the octagon that Kobe Bryant never did, some of the Suns were not laughing so much.
christ, WTF
Denver = Phoenix = Seattle....
God this is annoying.
Makes you wish you played Utah and then detroit.
At least the other town would ing respect you.
i actually thought the articles were well written for th emost part, and if anything called out the Suns and their players as oppose to simply crying blasphemy at the refs or putting down the Spurs
Yeah, I wouldn't compare those articles to that clown Kiszla. These were actually reasonably balanced takes, not the garbage spewed by that Denver ratbag. I give the Suns and the media down there credit - they've showed a lot more class (Amare and D'Antoni aside) than anyone in Denver showed.
^yeah....aside from D'antoni and amare And raja bell. no probs with suns...A mavs fan was yellin @ me today for what happend in our game saturday..stupid mav fans
Odd...seems like the Phoenix writers expect perfection from Nash. He did miss those shots against one of the best shot alters/blockers in the league. That might have something to do with it.
Eh-freakin-men!Stoudemire’s walk fails to back up his talk
Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/89620
SAN ANTONIO - Amaré Stoudemire is an immensely talented player who one day may lead the Suns to an NBA championship. But he still has some growing up to do.
Amare needs to STFU and start dominating the paint. He's really backed down from the physical play in the paint this season.
I'm not surprised that Suns fans don't understand what a physical basketball series is enough to understand that they aren't in one, but the writers in Phoenix are making basketball observations rather than hateful homer spew. I haven't seen a single article by a real writer that hasn't been well written and thoughtful.
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