I'll admit it

by Dan on May 4, 2007 5:06 PM MDT in Suns News

The Suns game is about 48 hours away and I'll admit it, I'm scared. If there is one team I dread playing, it's the Spurs. It just seems they have had the Suns' number the past several seasons. The Dallas Mavericks barely got by the Spurs in the playoffs last season and this year after the Spurs got beat by the Nuggets in the first game, Greg Popovich turned his team around and they swept the rest of the 5 game series.

I have been looking at Pounding the Rock to get a feeling as to whether the Spurs fans are more wary of the Phoenix Suns or the Dallas Mavericks but couldn't really get a feel for it.

Do I think the Suns can beat the Spurs in a 7 game series? Of course! I think the Suns are the best team in the league. But I also think the Spurs are #2 and there isn't that much of a difference. If the Spurs can figure out how to slow the game down over the series, the Suns are in a world of hurt.

A lot of people point to the last game between the Spurs and the Suns in the regular season to show that the Spurs are going to beat the Suns quickly. But in that game the Suns weren't shooting well and actually had a chance to win the game at the end despite scoring so few points and shooting so poorly. In reality, if the Suns would have hit just a few more open jumpers and made a few more free throws, that game would have been theirs.

The Suns are favored by 4 in the game on Sunday. I just don't know what to expect. What are you thoughts on the game on Sunday? Will the Suns blow out the Spurs? Will they win a close game? Get beat by the Spurs?

The good thing is the Suns have home court advantage throughout the playoffs now that Dallas is gone. We have the Warriors to thank for that. But as we saw with the Mavericks, home court advantage doesn't do much if you can't win on your home court.

Let me know your thoughts. This isn't the game thread but I want to get a conversation going since the game still isn't for 2 days.

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Couple of quick notes on my way out the door

How addicted am I to this board if I can't leave for a nice weekend with family without first checking in here first? :)

Anyway, I think the Suns' key to beating the Spurs is simple: They have to find a way not to get killed on the boards. The Suns can survive a bad shooting night, even against the Spurs, and no matter what anybody says, they can win a slow-down game too. What they can't survive is getting out-rebounded by 20 every night (especially when those 20 are of the offensive variety). The Suns are pretty good at stopping the opponent's first shot attempt from going in, but it all gets negated when they give the other team extra opportunities. So, I think rebounding is key number one.

Key number 2? The Suns have to stay true to who they are. They are a team that runs, shares the ball, and keeps everyone involved. They can't turn into a "just feed Amare and let him score 40 every night" team a la 2005 and expect to win. That doesn't work for Kobe, and it won't work for the Suns either. It's time for the Suns to force the Spurs to play the Suns way, not the other way around. If they do that, I like their chances a lot this time around.

by TexSUN on May 4, 2007 6:00 PM MDT 0 recs

I agree

I think rebounding will be the key. The Suns don't have to match or beat the Spurs in rebounding, but they do need to stay close (within 2 rebounds- just a wild guess). I also agree that the Suns have to get everyone contributing. Kurt Thomas needs to get more minutes. If the Spurs have a weakness, it's defending the mid range shot (from what I read; I am no expert). The Suns have at least 3 players that can shoot well from around 15 feet (Kurt, Amare, Boris). In fact I think those three will be the key to winning.

One area where the Suns lead the Spurs is FT shooting. They must exploit this to the max, which means they absolutely must make the most of any FT opportunities. They missed a lot of them against LAL and got away with it. They cannot do that against the Spurs. This is where they can make up the difference.

I expect Nash to play well because he (and LB too) always puts forth the best effort. I don't think he needs to have a 23-assist game against the Spurs but a high number of assists bodes well for the Suns. It means their style is having success.

This will be the toughest series for the Suns. The home court advantage matters only if 7 games are played. The Suns absolutely must win every home game. If the drop one, they have to make sure they win one in SA. I expect this to happen.

The Spurs are proven champions. The Suns have a great opportunity to prove to themselves that they are a championship caliber team (but not champions yet, if they do succeed in beating the Spurs).

As a pessimist, I have a feeling that the Spurs are going to win this series. That is a good thing. If I felt confident about the Suns winning, I would be worried. :)

I am a little neutral about W/L in game 1. May be it's based on the Denver series. Remember that the Spurs did not exactly blow away the Nuggets after the Nugs won the first game, but the Spurs did exactly what was needed to win. That's what scares me about them. I hope the Suns can overcome that, and close out the games against the Spurs- something that Nuggets could not do. In retrospect the Suns are a better team than the Nuggets, and I hope they can find a way to win.

by Vash01 on May 4, 2007 7:11 PM MDT 0 recs

From what I've heard

from most spurs fans they had feared the mavs more, well that was before the mavs had an embarassing first round exit. I think it's just b/c the mavs got over the hump last year of beating the spurs and the suns just have to do that. The common mindset for many spurs fans seems to be the old "we beat them with amare a few years ago" blahblah "suns don't play defense" blahblah. It'll be interesting!

by alta on May 4, 2007 8:04 PM MDT 0 recs

Suns vs Spurs

The Suns first game has to be a blowout to give them a mental edge over the Spurs, who everyone knows have beaten the Suns in the regular season. However, I think Phoenix's hunger for the title is so strong that they will overcome the regular season losses to
come out on top at the end of this series because it will pretty much go the distance with both teams fighting all the way. The Spurs have been beaten before and they are not invincible so the Suns need to get that edge over them and rattle their cage a little and that will be their edge. Another point, keep Duncan and Ginobilli under constant pressure and let the pieces fall where they may....

"THE SUNS IN 6......!!!!!" GO SUNS!!!!!

by lalbert on May 4, 2007 8:28 PM MDT 0 recs

What worries me.....

is that those whining "non fouling" spurs cry/flop themselves a few fouls called their way. They know that they can't beat us without the help of the refs.

by USMCGUNZ on May 4, 2007 8:42 PM MDT 0 recs

You guys had some great comments...

until that last one. People start saying that the Spurs are whiners b/c they can't stand the fact that the Spurs have had so much success [as if all the other teams don't whine, at least those that want to win]. Same thing with 'flopping'.

The fact is, the Spurs are confident that they can defeat the Suns straight up. Yet they also greatly respect the Suns. Concerning alta's comments, no matter what some Spurs fans might say, the Spurs themselves know that the Suns play better defense and are mentally tougher than two years ago.

by Key on May 5, 2007 1:15 AM MDT 0 recs

Cmon now....even you have to admit.....

Every single...and I mean every single foul that is called on Duncan, he argues, pouts and gets mad. There is nothing wrong with arguing a call every once in awhile, but every single one? He will beat you to death in the paint, but when somebody does the same thing to him...he wants a foul. Ginoblli, will put his shoulder down and drive to the hole and run over anything thats in his way, but when somebody brushes by him....somehow he seems to slide halfway down the court....and don't get me started on Bowen. I mean if your going to play that way...fine, but don't get cry when you get caught, JUST PLAY THE GAME. If your going to play physical, then be prepared to get what you give. This series has the potential to be one of the greatest in along while. I do respect the Spurs...even though it may not sound like it...thats a heck of a squad with the above mentioned players along with Parker and Horry.

by USMCGUNZ on May 5, 2007 4:33 AM MDT 0 recs

Spurs = Suns Nemesis

As much as I can't stand the Lakers, the reality is that the Spurs are the one team in the L that I'm not 100% positive the Suns can beat. I'm with you Dan, I think the Suns can win, but those robots make me very nervous.

That said, I do think that for the 3rd year in a row, the Suns can beat any team in the NBA if they are healthy and on their game. I liked our chances 2 years ago until JJ broke his face, and I'm certain the Suns would be the defending champs if Raja's calf hadn't popped last year.

Bill Simmons' article a while back about Nash and the Suns hit the nail on the head: Nash is so driven right now, he's got that MJ-like "refuse to lose" thing going on this year. It's going to happen this time!

by SoCalSun on May 5, 2007 10:03 AM MDT 0 recs

I agree

Nash does have that look this season, and I agree, this is the year!!

by jasonsuns1 on May 5, 2007 12:39 PM MDT up 0 recs

I'll admit it too

I got a confession. I'm not scared at all. I do think we're gonna win this series in 6 games. I know the spurs are rolling, but so are we. We have NEVER been better and I can just feel it. Something tells me we're gonna win this series.

by clikko on May 5, 2007 4:06 PM MDT 0 recs

I feel suns will win

Everyone just looks at the Apr 6th game and tell that Spurs have dominant D against the suns. In that game, despite shooting .182 from the 3 point range, Suns came within 4 in the fourth quarter. But when you take a loot at the Feb 2nd game at home, Suns scored 31 points to the spurs 17 in the fourth quarter without Raja Bell playing the second half.

Suns need to shoot more three points than the spurs and Amare should not be in the foul trouble.

by niranjanasu on May 5, 2007 7:32 PM MDT 0 recs

Very cool...

It's nice to see more of you guys posting on here... Please keep it up! I'm referring to all the positive Suns fans who don't fear every single opponent the Suns go against and assume we're going down in flames. We have one hell of a dominant team and we should be proud of that and not fear everyone from the Lakers to the Spurs and whoever comes around next.

This is the best Suns team in history and we should win it all this year. I think this is the year that the Suns can dictate any game versus the Spurs and the Spurs will have some very serious problems keeping up.

I cannot wait to see a Suns/ Warriors Conference Finals!!!!... and yes, I am getting ahead of myself.

by Travis on May 5, 2007 10:50 PM MDT 0 recs