Some bad blood in this one. The Suns feel they were robbed of the series last year, look to gain revenge this time.

Should be a long series. Spurs in 7!

It is difficult to officiate a series like that and there are a few bad calls going both ways. Shaq got quick 3 fouls in the 1st half, so he is getting out of the way when Spurs drive to the hoop. Duncan can't get a call going his way. It is a very entertaining game.

What a game! First Finley ties the game in regulation on a triple with 15 seconds left and then Duncan of all people ties the game in overtime on a triple with 3 seconds left. Second overtime on the way. Stoudemire, Thomas, and Parker have all fouled out.

What an ending. Nash hits a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the 2nd overtime to tie the game and then Ginobili drives to the basket for a layup with 1.8 seconds left and Phoenix out of time outs can't muster anything resembling a shot.
Phoenix can't stop San Antonio when it counts. Their defense is better, but still not good enough.

The Dastardly Spurs. Yuck.

Do you think it's possible if the Spurs get knocked out, we could borrow Greg Popovich?

What a fantastic game, and great coaching decision at the end to let them go when PHO had no bigs in the game. I was rooting for the Spurs all the way. I don't know what my problem is. I have to make myself cheer for the Suns.

Also this game, the Wiz/Cavs -night and day.

You can never count out the Spurs in any game....weren't they down 16+ points at one point in the second qtr. A deflating loss for the Suns...

Notice that Antiono did not use Grant Hill at all down the stretch or even the two OT's. He relied on Barbosa and Diaz and both came up short in their shots to win the game after the spurs had hit the two three's to it in regulation the first OT.

I had to pull for the Spurs too, as I think that they are the only team that can defeat the Lakers and that is the last team I want to see in the finals as they been the # 1 seed six times in their storied history and have won the title each time....:(

Do you think it's possible if the Spurs get knocked out, we could borrow Greg Popovich?

What a fantastic game, and great coaching decision at the end to let them go when PHO had no bigs in the game. I was rooting for the Spurs all the way. I don't know what my problem is. I have to make myself cheer for the Suns.

Also this game, the Wiz/Cavs -night and day.

I was rooting for Spurs. Just don't like Phoenix and the trade.

God you guys how can you like the Spurs? Seriously, if they make it to the Finals you want Flip to coach against Pop? My God. You got to root for everyone but the Spurs for our own sake. The Spurs may have a solid fundamental system and a great coach, but have you forgotten about the DIRTY play they routinely resort to in the crunch, Ginobili's flopping, "Timmy's" dirty play and whining and Horry's inexecusable thuggish play against Nash last year?

C'mon. This whole argument of "I like them because they play defense like the Pistons." Gimme a break. There is right and there is wrong and liking the Spurs for a Pistons fan is wrong. The idea that the Spurs are a mirror image of the Pistons that play half-court basketball is an old idea. And even if they were, how in the world do you support your rival EVER? Good Lord.

This game was incredibly incredibly awesome. Playoff basketball! WOO!

God you guys how can you like the Spurs? Seriously, if they make it to the Finals you want Flip to coach against Pop? My God. You got to root for everyone but the Spurs for our own sake. The Spurs may have a solid fundamental system and a great coach, but have you forgotten about the DIRTY play they routinely resort to in the crunch, Ginobili's flopping, "Timmy's" dirty play and whining and Horry's inexecusable thuggish play against Nash last year?

C'mon. This whole argument of "I like them because they play defense like the Pistons." Gimme a break. There is right and there is wrong and liking the Spurs for a Pistons fan is wrong. The idea that the Spurs are a mirror image of the Pistons that play half-court basketball is an old idea. And even if they were, how in the world do you support your rival EVER? Good Lord.


If it makes you feel better, i feel dirty afterwards LOL. It's like a guy you shouldn't have slept with it (not the best analogy :))

I thought of both things. Dre's whole thing about not wanting to face LA, but then i don't really want to face the Spurs either. Ultimately we would benefit most from PHO making it, but then on the flip side if BOS goes to the finals, i want them to play the Spurs. They are the only team that can beat them. Damn WC making things so difficult!

Flip against either Phil or Pop scares me, but maybe in a series against the Spurs we will resort to playing Larry Brown ball, and play them exactly like we used to.

I think we have a better chance against the Spurs. Sheed will come to play. Also won't Bynum be back by the finals? Makes LA much tougher.

God you guys how can you like the Spurs? Seriously, if they make it to the Finals you want Flip to coach against Pop? My God. You got to root for everyone but the Spurs for our own sake. The Spurs may have a solid fundamental system and a great coach, but have you forgotten about the DIRTY play they routinely resort to in the crunch, Ginobili's flopping, "Timmy's" dirty play and whining and Horry's inexecusable thuggish play against Nash last year?

C'mon. This whole argument of "I like them because they play defense like the Pistons." Gimme a break. There is right and there is wrong and liking the Spurs for a Pistons fan is wrong. The idea that the Spurs are a mirror image of the Pistons that play half-court basketball is an old idea. And even if they were, how in the world do you support your rival EVER? Good Lord.


Personally, I don't necessarily see it like that. Sure, Ginobili's flopping. Have you noticed Nash with Grammys out there? Duncan is not a dirty player and Horry is out. And, I would love for Pistons to have a shot at revenge.
And besides, Phoenix doesn't play defense and I don't like their coach.

If it makes you feel better, i feel dirty afterwards LOL. It's like a guy you shouldn't have slept with it (not the best analogy :))

Oh I think it's much worse than that feeling. That feeling goes away within a few days, but liking the Spurs is like a disease you get from that guy that lingers.

Flip against either Phil or Pop scares me, but maybe in a series against the Spurs we will resort to playing Larry Brown ball, and play them exactly like we used to.

No No No. We don't play LB ball anymore, except maybe in the last 4 minutes of the 4th quarter when we are behind. That's it and it won't be enough. Not against the Spurs who know us and Flip only too well.

I love us, I do, but we still have limitations that several teams know how to exploit. I guess that could be said of most of the playoff teams, but I see us as more vulnerable than we seem right now.

Anyway, lpgrl, I wasn't really assessing it with the brackets and the Finals in mind. In general principle, I am against the Spurs winning EVER. I feel about the Spurs the way longtime Pistons fans feel about the Bulls. It's a visceral antipathy from my infancy as a Pistons fan. (2004) There's nothing I enjoy more next to a Pistons win than a Spurs loss.

The Spurs are my second favorite team (sorry, Aurora) and they're playing a team with Shaq on it. I will NEVER root for a team with that guy on it, and most Spur fans aren't idiots and/or jackasses like Phoenix's can be. Game 1 was craaazzzyyy. Very entertaining.

Oh I think it's much worse than that feeling. That feeling goes away within a few days, but liking the Spurs is like a disease you get from that guy that lingers.

:pound::pound:

I can appreciate your well thought out hate

Good to see some nice banter about teams other than the Pistons...proves that we are all not homers....but come tomorrow, we will have our tru Pistons colors on!!

Go Spurs, Hornets, Rockets, Nuggets, Wizards, Hawks, Raptors and of course Pistons....now... I guess that tells you aho I am cheering for in the first round:MusicBigGrin:

Go Spurs, Hornets, Rockets, Nuggets, Wizards, Hawks, Raptors and of course Pistons....now... I guess that tells you aho I am cheering for in the first round:MusicBigGrin:

I want it to be: Suns, Mavs, Jazz and Nuggets and Wizards, Celtics, Magic, Pistons.

Must lose teams for my emotional satisfaction: Spurs and Cavs.

Hey you Spurs sympathizers! Do you really care to see another victory celebration on the alleged "River"walk in San Antonio? C'mon.

The Spurs are my second favorite team (sorry, Aurora) and they're playing a team with Shaq on it. I will NEVER root for a team with that guy on it

:thumb:

Great game. Duncan is a joy to watch.
Hey you Spurs sympathizers! Do you really care to see another victory celebration on the alleged "River"walk in San Antonio? C'mon.
No. I'd like to watch the Spurs play beautiful basketball for as long as possible and then lose to the Pistons or to the Lakers.

Seriously, if they make it to the Finals you want Flip to coach against Pop?

Well, your other choice is Phil Jackson!

It will be one or the other in the Finals.

Hey you Spurs sympathizers! Do you really care to see another victory celebration on the alleged "River"walk in San Antonio? C'mon.

I would love it, if it means they beat Boston in the Finals. I love watching the Spurs play, they don't showboat, they don't swagger, they just kill you, they're disciplined. And they're not the media darlings ad nauseum like the SUNS, Lakers, Celtics, and SUNS. I HATE the Suns and their crybaby fans. I have a number of friends from Arizona who are Suns fans, which is totally fine, but every time the Suns fall short in the playoffs, a lot of their fans and the media absolutely fall apart with the crying and whining. It's sickening. The Spurs play the way I wish Detroit still played every game, instead of just during late-game come-from-behind stretches. And I don't want to hear the asinine arguments about the dastardly Spurs and their dirty dirty ways. If you didn't notice, it was the same crybaby Suns fans and players who got beat by the Spurs who fabricated that story and passed it on to the media, who like a juicy story and ran with it. I know that Bruce Bowen at times engages in questionable tactics, but NEWS FLASH!!!!!! - so does over half the league, including now-Suns player Shaquille O'Neal himself. I won't respect the Suns until they 1) can flat-out beat the Spurs in a series (which may happen this year) and 2) at least make it to the Finals for once. For all the love showered on the Suns, they are less consistent than Detroit, more annoying then Kobe and the Lakers, and cry louder than the whole rest of the league. So there's my reason why I am rooting for the Spurs. I just can't stand hearing about how horrible it is to like the Spurs, and how the Suns are all about the beautiful, free-flowing style....blah blah blah. This is basketball, not figure skating. I say knock the free-flowing offenses on their butts (which is what usually happens every year).

GO PISTONS!!!

PS: For the same reasons I like Spurs and Pistons, I wouldn't be too heartbroken if the Celtics win it all either, since they are just the perfect example of how dominating a good defense can be. Since they are our more immediate rivals though, I would much rather see the Spurs beat them if they beat the Pistons.

Sorry Coynejeremy, we must agree to disagree here. IMO, the entire aura and being of the San Antonio Spurs ...if it's possible to be both ...is dirty and boring.

Sorry Coynejeremy, we must agree to disagree here. IMO, the entire aura and being of the San Antonio Spurs ...if it's possible to be both ...is dirty and boring.

:pound:

I hope we're cool. Something really got my juces flowing while writing that post.:MusicBigGrin:
I can respect your opinion. I'm glad we all have such diverse views on here.

:pound:

I hope we're cool. Something really got my juces flowing while writing that post.:MusicBigGrin:
I can respect your opinion. I'm glad we all have such diverse views on here.

Oh CJ, we're totally cool. I enjoyed your post about the Spurs. It was very passionate. I like really emotionally attached fans because that's how I am.Also alot of my Spurs stuff is for fun! You know, they are the team that I love to hate. That's why I call them the Dastardly Spurs, like they are comic book characters.

What happened to Barbara San Antone? Did she convert to full time Spurs fan?

Pop's substitutions are so pretty.

I'm amazed at the amount of lay-ups the Suns give up. Parker walted down the lane uncontested the entire 2nd quarter.

Flip needs to take the leash off Stuckey. Putting pressure on the opposing defense is crucial.

Pop's substitutions are so pretty.

I'm amazed at the amount of lay-ups the Suns give up. Parker walted down the lane uncontested the entire 2nd quarter.

Flip needs to take the leash off Stuckey. Putting pressure on the opposing defense is crucial.

I am watching this game and thinking to myself, I wish the Pistons would attack the basket like Ginobili and Parker.

What really is upsetting, CB and Stuckey can! Maybe not like the Spurs but they can be more agressive going to the basket, they just don`t.

OMG, Popovich playing "Hack-A-Shaq"!!!!!!!!!!

I am watching this game and thinking to myself, I wish the Pistons would attack the basket like Ginobili and Parker.

What really is upsetting, CB and Stuckey can! Maybe not like the Spurs but they can be more agressive going to the basket, they just don`t.

OMG, Popovich playing "Hack-A-Shaq"!!!!!!!!!!

Same here. All they need to do is be agressive. I really wish we would split time w/Rip/AA and play Stuckey/Amir more. We need quickness. It's so important defensively.

And the hack a shaq is awesome! I think Pop is doing it just to f with D'antoni. I don't remember him ever doing it against PJ. It's working great though, even though Shaqs making some, the whole team is so off it's rythm. 4th quarter is do or die time for the Suns.

Maybe they can call Marion asn ask him if he can guard Parker :)

edited to add;

I bet you Nash has nightmares about Bowen.

Weird 4th quarter, but the Spurs hung on. The big 3rd quarter was the key for them, when they outscored Phoenix 27-11. The Suns just couldn't get anything going on offense in that period.

And by the way, that little Hack-a-Shaq adventure was an utterly moronic move by the Spurs. Shaq hit 5 of 6 FTs during that stretch, which was almost half their points for the entire quarter!! David Aldridge asked about it before the 4th quarter, and Pop openly admitted it wasn't working.

What happened to Barbara San Antone? Did she convert to full time Spurs fan?

I don't know what happened to her. She used to have a knack for popping in whenever I wrote something bad about the Spurs.


Houstons been my team out west but they are not going to make it. Problem with PHX is they can't stop San's big 3. The Matrix used to do so much for them defensivly that in this series they may have been better served with Marion instead of Shaq. And of couse G.Hill's out.

My opinion, I just don't think their style is suited for the playoffs. Nash's all offensive game is perfect for the reg season but you can't let Parker do whatever he wants out there in the playoffs.

I am also wondering if there is somekind of G.Hill 1st round curse. This will be I think his 6th trip in the playoffs and his 6th 1st round exit.

Whatever the case, the Suns looked a lot better last season against the Spurs. But hey its not over with yet.

I am picking NewOrleans to make it out of the West, they look legit.

The Matrix used to do so much for them defensivly
Who, exactly, could that talentless hack guard on San Antonio? Michael Finley? Shaq's doing a much better job on Duncan now than Marion ever has in his life. (Not that he's doing anything else, but...)

Matrix's chokejobs were a major reason the Suns lost to the Spurs in more than one series over the past three or four years.

Fairly typical boxscore. (http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200505220PHO.html)

He did do an admirable job shutting down Bruce Bowen, I guess.

I am picking NewOrleans to make it out of the West, they look legit.

I remember a certain thread early this season about trading for paul.... ummm i'd like to revisit my vote, WOW is that Kid clutch and seems to play better the bigger the game....

I think i'd trade both starting guards at this point for him, and There GM would laugh and hang up the phone.

Man would I love to see Shaq get swept. I have the feeling that PHX will defend at home though.

There's probably still a long way to go before this series plays out completely, but it looks to me like my initial reaction to the Shaq trade was reasonably accurate: trading Marion made sense for various reasons (he might have walked after his contract expired this off-season, there were chemistry issues, and they probably weren't good enough to win it all as constituted), but trading him for Shaq did not make sense at all, and now they could be staring at a first-round loss followed by two more years of this over-the-hill giant at $20 mil per season.

Don't know who looked more frustrated tonight. Flip or Steve Kerr and his wife:MusicBigGrin:

The Spurs are great. If Pop was our coach, he would've broken out the "soft" speech at least 3 times already, and told us the team they were sissies.

i liked the shaq trade when it happened, and i still do.

shaq is not the problem, for the suns, its the other pieces. shaq / amare at the 4/5 is pretty tough. the problem is how soft the pieces around them are.

i think a huge problem is grant hill. prior to hill, the nash suns have always had a 3 point artist at the sf. the offense is set up for nash to kick it to the sf for an open 3. hill cant knock those down, so he turns down an open 3 and the offense bogs down. combine that with nash's terrible defense and this team has issues, and i dont think shaq is near the top on the list.

how different might this series have been if nash doesnt let the shot clock happen in game 1, or if duncan doesnt hit the 3...

Shaq held his own tonight. It's not his fault they made that horrible trade.

Good job by the Spurs. 3-0 now; they have a stranglehold on this series. At least one of my teams is playing well so far.

I only have 1 team in the NBA. :yellowprison:

I only have 1 team in the NBA. :yellowprison:

Well, I'm actually a diehard fan of only one team; the Pistons. But IF the Pistons don't make it this year, I hope the Spurs do.

Well, I'm actually a diehard fan of only one team; the Pistons. But IF the Pistons don't make it this year, I hope the Spurs do.

Good choice. If you have to pick another team the Spurs are certainly looking like they are serious about repeating.

PHX was supposed to be a major contender this year and now they may get swept in the 1st round.

Who would of thought the Suns would be down 3-0 and the Sixers would be up 2-1?

azcentral.com (http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/22405)

This article could veey well be about another coach we all know and . . .


The Mike D'Antoni job speculation is no surprise, considering the regression of this Suns team over the course of this series. What is more startling is to hear the voices in the locker room questioning their coach more than ever.
It was one thing when D'Antoni (offense) and Steve Kerr (defense) were citing different roots for Phoenix's problems Thursday. It's another when the head coach begins to lose his players.
"They play playoff basketball," Suns power forward Amare Stoudemire said in admiration of the Spurs, a team about to eliminate him from the postseason for the fourth time in his career. "It's plain and simple. There's no out-of-control plays. There's no shooting the ball within the first seconds. They take their time and make sure they get a basket. They make sure they get a good shot every time down. And that's how they win the title. You got to make sure you get a good shot every time down and you got to make sure you defend well. You can't stop all teams from scoring. Teams are going to score but they make sure they play solid defense out there and they get a good shot offensively every time down and that's how you win a title.
"They've got a strategy that they uphold."



Suns point guard Steve Nash first started questioning the Suns' defensive game plan after Game 2, saying that Phoenix needed to consider doing something different against San Antonio's highly efficient pick-and-roll sets. That sentiment was further affirmed with Game 3.
He said the Suns "didn't know where to turn" when the Spurs started hitting the mid-range shots on the perimeter.
"That was sort of the game plan," Nash said of Parker hitting jump shots. "But when he starts making all his shots, we probably have got to adjust."
The idea that the Spurs big three can't outscore the Suns if Phoenix clamped down on San Antonio's role players is now three games flawed and looking worse with each game.
"It's not working, is it?" Nash said. "So we should probably adjust."


----------

The whole article is great (for Suns fans especially)

imo, phx is better than the spurs. the difference being that the spurs are a much mentally tougher team. its more than evident that they are in the suns head big time. which is why this is an uncomfortable 24 pt lead. pretty much every other situation, 24 pts would be enough. i dont get that sense here. gotta go 48 minutes.

and yes, i still think phx has a chance in this series.

imo, phx is better than the spurs. the difference being that the spurs are a much mentally tougher team. its more than evident that they are in the suns head big time. which is why this is an uncomfortable 24 pt lead. pretty much every other situation, 24 pts would be enough. i dont get that sense here. gotta go 48 minutes.

and yes, i still think phx has a chance in this series.

I don`t understand how you can come to this conclusion. if you are down to a team 3-0 in the playoffs, that team is definitely better than you are, period.

If PHX comes back they will be the only team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

It won`t happen!!!!!!!!!!

Well Spurs deserved the series, but IMO they deserved to lose game 5.

Pops is a jerk for going to hack a Shaq while up 5 in the first freaking quarter.

Collins suggested that needs to be a new rule where if you foul off the ball like that the team getting fouled gets to put their best FT shooter on the line to shoot them .

That whole thing was a joke.

I never saw this coming. Towards the end of the season the Spurs looked slow, they looked old, and they didn't seem to be able to put enough guys on the floor who could score. Barry, Horry, and Finley didn't seem able to compete in the CYO. Stoudemire had disappeared from the rotation. The Suns on the other hand were clicking, Shaq seemed to be making them better and surely this would be the year.

Wow. Too much execution for the Suns to handle, too much cool, too much Pops, and probably most importantly, too many guys willing to be coached and to make what they wanted to do on the floor subservient to what the coach wanted them to do. It's no mystery why Damon didn't play.

I thought the hack-a-insert Phoenix player of your choice was brilliant. It got Shaq out of the game some, and got the Suns' rotation just a little bit off, and high performance machines don't do well with things a bit off. Most importantly, by going to it early, in all game situations, and seemingly at random, it put the fear into Shaq. And it tossed another set of misfired possessions at Phoenix.

It ain't the coach. It ain't the players. Both have to be great, but it's the relationship between them that makes the Spurs, who on paper should maybe have won one game in this series, great.

I don't care if it worked or not. That off the ball hack-a-player crap isn't basketball. It's a gimmick used by coaches and teams that are afraid to play another team straight up.

It needs to be legislated out of the game the same way the shot clock got rid of that four corners keepaway crap.

I don't care if it worked or not. That off the ball hack-a-player crap isn't basketball. It's a gimmick used by coaches and teams that are afraid to play another team straight up.

It needs to be legislated out of the game the same way the shot clock got rid of that four corners keepaway crap.

That could be true about changing the rules - as the announcers also suggested. But, until done, it's just as much part of basketball as any other legal play - like fouling with ten seconds left when you're up by three in order to stop the other team from making a three to tie.

Still, there should be some penalty for someone making $20 million who can't hit more free throws than he misses.

off the ball fouls need to be called rule wise like a Tech, anybody on the floor can shoot it and ball... I hate Shaq and normally respect San Ant and there coach.... but that is just cheap and not basketball...

We talk about our window shutting.... San Ant is really a team who's window is shutting, that is a 3 man team and if one part isn't working like ginobli not playing well last night..... Two players scored 60 of the 92 points and nobody else scored more the 8. Outside of the big 3 who cares you? Big shot bob was old when he beat us 3 years ago and there older yet now.... me think New Orleans is going to run them out of the gym.

One can only hope.


I'm tired of Flopnobli. Tired of Horry. Tired of Frenchie and his chickie on the sidelines. Tired of Duncan and his Theo Huxtable 'tude. Tired of Bowen Scissorhands and hearing about his "defense". Tired of Popovich and his Bill Murray pock marks.


I'm tired of the Spurs. :gaah:

That could be true about changing the rules - as the announcers also suggested. But, until done, it's just as much part of basketball as any other legal play - like fouling with ten seconds left when you're up by three in order to stop the other team from making a three to tie.

Still, there should be some penalty for someone making $20 million who can't hit more free throws than he misses.

There is a penalty. His team goes home early. His team should penalize him for not helping them get through the round. A thousand free throws every day during the off season seems like a decent fine. By next year he would be able to shoot them in his sleep.

Shaq bricking his FTs obviously hurt Phoenix last night, but WTF was up with them committing 4 turnovers in the last 90 seconds?! That was crazy!

I love how they have a $20M player who isn't allowed to touch the ball in crunch time. Worst trade ever. If you don't see it now, let's talk in 2010.

I love how they have a $20M player who isn't allowed to touch the ball in crunch time. Worst trade ever. If you don't see it now, let's talk in 2010.
At least Chicago didn't give up anything other than cap space for Ben. :stirthepot:

that is just cheap and not basketball...
Maybe to compensate for Rasheed's unwillingness to play on the blocks, players taller than 6'8" who wear an even jersey number should be forbidden to take more than 6 shots inside the arc every game. There could be a technical foul to help matters, even.

I love how they have a $20M player who isn't allowed to touch the ball in crunch time. Worst trade ever. If you don't see it now, let's talk in 2010.


Steve Kerr should take the blame for Suns collapse by trading for Shaq when d'antoni's system couldn't adapt to it. After all Kerr traded for Shaq to beat the Spurs in a potential conference final and could notbeat them in the first round. At 36 years old Shaq was a role player at best and yeah the Suns needed some defense, but they lost something without marion...oh yeah the series.

Shaq would have been better coming off some contender bench that already had another big man in the middle

Shaq bricking his FTs obviously hurt Phoenix last night, but WTF was up with them committing 4 turnovers in the last 90 seconds?! That was crazy!Shaq's FT technique (?) makes Ben's look like Chauncey's. All these years playing ball and he looks like he's getting progressively worse. Apparently Kerr forgot that part of Shaq's game to do the trade...worst trade EVER.