TIME CAPSULE : Phoenix vs San Antonio

[Amen316]

The Suns and Spurs are making a Time Capsule: Pick any part to read...

PHoenix views SA as a rivalry, SA views Phoenix as a stepping stone.
SA should however truly understand the team it has beat year after year is quite possibly the best team besides themselves. Sure arguments could also be made for Dallas and Detroit over the same time period, but for a slew of reasons from balance to excitement Phoenix is arguably the best team in the playoffs every year they have faced them. This season again could be the same thing one way or another one of these two teams will prevail and historically given its fans one another series for the ages.

Lets look at the contributors.

1. Amare Stoudemire - Most dominating player in the middle that no one can stop. No one but himself he is his own worst enemy. Fouls plague him at times and at times the refs are forgiving and allow him to play aggressive. Each game and this series will be dictated by his presence or lack of. Amare also needs to value the rebound and rotation on defense to truly have his game at the next level. He can provide great weakside help but playoffs are won and lost in the paint.

2. Shaq - Played seemingly bigger than any Suns Center has ever done period. Suns fans have never had this luxury, but now they also have never had this type of obstacle. Hack a SHAQ !
Suns fans are new to this and many are curious how the Suns coach is going to counter if continues to happen. Shaq can be a asset and liability both at epic level during moments of the game.

3. Grant Hill - You have disappeared and I realize your probably still hurt. Still where are you ?

4. Boris Diaw - Statistically better yet still same Boris in big moments. Do the french hate to dunk? This one time you had the jump and momentum when you drove the lane and Tim Duncan was on his heals. WHy throw up a wild left handed scoop shot. Decision making with the ball anda lack of aggressiveness is going to keep labeled on you forever, and might keep us from ever beating SA. You have to make them understand you can score!

Shooting Guards - Phoenix
5. Raja Bell - I understand you were signed to be a backup to JJ and you filled in really nicely as a backup point guard playing starter situations. 6-4 at best maybe 6-3 3/4 your simply getting the most out of your disadvantaged size but we are losing at this position badly. MANU MANU MANU just too many EZ baskets to win the game.

6. Gordon Giricek - You are a bigger version at the 2 guard but you may simply be the worst decision maker ever to wear a Suns uniform. A smart 2 guard goes much further than a score only 2 guard. Even with that said you need more minutes in this series. Gordon you made the Suns a different look and it was a good thing at the end of the reg. season. I place your PT on your decision making and Dantoni understanding his bench.(or not understanding it)

7. Leandro Barbosa - Players like you give an innoncence to this team that make fans want to fight for you. Problem is its playoff time and you have to suck it up and play like a man. Your decision making has always been very low on the Basketball IQ chart but your will and drive to score is off the charts. If your going to take the game winning shot you gotta believe you can make it. I dont recall you making a game winner except in Chicago vs Ben Gordon.

8 Steve Nash - Simply the greatest Suns player in its history period. There has never ever been such a playoff master as this player. He is the smallest, but the smartest player in the NBA. He must have a third person view from the rafters when he plays. Just incredible that this team has to lean on him at his age and he still comes through. I honestly thought by now this team would be well oiled and hitting on all cylinders, all Steve had to do was bring it down and get it going. He does so so so much more than that... WHAT A 3 pt shot at the end of game 1 no one will ever talk about...


9. Mike D'Antoni - I like many others was absolutely in love with what you have offensively assembled here in Phoenix, but you have quite possibly put yourself into an area where your understanding of how to coach are starting to reveal themselves.
Why do you say now we have to step up our defense?
To the eyes of people across the NBA we dont play defense. Maybe the refs arent going to be use to seeing it either and mistake intensity for a foul! If your going to preach it, then teach it, and accept nothing less.

Come on Mike its playoffs dont keep making same mistakes and excuses every year... You have more to gain and lose in this opening series than anyone on the team... Seriously if you beat SA you need a contract extention cause you will have shown the ability to adapt and overcome. You have said many times you have the most talented team in the NBA, do I need to say more if this team is eliminated again by SA?

Many fans believe your lack of even understanding what Brian Skinner brings to this team is more than what Oberto brings to SA. Skinner may have been a mendoza line player his whole career but he is far from that now.


==========================


10. Tim Duncan - He is everything that Suns fans dont want to believe he is. He is smart, clutch, exceptional passer from the post and simply posesses an extremely high basketball IQ in pressure moments.
He is the best c-pf player in the game in the 2000 decade. He gives so much back to his fans in SA by his play on the court. Again his decision making and execution are everything that could be asked for by a player.

11. Manu - Contrary to believe he seems to have stopped not all but alot of the floppin, whining, and dirty play which caused so many to hate on him.
Even many of the SA fans had turned on him as of late. Yet again playoff time comes and he finds a way to overcome Dallas and Phoenix year in and year out.
He seemingly only plays when the Spurs have the lead or theres foul trouble. He absolutely has terrorized Phoenix and Dallas Shooting guards for 3-4 years now, and theres a stat that he is 80% inside the paint in the 4th qtr. Guess what? He will continue that success at big moments against any team if they dont collapse on him. 80 percent? You have to make him kick that out to a lower pct shooter plain and simple.

12. Tony Parker - Bad first game until you realize he brought SA back in regulation time. He made some huge boneheaded moves with his fouling out above the 3 pt line. If Nash wouldve made all 3 this game might have been over. TP is a gamer and held Steve down pretty good until Amare fouled out. Interesting to see how TP finishes the series, because he has notoriously had huge games against the Suns in the past.

13. Bruce Bowen - The Terror Dog will go down as the Micheal Cooper of this generation if he can go through this playoff season without playing dirty. Seriously to anyone that is a fan of his play when ankle kicks, groin hits, elbows really doesnt understand where basketball would head to if every team wanted a player on their team to do this to other teams. This can be a pure game and when Bruce plays his defense pure its a thing of beauty and better yet a weapon many coaches themselves dont understand how to teach. He is all over Steve Nash but even with a SA victory Steve got the better of Bruce. Bruce best play actually came in altering Leandros game winning shot. Lots of eyes are on Bruce this year and I hope he plays clean simply so we can all appreciate what he brings to this SA team.

14. Bench and others -
Tim Thomas likes the slowed down version the Spurs play, but he doesnt truly appear he fits. However he was well worth the something for nothing trade SA got out of this.
Finley, Barry, Horry - there to hit big shots. Otherwise nothing but a liability or problem starters.

15. Greg Pop - (Watch how I describe him compared to Mike.) Knows his team and understands how each one of them could impact a game. He uses them for their strengths and doesnt not play them because of their weakness. He has a great player like Manu but is very disciplined only to play him when the team is leading or has foul trouble.
He brings assasins in off the bench to role play.. From Oberto hack a Shaq to the three headed 3pt shooters. Manu to Bruce Bowen. He understands the situations that he might get into in the playoffs and plays his players all season long in that rotation and scenario. They dont change one thing for the playoffs, they simply have been playing that way all season. This coach is the most prepared coach I have ever witnessed coach a team.


16. San Antonio Spurs - What this series means? Nothing more than a longer journey for the most dominating team over the last decade. They are simply writing more chapters to their dominance. However win or lose this team appears in need of a rehaul before long. They are winning games no longer athletically but by sheer determination and high basketball on court IQ. As mentioned above, Greg P has really understood how to use Tim, Manu, TP, Bruce, (a banger) and three point assasins. The fans would love another series win here perhaps more than any other simply to shut the mouths of the people whom said they cheated with the refs to beat the Suns last season.

17. Phoenix Suns - What does this series mean to Phoenix? literally everything, because the fans are absolutely tired of watching a team dominate until the playoffs every year. Seriously any team Phoenix plays from the Clippers to a weak La team gives Phoenix fits in the playoffs. They have only one series win against an equal team in 4 years of Mike D coached basketball. (DALLAS during Steves inaugural return year to Phoenix.) Otherwise Phoenix has been outcoached, outplayed, and left with nothing but excuses for why they didnt succeed. Everyone in the NBA is grateful for the pace the Phoenix Suns have given back to the game, but their lack of respect to defense may be their ultimate demise.

What else does the series have?


HALL OF FAME PLAYERS:
Tim Duncan - SA

Shaq ONeal - His fame came from other teams but his presence is still noticeable

Steve Nash - PHX Throw the stats out the window he is the greatest pure point guard the game has ever known.

ALL -Stars
Bruce Bowen - I know they dont elect Defensive players but he is an all-star of defense.

Amare Stoudemire - May one day be HOF if he realizes how important the paint and a rebound is. His offense game is the best of any big man in the history of the game. He has great range and NO one can stop him when he decides to dunk.

Greg Popovich - Best coach in the game prepares team for playoffs from day one.


Announcers -
Mark Jackson - obviously drinks the Nash kool-aid but so does every point guard that has ever played the game.

Van Gundy - Biggest Suns hater when ever his mouth opens. How they let him call game after game on the Suns is beyond many.

Almost like letting Mark Cuban be an annoucer and SPurs fans have to hear him say every move SA makes is a foul or stupid. Great choice ABC, ESPN, in reviewing this.

[TASTIC]

Nice post, will have the read the rest after work

[Sun Scorched]

First off, thanks for the in depth post.

I will have to disagree with you on a couple of things.

1. Grant Hill. Has he disappeared? From a statistical perspective yes. But he has filled one of the largest gaps that we have had post Marion. Seriously, for what we are paying the guy, his defense and leadership are stellar. In my opinion, the scoring was a bonus I am willing to forego while he is hurt. When your wrist hurts, there isn't much you can do about your shot being off... except not shoot.

2. Gordon Giricek. Worst decision maker ever? A bit harsh. I actually like his guts. He knows when to slash and when to pull up. He may not always score when he slashes, but it keeps the defense honest. I know Barbosa slashes and all, but when Gordon does it he bangs bodies around. The defensive depth that he provides us with is a very nice addition.

3. Nash is not the smallest guy in the league. I know it's hard to imagine, he looks like a midget on television, but I have stood next to the guy, he is a legit 6'3"... not even a "small" 6'3" either. I stood on the court close to him once and was quite shocked. For a white guy, he is actually pretty imposing and one of the toughest guys to ever play the game.

[Sun Scorched]

Oh, one more thing...

Ginobili is still flopping. The refs just are getting better about calling it.

There was this play yesterday where Boris set a screen a bit left of the top of the arc and Manu ran straight into him and flailed backwards. I played it over and over again and my girlfriend and I just laughed. I mean, at some point it becomes commical.

There was this other time where Kurt was seeting a screen for Manu and Manu ran into Kurt and Manu flopped again. Raja was called for the foul... didn't even touch Manu.

Then there was the three way flop between Kurt, Amare and Manu... that was priceless.

Manu is always involved. Oberto sucks too. I'll let Kurt get away with it because I like him... but I HATE Manu. And he does flop, just as much now as ever.

[chrice]

I agree with Sun Scorched on Hill. Along with Nash, Hill is one of the guys I feel the most comfortable having on the court at all times. He does not make many mistakes, and he has an incredibly high iq. If you watch him, he may not score a lot of points, but he do a lot of intangible plays, like when Amare forgets to box out a rebounder, he'll box out Amare's guy for him. He'll also take away passing lanes on the defense when he is free to do so.

About the Hack-a-Shaq, it ends up being a double edged sword. I've seen a lot of teams go to it when Shaq was on the Lakers...it ends up screwing the other team instead. If only Amare can stay out of foul trouble, late in the game when they're over the limit, it can be the difference in the series.


I still see Ginobili flopping too. The big one was where he was ran into KT's screen and started falling backwards and waving his hands.

[PeTBuLL]

Leandro gave so many others game winning for PHX, maybe not buzzer beaters (there was that one against NO, better, two, but Peja stealed his thunder, lol)

[Amen316]

Grant Hill I will defend the comment with facts. In the last month he has been held scoreless in 4 games, and less than 10 points in 13 games. This from a guy that was averaging about 15 pts per game.

Im not trying to rip on him, but this is a fact and again if he is hurt Mike D needs to learn how to coach and place someone in there that can play both ends of the court. Otherwise bring Grant in for a defensive stand.


Leandro your right wouldve hit a game winning shot but Peja did actually make the game winner. Again Im just stating he isnt a go to guy, because I think he has missed 10 or more game winning or tying shots over the last 3 years.

Playoffs are very strange, we are outplaying SA but yet we are getting beat still not by much but at the offensive glass, rebounds, steals, and the most unbelievable part is 3pt fg and 3pt pct. WHich is suppose to be our strength.

Lots of basketball to play!

[TASTIC]

Barbosa's the worst decision maker on the team, but that's most likely magnified by how he compares to Nash when he replaces him...GG I don't hold my breath when he fakes and goes to the hoop...Barbosa I still cringe when he brings it up 90% of the time

[BRINGTHEPAIN]

Steve Nash - PHX Throw the stats out the window he is the greatest pure point guard the game has ever known.

Stockton?

[Magz50]

I'd also put Barkley in as the greatest Suns player of all time. Led the team to the NBA finals. Something Nash has yet to do. Not hating, just stating the facts.

However a good post and i agree with alot of what you've said.

[Sun Scorched]

Magz50, that sig looks a lot cooler now that I have had a chance to cool down from Duncan hitting that trey. Nice job.

[Magz50]

Thanks mate. it took me a while to design up, just sucks i couldn't use it in flash as the quality was way better.

[TASTIC]

It's not showing me for some reason?

Re-up it...I have to see this sig people are talking about!

[Amen316]

I'd also put Barkley in as the greatest Suns player of all time. Led the team to the NBA finals. Something Nash has yet to do. Not hating, just stating the facts.
However a good post and i agree with alot of what you've said.

Alot of people in Phoenix and Philly sour on Chuck because he said some really BS things about each club... Chuckster was only here a couple years and he joined a team that was put together much like Shaq has. This team was already incredible so he put them over the hunp, he was by no means responsible for the turnaround that Nash has been. As a matter of fact sometimes the offense ran better with Chuck not on the floor, but when Nash is off the court this team absolutely goes to crap it seems for over 4 years.

[chrice]

Amen316, time to make a time capsule thread #2.