There have been more twists in this series than some teams see in a year. Steve Nash gets his nose split wide open late in game one, and I’m sure everyone immediately thought that he may miss significant time in the next game, which of course he did not. Then came the Bruce Bowen leg flail in game two, after which Amare Stoudemire referred to the Spurs as a “dirty team.” Stoudemire later said he was specifically referring to Bowen and Manu Ginobili. (Earlier this season, Ginobili gave Bell a forearm shiver that cost Bell a game due to injury, a play I’m sure all the Suns remember.)  If you haven’t heard, Robert Horry committed a flagrant foul on Steve Nash late in game 4. Perhaps out of frustration, perhaps with intent. Following the subsequent suspensions of Horry, Stoudemire, and Diaw, Commissioner David Stern and NBA Punishment-Hander-Outer Stu Jackson were fried by every media outlet in the country. (Isn’t it just a little ironic that the player who called the Spurs dirty sits out a game as a result of a dirty play by Horry?) The phrases “a rule is a rule,” “immediate vicinity,” and “gray area” were thrown around more often than Bowen shows up on youtube. A couple of my favorites were, “It’s not a matter of fairness, it’s a matter of correctness.” Huh? Actually Stu, it turned out to be neither. In fact, it wasn’t in the “immediate vicinity” of either. Better luck next time.  And “The rule is the rule . . . We intend to apply it consistently.” Strike two. (Look for a breaking ball low and away, Stu Mendoza.)  

 

A dangerous precedent was set with the Jackson/Stern decision. What is there to stop a team from sending out it’s 12th man to bodycheck with the intent of inciting a reaction from the other team, which would result in a suspension of one or more players? For this, I bring in Alex Trebec. “The answer is:  nothing.” I’m sure the league will change the rule after the season. But for now, I’ll take “Gray Areas for $500, Alex.”

And what does “immediate vicinity” mean, anyway? Stu Jackson-Mendoza, still trying to raise his average above .150, said in a local radio interview that Stoudemire and Diaw were 20 to 25 feet away from their seats. So, had their seats been nearer to the “altercation,” would they have been, say, only 10 to 15 feet away? Would that still be in the “immediate vicinity?” Ah, the metric system is a beautiful thing, isn’t it Mr. Mendoza? Perhaps we should apply it to your batting average. It may help. Or to your gray area, if you had one. Which we know you don’t. You told us over and over. But repeating an ambiguous rule makes neither your decision nor the rule right.

 

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Phoenix. Pronunciation: \'fe-niks\   Function: noun

 : a legendary bird which according to one account lived 500 years, burned itself to ashes on a pyre, and rose alive from the ashes to live another period; also : a person or thing likened to the phoenix

Through five games of one of the better series in recent memory, the San Antonio Spurs lead the Phoenix Suns 3-2.  And the better team almost always wins in a seven game series. Which is why I like the Suns chances of winning two straight.  Through the five games, the Suns have outscored the Spurs 497-486. One could be so bold as to say that, save for a Nash-Gash and an unfortunate suspension, this series may be over. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

 

In the ’05 playoffs, Joe Johnson took a vicious fall against the Mavericks. He basically broke his face, yet the Suns still prevailed without him, only to fall the Spurs in five games. (Happy in Atlanta, Joe? At least you’re the main guy now, aren’t you?) Heading into the following season, Amare Stoudemire was thought to be lost for the season after micro-fracture surgery on one knee and a more common surgery to his other knee. Most NBA scribes labeled the Suns a .500 team at best. Mike D’Antoni though, said that his team would still win 50 games and be a force in the playoffs. After winning 54 and losing 28, and Kurt Thomas and Raja Bell to injury, the Suns made it to the western conference finals. (Granted, the seeding was a bit out of whack, which has since been fixed. But you can only play who they tell you to play.) Stoudemire wound up playing in three mid-season games before it was decided that he would be put on the shelf, as his knees were not recovered enough for the rigors of the NBA. And with his removal from the lineup came more predictions of a lost season. Yet the Suns rose again. And I believe they will in this series.  

 

There is one glaring reason why the Suns lost game five to the Spurs last night. Mike D’Antoni has answered the usual questions about his coaching ability.

 

His style can’t win a title. Yes, it can. And even the biggest nay-sayers know it, I believe. They may not admit, but they can see it happening.

 

His team doesn’t play any defense. Yes, it does. No, they’re not the Detroit Pistons, and never will be. But I doubt even the Pistons could have played the defense the Suns did in the fourth quarter of game four. Or in game five, save for the last two minutes when the Suns ran out of gas.  

 

Which brings me to the one criticism that D’Antoni has failed to quell:

 

His bench is too shallow. Yup, it is. No argument there. It would be easy to say that he should have played Pat Burke, Marcus Banks, or, especially, Jalen Rose in game five. And he should’ve played all three to give his starters more rest, with Stoudemire and Diaw sidelined. But it’s hard to play your bench when you don’t have confidence in them. And this is where I fault D’Antoni. Yes, he should have played his bench more last night. But I don’t know how much it would have helped. The real problem is that he didn’t play them on a consistent basis during the season.  And therefore didn’t feel comfortable doing it last night.  And that falls squarely on the D’Antoni’s shoulders, since he made the personnel decisions in the off-season, as far as anyone can tell, and the playing time decisions during the season.

 

The worst thing about the game four incident is that the enormity of Suns effort in seizing the game from the Spurs was lost, due to all the Horry/Nash rhetoric and ramifications. The Suns shut down the Spurs defensively in the closing minutes and won a game no one thought they would win. Including Robert Horry, apparently.  To think that the Suns can’t do it again in San Antonio in game six is a more than a little presumptuous.  And when it goes to a game seven, I'll take the Suns. And since my nerves will be shot, I can guarantee you I'll be leaving the "immediate vicinity" of my couch. Who knows, I'll probably get so excited that I may wind up 20 feet away. Hopefully I won't have to miss game one of the western conference finals because of it. That would give Shooter an advantage.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Hey David Stern, it’s not my fault that you still haven’t figured out how to schedule your playoff games. It’s now 6:45 and the “6:30" Suns/Spurs game still isn’t on. If this Nets/Cavs game goes to overtime, I’ll be forced to go change my oil, which I’ve been successful putting off up to this point. Then I’ll REALLY be pissed!

 

Okay, 6:55 now and still no Suns/Spurs. Where’s my funnel and that oil filter I bought last month?

 

7:00 now, the Cavs/Nets game just ended and, after a couple commercials, I see that I missed three and a half minutes of the Suns/Spurs game. Sorry, your “fashionably late” b.s. isn’t working for me. You should take a page from the NFL, the most successful sports league around. They start their games on time. Yes, even the playoff games. (Well, except for the concert and concurrent 45 minute halftime show during the Super Bowl. Okay, forget what I said).

 

 

Coming into this game, some observations I’ve noticed:

-Kurt Thomas has indeed played Tim Duncan pretty tough. Duncan has hit a lot of very tough shots, which is what makes him Tim Duncan. (Memo to young players-the backboard can be your friend. Learn to use it). I’d like to see the Suns continue to play Duncan straight up with Thomas instead of doubling him.

 

-Contrary to popular belief, the Suns defense has played pretty well. The Spurs have shot just 43% through three games.

-The Suns free throw percentage has been a little off. One of the best FT shooting teams in the regular season(80.8), and in last year’s playoffs as well (83.1), they are shooting just 76.8% in this series. That’s enough to make a difference.

-As for all the back-and-forth bickering about the officiating, I look at it this way: I think the officials call a lot of stuff based on a team or player's reputation, whether they intend to or not. The Spurs have the reputation of a tough defensive team, and therefore are going to get more calls in a physical game. The Suns have never had that reputation, and therefore are not going to get a lot of calls when they are physical, simply because it seems out of the ordinary for them. Much like a big man carrying the ball vs. a point guard doing it. Almost all point guards do it at one time or another, and it's almost never called. When a center does it, it looks so out of the ordinary that a red flag goes up and the officials will call it almost every time.
The fact of the matter, though, is that the team that feels like it's not getting the calls has a much better chance of getting some in the future if they play through it. We could go back and forth about which team whines more, but the fact of the matter is that both teams are doing it too much.

-I still haven’t figured out why D’Antoni hasn’t used his bench more, something I’ve been saying all season. Jalen Rose, for example, has the veteran post-season experience that would no doubt help the Suns. With James Jones having been replaced in the starting line-up by Thomas after game one, Rose would seem to me a natural for grabbing Jones’ minutes. I’m not giving up on Jones yet, but this is about the here and now, and Rose should be playing. Don’t laugh, but the Suns also have a sharp shooter, Eric Piatkowski, sitting on their bench. Like Brent Barry and Robert Horry for the Spurs, Piatkowski offers little more than a long-range presence, which may be effective at times. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been used much at all this season, so who knows how accurate his shot would be. But I would have tried him against Barry or Horry early in the series to get a feel. Okay, enough about that. Let’s get on with it.

 

At 3:08 of the first, (which is one of the first plays I saw in the game-thanks, Mr. Stern, you turd), Ginobili hits an open three. Stay on your man, Suns. Shortly after, Marion goes into the crowd trying to retrieve a loose ball, and has to jump over the cameramen. He landed at the feet of Suns’ owner Robert Sarver. The incident reminded me of the Dennis Rodman incident many years ago, when he fell into the cameramen and kicked one of them on the way back to the court. And Rodman was either fined or suspended for it-maybe both, I don't remember. Far be it for me to ever defend Rodman's actions, but I remember getting into it with a lot of my friends at the time, because I felt that cameramen had no business being that close to the field of play. What would happen if a player falls or trips over one of them and tears up a knee or breaks a leg?

Anyway, Michael Finley, who was drafted by the Suns, hits a long jumper. Hey Suns, stay on your man! With 7:27 to go in the second, Duncan is called for a foul on Nash, which was not a good call. Perhaps it was a makeup call for Duncan shuffling both his pivot feet immediately prior to scoring on the other end. Just a thought.

With Duncan out at 2:17, Barry hits a three. Again, why are you leaving three point shooters open? Who are you doubling, Oberto? Wake the hell up.

 

Spurs lead 45-40 at halftime. One thing I’ve noticed-Nash is playing well for the most part, but he is committing too many turnovers. It’s costing the Suns to this point. Great intensity through the first half, though. I wish all NBA games were like this. Though after listening to the last few minutes of the first half on radio, I wonder why the TV broadcast doesn’t produce the same crowd volume. Also, it would be easy to say that the score indicates a Spurs scoring pace, but the first three games disproved that theory, so it means little at this point. And as I suspected, the officiating hasn’t been an issue so far in the game. As much as we all complain about it, it seldom seems to last more than one game at a time. (Which is no excuse, Stern. It still needs to be fixed. Kind of like your scheduling).

Stoudemire converts a three point play late in the third. That’s crucial. Suns need to get some momentum. And with five seconds left in the quarter, Barbosa dribbles right into traffic and doesn’t get a shot off. Come on, Leandro. Use your head. Third quarter ends with an 80-72 Spurs lead, which I believe was the same score after three quarters in game three.

With 8:57 left in the fourth, there’s a TV timeout, which occurs at the first whistle under nine, six, and three minutes of each quarter. Don’t ask me why. Just think advertising. And the Suns have the “deer in the headlights” look. Not looking good for the Suns, as they trail by nine. But coming out of the TV timeout, Marion hits a three. This is a key point, no, a HUGE point in the game-perhaps even a watershed moment, as Steve Kerr suggested-for the Suns.

 

At 6:54 of the fourth, Ginobili goes down like he’s been shot. But then he did run into Stoudemire, who had position. I can honestly say I’ve just seen the first really bad call of the game. Not to worry, though. Our eyes are on the prize.

 

At 5:10, Finley hits an open jumper. STAY ON YOUR F*****G MAN!! And Nash is still turning it over too much. It’s costly. As I hear the stats on three pointers made, I can’t help but think that the Suns haven’t had as many open looks as the Spurs. Probably because they are not staying at home defensively.

 

Shawn Marion is having a huge fourth quarter, both defensively and on the boards. (Okay, we all know the Suns don’t play any defense. You got me there). And as Sebastian said in “The Little Mermaid”, my nerves are shot! But the Suns are not quite dead yet . . .

 

Marion gets another huge rebound, and the Suns are doubling Duncan just enough on the other end. It’s working out nicely. Could it be?

Holy cow. With 32 seconds left, the Suns have a three point lead. NOW HEAR THIS: STAY AT HOME ON DEFENSE!! Which they did. And even with Nash missing two of four free throws in the last minute, the Suns win. (I’d trade Nash for a high-quality folding chair, since he can’t hit his free throws). Suns win in a way that no one saw coming. Well, almost no one. 

 

Oh, did I mention that Steve Nash went a little overboard with Robert Horry late in the game? Yup, trust me. I saw it. Horry was just minding his own business, running over to defend Nash, and BAM! Nash suddenly tried to bite him in the elbow. Totally uncalled for. Oh sure, Nash flopped into the scorer’s table like a Ginobili out of water, but he didn’t fool me. No sir. I wasn’t born yesterday.

 

As for the possible repercussions mentioned for Stoudemire and Diaw for coming off the bench, I would offer this: Earlier this season, after a game vs. Toronto, Raja Bell was suspended for one game because, in the league's opinion, he "intended" to knee an opposing player, though no contact was actually made. However, in game three, Bowen actually DID make contact with Nash's groin area, and was not suspended. I guess the league decided that Bowen did not actually "intend" for his knee to come in contact with Nash. Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture? And when did raising one's knee in the direction of your opponents groin become a "natural basketball move"?

 

Okay, I’ll move on. If Horry’s move tonight results in a suspension for any Suns player, does that mean the age of the enforcer is back? You know, like back in the ‘70s when a player would get a little overly physical with an opponents star in hopes of getting the star, or other teammates, out of the game, or a subsequent game? I guess we’ll see.

Before I go, let me leave you with this. Lyrikell, SoAmazin, and Mr. Popovich, with your “hard-nosed defense,” you’re all done. Bbing, jaysisko and all you other Suns nay-sayers; done too. You all have exactly four days to get your shots in. Because after Friday’s game six, you’ll have to wait ‘til next year. Like I’ve been saying all along, the teams would split the first two in Phoenix and the second two in San Antonio, and the Suns would win in six. Ciao. You see, it's all about mental toughness.

And thanks for taking the time to read.

 

After the Phoenix Suns were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the Western Conference finals in ’05, it was apparent to the Suns management that a little more inside toughness was needed. Not necessarily a big scoring presence, but a presence nonetheless. During the subsequent off-season, Kurt Thomas was acquired in a trade with the New York Knicks for guard Quentin Richardson. (There were others involved, but these were the main players). And ever since, countless Suns fans have been waiting for Mike D’Antoni to show us Thomas’ worth to the team. Oh we knew what it was; we were just waiting to see it firsthand.

 

(Oh, I almost forgot to mention this. One of the first things I learned in journalism class way back when I was an aspiring sportswriter was that timeliness was one of the most important ingredients of a successful article. Unfortunately, that was never my strong suit. I attempted to download edhardiman’s avatar-you know, the one where it looks like he’s scrambling around the newsroom trying to make the deadline with his sports article? At least, that's the mental picture I've always had. I thought that would help somehow. But alas, after several tries, I decided that I wouldn’t do ed justice, so I abandoned the idea. Thus, you’re stuck with this. If you’ve read all you care to read about game 2 of the Suns/Spurs matchup, with it now being a day old, you may find this a bit redundant. My apologies. By the way, did y'all have a good Easter?)

 

Before I go any further, my prediction for this series had the Suns winning in six games. I figure they’ll split in San Antonio, followed by the Suns winning two straight. The Pistons of the ‘80s had a hard time getting past the Celtics, but they finally did. The Bulls getting past the Pistons followed the same scenario. And so it goes. So often it occurs that a team has to get to the doorstep and lose before they figure out how to get there and win. That is how I feel about this Suns team. As I mentioned in my post when the Suns were eliminated last year, it’s not only the players who gained valuable playoff experience-the coaches did as well.

 

Okay, back to game 2. The main story that followed game 1, Nash’s nose, quickly became a non-story in game 2. He had his full arsenal going early, and set the tone for the game. And yes, Duncan did get 29 in game 2, but he had to work very hard for almost all of them. He got 29 because, well, he's Tim Duncan. Kurt Thomas playing Duncan straight up was an excellent decision. I don’t know why it didn’t happen sooner, but at the same time, I can understand. Even if I didn’t like it. The Suns have been effective with the same starting lineup for a long time. But replacing James Jones with Thomas was the right move at the right time. And forget the talk about Thomas slowing the Suns down. Last I checked, you must play defense and rebound in order to run your offense. I think it’s called Basketball 101.

I loved Kenny Smith’s analysis at halftime of the game. In short, he said that the Suns had adjusted and had the momentum going their way. They had done the necessary things to win this game, and he thought they would. And did you hear Magic Johnson? He compared Nash to Nowitzki, saying that the former had stepped up both verbally and physically to lead his team, something the latter has been unable to do. Ouch. Don’t get me wrong. I love Dirk’s game. If you are looking for a seven footer to play on the perimeter, that is. But you’d better have another one down low to clean up. Or at least that’s what Magic said. And I concur. Which I'm sure will make Magic very satisfied.

 

I must take this opportunity to say that Amare had a leg up on Manu Ginobili. Or should I say a leg down. Oh what the heck, let’s just tell it like it is. Ginobili held onto Stoudemire’s leg during a pick and roll play. The foul was called on Amare, and I’ll give him credit for not making an issue of it. The refs blew it. Move on. Which is what he did.

 

Kudos to Shawn Marion, who was told to play tough “D” on Tony Parker and not worry about scoring, which he did as well. Marion finished with only five points. In a twenty point victory. I’ll take that, and I think the Matrix will, too.

 

Let’s check in with Craig Sager. On second thought, let’s not. I know Craig, it’s not your fault. I doubt it was your decision to be annoying. You have a job to do. (Probably WAS you decision to wear loud suits, though. I haven’t seen you wear purple yet. Are you saving that for game 5?)

 

I did find it funny how Steve Kerr brought up Duncan’s patented look of shock after a foul call. Unlike Doug Collins, Kerr doesn’t #### himself when forced to choose between saying the refs blew a call and tying his own shoes. And Collins is probably vomiting just reading this. The pressure is just too much.

 

The beauty of Kurt Thomas playing Duncan one-on-one, even if Duncan does score 29 hard-earned points, like he did last night, has a domino effect. It allows Stoudemire to play (fill in the blank here with another Spurs low-post scorer, if you can find one), man to man. It also allows Marion to play Parker, which allows Raja Bell to play Michael Finley or Ginobili. Which in turn allows Nash to play Bruce Bowen, who is not going to do a lot of damage with his outside shot, and seldom drives to the basket. Again, kudos to Thomas and Marion for their defensive efforts. Oh what am I saying, we all know the Suns don’t play any defense, right?

 

The decision to have Marion concentrate on defense was especially crucial, I thought. The Suns have ample scoring sources. Marion is usually one of them, but in this series, he may prove to be more effective on the other end. Granted, Parker got 30-plus in game 1, but Marion only played him two of the four quarters. Marion had a purpose in game 2, and he is to be commended. Perhaps he didn’t score like he is used to, but he’ll be fine come June while being fitted for a ring. And perhaps he didn’t care for the fact that he finished fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting, yet failed to make either the first nor second team all-defensive squads. Perhaps that built a little chip on his shoulder. And perhaps he has a max contract with the Suns. And perhaps he is indispensable. And perhaps you can offer me a player that I’d trade you in a heartbeat for him. But don’t hold your breath.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read. Game 3 is Saturday night. We’ll see who goes head to head in that one.

Unfortunately, what was evolving into a great game will be remembered for a single play. Steve Nash was trying to make a play on the ball while Tony Parker was dribbling. Their heads collided, and Parker went down. While Nash was bent over him trying to see if he was okay, he felt a trickle of blood. At first, he thought the blood on his face was Parker’s. Not so, as we all know now. Nash has a cut that ran almost the full length of his nose. A cut that would have been applauded vigorously had it occurred the night before in the De La Hoya/Mayweather fight. But this was a basketball game. More on that later.

 

-I want Tony Parker tested for shot-enhancement drugs. And I want him tested now. And while we’re at it, test him for skull density, too. Just a thought. It must be over the limit, to cut Nash like he did. 

 

-I saw the officials call Tim Duncan for a foul when he put his hand on Stoudemire’s hip while Amare was going up for a shot. I saw the officials call a foul on Raja Bell for holding Duncan’s arm while Duncan was going up for a rebound. Both were good calls. My question is this: how is it that they can see those infractions that most of us miss, yet miss numerous obvious calls that the rest of us see? I guess we should have specified when we said all we want is consistency. We didn’t mean consistently bad. But, to their credit, they’re not favoring either team, which is all we can ask for. If that means anything.

-Key point in the game-In the third quarter, Duncan is fouled and misses both free throws. The Spurs get the rebound and score. That cannot happen if the Suns want to win this series. 

 -Steve Nash is a great point guard, but the announcers are gushing a little too much. We all know he can handle the ball and pass with either hand, but sometimes the folks who call the game get a little carried away.

 -Speaking of Steve Nash and gushing, I think Mike D’Antoni should have sent Nash to the locker room for treatment when it happened, and moved on without him.  I think Nash’s injury became a bit of a distraction. I realize that, in the heat of the moment, you want your best guy out there, but it was apparent that he was not going to be available, so get your team together and keep playing. Mike, you’re in the big leagues now. And you supposedly have the depth to win a title. Deal with it. Instead of having your trainers scramble to get Nash back on the court, which obviously was not going to happen, go with the guys you got and try to win the game. To be fair, I don’t know how much attention D’Antoni was paying to the game versus how much he was paying to Nash, so I can’t say for sure, but like I said, I think Nash’s injury and subsequent treatment were a distraction.

 And now the big story will become Steve Nash’s schnozz. It shouldn’t be, but I guess that’s what he gets for sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong. Well, at least you can’t say he doesn’t have a nose for the game. And some people say he can’t smell defense. Sheesh, I nose better. But I will say this—I can smell a great series. (Sniff,sniff). Yup, nose doubt about it. It’s going to be a great one, and no one said getting to the mountaintop was going to be easy, but it will be that much sweeter when the Suns get there. The wizard of schnozz will be back. He wants to win a title to cement his legacy. And he’s picked up the scent. Which is a little difficult for him right now, but, as Tom Hanks said in one of my all-time favorite sports moves, it’s the hard that makes it great.

And if you have a different take, suture self. 

Thanks for taking the time to read.