Game 1: Well the Spurs took this one 121-114. They had great play from their bench, especially Barry and Horry. The Suns failed to execute their fast break game as they pushed the ball often, but did not convert due to the Spurs transistion D. Jim Jackson had a huge game for them nailing 3's and playing good D. Marion was a ghost tonight on the offensive end as he did not have no flow what so ever, hence the 1-6 shooting and 3 points. Nash was Nash and Amare was Amare, however, in the 4th the Spurs turned it up and closed in on them. Tremendous 3 point shooting from the Spurs, and overall a great game. Duncan did not look totally healthy, but you wouldn't have known that from looking at the boxscore and his 28-15 stats from tonight. They shut down the Suns and their transistion game and their backcourt was great. Parker turned it on towards the end of the half, and carried on in the 2nd half. Next game, most likely the Suns will have JJ back and combined with Marion being able to produce on the offensive end along with some more production from Q, the Suns should have a better chance to win. They must though, need to find away to push the ball and convert.
It was a competetive game, i thought pheonix was gonna win but i think san antonio's bench really helped them down the stretch. But i mean who would have thought that the spurs would score 43 points in the 4th. But im takin the suns to win the next game either Joe Johnson plays or not, and nice half court shot by Manu to end the 1st q.
i know this doesnt have to do with san an vs. phoenix, but im just wonderin how you guys can be raptors fans ans still like vince after what he did to us
Suns are a fast breaking team, and they were not allowed to do what they do. However, i feel that offensivly the suns are too much for the spurs. They had a great game, but i don't think they can outshoot the suns in the entire series.
Only two guys came off the bench Hunter and Barbosa, JJ's absence is hurting the Suns as Jim Jackson would usually be coming off the bench. Hopefully he'll be back for tuesday night and Marion will make his presence felt on the stat sheet this time.
Brent Barry had a great game for the Spurs. He has been struggling for most of the playoffs, but he wasn't struggling in this game. He shot 5-8 from 3, and 8-12 from the court scoring 21 points. He's been averaging just 6 points during the playoffs this season. Barry stepping up helped the Spurs out a lot, and the Suns can't afford to let him shoot like that again. The Spurs got 43 points in the 4th quarter, Phoenix 32.
Didn't see the game, but good game for the Spurs, IMO they needed to coe out strong int he first game. If they let phoenix beat them it would just be a confidence booster for the Suns and would ahve given them some extra leverage. Overall, I can't wait to see the rest of the series.
As expected TP abused the Suns offensively yesterday and made Nash work on the other end too. TD is still not 100% but still got 28 and 15. That says It all really. Brent Barry really stepped. He has a habit of playing well against the Suns and they didn't respect his outside game and he killed them. He showed flashes of the guy that was a killer with the Sonics last year. Shame he is so inconsistant, as really he should love playing in this system. thought big shot Rob played a very good game off the bench. Unlike the past two years seems to have alot of lift in his legs.
This will be a great series of contrasting styles. The better team will impose its style on the other. Personally, I think the Spurs have the proven style to win a championship, but the Suns starting 5 (especially with JJ healthy again) is just so athletic that they are tough to beat. I SO admire the Spurs' defense, and with Avery at the helm of the Mavs, I hope to get to that point by next year (fingers-crossed). I will enjoy watching this series.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bobcats:</div><div class="quote_post">Spurs can't expect to give up 115+ points and still win when JJ gets healthy.</div> It has NOT been the Spurs' traditional way of winning, but they are suprisingly adept at the speed game, what with Parker and Ginobili on the roster. The question is which team is better at playing the other ones style at those times when they are forced to do so? Are the Spurs better at the run-and-gun or are the Suns better at the half-court game? Just some of the questions that make this an intriguing match-up for basketball fans.
Definitely, Phoenix would have trouble in a half court offense. The reason they are able to get away with playing a small lineup right now is that they are able to score before the defense even has time to set up. If the Suns are forced to play a traditional game in the halfcourt, they won't be able to exploit Stoudemire against a smaller defender to its full potential. The Spurs, meanwhile, have guys like Ginobili, Parker and Barry who are all better at getting out in the open and running.
I wonder if Stephen Hunter is going to see even more minutes at the 5? This is how D'Antoni adjusted to having to play more half-court. Or will he try to keep Hunter off the floor to keep forcing a quicker pace? We'll see.
The Spurs have a few things to their advantage. They're great at getting back on defense in transition, and though they aren't an offensive team by design, they can play the fast paced game, and have shown during the season that they can beat the Suns at that game. The Suns hadn't run into any really good scoring PG's so they had been fortunate the first 2 rounds, but the Parker - Nash matchup can definately cause a lot of problems for them in this one.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">. . . . but the Parker - Nash matchup can definately cause a lot of problems for them in this one.</div> I remember Nash had problems with TP even back when he was with the Mavs.
Although, being a Rockets diehard, I hate the Spurs with an undying passion, I feel that they will win this series...Phoenix, IMO, is a team of spurts and runs, and I feel that the Spurs are just too consistent offensively, and obviously are the more dynamic defensive club...the Spurs also have better depth and more experience, and can counter any speed or lineup that the Suns throw at them... Spurs in 5...
Game 2 is over. 111-108 San Antonio. Great game, San Antonio played their hearts out. They dominated the first quarter, lost their lead in the second and entered the half down two, then ended the third down five. They came back in a huge way in the fourth, Duncan was huge for them: 30 points, 8 boards, and 2 assists in 36 minutes. Duncan was able to lay off just enough in the late 4th to avoid commiting his 6th foul, great job on his part. Parker was flat-out fantastic 24 points off of 12-22 shooting 5 assists (4 TO's, though), 3 boards, a steal and a block. Amare and Nash both played great basketball, though Amare had the oppurtunity to put one down easily in the mid-late 4th but decided to take a lay-up and missed (that cost them). Both teams shot well from the floor, but San Antonio hit tough shots late in the game, they hit big shots - like champions do.
I've noticed that in the first 2 rounds the small guys like dwyane wade and ginobili were the most dominating figure but now it's the big guys like duncan (didn't see shaq or ben play) anyways good luck spurs
