tinysands
2007-04-06, 02:39 PM
Mike Finger: Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) not ready to relinquish control to Phoenix
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA040607.04D.COL.BKNfinger.spurs.3e509a5.html
Web Posted: 04/06/2007 01:04 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Even now, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) probably won't catch the Suns in the standings. Phoenix will find a way to hold on to the higher seed, the more favorable opening-round matchup, and the home-court advantage.
But when these two teams play again next month?
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) still will have the only edge that matters.
Maybe they aren't in Phoenix's head, but it sure looks that way. Against the rest of the league, the Suns are the team no one wants to face in the playoffs. Against the Spurs, they look more out of sorts than a Kentucky athletic director trying to fill a job opening.
After a 92-85 loss at the AT&T Center on Thursday night, the Suns have lost 11 of their past 14 regular-season games against the Spurs. Counting the playoffs, that slump balloons to 15 of 19.
And even though these streaks can reverse in a heartbeat, and even though the momentum in the average playoff series changes 15 times, there are compelling reasons to believe the Spurs' upper hand is legitimate, and built to last.
It isn't just because the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) are the only team in the conference capable of forcing their tempo on the Suns, or just because Tony Parker (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tony_parker) still gets to the basket more quickly than Leandro Barbosa, or just because Fabricio Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) never misses a basket against the Suns at home (he's now 12 of 12 this season).
It's because Amare Stoudemire still is prone to defensive lapses, and Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan) still is prone to make the Suns pay for them. What most people remember about the 2005 Western Conference finals was that the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) couldn't stop Stoudemire. What many forget is that Stoudemire couldn't stop Duncan, and that trend continued Thursday. Duncan outscored Stoudemire 22-15, looking as nimble and as powerful as he has all season.
It's because even when the Suns appear to have a matchup advantage against the Spurs, it doesn't always work out that way. With Barbosa receiving starter's minutes for Phoenix and necessitating the attention of Gregg Popovich's speediest defenders, it leaves Bruce Bowen (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/bruce_bowen) as the only viable option to guard Steve Nash, and that would seem to be a big edge for the Suns.
But Bowen doesn't see it that way. He's getting older, but he's still the rare defender capable of pestering everyone from Nash to Dirk Nowitzki, and he proved it again Thursday. Not only was Nash unable to get into a scoring rhythm, he also struggled with the part of his game that usually never betrays him — getting his teammates involved.
Bowen cut off drives, jumped in passing lanes and foiled the pick-and-roll. Nash finished with seven assists, but at least three of those came with Bowen on the bench, and when Popovich sent him back onto the floor for the last two minutes, Nash responded by throwing the ball out of bounds for his sixth turnover of the night.
And it's not as though the rest of the Suns have been in the habit of picking up the slack against the Spurs. Two years ago in the playoffs, Shawn Marion endured one of the toughest series of his career, and it hasn't gotten much better. In Phoenix's two previous meetings with the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) this season, he shot 9 of 29 from the field. And Thursday, he was only 2 of 5 before finally heating up during the Suns' ill-fated comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.
Then there is Michael Finley, whose decision to spurn Phoenix in favor of the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) two summers ago might finally come back to haunt the Suns. If these two teams meet in the conference semifinals, someone will need to hit some big perimeter shots. And if Finley plays the way he has in the past six games (when he's averaged 15.6 points while shooting 20 of 37 from 3-point range), he's as good a candidate as any.
There are no guarantees, of course. The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) could trip up in the first round, and the Suns could finally break through against their nemesis the way the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) once did with the Lakers.
But as for now?
There's an edge, all right. And it has nothing to do with the standings.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA040607.04D.COL.BKNfinger.spurs.3e509a5.html
Web Posted: 04/06/2007 01:04 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Even now, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) probably won't catch the Suns in the standings. Phoenix will find a way to hold on to the higher seed, the more favorable opening-round matchup, and the home-court advantage.
But when these two teams play again next month?
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) still will have the only edge that matters.
Maybe they aren't in Phoenix's head, but it sure looks that way. Against the rest of the league, the Suns are the team no one wants to face in the playoffs. Against the Spurs, they look more out of sorts than a Kentucky athletic director trying to fill a job opening.
After a 92-85 loss at the AT&T Center on Thursday night, the Suns have lost 11 of their past 14 regular-season games against the Spurs. Counting the playoffs, that slump balloons to 15 of 19.
And even though these streaks can reverse in a heartbeat, and even though the momentum in the average playoff series changes 15 times, there are compelling reasons to believe the Spurs' upper hand is legitimate, and built to last.
It isn't just because the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) are the only team in the conference capable of forcing their tempo on the Suns, or just because Tony Parker (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tony_parker) still gets to the basket more quickly than Leandro Barbosa, or just because Fabricio Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) never misses a basket against the Suns at home (he's now 12 of 12 this season).
It's because Amare Stoudemire still is prone to defensive lapses, and Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan) still is prone to make the Suns pay for them. What most people remember about the 2005 Western Conference finals was that the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) couldn't stop Stoudemire. What many forget is that Stoudemire couldn't stop Duncan, and that trend continued Thursday. Duncan outscored Stoudemire 22-15, looking as nimble and as powerful as he has all season.
It's because even when the Suns appear to have a matchup advantage against the Spurs, it doesn't always work out that way. With Barbosa receiving starter's minutes for Phoenix and necessitating the attention of Gregg Popovich's speediest defenders, it leaves Bruce Bowen (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/bruce_bowen) as the only viable option to guard Steve Nash, and that would seem to be a big edge for the Suns.
But Bowen doesn't see it that way. He's getting older, but he's still the rare defender capable of pestering everyone from Nash to Dirk Nowitzki, and he proved it again Thursday. Not only was Nash unable to get into a scoring rhythm, he also struggled with the part of his game that usually never betrays him — getting his teammates involved.
Bowen cut off drives, jumped in passing lanes and foiled the pick-and-roll. Nash finished with seven assists, but at least three of those came with Bowen on the bench, and when Popovich sent him back onto the floor for the last two minutes, Nash responded by throwing the ball out of bounds for his sixth turnover of the night.
And it's not as though the rest of the Suns have been in the habit of picking up the slack against the Spurs. Two years ago in the playoffs, Shawn Marion endured one of the toughest series of his career, and it hasn't gotten much better. In Phoenix's two previous meetings with the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) this season, he shot 9 of 29 from the field. And Thursday, he was only 2 of 5 before finally heating up during the Suns' ill-fated comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.
Then there is Michael Finley, whose decision to spurn Phoenix in favor of the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) two summers ago might finally come back to haunt the Suns. If these two teams meet in the conference semifinals, someone will need to hit some big perimeter shots. And if Finley plays the way he has in the past six games (when he's averaged 15.6 points while shooting 20 of 37 from 3-point range), he's as good a candidate as any.
There are no guarantees, of course. The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) could trip up in the first round, and the Suns could finally break through against their nemesis the way the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) once did with the Lakers.
But as for now?
There's an edge, all right. And it has nothing to do with the standings.