San Antonio Spurs Dynasty

A Perfect Evening, Except For Barkley's Shiny Red Toes

2008-05-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

Second Round Game 4 vs. New Orleans: Spurs 100, Hornets 80 (2-2)

Well, that was alarmingly easy. I guess my reverse jinx on Chris Paul worked out, huh?

Actually Paul wasn't too bad, as a scorer. He was 10-16 from the field, after all and had a game high 23 points. The problem was his teammates; his fellow four starters combined for one less bucket than he had by himself. Paul's problem, on the other hand, was that for the first time he had next to no impact on the game as a facilitator, and that was a major surprise. If he isn't the best point guard on the floor, the Nooch have NO CHANCE to win. None.

And let's be clear on this. Sunday night our Tony Parker was decidedly superior to Paul in every facet of the game. He penetrated and finished better, he shot better, he passed better, he defended better, he led better. He looked like a guy who's played in May and June before and Paul looked like a neophyte. For the first time, it appeared as if pressure, as if the moment, got to Paul. His inner computer short-circuited and his decision making went awry. Paul finished with four turnovers to go along with five assists, and really he was fortunate not to be whistled for a couple more offensive fouls or traveling violations. Really I don't understand what the zebras are looking at. He's pretty blatant about using his off arm as a battering ram on drives and on occasion he takes that extra step (or two).

The odd thing about the game is that watching it again, I don't really feel as if either team played as well defensively as the stats or postgame comments would indicate. The Spurs were the superior team, no doubt, but both teams missed a lot of open shots, especially from three point land. As I predicted, Bowen struggled mightily shooting the ball in Game 4 and we were lucky Blotch stepped up. We were only 8-26 (30%) from downtown and that percentage has to improve a bit if we're gonna win one of these road games.

Basically I don't think most of our guys played all that well, and that's what has me excited and concerned at the same time. We won the game on the backs of Parker, Duncan and Udoka. Manu passed it well, but he wasn't really all that great at anything else. Finley shot it well, but he left a lot to be desired defensively, especially against Jannero Pargo. Bruce you know about, and the bigs were so-so, not really rebounding or scoring much. I don't think Oberto did anything special guarding West, the guy just missed a lot of shots, and we threw a few doubles at him that seemed to surprise him.

New Orleans, on the other hand, played terribly. Not one rotation guy played even adequately for them. Paul was below par, the others were miserable. They really couldn't have played any worse at either end. There aren't many NBA teams, if any, that they could've beaten on Sunday. I guess the only bright side would be that if the world champion Spurs are the team they're modeling themselves after, this was a positive step, because they've got the "98 lb. Weakling Game" concept down pat. Fuckin' nailed it.

Like I said, I'm both excited and concerned by the way Game 4 unfolded. Excited because despite the blowout, we have a lot of room for improvement. Believe it or not, we left a lot of points out on the court Sunday. Our ball movement, clearly the best part of our team's performance on Sunday was so dominant that we could've cracked 120 points if we shot it better. Bruce will never be more open in his life and Manu missed a couple that he usually makes as well.

What I'm worried about is that the team will rest on its laurels and get over confident. We have to understand that we put a "A-" or at least a solid "B+" out there on Sunday while the Nooch were a "F-." We've got to play as well as we did on Sunday, if not better, just to be in the game late tonight. The Hornets will come out sharper, more competitive, more energetic, and they'll probably shoot a lot better.

I have a few defensive concerns. For one, the Nooch got a lot of open looks from three, especially when they went small. While I'm not anticipating them going small for large stretches, because it would leave the paint wide open for Tony and Manu, it was glaring, how many shots they got in that alignment. Maybe Scott could take advantage if he leaves Chandler on the floor and takes out West.

Secondly, I fear Pargo, a little. If he plays extended minutes with Paul it would give the Nooch two avenues to run the offense instead of one and they'd become a little less predictable. I think Pargo is a much more dangerous player than Peterson and I'm surprised Scott hasn't started him yet. He might in Game 5.

And last but not least, Bonzi still worries me a little. Sure, Ime did a great job on him, but what if Scott starts him instead of Peterson? Then they post up Manu right away and try to crash the boards. That scenario could work out against us.

As for defensive adjustments, I don't know what else they can do. They're already doing everything they can to make us beat them with Bruce, Fin, Ime and Manu shooting outside. We have guys that can make open shots, so you take what you can get there. And Tim is healthier and more decisive now, so that helps.

The Spurs have done what I'd hoped. They've put New Orleans on their heals and their guys are thinking now instead of acting. Let's see how that affects them at home.

Bowen, Duncan on NBA All-Defensive team

2008-05-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

More accolades for our San Antonio Spurs. Let's see if Bowen and Duncan can come through with big defensive efforts tonight in New Orleans. Otherwise, this recognition doesn't amount to much.

“I'm real happy for Timmy and Bruce,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before boarding the Spurs' charter jet to New Orleans. “They worked hard, as all the other players on the list did, I'm sure. But to have two on one team is pretty special.

“That's what helps us win. Without that, we're just another basketball team, but they make it different for us.”

The 30 NBA head coaches select the All-Defensive teams. They gave 24 first-team votes each to Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics and Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. Denver's Marcus Camby, the 2006-07 Defensive Player of the Year, got 14 first-team votes and was the first-team center for the second consecutive season.

Bowen got 13 first-team votes and 10 second-team votes and was the only player on either the first or second teams listed as a combo player — a guard/forward.

Duncan got 12 first-team votes and nine second-team votes. He has been on the All-Defensive team each of his 11 seasons in the NBA.

No other team had two players on either the first or second teams.

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was among the other players receiving votes.

Hornets guard Chris Paul was a second-team selection, and center Tyson Chandler also received votes.

"Spurs have momentum on their side, but little else"

2008-05-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

I was ready to do my own research into how teams without homecourt advantage have fared historically after coming back to tie a best-of-seven series 2-2, but John Hollinger beat me to it. ("Spurs have momentum on their side, but little else.")

If stats impress you, you may not want to read any further. Personally, I think this is interesting, but not entirely relevant to what has happened in this series.

What would you say is the likelihood of San Antonio's winning the series? Most of you would probably give an answer somewhere around 50 percent. I suppose a few of you might go as high as 80 or 90 percent. Even a Hornets fan might tell you 30 or 40 percent.

So it might shock you to learn what the historical data says. Depending on what aspect of history you wish to emphasize most, the Spurs' chances come in somewhere between 0 and 17.5 percent.

Huh? How can this be? Let's take a look.

For starters, we can look at the history of teams that won Games 3 and 4 after dropping the first two games in a best-of-seven series. You'd think since they'd won two straight games and turned it into a best-of-3, they'd have had a pretty good shot. You'd also be wrong.

Since the NBA-ABA merger, the "road" team has won the series only 17.5 percent of the time in best-of-7s when the home team won the first four games -- seven out of 40. Five of them came in the past four years, which tricks us into thinking it's more common than it really is: In the two decades prior, it happened only twice.

In conference semifinals, the team with home-court advantage wins 79.2 percent of the time. But in best-of-7s in which the home team wins the first four games, that number improves to 82.5 percent.

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Duncan, Ginobili Garner MVP Votes

2008-05-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

We all know who the real 2008 MVP is, but its of interest to Spurs fans that two of our favorite players received votes this year. Tim Duncan got two fourth place votes and 19 fifth place votes while Manu Ginobili received nine fifth place votes.

I know of at least one columnist who voted for Manu and here's why:

Ginobili's particularly unique impact this season defied any conceivable statistical measure until our friends at 82games.com unveiled "Clutch Stats" (fourth quarter or OT, five minutes or less, five-point margin or less) and "Super-Clutch Stats" (fourth quarter or OT, two minutes or less, three-point margin or less). In "Clutch" situations, the Argentinian (I love calling him that) averaged nearly a point a minute and shot 57 percent from the field, 44 percent from 3 and 93 percent from the foul line. In "Super-Clutch" situations, Manu was the third-best scorer (behind LeBron and Kobe) and shot a jaw-dropping 62 percent from the field. Throw in free-throw attempts and you could make a case that Manu was a lock to score seven out of 10 times in the last two minutes of every close game. There might be better players, but nobody's better with the bread in the toaster. Not even Kobe.

To put things into perspective, only 17 players received any votes this year, and Manu received more votes than Dirk Nowitzki, more votes than Deron Williams, and more votes than Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, Carlos Boozer and Antawn Jamison combined. Impressive.

Wait a second, someone voted for Antawn Jamison?!

"Paul & Company will go down scrapping"

2008-05-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

Those aren't my words, but the words of Peter Finney, New Orleans sports columnist, writing in last Monday's Times-Picayune.

The Hornets will lose this best-of-seven-game series to the defending NBA champions, despite winning the opener by 19 points.

Personally, I'm not so sure, but I do believe the Spurs will win tonight. The Spurs are favored by six again. And so far in these Conference Semifinals, the home team has won 13 of 14 games.

I expect tonight's to be another close game, or a blowout favoring the Spurs. It depends on how Byron Scott adjusts -- "speed the tempo, play better defense and get more contributions from the bench" -- to the changes that Pop made in game three, and whether the Big Three can come through again.

Regardless of the outcome, whoever loses tonight will go down scrapping.

Pop Changes Strategy, Peja Cries Softly Into Pillow

2008-05-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Game 3 recap! A full day before Game 4! I get to shower now! Yippee!

How To Beat the Hornets

2008-05-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Has Pop figured out how his team of veterans can beat the younger, more energetic New Orleans Hornets? If so, let's hope that what happened last night can be replicated three more times, and that Byron Scott and his team are unable to adjust.

1. Matthew Powell at PtR gives credit to Bruce Bown for shutting down Peja Stojakovic. After averaging 23.5 points in the first two games, Peja was held to eight by Bruce last night. (Speaking of Peja, I attended game one in New Orleans and Peja's face on a stick was handed to fans as they entered the Hive. I kept it and brought it to last night's viewing, so my fellow SpursDynasty writers could properly deface Peja's image before and during the game. I thought I might post it here for our readers to enjoy, but this is a family site. Ok, that's not true. I'll post it later.)

2. Johnny Ludden points out the Bowen-Stojakovic matchup and another adjustment that made a big difference in game three.

The Spurs can’t live without Parker. He helped carry them through the first round against Phoenix and if they have any hope of making this a competitive series, he’ll have to do some more heavy lifting. On Thursday, that meant also guarding Paul.

Such duties often don’t make for much fun. Bowen chased Paul for much of the series’ first two games and Paul simply picked apart the Spurs with his passing, making Peja Stojakovic one of his favorite targets. Realizing as much, Popovich opened Thursday with Bowen on Stojakovic. Having frequently tormented Stojakovic in Sacramento, Bowen again kept him in check.

Popovich also made one other important adjustment: He turned the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year into a starter.

I would add two more items to the list of things the Spurs need to do to win three out of their next four games.

3. The Big Three need to combine for 65 or more points. That was the magic number during the regular season. Last night Parker and Ginobili had 62! We need more big games from our Big Three.

4. Keep turnovers to a minimum. The Spurs gave it up 13 and 15 times in games one and two, compared to seven and eight times for the Hornets. Turnovers were a draw last night - both teams had 10.

For more in-depth analysis, read what Charley Rosen writes for FOX Sports. And while you're at it, check out the poll question, "Will the Spurs come back and win the series?"

Big Three Must Beat Hornets

2008-05-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

So far the Conference Semifinals against the Hornets have gone much like the Conference Quarterfinals against the Suns went. When the Big Three have produced, the Spurs have won. And when they haven't...

Duncan had a career playoff worst performance with just 5 points and 3 rebounds in game one, while Parker and Ginobili combined for just 24 points in game two, getting nearly as many turnovers (8) as assists (10).

As bad as they played, Tim, Tony and Manu can't play any worse, can they?

I'm not ready to write them off just because they lost two games on the road after coming off an emotionally and physically grueling series against the Suns. But another SpursDynasty writer, who shall remain nameless, sent this in an email:

I think you'd all agree if we played again last night, we would have gotten another assbeating in the 3rd quarter.

Lets hope there's enough time to reset.

I hate to say it, but this has been the wakeup call, the heavy dose of reality of competitive sport at the highest level which indicates that, at any time, an organization of tremendous athletic success, a dynasty, can fall into mediocrity quickly.

Its a matter of time before the dynastic period draws to a close - I just hope the last 2 games were not the curtains starting to close.

I've seen this happen before. I'm just hoping the franchise still has enough firepower for another ring. I think we do, but we're witnessing a changing of the guard, literally and figuratively.

There is writing on the wall, to be sure. On the other hand, we may just be facing the team that is best suited to beat us, as the Mavericks faced in the Warriors last year.

The Hornets have had our number all season long, outscoring us quarter-by-quarter 14-7 (three quarters were a draw). We beat them just twice during the regular season, November 9 and February 23, and in both of those wins our Big Three combined for 65 points. Consider that our magic number. We lost the other four games, including the last two, when Duncan, Parker and Ginobili combined for no more than 59. They scored 47 and 42 in the two playoff games in the Crescent City.

Hopefully a little home cookin', sleeping in their own beds, and getting some lovin' from their misses will do all the Spurs some good. The oddsmakers have the Spurs by 6 tonight and that sounds about right.

We win or lose these next two home games on the backs of Tim, Tony and Manu.

Go Spurs!

A Team So Hot, Even Their Mascot Was On Fire

2008-05-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Second Round Game 1 @ New Orleans: Hornets 101, Spurs 82

This post should’ve been written a few days ago, but as always life intervenes, so I apologize. I spent Saturday night at a soccer game, watching the San Jose Earthquakes battle FC Dallas in a contest every bit as thrilling as the 0-0 final score suggests. The teams combined for four shots on goal and the home side had their one attempt eight minutes in, meaning that for the final 82 minutes, I could've been the Dallas goalie and the outcome wouldn't have been any different.

The day before, I had to attend, of all things, a San Jose Earthquakes practice (“We’re talkin’ ‘bout practice! Not a game, not a game, not a game… but practice!”) and then interviewing their coach and star player and writing about those exciting people.

Oh, and the night before I couldn’t do it because I saw "Ironman."

So yeah, sorry.

Anyway, Sunday night and Monday morning I finally took in Game 1, and honestly, it wasn't as horrific as I'd feared. A lot of what we did wrong is correctable. A lot of what transpired was unlucky. That long mascot delay robbed us of some of our rhythm, particularly Manu, who had made his first three bombs. I choose to look more at the positives of the 49-45 first half (including an 11 point lead at one point) rather than the negatives of 56-33 second half. The game wasn't as lopsided as the score indicated, the Nooch ran it up there at the end pretty good. Call me a blind homer, but I think we've played our worst half of the series already. Yes, I'm aware that this is the third time they've gotten away from us in the second half, and that is certainly a pattern, but now I'm positive the Hornets have the team's complete attention and I'm expecting them to come out focused in both halves.

Why we lost: Tim was definitely terrible, but most of the shots he missed were shots he regularly makes. It was very much a fluke game for him, plus he only took nine shots. What bothered me more is that we never changed it up, never got him going on the pick-and-roll, never got him any jumpers. And what really bothered me was how Duncan let his offensive struggles influence him on the other end, where he was so soft on the boards and in help defense.

The stats say Tony finished with 23 and 5, but I think he was pretty freakin' crappy. He forced a lot of shots early in the clock, and many of them were contested. He looked for his own shots too much and didn't get other people involved. His decision making was poor and his defense was soft, especially as the game wore on. We're not going to beat these guys with him having five turnovers and having two of his shots swatted. Also - and yes, Matthew will think I'm crazy, but I did watch the game - Tony will not pass the ball to Manu unless it's a simple little hand off at the top of the key and Pop is specifically calling the play for Manu. In regular open play, it just doesn't happen. If you don't believe me, count them the next game and prove me wrong.

And speaking of Manu, he was a bit too three point happy and he missed the final six he took. I think his ankle was still bothering him pretty good because he never made it all the way to the paint on any drive and in the second quarter he looked to be a creator after having gotten off to that hot start in the first. A healthy Manu would've tried to take the game over there. Also, his defense was only so-so and he had a couple of horrendous turnovers back-to-back in the 3rd quarter. Just awful, no chance passes that led to five Nooch points. He's got to play smarter and he needs to realize that any tricky pass he tries for Horry or Oberto is a very low percentage play.

Bowen started off decent enough on Paul, but his defense (and offense) got gradually worse as the game went on. I doubt we're ever going to get 17 points out of him again, so either he has to really buckle down in his end or go sit.

Robert Horry: Really, you can't blame him anymore. It's like picking on a cripple. He can't play. The whole world seems to realize it but Pop. Horry was routinely outhustled to rebounds and loose balls, (though I don't know if one can be outhustled if he himself isn't hustling at all) he was absolutely powerless to stop David West from doing anything he wanted, and once again he provided zero offense and was more of a liability than anything else. At the end of the 1st quarter he and Tony let Chris Paul go right between them at the three point line for an uncontested lay-up because both were too lazy to move one foot to the side. In the 3rd quarter Horry let Mo Peterson snatch a ball on the baseline that was literally a foot from him and just watched like a sap as Maurice backed up and canned a three. Why he got 12 meaningful minutes but Barry and Udoka got 0, I'll never understand.

Adjustments for Pop to make:

1) Bite the bullet and have Duncan guard West. It's really the only card you can play. Oberto and Horry can't guard him at all. Thomas is too physical and foul prone. Duncan is the only one agile enough to do it who can also play intelligently enough to avoid foul trouble. It's really our only way to slow down their best scorer and even if West draws Tim too far out on the perimeter for him to recover and rebound, it's not like Duncan was cleaning the glass last game.

2) Vary Duncan's touches. Play the high-low game with him like you did in Game 3 at Phoenix. Give him some free throw jumpers, some wing bankers, and let him see and attack the defense. He's got to get more than nine shots. And definitely more pick-and-rolls.

3) Have Bowen guard Peja. I want Stojakovic to be a non-factor the rest of the way. Make the Hornets a two man team. Let Tony guard Paul and treat them like we treated the Suns in '05, taking everyone else out of the equation.

4) Play Ime and Barry. Especially with Manu in the 2nd unit. Neither Finley or Horry have deserved the playing time they've gotten this series or this season. We need guys in there who can hit threes and play with energy.

5) Start Manu in the 2nd half. The best way I can think of to avoid the 3rd quarter letdowns. Plus his ankle will already stiffen up enough in the half time break. There's no sense waiting 15 minutes more after that for him to check in.

I still think the Spurs are the better team and should be expected to win the series. But tonight is practically a must win and the guys have to come out tougher and play smarter. The rebounding, the shooting, the turnovers, the defense, all of it needs to be better. The effort was disappointing and I don't know what more Pop needs to see to sit Horry for good. And he needs to make Tony understand that these guys aren't the Suns. He's got to be more aware of his surroundings. It remains to be seen if he will.

Other thoughts:

Spurs-Suns Game 5: This was, quite possibly, the most depressing close out game of the Duncan Era, was it not? I mean, sure, I was sad when we lost in '04 and '06, but at least we had championships to be proud of and to look fondly upon the previous seasons. The Suns demise, on the other hand, I believe was the textbook example of "Going out with a whimper."

Steve Nash: 4-16, 11 points, 3 assists, 5 turnovers, miserable, matador defense. This guy won MVPs in '05 and '06. We were TERRIFIED of him as recently as Game 1. By the end he was an afterthought, spotting up for jumpers like Steve Kerr while the mighty fun-n'-gun Suns offense - Steve Nash's Offense - was being facilitated through the post-ups of Boris Diaw.

Amare Stoudemire: 6-14, 15 points, 11 rebounds, 44 minutes. S.T.A.T., who had been unquestionably the most dominant forward in the NBA ever since the Shaq trade, struggled with foul trouble all game and was a passive shell of himself, deathly afraid of making any sudden or forceful movements at either end for fear of hearing the almighty whistle. Without Nash to steadily feed him the ball on the pick-and-roll and no other teammates looking for him, he was rendered largely mediocre.

Shaquille O'Neal: 2-8, 9-20 FTs, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 29 minutes. He promised that he'd be the difference in this series, and give him his due, he was. Thanks to O'Neal beating the Suns has never been easier. His pick-and-roll defense was every bit as atrocious as we'd hoped and his woefully inept free throw shooting not only made him look bad individually, but it completely threw off the Suns' rhythm offensively and took the ball out of Steve Nash's hands again and again. From now til' the end of time, the answer to the previously rhetorical "How do you stop Nash and Amare on the pick-and-roll?" will be "Easy. Foul Shaq."

O'Neal, who once famously uttered that he makes free throws "when they count" has a long, long offseason to ruminate on his Achilles Heel and one wonders if his massive ego will ever permit him to realize that he was more responsible for the Suns loss than anyone. I'm gonna take a wild guess that it won't. Also, now that he has more vacation time than he or the Suns front office could've possibly imagined, we can only gleefully speculate how grossly out of shape The Big Mistake will be when he waddles into training camp in late August. Four spins would be a conservative estimate, right?

Now, on the other hand, look at the Spurs. They won the game with two double digit scorers and a gimpy Gonzo doing practically nothing. Offensively Trash and Blotch had some nice moments, and The Hooligan did the job on Shaq and on the boards, but really, we didn't play that well at all. And more importantly - we didn't have to. The Suns were that limited. Some trademark Spurs defense and the annual increase in Duncan's intensity was all it took to put them to rest, perhaps for good.

The Series Overview: Coming in, I, like most everyone else thought this would be a long, tough, classic series, and would quite likely go the distance to a nerve-wracking Game 7. Three factors changed everything:

1) Game 1. We had no business winning that game, plain and simple. The Suns made clutch play after clutch play to keep us at arm's length and yet we wouldn't go away. In critical moments the Spurs needed five different plays to go their way and all five did.

In our last possession of regulation if Amare rotates out on Fin, B.O. doesn't get his three attempt off and we lose. If Barbosa's free throw leaner goes in, we lose. In overtime if the Suns foul Hulk or just let him dunk the ball, we lose. If Duncan doesn't hit his first three of the season, we lose. If Diaw makes that turnaround baseline shot, we lose.

And after all that, we STILL needed Plainview to hit that lay-up to avoid triple OT and another crapshoot where anything could've happened. Never has Game 1 of any playoffs meant so much and can argue this was the most influential Game 1 of ANY playoff series in ANY round since the '88 World Series when Gibson took Eck deep.

I think when that game ended Nash knew they were done. He didn't say it of course, but he knew. He threw his best punch - 25 pts, 13 assists - at us in Game 1. In each subsequent game one can argue he played worse and his assist totals reflect that. Plus the comeback from 16 down in that game gave us the confidence (and them, the lack of same) to turn the trick again in Game 2.

2) Shaquille O'Neal. Thank God the Suns made the deal. What would've otherwise been a stressful, hard fought series with Marion's athleticism and energy instead turned into the usual grinding slugfest that the Spurs have patented in prevailing consistently down the stretch. Hack-a-Shaq is like the Swiss Army Knife of basketball strategy, it's versatile enough to be used in a multitude of ways. Want to come back from a deficit? Foul Shaq. Want to protect a lead? Foul Shaq. Want to ruin Nash's rhythm? Foul Shaq. Want to give the big three a rest without taking them out of the game? Foul Shaq. Want to take Shaq out of the game? Foul Shaq. Best of all, the tactic gave the national media and fans yet another avenue to bitch and moan about the vile, cheating, boring San Antonio Spurs. Perfect.

3) Grant Hill's injury. Without him the Suns didn't have anyone who could remotely check Parker nor could they expose Finley's defense (or lack of same) on the perimeter. This guy had some big games against us earlier in the year, so his groin injury was very unfortunate for them. Really, an eight man rotation of Amare, Marion, Nash, Bell, Hill, Barbosa, Diaw and Giricek would've been a tough out. Everyone there can hit a jumper and most of them can pass and dribble and run. Defensively they'd be horrid in the post, but what's Timmy going to do, score 50 a night? That might have been interesting to watch. The Suns took us to six tough games last year, without Hill.

Mike D'Antoni: I don't feel the least bit sorry for him. At all. From what I hear it was he and the owner, Robert Sarver, who were the strongest advocates for the Shaq trade, not Steve Kerr. Tom Tolbert, the ex-Warrior power forward during the Run TMC years is very good friends with Kerr, because they were teammates at the University of Arizona (along with Sean Elliott) and he said on his Bay Area radio show that he speaks regularly with Kerr and that Steve was the one who had to have his arm twisted on the trade. D'Antoni was done in by his usual weaknesses: Didn't play enough of a rotation, (I think D.J. Strawberry or Alanzo Tucker could've contributed this year) didn't stress defense until it was too late, and he thought it was sound strategy to take the Spurs role players out of the game and give all the shots to the Big Three. Dude, are you kidding me? Our role players stink. The less shots they get the happier I am (especially if Oberto and Barry aren't the ones getting them). D'Antoni will probably land softly in Chicago and Toronto, and I think he and Jose Calderon would be a perfect marriage, and maybe the Italian connection would enable him to get Andrea Bargnani to produce where Sam Mitchell couldn't get it out of the big softie. I like Toronto a lot though, they might be my favorite Eastern team, so ultimately I think the hire won't be good for them. You need defense to advance in the playoffs and D'Antoni and defense go together as well as Shaq and the game show Jeopardy.

The Suns: Run Stevie, run! Get out of there. You have no chance. And I'm talking to both Kerr and Nash. Dead team walking. No salary cap flexibility, the team is way too old, and they're even in worse shape on the wings than we are. It might be time to trade Nash for 50 cents on the dollar, just as a "thank you" for all the good work he did down there and to give him a chance to win somewhere. The Spurs will probably have a backup point guard job available. I don't think the Suns make the playoffs next year if this roster comes back intact. Portland will take somebody's spot, and the Warriors are out there too.

Avery Johnson: Let me see if I express myself here without being too vague or subtle. FUCK Avery Johnson. Fuck him in the ear. He's petty, immature, manipulative, back-stabbing, and a weasel. He openly preaches dirty play and whines about officiating. He went behind Dirk's back to Cuban and tried to have him traded (why do you think Dirk returned the favor once the Mavs got eliminated?). Avery was the perfect coach for the Mavs with their thug players and douchebag owner and wherever he goes, it won't be as seamless as his takeover of the Mavs was. Pop and Duncan seem to be convinced that like Anakin Skywalker there's still some good in Avery and that it could be salvaged in the right situation, like Chicago maybe. I'm of the opinion that he always was a prick, long before Mark Cuban entered his life, and he'll continue to be one wherever he goes. Just keep him the hell away from the Spurs, please.

The Mavs: I like their roster more than the Suns'. At least they're not that old. Plus, they can always trade Kidd, in the last year of his contract coming up. Somebody will bite on that for the salary cap flexibility it will open up for them in 2010. I'm curious about what they do with The Big Bug. If they can somehow move him and get quality in return, it should be enough to get them back in the playoffs. Plus whoever comes in to coach will probably run the offense through Kidd's strengths, which Avery didn't do either because it was too late into the season, or because he was too stubborn (which Dirk suggested). Either way, their window as contenders is probably shut and I can see Cuban looking to sell the club and diverting his time and money to the Chicago Cubs.

The NBA Playoffs: I was seven for eight in the first round, missing only Cavs-Wiz, my one upset pick. I gave Dallas and Phoenix too much credit, in retrospect, and not enough to Houston. I said that series would be a "bye" and a "formality" for the Jazz, and naturally, it went longer than any other Western series. I thought it was interesting that all the experts (and Pop) said the Western playoffs would all be long, grueling drawn out affairs where no one was a favorite and that in the East Boston and Detroit were far superior to everyone else and would boatrace their Round 1 opponents. So what happened? The top two seeds in the West, the Lakers and the Nooch, finished off the Mavs and Nugs in a combined nine games while the Celtics and Pistons required 13, one short of the maximum, to dispatch the frisky Hawks and Sixers. The West still has the gap, regardless of what the standings say, and it was obvious to those paying attention who the contenders were and who the pretenders were. I expect the Lakers to dispose of the Jazz in five games, with Game 4 being the "classic." Our series with the Hornets, on the other hand, will be trickier. In the East give me the Pistons in five and the Celtics in seven, this time with each team winning one road game.

God, We Were A Bunch of Natashas Out There

2008-04-29T01:08:00.000-07:00

Game 4 recap. Relive the excitement!

Tony Stole My Razor and Won't Give It Back

2008-04-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

First Round Game 3 @ Phoenix: Spurs 115, Suns 99

Believe it or not, I'm not completely thrilled we won last night. No, this has nothing to do with Antoine's overwhelming dominance. ~~Well, maybe a little.~~ No, that's not it.

What's got me bothered is my face.

It's hairy. Very hairy. And itchy. And it feels like I've got food all over my mouth and it just feels gross. I can't stand this and it's driving me insane.

You see, the Spurs won Game 1 last Saturday; an epic, miraculous game they nevertheless had no real business winning. If you think I'm shaving after such a victory, then clearly you don't know me very well. You're talking to the same guy who didn't shave after the Red Sox won Game 4 against the Yankees in the '04 ALCS and kept it going 'til the last out against the Cardinals in the World Series some two weeks later.

Anyway, yes, cute, Duncan hits a huge shot, Manu wins it and the Spurs win Game 1. Let's see 'em do it again in Game 2 before we all pop boners. It was a fluke win after all and didn't prove anything.

Except we won Game 2, somewhat convincingly. At this point I was near certain that we'd win the series, perhaps in five games. Still, the inevitable "Pussy Game" loomed. Surely the Suns would get a home blowout, or at least a solid win to make things respectable before Pop and his charges would regroup and put together a more earnest effort in Game 4, right? No way they win this one, right?

Jesus Christ I'm going to end up looking like Osama Bin Laden by the time the Spurs are holding that trophy. Watch, they're gonna go 16-0, just so God and Manolis can take turns making fun of me. The sacrifices I make. Good thing I'm not flying anywhere soon, because you know I'd be one of the "random" people security would check on.

I hate this beard. And I hate you, Tony.

(Not really. I recognize the beard and my lame superstitions are my own choice and I could shave it at anytime. I'm not crazy.)

Anyway, this game will not get the full blown 5,000 analytical treatment. For one, I'm too busy. For two, there is nothing to analyze. We played a damn near perfect game offensively. No matter what the Suns threw at us, it didn't work, and they tried everything. Traps, zones, different guys on Tony, going over screens, under screens. All of it was as useless as an asshole on an elbow. I actually started to feel sorry for Mike "C'mon Guys" D'Antoni. His players are turning on him and taking thinly veiled shots against his coaching to the press. Stoudemire questioned the "seven seconds or less" offensive philosophy and preached the need to hold the ball longer and wait for the perfect shot instead of the first available good shot. Nash questioned whether the coach(es) stayed with a strategy that obviously wasn't working (letting Tony shoot) too long without making adjustments. The team is coming apart at the seams.

The thing is, there isn't much D'Antoni could have done, given the personnel he has at his disposal. I can think of a few lhuman beings less suited to play pick-and-roll defense than Shaq and Stevie Nash, but not many. In the NBA maybe Yao (with his broken foot) and Mike Bibby. Outside of the NBA, maybe Jared the "Subway" guy and Estelle Getty.

The Spurs ran pick-and-rolls with Tony time after time after time. They literally never got bored of it. It was just cruel, really. When they got close to Spaceball he passed it, and it seemed as if every one of his dishes led to a swish. When they gave 36 space, he buried his shots. It was damn near clinical.

Look at this chart I made. It shows all the types of shots the Spurs took and their success with them. Lay-ups, "Paint shots," (Tony's floater, Manu's one hand runners, etc.) PJ's which stands for "Perimeter Jumpshots" and Threes.

.........Lay-Up..... Paint Shot..... PJ...... 3

Tim..... 5/6.... .......... 0/2........ 4/7

Manu ..................2/2.......... 1/2..... 4/7

Tony .....2/2............. 4/8...........10/13... 1/3

Bruce .......................................2/3

Fab ........1/2............ 0/1......... 2/2

Kurt ...... 1/2.......................... 3/7

Fin ..........1/1................................. 1/4..... 0/2

Brent .......................0/1..................... 1/1

JV ..............................................0/1

Ime ...........................................1/1........ 0/2

Total: ....9/12........... 7/15........... 24/40.... 6/15

The first number that jumps out at you, or should anyway, is the "lay-ups" column. The Spurs, who lived in the paint the first two games, attempted a total of 12 whopping lay-ups/dunks the whole game. That's not made, folks, that's attempted. One lay-up attempt every four minutes. The Suns could play a WNBA team and give up more than that in an average night. The Suns accomplished their defense goal and shut down the paint and closed off penetration. It should hardly be a surprise given the lay-up number that we managed only two fast break points.

Now look at the third column, the regular, routine two point perimeter jumpshots. All those baskets between eight and 22 feet that never show up in the highlights and have been our Achilles heel for months and months. We hit 24 of them. One every two minutes. In 40 attempts. That's 60%. Maybe those old Celtics teams with Bird and Ainge could do that. Or that 1970 Knicks team Big Chief Triangle is so fond of. But something like that just doesn't happen very often in the NBA these days people. Nowadays, if teams can shoot jumpers that well, they take them from behind the line. (And mathematically, that is the smart play).

I don't know when's the last time this season the Spurs hit 24 two point jumpers or hit them at a 60% rate, but if I had to guess, I'd venture that neither has happened all year. Consider that Tony, who had a very strong Game 2 overall, didn't hit his first jumper until midway through the fourth quarter last Tuesday. He made ten of them last night, plus a three. When Tony can shoot like that, say good night Aunt Gracie, because the Spurs are indefensible.

The Suns certainly don't have the people do it anyway. Hill is too old and hobbled. Barbosa is hopeless and Diaw is too slow laterally. One thing I would try if I were the Suns would be to put Bell on Tony full time and take my chances with Hill, Barbosa or Diaw on Manu. It won't work, but at this point what do you have to lose? Bell is your best defender and right now Tony is the one killing the Suns the most. Manu is hobbled, gimpy with a bad ankle, and after trying to go into the paint once and getting clobbered by The Big Elbow for his trouble, The Exception said "Fuck that" and decided to just shoot threes. 20 points on 11 shots is hardly a bad night, after all.

The most enjoyable part of the series has been the way we've mercifully exposed O'Neal. For a first ballot Hall-of-Famer, he sure does have few basketball skills, huh? Basically, he's gotten by being a freakish athlete, but it's scary how little he understands the nuts and bolts of the game. All these years in the league and The Big Joke is still mystified as to what constitutes an offensive and defensive foul, what a lane violation is on a free throw, and the basic principles of pick-and-roll defense. He's never been able to shoot the rock so he just assumes that no other big can either. Is it arrogance, laziness or stupidity with him? I could never figure it out.

Now compare him to Duncan. Actually, don't, because there is no comparison. In addition to being ten times more intelligent, a hundred times classier and a thousand times more the leader than Shaq could ever hope to be, Timmy is first and foremost a basketball player. Not an athlete, but a basketball player. He has moves, in the post and facing the basket. He can play individual and team defense and offense. He can shoot the ball and shoot free throws. He actually works on his game in the off-season. Tim Duncan could be 6'2" and he'd be in the NBA, because he'd figure out how to do the things a 6'2" guy would have to do to be successful.

Tim and Pop didn't fall for the Shaq bait, the stupid post machismo and one-on-one crap. Instead Timmy just about abandoned the post and lured O'Neal to the paint with him, where we exploited him all night long with Tony or Manu. As a result, Duncan got more easy lay-ups than he had before the old fashioned way, plus he embarrassed Shaq, hitting all these jumpers that The Big Lane Violation never would or could. The Hack-a-Shaq was the perfect cherry on top, completely flustering O'Neal and grinding his teammates to a halt. You can see Nash practically tear his hair out, the way this tactic takes the ball out of his hands. I bet he wishes he tossed a few more lobs to Shawn Marion and kept him happier now. Maybe some bullshit platitudes like "Shawn has always been our best player, our MVP, it's not even close" would have kept him in town. In the end having Marion around wouldn't have changed the result of this series, but at least he never embarrassed them. Shaq looks like Willie Mays on the '73 Mets, stumbling around on fly balls out there.

Taking into account the frustration of having to watch O'Neal at the stripe, the feelings of inadequacy that must come from being abused so badly by Tony defensively and the stifling (and at times grabby) defense of Bowen siphoning every last ounce of energy out of his body like some alien zombie vampire, you could slowly see Nash's passion and will fade as the game went along. By the end, he was a ghost, not to mention the Suns worst player on Saturday. He had nothing left in him. He knows his prime was wasted on inadequate teams that never could withstand his defensive shortcomings or his coaches' defensive deficiencies. This is it, it's over for him. As long as O'Neal's massive contract is on the books, there is nothing they can do, unless by some act of God Alando Tucker and D.J. Strawberry develop into the second coming of MJ and Pip in the offseason.

For now though, enough about Nash and enough about the Suns. Their eulogy will come another night. Right now the Spurs have to get greedy. They have to suck all the life out of their opponent's arena. Manu's not close to 100% right now with that groin and ankle and needs some rest. Tony is banged up and bruised and I'm guessing that Tim and all the other vets aren't feeling too hot either. What this team needs is to close out Phoenix, do it in a definitive fashion that will serve notice to the rest of the league that the defending champions are very intent indeed on keeping what's theirs, and then rest up for a much tougher series with the spry and youthful Hornets. I want to play Dallas, but that's the stuff of fantasy.

As for adjustments, I don't know what more we can do. Everything we try is working. The big three are pouring in 84 a game. Again, trying to get Barry more involved would be nice. Keep attacking O'Neal until D'Antoni has no choice but to make him sit. Go to the hole hard when Diaw is their only big. Keep the Suns off the boards and away from the three point line. What will Phoenix do? Trap to get the ball out of Tony's hands I'm guessing, so Manu will need to have a big night making the decisions. The shooters have to be there for him like they were there for Tony. Also, it wouldn't shock me to see D'Antoni, in complete desperation, go to Hack-a-Bruce, Hack-a-Fab, or Hack-a-Tim, just to see how we like it. Should be a contentious game and I'm looking forward to these Suns setting for good.

And if not I'll at least get evict the family of squirrels living on my cheeks.

Three Stars...

3. Manu Ginobili - Quietly making every big play, always at the right time. Every three he made was a dagger.

2. Tim Duncan - Controlled the game at both ends, made Shaq look silly with his all-around skills.

1. Tony Parker - 41 and 12. Quite possibly the finest game of his career.

P.S. A tip of the cap to Jeff Van Gundy who worked as the TV analyst for the game. He called the Suns fans on all their bullshit. He explained that it's not the Spurs fault O'Neal can't make free throws, it's his fault. He mocked them for cheering Manu being fouled hard and noted that such tactics don't bother Ginobili and he'll happily make the free throws. Basically, he questioned the fans' basketball intelligence at every turn. It was awesome and a welcome respite from the usual ESPN bullshit about the Spurs. Hopefully we'll see more of it.

Boring Floppy Team Beats More Boring More Floppy Team 102-96

2008-04-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

Game 2 recap, whee...

Ginobili Wins Sixth Man Award

2008-04-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

Manu Ginobili better make some room on his mantle. In addition to the accolades already earned by the gifted Argentine -- two Lega A Most Valuable Player awards, the Euroleague 2000-01 Final Four MVP award, the 2001 Euroleague Championship, 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist and three NBA Championships -- Ginobili has now been recognized as the NBA's best sixth man.

We here at SpursDynasty congratulate Manu Ginobili, but we know better. Just because he came off the bench, doesn't make Manu a sixth man.

Ginobili led the Spurs in scoring, averaging a career-high 19.5 points to go with 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Ginobili came off the bench in 51 of the 74 games he played this season.

“I really don’t care about coming from the bench if that helps the team to win a championship,” Ginobili said.

“He’s one of the better players in the NBA, who just happens to come off the bench,” said Spurs starting guard Michael Finley. “Any other team in the league, he’d probably be starting, but for him to come off the bench and put his ego aside it just shows what kind of team we have, and more importantly what kind of player and All-Star he is.”

“That is what I’m going to remember when I retire, the rings I have,” Ginobili said. “Not the fact I played 28 minutes or 33 or my name being called in the starting lineup. That’s not going to make the difference in 10 to 15 years.”

“I just consider myself a player, a team player,” Ginobili said. “So this year he (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) thought it was more important for me to come from the bench, so I just try to do it the best way I can.”

Popovich gave all the credit to Ginobili, who is the first Spurs player to win the award.

“Manu is a person who’s much more concerned with the group than he is about himself,” Popovich said. “He got over himself a long time ago. … I don’t think there are too many All-Stars that coaches in this league can go to and say, ‘You’ve been great. Now you’re going to come off the bench.’ So I’m very fortunate.”

Ginobili shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range in his sixth regular NBA season and when he drives the lane—routinely picking up bumps and bruises along the way—he’s known for putting the ball in from seemingly impossible angles.

“Before I got here I used to think those shots that he made were luck, and what we called, when I was growing up, fluke shots,” Finley said. “Now that I’m his teammate and I see him on a daily basis, that’s his game.”

A Ho Hum Game One

2008-04-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

Game One vs. Phoenix: Spurs 117, Suns 115 (2OT)

So... what'd I miss?

What, no bankshot?
(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Just kidding, I watched the game. I watched it while alternately cussing, screaming, clapping, yelling, giving myself high fives, doing Tiger fist pumps, and at the end bellowing out "JI-NOH-BLEEE" like a more maniacal version of the Chuckster.

"I SAID MA-NOOO JI-NOH-BLEEE!!!!"

Jesus on a boat what a game. If that's not our biggest playoff robbery since Sean Elliott's Memorial Day Miracle, it has to be in the top three, along with the "Robert Horry Game" at Detroit in 2005 and the "Brent Barry Game" vs. Sacramento in 2006, when he hit that three at the end of regulation that bounced straight up in the air off the rim before gently falling back through to send it to overtime.

For me though, this will always Always ALWAYS be redemption for Game 7 vs. the Mavs in '06. This ending is like how that one should have ended, in an alternate universe. You had the same elements at play: A home playoff game against a fearsome, trash-talking opponent, a big early deficit, Duncan and nobody else showing up for the first half, a furious second-half comeback where a Michael Finley three finally tied the game very late in regulation.

Of course you know how the original ended. Manu made a really dumb defensive play and then couldn't make up for it with a last second lay-up attempt. This time around Hulk came up with a big play in his own end, stripping Stoudemire when the Suns were up five in the first overtime with 1:30 or so to go. While the turnover didn't lead to any Spurs points, it did give S.T.A.T. his fifth foul, and it would prove to be huge after he barreled into Kurt Thomas for a charge on the next trip down.

And yes, this time the last second lay-up went in. That was kind of noteworthy as well.

These are all mere snapshots of a 58 minute classic though, and it would be impossible for me to encapsulate everything that went on in one of the most thrilling, unbelievable, miraculous Spurs wins we'll ever see. I can't do it, I'm not good enough of a writer. I don't know if anyone can do it.

Here, anyway, is the good ol' college try.

The way the game started and the way my day started were similarly frustrating. After going to mom's house just so I could live blog the thing for PtR, I had to sit there angry, annoyed and frustrated after realizing her internet was out and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. And my cell phone was out of juice. Of course it was. I could watch the game, I just couldn't share the experience with anyone. What I would've shared, if I could, would've been a lot of four letter words aimed at Pop, Tony, and yes, Manu. We had so many stupid, unforced turnovers, the guards couldn't make a shot, even when taking it to the basket, and the defense was practically non-existent. The only positives were the guys making some free throws early to keep the game close, Duncan hitting a few shots in the latter part of the quarter and Phoenix missing some open ones. Also, Shaq was in immediate foul trouble after elbowing Fab on offense and flopping against Timmy inside the semi-circle on the other end. Duncan weighs like 60 lbs less than him and pulled up enough to barely touch him, but yeah, I’m sure the force of the “collision” was enough to send Shaq sprawling. Uh-huh. 24-20 Suns after one, and now Timmy had to go to the bench to rest.

The 2^nd quarter got off to an even more miserable start. Udoka came into the game and bricked three of four shots, and a couple of them weren’t in the flow of the offense at all. Manu still couldn’t buy one and Tony was letting Barbosa score all over the place. The Suns got off 19-7 (with Barbosa scoring 10) in the first 7:30 of the quarter and we were at our nadir, 43-27. Again, offense looked to be the biggest culprit for the Spurs. The only bright spot in that stretch was seeing O’Neal pick up his 3^rd foul, mere seconds after checking in after bulldozing Marbles out of the way on a sideline out of bounds play.

That led to this sequence on the bench after a time out that the cameras caught:

O’Neal sitting next to Gordan Giricek, asked him, “That’s a foul?”

Giricek without hesitation nodded affirmative, and then pantomimed what O’Neal did to get whistled.

O’Neal responded by telling him, “Get the fuck outta here.”

Giricek had a look on his face like, Well next time ask one of your flunkies then, you big dope.

I love European players. They don’t sugarcoat anything and they retain their objectivity. Like last year, when Deron Williams got so incensed because AK-47 and Mehmet Okur acknowledged that the Spurs were the better team and were likely to win their series. Giricek is now my favorite Sun, by the way.

Anyway, the last four minutes the Spurs managed to crawl back into the game a little bit, thanks to, in Mike D’Antoni’s words, the “Hack-a-Skinny” maneuver. Hey, whatever works. We also got a couple of lay-ups from Antoine, a couple more hoops for Goat Puff (who had 20 at half) and a couple of bad offensive plays from Boris Diaw. Still, another 24-20 quarter for Phoenix, we’re down eight points at half and Manu is MIA. Not good.

The third quarter brought us some good and some bad. It seemed like we scratched and clawed and made real progress there, but all told we only made up two points on the deficit. By this point Snaq was so conscious of being called for his fourth foul that he really didn’t protect the basket at all. Amare wasn’t much better. Finley finally hit his first two shots and then Tony and Manu started going to the basket with impunity and all of a sudden, after struggling with offense the whole game, we had scored 15 points in the first five minutes. We weren’t any closer though because Stoudemire was scoring at will on the other end, thanks to numerous defensive lapses by Fin and our center (first Fab, then Thomas). Plus, the guy is just really frickin’ good. You have to give Amare credit for constantly working on his game. Every year it seems he can do more than before, shoot from further out, and now he’s a terror from the stripe and strong enough to finish even after being fouled, far and away leading the league in and-1s.

The standing-under-the-rim-with-your-arms-up defense has surprisingly little effect on Stoudemire.
(Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images)

Despite our backcourt regaining their scoring touch we couldn’t trim the Suns’ lead any because their role players, Diaw, Barbosa and Giricek combined for nine straight points at the end of the quarter. What really turned the tide in the quarter though was Nash drawing a charge on back to back Spurs possessions from Manu and Tim. Both were dodgy calls but they totally turned the momentum of the game just as the fans were getting back in it and making noise.

The fourth was where the drama and the seesaw nature of the game came to the forefront. BLOG got abused by Bell on a back cut fake but then got it back with a smart and-1 against Diaw. Phoenix got it back up to nine and threatened to run away with it, but then came the play that I think really changed the game – B.O. shot a three and it went straight up like Barry’s did in ’06 vs. the Kings, but this one didn’t quite appear to have the right trajectory to fall right through. Shaq grabbed it high above the rim anyway though and got called for the ultra-rare three point goaltend. That was big. The Suns never got it above six the rest of the way.

From there Parker and Duncan really carried us for a good stretch and we got a few lay-ups against the Suns soft underbelly, Snaq, who was afraid to be too physical playing with five fouls. We tried the Hack-a-Shaq on him (though it was more like Hug-a-Shaq) and it worked out, as he missed two (three really) FTs and D’Antoni had to take him out for a few minutes. After the game The Big Humble mumbled “Mathematics has never worked against me.” I don’t even know who should be more offended by that comment, Shaq’s grammar teachers in elementary school or his priests for the outright lie. Then again, Shaq has never had a strong grasp of mathematics in the first place, once famously telling a reporter that his game is as impossible to figure as the Pythagorean Theorem.” Because you know, A squared + B squared = C squared is like, totally complicated. Anywho, Desperate Jumpshot really had a strong fourth quarter actually and had a couple of dimes as well. The first, to Fab got us within three and the second, to Fin, tied the game for the first time, at 84.

Duncan and Amare traded a couple baskets but Stoudemire was strong enough to get a three point play out of his, despite being raked hard by The Hooligan. With a 91-90 lead came another big play, when Manu drove it and was blocked by The Big Appetite. O’Neal got a lot of arm and face, but again, it’s tough for Gino to get a call driving against these guys (as it will be against LA as well). When Barbosa scored at the other end we were down three with 1:10 left. We had three shots at the next possession but all were bricks and again it looked bleak. However we had our best defensive stand of the game and forced a shot clock violation on the Suns penultimate possession of regulation and we had one last chance with the ball to send it an extra period.

Finley hit it, from the wing, off a Plainview pass, and really he wasn’t that open. Maybe that’s why he made it, who knows? Amare missed the rotation there, for sure, and D’Antoni was mighty steamed about it afterward. We still had to stop them the last play just to get to OT, and we did, thanks to a good close out by Tony on Barbosa forcing him into an awkward floater. Bowen had a good rotation there as well. Overtime here we come. It was close though. Amare rebounded Barbosa’s miss and put it back in on a turnaround baseline jumper, but a half second after the buzzer.

In the extra period we were again quickly behind the eight ball, falling into a five point hole thanks to a trio of Nash jumpers (including a three) and two from S.T.A.T., with the little hoser assisting. The little shit was incredible in extra time. Manu’s second steal of the game led to another clanked three pointer, but Bank was Johnny on the spot and managed to get the offensive board and put it in. Then he and Amare traded lay-ups to keep the margin at three. After that they traded turnovers, with Manu again stripping Stoudamire and he in turn stripping Timmy with just 29 seconds to go. The Suns definitely had the game in the bag now, right?

No. For some reason, maybe they thought they’d catch us off guard, but the Suns ran their play a little quickly, sooner than they had to. Amare got the ball with like eight seconds left on the shot clock and instead of raising up for the clinching jumper he decided to pump fake and go for the lay-up. Kurt Thomas made a huuuuge play and rotated over in time to draw the charge for Stoudamire’s third turnover of the extra period, and even more importantly, his sixth foul. That set up one last chance for us, down three again, and naturally we ran the Manu curl play where he drives left and sucks in the whole defense before kicking it out for a three in the corner. Honestly I don’t know why defenses don’t just leave him the hell alone and let him dunk the damn ball to keep the lead. How stupid are people?

But this time of course Manu didn’t kick it to the corner. No, instead he tossed it back to Fran, even though he also had 36 in the corner. Duncan was wide, wide, wider than Shaq’s ass, wide open. He thought about passing it to Tony for a microsecond I think but decided to let it fly himself. Incredibly, unbelievably, miraculously, the ball rattled in. And Timmy the boring stoic sure as shit showed some emotion, you best believe that. Still there were three seconds left but the Suns for some reason gave it to Diaw (D’Antoni said he had a mismatch on him) and he traveled before launching an awkward turnaround J from the baseline that was short and to the right. Double OT, sans S.T.A.T.

Error. Error. Does not compute... does not compute... does not compute.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Now I truly thought we’d pull this off.

Again it was back and forth. Manu had a lay-up and a Nash jumper tied it. Manu missed a shot and then a follow but Tim made it on the third try to score his 39^th and 40^th points. Diaw tied it with a driving lay-up off a nice pump fake. Tony had a nice driving lay in with help from a Thomas screen to give us the lead, but when they tried that play again Kurt was called for his sixth. On the ensuing possession Tony smacked Nash on the elbow for his sixth and luckily Stevie only made two out of three FTs to keep it tied. Manu made another runner and O’Neal slammed home a rebound to tie it again at 112 with 1:21 to go. We just couldn’t put together any kind of run on them. The Exception squirted through for yet another lay-up to put us in front and we were fortunate when Nash missed an open three. I swear I think everything he puts up is going in. Manu missed the three that would’ve iced it and then we got really lucky when Diaw had a lay-up squirt out on him. Really, Duncan could’ve been called for a foul on it but wasn’t. He sure made more contact on that play than that one jumper of Amare’s that he blocked in the third quarter but was called for a foul for. The bottom line is that we had the lead and the ball with under 24 seconds, so the Suns would have to foul.

We brought the right guy in I thought with White Jesus, but he clanked his first freebie. He made the second and one would think that would be the game. Surely a team couldn’t hit three desperation threes in one game, could they?

You betcha they could. The Spurs didn’t foul and the Suns took advantage, with Nash hitting a ridiculous fadeaway corner three to tie the game at 115 with 15 seconds left. But since the Suns had wasted all their timeouts discussing strategy previously in the period they were all out of them. Pop knew this and wasn’t about to do the Suns any favors setting up their defense and personnel. He put the game in Plainview’s hands and well you know how that goes. He drank Nash’s milkshake. HE DRANK IT UP!!!

Raja Bell: Manustopper.
(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Blame D’Antoni. I can’t believe he let him go one-on-one with Raja Bell. Maybe he couldn’t communicate on the sidelines. Maybe he was too lost in the moment and became a spectator. If I’m the coach there I’m screaming at my guys to trap him and get the ball out of his hands, regardless of who I have to leave. Gino passing it to anyone is a better option for Phoenix than him taking it one-on-one in a situation where you can’t foul and you have no shotblockers. Manu of course played it perfectly, taking the clock down to the end, bumping Bell a little with his right shoulder to gain separation, then banking it home with 1.8 seconds left. He had good lift with his legs on it, which was surprising considering that he’d played 45 minutes and he’d already gone to the well a few times in the period. Nash missed a 80 foot heave at the buzzer and that was it, we won a game where we led at most for three minutes total out of 58 and never by more than three points.

Just fucking crazy. If we have to do this every time we’re done for.

What I Liked:

- Our heart, our passion, our resiliency. The Spurs fought, they clawed, and they gave everything they had in this one. They didn’t give up on themselves, they trusted each other, and they trusted Pop. Frankly I’ve missed us making spirited comebacks like this against good teams, it just hasn’t happened very often this year. Far too often the guys just folded their tents and told the masses that things would be different once the playoffs would start. Perhaps they weren’t full of it after all.

- Timmy Freakin’ Duncan. I think he answered Matthew’s challenge quite nicely, don’t you. He took the ball to the basket repeatedly no matter who was on him and really didn’t settle for jump shots or his banker very often. He had four turnovers, but none of them were the result of a bad decision or anything, he just mishandled the ball sometimes. Timmy had a great passing game and was aggressive and alert defensively as well, even though Pop kept him off Amare as much as possible.

- Tony’s 4^th quarter. If 36 plays like that more often then we can’t call him 36 anymore. Parker was terrific down the stretch offensively and played really courageously, considering his head was all cloudy and foggy from an early collision with Stoudemire. Maybe he didn’t know it was the fourth quarter.

- Manu’s driving. He had no jumper at all, especially from the three point line, so BLOG had to bury his head and drive inside far more often than he usually does. 24 points on 24 shots doesn’t look impressive, but considering that he missed all six of his long range attempts and was awarded only five freebie attempts, he scored all his points the hard way, he URRRRRND them.

- Kurt Thomas. Mug played heroically taking three charges, grabbing ten rebounds and making numerous plays that didn’t show up in the box score. This was precisely the environment we acquired him for. I’m sure the next game we’ll use his baseline jumper against Shaq more.

- Finley’s clutch shooting. The Caribbean Queen didn’t play all that well, he missed numerous defensive assignments, didn’t rebound much, and if Grant Hill was healthy he would’ve gotten smoked all afternoon. But he did drag his withered body up and down the floor for 48 minutes and he drilled three bombs in the fourth quarter (with a little help from The Big Goaltend).

- Pop. Get Off My Lawn always does this, doesn’t he? He takes the year off like Horry and then becomes the coach we all want him to be in May. The trademark stubbornness, the unwillingness to make tactical adjustments, and especially the inability to dole out playing time based on who’s actually playing well or poorly in a given game were all gone. He stopped playing Udoka and Vaughn because they were crap and went with Barry. He used Manu as a backup point. He played big all day, except when Duncan sat. He used Hack-a-Snaq. He played most of the game without Bruce or Ime, an unbelievable concession for a defense first, second, and third coach. Pop’s eyes were wide open for this one.

- The Suns classiness. You read that right. If you look at the postgame quotes I really thought the Suns handled themselves pretty well. D’Antoni, Nash, and particularly Stoudemire all said the right things and didn’t blame the refs for the loss. At one point Raja Bell bristled when Express News writer Mike Finger kept repeatedly asking him about the greatness of The Exception and spat out, “I’m not going to suck his dick for you, dog” but that was understandable, given the circumstances. Finger pressed him pretty good. Sure, if I was the reporter, I’d have given Bell the Chris Farley Show treatment, but I can see why Bell would snap.

What I Didn’t Like:

- Our pick and roll defense. Look, I know Nash is the all-time master at it, but if we keep giving S.T.A.T. these easy lay-ups I’m gonna throw up on my rug. Why is our whole team staring at Nash when he’s parallel to the basket? The only guy who should be looking at him is his man. Amare’s guy, particularly should have his back turned on Nash at all times. I think we’d handle the play better with Bruce’s length than Tony’s but I’m not sure if we can afford to play Bowen all that much because…

- Bruce Bowen’s offense. A big goose egg in 21 minutes and he makes life way too easy on Nash, who gets to rest on defense the whole time The Funneler is in there. The Suns have so much size now that scoring on them isn’t a mere formality and we need as many guys who can score as possible in the line-up. Pop can’t afford having Bowen in there because the difference he makes over the next guy on defense isn’t as wide a gap as the difference on the other end of the floor. Especially if we’re playing big, we need all our perimeter guys to be threats. Either make some shots Bruce or ride the pine. A -9 afternoon won’t cut it.

- Ime Udoka. Grimace was unequivocally awful, a team worst -12 in seven minutes. He couldn’t guard Diaw at all, he forced bad shots on offense and he just didn’t look like he had a clue out there. Plus as soon as the game ended, he just headed straight for the tunnel instead of embracing his teammates at center court. I didn’t care for that at all. That seemed selfish to me. I think Pop’ll give him another chance, but Barry could easily swallow up his minutes.

- Manu’s three pointers. Ugh. None were even close. Short and flat like my sister. I don’t get it. I thought Buck Harvey said the groin wasn’t an issue and he made 11 in a row in practice. And his legs certainly looked strong enough on the drives. I hope he finds his shot soon because we won’t beat these guys with Manu not canning any long ones again. Also, his defense for much of the game wasn’t all that great.

- Tony’s three point defense. Not only did Parker get toasted by Barbosa in the second quarter, but he committed two fouls on three pointers, which is really inexcusable. In his defense, asking him to be a focal point on offense and to guard Stevie on the other end (I shudder to think of the 2^nd round matchup with Paul) is asking an awful lot. He and Manu should really alternate every possession on him just to confuse the Canadian and to save each other’s legs.

- The incessant whining/flopping. Despite the drama, this game must have been damn near unwatchable for most neutral or casual fans. The bitching and moaning after every call was very annoying. Neither team ever thinks they commit fouls. And now, more than ever they try to outflop one another. Each side has some of the all-time greats, with Manu, Fab, and Kurt for us and Nash and Bell for them. We couldn’t go a trip or two down the floor without somebody falling. Shaq even tried flopping against Duncan. These teams bring out the worst in one another.

- Shaq’s boorishness. Of course he was the one notable 400 lb. exception to the Suns otherwise classy postgame behavior. He credited all of the Spurs success to flopping while ignoring the flops of all his teammates (as well as his own). He refused to admit that his free throw misses were a factor in the game and tried to play revisionist history when he blurted that the strategy never works. He sounded like a fool. To top it off, on Sunday he basically inferred that Manu can’t play in an expletive laden rant about flopping, and you can imagine how I felt about that. Give The Big Fucktard credit though, he’s only been a Sun for a couple of months and he’s integrated himself to the team seamlessly. Already he’s my least favorite guy on the team and I HATE these guys. O’Neal swore (literally) that he wouldn’t change anything with how he played in Game 2 or beyond. So I guess we can expect more idiotic offensive fouls until he gets to five and then matador defense down the stretch because you know, he’s so valuable out there on the floor on offense that it’s worth him to allow lay-up after lay-up to stay on the court. Heh.

Siddown and shut your pie hole already, you big fucking baby. You had the worst +/- on your team.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Possible Game 2 Adjustments:

- More Brent Barry. Play him instead of Vaughn and give him some of Finley’s as well. 38 minutes in regulation for B.O. is far too funky for my taste. I can’t believe the Mango Tree only got one shot off in ten minutes. Did the Suns never leave him? No matter what I like the spacing on the floor he gives for Tony and Manu.

- More Bowen on Nash. But only if Bruce can shut down the pick-and-roll, which is almost an impossible thing to ask of him. As I said before, the bigs have to keep their eyes locked on Stoudemire and not look at Nash. Also, I see no reason why Bowen can’t score 12 a night against these guys (except for the part about him being completely unable to shoot of course).

- Keep Nash guessing. Bruce, Ime, Manu, Tony. Let’s throw as many different looks at Nash as possible and wear him out mentally. Let’s trap every now and then, especially on sideline plays with the shot clock low. Either get the ball out of his hands or force him to just be a fadeaway shooter. His passing is terrifying.

- Play Matt Bonner when we’re in the penalty. I’m really proud of this one. If Shaq is in the game and we’re in the penalty, we have to bring in Bonner and go to the Hack-a-Shaq. On offense we can run pick and pops with him all day long and he’ll get one open jumper against Shaq after another. On defense he can use all six fouls to send O’Neal to the line and we can stretch a two point lead into a ten point lead in three minutes. Plus by the fourth time he hugs O’Neal and gives him an “I’m just doing what I’m told” shoulder shrug while Shaq is contemplating his latest 1 for 6 stretch from the stripe, Snaq might just lose it and slug Mary Ann right in the face. Two technicals, our ball, and the big fella would be gone for the series, amid more Suns fan conspiracy protests against David Stern. Uh… sorry about that Matty! Way to take one for the team.

- More pick-and-rolls with Manu and Tim. I was surprised we didn’t go to this more, especially with Shaq in there. Hopefully we will in the future. Neither one can be guarded in that situation.

Well that’s that. A lucky win, but a win nonetheless. If we can grab Game 2 we put immense pressure on the Suns, knowing they have to win four of five. Hopefully the guys will come out faster this time around. I can’t believe we didn’t open with Tony going to the cup at will. At least it’ll be a night game on Tuesday. Let’s really give Suns fans something to whine about.

Three Stars… (sorry boring)

3. Tony Parker – 26 and 5, with only two turnovers. He shot over 50% and had a great second half. Again, the defense needs work.

2. Manu Ginobili – 24-4-5, with three steals, and a team best +9 in 45:00. He carried the mail in the second OT, came up with the game winning points and had the assists on both game tying threes from Fin and Timmy. Now we just need him to be able to shoot a little.

1. Tim Duncan – 40-15-5, with three blocks. He shot 16-24 and that’s with three attempts blocked. One of t two or three greatest games he’s ever played, and for once a 40 point effort wasn’t wasted on a loss. Now he just has to do it about fifteen more times.

Spurs-Suns Could be Among Best in History

2008-04-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

The 2008 playoffs just started an hour ago and conventional wisdom has it that the Celtics will face the Lakers in the Finals and the San Antonio Spurs' season might be over two weeks from now.

No doubt, with all the drama of last year's series, when Robert Horry checked Steve Nash into the scorer's table during game four and Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw were suspended for game five for leaving the bench, the first round matchup between the Spurs and Suns is the series to watch.

Dan Bickley writes for The Arizona Republic:

As battle-scarred basketball fans in the Valley can attest, the Suns meet almost all the requirements of a classic, timeless sporting tale. The only thing missing is the happy ending. And to get there, they must finally slay that dragon, that black-and-silver beast living in San Antonio.

Across the NBA, this playoff series between the Suns and the Spurs is attracting major attention. Given the caliber of teams involved and their respective championship aspirations, it could rank among the best first-round series in the sport's history. It's that good.

But in these parts, it's also deeply personal. It's about revenge and settling the score. It's about standing up and defeating the schoolyard bully. It's about closure and putting a long-standing nightmare to bed.

"It's mostly for the fans, and three-fifths of our starting lineup was not here when this all started," Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni said. "But they (the Spurs) do represent the defending champions. They do wear black. So they do serve the part, (representing) a little bit of evil. And the players know there's a rivalry going on. You can come in late and still pick up on that."

Suns fans have every right to be hopeful that they'll find redemption this year, after losing to the Spurs in the second round in 2007.

Paola Boivin writes for The Arizona Republic:

The Spurs have issues. They've lost three of their past six games, including that 90-64 fiasco against Utah. Let's not forget the 21-point defeat to the Lakers and the 17-point loss to the Suns.

For all the good things that an experienced roster can bring, sometimes experience is spelled A-G-E down the stretch, and you can't help but wonder if that's what's going on here. Look at some of their second-half point totals recently: 26, 33, 34.

Yuck.

Last season they led the NBA in point differential. This season, they're barely in the Top 10. Offensively, they can't spread the floor the way they have in the past. This is not exactly a team heading into the postseason with a lot of confidence.

The Suns, meanwhile, finally have shed their one-dimensional tag.

Their flexibility was evident in back-to-back games against Memphis and San Antonio.

They played like the old up-tempo Suns against the Grizzlies, and the newfangled Suns against the Spurs, thanks to tough defense and fourth-quarter dominance.

"We're more equipped to handle different things that come at us," D'Antoni said. "That was the whole point of the trade."

Ah, yes. The trade. Have you noticed what Shaquille O'Neal has done to Tim Duncan, recently? O'Neal has limited Duncan to 15-of-40 shooting in their past two meetings.

The super-sized Saguaro gets giddy when talking about defending San Antonio's cyborg in the post.

Kiwi Sean Marks is giddy about his career-high 16 points and 13 rebounds against the Blazers. Less so about facing his former Spurs teammates.
Suns fans should keep this in mind, lest they get too 'giddy' and start counting their trophy too soon: four-time NBA champion Tim Duncan has never been eliminated in the first round. And that fact won't change this year.

Straight forward first round picks

2008-04-18T15:08:00.001-07:00

For the record, here are my quickie playoff picks. Feel free to make yours...

East

1) Boston over 8) Atlanta in four. I'd love for something cute to happen just to frustrate Simmons, but the Hawks were running on fumes for the past two months just trying to hold on to the last spot and are obviously thrilled just to be here.

2) Detroit over 7) Philadelphia in six. A terrible match-up for a veteran Pistons squad looking to avoid too much of a hassle in the first round before moving on to the nitty gritty. Philly has youth, size, energy and they're not afraid of the paint. They're going to make Detroit work like hell to advance.

3) Orlando over 6) Toronto in six. On paper the Raptors are just as talented but they underachieved terribly all year and Bargnani was a big disappointment. They're playing Ford too much again and Calderon not enough. I almost get the sense that they know they're not good enough to do anything, so you might as well showcase Ford as much as possible to deal him in the offseason. Also, there is a massive coaching edge to Orlando. The one chance the Raps have is if both Rashard Lewis and Hedo both choke in the playoffs, and both have feeble postseason resumes thus far.

5) Washington over 4) Cleveland in six. Well, here's where the "David Stern controls the league and the refs and it's all rigged" conspiracy theorists will be watching with rapt attention. If the zebras call it straight the Wizards are clearly more equipped and healthier and better coached and should pull the mini-upset. If LeBron gets 20 FTs a game, then be very, VERY worried about the fate of your Spurs. The Wiz have Arenas back and they're using him as the sixth man these days, which is the perfect role for him. He's like the Manu of the East, but with much worse shot selection and he's certifiably insane.

West

1) LA Lakers over 8) Denver in five. The more I look at this series the more uneven it seems. Denver has nobody who can even remotely check Kobe, but LA can throw Kobe at either Iverson or 'Melo and have decent success with it. Also the coaching disparity is massive - MASSIVE. I can't stress this enough. Unless both Gasol and Odom both play like scared little girls (and they have in the past, kinda like the Magic forward tandem) this should be a formality. A high scoring formality.

2) New Orleans over 7) Dallas in seven. I'm tempted to pick the Mavs, but I can't do it. I can't buy into Jason Kidd staying with Chris Paul for seven games. I can't buy into Kidd hitting open shots. Byron Scott knows Kidd better than anyone and I'm sure he's bitter as hell that Ason got him shitcanned in Jersey. That's a huge factor. Also, I don't think Dallas has the personnel to contain David West or Tyson Chandler. Unless Dirk and The Big Bug combine for 60 a game, I don't think they have the firepower to outlast the younger, springier Nooch.

3) San Antonio over 6) Phoenix in seven. I've already discussed and previewed this. I'm gonna be conservative here and say this will be an old school late 80's early 90's style series where the home team wins every game. Obviously our backcourt will have to come up huge because Phoenix will have the frontcourt scoring edge. Again, the coaching disparity should make a difference, but not if Pop is overly stubborn. Like I said, if Stern wants the Suns to win, they can win, but if he plays it straight, the home court and our experience can be enough. I'm not betting against Timmy and Manu.

4) Utah over 5) Houston in five. Houston gets game 3, that's it. They just don't have the horses to compete with the squad that Hollinger thinks is best in the West. It really sucks that Yao got hurt. I want everyone to compete at full strength and I like the big guy a lot anyway.