Sunsets in Arizona tend to be beautiful, but I can’t imagine too many people around here enjoying this one. After last night, the question is now WHEN not IF the Suns will set. No team in the history of the NBA has come back from down 3-0. Let me just put it this way; the Hawks have more of a chance of winning their series than the Suns right now.
18,000+ walked into the US Airways Center united in a sea of orange. As you walked through the tunnel and entered the arena you could not help but be captivated by the brightness. The orange represented energy and hope, qualities the crowd and the Suns were supposed to provide. For someone who had always wanted to see a crowd wearing the same color t-shirt, it was quite the sight to behold.
During introductions the crowd was buzzing. The Spurs got booed times 10. The Suns got cheered times 10. Suns fans were uncharacteristically boisterous. By that I mean, they started a ‘DE-FENSE’ chant on their own without the need of any sound makers, jumbo-trons or anything which in Phoenix is a miracle. However when Tony Parker drained his fifth jumper of the game with 6:07 in the first quarter and the Spurs up 18-8, something happened. The crowd sat in stunned silence. They had no clue how to react and could not believe that their team was already down by 10. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced anything like this. A video played on the jumbotron during the timeout and I don’t think anyone watched it. I don’t know if it was because it was the Spurs beating on them again, but you could tell that the belief was gone. When Parker and the Spurs were draining shot after shot, the crowd has become restless times 10. After each San Antonio bucket you could have looked to your left or your right and seen people throwing their arms up in the air, shaking their head, tilting their head backwards as if they were being tortured. You could hear countless groans, questions and a lot of ‘COME ON!!’.
Suns fans thought they were going to win, but they didn’t believe they were going to win. And that six minute run by the Spurs really killed them. You could see it in their eyes and you could hear it in their voices. Sure they had their moments of cheering, but only when the Suns gave them a glimmer of hope. A glimmer of hope which was usually silenced by Parker, Duncan or Ginobili time and time again. None of the noise seemed natural after the initial runThey didn’t rally their troops…instead the Orange shirts may as well have turned black and blue by the end of the night. The feeling in the building as the Spurs kept pouring it on was one of defeat. It was the oddest crowd I have ever been a part of. The air, confidence and swagger was gone. Suns fans seemed like the kid who keeps losing to his dad in HORSE. After enough losses you don’t wanna play anymore, you just want to cry.
To be honest…San Antonio could not have played any better last night. Tony Parker had one of the more dominant 41 point games I have seen. Live and in color, there was no stopping him. Everytime he had the ball in his hand I tapped my friend and said ‘buckets’. He either scored, got someone else a bucket or forced a rotation. He was an unstoppable force of nature. And so was that pick-and-roll. Greg Popovich should send baskets to every Suns coach, Shaq and Steve Nash for abusing them on the pick-and-roll in such a vicious manner. It was downright mean. Nash couldn’t cover Parker to save his life, he just isn’t a good enough on the ball defender. Now add to his difficulties that Parker is coming off ballscreens and Shaq is just sitting in the paint. They gave Parker the midrange and he took it. Give him credit for just taking what the defense gave him. I’m not sure why the Suns had Shaq sit in the lane. That’s just death on a pick-and-roll, you have to do something. You have to commit one way or another. Shaq was halfway helping on Parker’s penetration but Parker could easily get the jumper off. If he penetrated he just kicked it to Duncan or Thomas as Shaq just sat there helplessly and watched a jumper go in. It was tough to watch.
(I still am not sure why D’Antoni started Nash on Parker. By the time he made the adjustment it was too late)
I think the end of the first half really summed up just how superior the Spurs are to the Suns. Phoenix cuts the lead to 48-41 with 2:26 left in the half. With 58 seconds left in the half the Spurs are up 57-43. And not only that but Phoenix let Tony Parker go the full length of the court and hit an uncontested floater at the buzzer. Those are championship runs and championship plays, the kind that the Spurs always make and the Suns hardly ever do.
(By the way, the 9-3 run that the Spurs opened the second half on was just cruel. It sealed the deal right there, I knew the Suns would make a run but they couldn’t win)
By the way…could someone please tell me where Steve Nash was last night? Being in attendance in the game, I don’t remember him doing anything. I’m not trying to be funny at all. I don’t remember him scoring 9 points. Everytime I have ever watched the Suns and Nash is on the bench, I’ve always said ‘Man they need to put him back in.’ Not last night. I actually thought they were better when Barbosa was just running around crazy. He looked completely out of sync. And Amare had one of the worst 28 point games I have seen in a while. The box score will praise it, but I was astonished when I saw he had that many points.
Everyone will wonder what Shawn Marion could have done. He’s not the answer. I promise you that. If Marion were still in Phoenix, sure there would be a slight improvement in perimeter defense but Tim Duncan would have murdered Amare and Brian Skinner. You know this, I know this and your girlfriend would have figured it out. And no, Marcus Banks wasn’t the answer either. And no Shaq is not to blame either.The truth that everyone needs to accept is that the San Antonio Spurs are just better. It’s funny because this Phoenix squad really was the best they have had to match up with the Spurs. They had Shaq to guard Duncan so Amare wouldn’t get exposed anymore. They had the tools in Hill and Shaq to score in the halfcourt whenver the Spurs controlled the pace. Unfortunately for the Suns, not everything runs through Tim Duncan anymore. He’s not just posting up on the block and facing up. Tony Parker runs almost freely, ditto for Manu Ginobili. They are coming off pick and rolls and pindowns, getting angles almost everytime down the court. San Antonio was just better
So now…everyone is going to talk about how the trade didn’t work and how they needed Marion and this and that. No. The Spurs are a championship team. Phoenix played their guts out in Game 1 and could not win. Why? Because the Spurs made championship plays. Finley’s three, Duncan’s three, the defense. The Suns dominated Game 2 and had a nice halftime lead and couldn’t win. Why? Because the Spurs made championship plays. They played lockdown D in the third quarter and turned it up when they needed to. The people who put an emphasis on the Suns are wrong; everything should be pointed at just how good the Spurs are.
Also, the people who put Mike D’Antoni on the hot seat are equally ridiculous. I’m sorry but losing in the first round, to the defending champs, in a year where the Western Conference was one of the toughest conferences in the history of the league is nothing to cry about. The man has had four straight 54+ win seasons. Don’t blame Kerr for rolling the dice. He had to make that move since it was on the table. They would have lost to the Spurs anyways and would have lost to Lakers for sure. Don’t blame Shaq. Sure he stayed in the paint countless times on the pick and roll. Sure he has one post move (dribble, dribble, turn over left shoulder, right hand jump hook). And sure he can’t hit a free throw. But he gave you your best shot to win a title. Shaq is infinitely better than Brian Skinner and you know he would have gotten major minutes as Amare racked up the fouls.
I
nstead, applaud the San Antonio Spurs. Applaud Popovich for this masterpiece of a coaching job he has put on. Applaud Parker for taking the jumpshot instead of forcing a layup. Applaud Ginobili for being freakin Manu Ginobili.
The San Antonio Spurs’ better is better than Phoenix’s better.
(Sidenote…watching the Hack-A-Shaq live is really frustrating. Like ‘bring a girl home only to see you have no condoms left’ frustrating. Ok maybe not that far but you catch my drift.)