After game 1 of the series between the Sun and Trail Blazers, many including myself thought that this was the same old Suns team since Steve Nash arrived. Historically, a dominant team in the more up-tempo regular season, they tend to have problems in the playoffs as the game slows down and defense is the primary focus. Games 2 and 3 however eased concerns as they dominated each game winning by 29 points and 19 points respectively.

However even after the trend of the last two games, the Blazers can even up the series by winning today. The Suns need to come out early and show their killer instinct at take the volatile Rose Garden crowd out of the equation. In game 3, we saw a glimpse of this as the Blazers cut the lead to 11 in the 4th quarter on three consecutive three’s by Rudy Fernandez. It literally felt as if it were a one point game rather than eleven due to the intensity of the crowd. If the Suns jump out to an early lead, it will be difficult for the Blazers and their fans not be demoralized and simply pack it in. After all, the Blazers have every excuse in the world; Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Nicholas Batum and Greg Pryzbilla all out with injuries.

Jason Richardson has been incredible in this series, which has been crucial as Amar’e Stoudemire has been somewhat contained by Marcus Camby. J-Rich dropped 42 points and had 8 rebounds in game 3, expect more of the same in game 4 if the committment remains to contain Amar’e. Grant Hill also deserves all the credit in the world as he has completely shut down Andre Miller. Miller scored 31 points and had 8 assists in the Blazers game 1 win. Hill was subsequently switched on Miller in game 2 resulting in only a 12 point 3 assist performance. If the Suns can win this series in 5 games, they may be able to rest before facing their next opponent. The Mavericks vs. Spurs matchup appears to be headed to a 6 or 7 game series.

On Sunday night, I had the pleasure of sitting in a suite for Game 1 of the Suns vs. Blazers series. This was my first playoff game, so I anticipated a ruckus crowd and a lot of intensity from the Phoenix Suns. However, on the contrary I saw neither of these things in Game 1. There was actual a point in the 4th quarter when the Suns were down 99-92 with 1:45 left in the game and literally thousands of fans began filing out of the arena. I understand it was a late Sunday night game and people had the to work the next day, but we are talking about the playoffs here! In a city that has not seen a title since the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, I would expect far more. The Suns have only made two finals appearances to date: 1976 and 1993. These two were spaced 17 years apart and now 17 years since their last appearance, could this possibly be their year?

Based on Game 1, the Suns are the same old team. They excell in the up and down pace of the regular season and falter in the slower paced NBA Playoffs. I thought perhaps this year may have been different as Alvin Gentry has instilled more of a up-tempe half court offense rather than the Run n’ Gun in the Mike D’Antoni days. To the Blazer’s credit they did a fantastic job defensively. Amar’e Stoudemire faced either Marcus Camby or a double-team every single time he touched the ball. The results of this were obvious; 18 points on 19 shots. In addition, they completely negated the pick and roll; which is the Suns bread and butter play. On defense, the Suns simply could not stop the penetration of Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless. This is where losing Robin Lopez to a back injury hurts the Suns badly. Lopez does an excellent job of contesting shots as well as the fact that Marcus Camby would have to guard him rather than Amar’e Stoudemire.

The good news for Suns fans is despite the fact the Blazers played a near perfect game, the Suns still had multiple opportunities to tie or take the lead late in the 4th quarter. In addition, many of the Suns role players are getting their first taste of the playoffs and the nerves were definitely prevalent. I expect to see the normal Jared Dudley, Lou Amundson and Goran Dragic tonight. I can’t imagine that the Suns small forwards will shoot a combined 3-16 (Grant Hill, Jared Dudley). Was game 1 simply the Suns taking the Blazers too lightly without Brandon Roy? We will certainly find out tonight, because if the Suns go down 0-2, this may be a short-series. Some will point out that of the Western Conference playoff contenders the Blazers had the worst home record this season (26-15), however anyone who has seen a Blazers playoff game knows that place will be insanely loud. If the Suns go down 0-2 to a team that is obviously superior defensively they can say “night night” to this year’s playoffs.

The Suns keys to victory tonight are relatively simple. Limit the penetration of Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless and get Amar’e going early and often. The Blazers scored a majority of their points on layups and kick outs to 3-point shooters after the defense had collapsed. This ironically, is exactly what the Suns need to do and Amar’e can be the catalyst. When Amar’e draws the double team kick the ball out and hopefully the Suns 3-point shooters come through.