My last post basically notated the fact that the Suns would be golfing after this Lakers series. Down 2-0 in the series, the Suns looked listless and without answer for the Lakers size in the paint. As an avid Suns fan, I had simply given up hope. Could anyone really blame me for being cynical after all the crushing defeats of Suns playoffs past specifically in recent years?

Then came a simple adjustment that seemed to fluster the to this point dominant Lakers; a college gimmick: The 2-3 zone. The modified 2-3 zone defense that is allowed in the NBA for some reason carries a negative stigma and is often looked down upon by NBA players. The primary benefit of this defense is that it helps limit penetration to the hoop and post up opportunities. This turned the Lakers into a jump shooting team rather than driving to the hoop and drawing fouls. The Lakers scored 16 points from the line in Game 3, while the Suns, mainly behind Amar’e Stoudemire were ultra-aggressive and scored 37 points from the line for a +21 margin.

Perhaps even more surprisingly the Suns dominated on the interior. All the credit in the world needs to be given to the duo Amar’e Stoudemire and Robin Lopez. They combined for 62 points on 22-32 shooting (68.75%), 14 rebounds and 18 made free throws. Amar’e was incredible to say the least; 42 points and 11 rebounds. However, the question has to be asked: where was this player in Games 1 and 2? Sometimes, I think that Amar’e needs to be motivated to have these types of performances. Alvin Gentry told him that they would go to him early and often, the Phoenix media was crucifying him and Pau Gasol’s smirks in Game 2 were enough to apparently fire him up.

In Game 4, you can surely expect a better Lakers attack against the zone. The Suns can certainly play a lot better offensively; they only shot 5-20 from 3-pt land. Channing Frye continues to be an enigma, he is now 1-20 from the field in the series. For those of you keeping score at home, that is a robust 5%! Frye made 12 3’s against the Spurs and he has simply been horrible in this series. Steve Nash, was also receiving a lot of criticism for his turnovers in the first 2 games. However, when you look at his assist to turnover ratio it is 4.3-1. To put this in perspective, during the regular season Nash had a 3.02-1 assist to turnover ratio. The best in the NBA in the regular season was Chris Paul at 4.29 to 1.

If the Suns are going to even up the series at 2-2 this evening, they need another spirited effort from Amar’e Stoudemire. Channing Frye and Jared Dudley need to have at least five 3’s between the two of them to give the Suns a legitimate chance. Last Wednesday, the series tied at 2 games apiece seemed to be a fantasy, tonight that could become a reality.

Well that was a fantastic season wasn’t it Sun’s fans? First, the team exceeded expectations simply by making it to the playoffs. Then to beat the Blazers and Spurs handily to advance to Western Conference finals; Sun’s fans couldn’t be happier right? If one were to take a step back and examine the overall season for the Suns, it has been fantastic. The Suns led the NBA in scoring during the regular season, Amar’e Stoudemire returned to form, Nash played brilliantly even at his advanced age and some young players have begun to develop. However, if one takes a forward looking glance, things are not bright for this team.

The Los Angeles Lakers showed that they can simply destroy the Suns in virtually ever facet of the game. The Suns, who were the best 3-point shooting team in the NBA during the regular season, only shot 5-22 from far way as the Lakers made 8-17 of their 3’s. The 128-107 obliteration of the Suns was unfortunately the beginning of the end for the Suns; at least in their current form. The Suns may win 1 or 2 games in this series when they shoot well, but last night clearly showed they don’t have a chance. Regardless of the horrible officiating that put Grant Hill on the bench in the 3rd quarter and allowed Kobe Bryant to go off for 21 points in the period, the Suns are over-matched.

A run to the finals may have been enough to prove to Amar’e that he could win a title here in Phoenix. However, after last night’s debacle it is evident in my mind that Amar’e Stoudemire will be playing elsewhere next season. The broadcasters on TNT last night were all praising Steve Kerr for this supposed great job he has done. Lest they forget that he failed to lock up his best player? Steve Nash and Grant Hill will both be a year older and a step slower next season. Dragic and Dudley will undoubtedly get more playing time, limiting Nash and Hill to 28-32 minutes a game next season. Channing Frye, also has a player option for about $2 million next season, which I don’t expect he will exercise as he will be looking more in the $4-6 million range next season. Did I mention we don’t have a 1st round pick in the upcoming 2010 NBA Draft? Oh that’s right, more evidence of Kerr’s genius stemming from the Kurt Thomas trade. Louis Amundson, a spark-plug off of the bench will be gone as well. (He only made $855K last season). In addition, we won’t be in the running for any of the major free-agent signings due to our lack of financial flexibility. Unless Earl Clark somehow turns into Kevin Durant the Suns are in big trouble. Envision this starting lineup: Nash, Richardson, Hill, Clark and Lopez.

Next season is going to be tough to stomach on Planet Orange. So sit back, relax and enjoy this series with the Lakers, this may be the last playoff series for some time to come.

Before the San Antonio series 8 of 10 “Experts” on ESPN predicted that the Spurs would dispatch the Suns from the playoffs. This time around, this same panel of experts has 7 out of 10 picking the Los Angeles Lakers to defeat the Suns. Bill Plaschke of the LA Times wrote a recent article entitled “It’s a big deal, and the Suns aren’t big enough to handle the Lakers” .  This article basically stated the Suns have absolutely no chance against the Lakers after their sweep of the Jazz, I guess he forgot the Suns swept the Spurs as well. This is the same Spurs team that beat the Lakers by 19 near the end of the season.

Of course we all know the regular season does not matter that much in the playoffs, after watching the Boston Celtics dismantle the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the players are still the same. If the Lakers are in fact “too big” for the Suns they did not show it. In their 4 match-ups this season, the Suns had a +3 rebounding margin against the Lakers despite losing 3 out of 4 games. The Lakers did have a +7 margin in blocked shots against the Suns, however over the course of 4 games that is relatively insignificant.

Anyone who think the Lakers will simply crush the Suns, have not been watching enough basketball this postseason. There is still the impression out there that the Suns are the run and gun no defense team of old. However, as evidenced in the Spurs series, they are now an efficient half-court offense that uses the pick and roll and 3-point shooting to space out opposing defenses. Additionally, the Suns do play defense now, especially when their dynamic bench is on the court.  The combination of Channing Frye, Jared Dudley, Lou Amundson, Leandro Barbosa and Goran Dragic would be a good enough starting lineup to be the 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers bench of Josh Powell, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown simply is not as good as the Suns bench. Most teams use their bench just to “get by” as the starters rest. This is clearly not the case for the Suns. In the Spurs series, the bench actually expanded on leads. Take a look at these +- margins with the Suns bench players on the court netted for the entire Spurs series: Jared Dudley +38,  Channing Frye +27, Leandro Barbosa +21, Lou Amundson +4, and Goran Dragic +1. In comparison to the Lakers: Lamar Odom +51, Shannon Brown +3, Luke Walton -3, Jordan Farmar, -4 and Josh Powell -12. What these figures show is that after Odom, the Lakers have nothing coming off the bench.

If the Suns continue to make their 3’s and the bench continues to excel this could be a long series for the Lakers despite what everyone thinks….

I started my last post with a definition, so appropriately I will start this one with a definition as well. Vanquish: to overcome in battle; subdue completely. The key word in that definition is completely. The Suns vanquished the demons of their past by sweeping the San Antonio Spurs 4-0. I realize these teams are not necessarily the same as the battles of year’s past, however the core remains the same. Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barabosa, all remembered the past too well coming into to this series.

Last night, with the Suns having a commanding 3-0 series lead looked to wrap the series up on San Antonio’s home floor nonetheless. Despite a slow-start the Suns lead climbed to 11 midway through the 3rd quarter and victory over the Spurs finally seemed within the Suns grasp. Suddenly, Steve Nash was caught by an inadvertent elbow to the face by Tim Duncan and blood flowed readily down the right side of Nash’s face. All the memories of previous Spurs-Suns series began to flash before Suns fans eyes. As Nash headed to the locker room for stitches, the lead for the Suns vanished. Despite the fact that no NBA team had came back to win a series after being down 3-0 (88-0), the fears in my mind began to mount. If the Suns lost game 4, they could be without Steve Nash for games 5 and 6 and the series would inevitably tighten.

Looking like a boxer after a prize fight, Steve Nash emerged with an ice-pack and 6 rudimentary stitches in his eye before the fourth quarter was about to begin. Nash received those stitches without the benefit of any anesthesia. Of course, what else should we expect from a player hailing from Canada? Upon Nash’s return to the court, it was evident the eye soon would be completely closed. Tied at 77, and the eye swollen shut, “One-Eyed Stevie” pulled up for one of his patented quick stop and pop three pointers from about 3 feet behind the arc. As the ball landed softly through the net, a sense of relief came over me as I realized Nash was not going to to let this team lose; one eye or not. Nash continued to cement in legend into the annals of NBA playoff history as he finished with 10 points and 5 assists in the deciding fourth quarter. The Suns pulled out the victory 107-101. The sweep of the Spurs, allows the Suns to rest for almost a week before playing the winner of…well let’s just say it, the Los Angeles Lakers.

After the game ended, Tim Duncan, David Robinson and even Greg Popovich seemed somewhat elated that Nash had gotten over the hump that was the San Antonio Spurs. Now the Suns will have to face an even tougher challenge against the defending NBA champion Lakers. If the Nash and the Suns have proven anything this year, it is not to doubt them. The Suns have won 4 out of the last 5 playoff series against the Lakers. For once, the Spurs will be licking their wounds on the golf course and the Suns head to the Western Conference Finals and boy does it feel good here in Phoenix!

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.

The Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs are the antithesis of one other. Good vs. Evil, Light vs. Dark, David vs. Goliath, Fire vs. Ice, Ying vs. Yang basically any diametrically opposed statement out there has been used when referencing the match up of these two teams. The Suns play an uptempo game where the goal is to basically outscore their opponents through expert offensive efficiency. The Spurs on the other hand prefer to play a grind it out, bloody your nose style of basketball. When these opposing forces meet, expectedly drama typically ensues.

We all know the playoff history with these 2 teams in recent years. Starting in 2007, with possibly the most controversial series the league has seen in recent years. The images still come to mind of Nash’s bloody nose and having to sit out while they lost game 1 at home. Steve Nash getting kneed in the groin by Bruce Bowen in game 3 as well as Manu Ginobili getting a bloodied and bruised eye when he collided with Shawn Marion.Robert Horry shoving Nash into the press table in game 4. Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw taking one step on the court  leading to their suspensions for game 5. Tim Donaghy refereeing these games. Then there was the 2008 playoffs, when Tim Duncan made a three pointer to force double overtime in game 1. The series was defined by the ugly but effective strategy of “Hack a Shaq” resulting in Shaquille O’Neal shooting 64 free throws in the 5 game series. Shaq of course only made 32 (50%) and the Spurs once again prevailed. This rivalry was so intense that it allegedly prevented Spurs coach Greg Popovich from coaching USA Basketball, because of Jerry Colangelo’s distaste for anything associated with the Spurs.  

In the present, only 3 players are carry-overs from the wars in the playoffs with the Spurs (Nash, Stoudemire and Barbosa). The season series is split at one apiece. A Suns loss tonight could bring the Spurs within one game of Suns in the playoff standings. The possibility of a Suns vs. Spurs matchup is becoming more and more likely as the days progress…possibly a 3-6 match up. Per usual, the Spurs are peaking at the right time. However, this time so are the Suns. Tonight we will truly see if losing Robin Lopez kills any chances for a deep run by the Suns in the NBA playoffs this year. In my opinion, the playoffs start tonight. The Suns must show that they are an upper echelon team and dispatch the perennial thorn in their sides.

Sports 620 KTAR’s John Gambadoro is reporting that the Suns are on the verge of signing Dwayne Jones from the NBDL.

So who is Dwayne Jones? Jones played collegiately at St. Josephs. He is a 6′11″ Power Forward/Center that is averaging 17.6 points and 16 rebounds per game for the Austin Toros (Spurs Affiliate). Jones is 26 years old and also averages 1.8 blocks and shoots 60% from the field. He has played in the NBA in a limited capacity for 3 different NBA teams (Boston, Cleveland and Charlotte). The word on Jones is that he is a solid rebounder/defender but is a major liability from the free-throw line. In the NBA, he is a career 49.4% from the charity stripe. However for the Austin Toros this season he is shooting 66.7%. He also is not a great shooter and much of his scoring is from offensive rebounds a la Lou Amundson. In 2004-05 for St. Josephs, Jones was the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, and a member of the All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive year. He ranked fifth in rebounds (11.6) and blocks (3.0) in the nation, and led the Atlantic 10 in both categories.

This signing is undoubtedly bad news in regards to Robin Lopez’s health. Jarron Collins is a smart player, but he simply doesn’t have the lateral speed that Lopez does to force opponents to alter shots. Jones likely will fit right in, as he doesn’t demand a lot of touches on the offensive end. Hopefully, Jones can bring some toughness to the Center position even if Lopez is not able to play in the playoffs. It appears that having a defensive Center is incredibly important to Amar’e Stoudemire’s success on both ends of the floor.

With the return of Steve Nash to the Valley of the Sun in 2004, the Phoenix Suns have since reinvigorated the NBA with their fast-paced, high-scoring style of play. With the league struggling for an identity with the absence of polarizing figures such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, one would think the league would embrace this added excitement. However, it has become extremely apparent that the NBA and commissioner David Stern have a vendetta against the Phoenix Suns.

In 1968, David Stern, who at the time was outside legal counsel on the case against Connie Hawkins. Connie Hawkins was implicated in the infamous point shaving scandal while a freshman at Iowa. He was then basically blackballed by the NCAA and NBA because his name was merely mentioned by Jack Molinas, who was later murdered in an apparent mob hit. The laughable thing about this whole situation is that Connie Hawkins was convicted of absolutely nothing and nothing was proven against him. He was basically made out to be a villain because his talent was substantial and the current commissioner, James Walter Kennedy,  thought it would send a strong message to discourage point shaving in the future.

Connie Hawkins finally brought a lawsuit against the NBA in 1969, in which none other than David Stern was the legal counsel for the NBA. Stern and the NBA lost the case and were forced to settle with Hawkins for an undisclosed amount of cash and allow him to be instated into the NBA. His rights were then assigned to the Phoenix Suns.  The main blemish on Stern’s legal career was Connie Hawkins and watching him play for the Phoenix Suns must have garnered much resentment.

This resentment could be clearly seen in the handling of the Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw suspensions during the 2006-2007 playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs. The Suns seem destined to win the title, but one forearm by Robert Horry and two steps off the bench by Stoudemire and Diaw was enough for David Stern to levy his vendetta and suspend both players. Don’t get me wrong, the rule is that you can’t leave the bench, however one would think in a game of such heated implications one would give a little lenience. In a series where Steve Nash’s nose was busted open and Bruce Bowen “accidently” kneed Nash in the most private of places, Stern should have been proud of how Diaw and Stoudemire reacted! Even non-Suns fans could see the obvious disparity in the calls! This is obviously a prime example that there is more factoring in on who wins than being the better team…simply embarrassing.

For those of you that had not heard the news in recent days, Robin Lopez is expected to miss at least 2 weeks with a bulging disc in his back. In my all life watching sports, I have not seen a player with this injury return on time as anticipated. The Suns have been playing spectactularball as of late; winning 21 out of the last 26 games. With Lopez in the lineup, the Suns had actually moved up to 13th in the NBA in rebounding differential at +.8 per game. On Sunday, the Suns faced a beleaguered Minnesota Timberwolves team who had lost 15 in a row coming into the game. The Timberwolves rebounding differential is 19th the NBA at -.3. The Suns were able to hand the Timberwolves their 16th straight loss 111-105. However, upon looking at the rebounding statistics the difference is already prevalent; the Suns were out-rebounded 58-41 (-17).

The Suns options are somewhat limited at the position of center. Channing Frye will definitely see an increased role. Frye however does not fill the role of rebounding and defensive toughness that Lopez had previously filled. Frye plays the center position like a small forward, roaming around the 3-point line looking for shooting opportunities. Although he does a great job at spreading a defense, offensive rebounds are tough to come by when a player is standing 25 feet away from the basket. This leaves Stoudemire and Hill in the unenviable position of battling bigger players for rebounds; a battle we have seen them lose already in the past. Jarron Collins can provide a few minutes as well in Lopez’s absence but he needs to stay out of foul trouble to make any positive impact on a game. Steve Kerr’s comments also make this situation even more ominous for Suns fans: “Everybody responds differently to back issues,” (Suns general manager Steve) Kerr said. “On the bright side, the long term is he should be fine and maybe even this year.”  Maybe this year? This sounds as if we should prepare ourselves to be without him.  A tragic loss for a team that could do some serious damage in the playoffs if his is healthy. Who would have thought on a team with Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Jason Richardson and Amare Stoudemire that we would be lamenting the loss of Robin Lopez? Let’s all just hope Lopez has a miraculous recovery before the playoffs, because this team desperately needs him.