amazing that Grant Hill not only got out of the first round but going to the conference finals. congrats to him.
Their team isn't built to handle a strong PnR team any more. I think the Spurs would have had trouble with the Jazz as well. The one thing that sportswriters and the media speaks about that I agree on is that SA no longer has a perimeter threat. Ginobili is their lone consistent shooter and that's not enough. What's ironic is that the Spurs beat the Mavericks by forcing Dallas into a jump shooting mode, and that's what San Antonio turned out to be against Phoenix for the most part.
If you told me the spurs wouldn't win a game in this series I would have laughed, kicked you in the shin and thrown dirt in your eye
Surprisingly, I think Amundson and Amare can hold their own against Gasol and Bynum but Phoenix's offense has relied a lot on Frye's shooting so having Amundson out there for a long duration probably won't happen. The thing to watch is whether or not Richardson can stay hot with Artest hounding him.
That's going to be key in the series with the Fakers, they're bench doesn't like to show up very often.
Interesting take. I suppose Phoenix should get some credit for forcing SA into that mode. I remember Phoenix teams of the past being soft as butter in the paint. They aren't some kind of defensive juggernaut but there does seem to be more of a commitment on that end. Frye seems to have made somewhat of an impact defensively despite people mostly talking about him draining treys.
Totally glad I didn't have to do pilates today. My glutes were killing me and I was dying for a sponge bath in table salt.
Yea, he's been a great all-around player for them all year. It seems like Frye has done a decent job defensively, too, in this series and against Portland.
Spurs just didn't have the bench to match up with the Suns. Bonner, McDyess, Roger Mason Jr, Jefferson, Bogans....They have lots of pruning to do.
I mean Parker and Hill got into the paint but it wasn't like how they were killing Dallas. It's not even about the Suns being a better interior defensive team, it's just they know that the Spurs aren't the same as they were 2-3 years ago. Gentry saw and knew that McDyess settles for nothing but 15 footers (even though he's unreliable at ANY range) now and Duncan can't finish with the same efficiency as he did before. So what do they do? They sag off of McDyess to either double up on Duncan or clog the middle to prevent anyone from coming in.
That really was incredible for Nash to be able to be effective after suffering the cut. His eye was almost completely shut. I think Dragic must have touched him on the shoulder and given him the force.
I bet Popovich was thinking, as the clock was winding on his season, how keeping Kurt Thomas and Oberto would have been a much better move than getting Jefferson.
i'll give the dreaded props to the suns. when is the last time they beat us, 1993? i guess they were due, but they played like they weren't taking any chances.
Yes,I was pleasantly surprised to see Frye doing a good job defensively. Gentry deserves a lot of credit for motivating his players.
