Spurs v Suns Game 5

[spursfan-101]

Outstanding game by the phoenix Suns last night. At least for 3 and a half quarters. 

The Suns thoroughly kicked the Spurs arse last night, but they stepped up when it counted, and the Suns clearly stepped down at the same time. Could have been exaustion, or as I think, clutch plays by the Spurs down the stretch.  Shame that any highlight of this game is followed by "but the Suns were down two of their best players."  If the Suns ever want to get where the Spurs level, they are going to have to take que from coach Popovich, and play through. You don't hear much finger pointing coming from the Spurs after a loss, they just deal with it.   

[rickortreat]

The Suns couldn't continue to produce the results they experienced through the first 3 quarters.  I didn't see the Spurs do anything special, except that they started executing and the Suns wilted under the pressure.

It was most likely exhaustion on the Suns part, as D'Antoni didn't go much deeper into his bench.  I would have liked to see Jalen Rose get into the game just to see what he could bring to their game.

No excuses for being without Amare and Diaw (Although they would have won the game with them, assuming everything else went as it did in game 4.)  It's clear that the Suns were able to play with the Spurs without them and be fairly successful at it until crunch time.

This is the problem when you don't have a big man you can go to down the stretch like Duncan or Amare.  When the outside shots aren't falling, you need someone down low to go to.  A couple of plays in the last minutes had Duncan getting freethrows after missing a shot, and getting a late whistle by the refs.  I thought he was bailed out a couple of times, but that's the way it goes.  An AI would never get those calls in crunch time, or at least not to the same extent as Duncan, who shot

You stop scoring you loose. Simple as that.

Tough loss for the Suns since this was a pivotal game.  Had they pulled it off, the momentum would have propelled them to win the series in the next game.

As it is, San Antonio is in control of the series and the Suns have to win in San Antonio yet again if they want to win the match. The Suns should be encouraged, but it isn't clear how strong the legs of some of the other starters will be, having played extended minutes.

Also note how small Parker was throughout the game. This is exactly why he is not a first tier player.  Ginobli did put points on the board, but made some critical mistakes at the end that should have cost San Antonio the game, but the Suns were unable to make plays.

[Reality]

I guess the bomb threat Tues night had little or no impact on the Spurs.

Bomb threat: A bomb threat was phoned into the Spurs' hotel shortly after the team arrived Tuesday night.
The players weren't evacuated, but five police cars were positioned outside the hotel as security did a sweep of the building.  Some of the players didn't know about the incident until Wednesday morning.
Brent Barry even wondered whether the Spurs were the true target of the threat.  "As I sat in the lobby thinking to myself why would somebody make a bomb threat," Barry said, "along walks (TNT's) Craig Sager, and the light went off."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA051707.04C.BKNspurs.notebook.3e5302d.html

[westkoast]

The bomb threat was actually a misunderstanding.  Craig Sager's suit was such a horrible display of clashing colors that people were afraid that it might spontaneously combust on site.

As for the game...Did anyone think after seeing how the game started that Amare not being out there kind of benefited the Suns in a weird way?  SA had trouble matching up with the smaller line up for most of the game.  Even a stretch at the end where Duncan was trying his hardest to catch up with Marion at the end.  I thought the Suns played a very good game and stepped up to the challenged.

I am pretty sick and tired of any time Nash hits the ground that the refs automatically call a charge.  I forget who he pulled it on in the paint in the 3rd quarter but it was clearly not a charge.  He was not to the spot, his shoulders were not even square, he pretty much just ran into the Spurs player and got the benefit of the doubt.  That teamed up with his illegal screen/pass thing he does it really does get bothersome because it is pretty blatant.    For Nash I guess those are 'vet moves' and for someone else like Bowen it's 'cheap'.

Watching Duncan is awesome.  Seeing him operate in the post blows my mind.  Why not dump it into this guy 70% of the time?  Even with KT fouling him and not getting the whistle blown on 3 seperate occasions he was OWNING him on the block.  Reminds me of when a little brother tries to play his older brother at the park and he just messes with him.

[Reality]

I am pretty sick and tired of any time Nash hits the ground that the refs automatically call a charge. 

  Or a blocking foul.  With 11 tics left his violent flop to the floor as he went by Bowen, did Bowen even make contact, trip him?  Thank goodness neither of his final two 3pt attempts resulted in a "Nash Whistle".
1st one Finley bothered him but definitely no foul.  2nd one Duncan was completely set with both arms straight up and Nash jumped into Duncan as he shot.  I was pleasantly surprised no Nash Call on that one.

Also, Tim Clunkin did pass the ball to Manu before Bell fouled him at 84-81.  That was bogus the ref giving foul shots to Duncan.

Manus brain fart turnover pass 10 feet over Parkers head at 81-81 with 1:06 looked a bit like deja vu.  But his positives far outweighed his negs. 

As for the game...Did anyone think after seeing how the game started that Amare not being out there kind of benefited the Suns in a weird way?  SA had trouble matching up with the smaller line up for most of the game.   

Pops failure to adjust was a howl.  Actually it wasn't a howl.  Ever hear of a pic n roll?  Beat your man off the dribble then shoot.  Even with Phx doubling Duncan 14Xs in a row Spurs acted like all they could do is spot up and clank.

Spurs got the stops in the end tho.

Bowens clutch 3 and they can exhale.
I don't want to see a Gm 7.

[JoMal]

Outstanding game by the phoenix Suns last night. At least for 3 and a half quarters. 

The Suns thoroughly kicked the Spurs arse last night, but they stepped up when it counted, and the Suns clearly stepped down at the same time. Could have been exaustion, or as I think, clutch plays by the Spurs down the stretch.  Shame that any highlight of this game is followed by "but the Suns were down two of their best players."  If the Suns ever want to get where the Spurs level, they are going to have to take que from coach Popovich, and play through. You don't hear much finger pointing coming from the Spurs after a loss, they just deal with it.   

What they say and what they do during and after a loss should not be equated. They can say all the right things to the media so they appear genuine and upstanding to naive fans, but Horry's little play late in game four, with the outcome clearly decided - THAT is how the Spurs are perceived to "deal with it".

Horry's comments later should also be noted. He inferred Nash was acting it up by making getting slammed into the scorer's table and bounced off the floor of little, direct consequence from the hip shove he gave the smaller man. That Nash seemed to recover rather quickly and go after Horry apparently does not enter into this "acting" scenario that "Bopping Bobby" declares is "typical" Nash.

Way to not finger point and deal with it.

BTW, from just about every corner of the land, fans who had little interest in the outcome of the Suns/Spurs series have suddenly become very vocal Suns fans. The Spurs have become the enemy overnight because of this, and Stern played into the scrum by denouncing Diaw and Stoudemire as "wrong, wrong, wrong" for leaving the Suns' bench, and the Suns coaches as failing to control their players after an altercation on the court. Unfortunately, this just proves that Stern, after some other, questionable moves he has conducted recently, to completely blow the commissioner's credibility out of the water. His comments came in defense of some attacks against the League from the media in regards to the 'leaving the bench' rule. Stern should have just stuck by the wording of the rule instead of attacking the players and coaches of the Suns, who are perceived as the victims in all of this.

Now, he essentially comes off sounding like the evil Simon LeGree, who viciously supports the actions of the malevolent Spurs, instead of falling back behind the letter of the rule instead, which would be weaksounding but at least not put him on the side that is looked upon as the instigator to the wrongs brought onto the Suns.  

[westkoast]

I am pretty sick and tired of any time Nash hits the ground that the refs automatically call a charge. 

  Or a blocking foul.  With 11 tics left his violent flop to the floor as he went by Bowen, did Bowen even make contact, trip him?  Thank goodness neither of his final two 3pt attempts resulted in a "Nash Whistle".
1st one Finley bothered him but definitely no foul.  2nd one Duncan was completely set with both arms straight up and Nash jumped into Duncan as he shot.  I was pleasantly surprised no Nash Call on that one.

Also, Tim Clunkin did pass the ball to Manu before Bell fouled him at 84-81.  That was bogus the ref giving foul shots to Duncan.

Manus brain fart turnover pass 10 feet over Parkers head at 81-81 with 1:06 looked a bit like deja vu.  But his positives far outweighed his negs. 

As for the game...Did anyone think after seeing how the game started that Amare not being out there kind of benefited the Suns in a weird way?  SA had trouble matching up with the smaller line up for most of the game.   

Pops failure to adjust was a howl.  Actually it wasn't a howl.  Ever hear of a pic n roll?  Beat your man off the dribble then shoot.  Even with Phx doubling Duncan 14Xs in a row Spurs acted like all they could do is spot up and clank.

Spurs got the stops in the end tho.

Bowens clutch 3 and they can exhale.
I don't want to see a Gm 7.

Ya that pass was clearly on it's way to Finley before he got grabbed.  That is a second blown call right under the basket by the refs in this series.  The first being the one where Finley fouled Nash but nothing was called that led to the Horry/Nash NHL check into the boards.

Bowen was clutch.  When he hit that shot even I exhaled lol.  Finley and Manu also had some real clutch 3s towards the end of the 4th too.

As for Manu...you have to take the good with the bad.  You can't be a spontaneous player if everyone knows what you are going to do.  If Pop doesn't even know what he is going to do I don't see how the other squad can figure out what he will do in any given situation.  The pass was beyond bone head and not a brain fart you typical see from this squad in the playoffs.  Duncan had words with him after the game, wonder what was said.

The problem with going smaller is that they would have to take Duncan out of the game in that instance as he was the one they were exploiting with Marion.  The rest of the guys matched up good enough.    I think you saw that Duncan was really playing some great defense and having his way on the block for the most part.  That is a tough call in that spot.  Do you go smaller to match up on defense or do you use your size advantage to really stick it to them on the offensive end?

[Lurker]

Outstanding game by the phoenix Suns last night. At least for 3 and a half quarters. 

The Suns thoroughly kicked the Spurs arse last night, but they stepped up when it counted, and the Suns clearly stepped down at the same time. Could have been exaustion, or as I think, clutch plays by the Spurs down the stretch.  Shame that any highlight of this game is followed by "but the Suns were down two of their best players."  If the Suns ever want to get where the Spurs level, they are going to have to take que from coach Popovich, and play through. You don't hear much finger pointing coming from the Spurs after a loss, they just deal with it.   

What they say and what they do during and after a loss should not be equated. They can say all the right things to the media so they appear genuine and upstanding to naive fans, but Horry's little play late in game four, with the outcome clearly decided - THAT is how the Spurs are perceived to "deal with it".

Horry's comments later should also be noted. He inferred Nash was acting it up by making getting slammed into the scorer's table and bounced off the floor of little, direct consequence from the hip shove he gave the smaller man. That Nash seemed to recover rather quickly and go after Horry apparently does not enter into this "acting" scenario that "Bopping Bobby" declares is "typical" Nash.

Way to not finger point and deal with it.

BTW, from just about every corner of the land, fans who had little interest in the outcome of the Suns/Spurs series have suddenly become very vocal Suns fans. The Spurs have become the enemy overnight because of this, and Stern played into the scrum by denouncing Diaw and Stoudemire as "wrong, wrong, wrong" for leaving the Suns' bench, and the Suns coaches as failing to control their players after an altercation on the court. Unfortunately, this just prove that Stern, after some other, questionable moves he has conducted recently, to completely blow the commissioner's credibility out of the water. His comments came in defense of some attacks against the League from the media in regards to the 'leaving the bench' rule. Stern should have just stuck by the wording of the rule instead of attacking the players and coaches of the Suns, who are perceived as the victims in all of this.

Now, he essentially comes off sounding like the evil Simon LeGree, who viciously supports the actions of the malevolent Spurs, instead of falling back behind the letter of the rule instead, which would be weaksounding but at least not put him on the side that is looked upon as the instigator to the wrongs brought onto the Suns.  

Hope you don't get run over trying to jump on the bandwagon...

[JoMal]

Bowen was clutch.  When he hit that shot even I exhaled lol.  Finley and Manu also had some real clutch 3s towards the end of the 4th too.

As for Manu...you have to take the good with the bad.  You can't be a spontaneous player if everyone knows what you are going to do.  If Pop doesn't even know what he is going to do I don't see how the other squad can figure out what he will do in any given situation.  The pass was beyond bone head and not a brain fart you typical see from this squad in the playoffs.  Duncan had words with him after the game, wonder what was said.

Bottom line, the Spurs lose this game if not for Manu keeping them in it for three quarters. He hit his free throws and some big shots every time the Suns tried to get a little space in the score.

[Lurker]

How come with all the uproar over flopping that Bell has been given a free ride in the playoffs?  Falling backward and drawing the offensive foul on Ginobili was bogus.

IMO it was one of the two "homecourt" calls that Phoenix got in the final minutes.  The other...when D'Antonio walked 10 feet on to the court because his defense was out of position on the inbounds play.  Should have been an automatic T.

Which then leads to my homer comment of the day...

TNT has shown a bias in its coverage towards Phoenix this series.  From the studio personnel to the actual announcers (should a part owner be allowed to call a game?).  To me the most obvious is in the replays that are shown.  Take the Bell flop for instance.  They showed it once and when they realized it was a flop the comment was "both refs agreed".  Do you think that there would have been the same response if Manu had flopped?   On some of Duncan's blocks in game 3 or 4 they replayed them 4-5 times pointing out how he hit hand before ball and got away with one.  If the Suns get away with it then it is shown once and glossed over.

[JoMal]

Lurker -

Hope you don't get run over trying to jump on the bandwagon...

Actually I still don't care who wins this series. But this incident has changed my opinion of the League and its BS claims that clearly can affect the outcome of games by supporting the side that causes the confrontation in the first place. Instead of addressing the rule itself, Stern came across as an arrogant know-it-alls who "thinks" he can control player behavior by the implementation of a rule that 99.9% of humanity could NEVER adhere to if they faced the same situation, in which a collogue gets attacked right in front of them and they are supposed to be glued to their bench instead of instinctively going to the aid of a comrade.

What should concern you much, much more then my opinion is the opinion of those who opinions really count for something. How will the long-term affect of all this be played out if the Spurs go on to the next round?

If I were the League, I would have to "arrange" to make sure (since the League just proved they are pretty much wusses to the whims of others and media perceptions) that the Spurs not win the championship.

[Lurker]

JoMal...

Of course it is the league's fault and the Spurs fault that

1) Two Suns players who are reminded of the rules before the season and AGAIN before the playoffs couldn't follow the rules.  Rules, that I will add, have been very strictly enforced over the years.  It happen to Ewing, it happened to Artest, it happened to Jalen Rose WHO IS NOW ON THE SUNS ROSTER!  What part of don't leave the bench did they fail to understand?

2) What in the world were the Suns assistant coaches doing?  There are a ton of coaches and not one of them felt that they should look to the bench first?  No one has the assigned responsibility for keeping the players in line? 

3) No one...media, league, even Suns fans...have addressed the role that the officiating crew played in the whole affair.  IMO it was amazing that there wasn't more violence in that game.  Javie usually runs one of the cleanest games around.  But in this case he seemed to go out of his way to give the Spurs the short end of the stick when it came to the amount of physical play allowed.  Maybe it has something to do with his good buddy Joey being kicked out of the league...but whatever the reason he should have lots of explaining to do.

4) Funny how the Spurs have been soft for years and now when they play the same physical playoff game that has been the standard they are labeled dirty by a whining Suns team and America jumps on the bandwagon.  The Nuggets series was more physical but neither team said a word.  They shut up & play.

Either you have joined the Anti-Spurs Fan Club or are just playing devil's advocate because your team couldn't even make the playoffs but I have a hard time believing that you truly agree with most of what you have written this postseason.

[Reality]

The problem with going smaller is that they would have to take Duncan out of the game in that instance as he was the one they were exploiting with Marion.  The rest of the guys matched up good enough.    I think you saw that Duncan was really playing some great defense and having his way on the block for the most part.  That is a tough call in that spot.  Do you go smaller to match up on defense or do you use your size advantage to really stick it to them on the offensive end?

 You must be talking about the start of the 2nd half.  I'm talking 1st half.  Duncan was doubled 14Xs in a row.  Like the second he got the ball.  When he passes out the Spurs had zero drive n kick or dribble n create a shot.  They held the ball and acted like a deer in the headlights then tossed up some desperado clunker.  Phx meanwhile put on a pic n roll clinic on the other end.  Who was at the personell disadvantage?  Phx made an 18-2 run and Pop called nary a timeout, made no adjustment and was actually picking his nose at one point.
Gee and one would think knowing Tim is being doubled would lead to a 4-3 advantage.....
Anywho they survived.  GNob and Bowens treys along with a Finley trey were keys to the comeback.

[Reality]

And national media honks,
why does little Cherub Stevie Nashs blatant trip of Bowen in Gm 4 continue to be swept under the rug?
Doesn't fit the little goody goody two shoes image they want of *MVP* Nash?
I mean fine, sweep it but if doing so don't keep bringing up Bobs hip check. 

[westkoast]

Bowen was clutch.  When he hit that shot even I exhaled lol.  Finley and Manu also had some real clutch 3s towards the end of the 4th too.

As for Manu...you have to take the good with the bad.  You can't be a spontaneous player if everyone knows what you are going to do.  If Pop doesn't even know what he is going to do I don't see how the other squad can figure out what he will do in any given situation.  The pass was beyond bone head and not a brain fart you typical see from this squad in the playoffs.  Duncan had words with him after the game, wonder what was said.

Bottom line, the Spurs lose this game if not for Manu keeping them in it for three quarters. He hit his free throws and some big shots every time the Suns tried to get a little space in the score.

Exactly.  I'd trade a really really bad pass in that point in the game for that 3 and the FTs he nailed down the stretch.

Bell's flop on Manu was so effin ridiculous.  I actually yelled at the TV and startled my roommate.  Can't believe that he is even a 1st team all defender because to me it seems as if his flopping is actually what he got put up there based on.  He is a solid defender but what makes him stand out is the fact he gets all those 'charging' calls.  Out of all the charing calls i've seen him get in this series I'd say not even half were legit.  The same goes for Nash.  Nash plays defense like 3 times a game when the refs just assume he was already to the spot.

As for the rule...I think that they need to re-word it so that you don't have to make such cut and dry decisions based around it.  I think they should have a bit of leeway when it comes to something like that.  Seeing a good friend and teammate hit the pavement on a hard foul is going to cause a reaction and the players should be allowed to jump up.  If they charge towards the crowd of players then that is when the rule should be enacted.  I don't exactly agree with just leaving your seat or leaving your bench which is pretty much considered taking half a step past the little line.  It is not like the bench is a huge area or anything.  The rule IMO should stay though, just be re-worded.