The must see matchup of the entire playoff’s first round
April 18th, 2008 . by Stankoniforous OneStank-0 has written about the other two matchups, here and here, however, this matchup has it all. STAR POWER. HISTORY. STYLE CONTRAST. Next up,
 (3) San Antonio (56-26)Games remaining: 0 (0 Home, 0 Away) vs. +.500: 0 vs. Div: 0 |
 (6) Phoenix (55-27)Games remaining: 0 (0 Home, 0 Away) vs. +.500: 0 vs. Div: 0 |
The Suns have prevailed in the season series…
REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Suns lead 3-1
Dec. 17: Suns 100 at Spurs 95
Jan. 31: Spurs 84 at Suns 81
Mar. 9: at Suns 94, Spurs 87
Apr. 9: Suns 96 at Spurs 79
…but Stank-0 has a few caveats. The series changed dramatically when the Suns dealt for Big Aristotle. Shaq arrived around the beginning of February, missing the first two games. So pre-Shaq, the Suns are 1-1, post-Shaq the Suns are 2-0. That’s a big big deal.
The Spurs are the Spurs, battle tested, veteran heavy, etc. etc. As usual their focus starts with Tim Duncan. Stank-0’s opinion of TD goes one of two ways. 1. His is reachin the peak of his game or 2. He has already peaked and this is the slow downside. The Spurs don’t need TD’s offense they need his defense. They can score with Manu Ginobili, an All Star 6th man and Tony Parker, the quicksilver Frenchmen. Their bench is deep with: Brent Barry, Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley, Big Shot Robert Horry (brief aside on him later), Damon “Mighty Mouse” Stoudamire, Kurt Thomas, and Jacque Vaughn. These guys have been tested in crunch time.
The Spurs can’t seem to win a chip in an even year, though. Not sure if that’s relevant but no Spurs ring has ended with 0,2,4, 6, or 8 on it.
Stank-0 loves Horry’s killer instinct and flair for knockin down the nail-in-the-coffin trey, but how clutch is he really? Houston had shooters around the Dream so Horry was what 3rd or 4th option? Lakers situation, very similar, 2 alphas and shooters around them. Spurs, 3 alphas, and players around them. His longevity gets madd respect, but this jock riding needs to fall back. Movin on….
The Suns feature Steve Nash, at the point. Nash’s body cannot continue to hold up under a 90-100 game season for much longer. The Diesel has locked down the 5 spot, moving Amare Stoudemire to the 4. That move has unleashed Amare on the league’s other 4s. Alas, the deal sent the Matrix to MIA, but Grant Hill is doin his best Matrix impression. Hill even clocked his first full season since he was a Piston. The bench also features: Leandro Barbosa, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Brian Skinner, and DJ Strawberry.
Stank-0 touched on this before, but the Shaq deal has changed how the Suns can play. They can go big, small, play full court, or work from the half court. In the playoffs, teams dig in and slow the game down. Fast breaks are very rare. It’s no longer just 7 seconds and runnin anymore.
Shaq and TD negate each other. Parker and Nash do as well. The Spurs don’t have a single person to throw at Stoudemire, but they can throw bodies at him. Horry is wily enough to play him at intervals, but over a full game or series Amare would get the best of him.
This feels like the Suns chance to advance past the Spurs. The Suns in 7 games if for no other reason than Stern wants to milk this series for all its worth.
Remember to shoot over to Stank-0’s site for the final matchup.
I think you’re crazy for hating on Big Shot Bob.
Horry doesnt *need* to be the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, option… teams want him for those moments down the stretch where he will stick a dagger in someones heart.
To make an analogy.. Robert Horry is “the kicker” of the NBA. Kickers sit on the bench and do nothing for 58 minutes, but when theres 3 seconds on the click in the 4th quarter, you need them to win.
It’s Big Shot Rob, and too many analysts have slobbed his knob.
Teams don’t need Horry to win. Pistons got a chip w/o Horry. He’s been fortunate to hang on to the last couple champions.
How does Shaq negate Tim Duncan? Duncan and Shaq don’t match up. As far as regular season results, we can’t trust that. We KNOW that Duncan doesn’t show up for the regular season. He defers non stop. He plays set up man and defensive anchor to TP and Manu, but when the second season begins, he ALWAYS lights it up.
Look at his numbers the past two seasons, regular season to playoffs.
As far as Horry, they can win without him, but it’s FACT that he has hit HUGE shots all throughout his career. No one is saying he’s a pivotal part, but the man does step up.
Their play will cancel each other out. TD will have to guard either Diesel or Amare. One of the two will be cancelled out, and since the Diesel has played under the glaring lights I assume TD will face up on Shaq.
You’re missing my point on Horry. He’s been the 3rd/4th option so its been easier for him to hit the big shots throughout his career.
So. Now that its all said and done, did they cancel each other out?
Shaq certainly didn’t negate Tim Duncan 25/14 > 15/9.
Amare did his thing, but Duncan’s 25/14 > Amare’s 23/9.
Stank-0 worked under the assumption that the Suns would show up, so that’s the first problem.