| 15 April 2010
The Suns managed to finish up the season as the third seed in the west. Naturally, it all went according to plan and now we won't have to face the Lakers until the conference finals. Of course, the Lakers limped into the playoffs having been beat down by the long arduous season. Do we have to fear them quite so much now? Well, yes, they have too much talent to go down without a fight and you know Kobe will elevate his game regardless of how damaged his finger may be. All things considered and as much as I hate to say it, I think the team to beat is the Dallas Mavericks. Of the 50-27 teams, they were the only ones who managed to win out their last five games.
Before I continue my thoughts on the Suns chances in the playoffs, I think it is only appropriate we take a moment to honor our season heroes:
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First off, we have to give a nod to Stave Nash for winning the Assist title for the fourth time in six years. He is now the oldest player to pull off that honor. In fact, his numbers were pretty comparable to the years where he won the MVP title twice. Why is he not in the discussion for MVP? Quite frankly, because people have grown to expect him to do the amazing. I'm not taking anything away from Lebron or Durant, probably the two likliest candidates for the honor, seeing as scoring sells and we all know it. Posting nearly 30 points a game for a season is pretty darn impressive and makes for a better highlight reel. So I'm not going to argue to adamantly that the consensus is wrong. Personally, I think there's one more X-factor that causes Nash to be left out of the discussion as well and I'll get back to that.
Second, we have to acknowledge Amare Stoudemire. At 23 points and 9 rebounds per game, he is the offensive backbone of the team. What can you say? I hope the Suns are willing to open up the check book and keep him around for a while. If we lose Stat, and Nash does something crazy like retires or moves to another team after next year, I'll have to watch my Phoenix Suns take over the role of the Clippers for the next five years. Sorry, I can't keep that line of thinking open. Moving on....
Third, we have to acknowledge the second team. These guys: Dragic, Amundson, Dudley, Frye, and Barbosa (in no particular order) are so scrappy and have elevated the defense of the team so much they almost play head to head with other teams first squads when they are on the ball (no pun intended). Simply consider the last game of the season against Utah. The second team came out and gave the Suns the beginnings of their never ending lead in the second quarter with Dragic going +13 during that 6-7 minute stretch. Then again in the last minute of the third period to the six minute mark in the fourth period, the second team let the lead slip from 21 to 15 in seven minutes against the Jazz starters (minus Carlos Boozer, of course).
Anyway, the point is, I have been watching basketball for over 25 years and I have never seen a scrappier better overall second team in that time. They are hidden gem in a league that refuses to admit the Suns can play a stifling defense when asked of them and much of it is due to these guys sacrificing their bodies toward that end. In fact, these guys are so good, Nash (among other players) have been able to sit multiple fourth quarters at the end of the season. The X-factor I mentioned earlier: It's tough to be in the MVP talks when your best player only has to play 25 minutes a game against the likes of the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz. Imagine Nash's stats if he were averaging 39 minutes a game instead of 33. He'd be close to a 20/13 (pts./ass.) player. Of course, he'd also be dragging his butt up and down the court come Sunday.
Fourth, acknowledgements must be made to Robin Lopez. At the bginning of the season, I agreed with Jamie in that we ought to get rid of this guy, but I have since changed my tune. How can one not? Even Charles Barkley commented that he is the most improved player of the year. Breaking that door was the best thing he ever did. And one the better things to happen to the Suns all year. RoLo has really come around and I am hoping he can get healthy soon. His presence will be a boon to the team during the playoffs.
Speaking of playoffs, The Suns have the honor of playing the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. I suppose given the choices of the western teams, these guys are as good a first round opponent as we could hope for. Especially since Brandon Roy announced that he will be getting the meniscus surgery in his right knee and will not be playing in the playoffs. As I said, this is good for the Suns, but the Blazers have a knack for playing great ball even when half their team is injured. They've persevered all year. I can't imagine they won't go down swinging. Still, I think the Suns should be able to put themselves above the Blazers in a seven game series.
As for the rest of the playoff match-ups. I can't imagine the Lakers losing to Oklahoma, but then, I never expected the Thunder to win 50 games and make the playoffs. Maybe Durant has some magic left. The Denver-Utah matchup only matters if Oklahoma manages that upset in the first round. I don't see the Nuggets beating Utah. They've been such a mess lately. And I don't see Utah putting up a fight against the Lakers. We'll see, but even as bad as the lakers have been playing, I still think they are the best team in that half od the draw.
As for Dallas against San Antonio. I don't think a sane man would bet on this series. Dallas is the better team, but San Antonio is ALWAYS ready for the playoffs. Popovich knows exactly what he must do to get his team to win. The question is, can the Spurs actually execute at a level to beat the Mavs? As a Suns fan, and because we could very possibly be playing the winner of that series in the second round, I only have one thing to say about that series:
I hope they beat the ever loving crap out of each other!
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