The More Things Stay the Same, the More They Change
Don't let the relative "closeness" of these two games fool you: The Suns have thoroughly and convincingly beaten us twice. They are beating us in every aspect of the game. Rebounding? Check. 3-point shooting? Check. Hustle and tenacity? Check and check. Defensive intensity? Great big check. Depth? Check. Role players stepping up? Check.
Every advantage we used to own over the Suns is gone. They killed us on the boards last night, got to every loose ball, destroyed us from behind the 3-point line, and overwhelmed us with a 10-deep rotation that saw contributions from every player. Frye was nailing the 3. Dragic was running the show admirably during Nash's rest. Amudson is hustle and annoyance personified. And Jared Dudley. Jared fucking Dudley. He single-handedly turned the game in their favor in the second quarter, and from there, it was a long, slow slide into defeat for us.
What's more depressing is that a bunch of old reliable Spurs' qualities are gone. We're complete ass from 3, and most of our players are scared to even attempt one. I don't need to tell you what this does for our spacing and our offense. We make dumb mistakes all over the floor; we're no longer the smartest team on the court. We have nobody off of our bench that we can trust--we're basically running 6 deep right now. Bonner, Blair, Mason, Jr., and Bogans are all giving us nothing. Where's our Jared Dudley? At this point, I'd be happier to see Mahinmi, Temple, and Hairston on the floor. At least they have some athleticism.
And Manu Ginobili. Oh, Manu, how we need you to start making shots and start making Manu plays. I know the Suns have virtually built a wall around you, but, still. You're Manu Ginobili. You solve these riddles while leaping vertically out of bounds and simultaneously making a laser pass to the open shooter in the corner. You, more than anyone else, can turn this series for us.
Of course, all Phoenix did was win the games they were supposed to. If we go home and win 2, all will be square, and all will be forgotten. But more and more, the Suns are looking like the team with championship poise and with unyielding determination; and we're looking like the team that just doesn't know how to close out a playoff victory.
The story remains the same, but it seems the teams have been recast.
Every advantage we used to own over the Suns is gone. They killed us on the boards last night, got to every loose ball, destroyed us from behind the 3-point line, and overwhelmed us with a 10-deep rotation that saw contributions from every player. Frye was nailing the 3. Dragic was running the show admirably during Nash's rest. Amudson is hustle and annoyance personified. And Jared Dudley. Jared fucking Dudley. He single-handedly turned the game in their favor in the second quarter, and from there, it was a long, slow slide into defeat for us.
What's more depressing is that a bunch of old reliable Spurs' qualities are gone. We're complete ass from 3, and most of our players are scared to even attempt one. I don't need to tell you what this does for our spacing and our offense. We make dumb mistakes all over the floor; we're no longer the smartest team on the court. We have nobody off of our bench that we can trust--we're basically running 6 deep right now. Bonner, Blair, Mason, Jr., and Bogans are all giving us nothing. Where's our Jared Dudley? At this point, I'd be happier to see Mahinmi, Temple, and Hairston on the floor. At least they have some athleticism.
And Manu Ginobili. Oh, Manu, how we need you to start making shots and start making Manu plays. I know the Suns have virtually built a wall around you, but, still. You're Manu Ginobili. You solve these riddles while leaping vertically out of bounds and simultaneously making a laser pass to the open shooter in the corner. You, more than anyone else, can turn this series for us.
Of course, all Phoenix did was win the games they were supposed to. If we go home and win 2, all will be square, and all will be forgotten. But more and more, the Suns are looking like the team with championship poise and with unyielding determination; and we're looking like the team that just doesn't know how to close out a playoff victory.
The story remains the same, but it seems the teams have been recast.
posted by secretchord53 at 11:45 AM
1 Comments:
Great recap, as always. I'm expecting that some fans will blame Pop for playing small ball, but like you said, the Suns have outplayed the Spurs in every category. Except that hasn't been entirely true, at least not for the entire 48 minutes. The Spurs turned things around in the second half of the first game and looked sooo good in the 1st quarter of last night's game, scoring 30 and taking a quick lead. It seemed too good to be true, and it was. But maybe we'll see more of THAT Spurs team in these next two home games.
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