Will the Suns have enough to rise above their former slayers?
You know how often in movies the plot centers around someone being killed and that someone's friend/lover/child swearing he will get revenge? And then there's another character who tries to tell the avenger that revenge isn't the solution, it is eventually unsatisfying. Or, as Batman put it to Robin, "You make the kill, but your pain doesn't die [there], it grows. So you run out into the night to find another face, and another, and another, until one terrible morning you wake up and realize that revenge has become your whole life."
Well in 2010 the Suns are the dead corpse and I am the friend/lover/child and even if Batman himself tells me not to seek revenge, I don't care. We Suns fans have been dealt some deadly blows in the past, and this year I want vengeance.
With the Suns going on an impressive surge since the All-Star break and finishing out the season by beating both the Nuggets and the Jazz, they clinched the 3rd seed in the Western Conference. Here's the playoff landscape they face:
Round 1: Suns (3) vs. Blazers (6) - The Blazers have toppled some hurdles of their own to get here. Some of their role player guys have been playing well above their level and Brandon Roy is always a force to be reckoned with, but I take comfort in the fact that the unflappable Suns come into the playoffs scorching hot and the Blazer bigs don't have the speed to defend Amar'e.
Vengeance Implication: In the days of KJ, Hornacek, and "Thunder Dan" Majerle, the Blazers beat us in 5 in 1989. Then, in 1992, with the addition of Tom Chambers, and poised to go the distance, the dynamic duo of "Clyde the Glyde" and Terry Porter with help from the nefarious, head-banded Clifford Robinson, stopped us short by beating us in 5 in the Western Conference Finals.
Fear the headband. Cliff Robinson literally invented the thing.
*Round 2: Suns (3) vs. Mavs (2) / Spurs (7) - The Mavs have been playing good, playoff-caliber basketball for a good stretch now and they are not to be overlooked as serious title contenders. The Spurs are not at 100%, or even 90%, health and vitality, and their core of Manu/Parker/Duncan is getting old and less title-hungry. But they've had our number for a while and they are probably the most savvy team in the NBA. I don't think this is their year to win it all, or even win the West, but they can certainly cause some serious disruptions.
Vengeance Implication (Mavs): With Amar'e out for the playoffs with a knee injury, the Suns miraculously made it to the Western Conference finals in 2006 on the strength of career years from the likes of Boris Diaw, Shawn Marion, and Barbosa, and of course Steve Nash leading the way with his MVP season. We put up a good fight against the Mavs but the Mavs were too deep and they went on to beat us in 6. The frustrating thing is that they had a relatively easy path to the trophy with a finals matchup against the Miami Heat but after going up 2-0 they crapped the bed and lost 4 straight.
Vengeance Implication (Spurs): Oh how I loathe the Spurs. The anti "joga bonito". I hope we do get the chance to match up against the Spurs so we can comprehensively exorcise the vengeance demons. In 2005 the Suns had one of their best ever regular seasons and were poised to win it all. En route to face the Spurs we challenged and conquered the Mavs but not without Jerry Stackhouse pile-driving our offensive star, Joe Johnson, onto the floor and literally breaking his eye bone (tack this offense onto the paragraph above). So we hobbled into our series with the Spurs and were dismantled 4 games to 1. Momentum, excitement, thrill: gone. In 2007 the Suns worked hard all season to build up steam and assemble a Spurs-proof team. We succeeded at building such a team but in game 4 of the semifinals in San Antonio we were staging a symbolic, come-from-behind, crunch time win but in the closing seconds all that was marred by the Robert Horry hip check on Steve Nash that sent him flying into the scorers' table and resulted in a 2-game suspension for stars Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw on a ruling technicality. In 2008 I wrote the following post and my feelings haven't changed since: "In 2008 things were almost looking good. We had beaten the Spurs 3-1 in the regular season series and we had started game 1 in complete control, leading by double digits for most of the game. Then the entire season ended with one ill-fated shot. Tim Duncan's OT buzzer-beater 3-pointer. His first 3-pointer in the last 2 seasons. I think that shot ended the game, the series, the season, possibly the era of the Phoenix Suns. I strongly dislike the Spurs. I have nothing more to say."
Classless.
*Round 3: Suns (3) vs. Lakers (1) / Thunder (8) or Nuggets (4) / Jazz (5) - The Lakers are the defending champs but they are backpedaling into the playoffs, Kobe is playing through pain, and they are not as deep as they were last year. The Thunder are young and exciting. Kevin Durant is a pure baller and I look forward to watching him play for years to come. The Nuggets historically crumble in the playoffs but they might go far this year if they get inspired play from "Mr. Big-Shot" Billups and a revitalized Carmelo Anthony. Their excess of tattoos means that I will never root for them. The Jazz are hopeful that Carlos Boozer's injury is not serious. They are always a threat to win at home but losing the advantage by slipping to the 5 seed might have a devastating affect on their 2010 run.
Vengeance Implication (Lakers): Some Suns fans hate the Lakers but I don't really hold anything against them. In my era we've had the upper hand in our matchups so I've got no reason to hate.
Vengeance Implication (Thunder): None. Not a likely matchup.
Vengeance Implication (Nuggets): None. They've never knocked us out of the playoffs and we typically beat them in the regular season.
Vengeance Implication (Jazz): With the Jazz it's more about rivalry than revenge. Technically they beat us in the first round of the 1991 playoffs but I've pretty much forgotten about that by now. The Jazz are just one of those teams that get my blood boiling. I can't stand their foul-crying, home-court fans and I don't care for their style of play--they're like a hybrid of a poor man's Spurs and a throwback to the early 90's Stockton-Malone combo.
Carlos Boozer, I award you 0 points for style.
The 2009/2010 Suns are clearly not the best team we've assembled in the Steve Nash era but they might actually represent our best chance to make it to the finals. If not the finals, some sweet vengeance will suffice.
