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.
21 comments:
Nice post. I am excited to see you are so revved up for this year's playoffs. It is times like this that I wish we were still the 'upstairsmen' of 456 N and we could relish in the 40 days and 40 nights together w/ some slurps and good eats. I hope you and your Suns get your vengeance. I believe we agree on most points here--the spurs and jazz are without question the two gayest teams this league has ever seen! Best of luck to you and your Suns and hopefully we (the Lakes) will see you in the West conf finals.
Pace,
Your sports preferences are like your eating preferences: they are almost right, but some slight mistakes makes the whole thing all wrong. First of all, the Lakers are, and always will be, the most annoying team in basketball, with the exception of the recent incarnation of the Celtics, so they are public enemy numero uno. Second of all, the Jazz still have Kirilenko, which means they are worth rooting for when the Suns are not around. Third of all, the Spurs are the Suns' worst nightmare, but an enemy is no real enemy unless they are respected. And me--I respect them, and Popovich is the best, funniest, and most interesting coach out there by far. Fourth of all, these Suns need Robin Lopez in order to get through the Blazers, and I am scared about that.
I am so excited for these playoffs that I occasionally pee my pants over them. Although I pay no attention to the Eastern Conference on principle, I am hopeful that the Bucks go far. I am also rooting for the Lakers to get bumped by the Thunder, which would be the greatest thing since the Warriors beat the Mavs. But most of all, I can't wait to see Dudley and my old movie friend Channing Frye wreak havoc all over the Western Conference's faces. If only Lopez could be there.
I'm so glad you posted this on Facebook! I read it saying "YES! YES!" I feel the same way.
GO SUNS!
Mam, this post was great. I really appreciate the time you put into it. Only one problem in my book is how you don't have anything against the gaykers (no offense to c jones). Any team that fills at least 1/3 of your own arena with fair-weathered, "Kobe is my boi" shouting, loudmouths should be despised. Also they beat us in the second round a few years back (after the one time we beat the spurs; I believe duncans rookie year). Kidd had bleached hair, kj played after sitting out the reg season retired and penny hardaway had his final year in the NBA with knees. Mostly the thought of Kobe doing the kg serious face with arm pumping makes me sick. Also, I second that boozer gets no style points. Most boring dunker this side of the big fundemental himself; Timmy d. I can't wait til he turns up his "and one" screaming a few notches for playoff ball
What does last night rank on the "Suns just pooped their pants" scale? It was terrible to watch. Frye has never looked so ineffective on defense. Keep Dragic and Admundsen in if the starters are going to be intimidated by Andre Miller. I woke up with "Suns just lost the first game of the first round" morning breath, and I couldn't even brush it out. I still have it.
Game 1 sucked. Hill, Amare, and Dudley all had lousy nights offensively. But you've got to credit the Blazers defense--our guys shot poorly for a reason. The frustrating thing was that even with our best unit on the floor, we could never take control of the game at any point. We knew they would defend us well but they had an offensive answer for everything as well. I'm afraid Andre Miller is oozing with confidence now and I don't think it's going to go away any time soon.
Maybe I'm reverse biased against the Lakers because I like the city of L.A., or because I rooted for the Lakers back in the Magic Johnson days when I didn't understand division monogamy, or because I was on my mission when the Lakers knocked the Suns out of the playoffs (although if they knocked us out when we had a bleached-blond Jason Kidd, we probably deserved it).
And believe me, I respect the Spurs. Much like the Yankees, I've learned NEVER to count them out. Especially as long as they have Duncan, Parker, and the unstoppable Ginobili; and even if all three aren't healthy. Fabricio Oberto. Bruce Bowen. Robert Horry. Names that just get me writhing like no other NBA team can manage to do.
Incidentally, has a team with a black dude with bleached hair ever won the finals? What does this mean for the Lakers and Ron Artest?
Rodman has won a bunch. So I would say it looks good for the Lakers, unfortunately.
Rodman. Oh, looks like Mr. Lambert beat me to it.
Pace,
How about some predictions about how the game plays out tonight.
I'll take my cue from Suns legend, Eddie Johnson, who said that on the Blazers' long plane ride home the blowout would erase all of the positive energy and confidence they gained from game 1.
I'm a lot more confident about game 3 than I was about game 2. I think the Suns found the best way to match up against the Blazers and the Blazers don't have enough depth to tinker around with alternate matchups. We saw their best on Sun night and that's about all they have. Figuring out a way to stop Andre Miller was key. I haven't heard the latest on Batum (shoulder) but if he's out then the Blazers are definitely toast.
I predict the Suns win out and achieve perfect revenge by beating the Blazers 4-1.
The thing about a curse is that you can't make any definitive statements about what will decide the series. Who would have thought that the Red Sox hero would be Dave Roberts and his stolen base heard 'round the world. If the Suns are cursed, then they could lose games 1 and 2, and Dudley could have a terrible series, and they could still win if, for example, Amundson hit a Rex Chapman three to win game 3 or something. The breakthrough will be unexpected and the non-cursed team will deny its debilitating effects. Without this unexpected breakthrough, the team will continue to lose (against the odds) year after year. This means that if the Suns are cursed, you can't count on a great series from Nash, Amare, Richardson to get you past the hump. Your team will definitely lose unless something shocking happens to shift the psychological tides. In the case of the Red Sox it was both the Roberts stolen base and the collective team effort of fighting back from a 3-0 hole--since it was a sure thing that the Sox would lose it was finally their time to break through the curse; and the stolen base against Mariano, Posada, and Jeter was the perfect way to kickstart the curse lift.
For the record I don't think the Suns are cursed. I think that if we get a good series from Amar'e and if some of the other guys just have big nights here and there (at least 4 of them collectively) we'll get through. Our motivation and the fact that Parker is not hitting his outside shots as well as the fact that we have a much better bench than the Spurs combine to give us a good chance to win the series.
Los Suns, man.
vive los suns. beating the spurs in this series would erase a lot of hurt. sweeping them (which I do not think is possible) would cause me to crap my pants with joy. not trying to get ahead of myself, but getting ONE in S.A. would be huge.
Wow! Los Suns. What an impressive back to back performance in these past 2 games. I don't think I've ever been so gratified in all my years of Suns fanhood. The commentary after Game 2 was that the Suns front office felt like it was the best game we've played in the Nash era; I think Game 3 has to trump that as the new best. Our team just will not panic, will not go away. At some point in the game we will break down the opposing defense and our offensive strategy/strategies will work to perfection. And now with Dragic and Barbosa having great games (the former a career game) the whole team is confident and we don't need to worry about any offensive liabilities on the floor (with the notable exception of Collins). I think the Dragic lane stopper and switch to the right hand layup to finally give us the lead in last night's game was the symbol of the Suns forcibly ripping the 'ring of power' out of the Spurs clutches.
"sweeping them [spurs] (which I do not think is possible) would cause me to crap my pants with joy."
I see that as a promise. Dr Trevorkian i am waiting for you to keep up your end of the deal.
I feel like anytime you lose by 20pts or more you've lost an extra half a game, so we're actually down 1.5 to 0. For some reason I just don't feel that Suns pregame excitement oozing out of me like it has been for all of our previous playoff games. I must be subconsciously nervous about tonight's game. But we haven't lost back to backs in a long time now, and as Amare said, the Lakers were "lucky". I expect the Suns to bounce back in a big way and get a lot more breaks than we got in game 1 (Hill in less foul trouble, Kobe not as sharp, Artest not as intelligent, Frye not as useless, etc.). I think there's a good chance we win this game but I wouldn't count on it. If we do win, I think we're in great shape, even being down 1.5 to 1. If we don't win, I'm still not going to lose hope. 2.5 games is by no means insurmountable... especially with Kobe's knee's impending self combustion.
Why don't you come out to Iowa so we can watch the game together? I am pure doom and gloom after Monday's game--los Suns were totally outmatched by the team I hate the most in the league. Of course, the team I hate second-most in the league is up 2-0 on Orlando. If I have to endure another Lakers-Celtics "tradition bla bla bla we are incessantly covered by ESPN and there are no other legitimate teams" Finals, I am going to crap my pants in sorrow, on the condition that Trevor has already crapped his pants in joy about the Spurs.
I just don't know how los Suns are going to do anything against these Lakers short of Artest starting a brawl and Kobe getting up off the bench and taking two steps toward the melee. What if Gentry sends someone in to do just that: start a brawl with Artest, inadvertently punch Gasol in the face, and wear a Kloe Kardashian mask for Odom. That might be the only strategy that would work.
As a Bosox fan you are well aware anything is possible, but don't forget Phil's 46-0 mark when up 1-0 (I guess that would apply to 1.5-0 as well?). Here is to another "lucky" performance tonight.
OK, Yes I do hate the Lakers. The painful "Artest putback." Add them to the vengeance list.
http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20100528&t=2&i=114239061&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=2010-05-28T043637Z_01_BTRE64R0CT500_RTROPTP_0_NBA
Post a Comment