We all know that Kerr and D’Antoni have their differences in their coaching philosophies. Steve, being the student of Greg Popovich and Phil Jackson, advocates defense, while Mike, having coached in Italy and more adept to the European style, prefers offense over defense to win games. We saw how the Suns run the floor and make the games exciting, shooting within the first seven seconds, and trading baskets with the opponents. They had the talent, but how long can they still run?

Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill are nearing the twilight of their careers, and all three play major roles in Phoenix’s championship dream. The perfect coach that would jive well with Kerr’s defensive philosophies would be Jeff! Van Gundy has been an overachiever all his life. We know he preaches defense. His teams have been reputed to great defensive teams like the New York Knicks of the mid-90’s and the Houston Rockets a season ago.

He is enjoying himself commenting on games, but deep in his heart, he wants another chance to win that elusive title. Just one. At least one. Those bags under his eyes is a living proof that he works hard. Steve, let Mike go, and get Jeff. I don’t see any other candidate in the market right now.

Infusing a 36-year old 350-pound Shaquille O’Neal into a system entirely different from his orientation messed up the identity of Phoenix. You let go of a guy who fits perfectly into the run-and-gun style of play in Shawn Marion, and bring in the Big Cactus into the fold is much different from the letting-go of useless Kwame Brown, a rookie and future draft picks, then getting a dominant big man in Pau Gasol, which the Los Angeles Lakers did. The arrival of O’Neal totally needs an overhauling of the Suns system, and I believe this can be done. It just needs time. Time they don’t have. Like Raja Bell said during their 3-6 run upon Shaq’s arrival, “We are still in preseason form.” Yes, they were and still are, while the rest of the league have been warming-up for the post-season.

And beating the defending champions in the first round is too much to ask from these Suns who are still assimilating Shaq into the fold, and D’Antoni has to adapt and even change his system for his arrival. Sure, they appear to have incorporated the Diesel into the team’s system, but they still haven’t. The proof! They lost the big games.

They could have totally avoided the Spurs in the first round, if only, they have beaten Houston on April 11. Yes that game! They were beaten big-time, 90-101. They did beat Houston, the Rockets’ second defeat after going 22-0, but they needed to win that April 11 encounter more. That was the tie-breaker right there. They could have been fifth, not sixth, and it is much different to face San Antonio, than facing Utah. Yes, they may have beaten the Spurs thrice in four encounters, but that was the regular season. San Antonio is totally different team in the play-offs. They have lots of experience playing together, and they have semi-dominated this decade. Four titles in nine years. That’s a feat, and three titles with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Those three know how to win. And an identity-searching team like Phoenix is no match for them.

In a closely-fought and tight Western Conference, that single loss ended the season for the Suns. And fate was not on their side either. Duncan made a magical three, his first the whole season, in Game One. That forced a second overtime, and with Amare Stoudemire fouling out, they had the slimmest of chance. They were supposed to win it, but it was not theirs from the very start. The breaks all went San Antonio’s way. And champions as the Spurs are, they surely have awaken from a momentary slumber in Game Four. They have been here before. They know how to close out teams.

If only they won against Houston on that April 11 game. They should be facing Utah now. They should still be in the fight. Who knows it could be them in the second round, and facing the Lakers. And they would have been better, having to experience what it’s like to have Shaq in the playoffs. Not against the Spurs, it would have been better to experiment having Shaq around against the Jazz. If only they have beaten Houston, and not fall down to them 90-101. If only… (photos courtesy of yahoonba.com)

Bell went 5-for-7 from the three-point line, hit an amazing 8-of-11 from the field, and led the Suns with 27 points Sunday night! He more than offset the poor games of Amare Stoudemire and Nash. Amare only had seven points, and Nash had 15 points and just four assists.

Maybe, Bell was a bit relaxed in that game, feeling that there’s no tomorrow and that he had to show. The pressure of limiting Manu Ginobili, who has led the Spurs in scoring for two games, and shot that winning lay-up over Raja in that highly-contested double-overtime victory in Game One, was too much of a burden for Bell. He may been having nightmares about that shot.

I salute Mike D’Antoni for changing the game plan and making the much-needed adjustments. They looked for other options and Bell and Diaw delivered. San Antonio was surprised that Stoudemire and O’Neal weren’t getting the ball that much. It was a good ploy.

And they did great defensively. The game was won with their defense, ironically. Parker was harassed considerably, and when he passed thru Diaw, a myriad of bodies are waiting for him. He is good finisher, but a weak passer. Phoenix took that strength away from Parker. They also defended the pick-and-roll well. No more switches. It doesn’t matter if they were called for fouls as long as they did not go under the screen. The Spurs felt the Suns’ defense.

The problem though is Raja’s consistency in hitting those outside bombs, but it doesn’t really matter as long as they play well defensively. Raja, let those bombs loose. Shoot them. Then run on defense after. Win one more game. Just one more.

 

Every sports analyst thought that this series will go the distance, and the winner of this series will go to the NBA Finals. And the Spurs will definitely make it to the NBA Finals two years in a row.

Seeing how the Suns lost two commanding first half leads in San Antonio pains me. Most especially the first one, wherein Michael Finley and Tim Duncan hit two of the biggest threes to send the game into two overtimes. Then, it was Manu Ginobili who put the dagger into the heart of the Suns, with an off-balanced lay-up over Raja Bell.

Perhaps, San Antonio was just sleeping on the Suns in the first one-and-a-half games. They woke up from their slumber in the second half of Game Two, and completely dominated Phoenix from thereon.

Shaquille O’Neal is just all talk. He has become a complete liability. He is not dominating in offense and has no defense to speak of at all. In the just concluded Game Three, where the San Antonio thrashed Phoenix, 115-99, Shaq was exposed on not being able to defend the pick-and-roll.

Down 0-3, the Suns will go home early and loose to their play-off tormentors again. Before, I used to believe in them, that they will come back. But, I have realized they are not the same team. Steve Nash is tired, and O’Neal is old and nonsense. Those are their two leaders, the others feed off them. And both, well, they just don’t have the heart. (photo courtesy of yahoonba.com)

I hate the San Antonio Spurs. They do not compete fairly on the floor. Last year, they had the referees on their side. This year, they are flopping their way to the title. Whoever wins in this series has a good chance of making it to the NBA Finals. But please, calls should not be made on flops! Floppers should be penalized!!!

O’Neal could have made the game a lopsided one if that silly foul was not called him in the first quarter. The Suns led by as much as 16 in the first half, but with O’Neal riding the bench for most of the game, the momentum shifted to Spurs. Phoenix had control of the game 80-percent of the way. It was an unfair contest when a player of Shaq’s caliber, whom the Suns traded-for, was nowhere to be found in the contest because of a flop! Please!

The Spurs may win another the title. But they will never earn my respect. They are the biggest cowards in the NBA.

The big fella was much of a big help, as he held down Tim Duncan to just 6-of-19 shooting, including a ghastly 2-for-11 in the final quarter. He even scored 14 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and had two block shots. Thus, the old adage continues as everyone knows that everybody has to go thru San Antonio for a team to be able to go to the NBA Finals. But this time this Suns team can match-up pretty well against Duncan, Ginobili and the rest of the Spurs.

It was tough luck for the Phoenix Suns, which is still a team in progress, to be able to defeat a highly-efficient and peaking Spur team. Neither team led by more than six points in this contest. Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and Grant Hill hit crucial jumpers down the stretch.

For two of the past three seasons, the Nash-led Suns had succumbed to the Spurs, denying them a chance to win the Larry O’Brien trophy. This game could be a telltale of things to come. There is still much room for improvement for the Phoenix Suns, but dealing San Antonio with a second straight defeat is luminous sign of things to happen. (photo courtesy of yahoonba.com)

Many skeptics sighed heavily on the season’s most shocking and biggest trade. Experts believed that O’Neal does not have anything left in his tank. But O’Neal promised that he would want the fifth, and even a sixth, championship ring circling his fingers. And Steve Nash and the rest of Phoenix would want nothing but the Larry O’Brien landing on their laps by the end of the season.

They were robbed-off of a championship last season with the scandal surrounding Tim Donaghue. Hopefully, this season, there’ll no repeat of that misfortune. But most of the other teams in the West have bolstered their line-ups with reliable veterans. The Los Angeles Lakers added Pau Gasol, and the Lakers have won five of their last six. The Spurs added veteran guard Damon Stoudamire into their fold. He is better back-up than Jackie Vaughn. And the Dallas Mavericks are looking forward to add Jason Kidd.

But certainly, Steve Kerr and the Suns took the biggest gamble by taking in a 100-million dollar, aging and ailing big man. They will definitely miss Marion’s versatility, but Shaq could certainly help them inside the paint which is their weakness. They have been giving-up offensive rebounds to opponents. That may all change with the hulking O’Neal in the middle. Could this be the year? I believe so because the last time I remembered, the Diesel, Shaq, has always kept his promise. (photo courtesy of yahoonba.com)

After scoring just 12 points in the first half, Bryant exploded for 26 in the second half, including an off-balanced triple against Raja Bell, the Suns defensive specialist. Bryant was unstoppable in the second half, and he capped the third quarter with a buzzer-beating reverse dunk, as he blew by Bell, and dunked over Brian Skinner.

Bryant scored 38 points and added eight assists. He had several fade-away jumpers against Shawn Marion.

An additional factor to their struggle is the loss of Amare Stoudemire to injury. Amare is taking things slow right now, as he has still to recover from arthroscopic surgery. Only six players scored for Phoenix in that Atlanta game including two-time MVP Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Grant Hill, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa. No one else stepped up form the bench. Nash had to score 34, and Marion with 20. Hill had a measly 13. Hill and Diaw should plug-in the scoring holes left by the departure of Stoudemire.

But the good news is the Suns were 1-5 to start last year’s season, and they had a stellar campaign. They could have been crowned champions if not for referee betting controversy and other unfortunate incidents.

However, the Suns would still need a lot of help from the bench. At this rate, the starters may have spent all their energy this early, with nothing left come March and April!

If I were to choose a destination for Bryant, I’d say it’s gonna be the Phoenix Suns, in a trade that should include Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks and future draft picks. Marion has been asking to be shipped out for some time now, and Banks is of no use to the Suns. Their salary-cap may bloat a bit, but it would be best for the Suns to have Kobe in their line-up.

Bryant has shown that he can concentrate on defense and not hog the ball only if he has able teammates at his side. It was evident in his stint with the US Team in the recent FIBA Americas. In Phoenix, he will have a lot of scoring help from Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa and even from Steve Nash. Plus Nash knows where to give him the ball. It will be a renewed spirit for Kobe if he goes to Phoenix.