The Suns cannot win tonight against the San Antonio Spurs.
Sure, they may score more points than the Spurs, in which case their victory tally will increase by one, but no one outside the greater Phoenix area (and maybe even some people within it) will acknowledge it as a meaningful win.
If the Suns do come out on top, critics will squawk that they beat a team without their starting point guard and one of their most indispensable players, Tony Parker. Until the Suns at full strength beat San Antonio at their full strength, any victory over our esteemed rivals to the southeast will be considered hollow.
By contrast, if the Suns lose tonight, we’ll hear more of the same old, same old: The Spurs have a borderline mystical hold on Phoenix, their voodoo owing to the Spurs’ innate superior basketball IQ and tine-tested toughness, and the Suns’ much-discussed weaknesses on defense and rebounding.
The Suns just can’t win.
Every game, to some degree, has taken on that kind of frustrating atmosphere for the Suns. If they win…well, they’re supposed to win. They have a high-powered offense studded with stars and a proven system. If they lose, well, they’re soft, perennial pretenders to the throne, and maybe the system doesn’t work in the long run, and blah blah blah.
The days of the Suns being fun-to-watch underdogs surprising the league with their play are over. Now, it’s “What have you done for me lately?” time.
So, given that the Suns can’t win in the court of public opinion, they may as well focus all their attention on winning on the court. Just let people say what they will, and use the hot air as fuel for the playoff stretch drive.
Initial signs are that the Suns are doing just that. Grant Hill’s appendicitis might prove to be the biggest blessing in disguise since Dick Van Arsdale’s broken wrist in 1976. Just as that injury prompted the Suns to move Ricky Sobers into the starting lineup and reconsider Van as a primary bench piece, priming them for their unlikely moon shot, Hill’s time out of the lineup appears to have aligned Boris Diaw’s stars. As a starter, he’s played at a consistently excellent level not seen around these parts in a long time. And Grant Hill, mature enough to handle coming off the bench for a contender, gives the Suns the second-unit ball-handler they’ve been craving, as well as another explosive scorer to pair with Leandro Barbosa when Steve Nash takes a seat.
I like where the Suns are headed. I’m optimistic. I expect big things. What I don’t expect is for people to think a win tonight is anything special.
But with the beating the Suns have taken in the press and among followers of the NBA this season, every win, particularly now as eyes turn to the not-to-distant playoffs, particularly as the Suns make fine-tuning adjustments that hopefully get all their players performing at their peaks at the same time, is important.
It doesn’t matter who the opponent is.
Comments
JOHN S. - SURPRISE AZ
To this fan, just getting a consistent effort will be a win against the Spurs. Suns looked unbeatable aginst the Hawks, and yes I recognize it's Atlanta. What counts more is that there was hustle, chemistry, and the flow was constant and sustained. Diaw gave an excellent effort, and played well alongside Amare, which is critical if there is any hope for a run at the title this year. Now the big question, was this effort a one shot deal, or have our Suns finally put it all together, just in the nick of time?
Rishad Ismaili - Glendale, AZ
Hey a win is a win. no excuses. the suns did not have Amare and Diaw during the 5th game of western conference playoffs. did they complain no.
JOHN S. - SURPRISE AZ
Suns, Spurs was one of the ugliest games I can remember in a long time. Most it the result of the plodding, boring, put me to sleep Spurs game. But, once again, our Suns fall into their trap, and as a result it's another Spurs win. Take two steps back after this one. If we can't put together two consistent games in a row, where does it leave us in the scheme of things? To me it's evident, on the outside looking in.
Nashluvr89 - Los Angeles, CA
I whole-heartedly agree! The Suns rock, and I don't care what other ppl say especially those so-called "basketball experts," they're pretty darn biased and don't really give anyone, especially our suns a break, and seriously I'm not really upset that the suns lost tonight against our arch nemesis, but I'm incredulously infuriated at the fact that the spurs, aka the whiners, can NEVER play with integrity and fairness. They're always consistent in their dirty plays. I have no problem, aside from being a bit upset/disappointed, when the suns lose if they lose fairly, it's when they lose in an unfair game with bad calls and faked injuries that makes me so angry, and i'm not being some sore loser or a sore suns fan. Anyway despite everything, GOOO SUNS!!! BEST IN THE WEST! WE LUV YOU KEEP UP THE GREAT EFFORT!
Kenny - Phoenix
Well said. Unfortunatly we lost. But it was a good loss we won't lose to the Spurs if we play that defence the next meeting. I doubt we can shoot like that twice against the same team in a row.
Lori Ann - Sedona Superfan
I have NO interest in statistics (with the Spurs) nor what the "experts" and commentators have to say. The fact is, the Suns lost to the Suns last night. Regardless of who our opponent was or is, we would have lost just the same, due to the way we played. I understand that the ball rolls or bounces funny for EVERY team at one time or another. It was just tough to see the Suns play the way they did .....Spurs or otherwise. Keeping the faith in my team, no matter! GO SUNS !!!
os - mes
Well, obviously the suns fun,upbeat, shoot the lights out game cannot defeat the spurs slow, grind it out, boring game. Then how come Amare doesn't post up against Tim D. and get some point and fouls out of him? Stoudamire is way more athletic and used" to own the Spurs. This past game all he did was hang around by the 3 point lane doing screens for Nash to just run around and not create anything. Why was Marion on the bench for so long? No one in the Spurs lineup can stop him either. why wasn't Boris D. Taking the ball to the basket? If we want to beat the Spurs, we have to play a little more selfish basketball and take it to the basket and get a foul. That's how they win. Ask Ginobili, ask Parker. A bunch of and-one's and stupid fouls. Maybe that's how we gotta beat them. Just maybe, play a little tougher and do the things all NBA players know how to do. Take it to the whole!!!
Brandon - Phoenix (Samurai Comics)
Hey Adam,
I met you at Samurai Comics in PHX recently. I didn't know you blogged for the Suns! We would have had even more to talk about.
Nice column, man. Be interested to see what you think of the Shaq deal, and how the whole thing will end up coming down to whether or not Boris can play up to his ability, consistently, at the three spot. He played well at times last night, but ultimately I think the Suns would have won the game if he'd simply been more aggressive taking the big shots.
Without Marion, the Suns had 1 steal in a double OT game. Chris Paul had 8, if I remember correctly. This is a scary stat that I'm not sure a 325-pound-man can do much about.
Either way, at this point I'm optimistic. I think O'Neal can come around (to a degree) and help. What about you?
PS: I wish karma had traded us a 25-year-old Shaq for the coin flip loss that turned into Lew Alcindor.
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