kick him out

Nash and Amare have been HUGE so far, Marion has lacked offensive consistency, but I think the main reason why the Suns are unlikely to get any further is that they lack a Steve Kerr / Robert Horry pinch hitter coming off the bench.

Their bench have been averaging under 10 points a game these playoff (from my boxscore observations, no need to correct me if it's 11.6) and I reckon if they had someone to come in, play 15-20 minutes, hit some big threes and give some of the starters a rest it would make a massive difference down the stretch.

They have missed Joe Johnson too much. When he was starting they had Jim Jackson coming off the bench in that role billo referred to. Not many teams have won tough, long series with only five players.

And with Nash playing 45+ mins a game, he can't contain Parker during the end due to sheer fatigue. And with no help defense in sight, Ginobili and Parker were just strolling in for too many easy points.

The first anonymous comment is mine, btw.

I agree with foxtrot. I think Johnson was their 3rd top scorer and they're having to make up 15-20 PPG which is a bit of an ask in a shallow team. Phoenix better step up because I think Spurs vs Pistons is going to put everyone to sleep.

steve nash single handedly beat dallas last series. (i like dallas and all but they r no match for phoenix) noone can gaurd nash. hell penetrat and theyll double team him. then hell dish. or hell penatrate and they will slak off and he will score. i do think that the r missing a big contributer in jj but wen steve nash is on its hard to stop him.

2-0 isnt that bad look wat dallas did to houston steve will push his team and with out him they wood b done!

dirk, Nash has been on the last two games and they lost them both

thats ok. nash isnt perfect. noone can win them all. nash has stepped up his game in the playoffs and i think that he can push there team to victory. i think that he is an all star leader.

For Phoenix to advance they are going to need "The Matrix" to step up and play some consistent ball again, and they need the guys coming of the bench to put up some numbers. They can't rely on Nash and Amare to do everything.

At the moment they are playing like the 76ers used to where they only ever used Iverson and how far did the 6ers get? Not far.

So the Suns need to rally around Nash and Amare and play some good ball and they will get through.

yes but how do the plays happen? it all starts with nash. if hes not scoring he assisting. if hes not assisting hes causing TO's. and if hes not doing that the team is struggling. without nash, this wouldnt even b a series.

No one is disagreeing that Nash isn't a great player - he is, he deserved MVP and Phoenix would not be still playing this late in the playoffs if he wasn't there. but they still need some role players coming off the bench. Even if the Suns miraculously get past the Spurs they still have to front up against either the Heat or the Pistons to win it all. With their starters playing so much they will not be able to handle another tough long series. Look what happened after Iverson got Philly to the Finals vs the Lakers - he was hammered all the way thru the East playoffs and had very little in the tank for LA.

but however when your talking about iverson, he had the ability to single handedley take the 76ers to the nba finals series against the lakers. And other players have done it aswell.

I just dont think nash can take the game by the sruff off the neck and will his team over the line.

I feel that Manu ginobili has more of these qualities than nash.

the only time nash will ever win a ship is if he plays in a team with him being the second best player. He cannot win with him being the franchise player.

Amare is the franchise player.

What the Suns need is someone to play consistant minutes off he bench so that the starters dont have to play 45 minutes a game. At the moment the bench isnt being used as when they do they are getting buried on the defensive end and do not provide a threat on offense. As a result the opposition can colapse on Amare and Marion rendering them ineffective.

I agree with undersized pf. Manu is the man. Listen to Walton rave on about him. He's such an unorthodox player, and no one can guard him. He wants to take the big shots, he is fearless at the rim, he makes the right play under pressure and sees nothing wrong with going behind the back reverse lay-up in clutch time. Why? Coz he can. The NBA hasn't seen a player like this for a long time.

Walton actually referred to him as the Spurs leading player yesterday. That's a big call when you play on a team with Tim Duncan.

Dirk, no one is disputing the Nash is an all-star leader. He was MVP, so that's a given. The point is the Suns don't have a chance playing with no bench. San Antonio is too play-off hardened and efficient to let 5 or 6 guys beat them.

And, Suns don't have Robert Horry. His 4th quarter yesterday was awesome. Taught Amare a few things about playoff basketball.

Isaac, how can you say a Spurs/Pistons series will be boring? Any series with Manu is worth watching. Two defensive minded teams, who like to run out of the backcourt will be entertaining basketball.

Finally, Bill Walton rules.

how typical blackfriars boys sticking together like a egg attack.amare is the francise player of the suns.and he will always been.he will play out his career with the suns.

ps hawks grab chis paul.hes a veteran on court leader

hows about cheezburger sticking together with a hairy pf on the weekend.

plus nash is too one sided, he cant play d and thats a fact.

i would rate manu ginobili the second best sg in the league, behind iverson. He's better than both kobe and tmac.

i dont see how u can think manu is more efficiatn the nash. if ginobili is out they can count on TD or tony parker. if nash was out (ill repeat) this wouldnt even be a seiries.

I think nash can handle the pressure and play the extra minutes.

i saw phoenix takes the next 4.

manu does more than wats on the stat sheet. plus he plays d unlike nash.

dont forget amare and marion, phoenix has got an all star team. so everyone has to play well on both teams to get a win.

plus duncan there franchise player has not been performing at his peak this series and parker is inconsistant

i beg to differ. duncan and parker are doing well. like u said its not only wats on the stat sheet that counts. wat im trying to say is that san antonio wood b doing fine without ginobili but suns wood be skrewd if nash was out. nash is the main ingredint of the suns team. take him away and u got last yrs team. shitty. nash has carried the suns through the regular season and he can do it in the playoffs as well.

As great as Nash is and I am in know way disputing that, but it is hard for any player to carry a whole team. He needs the rest of his team to step up around him, and I think in the off-season the Suns need to work on improving their bench, so that the 1st 5 can have a break and not have to worry about losing a big lead etc.

san antonio would be knowhere if it wasnt for ginobili

undersized pf:
r u serious? san antonio has a great team, even without him. i say ginobili is still getting better but not as good as nash yet. if nash has a bad game today phoenix is screwed. if ginobili dose they still hav a chance.

undersized pf duncan is the francise player of the spurs.amare is the francise player of the suns full stop.duncan makes ginobilli look good.

p.s undersied pf, you and your pf broke the bed last weekend????

You know what would be awesome, if people could actually use some punctuation and type so i don't need to decipher their posts.

anyway. dirk rules, you suck. Ginobili owned game 2. Pheonix need to shut down Ginobili and Parker to get results. Let Duncan get his 30, it's going to happen whether you like it or not. and please Marion, PLEASE, play some damn defense on Horry!

marion play defense. hes the best defender on the team. horry had 1 good game. big deal. u no he wont do it again. buddy if u think i suck ur dum. throughout the playoffs ive only predicted 1 series wrong and its not gonna happen again. phoenix will win and steve nash will b leading them to victory.

dirk im with u, nash can lift the whole team and once he sets that example the rest of the team will follow. Bit hard considering theyve lost joe johnson, but if richardson steps up they will have a chance.

horry time and time again is caining phoenix everywhere, marion doesnt play d, he struggles.

cheezeburger your lost. it is so nash's team. amare is a one trick pony who can score. plus amare cant score without nash, once nash leaves or whatever, hes done.

and "dirk rules" this playoffs has been easy to pick, it gets tough from now.

except for the fact that ginobili and san antonio will beat phoenix convincingly this series

ok undersized pf nash today only got 2 assists with the suns losing.amare 30 15 2.amare was still one of the top big men last season without nash.his name was huge without nash.

ps duncan and the spurs are going all the way.they will go all the way next year too if they retain there same team.suns to be a contender need a deeper team.trade quinten for a couple of sold benchys.

yeh well if ya talkin about todays game amare actually got 34 and 11 and 1, but nash is the mvp for christ sake. He is the franchise player and is today the first game where he hasnt played fantastically, but he still got 20 points.

last season amare was a name in the NBA and a good talent, but it took nash to get it out of him. I think amare's a good talent but got a lot to learn

(#35786) @ dirk rules

Looks like you were wrong. Suck it up, buddy.

not only were you wrong, its gonna be a sweep!

its not over till its over.

cheezeburger: y the hell wood the trade richardson. think about it.

u would trade richardson coz all he can do his shoot 3's, you could get a couple of hard nosed defensive minded 6 men, and give phoenix something off the bench

Dirk Rules, this series is over my friend.

Tell Nash to learn how to play D, post the Phoenix coaching dept a tape of every one of Horry's clutch 3's from the past decade, give Shawn Marion a picture of a basketball ring so he knows where it is on the court, ask Phoenix coaches what the point of bench players are if they never get on, and finally everybody take the next 3 weeeks off work. Spurs V Miami is going to be a great series!

couldnt have to said it better my self doc, the finals series will be as interesting as the battle of div 3 men tonite

I'm not playing you tonight Undersized pf. We are up against Sturt. I'm sure we have you in the next couple of weeks.
You better work on that hook

ohh ok. hey doc your gonna be like Darryl Dawkins after game 5 in the 1980's finals series.

"Scared for the Skyhook" - Darryl Dawkins

Im sure youve seen that clip on many NBA vids

to that hack who said y would u trade richardson.of cause you would.with joe johnson why do you need a 30% shooter on your team.pick up some sold veterans who can play d eg mark madson1

Maybe Pheonix could get a guy that played hard D and got a whole load of boards. It's not their offense that's the problem, it's their defense. Like I said earlier in the thread, they aren't going to stop Duncan, let him have his 30. Shut down Parker and Manu and it will be an easy win. I think it's far too late for them though.

Please God, let it be Wade v Parker. Those two going at it alone would make it awesome.

stik with richardson. they just piked him up. he a developing player and will only getbetter. during the strech were nash was out he really pik up his game and im sure he will be a good aset to the suns. hes not a half bad defender either.

and yes they are three down but not out. i believe they can do it.

Dirk, whatever drugs you are on, hook me up. Phoenix are dead men walking.

I agree with Gorilla. Duncan will get his 25-30, on anybody.

You do have to stop Manu and Parker, but Phoenix don't have anybody who can! Parker is too quick for Nash. Most of his points are coming from lay-ups. Manu is so unorthodox no one ever knows what he is going to do.

If you double Duncan, or help on Manu or Parker, you have Bowen in the corner, Barry and Horry stepping into the open three. They will knock it down.

Don't help, or let Duncan go 1 on 1, and you get scored on.

Add that to the leagues best defence, and it's 4-0 Spurs after today.

u want drugs. haha. 4-0 my ass. today it will go 4-2. its not over till its over.

Dirk, you are on drugs! Today it will go 4-2? Are they playing twice today?

4-2 sounds good for the Spurs.