to New York just like that?

Money talks

Mike D'Antoni the Suns now former head coach has decided to go with the horrible horrible New York Knicks. Apparently a possible championship was not enough to keep him in Phoenix, but more money to coach a team that has probably about another 5 years of rebuilding to do. When this was first reported, I blew it off thinking that Mike would be an idiot to go anywhere else right now. Sure enough, when it was all said and done, D'Antoni jumped ship and was eastern bound. There has been some speculation of the relationship between Kerr and D'Antoni not seeing eye to eye on what style of basketball the Suns should be playing, which I am sure had something to do with his departure. Now the Suns have a vacancy that many coaches would love to get into. Its not all the time that a coach can be set up with a team that is already championship ready. In the meantime all the Suns and fans will just have to sit back enjoy the summer and be ready for whats to come.

Time to go home

Free throws Free throws loss 87-92 series 1-4 Spurs win

The Suns played good defense this game and held the Spurs to 39 percent shooting from the field. Only this time the Suns shot themselves in the foot not making their free throws. The Suns shot a horrible 54 percent from the free throw line, due mainly to Shaq only making 9-20. On the other side of the floor, Parker lived at the free throw line making 13-16 with the team overall shooting 80 percent from the line. This was a game the Suns could have won, everyone in the starting lineup contributed decent numbers and it just came down to who made more free throws in the end. The Suns end the season with a lot of up and downs, but they remained consistent until the end of the season. This first round playoff exit hurts, its only a matter of time until the Suns get to those finals that have eluded them since the Barkley era.

Back on track

Finally! win 86-105 series 1-3 Spurs lead

This is the Suns team that should have been out there from game one. It was mainly the play of Raja bell and Boris Diaw that lifted the Suns this game. Bell had 27 points, 5 assists and 6 rebounds. While Diaw had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. The Suns mixed it up and stopped the pick and roll many times and just overall played good defense holding the Spurs to 39 percent shooting. The Suns came to play today and it showed even though Amare didn't have to contribute much for this victory only scoring 7 points. Grant Hill sat out this game most likely due to his groin injury. Hill being out didn't hurt the Suns this game but he is much needed for the next one. The Suns need contribution from everyone the next game and to play with the same defensive intensity in order to win the next game and be on the right path to make NBA history and be the only team to come back from a 0-3 deficit to win the series. Next game is Tuesday 6:30pm pst.

Out of Gas

Suns show no heart loss 115-99 series 0-3 Spurs lead

It seemed to me the Suns were playing this game like it was an exhibition. They simply could not stop Tony Parker or even seemed to care to try. The Suns gave up too many points in the first three quarters of the game. The defense was no where to be found, and you can see the frustration on the Suns players faces as the Spurs continued to take the ball into the hole whenever they wanted. Amare had a great game with 28 points and 11 rebounds, but Steve Nash didn't have a Nash kind of game with only 7 points and 9 assists. The thing I am sure that frustrated the Suns and Suns fans the most was the "Hack a Shaq" that was going on. Fouling somebody on purpose that does not have the ball should be outlawed. Don't get me wrong, for a guy that has been in the league for as long as he has, he should be able to put down some free throws. I guess thats the curse you have when you have a Shaquille O'Neal on your team and they know how to expose your weakness. Now the Suns will fight in the next game to avoid getting swept by the team that has had their number the last few years. The next game will be Sunday at 12:30pm pst.

Third quarter breakdown

Losing control Loss 96-102 Series 0-2 Spurs lead

The Suns started the game strong and led by 7 going into half time. Then when the third quarter started, they seemed to have left their game in the locker room only being able to score a very weak 11 points for the whole quarter compared to the Spurs scoring 27. The Suns continuously let Parker and Ginobili in the paint seemingly with no answer for containing them. Steve Nash had a big game as usual with 23 points and 10 assists, with Amare Stoudemire scoring 33 to lead the Suns. Shaq also put up 19 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. The biggest surprise was Leandro barbosa who had 0 points. Grant Hill also today was not much of a factor only scoring 0 points. The Suns stopping the Spurs paint production is going to be the key to winning the next game.

Suns lose tough playoff game on the road

When was the last time Tim Duncan hit a three pointer? loss 115-117 Series 0-1 Spurs lead

To answer the question, it was 2 years ago he last hit a three point shot. The one Duncan made today hurt the most, as the Suns were poised to lock it up after the 1st OT. Then Duncan hit the 3 to send it to the second overtime. The game was still in the hands of Phoenix to win, but then it came crashing down when Ginobili hit the game winning layup. Steve Nash had a great game with 25 points and 13 assists, while the other starters did well also. Amare was the only other stand out with 33 points, along with Barbosa and Diaw pitching in a dozen a piece. Despite Phoenix's loss today, the fact that the Spurs barely got by todays game by a hair, this should make Phoenix fans still feel pretty good about the teams performance today and going into the next playoff game. Next game is Tuesday at 6:30pm pst, 9:30pm est.

Suns remain 6th seed

Suns bench contributing to win win 91-100

After the Suns realized they could not move up in the standings, D'Antoni brought out the big guns, the Suns bench. Grant Hill took the game off to rest his injury and get ready for the playoffs. Sean Marks came out and had a career game with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while other fellow bench players like Gordon Giricek put up 17 points 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Stoudemire was the only Sun starter to get in the double digits. Now the Suns will face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs and San Antonio and all I have to say is, its payback time! The Suns are going to bring the pain this time and not receive it like last year.