The Spurs are 2007 champs!(much more inside)

[Patr1ck]

^True that. You can't anticipate what is going to happen. If he knew that Duncan would only put his hands up, then he probably would have just put up a regular 3 pointer instead of trying to draw the foul. Anyways, Marion should have hit that wide open 3. The Suns played damn well without Diaw and Amare, but the Spurs really played championship basketball down the stretch. Bowen with the daggar. I expect the Suns to win game 6 with their squad at full strength.

[magius]

great game by both teams, good hard nosed basketball. game 6 will be exciting.

i don't think nash will get heat, even with that crazy shot, i can't imagine the suns wanting anyone else shooting it. they played really good defense against him tonight (and incredible d in general, always covering, td is god), and he still managed a pretty good stat line (minus the fg% ugh).

the series really depends on whether manu or tp can step up again between now and game 7. this has always been the case with the spurs - they'll always have a chance to win with td playing mvp basketball on both ends, but someone just needs to turn it up! its frustating - sometimes they get complacent with him on the floor, they need to keep the aggression up, cut and move.

for the suns to win, amare has got to stop taking stupid fouls. he's going to be really aggressive coming off suspension, so its a toss up whether that will work in or against his favor. its going to be tough going into sa, but suns do have it in them. they have a lot of heart.

[---]

The only thing I'm pissed off about to do with this game is the officiating. They made questionable calls against both teams, which was fair, but way to many makeup calls. When a questionable call would go against one team, the refs would try to "make up for it" by having a all made against the other team to balance it out, even if it wasn't questionable at all.

The thing is, while the makeup calls went out to both teams, alot of the ones for San Antonio came as the fourth quarter dwindled down, when they really needed it. It wasn't the Spurs fault, the officiating crew just try to fix mistakes by making more mistakes.

[Clock]

Wow. Horry really won this one for SA. There was no one to score for the Suns expept Nash, and Marion. Marion just wasn't there on the off. in the second half. They really could have used Amare and Diaw (yeah, I know he hasn't been playing like last spring, but he is still a great and efficient player).

Man I hope I'm wrong and the Suns will be able to beat the Spurs game 6...

Cheers

[sucram]

NBA Referees Turn Off 'Goaltending,' 'Out-Of-Bounds,' Turn On 'Unlimited Turbo' For Conference Finals.

May 17, 2007 | ONION SPORTS

NEW YORK—In addition to their decision to allow goaltending and out- of-bounds for the duration of this year's NBA Conference Finals, NBA referees announced yesterday that players will also be permitted to use their Unlimited Turbo option, a feature that allows them to deliver high-powered defensive shoves, makes it so they never have to expend any energy, and gives them the ability to perform helicopter- style dunks from as far back as the half-court line at all times without waiting to power up. "We're really going to go with a 'let them play' approach this year—for instance, to open things up a little more, all games will be two-on-two, players will be officially 'On Fire' after making three shots in a row, and in the event the Bulls or Suns advance, they will be allowed to play alongside their respective mascots," said NBA referee Dick Bavetta, adding that players will also be given the option to let their heads expand to many times their usual size and to play alongside former U.S. president Bill Clinton. "This is going to be a pretty fun and addictive conference finals." NBA analyst Steven A. Smith stated that Cleveland's tandem of Mark Price and Brad Daugherty "doesn't stand a chance" against Detroit's Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer.

[Andrew]

Not the most subtle satire to ever come from The Onion's staff but it was good for a chuckle.

[Axel]

Looks like I won't have to stay up late watching playoff games anymore.

This years playoffs sucks fo sho.

[Lamrock]

Jazz vs. Spurs: Spurs in 5... The Spurs beat Utah in every way. Experience, talent, cheating... Jazz will win big in Game 3, but lose the rest.

Pistons vs. Cavaliers: Pistons in 7... Detroit is clearly superior. They will go up 2-0, but then get lazy and end up letting the series go to 7...

With Phoenix out, looks like the playoffs are just about over already. Man, I bet you guys wish Dallas was still here... Congratulations San Antonio!

Hopefully next year the consecutive title curse will strike and well probably see someone not totally dis-likable win it.

[j.23]

d'antoni is fucking annoying, jesus christ. dude is like a downs syndrome kid in an electric chair.

and barbosa is fucking garbage. guy can't do anything with people actually defending him

[1CenT]

Looks like I won't have to stay up late watching playoff games anymore.

This years playoffs sucks fo sho.

agree....

damn robert horry

[Lamrock]

Robert Horry is CLUTCH. He can win games for the Spurs without playing. Pwnage.

The Jazz might give the Spurs a small challenge. The season series is tied, and aside of the SG position, they matchup pretty well. Then again... COME BACK DALLAS! Please?!

[dan_suth]

It really all comes down to one quite overused saying...

Defense wins championships.

Are the Suns ever gonna be able to get past the Spurs in the playoffs?

[Dro]

There will be one MAJOR change for the Suns in the offseason, player-wise. Suns are due to be way over the luxury cap limit, and Robert Sarver is having nothing to do with it. I expect Marion to be suiting up in colors other than purple and orange come next season. And ya'll know what? I won't be disappointed. 3 long ass years in a row of great regular seasons only to catch incredibly tough breaks in the playoffs...this team needs a new look. Keep Nash and Amare...EVERYBODY else is expendable.

[magius]

great series. the rest of you should keep watching, theres some great basketball being played, but if you don't its your own loss, its not like anyone else cares. lol.

this series was pretty damn good imo. nash was awesome (scary end!!), amare was a monster. sa defense was incredible. barbosa and marion are good players, its just sa has done a good job keeping them off their rythm. i'm pretty sure any other team would love to have them on the roster. watching td anchor the d tonight was incredible!!!! this guy deserves a dpoy. (goes back to the thread where i thought td definitely deserved AT LEAST one of ben's dpoy's.... detroits players, per man are good man on man, while sa i think relies more on td to traditional funnel). again, great series, i look forward to seeiing utah-sa, thats a pretty interesting matchup, nothing is a given.

edit for above post: i think phoenix, if they can, should stick together another year. this was amare's comeback year, next year they will be a stable team. remember, every dynasty had to get over that hump, not very many get over it right away. perhaps they should trade diaw for a true 4 with athleticism... he doesn't seem to fit with amare back. marion's defense is irreplaceable for anything you can get back. also, heres hoping the spurs win this year, because if they do then they won't next year! it'll be perfect! see! you should cheer for the spurs!

[---]

Jazz vs. Spurs: Spurs win in 6.

Cavs vs. Pistons: Pistons in 6.

[1CenT]

I think the Suns will be together for another year... they will get some additional talent from the draft, and i think being together again will help...

Amare should be playing even better ball next year...

And defence win championships.. Suns are a great defensive team..
Kurt Thomas, Amare, Shawn Marion, Raja Bell, Steve Nash...

Kurt Thomas is a great defender, Amare is an decent 1on1 and help defender, Marion 1 of the best and most versatile defenders n the league, Bell nba all defensive team, Nash is great, the charges he takes and hes got good lateral quickness to stay infront of guards, also he is EXTREMELy smart..

Jazz vs Spurs, Spurs in 5
Pistons vs Cavs, hmmm 5 or 6 for Pistons, but i really hope Cavs in 6.. hah

[j.23]

interesting to see that the #1 and #2 seeds emerged from the EC while the the #3 and #4 seeds emerged from the WC

[magius]

high hopes for cleveland, but that roster is one of the ugliest rag tag sonofabitch rosters i've seen get to the conference finals. nothing fits except lebron. prince can't handle him alone, but help will come easy with the roster lebron has. they're good players, but imho they don't mesh into a succesful playoff team. i really thought they should've gunned for joe johnson more over, ugh, hughes (don't get me started). oh well. they will also be outcoached i'm pretty sure... which really was their only chance. apart from lebron doing somthing truly special.

i have spurs over jazz, but i think it'll be closer than expected. people don't realize how well utah has been playing, and they are very well coached. but td is no yao, and booz will not have it as easy. he'll put up numbers, but not in the same way that he was (see amare). tp and manu have to play mediocore or bad, and kirilenko has to play like he can at his best (for utah to win)

[Lamrock]

There will be one MAJOR change for the Suns in the offseason, player-wise. Suns are due to be way over the luxury cap limit, and Robert Sarver is having nothing to do with it. I expect Marion to be suiting up in colors other than purple and orange come next season. And ya'll know what? I won't be disappointed. 3 long ass years in a row of great regular seasons only to catch incredibly tough breaks in the playoffs...this team needs a new look. Keep Nash and Amare...EVERYBODY else is expendable.

They have a good pick in next year's draft; I predict a player at least better than Diaw, who probably won't return...

Injuries and suspensions to Amare was the reason the Suns have lost the past two years. That is it.

[magius]

Injuries and suspensions to Amare was the reason the Suns have lost the past two years. That is it.

bite me. the series is over, get over it. san antonio beat them. if, if, but, but, wah, wah, wah. come on. please, 'hear it every year, beyond old news. a little respect. the spurs have beaten better. by that i don't mean phoenix is bad, they are a great team, but they just need another year to gel. next year i think will be there year with the same core (minus diaw).

[---]

They have a good pick in next year's draft

I don't know if many people remember this, but that pick is top 3 protected. I'm not saying anywhere out of top 3 isn't great, but could you imagine if that pick went top 3 (which means it goes back to the Hawks)?

The Hawks would be picking at 1, 2 or 3 (which means Oden, Durant or Wright) and be getting Conley with their second pick at 11.

C - Greg Oden
PF - Josh Smith
SF - Marvin Williams
SG - Joe Johnson
PG - Mike Conley Jr

6th: Josh Childress
7th: Speedy Claxton
8th: Zaza Pachulia
9th: Sheldon Williams

The Hawks are looking at the playoffs with that team.

Or they could get the 4th pick (which goes to Phoenix) and a top 10 pick with their second pick (which will go back to Indiana). It's all or nothing come the lottery on the 22nd.

[magius]

http://myespn.go.com/profile/truehoop?a ... entryId=89
sums up a few of my thoughts, don't agree with absolutely everything, but enough. worth a read.

[jonthefon]

Who do you think Phoenix would pick if they got Atlanta's pick? Wright, Noah, Horford or Yi? There's depth in forwards this year.

[Matt]

Phx desperately need a 2nd & 3rd option.

[Anthony15]

Well, conference match-ups are settled here are my predictions:

San Antonio over Utah in 5.

Detroit over Cleveland in 6.