| Spurs-Suns breakdown"
Regular season series: 2-1 Spurs
Best matchup: Tony Parker vs. Steve Nash. Many feel this was the season that Parker truly established himself as a legitimate superstar. He'll get his chance to prove it in matching up against Nash, the reigning two-time NBA MVP.
Biggest mismatch: Tim Duncan vs. anyone not named Amare Stoudemire. If Stoudemire gets into early foul trouble, Duncan should explode against Kurt Thomas and Boris Diaw.
How the Spurs win: Slow it down. No team is capable of stopping the Suns in a best-of-7 series, so the key for the Spurs is simply containing Phoenix and avoiding one of the Suns' double-digit scoring runs.
How the Suns win: Run and gun. Phoenix lives and dies by its ability to run the floor. If the Suns can keep an up-tempo pace, the Spurs' aging legs might begin to give out.
Prediction: Spurs in 6 |
In a turn of events that surprises pretty much no one, the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio. Spurs find themselves matched up in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
The two teams ranked among the NBA's best all season, and the winner of their series will more than likely be the favorite to claim the NBA title next month.
And while most Spurs fans have long since familiarized themselves with their hometown team, many are just now turning their attention to the Suns.
After all, most Spurs opponents not named the Dallas Mavericks or Los Angeles Lakers don't get a whole lot of attention around here during the regular season.
So with that in mind, 210SA introduces you to some of the Suns' more high-profile personalities.
SHAWN MARION
Position: Forward
Height, weight: 6-7, 228 pounds
College: UNLV
Strengths: Quickness and explosiveness
Weakness: 3-point shooting
Celebrity equivalent: Vin Diesel. Both could probably carry their team/movie, but just don't expect it to yield an NBA finals appearance, or in Diesel's case, a quality flick (“XXX” and “The Chronicles of Riddick”).
STEVE NASH
Position: Guard
Height, weight: 6-3, 195 pounds
College: Santa Clara
Strengths: Finding open teammates and pretty much anything else on offense
Weakness: Defense
Celebrity equivalent: Jack Nicholson. The performances of their teammates/
co-stars are elevated by their presence.
LEANDRO BARBOSA
Position: Guard
Height, weight: 6-3, 188 pounds
College: None (came to the NBA from his native Brazil)
Strengths: Speed and quickness (nicknamed “Brazilian Blur”)
Weakness: Prone to inconsistency
Celebrity equivalent: Shia LaBeouf. Like Barbosa, LeBeouf is on the cusp of superstardom.
AMARE STOUDEMIRE
Position: Center
Height, weight: 6-10, 245 pounds
College: None (jumped to the NBA from high school)
Strengths: Athletic ability and strength
Weakness: Struggles to stop quality low-post players
Celebrity equivalent: “Seinfeld's” George Costanza. Not ready to lead the charge.
RAJA BELL
Position: Guard
Height, weight: 6-5, 210 pounds
College: Florida International
Strength: Defense
Weakness: Offense
Celebrity equivalent: Bruce Bowen. Both thrive on defense. Both struggle, for the most part, on offense. And since Kobe Bryant loathes each of them, it's a safe bet both are good guys as well.
WORDS: CLINT HALE | 210SA
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