Ecstatic Basketball

    The Suns managed their first victory of the series to make it 3-1. They’re still on the brink of elimination, but I seem to recall a couple of other series where they were down big and managed to win a game 7 (Lakers and Clippers two years ago). Boris Diaw started for that 2006 squad in lieu of the injured Stoudemire, won the MIP award, and came up huge in the playoffs. The “French Connection” proved equally valuable in game 4 of the current series, where he virtually shutdown the speedy Parker, boarded hard, and facilitated much of the offense. When Stoudemire can score in single digits, Nash manages a Parkeresque 4 assists, and they still win big, well then, things are surely looking up.

The Spurs will have to find a way to get back in the lane and hit 3s when the Suns pack it in the middle. Brent Barry and the “Most Hated Man in Arizona,” Robert Horry, got some good playing time at the end of the game 4 route, which might just serve to get them in a bit of a rhythm for game 5. The Suns will settle for Duncan going nuts like he did in game 1 if it means Ginobili and Parker are less involved, so don’t expect double teams on Duncan even if he goes off early. They got Shaq for the 1 on 1 D on Duncan, and that’s still the game plan.

If Diaw can continue his hot stuff from last game, and maybe Nash and Stoudemire play average games, they can absorb an effective Hack-a-Shaq, Bell not dropping 27, and something from Ginobili, a virtual no show in game 4.