http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nba/teams/1/80x60/sas.gif San Antonio Spurs (3) vs http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nba/teams/1/80x60/pho2.gif Phoenix Suns (2)

http://wtfdetroit.com/pics/spurssunsstats.png

Gm 1: Sun., May 6 @ PHX, 3:30 ET, ABC
Gm 2: Tue., May 8 @ PHX, 10:30 ET, TNT
Gm 3: Sat., May 12 @ SAS, 8 ET, ABC
Gm 4: Mon., May 14 @ SAS, 9:30 ET TNT
Gm 5*: Wed., May 16 @ PHX, TBD, TNT
Gm 6*: Fri., May 18 @ SAS, TBD, ESPN
Gm 7*: Sun., May 20 @ PHX, TBD, TBD

spurs dont choke in the playoffs

can someone tell me what happened to nash's nose? is it cut open? broken?

Nashie was a mess. He butted heads with Tony Parker. Parker was knocked on the floor and looked hurt, while Nash was still standing. A few moments later, however, Nash had a huge gash on his nose and the blood wouldn't stop. A million nasty zoom-ins and a millions digusting blood-soaked bandaids later, and he couldn't get in during the last few moments.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/sp/getty/39/fullj.getty-74072217ge011_spurs_suns_9_43_23_pm.jpg

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/sp/getty/17/fullj.getty-74072217ge015_spurs_suns_9_44_01_pm.jpg

"I went to Phoenix, and all I got was this little bump on my head"

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/sp/getty/b8/fullj.getty-74072217ab049_spurs_suns_7_22_02_pm.jpg

Pippen's lump > Parker's lump

Steve Nash finally looks Canadian.

And yes, the Spurs are quite capable of choking. They're a tough nut to crack, but once they crack, they're done. You'd have to do something really stupid (put Tay in at PF on Duncan) to re-energize them.

Shawn Marion defending Tony Parker, with Kurt Thomas on TD.

Innnnnnnteresting...

Either Manu shows up in this series or the Spurs are going home.

Amare has made it public that he thinks Bowen is trying to injure his ankles/achilles.

This series is about to get even more heated than it already was.

Shawn Marion defending Tony Parker, with Kurt Thomas on TD.

Innnnnnnteresting...

Here's the thing. If Pop can't figure out how to exploit those two matchups, he's definately slipping.

It's amazing that Marion can keep up with Tony Parker at all, but the only way he did so was by putting all his energy into D and not being a scoring option.

great game by the Spurs and Suns right now.

First, Nash with the bloody nose and now Ginobili gets a nasty-ass blood filled callous under his eye.

And yes, the camera keeps zooming in on it.

First, Nash with the bloody nose and now Ginobili gets a nasty-ass blood filled callous under his eye.

And yes, the camera keeps zooming in on it.

LMFAO

Based on the video laxation provided in the bowen thread, i did expect some more physical contact

I figured the camera was just trying to get a glimpse of his bald spot.

Horry just got the flagrant 2, and SA is probably toast for this game. Also, wouldn't be surprised if Horry is suspended at least a game.

Thank God the refs and coaches got in between the players at that point. That could have been another brawl.

Good to see Phoenix wearing down the Spurs anyway.

I do not want to see a team that doesnt play defense beating a team like the Spurs. I also can not beleive they gave away that lead they had in the 3rd.

I can't believe there isn't more talk going on in here right now. If any suspensions happen, it could greatly alter who we'll inevitably play in the Finals.

I would talk about it but I think I'm just waiting to see how this all plays out.

The Spurs are brutal, soulless, efficient. They do really unethical things but they are very square and professional about it. They would have been the perfect basketball team of the Third Reich.*

As such, I'm kind of rooting for the Suns here. I think they are a good team despite their utter lack of defense. If they win versus the Spurs, Detroit will easily take them apart, and the Spurs will have to re-evaluate their strategy, and all of this will be good for basketball.

* I'm shooting for Tasteless Hyperbole of the Year.

Many Spurs fans were wearing a dab of black under their left eyes in support of Ginobili. The display mimicked Game 2, when a local radio station passed out bandages for Suns fans to wear over their noses in support of Nash after his injury.
[smilie=biker.gif]

Let 'em play in Game 5 (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aou_AI2fvqnTg_pDE_w8juc5nYcB?slug=sk-sunsspurs051507&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)
By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
May 15, 2007

Steve Kerr
Yahoo! Sports

SAN ANTONIO – Down by eight points entering the fourth quarter of Game 4 on Monday, the Phoenix Suns faced a defining moment in their season, if not their legacy. Would they be able to overcome their reputation as a shoot-first, defend-later, style-over-substance team? Or would they dig deep, make defensive stops, overcome a rowdy crowd and beat a San Antonio Spurs team that was controlling the action with its trademark dominating defense?

Phoenix answered the question by putting together a stirring comeback to win 104-98 and even the series at 2-2. The Suns did it with gritty defense, great rebounding and a late run fueled by Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. It was the type of game Phoenix hasn't been able to win in the past – particularly against the Spurs – and just may have been the breakthrough the team needed in its quest to win the franchise's first NBA title.

But – and it's a big but – Phoenix may be facing suspensions to both Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for Game 5 on Wednesday.

Both players left the bench late in the game following Robert Horry's flagrant foul of Steve Nash. Under the letter of the law, each player would be automatically suspended for Game 5. In fact, the precedent that has been set by the league is that there are no exceptions to the rule. Leave the bench area and you're automatically suspended. (See Patrick Ewing, Knicks vs. Heat, 1997.) Never mind that Horry instigated the events with a dirty, thuggish takedown of Nash. Rules are rules, according to the NBA.

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However, if the league decides to suspend Diaw and Stoudemire, it may have to suspend Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen as well.

In a play that went entirely unnoticed until well after the game was over, both Duncan and Bowen actually left San Antonio's bench early in the second quarter after Francisco Elson and James Jones were entangled. Replays clearly show Duncan walking several steps onto the court as Elson and Jones appeared to be ready to get into it. Bowen then followed Duncan onto the floor, grabbed him and led him back to the bench. If the league does indeed follow the letter of the law, both Spurs players would also be suspended for Game 5.

Stu Jackson will have a busy Tuesday trying to sort everything out. The right thing to do would be to reprimand the players who left the bench area with a fine but not suspended them. The series should be decided by the teams and the players, not by an inflexible rule. The NBA needs to show some guts, announce that no suspensions will be made and have the Spurs and Suns continue what is turning into a fantastic series.

But I'm not sure if I see it happening.

In the past, Jackson and David Stern have held firm on the rule, punishing players for merely walking onto the floor a couple of steps away from the bench. There has been no flexibility. But would the league really feel like it was doing the right thing by suspending all of those players for basically doing nothing? I understand the reason for the rule – to avoid dangerous, bench-clearing brawls – but in both of the events in Game 4, no fights were involved. There were only altercations that never amounted to anything.

Jackson and Stern should take into account that not everything is black and white. They should be subjective in their ruling on this one, but again, they haven't been before.

The late-game scene took away from a fantastic Suns comeback. After playing Duncan straight up for most of the series, Phoenix threw several double teams at him that kept Duncan off balance. As a result, the Suns were able to make key stops down the stretch. At the other end, Nash overcame eight turnovers by making huge plays with the game on the line, continually finding Stoudemire in the lane for easy hoops.

Now the Suns head back to Phoenix with home-court advantage in hand, as they try to break through the mental barrier that exists for every team that has yet to win a title. To be a champion, you have to believe deep down that you're going to win, regardless of the situation. Monday's game took Phoenix one step closer to gaining that belief. But now the Suns – and the Spurs – will have to wait on the league's decisions regarding the possible suspensions.

The only player who deserves a suspension for Game 5 is Horry. As for Diaw, Stoudemire, Duncan and Bowen? We'll see.

Let's hope the league does the right thing and lets them all play. The basketball world deserves it.

Steve Kerr is Yahoo! Sports' NBA analyst. Send Steve a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

Guess suns fans would wear cups to the next game.

I could actually care less if they decide to go through with the suspensions or not. If you think about it, it's going to be even either way. If they are lenient, only Horry gets suspended for his foul. If they go strict, Amare and Diaw get suspended from the Suns but then Duncan and Bowen get suspended from the Spurs (for leaving the bench in an earleir incident in the game). Anything outside of this would clearly be favoritism and would hurt the integrity of the game.

Amare & Diaw get a game each and Horry gets 2.

Advantage: Spurs

It sucks that they actually benefit from playing dirty.

Amare & Diaw get a game each and Horry gets 2.

Advantage: Spurs

It sucks that they actually benefit from playing dirty.

What about Duncan and Bowen leaving the bench earlier in the game? They both clearly walked onto the court. Oh well, the NBA now officially sucks. Maybe they should be even more like the WWE and hire Vince McMahon to be the new commish!

What about Duncan and Bowen leaving the bench earlier in the game? They both clearly walked onto the court. Oh well, the NBA now officially sucks. Maybe they should be even more like the WWE and hire Vince McMahon to be the new commish!


They were leaving the bench in celebration, the rule is clearly defined that their must be a conflict. I can't believe how many people are saying this.

They were leaving the bench in celebration, the rule is clearly defined that their must be a conflict. I can't believe how many people are saying this.

I think that you are confusing the event. The one that I am speaking of is when Elson got thrown down to the ground. There was a bit of shoving, Duncan got of the bench and walked onto the court (inside of the three point arc) and then Bowen came out, grabbed Duncan's arm, and pulle dhim back to the bench. How is that any different than what Diaw and Amare did?

I think that you are confusing the event. The one that I am speaking of is when Elson got thrown down to the ground. There was a bit of shoving, Duncan got of the bench and walked onto the court (inside of the three point arc) and then Bowen came out, grabbed Duncan's arm, and pulle dhim back to the bench. How is that any different than what Diaw and Amare did?

I agree mick. Why should Amare and Diaw get a game if they take a few steps off the bench, when Duncan came on the court and went past the 3 point line? There was a "conflict" on that play too. Just when I was really starting to get back into it, I'm starting to hate the NBA like I did after the D-Wade lovefest last year.

Elson was hanging on the rim to avoid stepping on James Jones. When he finally let go, he fell over Jones anyways and thought that Jones had tripped him up intentionally and got a bit cheezed off, so there was an impending conflict, indeed.

The NBA...punish Tim Duncan? "The greatest power forward ever"?

Yeah, as much as I dislike Nash and everything Phoenix stands for, I kind of hope they win this game tonight (and the series) if for no other reason than to give a big "up yours!" to David Stern.

Good game tonight, SA pulled it out at the end. I was rooting for the Suns as an underdog by my alpacas need SA to win the series so Im happy.

If any of our master photoshoppers have time, I'd like a simple photo manip done.

I just need a pic of David Stern up in the rafters of the SBC Center, wearing a Spurs jersey, holding a high powered rifle with a scope on it up to his eye.

Inside the lens of the scope, should be a pic of Steve Nash at the scorer's table, about to check in.

thuggary prevails.

Shit ruling by Stern and his, well, himself. Would have liked 7 games just because. But my aplaca herd was riding on this so cool I guess.

First western conference playoffs game I watched.

Amares a beast. He developed a mid range shot. He's too slow on duncan's turnarounds. Obviously Amares not the best post defender. Too bad Nash had a shit game, until the last 6 minutes of the 4th quarter. Marion and Barbosa played horribly.

I do not want to play the Spurs. I know Sheed can take Duncan and Elson is worth shit but Parker is a helluva slasher. Fuck Ginobli. Anyone see his 4 point play bullshit? No one touched him. I know hes going to be getting some bullshit calls.

suns need to make some moves in the off season. Perhaps start over? Their offensive style isnt working and it cant beat a team like the Spurs or the Mavs. Nashs inability to play defense is good but no D=no rings. Trade Marion or Amare for a big who can play some interior D. Obviously Marion's the one, if they were to trade anyone because he is worth more money wise. it all depends on if they were to start over. I honestly think Marion's the better player because he can play D, score, better overall. Amare can play the post, I actually think he can really be one of the best players in the game. Maybe he needs a new team?

I was watching this from bed and fell asleep before the game ended.

Amare started forcing up shit shots, probably because they didn't have much else going on other than "feed Amare the ball, hope that something happens". They couldn't get their perimeter game going to save their souls. Nash was sucking badly out there, no thanks to Bowen who was getting as big a homer whistle as Gino-billy but that wasn't the only reason. His tank was on empty.

Not sure where the Marion playing horribly stuff comes from, though. Barbosa and their bench sucked bigtime. Marion had a so-so game, blew a couple of things, but ended up with a double-double with 4 blocks and wasn't as dumb foul prone as the rest of the Suns and did reasonably against TP. If Tay held Wade to 11-27 shooting, would you say he sucked?

When Nash and Barbosa cant hit shit from outside, you need to have someone who can shoot from outside or atleast have some energy. Marion is that guy and he failed to do both. I know the Suns played a bit of zone out there but TP scored a shitload in the first half, good D by Marion? also, alot of Marions points came off dirty work, being tip ins.

I have to agree that Amare threw up shit shots in the beginning but he took smarter shots later in the game. Amare was probably pissed off because he got suspended.

Mr. Eva was scoring mostly on jumpers, not penetration, and the game was even through the first half. During the 2nd half where the Spurs pulled ahead, he was 4-14 and not getting to the line much. I'm not arguing that Marion played a GREAT game by any means, but I don't think there's many other SF/PF sorts who could spell Tony Parker the way Marion did and have any gas left in the tank. Diaw makes a ton of money too and had a way-suckier performance.

I agree there is no forward who can could guard TP as well as Marion did.

I dont see why Diaw was rarely put in when KT and Amare were getting fouls. And I thought he was just signed this past summer?

wheres P for a "be the gm for the suns thread." ...really where is Pharoah?

wheres P for a "be the gm for the suns thread." ...really where is Pharoah?

He recently had a child and can't/won't post from work.

He'll be back when things calm down at home.

As much as I don't like the Spurs (and ESPECIALLY Tim Duncan), watching Steve Nash and Shawn Marion getting bounced is just too much fun.