Shrug. This outcome was beyond predictable. Had the Cavs swept Philly, as they clearly ought to have, it wouldn't have mattered much. Now it stings a bit.
Larry Hughes is a real prankster, hitting that 3-pointer during garbage time. He was 1-10 when it mattered. If he'd gone, let's say, 5-10, as an NBA player should, then the fourth quarter would have been very different. The Cavs would have taken safer shots and it could have been close.
You really have to tip your hat to the Suns, who have 5 great starters, all of whom can score. Marion, who grabs a double-double nearly every night and sometimes pulls down 20+ rebounds, is almost forgotten next to Stoudamire and Nash. As a team they shot .571, including .464 behind the arc. They scored 115 points on the road against a team that generally gives up 92 or 93, and who were rested and motivated. I don't know how you can beat them. The Cavs certainly don't have the ammo. The streak will end when the Suns decide it's time - though maybe not even then. They beat the Bucks in a not particularly close game for win number 16, after which Nash criticized them for being lazy and underrating their opponent. Unless they do that against, say, Dallas or Chicago, I'm not sure they'll ever lose again.
Other than Diaw, they don't seem to get a lot of production from their bench. I guess it doesn't matter.
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Barbosa can be awesome from the bench. Sometimes he plays 35 minutes so he seems like a starter anyway. And my main man Jalen Rose seems to be completely free to work some other full-time job while he sits on the bench. But yeah, I agree, looking at their schedule I can't imagine the next time they'll lose, but somehow, even so, they always remind me of the Billy Beane quote: "Yeah, well, my shit doesn't work in the playoffs."
Phoenix seems so primed for the playoffs, though. I guess those well-armed A's teams did, too, but there aren't many weapons missing from the Suns at the moment. I suppose they could conceivably lose to Dallas, but the difference with them this year is that they play a tiny little bit of defense, which generally prevents them from getting caught in chaotic shootouts that can essentially go to either team, depending on who's tired or who fouls out.
20-1 against the East is convincing. Not because the East is good, but because consistency is the hallmark of solid blasketball. They just don't lose to inferior teams.
Rose is funny. I guess you have to have 12 guys on your roster. And he's not even bad.
I know, I know. Consistency is huge. But, there is something that happens in the playoffs: Nash gets a little bit tired, and their 3-point shooting gets a little bit less consistent. They essentially had to live with Diaw playing the role of Stoudamire in the playoffs last year, but, they just didn't look like killers. Marion doesn't have a killing instinct, the way Kobe, McGrady, Arenas, Wade, and even Billups can go in for the "kill" . . . Nash can definitely kill you that way, but he starts to look more like a human in May/June. Then again, with short hair, he's significantly lighter this year so maybe he won't tire as easily.
I think the Suns are just cruising right now, which will leave them rested come playoff time. I watched the game yesterday, and Nash was only playing when necessary and looked sharp the entire game. Admittedly it's only halfway thorigh the season, but they do just look ridiculous right now.
My thoughts on the Cavs performance: LeBron flashed moments of brilliance, besides his sweet dunks most notably his absurdly smooth no-look to Gooden in the first quarter. But whenever he made some play to possibly turn around the momentum he never built on it.
Through three quarters the Cavs played the Suns game to good effect. They just couldn't keep it up in the fourth. The Suns are just a juggernaut.
Most frustrating coaching decision: To go small in the fourth, I guess to try to keep running at the Suns tempo. Which we cannot do. But 3 guards on the floor NOT counting LeBron? Yes he's got forward size but I still think 2-guard is his natural position. Anyhow, that just isn't going to fly when the Suns have Stoudamire and the Matrix on the floor. Especially when both Gooden and Z were putting up great numbers in the minutes they got.
We were down, what, 5 at the beginning of the 4th? (Something like that) I'd much rather see them run a Cavs gameplan adapted to the Suns rather than just trying to run the Suns game. I guess the Cavs would need a gameplan for that to work...
Oh yeah, Hughes is a goddamn scrub. He seriously did not try at all yesterday, I didn't see him make any effort to get open on offense, or attempt to play defense.
Is the Suns downfall that every team acquiesces to their pace of basketball UNTIL the playoffs when they (the opponent) can spend lots of time focusing on how to change the pace of the game? Since they are so dominant all season long, are they unprepared to make the necessary adjustments during the playoffs?
In other news: I am embarassed to admit I kind of like the new Kobe who shares.
Quality shot!
A ha! That might be it -- in a 7 game series you can solve the riddle, "What makes the sun go down?" Is this the same thing as saying, "Popovich/Avery Johnson/Phil Jackson/The Recently Deceased Pat Riley" can all out-coach D'antoni ?? Notice I did not include my home-coaches Colonel Saunders nor Doctor Nelson. Those guys are better at frowning than altering their game plans.
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