Gambo: Time for the Suns to beat the Spurs
Apr 30, 2010, 10:36 PM | Updated: Jan 14, 2011, 4:21 pm
My favorite part of the movie ‘A Christmas Story’ was when poor little Ralphie Parker got fed up with being picked on by the bully Scut and decided to kick his ass.
Yes, the little boy who finally got fed up with being picked on by the big bully decided to punch the bully right square in the mouth and guess what – the bully didn’t fight back he just took a beating.
It’s time for the Phoenix Suns to punch the bully in the face. It’s time for the Suns to treat the hated Spurs the same way that Ralphie treated Scut. After four straight post-season ousters at the hands of the Spurs the Suns need to show the world that Duncan, Ginobli and Parker are not going to take their lunch money anymore.
The Suns are going to win this series and the reason is simple – they are the better team. They are a better team than the previous four squads that lost to San Antonio. And the Spurs are not as good as any of those teams. There is no Bruce Bowen to pester Steve Nash. There is no Robert Horry to knock down that crucial three pointer. There is no Fabricio Oberto to set pick after pick after pick. The Spurs are still good, but they are no longer great. Tim Duncan is still good but he is no longer great.
This version of Suns basketball is better. They are deeper with a bench that boasts three-point shooting in Channing Frye and Jared Dudley, defense and rebounding in Lou Amundson and Dudley, and a true backup point guard in Goran Dragic who gives Steve Nash the rest he needs during games without having Phoenix miss a beat. This version of Suns basketball actually plays defense and has a true defensive stopper in Grant Hill and a help-defense system that actually works. On any given night the Suns could be led offensively by Amare Stoudemire, Nash, Jason Richardson, Dudley, Frye or even Grant Hill who keyed the Game 2 victory over Portland by making 10 of 11 shots. San Antonio can’t stop Stoudemire but in the past it mattered little because they may have lost the battle with Amare but they won the war by taking the series. Now, Amare has great compliments around him including another go-to-guy in Richardson who torched Portland to the tune of 23.5 points per game and 53% shooting in the series.
Winning the series won’t be easy, the games will be highly contested. But the Suns will win. In a 7-game series the best team usually wins and finally the Suns are the better team.
