Game 1, yes, was a classic. One of the all-time playoff greats. But I am sick and tired of hearing all these reporters talk about the game, because the wrong team won. And it happened mainly because the Suns blew the game. Consider:
- On the possession before Finley's game-tying three-pointer, the shot clock expired on the Suns. The league's best offense of the regular season failed to even put up a shot.
- Then Finley was WIIIIIIIIIIIIDE OPEN on his tying 3-pointer due to a failed defensive rotation.
- Then Barbosa threw up a wild, off-balance attempt to try and win the game.
According to The Great Bill Simmons' Levels of Losing, there are sixteen varying levels of losing. Game One fit the following categories:
- The Achillies' Heel (Level XV): The lousy free throw shooting of the Suns' big men, as well as the lack of depth in the big man department, severely hurt the Suns here, especially when Shaq, Amare, AND Boris all were in foul trouble.
- The Rabbit's Foot (Level XIV): From the fourth quarter onward, EVERY BREAK went against the Suns. My feeling went from, "Whoa, we might win this one comfortably," to "HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!???" to "Man, the Suns can't do ANYTHING right at this point," to, "Please. . . No . . . Not to THEM . . ."
- The Monkey Wrench (Level X): Why didn't the Suns foul Ginobili at the tail end of the first OT, when the Spurs had to make a three-pointer just to TIE? Duncan traveled before making his huge 3-pointer. And then, of course, there was the difficult-to-explain constant foul trouble of the Suns' big men . . . By the way, Bennett Salvatore was one of the officials on this game. Worth noting.
- The Broken Axle (Level VI): This was textbook Broken Axle, since the Suns blew a 16-point lead.
- The Stomach Punch (Level III): Tim Duncan (?!?) making a game-tying three-pointer? Are you kidding me?
Game Three was a strong case for a Dead Man Walking Game (Level XI). It also was a Full-Fledged Butt Kicking (Level IX). Seriously, Tony Parker probably would have made a backward half-court shot with one hand, the way he was shooting in the first quarter.
Now, can the Suns still win this series? Yes. There is actually an eerie similarity between the first three games of this series and the first three games of the Yankees-Red Sox series in 2004, especially in the Game Three blowout. Will the Suns win this series? Well. . . let's just hope they win today for now.
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Finally, something we can agree on! The Suns did blow that game. However, there is one revision I would like to make: replace "the game" with "every freakin' playoff series against the spurs" and replace "blow" with "fold like a card table" - thus making your new phrase: "and it happened mainly because the Suns fold like a card table every freakin' playoff series against the Spurs!"
ReplyDeleteOther than that, great job...oh, wait at the bottom where you put "Can the Suns win this game? Yes" you need to change "yes" to "if someone would buy Mike D'Antoni glasses so he could see that there are people that sit next to Barbosa and Diaw, and they've heard of this game called basketball too, and they probably know how to play a little."