Suns-Spurs Round 2 Game 1

Hello...hello...hello...Is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me.

Is there anyone home?

I'm not. I'm sitting in the basement of a condo in Flagstaff owned by one Butler D. Black Jesus. Everything's cool. Just getting ready to watch the game on a very large screen front projection television. I am here to watch the game with another fan, and basically just watch the game. Meaning, I will not be doing a live play by play during the game. I haven't seen a single playoff game because the writing distracts me from the action. I want to watch this game.

So enjoy the game. I will probably update something between quarters just to distract myself from the commercials. The game is on, Black Jesus rejectifies Timmy. To be continued.

I'm not liking the game so far. The refs have already established a presence that predictably favors the Spurs. Nine foul shots to one in favor of San Antonio. Five team fouls for the Suns to two on San Antonio. It sucks, but the Suns are forcing turnovers, as Raja takes the charge. THAT'S a first team All Defense.

So the Suns defense is doing very nicely, as BJ gets the steal. They're just missing open shots, but tides are turning as Diaw gets it off inside and draws the foul on Ginobili. His second. Nice. Get that mother flopper off the court. And one, Diaw seems nice and confident. I don't expect the bad trends to continue, though. The Suns are defending well, and that always results in good things, even if the shots aren't falling early. Barbosa impresses, but he's not going to keep missing. He'll get into the lane or hit a clutch three, and all will be well in House of the Rising Suns. (Sorry...game's on, and I can't be bothered being clever.)

Back to the game. See ya at half time.

Well that's a nice offensive foul non-call. Why is Duncan shooting a free throw when it was his left elbow that cleared out Stoudemire? That is an illegal play. Now Amare has his second foul. They're playing good defense and not getting rewarded for it. And Matrix comes to life as Bell feeds him for the fast break lay in. That's beautiful basketball, and the crowd shows their appreciation at a very high decibel. Pop recognizes this, and very quickly calls the troops back. He doesn't want us to see what he's planning, so the TV tells us what to buy.

It's an up and down game. Not getting many breaks in the foul calls, but they are responding with solid defense and quick baskets. As long as those open shots start to go in, this will be a Suns run away in the second half. We're wondering if they'll hit 50 by the break, and they have. We still have two and a half minutes. Leandro thanks Dan D'Antoni and Steve Nash, and he shows his appreciation by scoring 11 points to Nash's 14. He's keeping pace with the MVP, but the refs job us by allowing Duncan to yank Amare to the floor. Three fouls. But the crowd has life, and are giving it to the refs.

Fuck the refs. Blow up for the Suns. Think Oakland. Turn off the Arena soundtrack, and force the fans to bring the noise. The team is doing its part, but I'd like to see those fans get more behind their team, and less in front of the refs. Suns just need to hit their open shots. That's all.

Well, I'm shocked to see that the Suns are actually shooting 50% for the game. That's cool. But they only lead by two. The Spurs are out-rebounding the Suns 7-2 on the offensive end, but the Suns have taken 44 shots to San Antonio's 38. Suns are forcing turnovers, 10-5. And they now have 11 fouls to the Spurs' 9. So why have the Spurs out shot the Suns 16-6 from the foul line? Well, that third foul on Stoudemire was key, but wasn't a shooting foul. Oh, well. Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa are all better than their counterparts on the Spurs. I gotta believe that the Suns are going to do something nasty in the second half.

Do people really watch Lost? So many that they have the production budget for those slick ads and exotic locations? Wow.

Oh, look. Half time is over. I totally missed the half time crap. Good. They probably didn't see what I saw. It would have ruined my mood.

Post game.

Damn. Now I look stupid.

At least I can take solace that the things I said would win this series are the exact things Phoenix did not do.

They started shooting 50% while holding San Antonio to 47.5%. Everything switched in the second half, with the Spurs getting called for 25 fouls to the Suns' 20. It was the obligatory end of tight game free throw contest that made it look bad in the box score.

Bottom line...Suns didn't hit their open shots to keep their shooting percentage up. And their defense, although well played, was undermined by some good clutch shooting from Duncan and Parker. That's a nice sign, though. Can't do much about the other team making huge shots when they're contested. Now the Suns have to win one in San Antonio, which I believe they can do. I don't know about doing it twice, though, so I may have to alter my pre-series prediction of Suns in 6. Could be five, could be seven.

I'll wait and see how things go Tuesday. If the Suns come out and get a convincing win (not easy, convincing), then the momentum of the series could permanently turn in the Suns' favor.

It was a good game for the most part. Nice and competitive with lots of good highlights on both ends of the court for both teams.

Here's to forgetting the refs and remembering that the Suns are the better team. Have faith, be positive, and Karma will take care of the rest.