Suns vs Spurs: Focus, Paint, Refs and "our" Frenchman

The great statistical analysis at 82games.com will confirm tha the Suns are the better team on offense: shooting .552 to .504 and passing the ball as 65 percent of the Suns baskets are assisted to the Spurs 58%.
Steve Kerr has identified his won five keys to beating the Spurs on Suns.com.

Scout Inc. broke down the series on ESPN.com as the Suns won the Season series 3-1 for the first time in five years.

Even on their side of the story on MySA.com, The Spurs are worried by Shaq.

Everyone agrees this will be an intense series with lots of close game. There will be blood indeed.

With the Playoffs beginning on Saturday in Texas I believe the Suns-Spurs Series will come down to four key factors

1. Stay focused.

Never lose sight of the situation. Never try to win the game with one single player. Never give up on defense. Never stop running. Never. It's got to be 100 percent every second of every game.

2. Control the Paint.

Suns need to have control of the painted area and the boards. It means no second chances for the Spurs and trying to keep Ginobili and Parker from driving to the hoop. It all starts from their initiatives. That was reason no.1 why Shaq came to the Suns.

3. Have decent officiating.

Refs need to prevent the Spurs from making this series Royal Rumble II. It's the playoffs and everything, but it's still basketball. The last time I checked the game had not yet made special rules for the occasions. San Antonio loves fighting even more than playing basketball. The Suns are the best basketball team. Let's just hope that game will be played.

4. Boris Diaw needs to step up.

Our Frenchman can change the series. He's a great defender and an unstoppable combination of passing, shooting, inside and ouside game, but he needs to put energy and will on the court. Leave everything you have on that court, Boris!

Spurs have eliminated the Suns three of the last four Playoffs but this time will be different. I think the Suns can beat the Spurs this time. 4-2 Suns in the series.

GO SUNS !

Will the real Diaw please stand up?

A collection of the headlines (just click on the link if you're interested in the complete stories) from The Arizona Republic dealing with our number 3, Monsieur Boris Diaw (Photo AFP) since the start of the season.

- Diaw: Big game "nothing special" (Arizona Republic, Jan. 13th, 2008)

- Diaw's struggles puzzle D'Antoni (Arizona Republic, Dec. 28th, 2007)

- D'Antoni turns up heat on Diaw (Arizona Republic, Dec. 13th, 2007)

- Diaw's selflessness may irk fans but not D'Antoni (Arizona Republic, Nov. 25th, 2007)

- Diaw's selflessness an asset (Arizona Republic, Nov. 24th, 2007)

From this simple selection you pretty much get the idea. Diaw is very talented, has the potential (Je crois) to become a dominant player in this League. Boris has a point guard mind in a power forward frame, not a bad combination to begin with and he should thrive in the Suns' system built on speed, passing and shooting. He's the prototypical NBA modern player: quick, string, tall, good shooter, great passer...

But Diaw is currently averaging 7.2 points and shooting .426 from the field his worst total - so far - as a Sun. His career stats so far:

03-04 Atlanta 25.3 MPG 4.5 PPG 4.5 RPG 2.4 APG
04-05 Atlanta 18.2 MPG 4.8 PPG 2.6 RPG 2.3 APG
04-05 Phoenix 35.5 MPG 13.3 PPG 6.9 RPG 6.2 APG
05-06 Phoenix 31.1 MPG 9.7 PPG 4.3 RPG 4.8 APG
06-07 Phoenix 35.5 MPG 7.2 PPG 4.2 RPG 3.5 APG

In other words, over the last 2 and 1/2 years Diaw's performance has worsened as minutes, points, rebounds and assists have been going down.

When this kind of high-potential player doesn't perform at the expected level everyone start thinking about a lack of motivation. Diaw 's struggles have been the Suns biggest mystery so far, one that coach D'Antoni need to solve as Diaw will eventually be one of the key to the Suns' success in the playoffs.

Any idea? Right now I think:

1. Boris, like Amaré and all the Suns big men, is missing Iavaroni.


2. Boris needs to find certainties (i.e. a stable position) on the court.


3. Boris needs to find some fire back. He's a nice man, with a positive attitude and a French upbringing (in other words not your typical NBA player). Boris lists good food, photography, animals and good wines among the things he likes in his borisdiaw.com Mes Gouts section. I hope Diaw hasn't lost his desire to compete in a struggling period.

Go Boris ! Suns Nation Needs You.

Go Suns !

Just a few notes (once again) and get well Raja !

Not much to report over the last few days. It's Summer, it's hot, people is on vacation...it's the off-season in full bloom. Anyway, here's some little things I found on the net.

Raja Bell had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee a couple of days ago. As usual the surgery went well and he's expected back soon in 4-6 weeks. That means he'll be ready when the season starts. Good News as Bell has become a real key to this Suns team. Have a great recovery Raja !

STAT played well (or practiced well I should say as it was an intra-squad game) for Team USA that is seeking qualification for next Summer Olympics in China. Team USA will play again at the end of August in the real tournament.

There's a little controversy going on between the Suns and the French Basketball Federation over Boris Diaw playing at the European Championships next month in Spain. Of course the problem is insurance to protect the Suns from any injury Boris might experience while playing for Les Blues. In a similar case last year, if I remember it right Dirk Nowitzki ended up paying for his own insurance to play in the Worlds.

Not much more to report, it's just golfing season so I found a nice POLL on the Arizona Republic asking its readers "Which Valley coach would you most like to share a round of golf with?" of course Coach D'Antoni is leading with 45% of the preferences and leading by a wide margin over the Great One at just 25%. I guess the poll started from a nice story from Dan Bickley a few days before about Coach D playing a round of golf with new Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt.

That's all folks. It's about time a make a run at the fridge for a cold one.

Go Suns !