Shackled Smurfs and Thoughts

smurfs

In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, no podcast this morning. (Cue: Dwyer’s “bogus” line.) Sorry. JD’s got deadlines to make and mouths to feed. We should be back up on the ol’ Skype horse tomorrow. Yee-haw! Get your comments and questions in now, partner.

In the meantime, Tas has a few things he wants to get off his playoff-bearded chest. Behold!

– Stephen Jackson likes to mix it up. Sometimes he’s: Stephen Jackson, the above average ball player. Other times he’s: Stephen Jackson, the team killer. Last night, Jackson played selfish. He forced everything when absolutely nothing was working for him. He bitched and complained to the refs on almost every possession. On that one play, he did his best Paris Hilton impression, laying down and trying to get attention. As he reclined out of bounds, looking for some love from the referees, his teammates were trying to score a very important basket only a few feet away. Some people praise him for the raw energy he plays with but that reckless abandon style only works for so long before his mind goes AWOL. See: New Jersey (00-01), SAS (01-03), ATL (03-04), IND (04-07).

– In years past, a loss like the one in game 3 would rattle the Suns, but this team is different. Phoenix continually shot themselves in the foot with turnovers, felt like they were short-changed by the refs for the umpteenth time this postseason and were beaten thoroughly. I agree with the theory that Suns’ teams of the past lacked the mental toughness to get over a loss like game 3, but something tells me this squad has grown up. Is it a little more focus? Are past playoff defeats going to help them bounce back in game 4? Will it help that they were spanked in game 3? The Spurs played great in that last game but the Suns played pretty damn poorly. Look for Phoenix to come back with a far better effort Monday night that should result in a win.

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By J.E. Skeets at 11:03 am on 05.14.2007 — Tags: '07 Playoffs

Comments

10 Responses to “Shackled Smurfs and Thoughts”

  1. Matt D at 11:49 am on 05.14.2007

    I was a little concerned that Bruce Bowen had kneed the Jones’ in the balls.

    Was getting ready to exact my revenge… something the Suns failed to do.

  2. Drake at 11:54 am on 05.14.2007

    It would appear that Tas believes that Phoenix is a better team than San Antonio and only needs to get play mentally stong to win. Give him a clip board, a moustache and a 7 second shot clock, and he could coach the Suns, too. SA is the better team: talent includes both sides of the ball.

  3. JAKE at 12:04 pm on 05.14.2007

    Tas, what do you think about this bet?

    Suns+3.5
    &
    Over202
    &
    Nets-3.5

  4. Tas Melas at 2:52 pm on 05.14.2007

    Drake, I said the Suns are a better team this year, I didn’t say they are better than the Spurs. I’m just going with my gut and making a bold prediction by saying they’ll win on the road against a real tough opponent. I get the feeling Phoenix will respond differently this year, or maybe it’s just ’cause I want them to win. SA is a great team on both side of the ball but if you think PHX hasn’t played D in this series than we’re not watching the same telecast.

  5. Moonshine Mike at 5:53 pm on 05.14.2007

    I agree with Tas on the Suns. They are tougher this year - maybe not enough to put down San Antonio completely, but enough to get them more bloodied.

    All I know was I kept hitting “Update Podcast” in iTunes and kept calling Skeets names when it did not appear. How does JD expect us to start a work week w/out Skeets and Tas?

  6. Sam at 5:59 pm on 05.14.2007

    Bowen is indeed a dirty player. Are there any others you can think of? If so, lets see an All-Dirty-Bitch Team. Yeah, that’d be good. Thanks.

  7. Drake at 10:55 pm on 05.14.2007

    I think that the Suns are indeed a better team this year than last, and could win game three. Just seems like the post indicated that if both teams played to their potential the Suns would win, and I see the Spurs as the superior team, as much as I dislike them. Do you think that the Suns are a better team? Listen daily, love the podcast,

  8. Tas Melas at 11:06 pm on 05.14.2007

    Sorry Jake, I just saw your gambling thought. It’s halftime of the Spurs/Suns right now. I liked both road teams tonight for some reason. CLE is the better team and I felt the Suns for some reason. I don’t like over bets in the p-offs, they frighten me.

    As for the better team Drake, the Spurs are the better team, but I think it’s pretty evident Phoenix has not reached its potential.

  9. Tas Melas at 11:07 pm on 05.14.2007

    Oh, and Raja Bell would be my starting two guard on the all dirty team.

  10. Drake at 11:20 pm on 05.14.2007

    It seems to me that Phoenix has reached its potential. Their style is perfect for Bell and Marion. Both play considerably better in Phoenix than they would anywhere else. Phoenix offense is as good as its going to get (especially the second half of the season while Barbosa was playing out of his mind), and their defense will always be a liability. I don’t see the D getting any better as long as Nash and Stoudemire are the focal points of the team. Hope PHX wins anyway.

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