As entertaining as the Suns’ up-tempo offense has been over the last several years, it hasn’t resulted in the type of playoff success necessary to launch a league wide movement. But if Phoenix is able to get by San Antonio in the second round of the West playoffs, we might see more teams shift over to the Suns’ breakneck style. Until then, the Spurs’ grind-it-out (a.k.a. “boring”) attack is considered the gold standard. This might just be the most important second round series in NBA history.
A few more things to watch as the second round gets going:
Tim Duncan vs. Amare Stoudemire
The Big Fundamental vs. the Big Comeback. Stoudemire has shocked the league by his terrific (and healthy) play this season, while the ever-consistent Duncan just keeps on rolling. This should be the best positional matchup of the second round. All eyes will be on this series.
LeBron vs. his legacy
Will King James ever take the Cavs to the Finals? LeBron is signed through the 2009-10 season (with an option for another year), but a loss to the Nets in the second round would be considered a step backward for the franchise. Another finish like that in next year’s playoffs would make the King start to think seriously about his future. Unfortunately, the Larry Hughes and Zydrunas Ilgauskas signings pretty much mirror James’ contract, so they’re going to have to step it up – there ain’t no cavalry comin’. (Cleveland fans don’t want to hear it, but their championship hopes might have been dashed when Carlos Boozer signed with the Jazz. He’d be a perfect fit for LeBron.)
Jerry Sloan vs. Don Nelson
Like Kenny Smith says, you aren’t going to out-execute Sloan’s team. Nellie is going to attack the Jazz the same way he ousted the Mavs – by creating a frenetic pace, making it nearly impossible for the Jazz to run their offense. So will Utah’s discipline trump Golden State’s chaos? Only time will tell, but wouldn’t a Suns/Warriors matchup in the finals of the West be fun?
The Bulls vs. their youth
At this point, Chicago has the talent to take down the Pistons, but as Game 1 of the series would seem to prove, Detroit isn’t going down without a fight. They are battle-tested and won’t be consumed by the moment when the pressure is on. Can you say the same about Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng? As much as we’d like to see a Suns/Bulls matchup in the Finals, a Spurs/Pistons tilt is far more likely.
