First Off I want to say congratulations on the 2010 NBA Championship. It was well deserved and the Lakers were far and away the best team the NBA had to offer.

This season is a little more interesting, a lot of borderline teams have really upped the anti this season and are ready to battle it out to get to the finals. I dont really need to touch on the improvements of the Heat, Thunder, Bulls etc... but they are a clear and present danger for the time being... Of course you guys are still the champs and favorites and the Championship goes through LA without a question...but

The Miami Heat and its players have shown the arrogance and priveledge that I have never seen. These guys think they have the Champoinship locked up... and in Lebrons words they are looking for ..." not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6 but more champoinships.." Is this guy serious? the only time he has been to the finals is when the Spurs smoothly swept them in 4... lets win 1 first lebron before you start attacking Kobes accolades and accomplishments.. I dont like the HEAT, and I never will.. the games still have to be played and I would still take the Lakers over the Heat if they were to meet in the Finals... I just wanted to gear up Laker fans for that game against Miami and show there hatred for a team that has won NOTHING yet and to let them that Lakers are not scared of the Prince or Wade or Bosh.. I run a blog at Livemediaminds.com that covers sports, girls, movies, music, technology, fantasy sports, everything that covers media.. We have recently gotten into design and we came up with a perfect one for Lakers fans..

check the full shirt out at LiveMediaMinds Threads

Let me just preface this post by saying that I am probably one of the most competitive people on the face of this earth. I don't care what it is, Ive flipped over a scrabble board because I didn't have a chance of winning and couldn't handle the fact of my little brother beating me.

When it comes to sports with me, its a whole other level, If any of you have the "pleasure" of playing pick up basketball with me at the Village or 24 hour fitness you know why. I Hate losing plain and simple, I am usually a mellow guy, but don't try and start a conversation with me after I have just lost, its not going to happen. The part that kills me about my competitiveness, is the fact that there are some things that are totally out of your control, and it hurts me that I cant personally turn the tide. 

Similar to how this Suns series is going. I want to win so bad it hurts, but there is NOTHING I can do personally to change the way we are playing, to make Amare and Jrich  more aware and alert on defense, to make Channing hit more shots, or to cut down our turnovers...Nothing

Some of you already know that I am an ASU student, and for those of you that dont know, ASU is a melting pot in terms of universities, very few students are zonies( kids born or raised in Arizona) with connections to our Arizona sports. There are only 5 kids in my fraternity that are from Arizona, which leads me to defend my sports teams like I am at nuclear war. Especially Our Suns, I have literally had to argue with people about the legitimacy of Steve Nash's MVPs, Amare being an All-Star caliber player, and us in general being a good team. But before each argument ends, I get the.." Well how many championships have the Suns won." I know they already know the answer, they just love hearing me say "zero" with my head held low and really no other bullets left in my gun to fire back.

The reason I am telling you guys this is because lastnight on the eve of our game three my lovely "friends" from LA were at it again..

It went something like this...

Sean "Well if it isnt our little Suns fan, how does it feel to get bullied by the soon to be 2010 NBA Champs? You guys didn't really think you could hang with us did you?"

Me " Ya it wasnt the start we hoped for, but it isnt over yet, we still have a chance if we can win our games at home"

Sean "HAHAHAHA, You Phoenix fans are in such denial, you know it was over before it started, come on man, this is getting ridiculous, I told you that we were gunna run all over you guys, you'll be lucky if we don't sweep."

(..btw the key to arguing with Laker fans is just letting them say what they want, and dont get too angry when replying, they love to get that rise out of you.)

Me " Sean, we have been over this, Im not going to stop having confidence in my team just because you want to run your mouth about how good the Lakers are, I know there good, the Suns know there good, and so does the rest of that nation, but I am not going to sit here and let you talk Sh** about my team"

(As you can see I Didn't even take my own advice haha)

Sean " Dude relax, I love giving you Suns fans a hard time because its funny to me how you can root for a team year after year and never win anything, its honestly sad, I feel for you, I just dont want you getting to upset after we win another title, i know it hurts."

( My fists are clinched at this point, and I feel that little bead of sweat on my forehead) 

(Breathe....)

Me " Say what you want but its not over yet."

(Obviously, i take the high ground, and just let him walk all over me, I didnt have the patience to get into it with him, and besides that we were in Scottsdale and there were beautiful ladies and drinks to be had, no reason to ruin my night.)

Sean" HA! Ya, whatever keep telling yourself that, It will be over soon"

Those types of Arguments happen almost everyday during the season, It really becomes tiresome. But, It also got me to do some thinking on my way home. In the past 10 seasons how many teams have come back from a            0-2 deficit to win the series.

Seven times in the past ten years, and five times in the past five years. Its not impossible what we are trying to do, we just have to believe that we can. Want to know the reason teams don't come back from 0-3? Its because everyone says its not possible, with the statistics and history, its too overwhelming to think its conceivable. Ultimately teams just give up, and that is something that is so far from an option for this Suns team and most importantly our fans.

2001, The Dallas Mavericks lose two tough games on the road in the first round of the playoffs to the Utah Jazz, The Mavericks go on to win the next three, in the best of 5 series.

2004, The Lakers go down 0-2 to the Spurs with two 10 point losses on the road, but go on to win the next 4 to advance to the conference finals

2005, The Mavericks lose both opening home games to the Rockets, but come back and Win in 7.

2006, The NBA Finals, The Mavericks take a 2-0 lead on the Miami Heat only to have the Dwade's take the next 4 games and celebrate on the Mavericks homecourt.

2007, The Cavs go down 0-2 to the heavily favored Pistons, Lebron goes bananas, especially in game 5 (29 of teams 30 points in forth quarter and overtime), go on to win in 6

2007, The Jazz go down 0-2 to the Rockets but force and game 7 in Houston and take a 103-99 victory. The Home team won every game except for the last one, something the Suns can surely pull off.

Listen I know its hard sometimes to defend something that you have no control over, we sit here after every game win or lose and talk about what happens, who played well, who struggled, who killed us, who needs to step up, what can we do next time, etc etc.. That is what being a true fan is all about, and most times that is the most rewarding part. When your team does well, it really gets you feeling good, and the opposite when you lose. Thats the thing, You have to stick through the good and bad, because when the Suns deliver on a championship someday its going to be the best feeling in the world, I'm not going to lie, I'm probably going to cry.

So for now, have some confidence, have some moxie, were a good basketball team, and we have the guys that can get it done. Sure we are happy to be here and no matter what, the season was a success, but Screw all of that, we have a chance to go to the Finals, and the window is not getting any wider, the best opportunity is now, and we better take it.

....I'm not going to lie, I can't sleep. Am I considered a fanatic when I am more excited for this series then Christmas? I think I know the answer but sometimes you don't want to hear it. In all honestly whats not to love, raise your hand if you had the Suns in the Western Conference Finals? I'm probably one of the most optimistic Suns fans but I would be telling you a bold face lie if I told you I did. 

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- When the Los Angeles Lakers clinched a berth in the Western Conference finals on Monday, Lakers coach Phil Jackson had nothing but praise for his team's upcoming opponent, the Phoenix Suns, saying that the Suns are playing their best basketball of the season.

On Friday, Jackson retreated from praise and started posturing when asked if it was difficult to simulate the Suns and their star point guard Steve Nash in practice during the long layoff before Game 1.

"Yeah, because you can't carry the ball like he does in practice," Jackson said, smiling as he moved his arm and turned over his palm, the symbol for an illegal carry in the unofficial sign language of basketball. "You can't pick that ball up and run with it." 

I  mean am I surprised? No, but do you think this is going to have any effect on the referees and how they look at nash?

Full Story

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=5189958

I know we briefly discussed this yesterday, but i was wondering if you guys think it is smart to switch nash and jrich's defensive assignments. Since Andre had 31 anyways wouldnt it be smart to not let jrichs offense struggle by having him exert so much energy on the defensive end.

I dont know if you guys remember this but the Spurs did this against the Hornets in 2007, The Spurs obviously put Bowen on Paul to begin the series, but Paul was getting his large numbers anyways but on top of Paul's production Peja was also giving them fits which allowed the Hornets to take a 2- 0 lead. Pop decided that Paul was going to get his anyways so they  switched Bowen and put him on Peja which ultimately limited his offensive numbers..The Spurs went on to win in 7.

Jrich is no defensive specialist but i think he could check Batum, Rudy, or Bayless better than Nash can, since we know Nash likes to wander sometimes to be a help defender.

Or do you think the toll defensively will take too much out of Nash and hinter his offense and play making?

I know it doesn't mean much, but I workout at the same gym as Amare. Lifetime fitness in Tempe. I have talked to Amare before at his summer pro am for the past couple years. Nothing major but he is a cool guy to talk to. Nevertheless, I was working out and he was on the machine next to me, he asked why I wasn't at the pro am the previous weekend. We get to talking, and I just had to know, even though its probably not the time or place, but I wanted to know what his thoughts were about the trade chatter. Now I have always liked Amare but whatever is best for the team is what i want. He tells me he really wants to stay in Phoenix, Loves the fans, City, Nightlife(ha), etc.

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This supposed trade just gets more interesting by the hour it seems. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but I think if this deal gets done there is a 85% percent chance that it doesn't include Steph Curry. Don Nelson has just preached that they are NOT trading Curry whatsoever. In my opinion I don't do the deal unless Curry is in it obviously but at this point who knows.

What we do know is that nothing can get done until July 1st or July 8th, I'm not sure on the dates. This is troublesome because we all know Curry has been the Darling of the media and the NCAA since the magical run he took Davidson on in 2008. There is no doubt about it that the kid is a player and I would love to have him. But the truth is that the longer this takes, the more in love GSW is going to be with Steph Curry and not want to deal him.

Honestly only time will tell, my only worry is that Kerr gets trigger happy and in an effort to deal Amare because he is scared the money wont match to extend him, that he pulls some trade where we get Biendris, Wright and Belinelli, with no Curry or Randolph. The fact of that happening scares the crap out of me. But what scares me more is if Amare ends up walking for nothing, which more than likely wont happen but who knows if he stays or goes.

We can hold solace that if he does stay he will be playing in a contract year, years in which players usually go bonkers to try and earn that max deal. If that does happen Amare will definitely opt out in 2010 to chase a huge contract. I think the draft and these trade rumors have left more questions that answers on the vision of this team, but I will tell you right now the wait is KILLING me!

Nelsons Words

Well after reading Bill Simmons new column on page 2 about Kobe Bryant, and how Simmons still believes Kobe hasnt changed as a person or teammate but just how everyone else conformed to him, to make it all work for a championship in LA. He briefly talked about how Ariza turned into a stud, how Odom was taking less minutes and less shots in a contract year ( which is unheard of), and talking about how Gasol was shooting 62% in the playoffs, but settling with his 11 shots a game, crashing the boards, and becoming semi-tough on defense, and to fill a role so Kobe could get his 20+ shots a game and still be "THE GUY" and "Lead HIS team to a Championship"...

I am not a Laker hater by any means, but you never want to see a division rival win anything, especially the Lakers. There is just so much to be said that make Suns' Fans blood boil. How everything is better in LA LA Land, the Stars of Hollywood sitting courtside, the never ending media coverage, the way analysts fall all over Kobe and how he "wants it so bad", "learning to play and trust his teammates"( correct me if I am wrong but isnt that one of the basics of basketball?) and how he is the ultimate competitor, and the closest thing to MJ. I could go on for days but you catch my drift.

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I don't know about you guys but that game really reminded me of game 1 of Suns Spurs last year. I know it is still a very sore subject because everytime i see that clip of duncan hitting that 3 to tie the game I flashback to me sitting at my friends house SCREAMING at the TV to just let Ginobili have the lay up and we can still be ahead by 1, because that lead would quickly be up 3 again because we have the 3rd best free throw shooter in the HISTORY OF THE NBA, Steve Nash. Let manu hit the 2, we inbound nash gets fouled makes 2, 3 point game again...and we probably win game 1 which is HUGE. but we all know what happened so i wont continue.

Of course hindsight is 20/20 but you gotta foul or let them have the two, but absoultely no 3's! And that is excatley what the Magic did not do, Of course im not forgetting that Dwight could of won the game hitting 1 or 2 free throws...clanks both, GREAT. thats ok because your up 3 with 10.4 seconds and the lakers are taking it out in the backcourt near their sideline. Magic trap kobe(obviously) then they get it to fisher but with nelson close he backs off and doesnt close on fisher, you know what he is going to do! run him of the line and let him drive to the basket, he hit the shot with 4.3 left if he run and lays it in how much time would be left then? 2 3 seconds?! fine. Get rashard at the line hits 1 or hits 2 thats fine, the lakers gotta make a 3 from the other end of the court. Or rashard purposely misses the 2nd and the clock runs because the lakers had to TO's left.

Im not claiming to be any sort of basketball x's and o's guru but i mean i just think its common sense, and for jameer to blow that assignment is unforgivable. They gave away the game and the series. Just like how they said we wouldnt recover from losing game 1 because of that dagger 3. If you cant tell by now im just bitter the Lakers are taking home a 15th championship probably on sunday, but hey at least I have my health

Hey, Suns fans I hope you guys are having a good tail end of the summer ( even though the heat will linger until october...ughh). But I really hope you guys are getting excited for the Olympics like I am.

I was looking at some of the US mens basketball teams fixtures this morning and come across quite an interesting article written by Scoop Jackson.

Its an article about the one thing the US team is missing that some people cant seem to put their finger one. Well Scoop has provided us with a little insight to help us out.

Enjoy.....

 

They looked good, didn't they? Flashes of '92, right? Like we 'bout to get that ol' thing back.

 

 

But something still doesn't feel right, right? There's still something wrong, isn't there? It's like something is missing, but you just … can't … put … your … finger on it.

 

 

 

 

AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko AP Photo/Matt York

Amare Stoudemire brings something to the table that perhaps no other American player can.

Well Suns fans the NBA schedule is out, and our SUNS have some pretty tasty matchups for the upcoming season.

We open the season in San Antonio on October 29th, followed by Chris Paul and the Hornets at home the following night. Also on that Saturday at home the SUNS are playing the Up and Coming Blazers with a fresh look at Greg Oden and Jerryd Bayless.

With exciting first three games, the rest of the season has some other interesting match ups.

November 20th. We will host The Lakers for the first time. (Maybe Kobe will finally tell Shaq how his a** tastes.) Hopefully this doesnt result in Kobe dropping 50 to prove a point.

November 28th. We will see Shawn Marion, on the HEAT for the first time. This game is at US Airways and im anxious to see the reaction the fans give him.

December 15th. Mike Dantoni and the Knicks make their first trip to the VALLEY.

CHRISTMAS DAY. Which features 5 GAMES! Spurs at Suns, Hornets at Magic, Celtics at Lakers, Washington at Cavs, and the nightcap Dallas at Portland.

Of course there are the other great season match-ups. The new look Rockets with Ron, Dallas, the Jazz, Detriot and the Celtics will also be fun matches to look forward to. And who knows maybe Baron Davis and Marcus Camby can make the Clippers a fun match up as well.

I was just wondering, what game are SUNS fans most looking forward to for the upcoming season?