Suns v. Spurs Series (1)

Earlier in the series, a former spurs, Sean Elliot, said Suns are no different from what they were in '05. However, after watching five games, I think Suns definitely became a way better defensive team. Their game 2 & 4 victory resulted from their ability to make stops down the stretch in late phase of the game. Kurt Thomas is occacionally effective against Duncan, while Ginobili is not as explosive as two years ago.

In the two teams' 2005 showdown, Spurs were clearly the better team. This time, the result of every game was sort of like rolling a dice. The funny thing is, as Steve Kerr pointed out, Spurs have to count on their offense, while Suns have to count on their defense. When Spurs shoot poorly or Suns do a good job forcing turnovers, there would be more open-court opportunies, circumstances that Nash always exploits extremely well.

As Spurs are only one win away from conference finals, nothing would come easy for them. They need heroic actions like what Parker did in game 1 or Ginobili did in Game 5. I do expect Ginobili to step up, because I think he is the Spur who is playing with most energy and emotions right now.