The problem for me this spring is that I have been burned (no pun intended) by the Suns far too many times against the Lakers, Clippers and the Mavs that I have stopped betting this series.
Last night we were midway through the third quarter and Tim Thomas was putting on a shooting clinic and the Suns up tempo and distribution game was working to a charm for their whining coach Mike D’Antoni.
Then the wheels fell off or fatigue set in!
The stars for both teams and former teammates and best friends Dike Nowitzkie and Steve Nash have taken turns in this series dominating games and then having less then stellar ones. Last night it was the 7-foot German boy who torched the Suns for 50 points on 14-26 shooting, 5-6 from outside the arc and astonishing 17-18 free throws.
Meanwhile the feisty Canuck Nash look battered and beaten near games end and the 20 points he scored are misleading as he was just 5-17 from the field and 9 of those points came from the charity stripe.
If you recall I mentioned last month that the Suns were developing a reputation around the NBA as whiners and complainers and I suggested that their coach D’Antoni should lay off the refs. Last night the game was seesawing in the fourth quarter when Raja Bell decided to deliver another cheap shot and both he and his coach got hit with technicals. Dirk sank the two freebies and then hit a jumper for a huge 4-point play.