Some people might have you believe Robert Horry’s convenient back door screen of David West was, shall we say, a bit slimy.  Other might call it “a good basketball play”, knowing West has back issues and Tony Parker needed to get the hoop anyway.

Take a look for yourself, then call it what you like.

Listen at the end, you can hear the crowd cheering “Horry, Horry”. Is it a problem that the same guy that hip checked Steve Nash last season also gave a hard pick to David West? I don’t think so. But, is it a coincidence? Defnitely not. Horry, while he may not be scoring or rebounding or blocking shots like he once did, always finds a way to have some impact on a series. Even if it doesn’t show up in the boxscore as nothing more than a simple tick mark under the F in the boxscore.

What in the same hell is going on in the NBA playoffs this round?  How does one explain the incredible effectiveness of the home teams in this round?  20 and 1, is the record of home teams.  The only road team to win game this round, the only team to already have advanced—the Detroit Pistons.

 The Spurs go from destroying the Hornets in San Antonio in Game Four, to getting manhandled in Game Five, to resuming dominance in Game Six.  It begs the question, is there room for optimism in Game Seven?  Why, suddenly, does a team that never has had trouble winning playoff road games, never had trouble showing enough intensity in the playoffs, suddenly not have enough to even make it competitive on the road?  If I could answer these questions, I’d be working in an NBA front office.

 From last night’s game, there were obviously a few positives to take out.  First, Ime Udoka put together a great game, not only not missing from the floor and connecting on all three of this three point attempts, but playing some sparkling D as well.  The highlight of his night of course came when Jannero Pargo thought he had a layup off a Spurs turnover, and Udoka came from the backside to smash the attempt off the glass. 

Spurs doubters point to the fact that the home town boys might have got a little of that home cooking, that their shooting percentages will and should fall when in New Orleans.  While previous games have no way to dispute this, I must say, I have a feeling things will turn around.  First, that decisive sequence in the third quarter (all of the sudden, in this series at least, the quarter to decide all quarters) where Chris Paul was called for two offensive fouls for using his off hand to push off and David West was called for two fouls as well were all well deserved.  Paul pushed off twice, West did once, and the other time West got his caught with his hand in the cookie jar on a patented Duncan drop step.  As far as the shooting goes, while I’d imagine West, if healthy, will make more jumpshots at home, the Spurs don’t have any reason to fade.  This is a veteran team, with guys that “have been there”.  I hate to overrate that, but, what I can’t stand is to see a team that’s done it before, inexplicably choke in the third quarter of a game, simply because it’s on the road. 

Are the Hornets a good team?  Damn straight.  But, does that mean the Spurs shouldn’t be able to keep it close with them?  Certainly not.  Here’s to hoping David West doesn’t get back to 100% by Monday night.

The answer to that last part is likely an emphatic N-O.

That said, CP3 isn’t going to score 85 points. Maybe 30, maybe 25, but, if the Spurs want a shot at winning this series, they can’t let him go nuts. None of these constant games where he not only scores 35, but gets to the line at will, assists everyone on his team, and never turns the ball over. Those sort of games are losses, plain and simple.

All that said, the Hornets do have more weapons, they wouldn’t have gotten this far if they didn’t. Chris Paul may be in MVP chatter, but David West, Peja Stojakavic, and Tyson Chandler are important cogs. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the match-ups.

Point Guard - Tony Parker vs. Chris Paul

Speed versus speed. Quick versus quick. There’s no doubt Chris Paul is the better player, overall. That much isn’t debatable. Paul is the better distributor, better scorer, better shooter. But, not by so, so much as some analysts might have you believe. Parker’s no hobo, and he’s been amazing lately. Look for both players to go nuts, keep in mind though that while Parker won’t have to expend all of his energy on Paul on D, Paul will likely be checking Parker the entire series.

Shooting Guard - Michael Finley vs. Morris Peterson

The battle of the “soon-to-be-taken-out” two-guards. Honestly though, this match-up actually could turn out to be more important than it appears. Both of these guys often yield way to super-subs on their own teams, Pargo in Peterson’s case, Ginobili in Finley’s. But, if Fin-dog or Mo-Pete could get hot, that would give either team that extra boost it might need. The Spurs got absolutely nothing from Finley in the five games against Phoenix–the former Wisconsin Badger only scored 35 points in the series. Being able to count on him if even for just a few games would be a huge bonus for the Boot Clips.

Small Forward - Bruce Bowen vs. Peja Stojakavic

Bruce on D. Peja on 3. That’s the rhyme scheme that you need to know for this match-up. I’m not fully sure that Bowen will be on Peja the whole time, but if he is, he won’t have to look too hard to find him. Peja lives on the three point line, always has, and several back injuries have ensured he will retire there. More than half of his shots this year were treys, don’t expect anything different. Peja, like the man to be reviewed in a moment, won’t beat anyone off the dribble. He isn’t going to kill you like that. No, he’ll be the beneficiary of CP3 finding him on a drive-and-kick. The trick? Don’t double team. Easier said than done.

Power Forward - Tim Duncan vs. David West

David West has basically one shot in his arsenal, but it’s a damn good one. That 15 to 20 foot jumper from the top of the key is his bread and butter. West, like Peja, gets most if not all of his baskets as a result of Paul’s passing. He won’t kill you on the block, he won’t take you off the dribble too often. Duncan on the other hand will likely see Tyson Chandler on defense, as Chandler’s length will surely be an annoyance.

Center - Kurt Thomas vs. Tyson Chandler

Tyson Chandler likely will guard Duncan during the series and like many other long, athletic centers (see Marcus Camby), he should give him fits. The trick is to see if you can get Chandler in foul trouble, which will be difficult for two reasons. First, in the 84 games he’s played this season he’s only fouled out four times. Second, he doesn’t see the ball on offense really, so if you’re going to get to him, it’s got to be while he’s on D. You get him in trouble, there’s really nothing big coming off the bench for the Hornets. It would be nice, by the way, to see Kurt Thomas get going, start hitting that mid-range jumper.

Bench

Let’s be real, the Spurs have a good bench, when healthy and active. You saw signs of Brent Barry and Robert Horry last series, though not the most positive signs. Fabricio Oberto can play off the bench, and obviously you have Ginobili doing his thing. The Hornets on the other hand have Pargo, Paul’s back-up and a Ginobili counterpart in that he too is instant offense material. The other instant offense guard the Hornets had, Bobby Jackson, was traded at the deadline for a true Spurs killer, Bonzi Wells. That huge backside has ripped the Spurs before, specifically in a six game series with the Kings a couple of years ago. If Wells tries hard and gets the time (both are big if’s), he could be a real pain. Outside of those two, the Hornets don’t have much off the bench.

Also, as a final note here, the NBA can no longer complain that they can’t figure out why people aren’t watching their games. If you’re not rooting for either the Hornets or the Spurs, why are you watching a Saturday game with a 10 PM eastern start time? Come on.

A highlight reel I found of Manu Ginobili, his top 10 plays as archived by NBAtv.

Personal favorite, the Tyronn Liu smacked throw down. Don’t mind the “meet you at the mountain top” with Brian Cook. Tell me he doesn’t look better with long hair. There’s something rogue-like about him with long hair. Maybe that’s just me.

Let me be the first to say, nice try Phoenix.  You really did put in quite the effort.  Trading a young superstar, acquiring an aging big man.  All with the hopes of finally finishing off that arch-nemesis team from San Antonio.  The thugs that knocked you out last year.  The son-of-a-guns that seemed to have foiled you nearly every step of the way since Steve Nash became a Hall of Famer.

Well, if you’re the Suns, at least you can take solace in these few truths. 

1. You still have two more years of Shaq’s 20 million dollar contract left!
2. You did win one game, and did it really impressively.
3. You came close in Game 5.

To put some perspective on this series, the Spurs have now beat the Suns in four of the last six playoffs.  The Suns, throughout the drought, haven’t changed much.  Steve Nash still captains the ship, Mike D’Antoni runs the the team from the bench (though, according to Yahoo! Sports Johnny Ludden, maybe not for much longer).

The personnel may have changed (the Joe Johnsons, the Jim Jacksons, the Leandro Barbosas, the Grant Hills, the Boris Diaws), but honestly, it doesn’t matter much.  There are a few fundamental flaws in this team that simply aren’t changed by bringing in Shaq, or having Steve Kerr come in and run the team. 

They just don’t play defense from the perimeter (everyone not named Raja is basically a human turnstyle), or from inside (while its nice, theoretically to have Shaq and Amare down there, neither is that great of a defender at this point in their careers, and both are too often in foul trouble).  Further, they are always making stupid mistakes.  Boris Diaw backing Ginobili down, throws the ball to the second row.  Raja Bell makes a bad pass to Steve Nash on the inbounds, he can’t control it, they lose possession.  Mental mistakes seem to have always plagued this club, the image of Steve Nash looking wide-eyed at an official for a call at the end of any game sticks in my head as the logo for this team.

As for the Spurs, Tim Duncan, business as usual, and Tony Parker, despite that missed FT down the stretch, was the man.  Hate to say it, but he was amazing this series.  Over 29 points per game, TP did his thing.  Manu clearly needs the rest until whenever the NOH series starts.  Ginobili has been clearly limited, hitting the low last night with only 8 points in just over 27 minutes of action.  He doesn’t look to have the same explosiveness throughout the whole game.  A spurt here, a drive there, but not a sustained, Manu Ginobili-esque effort.  He should be fine.

 As for now, all you can say is good riddance to the Suns.  They did try their damnedest to beat the Spurs, even mortgaging their future and changing the makeup of their team.  Too bad, I guess.  Some things just are better left alone.  Or, left out.