One player on the current Phoenix roster was on the team in 2007 when the San Antonio Spurs knocked the Suns out of the playoffs. The chances that Steve Nash cares about what happened five years ago in that series are as slim as his fat-less waist line. Fans still care, though, and that's good for the game. We'll see Tuesday night if it's also good for the Suns ticket sales.
The current version of the Spurs (33-14) are cruising through the regular season with the league's third-best offense and 12th-ranked defense. They are getting solid production from their vets (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) but as always seems to be the case, are also getting big contributions from role players.
Of course, Suns fans will never forget 2007 but they also shouldn't forget 2010 when the Spurs finished the season with 50 wins and got swept by the Suns in four games. San Antonio also got bounced in the first round last year by Memphis, so we'll have to wait and see just how legit this Spurs team is.
It will be interesting, however, to see them for the first time this season with Stephen Jackson (acquired at the trade deadline) and former Sun, Boris Diaw (signed after being waived by Charlotte).
Asked about Diaw playing for the Spurs now, Suns coach Alvin Gentry only said, "He's with them. He's on their team, so we talk about him in the scouting report just like we would everyone else."
Oh, and NBA Commissioner David Stern is in town and will address the media before the game. No one seems to know what that's about.
Projected Lineups:
- Point guard: Steve Nash --- Tony Parker
- Shooting guard: Jared Dudley -- Danny Green
- Small forward: Grant Hill -- Kawhi Leonard
- Power forward: Channing Frye -- DeJuan Blair
- Center: Marcin Gortat -- Tim Duncan
- Key subs: Suns (Shannon Brown, Sebastian Telfair, Robin Lopez). Spurs (Matt Bonner, Boris Diaw, Manu Ginobili, Stephen Jackson, Tiago Splitter is a game time decision).
TV broadcast info:
The Suns game tips off at 7:00 p.m. Arizona time on Fox Sports Arizona and Arizona Sports 620 radio. Bright Side of the Sun will have the live game thread.
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