Game 1

It has taken me a few hours to put my down my first thoughts, mostly because it was such an amazing game. Going into the series, everyone was convinced this was the series to watch. It was the first round, but everyone thought it would be the most entertaining series of the entire postseason. Some people had gone so far as to call this match-up the best first-round series in the history of the NBA.

Game 1 did not disappoint.

In a game that went into two overtimes, that featured three game tying three point shots with under 15 seconds left in what could have been the game, i am left with only one thought:

This will be fun.

My immediate reaction after watching the game is that the Suns, after losing, now had almost zero chance to win the series. They played what looked to be a perfect game, never trailing until the last minutes of regulation, and leading going into the final possessions of both regulation and the first overtime.

The Suns seemingly had every chance and opportunity to win this game, but couldn't put it away. And with all the luck once again falling to the Spurs with two late improbable three's, the Suns could easily pack it in and fall by the wayside.

But i don't think this Suns team will do that.

After a couple of hours have passed, and looking at the box score, there is one glaring thing that tells me the Suns may still have a chance in this series: They played like crap.

The box score tells the story. Amare shot 13-26, or 50%. He has shot 59% for the season. Grant Hill, who personally i think his groin injury is still bothering him, had only 5 points. Shaq, while great in both overtimes, barely played in regulation and wasn't good when he did. Steve Nash shot only 9-20. And by the way, the Suns play much better when Nash doesn't have to shoot so much and take over games. Gordon Giricek, who has been an offensive spark the last 20 games, had only 2 points. Barbosa, who i thought actually played pretty well, still had only 12 points when he averaged 15.6 on the season. I think i was most impressed offensively by Raja Bell, and he's in there for his defense, not his offense.

While it was a hard-fought, highly entertaining and well-contested basketball game, i still can't shake the feeling that the Suns did not play their best game. They were taken out of their game early and often because of both Shaq's and Amare's foul troubles. They shot 50% from the field, which isn't bad, but only 31.3% from beyond the arc, making only 5 three's. I understand the Spurs play the Suns in such a way as to take away their three-point shot, but they still could have done better.

Regardless, this series is shaping up to be another classic battle. Say what you will about the Suns, but they always seem to be involved in some of the most entertaining and memorable postseason series in NBA history...