Previous week’s games
4/22/10 SUNS 108, Blazers 89
4/24/10 Blazers 96, SUNS 87
4/26/10 SUNS 107, Blazers 88
Upcoming week’s games
4/29/10 SUNS @ Blazers, 7:30 p.m., My45, TNT
5/1/10 SUNS vs Blazers, time TBA, Fox Sports Arizona, TNT (if necessary)
Look for Nash to push the tempo tonight. Image courtesy of Getty Images.
With game six tipping off at 7:30 tonight at the Rose Garden in Portland between the Suns and Portland Trailblazers, Suns Spot sheds some light on what we can expect to see once the ball drops.
1. The Rose Garden crowd will be insane.
From the opening tip, the crowd will be loud. Portland fans will be pumped up, as they try and will their team to a victory to force a game seven in Phoenix. The key for the Suns is to get off to a quick start and take the fans out of the game early. As loud as the fans in Portland support their team, we know they can just as quickly turn on the Trailblazers. We saw it in game three when the Suns came out the gate firing on all cylinders. If the Suns can open the game with a good start, they can easily take the crowd out of it and in doing so rip the heart out of Rip City.
2. Steve Nash will push the tempo.
So far, the first five games of this best-of-seven series have shown us that the Suns can destroy the Trailblazers when they want to. To do so, Phoenix simply has to force the Blazers to play their style of basketball. When the Suns push the tempo, Portland just can’t keep up. Even with a healthy Brandon Roy, the Blazers won’t have the scoring to keep pace with the Suns, so how can Portland expect to do so with the clearly injured and about 25 steps slow version of Roy they are currently suiting up? They just can’t.
Steve Nash is the engine that makes the Suns’ high-octane offensive machine run. When Nash is able to get the ball out in the open court and get the Suns up and down, taking the first good look the Suns get early in the shot clock, Phoenix runs Portland out of the building. Expect to see this tonight. Nash knows how important this game is. To avoid having to play Portland in a winner-take-series game seven, Nash will be determined to make sure the Suns come out and force their will on the Blazers.
3. Amar’e will be huge.
Since the All-Star break, Amar’e Stoudemire has been on fire. Although his scoring numbers haven’t been quite as explosive in the playoffs as they were during the second half of the season, the amount of attention he receives from the defense has opened things up for Phoenix’s shooters. Stoudemire will need to continue to be aggressive tonight to free up open looks for his teammates. Stoudemire’s offensive numbers don’t need to be overly impressive for him to have a huge impact. If he plays smart, he’ll be big tonight.
If these three things happen tonight — the Portland crowd quickly quieting, Steve Nash forcing the tempo and Amar’e bringing maximum effort — the Suns will win and close out the series. We have seen it before. If the Suns play like we know they’re capable of playing, Portland can’t hang. However, if Phoenix lets Portland dictate the pace, then we’re in for a dog fight. Tonight I believe we’ll see the former rather than the latter. Fingers crossed.
Note: If you’re planning on watching the game at your favorite Downtown Phoenix spot, get there early! Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.
