Thud

It all came crashing down with a big, giant, unforgiving thud. The Suns were walking on air the first half, playing amazing, when they play that way no one can beat them . . . . except the Mavericks did. Talk about a game of two halves. Was fatigue a factor? I read somewhere the Suns were up at halftime in 5 of the 6 games this series, but that really does not mean anything. They played some bad fourth quarters though, I think injuries and fatigue caught up with them. The Raja Bell injury was so killer, he had been playing so well and the Suns lost both games without him. He came back in game 4, gave a huge emotional lift and the Suns won but the next two games he couldn't move, couldn't play his game and it stripped the Suns of maybe their best playoff performer as of late. Lets run down the fact sheet:

Fact- Amazing season, no Amare and they actually go further than last year
Fact- Seeing Diaw and Barbosa become very good players was alot of fun
Fact- Best postseason run since 92-93, team played with crazy heart, scrapped and fought their way to the WCF.
Fact- THey lost to a better team

Reality- Despite the above reasons, the loss still hurt. It hurt bad, about 1,000 times worse than losing game 5 to the Spurs last year because everyone knew that season was over anyway. This year was the best chance they had in a long time to win a championship, no Spurs or Pistons standing in their way. The Suns had pretty much owned the Heat this year. Overall though after watching this team fight so hard, come back, make huge shots, defy odds, the yayos, the game seven's, the trash talk, the new found swagger (the team may have trouble with D, but they are not SOFT) the blown kisses, when all that ended last night it was incredibly hard to take. Another season has gone, how much longer can Nash play so great? Can Amare come back to form? The future looks bright, but sooner or later the future becomes the present and their window is not going to last forever.

On Shawn Marion (who had a great season, from averaging 21 and 10, to making crazy commercials, to countless funny interviews and bitching about his lack of respect) I really wish people would stop talking trade with him (unless it is to motivate him). People point out his flaws so much and are never quick to say good things about him. He was not the best playoff performer coming into this year but this year he played great, played a ton of minutes, guarded the likes of Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant, Sam Cassell, Elton Brand, Josh Howard and Dirk and still managed to score about 20-25 a game and pull down 10-15 rebounds a game (I think he took down about 16 a game against the Mavs). Marion is a stud, no trades, just let him play alongside Amare and Diaw next year.

Thanks Suns for a great year, it just really sucks its over. They lost and I still don't believe it, it just seems like they have to come back somehow.