Phoenix favored to regroup at home in Game 7

Phoenix favored to regroup at home in Game 7   

 

Associated Press
Fri, May 19, 2006  

 

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns wanted to close out their Western Conference semifinal against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.

 

But the Suns looked on the bright side after the Clippers beat them 118-106 to tie the series at three games apiece, forcing Game 7 in Phoenix on Monday night where the Suns are 4-point favorites.

 

``A lot of emotional stuff went down in the playoffs and now we`ll have three days to recharge,`` coach Mike D`Antoni said after Game 6. ``We`ll try to figure some things out, and I think this is the best shot we have to get to the conference finals with a game in Phoenix, with three days rest. I don`t think we could ask for anything more.``

 

D`Antoni gave his weary team Friday off. They will have light practices Saturday and Sunday.

 

Thursday`s game was the Suns` 13th in 26 days. That`s not an unusual load - Phoenix played 10 regular-season games in 18 days in April - but the playoffs are more taxing than the regular season. The Suns, the second seed in the Western Conference, spent a lot of emotional energy in rallying from a 3-1 deficit to beat the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.

 

They haven`t had a chance to catch their breath against the Clippers, who have tied the series three times.

 

``It`s been a great series,`` Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley said. ``I think they`re a little tired.``

 

No Sun needs the rest more than point guard Steve Nash, the NBA`s two-time MVP. Nash has had back problems, and this week he complained of tired legs. Tired legs often translate into poor shooting.

 

In the regular season, Nash shot 51.2 percent from the floor and 43.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. In this series, Nash is shooting 43.8 percent from the floor and 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range.

 

``Obviously, I`m not 100 percent, but I don`t expect to be any time soon so I`m not really concerned with my health,`` Nash said. ``I just have to find a way to get it done regardless.``

 

Nash happened to play for the last team to win two Game 7s in the same postseason. The 2003 Dallas Mavericks beat both Portland and Sacramento 4-3 before losing to San Antonio in the conference finals. The Suns` Raja Bell was also a member of that Dallas squad.

 

If the series` form holds, it`s Phoenix`s turn to win. Beginning with the Suns` opening-game win here, the clubs have alternated victories throughout the series.

 

``It`s going to be a dogfight on Monday,`` Los Angeles guard Sam Cassell said. ``It`s going to be a great basketball game, so if you don`t have cable television, you better get it right away.``

 

The Pacific Division champion Suns had home-court advantage in each of their first two series. It paid off in the first round when Phoenix drubbed the Los Angeles Lakers 121-90 in Game 7 last week in Phoenix. They hope it will pay more dividends Monday night.

 

``It`s tough, but this is what you play 82 regular-season games for,`` Bell said. ``That is why you go out there every night and bust your butt for is to position yourself to have a Game 7 on your home court.``

 

Game 7`s total is set at 215.

Monday`s hottest starting pitchers

Monday`s hottest starting pitchers   

 

By Covers.com staff
Mon, May 22, 2006  

 

Chien-Ming Wang (New York Yankees) - Wang looks for his fourth straight victory when he starts for New York today in Boston as a +138 underdog. Wang has allowed five combined earned runs in his last three outings and has dropped his ERA from 4.89 to 3.79. He is 0-1 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts against the Red Sox.

 

Bronson Arroyo (Cincinnati Reds) - Arroyo said he had a ``vibe`` the last time he faced the Brewers on April 21 and ended up with a 3-1 win as a +134 underdog. The Reds won three out of a four-game series at Milwaukee last month and Arroyo is 3-0 with a 2.74 ERA in four career starts against the Brewers. Cincinnati is a -153 home favorite tonight. The total is set at 10 runs.

 

Kelvim Escobar (Los Angeles Angels) - Escobar leads the Angels with five wins and sports a respectable 3.51 ERA through eight outings. He`s out to remain perfect on the road, where he is 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA in three starts. The Angels are +125 road underdogs tonight against the Texas Rangers.

 

Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers) - Verlander (5-3, 3.18 ERA) has a chance to build on one of his best career outings when he faces the Royals for the first time. The right-hander went eight innings, allowing six hits with no strikeouts or walks in a 2-0 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. The 24-year-old rookie has surrendered three or fewer earned runs in seven of his eight starts this season.

 

Mark Mulder (St. Louis Cardinals) - Mulder hasn`t been lights out this season, but the Cardinals have won eight of his nine starts, with the only loss coming against the Reds in Cincinnati on May 1. Since that loss, Mulder has won three straight and worked his ERA down to 3.69 with 33 strikeouts and only 16 walks on the season. He pitched 8 1/3 shutout innings in a 1-0 victory against the Mets on May 17, allowing only four hits in his longest effort of the year. The Cardinals are -134 favorites tonight against Jamey Wright (4-3, 4.29 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants.

NBA pick and roll: Monday's Game 7 plays

NBA pick and roll: Monday’s Game 7 plays   

 

By Covers.com staff
Mon, May 22, 2006  

 

Dallas at San Antonio – Spurs –3 ½

 

When the Spurs and the Pistons both pulled off road wins on Friday night to force Games 7’s at home, you got the feeling that for all the drama we’ve seen so far in the NBA playoffs, in the end, it’s going to be more of the same.

 

Detroit held up its end of the bargain on Sunday. Now it’s San Antonio’s turn.

 

There’s no stopping the Spurs at this point. They put their heads down and willed themselves to a 50-39 second half in Game 6 to comeback from a 5-point first half deficit to top the Mavs in Dallas. That was the nail in the coffin for the Mavs. The Spurs now ride their momentum home, where they’ve played just one Game 7 in the last decade, but its magnitude makes this one seem small by comparison.

 

Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, who were huge in Friday`s Game 6, also led a fourth quarter charge in Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals against the Pistons, helping San Antonio win the fourth quarter 24-17 and the game 81-74 as 4-point favorites.

 

Clippers at Phoenix – Clippers +4

 

The Clippers were clearly the better basketball team – on any court – in Game 6, but all the emerging factors leading into Game 7 favor the Suns:

 

First off, there’s the long standing stat that home teams will always win a Game 7 on their home court. That`s come through 82 percent of the time in league history.

 

Second, the Suns, who looked sluggish in Game 6, will benefit from four days rest between the sixth and seventh games. Phoenix had previously played 12 straight games on alternative nights, many of them the hard fought variety in their typical high-tempo, push-the-pace style.

 

Phoenix’s short bench should also benefit with the return of forward Kurt Thomas, who is listed as questionable after missing the last 42 games with a stress fracture in his foot.

 

So why the Clips? It would be different if they had won all of their games at home, but they proved they could beat the Suns in Phoenix back in Game 2. They have also been the better basketball team the entire series, blowing out the Suns on two occasions – including Game 2’s 122-97 win in Phoenix as 4-point underdogs – and taking all three of their losses to the final minutes.

 

Overall, the Clippers have outscored the Suns by 27 points in this series. They deserve the win here tonight, and while the home crowd will pull the Suns along, the resolve the Clippers have shown in this series time and time again will keep them in the game until the last possession.