azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Dan Bickley
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 30, 2005 12:00 AM
MEMPHIS, Tenn.
The Suns score a lot of points. Let's talk about two of them.
"You mean the dunk?" Quentin Richardson said.
Oh, yeah. The dunk from Amaré Stoudemire that turned Stromile Swift into a poster, although it's safe to say they won't be flying off the shelves in Tennessee.
"He's a beast," Jim Jackson said. "I mean, come on, 22 years old? All I could say was, 'Oh, baby.' "
If you happened to miss the Suns' 20-point romp on Friday in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against Memphis, allow us to distill the roadkill into a breathtaking moment:
With the Suns up by five points in the second quarter, Stoudemire goes up for a dunk. Swift, who is a long 6 feet 9 and 230 pounds, goes up for the block. Swift makes contact with Stoudemire, pushing him backward in midair. With the wingspan of a pterodactyl, Stoudemire still hammers home the dunk, even though he landed in a different area code from the basket.
To say the Suns bench erupted would be an understatement. After the game, it was still the primary topic of discussion in the winners' locker room. Here's how Shawn Marion described the play:
"Oh. Oh. Ooooh."
Then Marion scrunched up his face, as if he had just bitten into a rotten tomato.
It was that nasty.
"I'm so used to seeing him do so much crazy stuff that he doesn't get me off my feet that often," Richardson said. "But I was jumping up on that one."
Even lead official Steve Javie was shaking his head in disbelief while running downcourt after the play.
From the moment Stoudemire arrived in Phoenix as a high school phenomenon, it was apparent he was heading someplace special. There have been nights when he's simply unstoppable, nights when he has reached double digits in dunks, something unheard of since the days of Wilt Chamberlain.
While Stoudemire's raw potential has been the subject of great awe across the NBA, his performance against the Grizzlies on Friday might have been his first legitimate step into greatness, a game when his punishing power was complemented by a dizzying array of spin moves, blocked shots, trick shots and 18-foot jumpers.
But on this night, it all gets back to the dunk. It came after the Suns weathered a flurry of opening-round haymakers from the Grizzlies, when the inspired hosts made 14 of their first 19 field-goal attempts, shot 64 percent in the opening quarter - and trailed by one point.
It came moments after Swift had finally found his way back on the floor. After inexplicably blowing off practice with teammate Bonzi Wells on Tuesday, both were nailed to the bench in Game 2. Yet after Stoudemire's rim (and mind) bending effort, Swift was promptly yanked from the game.
"He plays hard and strong," Wells said. "His aggressiveness scares a lot of people. He's just too mean for our team right now."
The beauty of the Suns lies in their cohesion and collective efforts. No starter stands out from the rest, and everyone is cool with this selfless concept. But the dunk? Well, that was a bit different.
It immediately sucked the life out of the home crowd, if not the home team. Afterward, the Grizzlies never ventured within eight points of the Suns, and just like that, the white flags were flying.
Why, after a timeout in the third quarter, Memphis coach Mike Fratello didn't even bother to huddle up with his demoralized team. Instead, the Grizzlies loitered near the scorer's table, awaiting the return of action.
"I thought they dropped their heads a bit," Joe Johnson said.
Such was the lasting power of a single dunk.
"It sort of told the story of the whole game," team blogger Paul Shirley said.
It might have been the final blow to a once game opponent.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0430bickley0430.html
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 30, 2005 12:00 AM
MEMPHIS, Tenn.
The Suns score a lot of points. Let's talk about two of them.
"You mean the dunk?" Quentin Richardson said.
Oh, yeah. The dunk from Amaré Stoudemire that turned Stromile Swift into a poster, although it's safe to say they won't be flying off the shelves in Tennessee.
"He's a beast," Jim Jackson said. "I mean, come on, 22 years old? All I could say was, 'Oh, baby.' "
If you happened to miss the Suns' 20-point romp on Friday in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against Memphis, allow us to distill the roadkill into a breathtaking moment:
With the Suns up by five points in the second quarter, Stoudemire goes up for a dunk. Swift, who is a long 6 feet 9 and 230 pounds, goes up for the block. Swift makes contact with Stoudemire, pushing him backward in midair. With the wingspan of a pterodactyl, Stoudemire still hammers home the dunk, even though he landed in a different area code from the basket.
To say the Suns bench erupted would be an understatement. After the game, it was still the primary topic of discussion in the winners' locker room. Here's how Shawn Marion described the play:
"Oh. Oh. Ooooh."
Then Marion scrunched up his face, as if he had just bitten into a rotten tomato.
It was that nasty.
"I'm so used to seeing him do so much crazy stuff that he doesn't get me off my feet that often," Richardson said. "But I was jumping up on that one."
Even lead official Steve Javie was shaking his head in disbelief while running downcourt after the play.
From the moment Stoudemire arrived in Phoenix as a high school phenomenon, it was apparent he was heading someplace special. There have been nights when he's simply unstoppable, nights when he has reached double digits in dunks, something unheard of since the days of Wilt Chamberlain.
While Stoudemire's raw potential has been the subject of great awe across the NBA, his performance against the Grizzlies on Friday might have been his first legitimate step into greatness, a game when his punishing power was complemented by a dizzying array of spin moves, blocked shots, trick shots and 18-foot jumpers.
But on this night, it all gets back to the dunk. It came after the Suns weathered a flurry of opening-round haymakers from the Grizzlies, when the inspired hosts made 14 of their first 19 field-goal attempts, shot 64 percent in the opening quarter - and trailed by one point.
It came moments after Swift had finally found his way back on the floor. After inexplicably blowing off practice with teammate Bonzi Wells on Tuesday, both were nailed to the bench in Game 2. Yet after Stoudemire's rim (and mind) bending effort, Swift was promptly yanked from the game.
"He plays hard and strong," Wells said. "His aggressiveness scares a lot of people. He's just too mean for our team right now."
The beauty of the Suns lies in their cohesion and collective efforts. No starter stands out from the rest, and everyone is cool with this selfless concept. But the dunk? Well, that was a bit different.
It immediately sucked the life out of the home crowd, if not the home team. Afterward, the Grizzlies never ventured within eight points of the Suns, and just like that, the white flags were flying.
Why, after a timeout in the third quarter, Memphis coach Mike Fratello didn't even bother to huddle up with his demoralized team. Instead, the Grizzlies loitered near the scorer's table, awaiting the return of action.
"I thought they dropped their heads a bit," Joe Johnson said.
Such was the lasting power of a single dunk.
"It sort of told the story of the whole game," team blogger Paul Shirley said.
It might have been the final blow to a once game opponent.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0430bickley0430.html
