There is no avoiding it.
Wounded, or pretending to be, they lurch forward, oblivious to their own mortality.
About as predictable as the next zombie movie, Suns fans should have seen this coming.
They are the things that go bump in the night, silver and black, lurking behind every ill-conceived crevasse in the back alleys of the NBA landscape, preying on the hopeful and misguided.
The Suns can delay and prolong their series against Portland with half-hearted efforts, but they cannot avoid the inevitable.
Latch your doors and hide the children — the Spurs and David Stern’s sycophants are coming.
Only a kook would predict things to play out differently this time around.
To be fair, both teams have been left for dead at some points this year.
While Shaq’s weight stirred much debate the last two decades, no one would go as far to say he sunk the ship.
Sure, the Suns are back and then some.
One could argue that this is the best team they’ve had in the Steve Nash era. When healthy, they have more of everything they’ve had in the past — better big men that are more capable of playing playoff basketball in the paint, a deeper array of shooters and a third scorer every bit as potent as Joe Johnson was in 2005.
Most importantly, they have a second point guard who complements Nash, who can defend and can play alongside him, to go alongside four active perimeter defenders.
They grade very well on the “momentum champion” scale. They played their best basketball late in the season, they are close to being completely healthy, they have a star playing inspired (for a new contract) and they seem completely aware that their window is closing.
They also pass the cliché test — they have a chip on their shoulders. They’re facing almost no outside pressure to win and they have excellent chemistry.
The Spurs don’t care.
In fact, there is nothing that delights them more than sucking the joy out of such a team — they’ve been sucking the joy out of the NBA for years. They are a black hole for fun and entertainment, style and spirit; their bliss is bore and darkness.
There is no rationalizing this matchup in favor of the Suns. There are no hidden advantages Gregg Popovich won’t thoroughly seek and destroy. There will be no competing with the Spurs’ gamesmanship and Phoenix’s flaws will be ex,ploited like an oil operation in the Nigerian delta.
The Spurs are the evil oil company and once again full of black venom.
So what is a Suns fan to do?
I have no idea.
Spare your soul. Find a new hobby. Go to the movies.
Do not turn on the television, avoid the Internet and continue to ignore those newspaper thingies.
You’re going to buy tickets?
Save it, God forbid, for a real funeral.
Just remember it will never be for a Spurs team — they can’t die.
Reach Nick at nruland@asu.edu
