Phoenix to wear 'Los Suns' Jerseys in Game 2, on Cinco de Mayo

From Good Blog:

The Phoenix Suns will wear "Los Suns" on their jerseys in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night, owner Robert Sarver said, "to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation."

The decision to wear the jerseys on the Cinco de Mayo holiday stems from a law passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer that has drawn widespread criticism from Latino organizations and civil rights groups that say it could lead to racial profiling of Hispanics.

The "Los Suns" jerseys were designed and made as part of the NBA's "Noche Latina" promotional night, a recognition that 15% of the league's fan base is of Latino heritage, as are 18 of its players. Other participating teams are Los Lakers, Nueva York, and El Heat. 'Los Spurs' did not participate in Noche Latina, and thus will not be wearing the Latino-themed jerseys, despite Gregg Popovich's envy.

Spurs vs. Suns - A Preview

I love this matchup. I loved it in the past, with all the referee controversy, and I am very excited for it this year. Hard-nosed defense and laser-precise execution (the Spurs) versus free-wheeling offense and big-time playmaking (the Suns).

The Spurs are possibly the best 7-seed I can remember. Duncan is playing well, Ginobili is Ginobili (with or without a giant breathe-right strip on his broken nose), and Tony Parker is as good as ever. George Hill's first round home games were a revelation, and Richard Jefferson wasn't completely useless. DeJuan Blair is a big boy who can rebound and play in the low post with the best of them.

On the other side of the ball, Steve Nash is still one of the most dangerous players in the Association, but he's limited by his sore back. Luckily, Dragic has been able to step in and be effective when Nash is resting. Jason Richardson was hitting threes "with no regard for human life!!" against the Blazers in the first round. And Grant Hill has played like a 26-year-old with no injury history (that is, amazingly). Leandro Barbosa doesn't seem as effective as I remember him, though, and Amar'e Stoudemire still can't play defense at all (neither can Nash, for that matter). The Suns go about 10 deep, though, which helps maintain the run-and-gun style throughout the game.

Ultimately, as it has been the last few years, Spurs vs. Suns is about grinding it out versus running until you can't run no more. But, as we all know, defense wins championships. The Suns can't compete on that front, and the Spurs should simply continue to get better as this series goes on.

Spurs in 6.

The Game I Wish I Saw: Spurs/Warriors

Take a look at this the box score.

This game... wow. Look at that box score. 22 bench points from the crippled Warriors. 72 bench points from the Spurs. 50 point bench scoring differential. Wow. Tim Duncan shot a perfect 8 for 8 from the field and finished with 17 points in almost 14 minutes. Ian Mahinmi (who?) managed 12 points and 6 boards in 13 minutes. That sort of speed and efficiency from big men spells bad news for the opposition. Matt Bonner even got in on the action, shooting 100% everywhere.

It looks like it was an amazing game to watch - with the old team running the young team out of the gym.