San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns Live Streaming

San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns Live | San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns | San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns Streaming | San Antonio vs Phoenix NBA Live Stream | San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns Live Webcast

10:30 pm EDT Mon May 3, 2010

In their last three NBA championship seasons, the San Antonio Spurs eliminated the Phoenix Suns along the way. The last two, Phoenix had the homecourt advantage. Here they are again, opening the Western Conference semifinals in Phoenix on Monday night, the Suns seeded No. 3 and San Antonio No. 7. These are not the Spurs and Suns of the past, though. George Hill and Richard Jefferson fill important roles for San Antonio, Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry are long gone. The Suns have a deep bench and Jason Richardson, who averaged 23.5 points against Portland in the first round and shot 51 percent from 3-point range. Phoenix even plays periods of inspired defense, for heaven’s sake. Then there’s Suns 7-footer Robin Lopez, who when he was healthy defended Duncan one-on-one. A back injury has sidelined Lopez since March 26 and the second-year pro from Stanford has been slowly coming back since. He even scrimmaged some full-court on Sunday. Lopez is to be re-evaluated by a specialist on Monday and it’s possible he could play a few minutes in Game 1.

Yet for all the talk of Hill’s talent, Jefferson’s roller-coaster season following his signing as a free agent, the Suns’ energetic reserves, Richardson’s offense and Lopez’s return, this series is likely to be decided by those Steve Nash calls “the usual suspects.” For San Antonio, that’s Duncan, Tony Parker and, especially, Manu Ginobili. The same could be said of the Suns when Richardson is on. Phoenix is 29-4 this season when he’s scored at least 20. Nash sat out practice for the second day in a row to rest his sore right hip. He didn’t talk to reporters on Sunday, but said Saturday that he expects the time off to be of great benefit Monday night. The 36-year-old point guard has been at the center of the playoff drama with San Antonio in the past and his role is no less crucial this time. He pushes the offense and establishes the tempo and ball movement that makes the Suns successful. Unlike the Phoenix teams the Spurs played in 2005 and 2007, these Suns are not truly a fastbreak squad. Their strength lies in spacing the floor and establishing a rapid rhythm to keep defenders on their heels.