All Just a Bit of History Repeating

From a game one that was an instant classic, the Suns-Spurs series has quickly evolved to a laugher. The Spurs have outplayed the Suns on every way the last two games, and are now on the verge of a sweep. No NBA team has ever come back to win a series when down 3-0, and very few teams in North American sports have ever done it. One team in recent memory has come back to win a series after trailing by three games: the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

Like these Suns, the Red Sox were a year removed from another devastating defeat to their archrival. Like these Suns, the 2004 Red Sox were struggling under a massive weight of historical failure.

So read this now, Sunday, April 27, the day the Suns face San Antonio in game 4, trying to keep their season, the job of their GM, possibly the career of their Hall-of-Fame Point Guard alive. The Suns share many things with the 2004 Red Sox, including:

1. A long title drought.

The Red Sox were facing an 86 year title drought. The Suns have never won in their 40 year history. They came close in the Barkley era, but they ended up giving
Jordan his third ring in a row. Steve Nash has brought the title hopes to a fever pitch in Phoenix, only to be eliminated year after year. Speaking of which...

2. The Archenemy

The Spurs in 2008 and the Yankees from 2004 were/are dynastic powerhouses in their respective sports. When the Yankees came up short in the World Series the year before, they added the best hitter of this (possibly any) generation. The Spurs are coming off their fourth title in nine years, while the same was true with the Yankees in 2004.

2. A bad taste lingering from the year before.

The Red Sox faced a devastating defeat in Game 7 of the ALCS to the Yankees, blowing a late lead, then losing their trip to the World Series on an 11th inning
Aaron Boone HR. The Suns are reeling from a series that was pretty much decided by things beyond the team's play on the court. First there was the suspensions of Stoudemire and Diaw for Game 5. Then there is the fact that a referee who was shaving points was officiating several games in that series. Add it all up, and the Suns have known their string of playoff disappointments, especially at the hands of the Spurs.

3. A mid-season trade of a one-time franchise player.

When Shawn Marion was traded to the Heat for Shaq, not only did the Suns gain a Superstar, they lost a player who had been an integral part of their team since 1999. Like Nomar Garciaparra, Marion was the face of the franchise for a long time, even before Steve Nash came. Like Nomah, he slugged along with a mediocre team, only to find himself playing second and third fiddle once the team got competitive. In Marion's case, he was losing touches to both Amare Stoudemire and Nash, something he didn't like.

4. The Games thus far

In Game 1 of the Yankees/Red Sox Series, it was a classic game, with the Yankees taking a large lead, then the Red Sox bouncing back, then the Yankees finally putting them away. Game 1 of Suns/Spurs was even more epic. With two huge threes to force two overtimes, including Tim Duncan's first three of the season, it was a gut check to the suns.

Game 2 of Yankees/Red Sox was close, but the Yankees were ahead the whole game, one run for six innings, then three for the next two, until the Sox got one run in the 8th. The Spurs kept a pretty steady pace over the Suns in their own game. Phoenix started hot, but was behind most of the second half.

Game 3 had both the Suns and Red Sox down 2-0, hoping that a home crowd would make a difference. Both were hugely disappointed as the Sox lost 19-8, the Suns 115-99. Both looked to be done.

Now that I've shown the similarities that have happened, who will fill in the massive shoes of those heroes on the 2004 Red Sox?

Dave Roberts: Who will provide the spark that Dave Roberts stolen base did in Game 4, Bottom of the 9th? Raja Bell. He's got the smarts on the defensive end, so he can possibly get a key late steal, and he's got the distance to knock down a big three. Though you'd think D'Antoni and Co. would learn to have the star (Nash, Stoudemire, Shaq to a lesser extent) take a crucial late shot, rather than Diaw or Barbosa (like in Game 1).

David Ortiz: Who will provide the late inning (or 4th quarter) heroics that made Big Papi a legend on Boston and a household name in the rest of the country? No one but your two-time MVP. Steve Nash. As if he hasn't knocked down enough clutch three in the playoffs, there are more to come. After his huge three in Game 1's second OT, only a Manu layup prevented him from being a hero.

Johnny Damon: Who will find their power stroke to really demoralize the Spurs like Damon did in the later games of the 2004 ALCS? Boris Diaw. He's been off with the midrange jumper, and he's too good at those shots to keep missing them. He's gotten some good looks, and he'll start knocking them down.

Curt Schilling: Who will be the bloody-socked hero who will take the entire season on his back? None other than Shaq. Like Schilling, Shaq was brought to the Suns to win a title before Steve Nash got too old to compete. He's got a lot to prove, and while he's been okay this series, he's really going to put the screws to Tim Duncan, and really lock down the lane for the Parkers and Ginobilis of the world.

Manny Ramirez: Who is the guy who everyone's afraid of and will eventually make you pay? Amare Stoudemire. He's too much of a monster to be contained for long, and with the pressure on, he will be tearing up the lane. If he's able to get a running start and a good pass (which is Nash's bread and butter) there's not a
body on the Spurs that can stop him.

Well, that about covers it. Remember me when the Suns face the winner of Mavs/Hornets (cough cough go mavs cough). And if I'm wrong? Well, you should have known better than to trust the guy who wrote that the 49ers and Bengals would be playing in the last Super Bowl.

Postscript: I know it's been mentioned ad nauseum, but fuck you Gregg Popovich. Your hack-a-Shaq crap is really starting to piss me off. As if people outside of
San Antonio aren't sick enough of seeing you win, now this. It's a bullshit way to play, and you're a better coach than that. If you were trying to win an aging Duncan and co. their first ring, then that one's thing, but they've got two to four rings (Notice how I set up an excuse for the Mavs to do the same thing if the Suns and Mavs somehow both make it to Round 2). Don't be a prick. Pardon my French, but I figured I'd put some in for Tony Parker and Boris Diaw's sake.