Suns don't feel overmatched

PHOENIX (AP) -- The Phoenix Suns believe it's misleading that they're the lowest playoff seed in the Western Conference, and they're sure they're not overmatched against the San Antonio Spurs.

"We're playing against a team we're very familiar with," Stephon Marbury said. "We know we can win against them. It's not like we're going up against a team that we never can beat. What we've got to do is believe."

The Spurs certainly are familiar with Marbury. The Suns' playmaker averaged 32.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds as Phoenix took three of four games from San Antonio during the regular season.

"Steph is just so strong and he's just relentless on getting to the basket," Penny Hardaway said. "When you have somebody like that drawing all that attention, all we've got to do is knock down the wide-open shots that we get. That makes it tougher for them to guard him."

Phoenix went through a slump after the All-Star break, when Hardaway was sidelined for thumb surgery. Otherwise, Hardaway said, the team probably would have been at least a fifth or sixth seed.

"I think we're higher than an eighth seed," Hardaway said, "so it is kind of camouflaged."

The Suns watched videotape, walked through some plays and did some shooting on Thursday. They'll practice in Phoenix again Friday, then travel to San Antonio, where the best-of-seven series begins Saturday night.

Amare Stoudemire, named the NBA rookie of the month for April, will get his first taste of playoff intensity.

"Amare's going to be in for a big, big, big surprise," Hardaway said, "because he hasn't faced anything before like this in his life. The noise is going to be deafening. The intensity is going to go up. He's going to get double-teamed right away. It's going to be tough for him."

Stoudemire averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, making him a top contender for rookie-of-the-year honors, and has shown a maturity far beyond his 20 years.

"Amare's a different breed," Marbury said. "He's not the average kid that's 20 years old coming into the NBA. He's totally different. By him being that way, it makes the game a lot easier for him."

Stoudemire, as usual, just shrugs off the idea that he might struggle under the added pressure.

"They tell me that the playoffs are a higher level of competition," Stoudemire said. "I'm looking forward to going out there and playing. Nothing's going to change except my level. I'm going raise my level a little bit out there."

Stoudemire won't have to guard Tim Duncan alone. The Suns throw a constant double-team at the Spurs' superstar, a tactic that was especially successful in Phoenix's playoff-clinching victory over San Antonio on Sunday.

San Antonio, of course, will come up with new ways to counter the double-team.

"Maybe they'll step him off a little bit, I don't know," Phoenix coach Frank Johnson said. "We've just got to be ready. I think you'll see a lot where they're just kind of ducking him into the post. Maybe have four guys out and one guy in, just pass it around the perimeter and allow him to just duck in."

Johnson plans to again rely heavily on a small lineup that caused San Antonio matchup problems.

"When you look at the numbers, the smalls have been a big plus for us," he said.

 

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