This goes against conventional wisdom that
says Phoenix lays down the day after their
#2 Western Conference playoff seed was locked
with the help of bizarro referee Joe Crawford
in Dallas yesterday.
Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni says that with
plenty of rest leading into the opening of the
First Round over the weekend, a sharp effort is
necessary here. A sharp effort by a quality
underdog brings with it a margin for error rarely
available with Phoenix, against an opponent that
represents a favorable match-up for the Suns:
Phoenix is 8-2 SU and ATS against the Rockets over
the last three seasons and an ''upset'' win here
would build some good hoops karma for them by
going against the cheap, abusive, non-competitive
tanking grain established by other NBA teams and
giving the NBA an opportunity to have a rare,
meaningful season-finale game with the Houston at
Utah match-up on Wednesday night (for the right
to open their upcoming #4 vs. #5 series home and
host a Game 7).