[Izulde]

I was hoping Memphis would beat Phoenix, so we could keep our revenge theme going, but it simply wasn't meant to be. Instead, we get the team that beat us repeatedly throughout the year, the full-strength defending NBA champions who also happen to be two-time defending West Conference champions. It's going to be a nasty test, even tougher than the Mavericks.

Rather than the full article, I'll just post the position by position breakdowns.

"Point Guard
William Tackett vs. Jon Ward
Despite going against a much bigger, shut-down defender in Devone Allen last series, Tackett still played quite well against Dallas and has postseason averages of 15.8 points, 11.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks. He'll need to maintain that stellar level if the Kings want to make their first-ever Finals trip.

Ward is an absolutely amazing scorer and defender, averaging 15.1 points, 4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.6 blocks in the playoffs. That said, he's a terrible starter to put at PG, as he has nowhere near the ballhandling skills needed to effectively run an offense. Not that that's stopped the Suns any.

Advantage: Draw

Shooting Guard
Ronald King vs. Rudolf Zyndram
King has been an incredible reserve for the Kings this season, both in the regular season and the playoffs, where he's averaging 13.9 points. He's starting because of Mateen Yeaton's hamstring injury, but it may be a blessing in disguise because he plays better technical defense. The jury's out on him as an effective starter, though.

The Polishman Zyndram has turned this playoffs into his own personal party, averaging a blistering 27.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.1 blocks. As his statline suggests, he's an exceptional all-around player, the kind with no weaknesses and a true MVP candidate. It's Zyndram who's the reason why the Suns got this far and they'll need him to stay hot to make a third straight Finals trip.

Advantage: Suns

Small Forward
David Anyan vs. Matt Michaels
Anyan's numbers of 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocks may not be as sexy as Zyndram's, but Anyan plays much better suffocating, frustrating defense, even though they're both superlative all-around players who are the key to their mutual teams' successes.

32 year old Michaels has had a frustrating postseason, shooting just under 40% for his 11.8 points and 1.5 steals. Terrible defender who's going to get eaten alive by Anyan and will see his shooting woes continue against his primary opponent. Don't expect him to be a factor in this one, unless it's a negative.

Advantage: Kings

Power Forward
Antonio Sarchet vs. Michael Woods
Sarchet's value continues to be underrated by most people, even though he's putting up 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds in the playoffs. It's true that he won't ever be a great defender or even a good one, but he did a good enough job on Marcelino Augusto last round for the most part and the Kings will expect him to do the same here - score, rebound and play adequate defense. Certainly a far cry from the Emeka Okafor days.

Woods is one of three Top 2 picks on the Suns roster, Ward and Zycham being the other two. He's also the youngest at 23 and is in his third season in the league. Although he's improved each year he's been in the league, he still hasn't grown into his massive talent and thus, despite sterling scoring and shooting ability and average to good everywhere else, he's still only averaging 12.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and a steal in these playoffs. This position battle is the most engimatic one of them all and it's too close to call.

Advantage: Draw

Center
Greg Oden vs. Chris Adams
Oden's just been sitting back this postseason and letting others handle the scoring while he works on rebounding and defense, as evidenced by his 8.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocks. That's the role he'll be taking on this series as well, although his effectiveness will be limited by a calf strain.

Fortunately for Kings fans, Adams is a rebounding specialist who plays okay D and takes a few safe shots and that's it: 8.1 points, 10.8 rebounds for the playoffs. A much-diluted version of Oden in that regard.

Advantage: Kings

Bench
Mateen Yeaton's on the bench, but he's traditionally been very ineffective while injured. But perhaps that will open up more time for Justin Cherry, who was a phenom as a rookie with the Denver Nuggets, but has had trouble finding PT since then. Brandon Edmond is the safety valve inside with 7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks as a balanced, all-around type of reserve.

Filip Svorda was once rumored to be a GM Jestor trade target and the Czech has been terrific off the bench, averaging 10.8 points, 4.7 assists and 1.8 steals as a deadly shooter, passer and ballthief. Ronell Jones, a defensive specialist and another Jestor trade prospect, gets enough minutes to average 7.6 points and while Milan Nouge never lived up to the hype that made him the #3 overall pick, he's been devastating off the bench, averaging 6.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2 blocks as Phoenix's top big man.

Advantage: Suns

Final Thoughts
It's been a great story this season in Sacramento, but the book closes for the Kings right here. Phoenix is far too deep for the Kings to match them, especially with two of Sacramento's starters hobbled by injuries and the Suns will march on to their third straight Finals for a shot at a repeat. In short, it's another chapter of heartbreak waiting to be written for the Bay area.
Prediction: Suns in 5

I'm not surprised, really. Especially not with the way they manhandled us down the stretch, like I said.

Game One
David Anyan puts up 27 points and 13 rebounds, William Tackett chips in 15 points and 13 assists and Brandon Edmond and Justin Cherry each score 12 off the bench, but it's nowhere near enough as Jon Ward fires for 26 points, Rudolf Zyndram tacks on 21 points, Chris Adams doubles for 12 points and 11 rebounds, Milan Nouge just misses a bench double with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks and Filip Svorda torches us for 19 points off the bench. We could've won this game, if Antonio Sarchet hadn't pulled a disappearing act and if Ronald King came even remotely close to approaching his earlier reserve boosts, but instead, it's a 10 point home loss and dismal start to the series.
Final - Phoenix 117 Sacramento 107

Game Two
Short and simple, we get smashed. Jon Ward scores 23, Chris Adams nabs 16 points and 10 rebounds, Ronell Jones adds 14 points off the bench and all five Suns starters score 11 or more. In contrast, we get 24 points from David Anyan, an ugly 11 assists and 12 turnovers from William Tackett and 13 bench rebounds from Brandon Edmond. I think you can call our goose cooked right now.
Final - Phoenix 102 Sacramento 78

Game Three
The Suns are just too fucking good. Jon Ward and Rudolf Zyndram combine for 24 and 20 points and Ronell Jones leads the bench with 14 points. We do a little better this time, with David Anyan's 25 points and 12 and 10 points from reserves Jim Johnson and Brandon Edmond, but it's still a slaughter to go down 3-0.
Final - Sacramento 98 Phoenix 120

Game Four
I'm just waiting for the axe to fall, especially after Rudolf Zyndram torches us for 37 points and Jon Ward adds 25 points of his own. But then a funny thing happens. Antonio Sarchet finally snaps out of it and scores 30 points, David Anyan plays a steady second with 25 points, William Tackett recovers from his Game 2 embarassment with 11 points and 12 assists and Brandon Edmond scores 14 off the bench. We ride those performances and a second quarter surge to stave off the sweep by just four points, giving us a very faint flicker of hope.
Final - Sacramento 108 Phoenix 104

Game Five
An energetic, pro-Kings crowd just can't save us. Rudolf Zyndram scores 30, Michael Woods breaks out for 19 points and 10 rebounds, Milan Nouge has 12 points and 9 rebounds off the bench and Filip Svorda adds on 11 points as well with the reserves. We tried, but David Anyan's 26 points, Antonio Sarchet's pre-fouling out 19 points and 10 rebounds, William Tackett's 12 points and 12 assists and Brandon Edmond's 10 bench rebounds don't cut it and we get massacred to bow out. So here's another sad verse in Sacramento's song.
Final - Phoenix 110 Sacramento 88

The Raptors very nearly blow a 3-1 series lead, but they escape with a victory in Boston for Game 7.

I call Sam Mitchell and Bryan Colangelo and wish them luck, but even they can't stop the juggernaut that's the Suns and they cede Phoenix's repeat title in five games.