Playoff Preview: (2) Seattle vs (3) Phoenix

[Philadelphia 76ers]

(2) Seattle Sonics vs (3) Phoenix Suns

VS.

Team	Player	Leader	Team	Player
	Steve Nash 21.5 PPG	Points		Michael Redd 19.1 PPG
	Brad Miller 8.3 RPG	Rebounds		Marcus Camby 8.7 RPG
	Steve Nash 7.0 APG	Assists		Andre Miller 6.5 APG
	Steve Nash 1.6 SPG	Steals		Andrei Kirilenko 2.36 SPG
	Brad Miller 1.3 BPG	Blocks		Andrei Kirilenko 1.7 BPG

First Round Recap:

(2) - Seattle Sonics [4W-2L]- Seattle is coming off a scare against the Los Angeles Lakers. After going up 2-0 in their first round series, the Lakers rallied back to even the series at 2-2. This was quite a shock considering most experts had Seattle sweeping the Lakers. Alas, the Sonics prevailed and here we are. Against the Lakers, Seattle's defence proved why it was one of the best in the league, holding the high powered Lakers offence - which features superstars Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal- to just 94.4 points per game. If that wasn't hard enough, the Sonics are about to find out how good their defence is facing off with the Suns.

(3) - Phoenix Suns [4W-1L]- Similar to the Sonics, the Suns received quite a scare from the Warriors in the early stages of their first round matchup. However, the Suns managed to finish off the Warriors. Led by MVP Candidate Steve Nash, Phoenix's offence is one of the best in the league.... on paper. I don't think there's any question there is a ton of offensive potential on this team, the problem is consistency. Outside of Nash, Phoenix doesn't really have a consistent second scorer. Crazy right? We're talking about a team with Antawn Jamison, LeBron James and Vince Carter. The 3 have combined for only 3 20+ games, all from Jamison. If the Suns hope to stand a chance against one of the league's top defences, they better hope these guys pick it up.

Phoenix Suns	Position	Seattle Sonics	Skinny
Steve Nash 21.5 PPG 4.3 RPG 7.0 APG	PG

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Andre Miller

14.3 PPG
3.1 RPG
6.5 APG

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Nash has been by far the best point guard in the league this season and should be a candidate for MVP, Miller has been rock solid running the Seattle offence but this one goes to Nash.

Advantage: Phoenix

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Vince Carter

17.4 PPG
4.6 RPG
4.6 APG

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SG

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Michael Redd

19.1 PPG
3.2 RPG
4.9 APG

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This is an interesting matchup. Both players are top notch offensive talents but can't be said about them on the defensive end. Redd is one of the best 3pt shooters in the league and VC is one of the most athletic guards. I'm gonna go with VC due to his all round game, he's one of the few players in this league that can average 20,5,5.

Advantage: Phoenix

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LeBron James

15.7 PPG
7.2 RPG
5.1 APG

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SF

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Andre Kirilenko

12.8 PPG
7.3 RPG
3.7 APG

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Although LeBron has struggled this season, he's hard to bet against him. This is also another matchup to keep an eye on, If anyone can lock down LeBron, it's AK47. Fans couldn't have asked for anything better, the best offensive small forward against the best defensive small forward.

Advantage: Phoenix

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Antawn Jamison

13.6 PPG
7.3 RPG
1.6 APG

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PF

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Chris Wilcox

15.0 PPG
7.9 RPG
1.68 BPG

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Wilcox had a nice season but I'm going with Jamison on this one. He's the superior offensive player and was Phoenix's second best player in the first round.

Advantage: Phoenix

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Brad Miller 14.4 PPG 8.3 RPG 3.9 APG

C

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Marcus Camby

17.1 PPG
8.7 RPG
2.41 BPG

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Despite his age, Camby is still one of the top centers in this league. He had a breakout year with the Sonics posting career highs in points. Miller is a solid center that can do a bit of everything, score, pass, rebound and play defence. Along with Camby's surprising offence, everyone knows about his defence.

Advantage: Seattle

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Bench



- Seattle Sonics- Seattle has one of the top benches in the league. There is a great mix of youth (Lee, Thabo, Williams) and experience (Finley, Knight). This bench can compete with any in the West



- Phoenix Suns - Outside of James Jones, this bench is filled with no-names. On one hand we have one of the best benches and on the other we have one of the worst.

Verdict: Overall, I think this is going to be a great series, tons of great matchups with LeBron and Ak47 going at each other and Redd and VC trying to outscore each other. Phoenix has the better starting lineup on paper but can't seem to find any consistency. In the end, I think Seattle is gonna come out on top due to the difference between the benches and consistency.

Seattle in 6

[Philadelphia 76ers]

If only LeBron played to his full potential in this game, Phoenix would probably be contending with the Hornets for the title.

[Oklahoma City Thunder]

Nice write up man. Appreciate it