Spurs vs. Suns Series Breakdown

SPURS-SUNS PLAYOFF HISTORY: San Antonio has faced their first round opponent, the Phoenix Suns, on eight separate occasions in their postseason history. The Spurs won five of those eight series and are 21-17 all-time against the Suns in the playoffs. Five of the eight series were in the first round of the playoffs, with San Antonio defeating Phoenix in three of those five meetings. Their last series win against the Suns came during the 2007 playoffs when the Silver and Black won 4-2 in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Spurs lost 3-0 in the first round of the 1992 playoffs, lost 4-2 in the second round of the 1993 playoffs, won 3-1 in the first round of the 1996 playoffs, won 3-1 in the first round of the 1998 playoffs, lost 3-1 in the first round of the 2000 playoffs, won 4-2 in the first round of the 2003 playoffs, won 4-1 in the 2005 Western Conference Finals and won 4-2 in the second round of the 2007 playoffs.
**Quick Facts: The NBA Finals has featured either Shaquille O'Neal or Tim Duncan in each of the past nine seasons … In the first round of the NBA playoffs, the team that wins Game 1 wins the series 82.9 percent of the time (156-32).

GETTING ACQUAINTED: The Spurs and Suns are matched up in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Phoenix holds a 3-1 season series edge on San Antonio but the Silver and Black allowed the Suns to average just 92.8 points in those games, down 18.2 points from their season average of 111.0. Here is a closer look at the Suns’ averages vs. the Spurs compared to the rest of the league.

Category	Suns vs. Rest of League (78 games)	Suns vs. Spurs (4 games)
Points	111.0	92.8
Rebounds	41.5	42.0
Assists	27.0	20.8
Blocks	6.3	7.0
Field-Goal %	.502	.458
3-Point %	.398	.281

3 SEED? SOUNDS GOOD: The Silver and Black have qualified for the NBA playoffs 27 times in franchise history but have been seeded third only once before this season. The only other time the Spurs were seeded third was during the 2007 playoffs when they defeated Denver 4-1 in round one, Phoenix 4-2 in round two, Utah 4-1 in the conference finals and swept Cleveland 4-0 in the NBA Finals for their fourth championship in nine years.

PLAYOFF EXCELLENCE: The Spurs clinched a playoff spot on 4/5 when eighth seeded Denver lost to Sacramento and will appear in the playoffs for a league leading 11th consecutive season. Since drafting Tim Duncan prior to the 1997-98 campaign, the Spurs have yet to miss the playoffs and have won four NBA Championships (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007) during the span. San Antonio’s playoff dominance extends back to when the team joined the NBA for the 1976-77 season, as the team has appeared in the postseason in 28 of their 32 seasons, including 18 of their last 19 overall (missed the 1996-97 playoffs in which David Robinson played only six games due to injury). The last NBA teams to have a longer playoff run were the New York Knicks, who made 14 straight appearances from 1987-88 through 2000-01 and the Phoenix Suns at 13 consecutive appearances from 1988-89 through 2000-01. Here is a closer look at active playoff streaks among NBA teams.

POSTSEASON SUCCESS: The Spurs currently hold the fourth best playoff winning percentage in NBA history. Much of this success is thanks to Tim Duncan, considering in 17 playoff appearances before Duncan arrived the Spurs were 52-67 (.437). In 10-playoff appearances during the Duncan era, the Spurs are 92-51 (.643). No team has more playoff wins during the last 10 years than the Spurs. During his career Duncan has missed only five playoff games and the Spurs are 1-4 in those contests. The Spurs’ record for games that Duncan has played in is 91-47 (.659).

ROAD TESTED: Coming into the 2008 playoffs, the Spurs have the second highest playoff winning percentage alltime on the road at .435 (57-74). Here is a list of the top three.

1. L.A. Lakers .436 (134-173)
2. San Antonio .435 (57-74)
3. Boston Celtics .418 (97-135)

DUNCAN’S TIME TO SHINE: Tim Duncan enters his 11th straight playoff appearance as one of the most prolific postseason performers in NBA history. While leading the Spurs to four NBA Championships in four Finals appearances, Duncan took home the Finals MVP three of those four times, joining Michael Jordan (six times), Shaquille O’Neal (three) and Magic Johnson (three) as the only players in NBA history to win three-or-more Finals MVP’s. Duncan saves his best performances for the playoffs as his playoff averages of 23.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 blocks are all higher than his regular season career averages of 21.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.4 blocks. Here is a closer look at where Duncan ranks on the active postseason leaders board in major categories.

POP AMONG THE BEST: Pop is entering his 11th consecutive postseason and is one of the most productive coaches in NBA playoff history when it comes to winning percentage. Pop’s winning percentage of .643 (92-51) is now second all-time (minimum 25 games) and his 92 wins are now fifth all-time.

WHAT A GROUP: With four NBA titles, Gregg Popovich is just one of five NBA coaches to have won at least four NBA championships. Among the five coaches, Pop has the highest winning percentage .727 (16-6) of any in the Finals. Pop is also the only coach out of the group to win every Finals appearance he has appeared in. Here is a closer look at how the five coaches compare in numbers.

Coaches to win four-or-more NBA Finals …
Coach Finals Record Championships
Red Auerbach 40-25 (.615) 9
Phil Jackson 37-18 (.673) 9
John Kundla 20-15 (.571) 5
Pat Riley 26-27 (.491) 5
Gregg Popovich 16-6 (.727) 4

TONY PARKER’S PLAYOFF SUCCESS: Tony Parker’s success in the playoffs at such a young age has put him in elite company. With 1,547 career playoff points before the age of 25, Parker trails only Kobe Bryant on the all-time list for most playoff points for a player under 25. Parker turned 25 during the 2007 playoffs on 5/17 and has scored 229 playoff points since his 25th birthday to give him a total of 1,776. He is also second all-time in postseason wins for a player under 25 with 56 playoff victories and is tied with Bryant in assists at 407.

MOST VALUABLE PARKER: Tony Parker was named the 2007 Finals MVP becoming the first foreign born player in NBA history to win the award. Parker was stellar throughout the 2007 playoffs averaging 20.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists over 20 games. Against Cleveland in the Finals, Parker averaged a team-high 24.5 points, shot a team-best .568 (42-74) from the field and tallied 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 38.0 minutes. He is the eighth youngest player to win the prestigious honor

16 YEARS, 16 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES: Robert Horry just finished his 16th regular season in the NBA and will now appear in the postseason for the 16th time, a perfect attendance since his rookie year back in 1992-93. Horry has never lost in the first round of the playoffs and is just one of 20 players in NBA history to appear in the postseason in 13- or-more consecutive seasons. By making the playoffs in the 2007-08 season, Horry has now tied Scottie Pippen for third on the all-time list for consecutive seasons in the NBA playoffs. There are only two players ahead of Horry with John Stockton at (19 straight appearances, 1984-85 through 2002-03) and Karl Malone (19 straight appearances, 1985-86 through 2003-04).

THE RING COLLECTOR: Robert Horry leads all active players with seven NBA titles. After winning his seventh championship ring last season, Horry continues to move up the all-time list for most championships in a career. Horry has been a member of seven NBA championship teams, including the Houston Rockets (1994, 1995), L.A. Lakers (2000, 2001, 2002) and San Antonio Spurs (2005, 2007). Horry is one of only eight players in NBA history with seven-or-more titles. He is also one of only three players, along with Ron Harper (Chicago ’96-98) and Dennis Rodman (Detroit ’89- 90, Chicago ’96-98) to have won back-to-back championships with two different teams in NBA history. After winning his sixth title in 2005, Horry became only the second player to ever win three titles with three different teams, joining John Salley (Detroit, Chicago and L.A. Lakers). After adding the seventh ring to his collection he moved into a tie with Frank Ramsey for seventh on the all-time list of career titles. Here is a closer look at players with the most NBA Championships all-time.

List of players with the most NBA Championships …
Player Team Championships
Bill Russell Boston 11
Sam Jones Boston 10
Tom Heinsohn Boston 8
K.C. Jones Boston 8
Tom Sanders Boston 8
John Havlicek Boston 8
Robert Horry* Hou/Lal/Sa 7
Frank Ramsey Boston 7
*active

CHAMPIONS RISE TO THE OCCASION: After defeating the Cavaliers 83-82 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the Silver and Black are now 16-6 (.727) all-time in the NBA Finals, which is the best winning percentage in Finals history. With four championships under their belt, the Spurs are 4-0 all-time in Finals series, making them one of just two teams to make more than one trip to the NBA Finals and never lose (Chicago is 6-0 all-time). San Antonio’s .818 (9-2) home winning percentage trails only the Baltimore Bullets (3-0) and Miami Heat (3-0) for best home winning percentage in Finals history. San Antonio’s success extends beyond their home court as the Spurs are just one of three teams to have a road winning percentage in Finals history. San Antonio now has a road winning percentage of .636 (7-4), trailing only the Chicago Bulls at .667 (12-6) and the Milwaukee Bucks at .800 (4-1).

FOURTH ONES THE CHARM: The Spurs have now added a fourth ring to their collection, defeating the Cavaliers 4- 0, while boosting their Finals appearance record to 4-0 all-time. The Silver and Black made their first Finals appearance in 1999, becoming the first former ABA team to advance to the Finals, defeating the New York Knicks 4-1, while stockpiling a 15-2 record (including a playoff record – 12 straight wins) throughout the playoffs that season – the second highest winning percentage for a playoff run in NBA history. Tim Duncan claimed his first of three Finals MVPs, by averaging 27.4 points and 14.0 rebounds. San Antonio’s second championship came during the 2003 playoffs, when they defeated the New Jersey Nets 4-2. The second title saw Tim Duncan average 24.2 points, 17.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 5.3 blocks, while claiming his second Finals MVP. The Spurs conquered their quest for a third NBA championship by defeating the Detroit Pistons in a decisive seventh game of the 2005 NBA Finals. Tim Duncan had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the deciding game, while claiming his third Finals MVP by averaging 20.6 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. The most recent title came in the way of a sweep, as Tony Parker averaged 24.5 points and 5.0 rebounds, claiming the MVP award to become the first European born player to win the prestigious honor.