Suns given best shot to go far this year

It’s the NBA Finals ... in Round 2? With the playoff departure of the Dallas Mavericks, the NBA’s two best remaining teams tip off Sunday afternoon in Phoenix.

For the now top-seeded Suns, the door to a title has seldom been open wider. Too bad for them the NBA doesn’t re-seed playoff matchups, round by round.

So they must find a way to beat the now-No. 2 San Antonio Spurs, the team that’s been the most difficult for them in recent years; the Spurs have won 17 of the past 21 games, counting the regular season and playoffs, dating back to the spring of 2003.

But if they can — and the Suns think this is their most playoff-ready team in many years — they’ll have the home-court advantage the rest of the way.

“That’s one reason you try to come second if you can’t come in first,” coach Mike D’Antoni said of the Suns’ second-place finish.

“Things happen,” he said of Golden State’s upset of Dallas.

“At least we know someone has to come into Phoenix and beat us. Though, San Antonio is a big obstacle ... we kind of control our own destiny.”

So maybe all those regular season games meant something, after all.

“That was big for us to place second in the regular season,” Amaré Stoudemire said.

“Now that Dallas is out … we have to make sure we keep the advantage.”

D’Antoni wouldn’t take the bait when somebody suggested this series was the “real” NBA title series.

“That would be a slight on the other teams out there that are pretty good ... but we understand it is a big series.”

The playoffs’ dynamics have changed with the Mavs out, the Suns coach acknowledged.

But he didn’t seem to jumping up and down as much as the team’s fans.

“You have to think between Golden State and Dallas, the best team won,” he said. “Usually, in a 7-game series, the best team wins.

“That’s why I always want to play the team that loses.”

The only difference: the Warriors don’t have the home-court advantage like the Mavs did, he said.

To take full advantage of their new exalted status, though, the Suns will have to get past the Spurs.

The Suns won’t be able to do so playing the Spurs’ game, D’Antoni suggested.

All they had to do was watch the Spurs cruise, 4-1, over a Denver Nuggets team that seemed all too willing to play into the Spurs’ hands by walking the ball up the court, time after time.

“Denver didn’t have any fast break points,” D’Antoni said.

As for the Suns, “Speed is what we do best,” he said.

“We’re not going to be able to match up to them and think all of a sudden we’re a better executing half-court team with better defenders. That’s not going to happen.”

In practical terms, this means “a concerted effort to have a quick offense,” D’Antoni said.

“That doesn’t always mean fast breaks,” but an offense that is up and running with quickhitting plays players taking the best available shot early in the 24-second clock.

At the same time, the Spurs -— with their well-oiled ways of clogging the lane on defense and slowing the pace on offense —- will control the tempo at times.

“They’re that good,” D’Antoni said. So the Suns can’t become discouraged when this happens, he said. A key stat to keep in mind: The Spurs went 2-12 when their opponents scored 100-plus points (including a 1-1 mark vs. the Suns) this season.

“We’ve got to get over 100 points,” D’Antoni said. “That’s a big bench mark. If we score in the 100s, we have a heck of a chance of winning.” Though the Spurs are versatile enough to play a fast-paced game, “If you get them up in the 100s, you have a chance.” By contrast, “I don’t think we can play in the 90s and be real effective. “It’s not fool proof. But I think that’s our best chance of winning.”