At the end of the day, “What if?” exercises are pointless. The past can’t be changed, heartaches can’t be removed, only treated and left behind. To a small extent, I have experienced most of what basketball has to offer. I played in high school, I’ve coached both high school and college ball, and I’ve been a fan since I can remember. With a few exceptions, I’ve been able to accept it (not always happily) whenever my team has lost on the court and move forward.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to accept that series loss to San Antonio in 2007. That was it. That was the year we were going to win it all. That series with San Antonio WAS the finals, and everyone knew it. There should be a championship banner hanging in Talking Stick Resort Arena. There should have been a city holiday and a giant parade down Jefferson Street in downtown Phoenix. All the heartache from the Barkley years, all the memories of Paxton and Elie, they were supposed to be forgotten because of 2007. Instead, they’ve just been added to.
What if Amare and Diaw hadn’t been suspended? What if the series had been decided on the court? I don’t know if I’ll ever fully cleanse the image of Horry checking Nash into the scorer’s table from my head. Even when I’m old and senile, I might be able to see it when I close my eyes. Hopefully, at that point in my life, I’ll also be able to close my eyes and see a Suns’ trophy celebration.
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