Saturday's News: Suns squeak, DJ wants run

[SwingMan]

Suns beat Magic, snap 2-game skid (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1130sunsonline1201.html)

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/pics/1201sunsgamer.jpg
Suns forward Shawn Marion fouls Magic forward Rashard Lewis in the first quarter Friday.

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 30, 2007 11:27 PM

Orlando center Dwight Howard comes up with the monster games against Phoenix. The Suns come away with the monster wins.

For the second time in November, Phoenix knocked off Eastern power Orlando despite Howard's overpowering effort. His 30 points and 23 rebounds were not enough against the more balanced Suns, and they snapped a two-game losing streak with a 110-106 win.

Beating the Magic (14-4) for the second time, containing star Rashard Lewis again and having a balanced scoring line that included six Suns players with between 15 and 20 points each seemingly would send the Suns home as content as kids with lollipops.

Instead, they felt indifferent about after nearly giving away a victory after leading handily from the start.

The Suns led by as much as 15 points and were up 104-94 lead with 5:15 to go before becoming tentative on offense, missing seven of their last eight shots, two late free throws (including Steve Nash's first miss of the season after 53 makes in a row) and even getting a shot-clock violation.

After Shawn Marion missed a free throw, Lewis missed a three-pointer for the lead with 6.9 seconds to send the Suns off victorious before a weeklong Eastern trip.

"Our offense was really good and just kind of sputtered out toward the fourth quarter," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "A little bit of that is we're still not real comfortable with ourselves. When you're the hunted, it's a little bit different than being the hunter. . . . I thought we passed up a lot of shots."

Though D'Antoni lamented the final five minutes until Nash iced the victory with free throws after Raja Bell's second late key rebound, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was more critical of his team.

Although he said the Suns got "lazy" at the end, he opened his comments with, "Well, I thought they kicked our (butts), to be honest."

Orlando's problem was its start. The Suns took a 23-10 lead with 10 unanswered points in the middle of the first quarter, as Howard struggled early with mistakes.

But once Amaré Stoudemire picked up a second foul, Howard got going. His co-star, Lewis, was kept in check by Marion, who has held Lewis to 9-of-33 shooting in two Suns wins.

Howard dunked eight times Friday and finished the teams' two meetings with 63 points, 41 rebounds and two losses.

"Once he gets a few lobs and dunks and easy baskets, his confidence goes up," said Stoudemire, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds. "He's in attack mode a little more.

"They play at a slow pace, so he's not running too much and he takes his time and gets in good position."

Bell helped the Suns roll to the big lead. After three weeks of battling ankle and back injuries, Bell scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half Friday. Saying he finally felt like he could move how he wants Friday, Bell hit all four of his three-point tries in the first half.

Report

Cheers

Steve Nash got the Suns' balance back, recording 14 assists and getting others going on his off shooting night (2 of 8 from the field but 11 of 12 on free throws).

Jeers

The Suns did not finish the game strong offensively, missing seven of their final eight shots and getting a shot-clock violation.

Player of the game

Orlando lost, but Dwight Howard rebounded from a rough start to finish with 30 points and 23 rebounds.

View from press row

For those who miss seeing the frequency of Amaré Stoudemire's thunderous dunks, you had plenty of violent slams to take in Friday from Orlando's Dwight Howard. Howard dunked eight times in Friday's game, giving him 81 this season. That is more than twice as many as any other player in the NBA (Lakers center Andrew Bynum entered Friday with 33). Howard entered Friday with more dunks than 25 of the NBA's 30 teams, including the 53 that Phoenix had. He widened the gap Friday, when the Suns dunked four times.

[SwingMan]

FINALLY got the fucking thing squared away!!!!!

[SwingMan]

Strawberry seeks court time (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1130sunsnb1201.html)

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/pics/1201sunsstraw.jpg

D.J. Strawberry is called for a foul against the Lakers' Maurice Evans on Nov. 2. Strawberry says he would "definitely" be receptive to a D-League stint.

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 30, 2007 10:31 PM

A year ago this week, D.J. Strawberry was playing more than 30 minutes a game and leading the University of Maryland against the likes of Illinois and Notre Dame (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1130sunsnb1201.html#).

Entering Friday night, the Suns rookie guard had played 34 minutes in November.

Now the team is scaling back practice time and this week sent away his on- and off-court running mate, fellow rookie Alando Tucker, for a Development League assignment with Albuquerque.
http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gifhttp://gcirm.azcentral.gcion.com/RealMedia/.ads/adstream_lx.ads/www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1130sunsnb1201.html/407298482/ArticleFlex_1/OasDefault/bmw_sports_2007_300_fixed/bmw-sports-300x250.txt/34373233333337313436646134623030?_RM_EMPTY_http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif

Strawberry knows he could end up there, too. In the meantime, he makes the most of what is available. He arrives before practices to work with the assistant coaches and soaks up anything he hears in the locker room or sees on the court.

He watches how teammates Raja Bell and Shawn Marion defend certain players. He tries to learn how Steve Nash comes off screens or how Grant Hill springs himself open.

"I'm trying to learn tendencies of other players, because you never know when you might play or somebody might get hurt or, in years to come, I might play," Strawberry said. "They don't need me to win. They want me to develop. They have me here to learn."

Suns assistant Jay Humphries said his focus with Strawberry is on improving his jump shot but added that the staff works on everything, including ball handling and professionalism.

"He has a great approach," Humphries said. "He's listening, learning and trying to do what you ask."

Strawberry considers Tucker, who is set to make his Albuquerque debut tonight, to be as close as a brother and talks to him daily.

Strawberry said he "definitely" would be receptive to a D-League stint.

"It's all about playing," he said. "You can do so much working out, but there's nothing like playing in a game, having game situations and getting in game shape. You're not going to get that sitting on the bench the whole season.

"This is definitely different. At the same time, I sat out almost a year (in college) with (a torn knee ligament). I know how it is to sit out. You have to pay your dues. I know one time will be my time to play."

No simple solution

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said he is not sure if there is a solution for defending Nash. The question for three years has been, 'Do you make Nash a scorer or a distributor?'

"People have said, 'Well, we'll just let Steve Nash (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1130sunsnb1201.html#) get his,' " Van Gundy said. "Well, he does. He'll beat you. That's what the great players do.

"If you're going to have him score, what are you going to do? Literally play body to body on everybody else and just let him go to the hoop and lay it in? That's not going to work. That's easier said than done."

Entering Friday, Nash was shooting 55 percent from the field, including 51 percent on his three-point tries, and leading the NBA (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1130sunsnb1201.html#) with 10.7 assists per game.

"He's a two-time MVP that's playing a lot better than he did in either of the MVP years," Van Gundy said. "It's scary, to be honest."

Free throws

Nash will be the first Phoenix pro athlete to don the "got milk?" mustache in the campaign's 11 years when his ad appears in December issues of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine. magazines.

[SwingMan]

(The latest from Paul Coro's blog)

1 roll ends, another begins? (http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/11694)


Steve Nash was approaching history when his first regular season free throw miss since April 6 nearly helped blow Phoenix's lead.

His miss and Shawn Marion's miss in the final seconds did not cost Phoenix a much-needed win but it did cost Nash a chance at chasing down a NBA record. Dating back to last season, Nash had a string of 74 consecutive free throws made going before missing Friday with 15.5 seconds to go and Phoenix ahead 107-104.

It was the fourth best streak in league history behind Calvin Murphy (78), Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (81) and Micheal (yes, him should meet Dwyane Wade's mother) Williams (97).

It's a good thing Nash scored a season-best 11 points at the free throw line because he was only 2 of 8 from the field. It looks like that right shoulder is still bothering him.

So what do y'all think? What are your takes?

1. Happy to be 14-4?
2. Worried about the late offensive possessions that bordered on choking?
3. Worried about giving up 90 points in the final three quarters?
4. Whose health concerns you the most?
5. What record do you expect from this Eastern road swing?

Talk to you next from the Big Apple, home to the cess pool that is the Knicks. Here's a great read about what a mess it is there from a media perspective:

http://www.observer.com/2007/life-knicks-hell?page=0%2C0

[Dustbuster]

I just wanted to post a few observations about last night.

First, although they made it interesting at the end, this game was a big one. The Magic have been one of the league's best teams, and for some reason Shawn is able to shut down Lewis on the Magic when he was never able to do it when he was on the Sonics. It seemed like most of the time Lewis owned Shawn vs. the Sonics, but Shawn seems to have his number now. Last night showed how important having a "right" Raja is to this team. We desperately need shooters to make our run, and we have basically been limited to LB and Nash as reliable shooters. Nice win, and hopefully we will own the East again on this road trip.

Observation 2: the last time I posted I was complaining about how Diaw earned more playing time than what he got against the Warriors. Well, I would say that he earned less minutes than what he got last night. I really like Diaw, and I really felt that this year was going to be different than last year, but his passivity is driving me crazy. When he plays to his potential, he is well deserving of his contract. When he plays like last night, his rookie scale salary was about appropriate. I wish we could acquire a mentor for him that could somehow light a fire under him. I think that D'Antoni needs to show him a little more tough love rather than just always gushing about how great his skills are. We know he's got skills - he just doesn't use them often enough.

Observation 3: Shawn is a great crunch time rebounder, but other than that, I absolutely do not want his hands on the ball AT ALL late in the game. I honestly was surprised that he didn't miss both of those FTs last night. I remember in 02-03 (I believe), that he and Marbury were near the top of the list for crunch time stats. We won a lot of close games that year, and the two of them were golden in those final moments. Whatever he had then, he does not seem to have now. His shooting consistency has been steadily dropping over the past three years. He is a career 34% 3 point shooter, but he is under 30% this year. His shooting percentage is still high (due to dunks and layups), but he is no longer even an average shooter away from the basket. Furthermore, it seems to me that he is fumbling far more passes and blowing many more layups this season. The big question is "why?". My biggest concern is that this indicates a slight decline in athleticism, which could really, really be bad for this team, as he has never been a fundamental player and his outside shooting has been on a constant decline. Maybe it is just fatigue - but that's never been an issue for Shawn before, and he is actually averaging a few less minutes in recent years.

Skinner continues to seem like he needs more minutes than what he is getting. With Amare and Diaw playing so inconsistently, Skinner has actually been our steadiest big. He isn't as versatile as the other two, but he seems to do what a big man needs to do more consistently than they do.

I'm afraid we are going to having to put to rest all of the frequent game day predictions about Howard cannot play against us or how Amare dominates him. Howard dominated us in both games, but his supporting cast failed him.

I don't really know what to make of this team. They can look really good or really old and clueless. I don't see Mike opening up the rotation. I think they should give DJ his wish and send him to the D-League for a while...or do we have enough players to do that?

[ShelC]

I dont know what Shawns deal is either. The fumbling of passes can drive you crazy. ITs been happening consistently for some reason. And the missed FTs really bothers me. I dont know if its lack of focus or what but if Shawn loses whatever offensive touch hes had along with a decline in athleticsm, he'll hit the wall faster and harder than Kathleen Turner.

I dont know what to say about Boris anymore. He had 2 of his best games this year when he started in place of Amare tho...

"They play at a slow pace, so he's not running too much and he takes his time and gets in good position."

Amare trying to send a message to MikeD?

[SunsRIt]

It was a good victory for the Suns to get over the Magic, they are one of the powers in the East. Howard is just a beast, much like Shaq was in his younger days. Over all I thought Amare did a good job with him. Amare did get out of position when trying to cover the weak side and this allowed Howard to get freed up for some easy buckets.

The Suns did not do a very good job of getting Amare the ball when they did have a mismatch, they just continued to swing the ball around the perimeter allowing Howard to get back to Amare instead of isolating Amare on the mismatch and allowing him to do what he does best. On many occasions Howard would cover the pick and roll and be given the opportunity to drop right back to Amare when the player he was guarding would just swing the ball around to someone else.

Amare has to become more of a focus on the offense because outside shots do not always fall, but his inside/free throw game is very consistant. And that is what type of ball is played in the play-offs. The fastbreak points will still come, but they need to work on the inside game more now and not in April, May, & June when it needs to be perfect.

[SunsRIt]

One more thing. Its no wonder the Suns usually get outrebounded, it is just not their philosophy. A few times last night a Suns shot would go up and there were 4 blue jerseys and 0 Suns jerseys on the TV screen waiting for the rebound; the Suns had all started down court in the other direction. What ever happened to the old basketball adage of "Follow Your Shot"? Any 7th grade junior high player has this drilled into their head, but the Suns can't seem to do it on a regular basis. I would bet they could get 5 more rebounds per game just by doing that.

[Phoenix219]

What if its something stupid, like everyone thinks someone else is gonna get it, and THEY gotta run down on the fast break. then no one is there to get the board. lol.

[SunsDevils]

I dont know what Shawns deal is either. The fumbling of passes can drive you crazy. ITs been happening consistently for some reason. And the missed FTs really bothers me. I dont know if its lack of focus or what but if Shawn loses whatever offensive touch hes had along with a decline in athleticsm, he'll hit the wall faster and harder than Kathleen Turner.

I dont know what to say about Boris anymore. He had 2 of his best games this year when he started in place of Amare tho...

"They play at a slow pace, so he's not running too much and he takes his time and gets in good position."

Amare trying to send a message to MikeD?

I don't know. I am pretty happy with Marion's play. He is very active on both ends of the court, plays great defense and gets easy points. That's his job for this team. In fact, lately he looks for his teammates more than he used to. He had several nice passes last night. I am perfectly fine with the way Marion has been playing of late.

[ShelC]

Dont get me wrong, Shawns play in general has been great. But its the little things like the fumbled passes and missed FTs that are just bothersome, especially when ive basically never seen him fumble a pass when recieving it on the break. And despite his form, hes always been a tremendous FT shooter, never shooting below 80% in a season. This year tho, hes shooting 63%!?!?!?

[Vladimir_Taltos]

Nice win...hope we can get things back on track...like the new board, Sose. The Phoenix is back, for those that remember...:).

VT

[bobster]

shawn's offense has certainly slipped this year - as has been mentioned his shooting isn;t as good and he's had some trouble handling the ball.

and if he thinks somebody's going to offer him more than the suns are paying after the season if this keeps up he's out of his mind.

[jkalldaway]

Great video of the '05 playoffs. That team was so explosive.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YRmLP8B7zeM

[FrontRowSun]

We got pretty lucky last night. I wish we would play the friggen bench..... It is crazy that even when we can all see that the guys are tired, Dantoni has on Platinum Blinders.


oh.... by the way..... Dwight Howard is sick.

[jkalldaway]

It's really ashame Amare had to have the surgery because battles between the old Amare and Dwight Howard would have been epic for years to come.

[Ring_Wanted]

Amare's jump had no end. JJ was a silent assassin. Q had all the swagger one can want. Nash was everywhere on the offensive end.

Then, the 2006 team came and there has been no better cinderella tale. Diaw, House, KT, Raja, TT. Every new guy had a career season. Marion and Nash were still there every night. If not for Raja's calf and KT injury, we'd have a banner hanging right now.

In 2007 a corrupted ref and a commissioner who doesn't know what he's doing anymore took all the fairness in those series away and what was probably our best chance to beat those extremely luck motherfukers.

i just hope it's not too late.

A shame, indeed. After all, we have had to bear the worst the NBA can offer, while giving the League just what it needed and the style to copy for years to come.

[k_kwan]

Again this board friggin frustrates me on some of their thoughts. have many of you forgotten that during the olympic trials before the scope that Amare was not only on par with Howard but pretty much took over the starting center duties after the first few games?

Did some of us all of a sudden forget that Amare is about a month a half removed from the scope surgery and is still getting back into playing shape, while Howard has had the benefit of a clean bill of health?

Did we all forget that the surgery was just a scope and not a microfracture procedure. And that Amare's expected to make a full recovery back at?

Again people sixteen games into the season with injuries, new pieces, and with one of the best starts in franchise history and some of you all are crying foul? Get your gawddamn mind right!!!!

[sunsdotcom]

I think that D'Antoni needs to show him a little more tough love rather than just always gushing about how great his skills are.

agreed.

[Mori_Chu]

> Great video of the '05 playoffs. That team was so explosive.

Who is that guy wearing #32? We should sign him.

[FanB4Jerry]

great job, Sose. :)

[JackArse]

i did love that video, but as i watched it... all i could think about is.. NOW.. half those would've been called fouls on amare. and teams are keeping a closer watch on amare, at least more than they did then. i hate sayin git, but i miss what we had with stephen hunter on this team though.

[sunshoopjunky]

One more thing. Its no wonder the Suns usually get outrebounded, it is just not their philosophy. A few times last night a Suns shot would go up and there were 4 blue jerseys and 0 Suns jerseys on the TV screen waiting for the rebound; the Suns had all started down court in the other direction. What ever happened to the old basketball adage of "Follow Your Shot"? Any 7th grade junior high player has this drilled into their head, but the Suns can't seem to do it on a regular basis. I would bet they could get 5 more rebounds per game just by doing that.

I have been wondering the same thing for awhile now and I dont undrestand why we have to get back so early on defense all the time. I can see doing it against teams like GS, Denver, or even the Bulls but against teams that dont run it makes little sense to me. Also great job on the board Sose.

[JackArse]

Coro's Suns dish
Some slices of orange to supplement the daily Suns coverage.
Iavaroni sticks with old ways

During his five years as a Suns assistant coach, Marc Iavaroni never was the type to sleep in. No one really knew what time he would arrive for work at US Airways Center, because it was hard to beat him there.

That was when Suns losses were rarer than Valley rain and the blame for them fell on head coach Mike D'Antoni.

Now, after a decade as an assistant, Iavaroni is in the initial year of his first head-coaching job, with the Memphis Grizzlies. Having experienced more losses in his first month (10) than the Suns had in last season's first three months, sleep is harder to come by.

"There's always something that keeps you up and you can't figure out," Iavaroni said. "You sleep out of exhaustion.

"The responsibility is much greater. The decisions are more numerous. You really have to decide what you're about, take input and decide what's to be done."

With a 5-10 record entering Saturday night's game, Iavaroni has not won a lot of games, but he is winning over players, fans and employees with a refreshing mix of positive energy and work ethic.

Iavaroni is trying to change the culture and identity of the Grizzlies. He is infusing the Suns' quick-attacking system with familiar in-game pleas of, "Go, go, go," which D'Antoni seldom needs to utter now but barked constantly from the sideline three years ago.

"It's a habit," Iavaroni said. "People will fall back into what they know best. We're an evolving team with a mix of veterans and young people. The youngs are pretty young. The vets have got to help them contribute and then commit to the idea of running."

Iavaroni has not been afraid to mention Suns examples as means of encouragement and teaching tools. He brought a lot of Phoenix with him, including bringing in former Suns swingman Casey Jacobsen back to the NBA after two years in Europe and adding former Suns employees Jason March (assistant video coordinator), Dustin Krugel (director of basketball media relations) and Ron Dubois (assistant coach), a former Arizona State walk-on player.

Iavaroni and new General Manager Chris Wallace have been handed brushes and a blank canvas and found that, "It's amazing how much we think alike," Iavaroni said.

Hired in May, Iavaroni's first move was to fly to Spain to meet with Pau Gasol, who had demanded a trade in January. He saw Iavaroni's commitment and since has raved about his communication.

Gasol takes two fewer shots per game this season and plays slightly fewer minutes, as Iavaroni has gone 10 deep as he searches for his eight- or nine-man rotation. He is pinning hopes on running with two big men and counting on the return of Darko Milicic from an injury so he can capitalize on both players' versatility and high-post abilities.

In the meantime, Iavaroni tries to show his team how to handle losses after the Grizzlies were picked by some as a dark-horse contender in the competitive Western Conference.

"Frustration is giving in," Iavaroni said. "Frustration is, 'I give up. I'm, not satisfied. I'm unfulfilled.' It's a way to cop out. We've got to fight through those things. They like each other and what we're trying to do. They may not like what we've got to do to get better."

do you think that maybe that's what's happening with the suns? just.. complacent.. need some more injection of juice or something?

[SwingMan]

Hey, hey, HEY!

I was gonna get that in the Sunday news thread, coming momentarily.....

[JackArse]

i put it in just before.. haha. didn't even think about that.. feel free though.. not that i can sotp you.

[jkalldaway]

Again this board friggin frustrates me on some of their thoughts. have many of you forgotten that during the olympic trials before the scope that Amare was not only on par with Howard but pretty much took over the starting center duties after the first few games?

Did some of us all of a sudden forget that Amare is about a month a half removed from the scope surgery and is still getting back into playing shape, while Howard has had the benefit of a clean bill of health?

Did we all forget that the surgery was just a scope and not a microfracture procedure. And that Amare's expected to make a full recovery back at?

Again people sixteen games into the season with injuries, new pieces, and with one of the best starts in franchise history and some of you all are crying foul? Get your gawddamn mind right!!!!

Kwan, I am talking about the microfracture. Amare is no where near the athlete that he was back then. I am simply stating that it is a shame that it happened. Amare is great, I just wish that he could still pull off the dunks that Howard threw down last night.

[v9]

Kwan, I am talking about the microfracture. Amare is no where near the athlete that he was back then.

Disagree. During the last two games of preseason, Amare was looking every bit the monster that he used to be.

Wonder what the scope took out of him. It has to be psychological...

[JediSkywalker]

I was at the game last night and it was quite scary in the last minute. Orlando got to within 1, then stayed within 2. The Suns could have easily lost this game, after dominating most of it. A Suns fan can never relax, no matter how big a lead. The Suns have a tendency to relax and doze off after building a sizeable lead. I find some similarities between the Mavs and the Suns. They don't always finish the game. Last night they were lucky, IMO. Howard missed 6 out of 10 FTs.

BTW I was impressed with Dwight Howard. Couple days back KTAR was discussing who they would rather have- Stoudemire or Howard. There was a surprising number of people going for Howard. Last night I noticed that Amare was nor hustling consistently. Is he hurt or still recuperating from the surgery? He had a double double but he does not seem to dominate the game this season. I am more impressed with Marion right now, esp. on defense and dunks.

It was sad to see Nash finally miss a FT last night. I hope his next streak would be even longer. HOwever, his shoulder is a big concern right now. He did not take many shots. It must be really hurting.

[ShelC]

Amare still doesnt have, and maybe never will have, that focus and intensity to last all 48 minutes. He goes in and out, usually depending on how the suns are playing or how the refs are treating him.

[JackArse]

Last night I noticed that Amare was nor hustling consistently. Is he hurt or still recuperating from the surgery?

he wasn't getting the ball. amare has the tendency to just get a bit lazy (think moss) when he's not getting the ball. if you noticed, he was getting like that, then got the ball for a dunk, then he got a little more spring in his step.

[Ring_Wanted]

It's called focus and motivation. One can't lost it when he's not getting the ball.

[SwingMan]

Nash (among others) needs to get Amare involved - early and often.

That just hasn't been happening and that, IMO, is the main reason why his impact hasn't been really felt. Amare used to be the focal point of the offense - what happened?

[JackArse]

alot of amare's involvement before, was mainly thru the pick and roll, but most teams have FINALLY picked up on that, and cover that pretty well. They need to figure out another way to do it, some of it has been that midrange jumper, but you know that amare would rather just dunk it.

[sunsdotcom]

is this working? i can't download from this. (the url is in chinese)

http://bt.davka.info/comments.php?php_torrent_id=3089

[MTSunsFan]

Nash (among others) needs to get Amare involved - early and often.

That just hasn't been happening and that, IMO, is the main reason why his impact hasn't been really felt. Amare used to be the focal point of the offense - what happened?

WORD, Swing!

[SunsRIt]

Nash (among others) needs to get Amare involved - early and often.

That just hasn't been happening and that, IMO, is the main reason why his impact hasn't been really felt. Amare used to be the focal point of the offense - what happened?

I've been saying for a couple of weeks that is exactly the problem. Amare used to have big first quarters and be very involved the rest of the game. I think that has happened once this year. Or if he does start to get rolling D'Antoni subs in Diaw with 6 minutes left in the first regardless of the number of fouls Amare has.

[MTSunsFan]

I've been saying for a couple of weeks that is exactly the problem. Amare used to have big first quarters and be very involved the rest of the game. I think that has happened once this year. Or if he does start to get rolling D'Antoni subs in Diaw with 6 minutes left in the first regardless of the number of fouls Amare has.

Pick & roll 'til the cows come home. And if Nash sits then Diaw or Hill are more then capable of feeding the monster!

[Nate]

OK. Now I get it.

Phxsuns.net:
"D'Antoni should play his bench more."
"D'Antoni should play Amare less."
"Amare was injured and shouldnt play more than 30 min a game."
"Amare is not in peak condition."
"Amare should always play with 100% energy on both sides of the floor."
"We shouldnt overuse our players, we need em in the playoffs."
"Now its time to coast..."

On the court:
Amare plays not more than 30 min for some weeks for various reasons. His per minute stats are great. His D could need some improvement, as always...

Phxsuns.net:
"We should concentrate more on Amare."
"D'Antoni is a dork, he is not using Amare enough."
"Nash should look more for Amare."
"Hill shouldnt play more than 30 min."
"Nash shouldnt play more than 30 min."
"Raja should finally sit for two weeks to heal."
"Marion has played his guts out over the year, thats why he is always tired during the playoffs."
"Play Amare more and get him more involved for a longer time per game."

Me, myself and I:
:confused:

[Nate]

My last post is not meant to discourage discussion about the strenghts and flaws of our team on the board, and Amare and his role on the team are certainly worth lengthy discussion and evaluation. Additionally, I realize that the different opinions paraphrased in my last post may very well be from a lot of different posters.

Still, at least in my opinion, it shows that we shouldnt jump to conclusions and have a little bit more trust in the people making the actual decisions.

[SunsRIt]

Just for clarification I have always been a proponent of "more Amare is a good thing". That includes last year when Amare was coming off the bench for the first few games. I wanted him starting from day one.

I have Tim Duncan on my fantasy team and his stats are not as good as people seem to think. Take a look at TD's seasonal and playoff stats and then look at Amare's. They are not really all that different, yet TD gets the pub for MVP, etc. and Amare is "not playing well".

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/amare_stoudemire/career_stats.html

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tim_duncan/career_stats.html

It seems that Tim Duncan saves a lot for the post-season and doesn't catch any flack for it, where Amare may be doing a bit of the same thing this year (and getting nack into game shape) and is getting absolutely blasted. The Spurs don't really begin their season until Feb or March. I wouldn't mind the Suns doing the same thing.

[Ring_Wanted]

I think despite close stats between Amare and TD, there's still something that makes Duncan really dominant: his defense. If TD scores only 12 points, he still makes life a hell for the guy he's guarding and closes penetrations, while if Amare is not scoring, his impact in the game is minimal. Also, Duncan can pass the ball, something Amare lacks. It's not like TD is Webber passing, but he's decent and that's another way to contribute, scpecially if you are having an off night scoring.

[AlanS]

[Quote: Originally Posted by SwingMan
Nash (among others) needs to get Amare involved - early and often.

That just hasn't been happening and that, IMO, is the main reason why his impact hasn't been really felt. Amare used to be the focal point of the offense - what happened?]

I've been saying for a couple of weeks that is exactly the problem. Amare used to have big first quarters and be very involved the rest of the game. I think that has happened once this year. Or if he does start to get rolling D'Antoni subs in Diaw with 6 minutes left in the first regardless of the number of fouls Amare has.I've been saying for a couple of weeks that is exactly the problem. Amare used to have big first quarters and be very involved the rest of the game. I think that has happened once this year. Or if he does start to get rolling D'Antoni subs in Diaw with 6 minutes left in the first regardless of the number of fouls Amare has.

I find this all curious, since the stats directly contradict this. Right now, Amare is leading the team in scoring, even though he is 6th in minutes per game. And his scoring per 48 minutes leads the team by a big margin:
o Amare: 32.3 pts per 48
o Nash: 26.51
o LB: 26.25
o Marion: 21.44
o Hill: 21.38
o Bell: 15.44

> Note that last season, when Amare was 1st team All-NBA, he averaged 28.82 pts per 48.

My own perception is that, the Suns tend to share the ball among all the team in the beginning of the game, but they really stick to the 2-man game when they are looking to execute in the 4th qtr. In any event, the scoring numbers do indicate that Amare is indeed the "featured scorer" on this team.

[OE]

OK. Now I get it.

Phxsuns.net:
"D'Antoni should play his bench more."
"D'Antoni should play Amare less."
"Amare was injured and shouldnt play more than 30 min a game."
"Amare is not in peak condition."
"Amare should always play with 100% energy on both sides of the floor."
"We shouldnt overuse our players, we need em in the playoffs."
"Now its time to coast..."

On the court:
Amare plays not more than 30 min for some weeks for various reasons. His per minute stats are great. His D could need some improvement, as always...

Phxsuns.net:
"We should concentrate more on Amare."
"D'Antoni is a dork, he is not using Amare enough."
"Nash should look more for Amare."
"Hill shouldnt play more than 30 min."
"Nash shouldnt play more than 30 min."
"Raja should finally sit for two weeks to heal."
"Marion has played his guts out over the year, thats why he is always tired during the playoffs."
"Play Amare more and get him more involved for a longer time per game."

Me, myself and I:
:confused:

Surprise, surprise. The board's schizophrenic. Might have something to do a combination of early-season jitters, inconsistent play, and there being a few hundred members with different and malleable perspectives participating in posting.

[JackArse]

OK. Now I get it.

Phxsuns.net:
"D'Antoni should play his bench more."
"D'Antoni should play Amare less."
"Amare was injured and shouldnt play more than 30 min a game."
"Amare is not in peak condition."
"Amare should always play with 100% energy on both sides of the floor."
"We shouldnt overuse our players, we need em in the playoffs."
"Now its time to coast..."

On the court:
Amare plays not more than 30 min for some weeks for various reasons. His per minute stats are great. His D could need some improvement, as always...

Phxsuns.net:
"We should concentrate more on Amare."
"D'Antoni is a dork, he is not using Amare enough."
"Nash should look more for Amare."
"Hill shouldnt play more than 30 min."
"Nash shouldnt play more than 30 min."
"Raja should finally sit for two weeks to heal."
"Marion has played his guts out over the year, thats why he is always tired during the playoffs."
"Play Amare more and get him more involved for a longer time per game."

Me, myself and I:
:confused:

i laughed
<homer>it's funny because it's true

[JackArse]

I have Tim Duncan on my fantasy team .

that is just wrong. i could never do that.
just like on my fantasy footbal teams.. will never have a cowpie. EVER.

[SunsRIt]

that is just wrong. i could never do that.
just like on my fantasy footbal teams.. will never have a cowpie. EVER.

To make matters worse, I wasn't available for the draft, so the auto-draft picked one of my least favorite players on the planet, one Manu Ginobli. Puke!

[SpecialSauce]

Great video of the '05 playoffs. That team was so explosive.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YRmLP8B7zeM



my favorite team EVER

[jkalldaway]

my favorite team EVER

Mine as well. I really wish we were able to keep that team together. With that said, Q's back probably would have still given out. Even so, Raja would have still signed here and he would have filled in nicely. What makes me sick is this, had we signed JJ for the 50 million he wanted when Sarver took over, we could have had Nash, JJ, Marion, Tim Thomas, Diaw (the Hawks would have given him away), as starters with LB, Bell, Q on the bench when Amare was out in 05-06.

[misteradiant]

some people are never happy with what they've got.

[jkalldaway]

some people are never happy with what they've got.

I don't know if that comment was directed at me but I am completely happy. I was merely responding to someone's comment on a video I posted. A video of a very explosive team.

[Phoenix219]

when KT went out that year, before we got TT, we would have been really screwed. We needed a big, and had no idea that Diaw would pan out (in the post no less), so Q was gone no matter what. Still, JJ instead of Banks, and Diaw signed to something around 5.5, and we would be sitting very nice right now. Lets not even throw the draft pick contraversy's on top of things.

Okay, lets. What is the absolutely most stacked team we could have assembled by now if we knew what we know now? (And i still think House would be worth Pike's spot)... (keep in mind which draft picks would have needed extensions by now, as well).... what could our lineup this year have been?