Game Day: Suns @ Timberwolves

[SwingMan]

I guess if there's any team to wrap up a long, arduous road swing with, Minnesota's it these days.

Dis∙cuss

[DrSublime]

should be an ''easy'' win for the SUNS,
but im bettin Jefferson has a pretty big game for minny.

i dont get why Gerald Green isnt getting any burn ... he's got alot of pure talent, and i still would love to see him in a Suns uni next year (however doubtful)

[AlanS]

This is a back-to-back game, 4th game in 5 days, and 5th game in 7 days, all in different cities. A big concern has to be the fatigue factor.

But the Suns seem much better conditioned now than earlier in the season, when their first two losses were on the tail-end of b2b sets. Let's see how it goes. But, if you were going to pick a team to play in a b2b situation... the T-wolves would no doubt be the first selection.

[Wormwood]

Of note....

Most of the Suns losses this year were to teams that are young, fast, strong, and athletic. Not necessarily winning teams, or smart ones. Atlanta, Golden State, and Houstons guards made us look silly. In LA, it was the young legs of Bynum, Brown, Turiaf, Radmanvic, et al that ran us down and shot over us.

We're a really bad team when it comes to defending the break. I believe this is deliberate, though. We're rebounding a little better than last year, but that's because guys are crashing the glass rather than beating feet to get back on the break.

What does that have to do with tonight? Minny doesn't have a prayer if they stand and fight. However, if they run like crazy, as Atlanta and GS did, they can beat us with pure athleticism and speed.

[ShelC]

On paper this should be an easy win. But Jefferson is a beast down low, Corey Brewer had 18 boards the other night IINM and Walker can be a matchup problem if he starts getting his 3s off. Still, i dont think they have the firepower to keep up if we're rollin.

[AlanS]

Minny doesn't have a prayer if they stand and fight. However, if they run like crazy, as Atlanta and GS did, they can beat us with pure athleticism and speed.

Just my opinion, but I think you're reading to much into that ATL loss. It was a b2b game early in the season when guys were banged up or not playing at all (specifically Amare, who's been a beast as of late). I don't think that game is representative of what the Suns can do at full health.

I am eagerly awaiting the rematch in late January.

[DrSublime]

i keep forgetting that the TWolves have Antoine Walker.
damn.. talk about how far an All Star can fall..
he's almost fallen as far off as Vin Baker did.

[zara_drummer]

Suns by 1000!! next please!! ;)

[SunsRIt]

Suns by 30 tonight.

Suns 127 - Pups 97

[Mori_Chu]

This will be a blowout. Suns by 15+, and it won't even be that close, because the scrubs will be in at the end giving away the lead.

[CNY_xplant]

Suns by 18 tonight. And that is with Coach emptying the bench for the whole fourth quarter.
We'll actually get to see DJ play some extended minutes. Hell, we might even see Banks play tonight.

[Superbone]

What does that have to do with tonight? Minny doesn't have a prayer if they stand and fight. However, if they run like crazy, as Atlanta and GS did, they can beat us with pure athleticism and speed.

Right... :roll:

[Superbone]

The one thing I do worry about in a game like this is a let down. Hopefully, the Suns will just put the Wolves out of their misery early.

[gladiator]

Hopefully a nice comfortable win for the Suns tonight.
Off topic, but check out the Atlanta-Memphis game ... 39-28 at half-time. Scores like that remind me that we're pretty spoilt with what the Suns do.

[mmpetric]

15 FG, 14 assists so far.

[cap]

Rebounds 24-15 Wolves at the break.

[Suns_Dave]

This game had all the earmarks of a classic letdown game, and so far, that's pretty much been the case. I think the Suns come on stronger in the 2nd half and win this one.

[sunsdotcom]

43-27 rebounding advantage to the wolves

[AlanS]

Just started watching the game at the end of the 3rd. It seems like the fatigue factor has caught up with the team. They are not defending, and the jumpers are not falling. Is there enough energy there to pull out a win?

[SpecialSauce]

lets go bitches!!!! its time to clean this shit up and go home with a sweep

[SpecialSauce]

This game had all the earmarks of a classic letdown game, and so far, that's pretty much been the case. I think the Suns come on stronger in the 2nd half and win this one.

It's not a let down, they are dead tired. Leander mentioned they had plane trouble or something and didn't get into Minny until really late at night. Combine that with the fact that it's the last game of the road trip, and you got yourself a tired team.

[RFID]

89-93 with less than 6 min left. Suns need to focus on rebound and defense to win this game.

[SwingMan]

Out. Of. Gas.

[AlanS]

The Suns are getting creamed on the offensive board. They ARE getting stops, but Minny is getting EVERY missed shot. It's going to take a huge effort to pull it out.

[FurlanFufi]

wow, we did lost to minny!
CONGRATS, that's for a few!!

[FurlanFufi]

and they're happy as if they did win a playoff game!

[RFID]

Remember last year was the same we lost to T-Wolves in a similar situation. This is embarrassing.

[Spanky]

How come Jaric's eyes are so close together? :mrgreen:

[INFORMER]

It will be interesting to see how the Suns fare over their next 5: Miami, Utah, New Orleans, San Antonio, and Dallas.

[Spanky]

It will be interesting to see how the Suns fare over their next 5: Miami, Utah, New Orleans, San Antonio, and Dallas.

I predict a 4-1 record.

[SwingMan]

The calls go to the agressors - it ain't right, but that's the way it is. Extreme hometown cooking in the 2nd half. The Suns ran out of gas and the refs piled on top, pretty much.

Shake it off, get some well needed rest and prepare for Miami (can't believe I just typed that.....)

[Suns_Dave]

This game had all the earmarks of a classic letdown game, and so far, that's pretty much been the case. I think the Suns come on stronger in the 2nd half and win this one.

I was wrong.


Too bad.

[RDM2]

Cant really dwell on this one. Just the Suns out of gas as someone said.

[cap]

I predict a 4-1 record.

Put it in your sig.

[Note: Spanky was referring to the Miami-Utah-NO-SA-Dal stretch we have coming up. I freaking hate how this board refuses to quote the quotes! Fix it, sose!]

[INFORMER]

I predict a 4-1 record.

To whom do you see them losing?

[Spanky]

Put it in your sig.

[Note: Spanky was referring to the Miami-Utah-NO-SA-Dal stretch we have coming up. I freaking hate how this board refuses to quote the quotes! Fix it, sose!]

Ok... No problemo.

[Spanky]

To whom do you see them losing?

Utah or Dallas. Don't ask me why, no real substance. Just a feeling.

[AlanS]

Props to the T-wolves, they deserved to win. But of interest besides the huge offensive rebounding advantage for Minnesota (19 off reb):
- Bell: 2/6 3PTers
- Nash: 2/6 3PT
- Barbosa: 2/8 3PT

Suns were just 7/25 on 3s (28%) and were 10/15 on FTs (66.6%). Just 2 more 3s and 2 more FTs would have meant a win. But the poor rebounding and poor FT/3PT shooting meant doom.

[Nashfan]

I was afraid this was going to happen tonight. I didn't think we took this team seriously and by the time we kind of woke up it was too late. I get League Pass so I didn't hear about them getting in really late, so if that is the case then I guess it was bound to happen. Five games in seven days and two back to backs is hard on any team. I still think we need another big man to help out with rebounding but probably wishful thinking. I think we got outrebounded by at least twenty if not more. Lack of rebounding and bad three point shooting shows they didn't have their legs and were tired. Nash made horrible decisions towards the end of the game but probably got frustrated with everyone missing shots that he created for them. I also thought we went away from Amare when the game was in reach, I know he was in foul trouble but still he is our bread and butter. Oh well, can't win them all. Just embarrassing to lose to the Wolves!

[Suns_Dave]

goodbye fiber from minneapolis

[AZSportsFan]

Poor effort, but bound to happen at times. I did notice that Minny was allowed to go over the back on nearly every offensive board. I thought that was wierd.

[AlanS]

A couple of other points on the game:
• Skinner only played 16 minutes. But he led the team with 9 rebs, 3 offensive. Shawn had 6 rebs in 37 minutes, Stat had 5 in 34 minutes. Skinner had a +3 for the game, Nash had a +4, and they were the only guys with a positive +/- for the game. (Shawn's was 0 <zero>.)

Looking back, D'Antoni might think of getting Skinner involved more, in games like this.

• At this point, complaining about Diaw is beating a dead horse. But in the 4th game in 5 night situations, you'd hope your bench would give you more. He only played 20 minutes vs the Wizards the previous game.

But 5 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb, and 2 TOs in 16 minutes from Boris just didn't help at all. It's just a pisser that the starters are working themselves to death while a $9M per year guy just passes the ball around waiting for other guys to do something. At this point, D'Antoni should do Boris like he did JJax 2 seasons ago, and like he's doing Banks now: sit him and let him rot. I'm sure there's somebody in the D-League who could do as good a job as Boris is doing now.

[scosuns]

There really wasn't anything there tonight. I kinda had a feeling this was going to happen. I think D' Antoni should have played some more people. Get some fresh legs in there and maybe they might have sparked something. But the players were tired and nothing was going in. Sometimes D'Antoni is just too stubborn. I would have liked to see Banks or Strawberry get some minutes.

[duck44]

There really wasn't anything there tonight. I kinda had a feeling this was going to happen. I think D' Antoni should have played some more people. Get some fresh legs in there and maybe they might have sparked something. But the players were tired and nothing was going in. Sometimes D'Antoni is just too stubborn. I would have liked to see Banks or Strawberry get some minutes.

It`s always D`Antoni`s fault to 90% of this board. It`S FUCKING ridiculous.

The guys went 4-1 on an East coast swing with two back-toback games. Our boys are tired and need a little rest and we will be fine.

Coach D is one of the top three coaches in the league and you can`t blame hime for fatigue nor playing players he doesn`t trust to run this offense or be productive. So all you so called "coaches" STFU and be happy for the 130 points a game 4-1 East coast road swing!

[SpecialSauce]

It`s always D`Antoni`s fault to 90% of this board. It`S FUCKING ridiculous.

The guys went 4-1 on an East coast swing with two back-toback games. Our boys are tired and need a little rest and we will be fine.

Coach D is one of the top three coaches in the league and you can`t blame hime for fatigue nor playing players he doesn`t trust to run this offense or be productive. So all you so called "coaches" STFU and be happy for the 130 points a game 4-1 East coast road swing!

Actually he can be blamed for them running out of gas. These are situations where it comes in handy to have a 10 man rotation, then you don't worry about anybody running out. You're blindddeddd by the lighhhhht.


As far as Alan and bashing Diaw as usual, how can you single him out?!? Are you kidding me??! The blame goes around to everybody, from the 1st man down to the 8th man. Boris played 16 minutes and produced those stats?! You expect him to have 20 points and 20 boards with those minutes? He gave up boards just like the rest of the team, and deserves equal blame. To point it at him is absurd. He played little because we were getting pounded so D'Antoni went with his best rebounding big off the bench in Skinner.

[FrontRowSun]

Al Jefferson might own the ugliest hook in the history of basketball.

One point I want to drive home is our legendary coach once again stayed the course even though it was apparent all of the boys were tired.

Skinner was obviously having an impact on the game.
Raja was moving around in the 3rd quarter like his back was really sore yet Leo didn't come in until the 6 minute mark. Raja finished 2/7 from the 3-point line.
Nash shot 30% from the field yet still played 39 minutes.

Note to the coach with the Euroleague blinders: When the boys are being outrebounded at an almost 2 to 1 clip, and are shooting 28% from deep along with an under 46% clip from inside the arc, it might be a good time to try something else.

[FrontRowSun]

It`s always D`Antoni`s fault to 90% of this board. It`S FUCKING ridiculous.

The guys went 4-1 on an East coast swing with two back-toback games. Our boys are tired and need a little rest and we will be fine.

Coach D is one of the top three coaches in the league and you can`t blame hime for fatigue nor playing players he doesn`t trust to run this offense or be productive. So all you so called "coaches" STFU and be happy for the 130 points a game 4-1 East coast road swing!

1st... Coach D and his philosophy are completely at fault in situations like this. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Last year it was KG bitch slapping us all over the court on the final leg of a road trip. This year it was the floater brothers names Jefferson & Smith. This guy has never learned of the phrase "Adapt and Overcome".

2nd... Coach D is NO WHERE near a top 3 coach. WTF? Popavich, Sloan, Jackson, & Riley eat his lunch. Heck, I think Don Nelson and Dantoni are the same guy half the time.

3rd... You can never be happy when you lose to the WORST team with the WORST record in the NBA.

[Velo]

neither team shot well... it was just a cold minny night...

what worries me is that the suns get on the officials when they're losing a physical game instead of playing tough back.

[Velo]

they lost to minny... who gives a shingle? i just hope they're ready for the physical play when utah comes to town.

[bjebaz]

Let's be happy that the Suns won 4 out of 5 games on the road against the East. That's so monumental, the Suns have never done that under D'Antoni!

I don't care about losing this game in regard to the Suns' place in the standing. As long as they are across from San Antonio, that's all I care about.

What bothers me is D'Antoni is doing the same thing that he has always done and has caused the most trouble in the playoffs, and that's not playing the backup big man enough. Hunter wasn't ready to play the minutes he played in the 04-05 WCF because he hadn't played nearly enough during the year. 05-06 was a better year for D'Antoni, due mostly to the fact that the Suns were forced to play the way they did. There was no other option. In 06-07, he should have started KT rather than James Jones in Game 1 against the Spurs. He should have kept him in the game at the end of game 5. And I imagine there will be similar problems this season with not playing Skinner enough.

But no, it's not prudent to sacrifice a little offense for a large upgrade in D and rebounding. That would just be too insane.

[CharlesV]

I live and die with the Suns, but this game meant nothing to me.

The T-Pups played a halfway decent game against a cranky, tired, spent, crispy Phoenix team. This road trip was brutal. Good for the Pups. Christmas comes early.

[Mori_Chu]

I have to agree with FRS. I watched this game start to finish, and I could tell right away that our boys were tired. But do we put anybody fresh out there? Did we change our strategy at all?

Coach plays 8 guys because he wants to win every game. I honestly think that if he'd played more / different guys tonight, he could have won us this one, too. He's too stubborn.

[Dustbuster]

I agree with boys being tired and D'Antoni not trusting his bench enough to play them. To me, this would have been the right time to play Banks. Some guys just go off against their ex-teams. We know that his legs would have been fresh.

Skinner to me was the only real positive last night. When he came in during the second quarter, Al Jefferson had about 12 points. During the whole stint Skinner was in he basically did not score. Within minutes of Amare replacing him in that quarter I realized that Jefferson all of a sudden was over 20 points. Why not start Skinner next to Amare for the beginning of the second half to minimize that? Let Hill (or Raja) come off the bench in the second half and minimize the bleeding down low. Skinner had 4 blocks in 16 minutes! Amare was just worn out and overmatched last night.

For the criticisms of Diaw: I actually thought he played fine in his minutes. He got his points again in two early possessions (he started by nailing a three), but he didn't really play enough to establish any rhythm. I also notice that he is increasingly deferring to Hill when they are in together, so the ball is in his hands even less often. BTW, if we are expecting him to put up stats like a traditional big man (lots of rebounds and blocks) in limited minutes off the bench, you can forget it. He's not a traditional big man. He was a 2 guard when he came to the Suns. He can be effective as a four, but he's never been a great rebounder. He's not a bad defender (although almost always overmatched physically), but his worth is when the ball is in his hands making plays. And that scenario is increasingly not the case.

D'Antoni utilized him so well at first, but now he appears to be at a loss as how to play him anymore. I'm afraid that he will slowly nudge him into the doghouse...where we will add another nine million of wasted payroll. Banks was a productive player before he came to the Suns (most of us [including me] were thrilled to get him). We can't get any value out of him? Meh!

[Dustbuster]

BTW, I'm afraid that our pick from the Hawks is going to be a fair bit worse than what we anticipated. It very possible could be in the low teens. Still a good pick, but this incredible commodity that we have been expecting it to be. Yeah, the Hawks still often seem like a rudderless ship, but they just have too much talent now to lose as many games as they have in the past several years.

Even last year their losses were not a true picture. They basically tanked JJ the last third of the season to get a better pick - and succeeded, I'm afraid. Horford solves a lot of their problems.

[DrSublime]

yea too bad the Hawks didnt get the #1 pick and get an injured Oden this year...

i knew Big Al was going to have a big game last night
just never thought the suns were going to look as bad as they did.. ugly game to watch.

[AlanS]

As far as Alan and bashing Diaw as usual, how can you single him out?!? Are you kidding me??! The blame goes around to everybody, from the 1st man down to the 8th man. Boris played 16 minutes and produced those stats?! You expect him to have 20 points and 20 boards with those minutes? He gave up boards just like the rest of the team, and deserves equal blame. To point it at him is absurd. He played little because we were getting pounded so D'Antoni went with his best rebounding big off the bench in Skinner.

I point at Diaw because, unlike the other players, he played just 20 minutes the previous game, and I would look to him to have a little more pick me up than the other guys. I didn't see the entire game, but from what I did see, he was a non-factor.

Skinner played the same minutes as Boris, and Skinner did bring energy, he did make an impact. In fact, Skinner and Nash were the only guys with a positive +/- for the game.

Yes, everybody deserves blame for this loss. But in this kind of situation, I just expected Boris to do more, to do something that would earn him more minutes and give the starters a break. I didn't happen see where that was happening.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not blaming the loss on Boris. As I said in my other posts, the team missed 3s, FTs, and couldn't get a rebound. Not Boris' fault. But again, in these situations, I was looking for Boris to give more, like Skinner did. That's what I'm disappointed about.

[desertcoast]

....but this game meant nothing to me.
The T-Pups played a halfway decent game against a cranky, tired, spent, crispy Phoenix team....


Sums it up nicely, CV. I concur.

Next....

[zara_drummer]

Suns by 1000!! next please!! ;)


I cant help but take the blame for this loss...My bad guys!!!

[desertcoast]

I cant help but take the blame for this loss...My bad guys!!!Way to take one for the team, Zara.

God knows this board needs to vilify someone after any loss.
What size black hat do you wear, and do you prefer a 50/50 mix of tar and feathers?

[zara_drummer]

Tar and feathers?? Dont you people threaten me with a good time!!

[ShelC]

As much as we want Skinner to play more, i doubt he'll see regular time over 20mpg. I just cant see MikeD giving a legit big like Skinner 25-28mpg unless we're seeing bigger teams consecutively, like the Mavs, Spurs, Houston, Pistons, Magic. Even then, he'll probably opt to go small to try and run their bigs off the floor. Its unfortunate cuz Skinner probably takes so much of the load off of Stouds defensively that it helps him offensively. Those 2 should bep laying together to give us a big, strong, athletic frontcourt with the best of both worlds: Amares incredible offensive ability and Skinners physical defense and shotblocking presence. Its not that Skinner has to start, but getting him 25 or so mpg would such a great ripple affect for our swings. Amare can slide back to PF, Marion can slide down to SF and Hill can either play some 1 or 2, or we can just cut down on minutes on Hill or Shawn or Raja, whihc seems to be sorely needed, especially in Rajas and Hills case.

[JediSkywalker]

I was afraid they would be too tired, and relax too much because 1) this was the last stop, and 2) Minnesota has a horrible record (and no KG anymore). I was still hoping that they would do just enough to beat the Wolves.

Once again, Dantoni did not use his bench effectively. Now the starters are going to be too tired playing against the really tough teams. Minn was the perfect opportunity to give more minutes to the bench.

[Mori_Chu]

Once again, Dantoni did not use his bench effectively. Now the starters are going to be too tired playing against the really tough teams. Minn was the perfect opportunity to give more minutes to the bench.

Word. Coach just doesn't get it. He is really frustrating me this year. We have what should be a championship team, and he's burning the candle at both ends, against essentially the worst team in the league. Argh.

[Superbone]

Sums it up nicely, CV. I concur.

Next....

Yep, same here. Although I was a little bummed we couldn't pull it out.

Pretty funny though how the Wolves and crowd acted like they had won a playoff series. Let them have a little joy in a season of little joy...

[Andy_S]

Yep, same here. Although I was a little bummed we couldn't pull it out.

Pretty funny though how the Wolves and crowd acted like they had won a playoff series. Let them have a little joy in a season of little joy...

Yeah, you have to give them credit -- they did beat one of the best teams in the league, and as they said themselves, this is certainly their biggest win of the season.

Of course, I'm including all 82 games in that, while they were only counting up to this game...but what's the difference.

It sucks we had to be the team they got lucky against, but it was going to be somebody. Hopefully, we learn from it.

[JediSkywalker]

Last year something very similar happened against the TWolves. They were the last stop on a road trip and the Suns had won 17 in a row, I think. The Suns were too tired and got beaten by an inspired play by KG. The TW's just seem to be lucky against the Suns, as Atlanta was last year (no Nash in Phx) and this year (no Stat in Atl). Things even out in the long run. I would not worry about these two aberrations.

[jed]

I'm more concerned about our lack of focus than I am rotations or anything. The rotations certainly seem strange now and again, but the lack of a killer instinct has me wondering more about this team's fortunes.

Chances are, they are laying low and will "turn it on" once the season progresses. But even then, I feel like that says something negative about the team's mental state.