Game Day: Pacers @ Suns

[Spanky]

Sheesh.... Slaughter or slander?

Dis∙cuss

[Wormwood]

If no Jamaal Tinsley... slaughter. These guys are not a young, fast team, and we're build more than ever to beat slower teams. Against GS, LA, Atlanta, we're screwed.

[Superbone]

Yep, slaughter.

Suns by 10+

[SwingMan]

No Tinsley? The little havoc maker?

Less work for Nash = win.

In other news, there's a REAL barnburner going on in Atlanta vs. Cleveland - after a 14-13 1st quarter, what fans there are left are angling to set fire to the arena. :lol:

[JustWinBaby]

No Tinsley? The little havoc maker?

Less work for Nash = win.

In other news, there's a REAL barnburner going on in Atlanta vs. Cleveland - after a 14-13 1st quarter, what fans there are left are angling to set fire to the arena. :lol:

I wonder how good of a Coach Mike Brown would be if Lebron were not there.

I think he thinks he is something special.

I really don't like that guy and can't stand to look at him - he always seems to be constipated.

He is full of shit, isn't he.

[SwingMan]

Cue Santo & Johnny, 'cause the Suns are sleepwalking. Drowsiest 35 points I've ever seen.

Duck44, I dare you to step your whining little ass out here and tell us different.....

[SunsFan4Life]

Well Tinsley is playing for those of you who said he wouldnt. Suns by 2 after one.

Raja is really playing well...Problem is he played THE ENTIRE 1st Q.

Shawn and Amare 2 fouls a piece.

Skinner very active...we were very sluggish until he came in and provided some energy.

Banks is in....

[SunsFan4Life]

Cue the "Team Chemistry Sucks" Articles tommorow cause r playing like absolute ASS.

[JP]

The are playing like they just don't give a shit about winning. I swear I think this year's defense is the worst I have ever seen by a SUNS team....or maybe any NBA team.

[Xylus]

Suns are being outrebounded by 9 at the moment. These guys need a competent big man so badly.

[Spanky]

Painful to watch so far.... :mad:

[SunsFan4Life]

Everyone played horrible that half cept Raja and Skinner...

Amare is comitting dumb fouls on Defense
Shawne Williams has made Marion look foolish on D at times
Barbosa hasn't really made any kind of impact
Banks was non-existant
Nash keeps comming up short, looks like 1 of those nights where he is hurting...

Skinner,Raja and Nash r really the only 3 who played with Energy
Jeff Foster basically out hustled r whole team. Amare has got to stop commiting Dumb ass Fouls, he had 12pts in like 8mins or somthing he was on the court.

[Spanky]

I vow to not make another game day thread, if we lose. :D

[AlanS]

It's amazing the Suns are down by just 6 pts at the half. Pacers are shooting 51.9%, Suns just 42.6%. Pacers have scored 8 pts off Suns turnovers, Suns have just 4 off Pacer TOs. Pacers have 7 off rebs vs 4 for the Suns, but they might have as many as 8 or 10 more 2nd chance points than the Suns.

Amare has 3 fouls, Shawn 2, and they've had to sit, which hurt the suns momentum.

Boris: 2/7 FGS
Banks: 0/2
LB: 1/5
Skinner: 2/6

Shawn: 5/8 (14 pts)
Amare: 3/5 (6/7 FTs) (12 pts)
Nash: 3/6, 2/3 3PTs (9 pts)

It looks like the big 3 will have to find a way.

[Xylus]

Amare's going to single-handedly win this game for us in the 2nd half.

[INFORMER]

In the Euphoria of the Denver win, just about everyone overlooked that the Suns gave up 115 points. Giving up 64 in the 1st half to Indiana isn't positive.

[Xylus]

In the Euphoria of the Denver win, just about everyone overlooked that the Suns gave up 115 points. Giving up 64 in the 1st half to Indiana isn't positive.

But the Nuggets only shot 42% for the game, and we had 13 blocks as well. The defensive energy was there.

[INFORMER]

True. But don't forget about the offensive rebounds.

[SpecialSauce]

In the Euphoria of the Denver win, just about everyone overlooked that the Suns gave up 115 points. Giving up 64 in the 1st half to Indiana isn't positive.


:roll: We scored 137. Give me a break.

[FurlanFufi]

Can wepractice some BOXING OUT for more than 45 minutes tomorrow?

[SunsFan4Life]

WOW. That about sums it up right there missed shot no Pacer even around the ball Marion miss times his jump ball hits the ground comes back up marion misses it AGAIN it hits the ground again and murph comes in and gets the offensive board.

We look worse then any game we've looked all year accept the Laker game and really this is worse because Atleast the Lakers are good.

There r miss matches all over the court for the Pacers whether it be Rush Posting Nash up Dunleavy Posting Bell up or Daniels Posting Barbs up. Foster has really made Amare looked foolish on the boards And Marion and Barbs r playing in a FOG....

[AlanS]

Diaw was pulled fairly early in the 3rd. I think it's fair to say that Mike wasn't too happy with the way the suns were playing with Boris in the game.

The Suns are just plain out of sync offensively.

[INFORMER]

Uh, the Lakers beat the Hornets tonight. In New Orleans. BY 29! The Lakers aren't without talent, but man, I can barely believe they're playing this well.

[INFORMER]

Foster has really made Amare looked foolish on the boards

To be fair, Foster isn't a scrub. He's an outstanding rebounder.

[Xylus]

If the Pacers carry a 15-point lead into the 4th quarter, you can almost guarantee this game is over.

[INFORMER]

In the Euphoria of the Denver win, just about everyone overlooked that the Suns gave up 115 points. Giving up 64 in the 1st half to Indiana isn't positive.


:roll: We scored 137. Give me a break.

What is more likely though to happen more? The way the Suns played on offense, or the way they played on defense?

[INFORMER]

If the Pacers carry a 15-point lead into the 4th quarter, you can almost guarantee this game is over.

Well, if the Suns do lose, it's one loss. Regroup, and get ready for Utah tomorrow night. If we had to lose a game for this back-to-back set, I'd rather it be against the Pacers.

[SpecialSauce]

In the Euphoria of the Denver win, just about everyone overlooked that the Suns gave up 115 points. Giving up 64 in the 1st half to Indiana isn't positive.


:roll: We scored 137. Give me a break.

What is more likely though to happen more? The way the Suns played on offense, or the way they played on defense?

They played great defense is what I'm saying. You can't expect the Suns to win by 40, that's fucking ridiculous. There would be a difference if they only scored 100 and the Nuggets scored 115. You're thinking like all the "smart" analysts that say because teams average lower opp ppg, means they play better defense. No, it's differential.

[SunsFan4Life]

LB trying to single handedly bring us back right now...again sounds like a broken record but Brian Skinners Effort has been great tonight he just missed a shot got an offensive board and another put back.

lol one of the Pacer Announcers just compared Barbosa to an "EEL WITH SPEED". LOL

[INFORMER]

There would be a difference if they only scored 100 and the Nuggets scored 115.

:lol: Well, yeah.

And look, I'm not unhappy with the win, and I'm not saying it wasn't a great win. And to your point about the Suns winning by 40 would be ridiculous: the way the Suns shot was ridiculous, so no, if they won by 40, that wouldn't be all that ridiculous.

BTW: Anyone remember the game in the 94-95 season, where the Suns, minus KJ and Barkley, beat the Clips 140-100. 10 players scored in double figuers.

[FurlanFufi]

LB trying to single handedly bring us back right now...again sounds like a broken record but Brian Skinners Effort has been great tonight he just missed a shot got an offensive board and another put back.

lol one of the Pacer Announcers just compared Barbosa to an "EEL WITH SPEED". LOL


And barbs put us back in the game single handedly...
It's me or Nash is completely out of sync tonight?

[SunsFan4Life]

Well down to 4...and again no coincidence the run started when Skinner came in.

3rd Quarter pts...Barbosa 16...rest of team 14. And a little emotion showed by LB afetr he was fouled hard by Diener looked like he got upset by it...first time I've seen him look a little ticked off.

Anyhow As bad as we have played we're only down 4...

Around the League...Lakers beat the Hornets(The same Hornets we lost to who didnt have David West) by like 30! And West played tonight.

The Bobcats beat the Celtics by double digits and led all of the 2nd half in doing so

[AlanS]

Barbosa has been wild, crazy, out of control. And his scoring plus some defense have put the Suns back in the agme... down by 4 to start the 4th.

[SunsFan4Life]

And somehow someway the Suns take the lead. When Amare and Nash went to the bench we were down I believe 14pts.

With Amare and Nash still on the bench we have taken a 1pt lead. Who would of ever thought that.

Barbosa is doing what we shoulda been doing all game..TAKING THE BALL TO THE BASKET! we made so many 3's last game we came out this one jacking up jumper after jumper and everyone was ice cold. Leo has 21 2nd half pts and only like 5 fg's he has 10 FTA's.

[Xylus]

I looked at the box score and it was 85-70, and then a few minutes later it was 96-97. What the fuck? Did they start shooting 5-pointers? Good to see the bench bring us back into the game.

[SunsFan4Life]

Nash has the Flu...will not return.

Thought he didnt look right

[Xylus]

Nash out for the night?

We could use Grant Hill right about now...

[SunsFan4Life]

Coach D RIPPED someone on the court i'm pretty sure it was DIaw. Someones gotta tell Boris Danny Granger can hit 3's

[SunsFan4Life]

Put Barbosa back in. He gt us back into the game hopefully he can close it out.

Does this mean no Nash for Utah tommorow? God Get ready for Mike D's 7 man rotation with Skinner being the 7th guy and only seeing like 10 mins lol.

[SunsFan4Life]

Now Shawn just took a very hard fall. Yikes bad night to be a Sun I guess.

BTW, Are you kidding me with this defense? They keep doubling Tinsley with Diaw and Danny Granger is WIDE OPEN FOR 3. Its an absolute Joke the guy is a good 3pt shooter. Let Banks Handle Tinsley 1 on 1 or Double off of someone else like Foster or even Murphy.

[Xylus]

I imagine Nash will be prepared to play tomorrow's game. He's a gamer and will likely play through any sickness.

[BORISDIAW4MVP]

God had to remind that we were Suns fans, taking both Grant Hill and Steve Nash away in the same night. Oh when it rains it pours.

[Xylus]

Down by 2 with a minute and a half left...

[FurlanFufi]

great, we're going to overtime before Utah game with Nash and Hill down....

[FurlanFufi]

Thank You Diaw

[EDC]

Calling broken play with Amare screening at the 3 point line. Causing him to take a 3pt shot.

EDIT: oh wait that was last year

[darrkin]

great officiating

[SunsFan4Life]

No foul? prob was but let the players play it out on the court I guess it was pretty close looked like Dunleavy got Barbs arm.

Ok fellas lets win this one for Steve and Grant!

[INFORMER]

God had to remind that we were Suns fans, taking both Grant Hill and Steve Nash away in the same night. Oh when it rains it pours.

Bite your tongue. If the worst injuries the Suns sustain are Nash coming down with the flu and Hill having an appendectomy than I'll be a happy camper. It has been much worse guys. Be grateful.

[sehan]

Am I reading this box score right?

Amare with only 10 shot attempts? WTF?

[INFORMER]

Guys: is it possible that Shawn has regained his 3-point touch that has been on hiatus for nearly 3 seasons?

[SunsFan4Life]

Ring that Bell Baby

[INFORMER]

I wonder how long is it going to take Indiana to dump Jermaine O'Neal? They have consistently played better without him this season.

[Dustbuster]

Barbosa and Diaw have played pretty big down the stretch. Diaw has stepped up as the primary facilitator with Nash out, and Barbosa is the big gun. Diaw was terrible to start the half, but seemed to get his head in the game later.

Nice games from Marion and Amare too. Amare has hit his FTs down the stretch. The Pacers don't seem to have a player that can do this crunch time stuff right now.

[BORISDIAW4MVP]

Haha, I'm listening to the Indiana radio for this game, and their color analyst just said "It would have been nice to have Travis Diener back in this game." It's not like the Suns are missing their 2 best playmakers or anything...

[Xylus]

Am I reading this box score right?

Amare with only 10 shot attempts? WTF?

Keep in mind that he's taken 14 FT's--that's at least 7 more shot attempts halted by fouls.

[INFORMER]

Haha, I'm listening to the Indiana radio for this game, and their color analyst just said "It would have been nice to have Travis Diener back in this game." It's not like the Suns are missing their 2 best playmakers or anything...

No, but Phoenix also doesn't have a point guard that's 8-26. The Pacers need Tinsley because he has pure point guard skills, but geez, that guy has no business shooting that much.

[Philbert]

Impressive win, rallying from behind without Stevie in the 4th and OT.

I too had to listen to the Pacers' radio feed (I'm sure Al was broadcasting, why can't nba.com get the correct feed??) and those guys were pretty painful to listen to. Though even they came close to saying that the Pacers got away with fouling Barbosa at the end of regulation.

[Xylus]

So does that make the Suns 14-0 when Amare Stoudemire has at least 20 and 10?

Hmmmmmmmmmm........

[SunsFan4Life]

SUNS WIN! It was Ugly most of the game But Leo got us back in it And Amre and Bell brought it home.

[BORISDIAW4MVP]

Impressive win, rallying from behind without Stevie in the 4th and OT.

I too had to listen to the Pacers' radio feed (I'm sure Al was broadcasting, why can't nba.com get the correct feed??) and those guys were pretty painful to listen to. Though even they came close to saying that the Pacers got away with fouling Barbosa at the end of regulation.

Yeah, they seemed pretty objective for the most part, but that color guy they had just would yell randomly, and it really got annoying to be honest.

[INFORMER]

Gotta feel good about this win. I love it when both Marion and Amare have big (perhaps the better word is "good") games. And if Marion continues to shoot the 3 ball like this, the Suns will be pretty hard to beat.

No, it wasn't good falling behind the Paces at home, but any time you can mount a come back win without Nash and Hill, it's a good thing.

Good job fellas. Now nab a "W" in Salt Lake tomorrow.

[SunsFan4Life]

Suns really played one of there worst halfs of basketball in the 1st half and do not let Hill and nash being out fool you, Rebounding again was a huge problem. I urge Kerr to atleast Explor somthing to bring another big aboard Somthing...ANYTHING.

Lol I think it was Inf who called it but we saw the Nash/barbosa/Bell lineup a lot tonight with Bell playing SF. haha. Mike D. the Stuborn bastard! Oh well

[INFORMER]

I wouldn't mind if Nash didn't go tomorrow night. If he doesn't, do you start Banks or Barbosa (Diaw's presence in the starting lineup tempts me to say Barbosa)?

[FrontRowSun]

Dude.... After a long day at work, at 8:55pm est I called my wife frantically telling her that I forgot to tivo the Suns game. We then went off topic for a few minutes then I got off the phone. Long-Story short..... About 11:30pm she says "OH SHIT" and I said "What baby?" She says..... "I forgot to tape the suns game!" I immediately turned the TV on to see a tied game with 1 second left and we had the ball.

Needless to say I wondered.... Where the fuck are Steve & Grant??? I proceeded to watch the HOMER pacers analysts say Barbosa wasn't fouled on that last shot. Then watch the refs almost steal one from us.

Then after the game is over and I find out that Hill had a freaking appendectomy??? Steve must have been making out with Raja (or his wife) and got sick also????

That will teach me to go to work on gameday.

[INFORMER]

Lol I think it was Inf who called it but we saw the Nash/barbosa/Bell lineup a lot tonight with Bell playing SF. haha. Mike D. the Stuborn bastard! Oh well

I don't think I called that, but I'll tell you what: I prefer that lineup to Nash-Banks-Barbosa. <shudders>

[SunsFan4Life]

Start Banks. We need some sort of Scoring Punch off the bench and that would be Leo. Plus Banks Is prob are best option on Deron Williams.

God we're gonna get hammered so bad on the boards tommorow night. If Stevie can't go Hope Tucker gets a look off the bench even though we all know it'll be Pike. Even Kiwi Boy might be a better option then Pike

[ShelC]

I didnt see the game, but am still disturbed at our inability to get stops. I dont think NO shouldve had 113 against us and i dont think the Pacers should have 122, even with OT.

Like Hollinger said Amares numbers have been ridiculous, but the fact that hes been doing it in basically limited minutes is even more incredible. 25 and 11 on 7-12 shooting in just 33 1/2 minutes.

is it possible that Shawn has regained his 3-point touch that has been on hiatus for nearly 3 seasons?

Thatd be one of the best things that could happen. We dont need 40%, but he was 29% in November. He hit his average of about 33% in December and is up to 40% in January, not including tonights 3/7. If he can hang around the 35% mark we'll be that much better.

[INFORMER]

Portland up on Golden State by 23! Man, between Portland and the Lakers, the West has a had plenty of surprises this year.

But I'm glad for Portland. They suffered through some bad years, Nate McMillan is a tremendous coach, and I really like Brandon Roy.

[SunsFan4Life]

Haha I said the same thing bout Steve and Raja. Damn Raja He's sucha Whore! haha

[INFORMER]

If he can hang around the 35% mark we'll be that much better.

I'll be greedy and hope for 37-38%. :wink:

[ShelC]

I prefer that lineup to Nash-Banks-Barbosa.

I HATE the Nash and Banks combo. They should never be on the floor together ever IMO. I just dont like the way it looks.

[ethan_cohen]

Suns really played one of there worst halfs of basketball in the 1st half and do not let Hill and nash being out fool you, Rebounding again was a huge problem. I urge Kerr to atleast Explor somthing to bring another big aboard Somthing...ANYTHING.



Don't let those stats fool you. The offensive rebounds were long weak side rebounds for the most part. That's not a big man problem. It's (A) our guards leaking down court for the break and missing their assignment and (B) our Coach allowing that to happen consistently.

Long weak side rebounds KILLED us tonight and that's on Barbs, Bell and Banks.

[SunsFan4Life]

BTW If the season ended today...

Phoenix
SA
Dallas
Portland
LAL
NO
Denver
GS

Those are your playoff teams with Utah and Houston 9 n 10

ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME? I like Portland be to be I'd like to see them the most in the 1st rd just cause they are so young and I think would be the easiest matchup but would anyone be shocked to see any 8 of those teams make it to the 2nd rd?

[SunsFan4Life]

I know what ur sayin Ethan but I watched the gm and there were atlest 2-3 instances in the half where Jeff Foster got a rebound right over or around Amare. Now granted Foster is a hell of a rebounder but Amare has gotta box him out better...

[INFORMER]

I HATE the Nash and Banks combo.

I don't mind them playing together. But adding Barbosa to the mix is one of the worst ideas in the league. Again, D'Antoni, you have Nash-BANKS-Barbosa, not KJ-Nash-KIDD.

[darrkin]

Good win, but the best team in the west is now officially the hated Lakers, they should manhandle us again in a week or so. Bad timing with Grant being hurt as the way we are designed we need him to beat the good teams. We are still a good team, but not sure we are elite anymore. I think problem is that we have a lot of shot finishers but not so many shot creators. Why didnt we keep Sergio on Portland. Watching a bit of Portland game, they look good. We need another rebounder, athletic type big or at least kinda big, and another good shooter distributer to contend. Glad we gutted out the win, but we just dont seem to look that great to me anymore, maybe I expect too much...

[FurlanFufi]

I know what ur sayin Ethan but I watched the gm and there were atlest 2-3 instances in the half where Jeff Foster got a rebound right over or around Amare. Now granted Foster is a hell of a rebounder but Amare has gotta box him out better...

I called that out during the game

[INFORMER]

BTW If the season ended today...

Phoenix
SA
Dallas
Portland
LAL
NO
Denver
GS

Those are your playoff teams with Utah and Houston 9 n 10

ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME? I like Portland be to be I'd like to see them the most in the 1st rd just cause they are so young and I think would be the easiest matchup but would anyone be shocked to see any 8 of those teams make it to the 2nd rd?

Dallas vs. NO? I'd take NO. Portland vs. LAL would be great.


Long weak side rebounds KILLED us tonight and that's on Barbs, Bell and Banks.

That's one of the problems with this team. Our "smalls" generally have trouble defending and rebounding, unlike Golden State. That's where we miss guys like Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson.

[INFORMER]

Why didnt we keep Sergio on Portland.

BETTER QUESTION: Why have the Suns been so insistent on helping them rebuild? The past few offseasons, our front office has been working for them.

[darrkin]

Suns really played one of there worst halfs of basketball in the 1st half and do not let Hill and nash being out fool you, Rebounding again was a huge problem. I urge Kerr to atleast Explor somthing to bring another big aboard Somthing...ANYTHING.



Don't let those stats fool you. The offensive rebounds were long weak side rebounds for the most part. That's not a big man problem. It's (A) our guards leaking down court for the break and missing their assignment and (B) our Coach allowing that to happen consistently.

Long weak side rebounds KILLED us tonight and that's on Barbs, Bell and Banks.


Barkley said that is Phoenix's main problem we are a bunch of Leakers. Need to make more of an effort staying with boards. Whatever, so long as coach conitnues to stay in bed with Diaw, and also go with his three guard lineups, we are done, no way we beat Lakers or SA with that crap. Also I'll be real surprised we even beat Utah, unless Coach decides to play bigger. I get so mad with all the shitty rebounding and Diaws pansy ass, Id rather see Skinner, Amare and Marks out there with Nash and Marion, at least wed have some size.

[SunsFan4Life]

Yes the Lakers are for Real but I still say in a 7 game Series we'll beat them. It may take all 7 games but I have a hard time seeing them winning 2 gms in AWA meaning we'd only need to take 1 in LA which we can do.

The Spurs are still the best team in the West. This isn't Miami of last yr this team without Duncan and TP and Ginobili all for seperate times this seasons till has a top 4 record in the west.

Really at this point I ask people this what would be ur ideal bracket for the suns realisticlly. The 3 teams I fear the most are SA-LAL-GS(in terms of against us not winning it all) and Dallas is right up there with those 3 as well. I know a lot of peope around ehre fear The Hornets and Utah and the Nuggs r and Blazers r no sloutches...I think we can all agree we rather not see The Spurs till Conf Finals but other then that....

[darrkin]

Why didnt we keep Sergio on Portland.

BETTER QUESTION: Why have the Suns been so insistent on helping them rebuild? The past few offseasons, our front office has been working for them.


No kidding, Im watching Portland play now and even JR is looking good, I actually like the makeup of their team. Kinda like younger more athletic version of us

[FurlanFufi]

If Ode turns out to be halfof what they said he could, imagine this Portland team a year or 2 from now..very scary.....

And our front office can say "WE MADE IT!"

[darrkin]

Yes the Lakers are for Real but I still say in a 7 game Series we'll beat them. It may take all 7 games but I have a hard time seeing them winning 2 gms in AWA meaning we'd only need to take 1 in LA which we can do.

The Spurs are still the best team in the West. This isn't Miami of last yr this team without Duncan and TP and Ginobili all for seperate times this seasons till has a top 4 record in the west.

Really at this point I ask people this what would be ur ideal bracket for the suns realisticlly. The 3 teams I fear the most are SA-LAL-GS(in terms of against us not winning it all) and Dallas is right up there with those 3 as well. I know a lot of peope around ehre fear The Hornets and Utah and the Nuggs r and Blazers r no sloutches...I think we can all agree we rather not see The Spurs till Conf Finals but other then that....


Right now I wont lie to ya, I'm afraid of everyone, but luckily we dont start playoffs for a long time, so maybe we make some changes and also get better. Until we beat Lakers I will think they are better as much as I despise them. I do think we have some more upside and should get better, where the Fakers are kinda peaking-I hope anyway. I just get frustrated thinking how great it would be to have Sergio coming off the bench and JR and Kurt still on the team

[Phoenix219]

Hopefully by the end of the season, we will be able to say that DJ, Hill and Skinner are equal if not better than Sergio, JR and Kurt....

I'd still really like to see the rooks play....

[sose]

yay, wins are good.. even bad wins are good.. good wins are really good, but this wasnt a really good win.. just a good one..

[Doctor_G]

We did win tonight, didn't we? I think some of the folks here need to be reminded just how good Hill has played all season. With him in the game tonight, we win without OT. Hill's playing his best ball in 5 plus yrs folks. We also played the entire 4th without Nash. This crowd needs to just.........ah hell, I give up.

Nonetheless, gutsy win for our guys.

[AlanS]

Wow, what a win. To come back from a 14 pt deficit w/o Hill and Nash is quite a feat. This was truly a game with many heroes:
• Bell: 27 pts, 6/7 11 3PT, 9 rebs, 4 asst, 43 mins
• Barbosa: 27 pts, 3/6 3PT, 10/12 FTs, 5 asst, 36 mins
• Amare: 25 pts, 11/14 FTs, 11 rebs, 34 mins
•Shawn: 23 pts, 12 rebs, 4 assts, 47 minutes

And here's the heroine:
• Diaw: 8 pts, 3/9 FGs, 6 rebs, 7 asst, 41 minutes

Boris didn't play a great game, but his ball-handling and play-making were vital in the various parts of the 2nd half and OT.

But I like that so many guys had at least 4 assists (Nash had 4 assists also). The total would have been even higher, but the Suns shot 42 FTs, and many passes didn't officially become assists. But it was nice to see the Suns sharing the ball on a night their main playmaker was limited to 24 minutes.

PS: Can a player form the other team be a hero for us? Jamaal Tinsley shot his team out of the game, going 8/26 from the field, 0/7 3PT, 3/6 FTs. With so many other guys on his team having good shooting nights, it's inexcusable that Tinsley took all those shots when he was missing so much. And as they say, one man's garbage is another man's gold.

[JustWinBaby]

Suns really played one of there worst halfs of basketball in the 1st half and do not let Hill and nash being out fool you, Rebounding again was a huge problem. I urge Kerr to atleast Explor somthing to bring another big aboard Somthing...ANYTHING.



Don't let those stats fool you. The offensive rebounds were long weak side rebounds for the most part. That's not a big man problem. It's (A) our guards leaking down court for the break and missing their assignment and (B) our Coach allowing that to happen consistently.

Long weak side rebounds KILLED us tonight and that's on Barbs, Bell and Banks.


Barkley said that is Phoenix's main problem we are a bunch of Leakers. Need to make more of an effort staying with boards. Whatever, so long as coach conitnues to stay in bed with Diaw, and also go with his three guard lineups, we are done, no way we beat Lakers or SA with that crap. Also I'll be real surprised we even beat Utah, unless Coach decides to play bigger. I get so mad with all the shitty rebounding and Diaws pansy ass, Id rather see Skinner, Amare and Marks out there with Nash and Marion, at least wed have some size.

I don't always agree with Barley, but he is right on this one. In another thread on rebounding I suggested everyone needs to rebound and we may in fact be big enough. I am sure the players are doing as oredered by the coach.

7 seconds or less - needs to be edited

7 SECONDS OR LESS "AFTER WE SECURE THE REBOUND"

[AlanS]

http://www.nba.com/games/20080109/INDPHX/recap.html

Suns Rally Past Pacers to OT Win Without Nash
Suns 129, Pacers 122 (F-OT)
By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer
Posted Jan 10 2008 12:20AM

Box Score: http://www.nba.com/games/20080109/INDPHX/boxscore.html

PHOENIX, Jan. 9 (AP) -- Raja Bell sank two 3-pointers in the final 2 1/2 minutes of overtime and the Phoenix Suns rallied from 16 points down without Steve Nash to beat the Indiana Pacers 129-122 on Wednesday night.

Bell scored a season-high 27, including 6-of-11 on 3s. Leandro Barbosa scored 25 of his 27 points after halftime, 16 in the third quarter, and the Suns handed the Pacers their seventh consecutive road loss.

Phoenix played the final 22 minutes and 18 seconds without Nash, who left with the stomach flu. The Suns, down 14 when he left, already were without Grant Hill, who underwent an appendectomy earlier in the day and is expected to be out two to three weeks.

Amare Stoudemire had 25 points, including a turnaround 10-footer from the baseline that tied it with 26 seconds left in regulation. Stoudemire clinched it by making five of six free throws in the final 1:18 of overtime.

Danny Granger and Shawne Williams scored 22 points apiece for Indiana. Jamaal Tinsley scored 19, but was 8-for-26 shooting, including 4-for-18 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

http://www.nba.com/media/rbell_300_080109.jpg
Raja Bell scored eight of his 27 points in OT as the Suns beat the Pacers on Wednesday.

[jkalldaway]

Some interesting facts:

Over the last 5:03 of regulation, the Suns held the Pacers to one point (a Jamaal Tinsley free-throw with 2:06 remaining). Phoenix got a defensive stop on TWELVE of the last THIRTEEN Pacer possessions in regulation, with the lone exception Tinsley’s trip to the line.
KEY RUN OF THE NIGHT
After Nash left the game for good late in the third quarter, the Suns outscored the Pacers 60-37 the rest of regulation and in overtime. The Suns closed the third quarter on a 12-2 run, cutting a 92-80 deficit with 2:22 to go in the quarter to 92-88 entering the fourth quar

[JediSkywalker]

Why didnt we keep Sergio on Portland.

BETTER QUESTION: Why have the Suns been so insistent on helping them rebuild? The past few offseasons, our front office has been working for them.


...and for Seattle too. In a couple of years we will see Seattle play really well. They will get a lottery pick this year, plus the Suns picks in 08 and 10.

[JediSkywalker]

I heard after the game (can't remmeber if it was on the TV or the radio) that Nash is not flying to Utah tonight. I hope he stays here and gets the much needed rest.

I think we can write off the Utah game; we just don't have enough players. Without Nash and Hill it is practically impossible to beat the Jazz.

So, is Marcus Banks going to start tomorrow? That would mean just Skinner on the bench, along with Pike, Marks and Tucker. I like Tucker the best, from that group.

The Suns should sign a player for 10 days, just in case they need another body on the court. Didn't 3 players get released from various teams in the last few days? After 10 days they can either bring DJ back from the D league or keep that player until Grant gets back to normal health. I heard it takes 2 to 4 weeks to recover from Appendectomy. Because of Grant's age it may even take him longer, and how long will it take him after that to get back in basketball shape?

On the positive side, at least he did not become sick in April, or things would have been much worse. May be his absence will force his teammates to step up.

[Phoenix219]

Without Nash, we need to start Barbs/Bell/Diaw/Marion/Amare and try and let Diaw handle the ball as much as possible. Bring Banks, Skinner and Tucker off the bench. Theres your 8 man rotation for the night. Try and keep up guys....

[SpecialSauce]

I thought Barbs played well to start the game, but played garbage at the end. I don't care that he made some shots, he should not be our primary ballhandler. He plays like he's AI out there, and totally disregards that we have an All-NBA 1st teamer in Amare. I hate the fact that Barbs has the ball in his hands like he's the leader of the team when Steve is out. It's not his fault, it's D'Antoni's for not telling him.

[SwingMan]

Played well to start the game?

Babs had 2 points and unparalelled transparancy in the 1st half. It's the 2nd half where he (and a few others) finally woke up.....

[SpecialSauce]

Played well to start the game?

Babs had 2 points and unparalelled transparancy in the 1st half. It's the 2nd half where he (and a few others) finally woke up.....

that's how I like Barbs. I don't like noticing that he's taking ALL the shots and holding the ball 90% of the time

[v9]

C'mon Saucy, you're smarter than that.

I still don't understand why D'Antoni insists on playing Barbs at backup PG. He would make a way-better-than-average starting PG (a borderline All-Star) playing NEXT TO Nash...where he can't play ballhog. Let Banks play backup PG.

Time for Raja? In the near term, D'Antoni will (unwisely) insist on playing him at SF. After Hill gets back, though, why not use Raja as the "closer" in the 4th quarter? Let Barbosa go off for 24-25 pts in the first 3 quarters, while using Raja sparingly. Then, sic an energetic Raja on the opposing team's main scoring threat, and demoralize him in the 4th...

On another note, this was a great test for the Suns. No Grant, no Nash, no loss. Wins like this build character!

[Mori_Chu]

What an interesting game. I was saying to myself, "Wow, this might be the first time I have ever thought this, but Nash is actively hurting us out there." And sure enough, something WAS wrong with him. And sure enough, when he goes out, we go on our big run.

Barbosa's daring drives to the basket saved us, but looking at the stat sheet, Bell and Marion also stepped up in big ways, and Amare quietly had a great statistical game as well. And I continue to be pleased with how Banks is doing in the minutes he is given. He's a legitimate piece of our team now, finally. I'm glad that Coach seems to be realizing that. I hope it isn't just a showcase so that we can dump him off for nothing next month.

However, no way in hell does D'Antoni start Banks against the Jazz. He'd sooner eat his necktie than admit that Banks deserved to start. Barbosa and Bell will start at the guard spots, with Marion, Diaw, and Amare as the bigs. Off the bench will be Skinner, Banks, and (sadly) Piatkowski. I doubt that the rook will get any significant PT, unless the game is clearly decided one way or the other.

One last note: Wouldn't it be great to have that Diener kid on our team? That guy can really play.

[Mori_Chu]

And, one more thing: A win like this shows me that this year's Suns are the best Nash-era Suns team, for sure. In the past, when Nash went out, we completely ground to a halt. We were completely incapable of getting a win without him. We absolutely would have folded and lost this game in 05-06 and even 06-07 without him. But this year, by utilizing a more conventional half-court offense (whethen intentionally or not), and with the pieces we now have, we are actually able to hold our own in these kinds of games. I'm proud of our guys. GO SUNS!

[fixxxer]

Suns really played one of there worst halfs of basketball in the 1st half and do not let Hill and nash being out fool you, Rebounding again was a huge problem. I urge Kerr to atleast Explor somthing to bring another big aboard Somthing...ANYTHING.Don't let those stats fool you. The offensive rebounds were long weak side rebounds for the most part. That's not a big man problem. It's (A) our guards leaking down court for the break and missing their assignment and (B) our Coach allowing that to happen consistently.

Long weak side rebounds KILLED us tonight and that's on Barbs, Bell and Banks.True, but that is the nature of a running team, which the Suns still are, albeit to a lesser degree this year. The guards leaking out after the shot has been put up, hoping for a defensive rebound and outlet pass is one of the fundamental tenets of fastbreak basketball. However, I agree with you in that finding a balance between leaking out on the break and helping on the boards is all important.

[fixxxer]

11 servings of mad props to the good guys for gutting this one out.

Now, more than ever, the "this is all prelude -- we'll be ready and better than ever when the games count" system of thought is starting to ring true for me.

[AlanS]

Played well to start the game?

Babs had 2 points and unparalelled transparancy in the 1st half. It's the 2nd half where he (and a few others) finally woke up.....

that's how I like Barbs. I don't like noticing that he's taking ALL the shots and holding the ball 90% of the time

I agree with Swing. LB was 1/5 in the first half, he was part of the problem. He just about single-handedly brought the team back from a 14 pt deficit in the 3rd-4th qtrs... he was the solution.

Sometimes +/- scores lie, but LB was +26 for the game, nobody else was even close to that (Skinner was +17, Bell +10, Amare was -10.) Barbosa is a ball hog and he plays out of control but that worked for us last night. And he also had 5 assists, which is a blessing... he had 6 assists in the Denver game, so maybe he's learning something. Maybe.

But it's noteworthy that at the end of the 4th and in OT, Amare was getting his touches, and Bell as well. Maybe LB was just tuckered out by then, but he wasn't dominating the ball. And I think the threat of Barbosa going off gave Amare a little more room to operate.

[Wormwood]

If Nash is out tonight we are sooo screwed. Our offense was pathetic in the 4th. Indiania missed 12 straight shots, yeat we still couldn't put them away in the 4th. Our offense was really stagnant.

Now.... for Banks and Barbosa. Barbosa, for all of his flaws, (ball stopping, pounding it, only average ball handling) still had 5 assists and 2 turnovers in 35 minutes. That's not great, but it isn't bad by any stretch either. Banks.... I'm surprised no one else has caught onto this, but hasn't anyone else noticed his inability to figure out how to guard the pick and roll? Most of Tinsley's scoring came from Banks' incorrect switches, or from him losing his man by going under the screen. Oops. Banks is good at one on one defense when he doesn't crowd his guy too much. However, he still has a room temperature basketball IQ, especially on defense. On offense, he didn't dominate the ball (good), but he couldn't knock down his outside shots (bad).

In the end, Banks really wasn't doing us any favors at either end of the court. I still stand by my assertion we should give Alando Tucker a try out as a swingman.

[ShelC]

If Banks or Barbs arent going over the screens, its because they arent being told to do so. I dont think the coaching staff makes it mandatory. Raja and Nash do most of the times because they know its the proper way to play the pick and roll. But Eddie House would do the exact same thing. I dont think i ever saw him go over a pick in Phoenix, yet ive seen him do it when asked to while playing for Frank and Rivers the past 2 seasons.

Its probably that "bend, dont break" philosophy we seem to emphasize on defense.

[Billyjoejimbob]

I'm glad they won this game. I actually wasn't worried when they said Nash wasn't coming back because I could tell something was wrong with him in the first half and I thought he was part of the reason they got in the big hole in the first place. He looked very sluggish and was making a lot of mistakes. They made their comeback while he was out of the game.

[JustWinBaby]

Nash probably hurt the team last night as much as he helped.

He had a good excuse.