SB Nation - Channing Frye

Practice Report: Phoenix vs. LeBron (and update on Earl Clark)

Phoenix Stan — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:43:53 -0000

Suns youngsters Earl Clark and Goran Dragic are headed in opposite directions. Dragic continues to improve and grow in confidence while Clark is struggling to learn two positions and is growing more tentative each time he steps on the court. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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LeBron James is coming to town for the seventh time in his career. He's lost here on 5 of his first 6 tries but in the process has averaged 29.5 points so it is hard put that record on his (massive) shoulders.

Asked about the Cavs and LeBron's lack of recent success here in Phoenix, Coach Gentry said, "Let's hope that trend continues."

But that came after many minutes of talking about how great of a player he is individually and how much better this Cavs team is with the addition of Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker (who is shooting 50% from three on 86 attempts), "Obviously, you are not going to stop LeBron. You have to try and slow him down some and not turn the ball over because once they get in the open court it's almost impossible to stop them."

The Cavs are playing in Dallas tonight on NBA TV so hopefully they will come to town a bit tired. That may bode well for Channing Frye who will have the assignment of covering Shaq.

Grant Hill compared his task of guarding LeBron with Channing's battle with The Big Shaqtus, "LeBron may hurt you but he's not going to physically hurt you. Shaq may decide he wants to take a cheap foul."

Get some rest Channing. The Big Punisher is coming back to town and game tonight in Dallas or not, he's going to be up for playing in Phoenix.

Clark Update

Since starting the season on opening night with a 20 minute, 5 rebound, 6 point performance against the Clippers, Earl Clark has been on a downward trend with both his performance and opportunities. The only exception came in 18 minutes of a blowout game in Minnesota where he was 6/6 and had a career high 14 points.

For the season he's averaging only 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game and is shooting just over 40%. In his limited minutes of court time he seems to be getting even more tentative and less confident as the season moves on.

I asked Suns assistant coach Igor Kokoskov about Clark's recently play, "Quick reminder for everybody, this is his rookie season. Transition, learning about everything. Little adjustment is, he's got to be as a rookie a couple of things you can control. You can control your preparation. Which means keep yourself in shape. You have to know your plays and don't be in foul trouble."

Kokoskov went on to say that Clark is still thinking too much and struggling with learning both the small forward and power forward position but Igor feels he's making progress and is headed in the right direction.

I specifically asked if Clark was putting in the time and effort to get better, "You have to give him credit. He's coming before practice. He's shooting a lot of shots. On days off he's putting some extra work in. It's a process. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. "

Clark was not on the floor after practice today but Tucker and Griffin were working on catch and shoot situations with the assistant coaches and Dragic stayed to work on some things with his personal coach from Serbia. Lou also stayed late working on free throws.

With Dragic we've seen how much confidence the kid is playing with but he's also now having more fun. I remember asking specifically about this in Vegas during Summer League after the first game where he looked absolutely miserable.

Now, he's a almost a different person. Joking around more and even giving Grant Hill a hard time about something silly. After his extra workout session today, Dragic was sitting on the chairs along the wall in the practice court when a ball rolled over. He picked it up and launched it. Swish. So, of course he had to try again. Swish. Twice in a row.

Then I got out my cell phone to film his next attempt and he joked about putting it on You Tube. Of course, he missed the next few but you can get the idea from this clip.

Larry Brown's Young Players in the 2000s

David Arnott — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:28:19 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Rookies! You're getting this many minutes, so show me what you've got!

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Let's take a look at the rookies and second year players Larry Brown has coached this decade. I'll list the teams, the players, and their minutes per game. Guys who went on to reasonably decent role player NBA careers or better are italicized.

This ignores Games Played, and obviously, some guys were blocked by legit starters, but... well... draw your own conclusions. All numbers are from the invaluable Basketball-Reference.com.

===

99-00 76ers -- Ira Bowman (1.8), Larry Hughes (20.4), Jumaine Jones (4.2), Todd MacCulloch (9.4), Nazr Mohammed (6.8)

00-01 76ers -- Raja Bell (6.0), Rodney Buford (12.2), Jumaine Jones (13.3), Todd MacCulloch (9.5), Pepe Sanchez (4.8)

01-02 76ers -- Raja Bell (12.0), Damone Brown (3.9), Speedy Claxton (22.8), Samuel Dalembert (5.2), Alvin Jones (5.5), Jabari Smith (10.0)

02-03 76ers -- Efthimi Rentzias (4.1), John Salmons (7.9), Kenny Satterfield (4.8)

03-04 Pistons -- Darko Milicic (4.7), Mehmet Okur (22.3), Tayshaun Prince (32.9)

04-05 Pistons -- Carlos Delfino (15.3), Ronald Dupree (10.0), Horace Jenkins (6.9), Darko Milicic (6.9), Smush Parker (10.0)

05-06 Knicks -- Trevor Ariza (19.7), Jackie Butler (13.5), Channing Frye (24.2), David Lee (16.9), Nate Robinson (21.4), Ime Udoka (14.3)

===

The first major caveat of a backwards-looking glance like this is that we don't know if Brown's methods helped or hurt anyone. Maybe John Salmons really did need to be eased into the rotation at just under 8 minutes per game, and that was the stepping stone experience he needed. Maybe Efthimi Rentzias was railroaded by Brown's total shutdown, and he's selling insurance in Greece because no one else would give him a chance after that.

So, should we be worried by the fact that not a single star has emerged from Larry Brown's influence, with the exception, perhaps, of Tayshaun Prince?

What I see from this list is that Brown will play the guys he thinks are going to help him immediately, and if a guy can't, he'll sit until he's older. That kills the guys whose ceilings are "decent starter". Todd MacCulloch was no great shakes, but he started at center for back to back NBA Finals teams. Samuel Dalembert won't blow you away with his game, but the year after Brown left, he missed the entire season on the injured list, then the next year began starting and has started at center in Philly ever since.

I get the distinct sense it's a very college-hoops-oriented approach: freshmen and sophomores have a higher bar to clear to prove they should play over juniors and seniors. Of course, in the NBA, young players are paid far below their free market value (as are superstars), so it behooves teams to get production from young players while they're cheap instead of sitting them until they reach their qualifying offer years, when their salaries will come more in line with their potential production.

Game 27 Recap: Portland Trail Blazers--W00T! Phoenix Suns--Dagnabbit!

Dave — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:01:53 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Little-known NBA etiquette: Free hugs any time you score your age or higher.

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Rejoice, rejoice believers, your Blazers pulled one out against the Phoenix Suns tonight. It was not only an entertaining game, it was an entertaining "W". Gotta love it.

The Blazers leapt out the gate like a ballet dancer on Red Bull, looking for all the world like they were going to beat the Suns at their own game. LaMarcus Aldridge ran like a gazelle, beating Phoenix down the court and converting chip shots. Andre Miller was also zippy. The Suns, meanwhile, seemed content to loft from distance. Even they can't get away with trading layups for 20-footers and they found themselves down 6-0 before Steve Nash caught Grant Hill for a layup of their own. Apparently that kindled something in Hill because he went on a tear and almost singlehandedly wrested control of the game away from Portland. It was like that time your grandpa caught you smoking and took you out behind the woodshed. You knew he was capable, you knew you probably deserved it, but it's still pretty bad getting beaten by an 80-year-old man. Aldridge continued scoring and Jerryd Bayless came in for some late-quarter offense and Portland found themselves down 3 when the buzzer sounded.

The early part of the second quarter went well enough. Aldridge had a dunk. Blake hit his second three-pointer of the evening. Bayless scored again. But then Amare Stoudemire started hitting mid-range jumpers. He spread the floor which opened up opportunities for the Suns' ancillary players, including Channing Frye who hit 3 threes in the period. Brandon Roy responded with a 6-point mini-run and Martell Webster hit a couple of shots, but the Suns bigs had done their damage and Portland walked into the locker room down 7. On the up side they had balanced offense, few turnovers, and plenty of energy. On the down side the Suns had all of these things as well plus marksmanship. The Blazers weren't getting regular offensive rebounds either. You started to wonder if this was going to be one of those games where we played well but just got outclassed.

The third period confirmed that impression. It started well enough with Martell Webster showing some aggression on the drive and the Blazers drawing a ton of free throws but for every point Portland scored Phoenix had an answer. Amare continued to hit, Hill made back-to-back layups, Frye hit more threes. Other than a couple bad turnovers you couldn't pinpoint anything obviously wrong with the Blazers' offense. They just didn't have quite enough of it compared to the Suns. Phoenix won their third straight quarter, this time by 4, and took an 11-point lead into the fourth.

The Blazers didn't give up, however. The guards started penetrating and passing, leading to 3 made threes within the first 3:15 of the quarter, 1 each by Webster, Roy, and Blake. This wasn't entirely surprising as those three were playing with Bayless in an ultra-small lineup with Joel at that point. The Blazers climbed instantly within 5 but then Amare reared his ugly head again, pushing the lead back to 7.

Then the entire arena froze as a primal, bloodthirsty shriek echoed through the seats and rafters. Beer vendors dropped their glasses, fans cowered, whistles fell out of refs' mouths, Coach Nate fell backwards into his seat, Monty Williams grew hair, watched it turn grey, and then sobbed as it fell out again all in an instant, and the Suns' blue and orange road uniforms suddenly included a conspicuous amount of yellow. B-Rex had arrived. And he was angry.

Well, maybe it wasn't exactly like that, but it should have been.

Jerryd had been handling the ball in a considerable number of sets up until the fourth quarter, getting a shot at playing the true point guard role even when Blake was on the court with him. He had acquitted himself quite well. But now the Blazers put the ball in Roy's hands more and had Jerryd play as the off-guard more. They'd switch up as opportunity presented itself. Any way the play developed--whether Roy drew attention and flipped the ball to Bayless for a jumper, Roy found Jerryd on the wing for a dribble penetration opportunity, or Jerryd initiated from the top--Mr. Bayless delivered. He turned in a career night, setting the Suns back on their heels with his array of offense. They couldn't stop him driving without fouling him. They wanted to concede the jumper to him but he hit those too. He also showed energy on the defensive end, crossing the lane to make plays from the weak side several times and grabbing rebounds as well. Bayless scored 15 points in the final 7 minutes of the quarter. As the Phoenix defense got divided by the barrage Roy took advantage and poured the ball in as well.

On the other end Amare started missing which put extra pressure on the Phoenix supporting cast. They couldn't deliver. Steve Nash tried to take over late but Bayless hit enough free throws to put the Suns down by 3 on the last possession and LaMarcus Aldridge forced Nash into an awkward shot that clanged off iron. Confetti drops. Everyone on the team, including some players in suits, pats and rubs Bayless' head like it was Buddha's belly, huge grins on their faces. Jerryd and Roy do the post-game interview together, looking for all the world like they're locked at the hip. And there you have it...another memorable Rose Garden victory over the Suns.

Besides the heroic scoring, Portland did a couple of things to cement this win. The disparity in field goal percentage was huge in the first half but the Blazers narrowed it to roughly 3% by the end of the game, Phoenix shooting 48% and Portland 45%. Portland matched Phoenix shot-for-shot at the three-point arc, which probably isn't a repeatable experiment but it worked tonight. The Blazers were 10-20 from distance. Most of all, the Blazers dominated at the foul line. They attempted 35 shots to the Suns' 22, hitting 25 compared to their 16. Combine that with not giving away too many easy shots via turnover and you have the margin. The Suns also helped out a little by not taking advantage of Steve Nash until too late. He obliterated both Miller and Blake at will and the best Bayless could do was try and channel him somewhere. Under no circumstances were the Blazers stopping him until that final shot. Yes, Nash had 13 assists but this looked like one of those classic "I think we're going to win this so I'm going to lay in the weeds until needed, which may be never" games from him. He shot 7-11 from the field. It probably could have been 14-22 without affecting the rest of Phoenix's game too much. It's not like he would have been taking away Frye's threes. Those came from Amare. Nevertheless, I'm perfectly happy with the way things worked out.

Click through for Individual Observations, Links, Jersey Contest Scores, Final Thoughts, and such...

Individual Observations

Brandon Roy had a nice game tonight. He didn't force too much, he drew 11 foul shots, he was 2-5 from the three-point arc, and even though 9-22 overall doesn't look that impressive whenever you can turn 9 made shots into 27 points you're doing something aggressive. Add 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

LaMarcus had a stellar opening three minutes then faded offensively. Frankly the guards were playing with each other tonight and given the results that's the way it should have been. Aldridge also spent the whole night guarding scorers which may have distracted his attention. The only disappointing thing was that he didn't take full (or really any) advantage of Channing Frye's poor post defense. Had Portland not drained all of those threes we might have a different tone when discussing his contributions. He did go 5-6 from the foul line to ameliorate his 5-15 from the field. 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, 15 points.

Jerryd Bayless: 9-15 from the floor, 2-3 from distance, 9-12 from the foul line, 29 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and a 2:1 assist/turnover ratio. It was his best night as a Blazer. I saw three things that gave me hope that he can continue pressing for minutes and a bigger role. The 29 points and the drives weren't among them. Those were great but you also have to figure Phoenix played into that a little as did Sacramento the other night. It's not going to happen like that against every team. However...

1. He functioned well with the ball in his hands, finding people and setting the offense without looking confused or having to take over in order to have an impact. This may be the best he's looked ever in that vein.

2. He hit the catch-and-shoot outlet jumper just as well as he drove. That shot is his key to staying on the floor and he looks like he knows it. He's giving Brandon a look like, "You know I'm going to hit it if you give it to me." Brandon is starting to give him a look back saying he knows that he knows. It's not just the points, it's the opportunity for synergy between those two guards that the made shot creates.

3. Bayless looked good on defense tonight. He was aware of his position and what was going on around him. He helped appropriately and found something to do even when the ball wasn't with his assigned man or in his area. He was active. He moved his feet. Combined with being quicker and bigger than the other two guards that gives him an edge.

Martell Webster mixed up his game tonight and is one of the quiet heroes. Have you noticed how much better the offense functions for everyone, including the players we have just mentioned, when Martell can score a little? He's the straw that breaks the camel's back, making the defense focus in so many directions that they can't contain anymore. He went 6-10 from the floor, scoring on jumpers and at the rim both, for 15 points. Add 7 rebounds, 3 offensive, and 2 steals.

Steve Blake shot only threes tonight, which is normally something I'm not in favor of. But he hit 4-7 of them for 12 points off the bench and provided yet another guy the Suns had to watch. Again, much of the fourth-quarter heroics were enabled by these guys draining those shots and making Phoenix worry about them.

Andre Miller played only 18 minutes tonight but he had 5 assists in that limited time. He didn't get many shots up, scored 4 points, and had 2 turnovers. His defense wasn't up to the task though he did look like he could have scored on Nash more given the opportunity.

Joel Przybilla had 10 rebounds and 2 blocks after his usual fashion.

Final Thoughts

It's not often you lose 3 of 4 quarters and win the game. I wouldn't want to try it again but it sure was exciting tonight. But this is like the point of the movie when the hero has just escaped from peril by the skin of his teeth and stops to celebrate. He's smiling, laughing, maybe bragging a little, then he falls silent as he looks into the distance and sees even a bigger baddie on the horizon. Cue the scary music because the Blazers now go out on the road for 4 games: Orlando, Miami, Dallas, San Antonio. Under normal circumstances you'd hope to come away with 2 of those and call it good. Right now I'm thinking any win would make a good trip and somehow taking two would be fantastic.

Boxscore

See what the Phoenix guys think of Jerryd Bayless at BrightSideofttheSun.

Check out your Jersey Contest results at the scoreboard page and enter the next game here.

Oh, and enjoy the whoopin' and hollerin'!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Poll

My reaction to Jerryd Bayless' career night is...

Game 27 Preview: Suns vs. Blazers

Dave — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:17:20 -0000

More photos » by Sam Forencich - NBAE/Getty Images

We need this guy tonight. And I'm not talking about Spencer Hawes.

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Game Time: 7:30 P.M. TV: TNT

Hey hey! The new-old look Phoenix Suns are in town.

Unless you've been under a rock for the last couple of years you know the story. The Suns, tired of finishing just short of the Big One despite having one of the most accomplished offenses in the history of the league, decide to change their look by adding Shaquille O'Neal to Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, and the gunners. The offense slowed down, the pairing of Nash and Shaq was about as comfortable as watching Al Franken and Sarah Palin team up for a lambada contest, and Phoenix sank like a rock. Figuring that just missing the Big One is far superior to biting the Big One, the Suns have jettisoned the Big Distraction and returned to their old lineup, if not precisely their old ways. The result has been a 17-8 record, good for second place in the division and a solid 4^th in the conference, within spitting distance of 2^nd.

The Suns don't lead the league in pace. They're 4^th, in a large clump with New York, Minnesota, and the L*kers. They do, however, lead the league in offensive efficiency. They're 1^st in effective field goal percentage, first in three-point percentage, 3^rd in overall field goal percentage (.2 points out of 1^st), 10^th in fastbreak points, 12^th in points in the paint...the only aspects of their offense that lie outside the good-to-excellent range are drawing free throws, hitting free throws, and offensive rebounding. They're just average in those three categories. But if they were better than that it wouldn't be fair.

As you might suspect with the Suns the defense does not measure up as strongly. They're 25^th in the league in defensive efficiency...a far cry from their offensive dominance. But don't sleep on them entirely, even in this area. They're average in the percentage shooting defense stats. They allow over 105 points per game because of the style they play, not because they're inherently terrible defenders. They don't have to be great at that end of the court, just passable most nights. And that they are. Defensive rebounding is another story, though. As has been typical they're quite poor on the boards. It's just not their focus. They allow a ton of opponent offensive rebounds as a result.

The main rotation has plenty of guys you'll recognize. Amare Stoudemire, once again the only big man with any claim to the paint, leads them in scoring at 19.6 per game on 55.9% shooting. Steve Nash is right behind with 18 per game, 53% shooting, 45.6% three-point shooting, 94% foul shooting, ran-the-table-again pool shooting, -18 handicap golf shooting, "one trick shot to bag my entire limit" duck shooting, "that guy on the Dos Equis commercials is only the second most interesting man" breeze shooting, oh...and 11.2 assists per game besides. Grant Hill is still around and doing fine playing 31.5 minutes per game, thank you. Jason Richardson plays Gunner of the Week for them, a role which he was born to play. Ex-Blazer Channing Frye has joined him in shooter's heaven, quite happy on a team where they specifically tell him to stay out of the paint on offense. Leandro Barbosa is still around too, but he's injured. Goran Dragic backs up Nash and Louis Amundson is the third big man off the bench. Both of them can shoot too. You just don't get a minute off against this team.

The good news for the Blazers is that you always have a chance to beat a team that doesn't defend that well, doesn't rebound, and has no shot-blockers. There are points to be had here. The bad news for the Blazers is that outside of an "Oops!" or two against the Knicks and Hornets, the teams the Suns have lost to read like a list of the league's elite: Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Cleveland. The Blazers aren't one of those teams. No hope for the automatic road win either, as the Suns are 8-8 away from the desert. (They're an impressive 9-0 at home, by the way.)

Any way you slice it this should be an entertaining game but a significant challenge for the Blazers. We're all yearning for these kind of matchups with Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez healthy. As usual, the odds get much longer in their absence.

Keys to the Game

1. One of the first things you talk about when plotting against the Suns is tempo. You can't stop them but you can't let them dictate wholly. You have to involve them with the shot clock. Fast breaks, secondary fast breaks, and open shots after one pass are your enemy. You want them figuring out what to do with 4 seconds remaining on the clock. That means getting back in transition and moving your feet on defense for the entire possession. You also have to commit to sticking with your man. You cannot run out late to wave at their shooters and expect to find success.

2. The second thing you talk about is pick and roll. Steve Nash runs it as well as anybody and he can hit a shot or make a pass with daylight only a cat could see in. They will involve you in screens. Whatever strategy you employ to foil them--switching, jumping, fighting through--you better be committed and you better move fast. All of the defenders away from the screen also have to be aware what's going on. Nash will find teammates in a blink.

3. Amare Stoudemire scoring one-on-one is bad but not fatal. Amare Stoudemire also scoring off of feeds is much worse.

4. The Blazers need extra points tonight. The easiest way to get them is on the offensive glass. This is the night to dominate in this area. LaMarcus and Joel should both have several. (Which, by the way, implies that shooting guards and small forwards are GETTING BACK when the shot goes up!)

5. The other method of getting those extra points is penetrating and getting fouled. The Suns aren't horrible defensively as a group but several of them can be had individually. The next guy Jason Richardson defends will be his first. We've seen Channing Frye defend the post. Even Nash isn't great at staying in front of people. Portland managed to find the lane at critical moments against the Kings. Do it again. Do it more.

6. Even all of that may not be enough, but realize that when the Suns get ahead of you they will let you back in it. They tend to blow out awful teams. Mediocre or better and it's a close game. They'll go on streaks. Don't get discouraged. By the same token many a team has had a successful first quarter against Phoenix only to find them lapping the field by the fourth. If you get a lead, keep pushing. It's like the Terminator is after you. Stay on your toes or you're dead.

Final Thoughts

This isn't a game where I'd expect a win but it's one the Blazers have a chance to win. If nothing else I hope it's a good show.

Check out our colleagues at BrightSideoftheSun.

Enter tonight's Jersey Contest form here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is Anti-tweet

Phoenix Stan — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:56:40 -0000

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich hates twitter and other technology as well.

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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is an interesting guy. His resume reads like a fiction character where a young kid from Gary, Indiana graduates from the Air Force Academy with a degree in Soviet Studies, was trained as an intelligence officer, considered a career in the CIA and ends up playing and coaching basketball for a living.

On second thought, that's a bit too far-fetched for fiction.

Popovich's coaching roots are closely intertwined with Suns head coach Alvin Gentry. Both served time with Larry Brown at the University of Kansas in the mid-80's and Gentry has nothing but praise for his long-time friend calling him the one of the best coaches at managing the game, making in-game adjustments and dealing with his players.

Pops outside the game activities range from his dabbling in wine business to traveling in the Amazon rain forests (as told by Gentry). His wikipedia profile says this about his sometimes temperamental personality:

Popovich over the years has gained a reputation as a surly interviewee and a testy dealer with the media... In various in-game interviews, Popovich has been known for giving extremely short and sarcastic answers, as well as simplistic responses to reporters' questions.

I experienced that myself on Tuesday night before the Spurs played the Suns when I asked him an in-artfully worded question about his plans for covering Channing Frye at the three-point line.

"If I had a specific strategy that I think would stop him do you think I would tell you," he asked while looking deep into my eyes. "You think you are that special that I would tell you."

The answer was obviously - no. I am not that special. He did not tell me. And he didn't have a strategy for stopping Frye who went 3 of 4 from behind the line.

I didn't take it personally though. I've seen enough Popovich interviews to know what happens if you ask a dumb question and frankly I am surprised more coaches don't respond this way. He doesn't tolerate imperfection from his players and he expects nothing less from those questioning him about the game.

Of course, we also know about Pops famous sense of humor which was on display later in the discussion when I rebounded from my slap down to ask about Steve Nash's tweet from earlier in the day in which Nash said:

"Anyone know coach Popovich was an American spy in Russia before he began coaching? No wonder his teams are hard to beat!"

Brett Pollakoff from AOL Fanhouse was on-hand and documented the exchange:

"Does Steve tweet? I've lost all respect," Popovich joked. "Steve Nash should not be a tweeter. He's a competitor, not a tweeter."

As for Nash's assertion that the coach's time in the military helped him become a basketball mastermind, Popovich wholeheartedly agreed.

"He's absolutely correct," Popovich deadpanned. "I spent all my military time in Russian basketball courts in different cities collecting as many out of bounds plays as I possibly could. And now, I've had a chance to employ them."

Popovich then continued his anti-Twitter remarks, effectively saying that in his eyes, loose lips sink ships.

"If you're a tweeter, you talk too much. You want to keep things closer to the vest, so you can't tweet."

When it was pointed out that the Spurs have some tweeters in their locker room, Popovich's response was pretty much what you'd expect.

"I know," Popovich said. "I hate 'em all."

Popovich went on with his Luddite ways boosting that he was the only member of the Spurs staff not to own a laptop and then even took a jab at Brett's iPhone that he was using to record the conversation.

Oh, Gregg. Won't you join us in the 21st Century? There's room for your sharp wit and no-nonsense prickly style even in this technology infested digital world we live in.

Here's an edited version of the exchange with the full audio available here:

Game Preview: Suns vs Spurs

PanamaSun — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:01:26 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Alvin Gentry will go against one of the best coaches in the league and a colleague he's known for 30 plus years.

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The Phoenix Suns will play hosts of the San Antonio Spurs tonight as they seek to remain perfect at home. Playing the Spurs is always fun and painful at the same time. Whenever I see their uniforms I can't help but to remember all the times they have broken my heart.

I've been bitter for days because of them. I've punched the wall, yelled at my friends, fought with my significant other, fought with my Mother In Law for fighting with my significant other, screwed up reports at work, I've forgotten important appointments and I've even kicked my dog... and I love my dog.

Interesting enough, I don't have any bad feelings towards them. I've tried to hate them, I've tried to channel my anger and convince myself that they are the bad guys. Nothing. All I feel is respect and admiration. They are disciplined and deadly accurate when running plays on both ends of the floor and all you can do is just shake your head and wish your team would execute in crunch time just like they do.

But this year the Spurs are struggling. They have been playing better as of late but their season has not started the way everyone predicted. Their off season moves looked very good on paper but they have had a hard time adjusting to Pop's system.

I wanted to ask a few questions to the enemy so I contacted Austechspur, fellow blogger from our brother SBN Blog Pounding the Rock, and he was kind enough to answer my inquiries.

His responses after the jump!

P-Sun: The Spurs are 12-9 as of today. You guys are used to a slow start and then picking it up in the middle of the season. Do you feel confident it will happen this year or do you have reasons to be concerned?

AustechSpur: I feel that we have a very good team and that we will get better, but I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little concerned as well. We all thought we would be better at the start of the season and then turn into a juggernaut, which is what you have to be in order to have a chance to win it this year. We have a rather pedestrian 12-9 record with a pretty easy schedule. I think we will pick it up during the season, but we have LOT of picking up to do to get to the top.

P-Sun: It's early in the season but do you feel the off seasonn moves (Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Keith Bogans) have improved your team?

AustechSpur: It's really hard to say. We are different this year and we are different in two ways. We are different in that we have new faces for a change. It's been several years since we have had to new players in the top of the rotation. We are different in that the team is a little more athletic with less defined roles. I'm not really sure how the three new guys fit into the offense and I'm not sure they know how they fit into the offense. Athletically, we should be much better than the last few years. But, until that translates into guys knowing where they need to be and shutting down opponents and making shots, I'm reserving judgment.

P-Sun: DeJuan Blair is playing really well for you guys. How important is this kid to the Spurs franchise and what are the areas you feel he needs to improve?

AustechSpur: DeJuan Blair is an absolute beast. He brought tremendous skills with him and he's getting better very quickly. He's learning to use his giant body on defense. I have no doubt that he will be a very good player. If he can learn to hit the mid-range jumper, he will be a border line all-star in the league for the next 10 years. If you watch one thing with him, check out his feel for the game around the rim. He has TREMENDOUS touch.

P-Sun: Have you had the chance to watch the Suns play this season? What are your thoughts about our team?

AustechSpur: No, I haven't seen them at all.

P-Sun: It seems that no one can stop Steve Nash this season. Now that Bruce Bowen is no longer a Spur, what do you think Pop will do to try to slow him down? Who's the "stopper" on the team now?

AustechSpur: Do you remember this joke? Q: Who is the only person that could keep Michael Jordan under 20 points per game? A: Dean Smith. Replace Jordan with Nash and Smith with Porter. Steve Nash is just fantastic in space. It's his game. We don't' really have a replacement for Bowen who is the one-stop shop for all defense from Steve Nash to Dirk Nowitzki. I expect Steve will see a whole lot of George Hill. George has the perfect attributes to deal with Steve. He's quick enough to stay with him and he has ridiculously long arms to harass passes. That's all you can do with Steve anyway.

P-Sun: What is it about the Spurs system that it takes so long for new players to learn it?

AustechSpur: I'll refer you to this article by DK Wilson for FoxSports.com http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/10471634/Spurs-not-yet-jelled,-but-could-still-turn-into-force and this quote from Antonio McDyess "Everything here is so exact; every play there's so much detail." Apparently, the Spurs are VERY particular about every little detail and where you should be. I think this causes players to think instead of play for a while. I get the sense that Pop rarely says, "Just go out and play your game."

Let's take a look at the key match-ups for tonight's game

Guards

Everyone that plays the Suns try to do different things to slow Nash down. They try guarding him with a small but pesky player, they try switching to a big man, they try double teaming him. Nothing works. Truth is that Steve Nash is playing amazing basketball and I don't even remember if he has had a bad game all season. Pop is smart and he might try different things to keep Nash under control. Like Austechspur said, we might see a George Hill on him. He might bother Steve with his quickness and length. Good luck George, you are going to need it.

On the other hand we have Tony Parker. In the last two games he has had assists in the double digits but has also been a turnover prone. The Suns need to keep him under control and limit his baskets in the paint. We can afford him scoring but the Suns can't let him get his teammates involved. Depending on how he's playing, I expect to see different defenders on him.

Manu Ginobili is still dangerous. He has had very good games this season and when he plays up to his talent the Spurs are almost unbeatable. He has been slowed down by injuries and this has taken a toll on his defense. Once a feared and hated defender, Ginobili has noticeably lost a step. The Suns should take advantage of this and drive to the hole on him.

Forwards

Amar'e has been playing really well. He continues to be very efficient from the field but everyone has noticed that he's not as explosive as he once was. That's what recovering from an eye surgery will do to you. I expect him to continue making those jump shots to keep the Spurs defense guessing. This is a big game for him.

Timmy Duncan has been playing out of his mind. Just like with Nash, everyone doubted he would have an excellent season. He's knees are holding up quite well but that doesn't mean that Spurs fans don't cringe whenever he goes down on the hardwood. Channing Frye will get a chance to defend him and if he get's in foul trouble Robin Lopez will have his hands full with him.

Richard Jefferson is averaging 13.7 point per game. He has struggled offensively and I expect Hill to be on his grill. We need to keep him under control. We already have our hands full with Duncan and Parker.

Predictions

The fact that the Suns are at home, where they have played really well, gives them an advantage over a Spurs team who's still working on their on-court chemistry. The Suns are always fired up to play against them and they'll come out firing. They just need to be consistent throughout 48 minutes of basketball and not throw away any early leads. I feel confident that the Suns will win this one.

Game Links:

Spurs vs Suns coverage
Spurs vs Suns preview
azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish - PaulCoro - The Imperial March
The magic number is 100 for most teams. For Phoenix, it's fittingly higher at 104. When the Suns score less than that this season, they are 2-8. When they score at least that, they are 14-0.
Will Hill and Billups Receive Hall Passes? -- NBA FanHouse
Hill looked to have a sure-fire Hall pass when he came out of Duke in 1994 and starred for six seasons for Detroit. But Hill, after signing with Orlando in 2000, had numerous ankle problems that nearly wrecked his career. Between 2000-04, he played in just 47 of 264 possible games.
Game Preview #22: San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns - Pounding The Rock
Preview for Spurs-Suns, complete with Nash-photoshopping link.

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 12/15/09 3:31 PM MST ]

Video's via Suns.com from today

Game Preview #22: San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns

Tim C. — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:42:32 -0000

The Suns have already set, despite their current record.

So, the Suns have a pretty good record so far this season. Nash looks as good as ever, despite losing some of his better teammates over the previous two seasons. What's up with that? Well, they started the season scorching, and still claim the league's top offense, but they've been losing game more frequently over the last 2 weeks, returning to their rightful place in the second tier of Western Conference teams. That doesn't mean the Spurs should expect to win this game, though. For that, we'll need luck, and some good PtR mojo.

So, how do we get PtR mojo to the game? I'm glad you asked.

PtR Mojo at the Game

Alamobro, xman130 and yours truly will all be at this game, representing PtR. Even though we didn't quite coordinate our seating(I'm in the nosebleeds, they're not), simply being there will hopefully give us a little extra mojo. I will gladly take all the razzing Suns fans can throw at me, as long as the final result is a Spurs victory.

On a mostly unrelated note, check out this epic thread at SpursTalk for hilarity. Be sure to go well beyond the first page. Here's a little preview:

It is so on.

San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns
Where: US Airways Center - Phoenix, AZ
When: December 15, 2009, 8:00 PM Spurs time
Watch: FSN SW(San Antonio); FSN AZ(Phoenix)

How They Stack Up


10-4	Home	8-0
2-5	Road	8-8
101.8	Offense	108.4
96.6	Defense	105.6
48.0	FG%	49.2
39.2	3-pt%	42.7
73.8	FT%	74.7
42.0	Rebounds	41.5
14.7	TOs	15.5
7-3	Last 10	5-5
Won 3	Streak	Lost 1
2nd, Southwest	Position	2nd, Pacific


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	11:00 PM
West Coast	5:00 PM
Philippines	9:00 AM
Central Europe	2:00 AM
Palestine/Egypt	3:00 AM
East Coast	8:00 PM
The Land Time Forgot	7:00 PM
Perth, AUS	9:00 AM
Tokyo, JP	10:00 AM
Sydney, AUS	12:00 PM

Spurs (9-9)	Matchups	Suns (18-6)
Tony Parker Defying Expectations	Point Guard Tony's had double-digit assists in two of the last three games, which is encouraging. Unfortunately, he's also turning the ball over a lot. Mr. Nash is as good as he's ever been, so I'll give him a very slight edge here. Advantage: Suns	Steve Nash Pretty Damn Good

Manu Ginobili BETTER THAN FANGIO!!!	Shooting Guard Manu's got his mojo going in the last few games. Keith Bogans will be matched up with J-Rich at first, but Manu will get the bulk of the SG minutes and should be able to win this matchup. Advantage: Spurs	Jason Richardson Not Richard Jefferson

Richard Jefferson Finally Getting Better	Small Forward RJ's been doing noticeably better as of late, after the rough start to the season. I expect more of the same tonight, and he should be able to take care of Hill with ease if he's on his game. Advantage: Spurs	Grant Hill Not George Hill

Tim Duncan No Random Punctuation	Power Forward Amare is still as deadly a shooter as ever, but doesn't seem to have the explosiveness he used to. Timmy is putting up the most efficient numbers of his career, which is really saying something when you're already the best PF of all time. Advantage: Spurs	Amar'e Stoudemire Random Apostrophe

Antonio McDyess Jumpshooter	Center Dice should get plenty of open looks tonight, even if Amare guards him instead of Timmy. Channing Frye was Phoenix's big acquisition this offseason, which says more about the team than it does about the player. If we can keep him off the 3-point line, this matchup will be ours. Also, Blair is going to eat the Suns frontcourt alive. Advantage: Spurs	Channing Frye Jumpshooter

George Hill Los Cubits	Bench & Role Players The Suns are without Leandro Barbosa. The BAM should be able to get something going pretty easily, cosidering that Jared Dudley is Phoenix's best remaining bench player. Advantage: Spurs	Jared Dudley Aptly Named

Gregg Popovich Bring Back the Beard	Coach Pop should use this game to make a statement. Seriously, he should. Advantage: Spurs	Alvin Gentry 7 Seconds and Loss
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Intangibles If the Spurs could ever stop turning the fucking ball over, they'd be a pretty damn good team. Advantage: Suns
	Mojo Take a look at the Suns' home record. Then take a look at our road record. Not a tough call. Those of us who are there in person will try to bring enough mojo for the Spurs to overcome, but it won't be easy. Advantage: Suns
	Winner I always have a good feeling when we play the Suns, but not this time. I have hope, but not a feeling of inevitability like in seasons past. I'm going to go with my optimism, especially in light of the matchups. Spurs in a squeaker.

Keys To The Game

Defense - The Suns bring the league's most efficient offense to the table - we have to slow them down. In years past, this wouldn't be a problem, but we've been pretty inconsistent on D this season. Come on, Spurs - convince me it's not an issue.
Weather the Storm - Phoenix always comes out fired up to play us, and they usually jump out to an early lead. We can't let it get out of control.
Bench - The Spurs' bench is vastly superior, and they need to play like it. The BAM scored 57 points in our last game, so expectations are definitely being raised.

Last Time They Met

Let's skip the last time these teams met(Don't worry, we won), and go with some classic Spurs-Suns moments. Something tells me Suns fans don't like reliving these as much as we do.

Strength of Schedule

The every other day schedule is over. This is the first game of a back-to-back set(FIGABABA?), with the seond game tomorrow night in Oakland.

The Suns are coming off two days' rest after a road loss to the Nuggets that was very close, and they were actually the victim of some bad calls.

Some Other Reading

Suns

Bright Side of the Sun - These guys are our SBN siblings for Phoenix, and they do a phenomenal job. I briefly met Mike at summer league, and P. Stan is a super blogging machine(he also runs the SBN WNBA blog). I have nothing but respect for the writers over there.

Valley of the Suns - Here's the TrueHoop blog dedicated to the Suns. These other teams' THN blogs seem to be getting better over time, which is a very encouraging sign. Worth the read.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Speaking of THN blogs, Tim and Graydon are still the best. They're not writing as much as they used to, but that's understandable in light of their busy schedules.
Project Spurs: Good Bloguin blog with lots of good content. Be sure to check out their podcasts and live chats.

The Magic That Happened

jrw put together some great highlights from the Clippers game thread(s):

Ridiculous lineup made us lose our lead. What the hell was Pop thinking? - LatinD

"I wanted to lose our lead." - theonlyromeo

"Did I leave that case of wine on the plane?" - Queness

"Why do we need to have these practices everyday?" - theonlyromeo

"Fuck free throws." - Queness

"What’s the big deal about Ophra? I don’t see why people like her." - Hipuks

"What do you mean wrong spelling? I know Ophra well enough, dammit! I like her more than Elen." - theonlyromeo

"Fuck, I totally messed that up." - Hipuks

"Damn, how drunk am I that I misspell things that I’m thinking?" - Queness

"These shoes are too tight." - Queness

"Make-up does wonders to people’s looks." - silverandblack_davis

"I’m supposed to be coaching but I really really have to take a shit, I think if I stand up and walk around it will make it better." - Hipuks

"Ooh, third quarter. Budendozer, what’s our worse +/- lineup?" - theonlyromeo

Pop ought to think about starting manu in the second half - bones

Unfortunately, Pop doesn’t make halftime adjustments. - the little o

Pop’s Idea of an adjustment is switching from the Shiraz to a Merlot - alamobro

in reference to LatinD’s shark BLAAIIIRRR pics:

my entire family got eaten by sharks. show some respect! - sleep research facility

How did YOU survive? I sense an evil plot here. - Rich Town

you’ll need to speak to my lawyer. next question! - sleep research facility

Whoa! Kaman started to pick his dribble up at the "Channel" mark, then took off way before the "admin" spot—all while his defender was standing around the "blocked." - theonlyromeo

My family was killed by a channel blocked by admin, that’s not funny. - Hipuks

My family was killed by a bad joke, that’s not funny. - LatinD

How did YOU survive? I sense an evil plot here. - theonlyromeo

I hid inside a whale corpse. - Hipuks

And, now I’m being killed by lack of oxygen intake. Fuck you guys and your hilarity. - Queness

Bonner elbowed Duncan, -78. - Hipuks

that’s why I smoke cigarettes, because I know that second-hand smoke kills. - the little o

RJ’s driving to the basket a lot more lately. Pop had a talk with him? - LatinD

"You get your ass in there or I will fucking trade you for Vince Carter." - silverandblack_davis

"How much are we paying your ass again?" - theonlyromeo

Why does Pop talk about RJ’s ass so much? - tomasito

Maybe every time RJ goes down the court, Pop thinks, "Yup. That’s 15 million for the right cheek and 15 million for the left cheek. Those are goddamn expensive cheeks." - Queness

After RJ misses a free throw and Blair snags the rebound and gets the put-back:

That’s probably easier than teaching our guys to shoot FTs - greyberger

"Oh, you missed both? I’ll take care of that LOLOOLOLOLOL." - Daniel_B

SA announcer when blair fell "I was worried for the floor" - greyberger

Where to Tune In

TV

This game is not on national TV, so for those of you staying at home, you might want to read on below...

Online

As always, NBA league pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Almost every Spurs game will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area. You know, when we're not at the games.

Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email to dmenendez@gmail.com for more assistance.

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).

Recap: It's Not Robbery If You Give It Away; Nuggets 105, Suns 99

Mike Lisboa — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Sweet Lou had a sweet game in his Colorado homecoming last night. Things didn't work out so well for the rest of the team however. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Browse more photos »

[Note by Mike Lisboa, 12/13/09 8:50 AM PST ]

Sorry this didn't get published until the morning... I fell asleep re-watching the game last night before publishing.

***

At some point down the road, the Suns will probably look back on this loss and the Mavericks loss as two games they'd like to have back. Phoenix wasn't supposed to compete in this game, much less have a shot at winning, coming off a grueling win against the Orlando Magic last night. But someone forgot to tell Steve Nash.

1st Half

Nash hit his first 5 shots to help the Suns to an early 13-5 lead. He looked like a man possessed. The Suns would not roll over on the 2nd night of this particular back to back. However, the early momentum did not last long as Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets found their shooting touch, and eventually took 16-15 lead halfway through the quarter. From then on, the rest of the period was a back and forth dogfight resulting in a 29-26 Nugget lead. Nash and Amare Stoudemire accounted for nearly all the Suns 1st quarter points, but the real story might have been Robin Lopez' 3 fouls in just under 4 minutes of play.

After picking up 5 fouls in 5 minutes against the Magic, Robin proceeded to melt down defensively again, picking up all 3 of his fouls in quick succession in 1 quarter. It might have been the best thing to happen to the Suns in the first quarter as it allowed Lou Amundson to come off the bench and log some heavy minutes. Lou was everywhere in the 2nd quarter, starting things off with a block on the first play of the quarter.

The Suns started the 2nd quarter with a line-up of Goran Dragic, Jared Dudley, Grant Hill, Lou Amundson and Channing Frye and proceeded to go on a 19-2 run. Everything went the Suns' way during this stretch. Dragic was aggressive going to the hoop on one end and playing fearless defense on Ty Lawson at the other. Amundson was a beast on the boards, tipping balls back and pulling down everything in sight. Channing Frye was hitting from range and even drawing contact driving to the hoop.

Defensively, the Suns showed active hands, poking, prodding, blocking and tipping balls that Denver brought into the paint. Aggressiveness and activity were the Suns' hallmarks in the second quarter and they were rewarded. (It also didn't hurt that what open looks the Nuggets did get weren't falling.) The Nuggets did not score a field goal in the first 5:30 of the quarter. Nash checked back in around the 5 minute mark and continued his hot shooting. 1 minute later, the Suns had their largest lead of the game at 52-35. There was so much frustration with how the game was going for Denver that both Carmelo Anthony and George Karl received technical fouls complaining about the officiating. That shoe would soon enough be on the other foot.

This would be their high water mark as they shot 55% for the quarter while holding the Nuggets to 39% shooting and forcing 8 turnovers. Lou Amundson alone finished the 2nd with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Grant Hill defended Carmelo Anthony as well as anyone this season in the first half, holding him to 12 points on 4-12 shooting. The Suns would take a 60-47 lead into halftime on the strength of this performance.

[Note by Mike Lisboa, 12/13/09 9:10 AM PST ]

I don't know how I forgot to mention this: This might have been the best quarter of basketball the Suns have played all year. It was something to behold.

2nd Half

In the 3rd quarter the wheels came off for the Suns. Chauncey Billups and Melo both found their stroke scoring 10 points each. The Suns for their part went ice cold, shooting 36% and turning the ball over 6 times (after only committing 8 turnovers in the first half). While Steve Nash continued his blistering offense going 3-4 from the field, the rest of the Suns were a paltry 3-11. The Nuggets were far more aggressive in the 3rd quarter, slashing and cutting to the hoop and drawing contact. They almost matched the Suns run from the 2nd quarter with an 18-2 run of their own to cut the Suns lead to 1 point. The Suns had lead by as much as 17 early in the quarter.

The 4th quarter was a back and forth affair and the Suns had a chance right down to the wire. The Suns traded baskets with the Nuggets for the first 5 minutes of the 4th quarter until the Suns had a disastrous stretch of game where they turned it over on 3 consecutive trips down the floor. 2 of those turnovers were offensive fouls on Amare Stoudemire, also his 4th and 5th fouls for the game. Turnovers played a large part in the Suns' unraveling. They had 6 in the 4th quarter and 20 for the game. The Suns actually shot a scorching 69% in the 4th but had 6 fewer shots than the Nuggets due to turnovers and offensive rebounds (the Nuggets had 15 for the game, 6 in the 4th quarter).

With just under 4 minutes left, the Nuggets began to assert control. After yet another Suns turnover on a bad pass from Channing Frye to Lou Amundson, Carmelo Anthony came down and scored on a put-back of his own miss to put the Nuggets up 94-92. On the ensuing 4 possessions Steve Nash and Chauncey Billups put on a clinic in clutch, with Nash hitting a 3-ball and a jumper in the lane, while Mr. Big Shot hit a pair of 3s of his own to give the Nuggets a 100-97 lead. On the next trip down, Kenyon Martin got Nash on a switch and blocked his fadeaway attempt. On the ensuing Nuggets' possession with 1:36 to go, Billups missed a long jumper, but drew a blocking foul on Grant Hill after Denver collected the offensive rebound. He went 1 of 2 at the line to give the Nugs a 4 point lead with 1:18.

After Grant Hill nearly turned the ball over on an inbound pass a few seconds later, Nash layed in a finger-roll with 1:00 to go to pull the Suns within 2 points. Grant Hill force a Carmelo miss to get the Suns the ball back with 30 seconds to go.

Controversy!

With the Suns trailing by 2, on what would be the Suns' final meaningful possession, Steve Nash found himself covered by Nene at the arc. Nash drove left, had some arm-to-arm contact with Nene and had his lay-up attempt blocked by the Brazilian center. No foul was called on the play despite the obvious contact. What happened next truly doomed the Suns. After the miss, Carmelo Anthony rebounded the ball with 7.8 seconds left on the game clock. The nearest Sun to Anthony was Steve Nash. Angry about the non-call and complaining to the official underneath the basket, Nash did not turn and foul Anthony. Amare Stoudemire was the 2nd closest and seemed to not understand the need to foul until Anthony had already gotten around him. Jared Dudley, he of the high basketball IQ, came flying in to commit the foul, but overpursued and got screened away from Melo, allowing Anthony to get downcourt where he was eventually fouled by Channing Frye after running the clock down to 2.0 seconds.

At this point, the Suns were down by 2 with a career 80% free throw shooter going to the line. Standard practice here is to hope he misses 1 of 2 and do what you can with the remaining 2 seconds on the clock. Except the Suns never got the chance. Alvin Gentry went ballistic on the referees, getting ejected from the game. 2 technical free throws plus 2 free throws for the foul later and the Suns are down by 6 with not even a prayer of a chance at a last second shot.

My Take

To blame the Suns' loss on poor officiating at the end of the game is to ignore the several other glaring holes in the Suns' game in the second half: giving up 10 offensive rebounds, turning the ball over 12 times, scoring only 39 points while giving up 58. It also ignores how much better Denver played in the second half: only 3 turnovers, 8 steals, and a 20-13 rebounding edge. Sure, the Nuggets got to the line 15 more times than the Suns, but that was to be expected. The Nuggets are hands-down the most aggressive and effective team in the NBA at getting to the line, with a 40.8% Free Throw Rate (ratio of number of free throws made to number of field goals attempted). The Suns, by contrast, are in the middle of the pack in the NBA, with a 29.6% rate, which makes sense given the Suns' reliance on jumpers and 3 pointers.

These are the the things that the players on both teams have control over by how they play the game. They cannot control how and when the whistle does and does not blow. All they can do is execute and hope for the best. Last night, the Suns problems with execution were the same as they have been all season: giving up too many offensive rebounds and turnovers coupled with weak defensive rotations (J.R. Smith goes 0-8? Bullet dodged.). These are things that can be fixed and worked on and improved upon. So can in-game awareness of things like getting one's toes behind the line on a 3-pointer (see below in "Notes"). If Nash and Frye do that over the course of the game, the Suns are up by 1 when Nash makes his fateful drive. If, instead of wondering about the non-call, Nash or Amare makes a move to foul Carmelo Anthony, maybe the Suns have a shot at getting the ball back with 5-7 seconds left on the clock instead of 2. If Gentry doesn't lose his cool, if Amare takes better care of the ball, if J-Rich hits that shot, etc.

The Suns had ample opportunities to win this game even with a bad call or two going against them. Is NBA refereeing inconsistent and frustrating? Sometimes. Should it be more transparent and are reforms necessary? Definitely. Is it an over-riding factor in determining the outcome of games? Very, very rarely. And last night was not one of those times.

Random Notes

So much for bigger or longer defenders slowing down Steve Nash: 11-17 FG, 28 points and 7 assists with only 2 turnovers. I think the longer defenders do disrupt his ability to share the ball but it helps if the people he's passing it to make their shots, too.
Amare Stoudemire seems to be struggling to figure out when to take the jumper and when to take it to the hole. In the 3rd quarter when Denver was at the tail end of their big run, he made a pair of nice moves to the bucket, one that resulted in a score and the other in a trip to the line. However, his 7 turnovers for the game may make him a little gunshy about puttling the ball on the floor in the future.
For a team that likes to live and die by the 3 ball, the Suns did a poor job of making sure their feet were behind the line last night. 3 potential 3-pointers were ruled 2-pointers upon official review because of toes on the line. 1 by Nash, 2 by Frye.
It was nice to see Channing Frye have a strong offensive showing on the road and on the second night of a back to back.
Jason Richardson on the other hand continues to struggle. Over the last 10 games, J-Rich is shooting only 45.1% on is field goals and 33.3% from 3 point land. Over the last 5, it's even worse with 41.4 FG% and 25.0 3PT%.
Goran Dragic had a solid night with 4 points, 4 assists and a steal with only one turnover leading the 2nd unit as well as containing Ty Lawson (2 points, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, -18 for the game). Point guards were not the problem for the Suns last night.
Jared Dudley's 3 point shooting continues to impress. After going 2-3 from downtown last night, he leads the Suns, hitting 48.8% of his shots behind the arc.
If nothing else, the Suns showed they CAN be competitive against tough competition on the second night of back-to-backs when the spirit moves them. Nash, Hill, and Stoudemire all logged over 34 minutes in last night's game (with Grant Hill leading all Suns with 42:45).
Get ready for some congestion downtown: 8 of the Suns' next 10 games are at home... finally!

Other Links

A tale of two halves... (Nuggets/Suns recap) - Denver Stiffs

Suns vs Nuggets coverage

Suns vs Nuggets recap

Suns vs Nuggets boxscore

Game Preview - Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets

Mike Lisboa — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:29:12 -0000

More photos » by Barry Gossage - NBAE via Getty Images

More of this, please. (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

Browse more photos »

There is absolutely no way this game ends well for the Phoenix Suns. Whatever your bar is for the Suns' performance in this game, lower it. I'm eschewing the typical "match-up" format for this preview in favor of bullet points, because while the Suns may have an edge here or there with regards to personnel, none of that has mattered so far on Second Nights.

I know that's not very Bright Side of me, but the deck is stacked heavily against the Suns tonight:

Denver is ranked 3rd in offensive efficiency. The Suns are ranked 23rd in defensive efficiency.
The Suns are on the second night of a back-to-back. They are 1-4 in these games, 0-4 against teams with a winning percentage higher than .217.
On second night games, ALL the Suns starters shoot notably worse except for one: Steve Nash. He actually has higher FG and 3PT percentages on the wrong side of back-to-backs than his season averages. His overall totals are down in these games, but so are his minutes as they've generally ended in blow-outs. Could Steve Nash be any more amazing?

Also, when the other 4 starters are not shooting well, that means fewer assists for Nash, which means he's reduced to being a scorer, which he does more than competently. At some point, Robin Williams is going to show up and hug Nash and tell him, "It's not your fault (unless your man went for a career-high again)."

The Nuggets are 1 of only 3 teams that plays at a faster pace than the Suns, so there is no "running these guys off the court." Oh yes, the game also takes place a mile above sea level. Winded won't even begin to cover how Phoenix will feel come the second half.

Guard play: As awesome as Chauncey Billups vs. Steve Nash sounds on paper, I doubt we'll see it very often. I expect we'll see lots of J-Rich on Billups (who is tough cover for Nash) and vice versa while the Nuggets continue the trend of putting longer defenders on Nash in the form of Arron "I'd Like To Buy A Vowel" Afflalo.

Guard play, part 2: The Suns badly need Jason Richardson to shake off his Second Night slumping if they hope to have a prayer in this game. His shooting percentage drops from .485 to .385 on Second Nights.

Guard play, part 3: Goran Dragic against Ty Lawson could be really, really fun if Dragon Frosty shows up. However, if it's Tragic Frosty, he will find himself in a couple of posters before the night is through. I have a hunch Dragon Frosty will be making an appearance tonight (though Dragon Frosty runs the risk of melting himself, so I don't really know how that works in the grand scheme of things).

Ditto Channing Frye whose 3PT percentage drops from .435 to .300 on Second Nights. If he's not hitting, that frees up Nene, Chris Andersen, and/or Kenyon Martin to stay in and protect the paint. It's an offensive double whammy for the Suns as it hurts both their perimeter and inside games when he is missing.

Jared Dudley and Grant Hill will have their hands full with Carmelo Anthony. And by "full" I mean "no one else has been able to guard him this season and I don't see that trend magically ending tonight." Carmelo has been downright Kobe-like in his ability to score from anywhere inside of half-court this season.

Amare Stoudemire has to get it going on down low, which is a tall order against Martin, Birdman and Nene. The Nuggets get more free throws per field goal attempt than any team in the NBA. A healthy dose of Amar'e And-1s would help things considerably tonight.

Unless the Suns suddenly start closing out on shooters, I can see J.R. "My Name Is Isn't Earl" Smith going to town on Phoenix tonight. Again.

The one true Bright Side I foresee going into this game is that since the Nuggets are a faster team than the Suns' more recent opponents, I expect to see heavier minutes for Lou Amundson and "My Name Really Is Earl" Clark. If 'Melo gets it going early, Gentry might give Earl a whirl on the Denver's scoring machine. And we all know how much Nene likes playing against Looooooooouuuuuuuu.

Predictions

This game has blow out written all over it. The Suns remaining competitive for more than 2 quarters, much less winning this game, flies in the face of everything we've seen from them so far this season. For the Suns to win, they have to somehow find that crazy offensive rhythm they had through the first 17 games of the season and Denver has to be commensurately ice cold from the field. A Suns victory isn't impossible tonight, just highly improbable. But that's why they play the games, eh? Denver wins 122-100 and the Suns get a moral taco victory.

P.S. - I have no problem being wrong about all of the above and the Suns pulling one out tonight.

[Note by Mike Lisboa, 12/12/09 11:55 AM PST ]

It's unfortunate this is a Second Night game, because with both teams well-rested, this match-up has the potential to be a fast-paced yet nasty shoot-out. Fortunately, the next couple of times these two teams it will be after a day or two's rest.

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Preview: Suns vs Magic

Phoenix Stan — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:48:54 -0000

Good news: The Magic played last night in Utah with Howard (44) and Carter (38) putting up big minutes

Bad news: The Magic lost last night in Utah and SVG is gonna be pissed about 9 turnovers in the 2nd half leading to 15 points for the Jazz.. He's probably also somewhat perturbed by his $118m forward refusing to re-enter the game. Really, Shard?

Good news: The Suns have had two days to both rest physically and more importantly recover their mental focus and plan for this game

Bad news: Leandro Barbosa is still out will be for a few more weeks which leaves the Suns bench without much punch. I would like to see Dragic step up in this game against Anthony Johnson who I believe is 67 years old (he's actually 4 years younger than me which makes me on the wrong side of the Larry King line)

Good news: I am going to stop this 6th grade trick of trying to write this way

Bad news: You just never know when I might get lazy and pull this out again

The Orlando Magic are a very interesting team in that they don't do all that much on the offensive end that one might consider particularly interesting. They don't move the ball very well (19th in assists). They don't move players off the ball particularly well. And they don't have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Kobe Bryant to make your jaw drop on too many occasions.

But what the Magic do they do very well and that's play inside out and shoot the three (1st in 3PA). And they rebound (2nd in DReb) and after a slow start to the season they are once again defending well (9th in DEff). All stats provided by my new favorite stats site - Hoops Stats.com.

The most impressive thing about the Magic this year has been their ability to play through injuries including the loss of their all-star point guard Jameer Nelson since the 16th of November. They are 9 and 2 without him including wins over Boston and Atlanta and overall they are 17 and 5 on the season.

Of course, they are 23rd in the league in Strength of Schedule with their opponents averaging only .485 versus the Suns who at 13th have faced a teams with a combined .504 winning percentage. But hey, you can only play who's in front of you on a given night. No excuses, right?

Game Plan:

The Magic offense looks a lot like the early 2000's Lakers with the big guy in the middle, a dynamic shooting guard, and lots of shooters that spread the floor. Except Howard isn't as good as Shaq was then and Carter is no Kobe. The difference is the Magic are a better outside shooting team by about five extra points from behind the arc and no offense to Mike Penberthy but Orlando's bench is much much deeper.

The Magic want to get the ball into Howard and work off of him when teams double. Coach Gentry said the other day that the Suns are going to try and avoid doubling Dwight which pretty much means that Channing Frye is going to be road kill in the paint. That might not be the worse thing in the world though.

Like teams are doing to the Suns when they "make Nash a scorer", you can live with one guy getting a lot of touches and points if you keep the other guys from getting hot. Especially early in the game. Later if you have to you can bring help on Howard when he puts the ball on the floor and if the games close you can always put him on the line (64%).

The Jazz last night went the other way and were effective in bringing help and rotating back out. That worked too but I like my plan better than Jerry Sloan's because clearly between him and I you know who's got the better basketball mind.

I am looking forward to seeing PsychLo (my new nickname for Robin) get some minutes on Dwight. Channing is shooting 35% from three lately and if he starts the game cold I would not be surprised to see PsychLo come in about half way through the first quarter. His defense has looked pretty good since his return. The problem is getting him in the right spots offensively so he's not disrupting the flow. Hopefully, a few days of practice have helped.

Notice how I didn't once mention Robin's Door?

Offensively, the Suns need to push the ball and not let Dwight get set up in the lane. In the half court pull him out on pick and rolls and dare him to switch on to Nash. If they do switch then Steve's got to attack Howard off the bounce and try and get him into foul trouble.

Ball movement and movement off the ball. That's what we are looking for.

Mostly though, the Suns just need to be sharp, decisive and confident. The Jazz dropped 120 on them last night including a 68 point second half. They did that by being more active and aggressive, moving the ball and attacking early.

Late start tonight and National TV so no excuses for the game thread to be quiet. Bring it, Suns fans!

ESPN's RV Experience will be at the game tonight by the way...

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