SB Nation - Leandro Barbosa

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.

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)

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).

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...

Game Links:

Mavericks Vs Suns: Game 22 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:09:11 -0000

Suns vs Mavericks preview

Bright Side Of The Sun

Suns vs Mavericks coverage

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: The Mavericks will need a little extra from Kidd tonight. The Mavs will have to call on Kidd to try and penetrate in order to create better shots for the slumping Mavericks shooters. Normally this is not a very profitable idea but tonight Kidd will have the leagues other ageless wonder covering him, and this should allow Kidd to at least be on equal ground as far as quickness. However for everything that goes up must come down. Kidd will draw a very tough cover in Steve Nash, and that beautiful teardrop shot of his. It is imperative for Kidd to keep a tight handle on Nash and not allow him to get on one of his shooting streaks.

vs.

Steve Nash: How on earth did Cuban ever allow this guy to leave Dallas? Even though he plays for the enemy I still love to watch Nash. As tough a cover as Kidd will have all year (yes that includes CP3, and Tony Parker) he has the uncanny ability to create just enough space for himself to get a good look at the basket, and a good look for Nash is most assuredly a shot that most others would not have a chance at. Nash will create shots not only for himself but is unbelievably good at getting open looks for his teammates.

Edge: Suns

Shooting Guard

Rodrigue Beaubois: This is simply a guess on my part as to who the starter will be, it is very possible that the JET will get his second consecutive start. The Mavericks and Coach Carlisle must start getting Beaubois more time on the floor, and his length and athleticism would surely help tonight. However whoever gets the nod will have their hands full with the Suns dead eye shooter Jason Richardson. I believe that Roddy B would give the Mavs their best chance against Richardson.

vs.

Jason Richardson: Richardson comes into the night averaging 16.4 ppg and 4.9 rpg but it his FG% and 3P% that are most shocking. Josh is shooting 49.6%FG and 42.3% from beyond the arc, this is one guy that the Mavs can not afford to let run free.

Edge: Suns

Forward

Shawn Marion: Continues to play very solid offense but the Mavs will need more from him tonight. Shawn's offensive game will need to be in full swing tonight for the Mavs to be able to compete.

vs.

Grant Hill: Did I mention my extreme hatred of anyone from Duke?

Edge: Mavs

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: Continues to struggle somewhat from the field, the Mavs cannot stand for Dirk to continue to struggle from the field, and settle for jump shots. Dirk will also need to be on top of his defensive game as well, as Channing Frye poses serious problems with his length and shooting prowess.

vs.

Channing Frye: While not on the same level as Dirk he does pose some of the same issues that Dirk does. He is a tall forward with a nice 3point shooting touch.

Edge: Mavs

Center

Drew Gooden: Drew Gooden should get the nod tonight ahead of Dampier simply because he is the more athletic option and should be able to stay with Stoudemire with much more consistency than Dampier. Either way though they will need to make sure that he is accounted for on every possession.

Vs.

Amare Stoudemire: Even after major surgery he still has most of the same abilities he had before the surgery, and continues to be Phoenix #1 option each time down the floor. Stoudemire is at his best in the open court and running, an extremely proficient finish around the basket.

Edge:Suns

Injuries/Suspensions

Phoenix Suns

OUT - Leandro Barbosa

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Josh Howard

Prediction: If the Mavs starting 5 can stay close to the Suns the second rotation should be able to do some damage. Look for this game to be very competitive the whole way through, but the strength of the Mavs bench will come through in the end.

Dallas Mavericks: 118

Phoenix Suns: 113

Game Preview - Phoenix Suns vs. Dallas Mavericks

Mike Lisboa — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:07:04 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

"Trade me for a Shaqtus, will you?" Former Sun Shawn Marion plots his revenge. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Browse more photos »

So, after a creampuff of a schedule so far in terms opposition, the Suns finally get a chance to prove they belong in the discussion of Western Conference powers. Those 2 losses to the Lakers? Totally expected. It's going to be the rare team that gives that Laker squad a run for their money. Anyone who expected the Suns to do more than compete for 2 or 3 quarters in either of those games was probably a little delusional.

But the Mavericks? They're the proverbial "someone our own size." In addition to hoping for similar seeding in the Western Conference play-off picture, the Mavericks have even had some of the same early season challenges/knocks the Suns have:

The Mavericks have played 12 of their first 21 games on the road. The Suns have played 14 of 21 away from Phoenix.
The Mavericks have had an even softer schedule than the Suns. Opponents winning percentage is .457 vs. .487 for Phoenix.
The Mavs have only played 7 times against teams with a record better than .500. The Sun have only played 7 times against teams with a record better than .500.
The Mavericks are 5-2 in those games. The Suns are 3-4 in those games.

And that's where these two teams diverge in terms of early season success. The Mavericks even notched an early win over the Lakers (a 94-80 thumping at Staples Center) who have proved... how shall we say this... challenging to the Suns.

Let's go to the match-ups and see how else these teams stack up.

Guards

At the point, Steve Nash squares off against one-time benchmate Jason Kidd. Both long in the tooth and wizards with the ball in their hands, Nash is a better scorer and Kidd is a better defender. And according to a panel of basketball expert types, Kidd holds a slight edge in "basketball IQ." This is basically a push and should be a fun match-up to watch as the two veterans try to out-wile each other. Off the bench, it's J.J. Barea vs. Goran Dragic. Barea's been logging heavier minutes than Dragic, but serves the same role: holder of serve while the starting maestro catches his breath between virtuoso performances. Hopefully, confident Dragic shows up and can use his size and speed to over-match the smaller Barea. Again, there's no discernable advantage for either team here.

At shooting guard, the Mavs roll out French rookie Rodrigue Beaubois against Jason Richardson. Beaubois is fast as all get out and can leap tall guards in a single bound. Look for the Mavs to get him going early with their now-trademark alley-oop play they run for the little guy. Whatever. The real story at the 2 for the Mavs is Jason Terry, who notoriously lights it up against the Suns. J-Rich will have his hands full preventing Terry from getting his and better remember to pack his offense if he hopes to out-gun Terry. The Suns may miss Leandro Barbosa's scoring punch here.

Forwards

Well, well, well... if it isn't our old friend Shawn Marion. I expect to see a motivated Matrix against Grant Hill tonight. Off the bench, Jared Dudley versus Quinton Ross is fairly even match-up of hustle guys who trade on their defense.

At power forward, we have both teams big guns, men who, when playing at the tops of their games are virtually unguardable. Dirk Nowitzki is a one man wrecking crew from all over the court and while Amare Stoudmire doesn't have Dirk's range or ability to create off the dribble, he's a handful from 20 feet inwards. Slight edge to the Mavericks here. Off the bench, the Mavericks have Kris Humphries and former Sun Tim Thomas. Is tonight the night we finally see Lou Amundson back in the line-up? The Suns could probably use some of his energy on the road after a tough loss to the Lakers.

Center

True story: when Erick Dampier and Steve Nash were free agents a few years back, I wanted the Suns to throw gobs of money at Dampier after his career year at Golden State and nearly tore my hair out when they offered Nash his massive contract. Let's just say that was not my best basketball moment. That said, despite his tendency to mail it in from time to time, Dampier can do his damage down low. If he gets physical, Channing Frye could be in for another long game. While more athletically gifted, Robin Lopez needs to stay in control of himself and not pick up cheap fouls against Dampier or veteran back-up Drew Gooden. This is an opportunity for him to show his stuff against some veteran competition and a very manageable match-up if he can keep his wits about him.

Predictions

On paper, this is a good quality match-up for both teams and an opportunity to shed early season "soft" labels. As usual, the teams square up well against one another on a position by position basis. For the Mavs defensively, I expect we'll see a lot of Dampier and Gooden staying home down low with Amare while Dirk floats to the perimeter against Channing Frye.

Also, I expect the Mavs will continue the trend of switching longer defenders out on to Nash to disrupt his passing game. Nash will have to figure out how to shake his former partner-in-oop Shawn Marion to keep the Suns offense from stagnating.

It's at this time where I have to point out the one big discrepancy between the two teams. While the Suns hold the offensive edge, scoring 112.1 points per 100 possessions (1st in the NBA) versus 106.2 for the Mavericks (12th), Dallas is a much, much better defensive team, allowing only 99.9 points per 100 (5th) versus a whopping 107.6 (24th) for the Suns.

While the Suns can win this game if they can return to the terrifyingly efficient offensive game that tormented opposing teams earlier in the year, I see them struggling against the Mavs relatively strong defense and slow pace. The Suns haven't been able to push the tempo against quality opposition (Celtics game notwithstanding) and Steve Nash has yet to adjust his game to overcome bigger opposing defenders. Until the Suns improve their sieve-like porous matador thus far weak defense, they are reliant on an increasingly tenuous jump-shooting offense to pull them through.

It pains me to do it, but while the Suns should be much more competitive in this game than previous ones against quality teams, I see the Mavs pulling away on the strength of big games by Nowitzki and Terry and their superior defense. 107-96, Mavericks.

That said, it should be a fun game, and after a couple days of rest the Suns will be looking to prove me all kinds of wrong, so getcha popcorn ready! Head over to Mavs Moneyball to check out the view from the other side of the bleachers.

Game Day Links

Suns vs Mavericks coverage
Mavs Moneyball
HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Jorge Sierra » Most Valuable Tweeters
the former Bobcat is the clear Twitter MVP. His trade to a relevant team like Phoenix and his impressive activity with the social media website have made him a recognizable face for NBA fans – which wasn’t the case one year ago while still in Charlotte. Dudley reports news (calls himself JMZ), gives away tickets and interacts with fans, journalists, owners and fellow NBA players.
azcentral.com - members
They still might get there. But with the Lakers taking root in Los Angeles so far this season, the Suns playing a league-high 14 road games and "Phoenix at L.A. Lakers" coming up twice a night after a home game that was just a check-in from an East Trip, it's hard to make take any lasting impressions away other than that the Lakers are better.
Lakers rout Suns in LA again
"They bottle up everything you try to do," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "They switch, and they knock off. We could never really get anything going. We're not so much a fast-break team but a rhythm team and they just take you out of your rhythm."
Lakers 108, Phoenix 88: Second verse, same as the first | Lakers Blog | Los Angeles Times
I think we can all agree that if asked to create NBA kryptonite for this year's Suns squad, it would look a lot like the Lakers. Length, mobility, dominating post play, and so on. Generally speaking I like to avoid grand proclamations so early in the season, but I'm comfortable declaring that there is absolutely no earthly way Phoenix would beat a healthy Lakers team in a playoff series. None. Something under zero, really. But the Suns are 15-4 vs. the rest of the league. That's worth something, and Sunday night the Lakers beat them by 20. That's worth something, too.

This one is a must read. A true basketball poet lays the Suns bare

Hardwood Paroxysm » Blog Archive » What a Feeling, To Be Mortal
Maybe the hustle and the bustle of the Suns doesn’t quite fit your living style, but who could possibly claim that the exaggerated in-game highs and lows of the Suns — the 20-point lead built and swallowed by a 5-25 run, the 3-point barrages followed by defensive letdowns — aren’t basketball’s most fitting equivalent of life on the outside? It’s not about the 9-5 grind, and it’s not necessarily about winning all the time; the Suns’ existence is predicated on winning more than you lose, embracing who you are, playing by your own rules, learning to live through the ups and downs, and remembering that the line between work and play doesn’t have to be crystal clear. They work hard, they score points, and they play basketball like it’s a game worth playing. They may not have the talent of the Lakers or the convention of the Spurs, but this is a team of hard workers and ball players with a plan.
Suns hope to warm up in Dallas
Suns fans must yearn for those 14-3 NBA darlings they had a week ago - probably as much as the Suns now yearn to rediscover their offense. That Suns team had three four-game winning streaks, an unflappable road mentality and shot 50.7 percent from the field.
azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish - PaulCoro - A fair fight for the Suns
The Suns get some help with that tonight with Louis Amundson returning from his flu bout. His stomach still hurts but he going to play tonight and probably get to guard Nowitzki. Welcome back. His key is energy so we will see how much of it he has after a couple days in bed.

Lakers-Suns Preview

DexterFishmore — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:00:16 -0000

All right, rockers, it's time to get serious. We've been in high spirits the past two days toasting the Great Bank Bailout of 2009, but tonight we've got new guests arriving. They're not as fun and easygoing as the Miami Heat, and if the Lakers don't tighten their act up from what we saw on Friday night, the game won't end quite so festively.

On Friday, the Heat high-pick-and-rolled the Lakers nearly to death. It's been lost amid the Kobe glee, but the Laker defense was inept for most of the game. Repeatedly Dwyane Wade broke free off a high screen, drove the lane unharassed and either finished at the rim, went to the line or found one of his big men for an open look. The Lakers appeared baffled by this 100-year-old tactic, and if the Heat hadn't missed 15 free throws or Kobe's heave had been two inches off to either side, the D-grade D would have been the story of the game.

Now arrive the Phoenix Suns, deadly masters of the pick-and-pop, drive-and-dish and numerous variations thereon. Last time they darkened the Lakers' door, on November 12th, they got hammered for their troubles, losing by a cool 19 points. They were playing part deux of a back-to-back, as they will be tonight. Then again, Miami had the same difficulty on Friday, and that and three bucks bought us a cup of coffee.

The Suns don't have the same buzz around them these days as they did in November, when they were the hot team du jour, but their resumé is still very solid. They're only a game behind the Lakers in the standings, and they held the league's best record until an out-of-nowhere loss to the Knicks last week. Following that up by getting rocked in Cleveland didn't help their Q rating, but they handled a game Sacramento team last night to get back in whack. Their Offensive Rating of 112.5 is first in the league, and their death-dealing three point attack gives them a puncher's chance against anyone.

Of the basic activities that take place on a basketball court - turnovers, shooting, rebounding, fouling and getting fouled - shooting is the most important. Shooting accuracy, as measured by Effective Field-Goal Percentage, predicts game outcome better than any other metric. Those other things are important too, but none as much as shooting well, and Phoenix does that one thing better than anyone else in the NBA.

About 28% of the Suns' field-goal attempts are from three-point range, which is the third highest rate in the league, and they make an insane 44% of those tries, first in the league. They boast a team Effective FG% of 56%, also first. They don't take care of the ball well, and they're below average in getting to the line and rebounding their misses, but their ridiculous shooting means their offense is great anyway. Basically, they bomb away from outside and see if you keep up.

What makes tonight's matchup so interesting, schematically, is that the Laker D excels like no other at forcing missed shots. The Lakemen have allowed opponents an Effective FG% of only 46% and a three-point accuracy of only 30%, both tops in the NBA. They were strong in these metrics last year and are even better now, thanks in no small part to Ron Artest and the (nearly) full-time service of Andrew Bynum. When the Suns have the ball, it'll be a bellwether, strength-on-strength contest of elite units.

When these two teams played in November, Phoenix had a ghastly shooting night, managing an EFG of only 40%. Amare Stoudamire, who bricked 13 of 15 field goal attempts, was especially brutal. The Suns won't shoot that badly again, but remember that last time around, Pau Gasol was out. His length on the inside will make clean looks for La Soudamire and any other Sun who visits the paint even harder to come by.

The other roster difference this time around is the absence of Leandro Barbosa, who's out with a sprained ankle. I wouldn't call this a crippling blow or anything, but it's more important than you might think. Barbosa was playing 21 minutes a night and showing superlative plus-minus numbers. Per 100 possessions, Phoenix was 4.4 points better with him on the court than without. His shelving has meant more minutes for second-year lefty Goran Dragic, about whom the numbers are conflicted. His assist rate is strong and his shot is improving, but his plus-minus stats are ugly. At least he and Sasha Vujacic can chat together about Slovenia during shootaround.

The Lakers will need to keep close track of both Jason Richardson, who's hitting 44% of his threes, and Channing Frye. I've remained highly skeptical of Frye and his newly developed three-ball range, but damned if he isn't proving me wrong. He's hit an absurd 47% of his money shots on the year.

Also, I'm not sure this "Stephen Nash" guy they've been touting is for real.

(One other trend line to note before we move on from the Phoenix O: the Suns have been awfully loose with the rock lately. Over their past five games, they've turned it over on 17% of their possessions. Not good, gentlemen.)

So Phoenix knows how to accrue pointage. Fair enough. It's not clear, though, that they're at all equipped to slow the Laker attack. The November game served mostly as a chance for Bynum to build up his All-Star credentials, as he destroyed Amare to the tune of 26 points and 15 boards. Even physical, well-regarded post defenders like Emeka Okafor and Nene have struggled to control the Laker big man this year, and as a defender Amare is - how to put this nicely - neither physical nor well regarded.

Furthermore, at the risk of repeating myself: Pau Gasol. He didn't play in November; he will tonight. Pau gives Phoenix yet another post player they probably can't really really deal with.

The Suns are just a poor defensive team, ranking 23rd in the league in points allowed per possession, and it's this shortcoming that keeps them a level below the Lakers in the NBA food pyramid. They don't force turnovers, they allow opponents to shoot pretty well, and they're the worst defensive rebounding team in the league. Over their past five games, they've allowed foes to rebound 34% of their misses, which is bad but only a few ticks higher than their full-season rate of 31%.

You know when the Lakers miss a shot, and Pau, Drew and Lamar Odom just keep volleyballing it around until it goes in? We could see a lot of that tonight.

Over this five-game stretch, the Suns have surrendered 1.13 PPP to their opponents. That group includes strong offenses like Toronto and Cleveland, but also total crap offenses like New York and Minnesota. The Lakers have adjustments to make from their recent outings, smarter and more disciplined pick-and-roll defense foremost among them, but so do the Suns.

Kobe scored 29 against Phoenix last time around, and he knows the Lakers played poorly on Friday. He's irked about it. He should be attacking from the start. The Suns don't have an answer for them either, so they'll need their threes to rain down like a desert squall.

	Lakers	Suns
*RECORD*	15-3	15-5
*NET POINTS PER GAME*	+7.7 (3rd)	+4.6 (8th)
*PACE*	98.1 (6th)	98.5 (4th)
*OFFENSIVE RATING*	105.0 (14th)	112.5 (1st)
Turnover Rate (Off.)	13.0% (6th)	14.5% (21st)
FTA/FGA (Off.)	0.26 (25th)	0.30 (18th)
Free-Throw %	74.9 (15th)	73.3 (22nd)
Effective FG% (Off.)	50.2 (14th)	56.1 (1st)
True Shooting% (Off.)	53.8 (17th)	59.2 (1st)
Off Rebounding Rate	27.6% (11th)	26.9% (14th)
*DEFENSIVE RATING*	97.6 (3rd)	106.9 (23rd)
Turnover Rate (Def.)	14.5% (12th)	11.9% (28th)
FTA/FGA (Def.)	0.28 (8th)	0.25 (1st)
Effective FG% (Def.)	46.0 (1st)	50.1 (20th)
True Shooting% (Def.)	50.5 (1st)	53.3 (13th)
Def Rebounding Rate	72.2% (20th)	69.4% (30th)

All statistical terms defined here. Parentheses indicate league rankings. Numbers are courtesy of Basketball Reference and HoopData and, except for record and net points per game, are through Friday night's action.

Preview: Kings at Suns

Ziller — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:30:14 -0000

More photos » by John Froschauer - AP

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THE OPPONENT

The Suns are 14-5. The only good thing about that, for Kings fans, is that the Suns were at one point 14-3, which means the Suns have lost two straight. One loss came at the hands of ... New York (guh), an embarrassing blow-out defeat in which Danilo Gallinari lashed out at the creation of MTV's new hit Jersey Shore. The other loss came at Cleveland, which is a bit more understandable. Actually, it's completely understandable. Cleveland is pretty incredible.

Steve Nash refuses to obey human physiology, and Alvin Gentry's gambit (that getting back up to speed would improve the offense more than starting Channing Frye would hurt the defense) has worked. (That will now be dubbed the Gentry Gambit, by the way. It differs from the Bonner Gambit in that the latter states that if you have a good enough defense from positions 1-4, you can play a tall shooting guard at center.)

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Amare Stoudemire	19	33.8	7.2	12.5	57.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	4.8	6.4	75.4	2.1	5.0	7.1	1.1	2.9	0.6	1.2	3.5	19.2
Jason Richardson	17	31.4	6.2	12.4	50.5	2.5	5.6	44.2	1.8	2.5	72.1	0.9	4.1	5.0	1.7	0.9	0.8	0.4	2.1	16.8
Steve Nash	19	32.3	6.1	11.7	52.3	1.6	3.6	44.1	2.7	2.8	94.4	0.5	2.3	2.8	11.5	3.8	0.4	0.2	1.2	16.5
Channing Frye	19	30.1	4.6	9.9	46.8	2.7	5.7	46.8	0.9	1.2	78.3	0.8	4.9	5.8	1.4	0.8	0.8	0.8	3.4	12.9
Grant Hill	19	30.2	4.6	9.6	47.5	0.4	1.0	42.1	2.4	3.0	78.9	1.4	5.3	6.7	2.1	1.3	0.6	0.3	1.6	11.9
Leandro Barbosa	14	21.4	4.6	9.4	48.5	1.2	3.0	40.5	1.2	1.7	70.8	0.3	1.6	1.9	2.0	1.1	0.6	0.1	2.0	11.6
Jared Dudley	19	22.1	2.8	6.3	44.5	1.5	3.3	46.0	1.5	2.2	70.7	1.5	2.3	3.8	1.2	0.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	8.6
Goran Dragic	19	15.9	2.5	5.6	43.9	0.7	2.1	35.9	1.1	1.9	56.8	0.6	1.7	2.3	2.9	1.6	0.5	0.2	1.7	6.8
Louis Amundson	18	15.2	1.9	3.6	53.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	1.6	58.6	1.8	2.7	4.4	0.4	0.9	0.1	0.9	1.9	4.8
Alando Tucker	7	6.1	1.3	3.0	42.9	0.1	0.6	25.0	1.9	2.4	76.5	0.6	0.3	0.9	0.4	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	4.6
Robin Lopez	4	9.8	1.8	2.8	63.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.8	1.0	75.0	1.5	1.8	3.3	0.0	2.0	0.3	0.8	2.0	4.3
Earl Clark	15	10.3	1.7	3.7	45.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.5	50.0	0.6	1.1	1.7	0.5	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.5	3.6
Taylor Griffin	1	8.0	1.0	2.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0
Jarron Collins	11	7.3	0.5	0.7	62.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.8	22.2	0.5	1.5	2.0	0.1	0.3	0.0	0.3	1.2	1.1

The Suns are a bad rebounding team (13th on offense, 30th on defense) so feast away, Mssrs. Jason Thompson and Jon Brockman! The real battles are at ... well, hold on.

THE KEY BATTLE

I think that, assuming at some point Paul Westphal wants to bring Beno Udrih back into the starting unit as he did to open the second half of the Pacers game, this is not the right game to do it. We know factually that Beno can't guard Nash. We assume Tyreke Evans will also have problems, but the chance Evans can slow Nash a bit (plus make him work hard on the other end) plus the idea that Donte Greene will cause more problems on defense for Jason Richardson than Evans would, and ... I think you go Evans/Greene again. The issue would be whether Westphal wants to keep up with Phoenix (score every time they do) or to slow them down enough to keep pace (spend energy defending, hope you make enough shots). Ideally, both. But this is a real world, you know? As such,

Guards vs. Guards.

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

I have no idea whether any current Phoenix residents actually lived there during Westphal's tenure. But if so, this is like ... Dick Motta returning, right? How would I react if Dick Motta got hired by the Grizzlies and came to ARCO? Hmm. I hope I don't spend the first quarter ignoring the game while pondering this.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Florida's white helmet-white uni motif is worse than the Kings' short-lived gold lamé kits.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Suns by 5.

DETAILS

This will be a 6PM Pacific tip. Game thread at 6, post-game thread at 8:45. Recap under the sea.

Game Preview: Suns vs. Knicks (And Mike D'Antoni)

Wil Cantrell — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:42:46 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

"Please Santa, please bring me a Steve Nash for Christmas." (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

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Tonight the Suns play game three of their current 4 game road trip against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Suns enter the game on a 4 game win streak, but are facing the next couple weeks without Leandro Barbosa.

While the Knicks as a basketball team aren't incredibly interesting, this match-up interests all of us for one particular reason: Mike D'Antoni.

The architect of 7SOL in Phoenix is attempting the East Coast version on a cash strapped, Isiah Thomas/James Dolan destroyed franchise that can only look to the future for any kind of hope. The Knicks are currently 3-14, in the midst of a 5 game slide, in which they most recently lost to the Orlando Magic. While the Knicks and their fans do not have much to be happy about this season, at least they can say they aren't in last place, thanks to the 0-17 New Jersey Nets.

Since both squads emphasize the offensive side of things, here is a little statistical comparison:

TEAM	PPG	FG%	3PT%	FT%	RB/G
PHX	112.0	50.7	44.5	72.8	42.2
NYK	101.9	43.8	31.8	78.6	40.0

OK, that's pretty boring. So why don't we try something a bit different in this preview? I'd now like to introduce, perhaps, for the third or fourth time on BSOTS, the most used FIVE-MAN FLOOR UNITS for the Knicks and Suns. This is a statistic I found out there on the inter-wide web that basically measures the effectiveness of a particular group of players by combined average +/-:

New York Knicks

UNIT	MIN	+/-	WIN%
DUHON-HUGHES-GALLINARI-CHANDLER-LEE	149.9	-25	38.4

Ouch. the most commonly used unit for the Knicks throws down a whopping +/- of -25.

Phoenix Suns:

UNIT	MIN	+/-	WIN%
NASH-RICHARDSON-HILL-STOUDAMIRE-FRYE	256.6	+40	53.8

Our starting five, and most often used unit averages a +40.

Obviously the numbers don't tell the whole story here, and we can argue that +/- has its significant flaws, but heck, it looks good right now! Now, on to the players

Players

Guards

Chris Duhon-runs the point and leads the Knicks with 6 assists a game. It's safe to say he's not a scoring threat at 7 ppg, and at present, shooting 28% from the field. Look for a Duhon/Lee pick 'n roll set from time to time.

Nate Robinson-we all know Nate can play. Against the Magic, Robinson popped off the bench to go 10-11 from the field for 22 points. Of course he may not be out of the D'Antoni doghouse after burying a three on his own basket after time expired.

Larry Hughes-is Larry Hughes, shooting 39% from the field and 28% from 3-point range. J-Rich should enjoy posting Larry, driving on Larry, shooting over Larry, etc.

Bigs

Al Harrington-At 19 a game, Al leads the Knicks in scoring and manages 6 boards a game. But like most of the Knicks, he is a subpar 44% from the field and an attrocious 29% from three point land, which is interesting, because he continues to hoist them up, second only to Gallinari in attempts with 89.

Danilo Gallinari-the 6th pick in the 2008 draft seems to be improving, at 13.1 ppg, but the gripe on him seems to be his tendency to sit in the corner and watch the game. Still he's capable of getting hot behind the arc.

David Lee-averaging 18 and 10, Lee can flat play. I anticipate Frye, Amare, and perhaps Rolo/Lou matching up at times to slow down Lee, especially on the boards.

The rest: Wilson Chandler (11.9 ppg) Darko Milicic is evidently homesick, Jordan Hill (unsurprisingly) has seen time in only 8 games, and Eddy Curry (chuckle) has played in 4 games, which probably averages out to about 3 million dollars a minute or something obscene.

Overview

So the Suns are looking good and Knicks are not. Again, like many of these awful teams we have been playing of late, there is always a pitfall lurking, especially on the road. This writer likes our chances tonight, but we could be in for a barn burner with little defense being played and many three pointers being hoisted.

And....As a Very Special post Thanksgiving Treat...A Short Q&A with Seth over at Posting and Toasting regarding the state of the Knickerbockers:

Me: First off, how are you all enjoying D'Antoni as your coach?

Seth: Mike D'Antoni's had a rough time in his first years as coach, but I think a lot of Knick fans would agree that he can't be fully judged until 2010 rolls around and the Knicks (hopefully have something resembling a competitive roster. In the meantime, D'Antoni's plenty likable and forthright, which is a welcome departure from his predecessors. There have been complaints about his lineup management (why aren't the rookies playing more?) and control over shot distribution (why isn't Danilo Gallinari getting more touches?), as well as his unwavering attachment to Chris Duhon, who has been appallingly ineffective. All that said, D'Antoni's seat won't even be warm until the Knicks use their forthcoming cap space.

Me: Is the run and gun everything you'd hoped for?

Seth: It sure isn't when the shots aren't falling. The Knicks have reined in their heaving a little bit, but are still the 23rd in the league in FG% and 22nd in 3P%. There have been plenty of open shots, but guys like Duhon, Robinson, Chandler, and Hughes have all gone cold for long stretches of the first 17 games, while the Knicks' deadliest shooter, Danilo Gallinari, isn't taking enough shots. It gets ugly.

Me: What are Knicks fans most frustrated about this season? (Besides simply losing) Is it that Jordan Hill and the youngsters don't see much playing time? Is it Duhon's performance in general? or the combination of all that and Gallinari not living up to his potential as the 6th pick in the draft?

Seth: You pretty much hit the three biggest issues. Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas should not only get to spin because this is a losing team and there's plenty of room for them to development, but because they've actually proven to be more effective than some of the vets. Chris Duhon finally registered a decent offensive game on Sunday against Orlando, but has spent most of the season shuffling around and bricking jumpers. He hasn't been the leader nor the offensive threat necessary to pilot the D'Antoni offense. Finally, I keep harping on this, but Danilo Gallinari needs the ball!

Me: Lastly, what else should we desert rats know about your squad?

Seth: If (when) tonight's game turns into a blowout, you can hopefully look forward to Marcus Landry making an appearance. The undrafted rookie hustles and bangs just like his older brother Carl, and he's also got decent range for a big man. If D'Antoni ever fully commits to playing the young guns, Li'l Landry will make a name for himself.

Link Fun

Posting and Toasting
Knicks Statistics
Suns Statistics
Mike D'Antoni deserves criticism...but why? - Posting and Toasting
Guess who's upset about a certain Mustachioed coach not developing young players?
azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish - PaulCoro - Nash for CP3? For Kobe? Anyone?
Coro's Suns dish: Steve Nash has posted six games of 16 assists or more this season in 17 games. That is one more than he had all of last season. Something tells me he is about to put up a crazy number again tonight. This is the building in which he has posted assist...
D'Antoni's system gets mixed results
Mike D'Antoni swore you would never know whether it was his system or Steve Nash that made the Suns. He joked that he would walk away when Nash did in order to keep it secret. But some think they figured it out, now that D'Antoni's New York Knicks are woeful at 3-14 and the Suns visit here as a NBA-best 14-3 with Nash playing like his MVP days.
Lost at a Knicks game - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN
This is HILARIOUS!
SUNS: Q&A With Al McCoy: "The Real McCoy"
More movie and TV comments « Channing Frye's Blog
Nash Still Burns for Phoenix - Bethlehem Shoals - The Baseline - Sporting News
Amare Loves the Animals - Bethlehem Shoals - The Baseline - Sporting News
Kobe Bryant has highest 'basketball IQ,' poll says - Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
According to NBA players and coaches at least one other point guard has a higher basketball IQ than Steve Nash...
Create A Caption #40 Winner - Third Quarter Collapse
Guess who is being heckled for taking and missing too many three's....hint: tattoo

The 19.512195122 Report

Mike Lisboa — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:06:45 -0000

Get out your flags, people, it time for the wacky percentage report! (Photo by Max Simbron)

View full size photo »

Hey, we're 16 games into the season, which means it's time for our not quite 20% check-in. Again, I'm reserving a lot of make or break judgment until we're at Gentry's suggested 25-game mark for evaulating the team (Hint: we might make kind of a big deal about that around here.). For now though, here's the good, the bad and the ugly of your Phoenix Suns. (NOTE: All stats pulled from ESPN.com and HoopsData.com.)

I'm starting with the ugliest point so we can move on to happier things: the Suns' defense is terrible. Some numbers: 21st in defensive efficiency, 26th in points per game, 22nd in opponents' eFG% (a stat that combines and weights 2 and 3 point shot percentage), and 20th in opponents' turnovers. Contrary to popular belief, this Suns squad is not playing anything remotely approaching good defense.
So how on earth are they blowing teams out of the water? By playing ridiculously good offense. They are quite simply out-shooting their opponents. Some more numbers: 1st in offensive efficiency, 1st in points per game,and 1st in eFG%. In other words, the Suns' offense has been so good it hasn't mattered how bad their defense has been.
Redefining defense? In light of this, it may be possible to say the Suns have played defense "good enough" to keep getting wins. However, at some point, the Suns will get slowed down (see the Lakers and Magic games) and they will have to play some tight defense. They haven't shown they can do that yet.
The Suns' are about to get thrown in the deep end of the pool. After playing the 25th 5th easiest schedule (.450 winning percentage of teams faced) in the NBA, December brings the Suns the following games consecutively: @ Cavaliers, vs. Kings, @ Lakers, @ Mavericks, vs. Magic, @ Nuggets, vs. Spurs, @ Blazers. That's a collective .678 winning percentage.
Also in December and not listed above are additional engagements with the Cavs, the Lakers and the Celtics. Strap on your seatbelts, Suns fans, the weather isn't the only thing that's going to get rough this winter.
One more degree of scheduling difficulty: @Cleveland, @Lakers, @Nuggets... all on the 2nd night of back-to-backs involving travel.
That said, remember: 25th 5th easiest schedule in the NBA so far. So, no complaining about a scheduling bias, please.
Some good news: The Suns are sitting at 13-3 despite playing the most away games (tied with the Nets and Raptors) and 2nd fewest home games (tied with the Warriors and Bulls Wizards and Nets) in the Association. That's impressive despite their relatively weak competition so far.

The Great Facilitator: Steve Nash not only leads the NBA in assists per game, he is currently averaging a career high (11.8 apg). At age 35.

The old guys are getting some rest: thus far, Grant Hill's minutes per game are his lowest ever with the exception of his injury-shortened 02-03 and 05-06 campaigns in Orlando. Steve Nash? You have to go back a decade to his 2nd season in Dallas (1999-2000) to find the last time his mpg were this low...

...so it should come as no surprise that Goran Dragic, Lou Amundson and Jared Dudley are averaging career highs in minutes per game.

Speaking of Dragic, the kid continues to play solid minutes for the Suns. I still don't see him as a starter, but he's earning his stripes as a back-up, showing more and more moxie and not letting opposing teams rattle him. I'd like to see his assist numbers closer to 4 per game. We know he can get his shot off at this point. Now can Alvin hand him the keys to the car?
Despite his auspicious offensive performance against Minnesota (6-6 FG, 14 pts.), I don't think we're going to see a drastic increase in "quality" minutes for Earl Clark. Despite his considerable on-ball skills, he tends to get lost on defensive rotations and switches.
Robin Lopez sure made a heck of an impact in his first game of the season, didn't he? I like the improved offensive game, but he's still kind of a spaz on defense. It's nice that he's making shots, but he needs to work on not biting on ball fakes and picking up unnecessary fouls (4 in 15 minutes of action).
More on Robin: At least Friday night's performance was a far cry from the last time I saw him in game action: getting positively outworked and outplayed by Hasheem Thabeet in Summer League.
More on the offensive prowess of the Suns: 6 players from the Suns are averaging double figures and Jared Dudley is threatening to be a 7th with 9.3 points per game. Of those 6, 5 have gone for at least 20 in at least one game and a couple have gone for 30. That, ladies and gentlemen, is called forcing opponents to pick their poison.
The Suns now officially join Boston as having a "Big 3" at the offensive end of things. Jason Richardson has turned out to be the perfect complement to, if not initiator of, the Suns offense. The Suns are 7-0 in games in which he goes for 20 or more points. Please remember that when cooking up trade scenarios involving his "fat" contract.
More on Jason Richardson: After a rough 2008-2009 campaign on defense, J-Rich seems to have stepped up his game. He might be the Suns most reliable starting on-ball defender and hasn't been burned too many times on his help defense either. 16 games in to a season marked by consistent leadership from the bench (and on the court for that matter), it's a lot easier to why the Suns traded for him last year.
Grant Hill is old. This is hardly news, but I think there's a reason we're seeing lots of Jared Dudley at the ends of games and it's not just because of JD's effort and hustle. Kudos to Alvin Gentry and the Suns' staff for finding a rotation that maximizes what's left of Hill's considerable talent while minimizing his exposure to the grind of NBA action so far this year.
Suns up by 30 for most of the second half in Minnesota and Tucker doesn't see a minute? O! Alando, we hardly knew ye! Tucker was inactive for the game, due to RoLo's return.

Back to the schedule. Here's what I wrote waaaaay back in August when the schedule came out:

December 6, @ Lakers; December 8, @ Dallas; Dec. 11, vs. Orlando (ESPN); Dec. 12, @ Denver; Dec. 15, vs. San Antonio; Dec. 17, @ Portland (TNT) - Another unkind stretch of schedule. Again the Suns face the 2 NBA Finalists in less than a week. Oh and the other teams in this stretch aren't exactly slouches either. It also marks the first time the Purple Gang will match up against the Matrix Reloaded version of the Dallas Mavericks and the ridiculously stacked nouveau Spurs. Which one of these games do you realistically see the Suns winning? Maybe Portland. If they can keep Brandon Roy to under 45 points that is.

I'd like to revise that statement to hope for something around or better than the .500 mark for this stretch. The Suns have to be in order to maintain any credibility or hopes of a top 4 playoff seed.
Career year: Channing Frye is averaging career highs in 3-point %, minutes per game, points per game, steals per game and blocks per game. He is .2 rebounds per game shy of a career high in that department as well.
Leandro Barbosa is not averaging career lows in all those departments; it only feels like it. OK, LB doesn't deserve that, but is it just me or are his contributions feeling kind of... invisible? To be clear: I understand he's at or near his career averages in most categories. It just seems like those numbers are having less of an impact, probably due to the fact that the Suns have 3 other players they can bring off the bench for the first time in the Leandro Era.
And, in closing: Best. Record. In. The. NBA. Enjoy it while you can.

Have at it in the comments, y'all.

The Most Tradable Sun: Leandro Barbosa

Phoenix Stan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:50:54 -0000

Leandro Barbosa's reduced role with the Suns and his relatively high salary makes him the most movable player on the Phoenix roster. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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Before you sharpen your pitch folks and come at me with your virtual rotten tomatoes, know this:

I DO NOT THINK THE SUNS SHOULD TRADE LEANDRO OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER

I hate mid-season trades for teams that are winning and especially for the Suns that have seen so much turmoil over the past two years. The last thing the Suns need right now is locker room disruption.

So consider this an exercise in relative player valuation and pure fantasy GM wankery.

Leandro Barbosa's usage is down this season for two obvious reasons. Jason Richardson and Goran Dragic.

LB is averaging only 21.4 minutes per game which happens to be exactly how much he played his rookie season in 2003/04. If you take out the two games he started in place of the suspended Jason Richardson his floor time drops even further to 17.8 mpg which approaches his career low.

When he is on the court Leandro is doing exactly what he's always done. His shooting percentages are right at his career averages (FG% .480; 3P% .406) and he's pushing the tempo and attacking the rim.

Unfortunately for Barbosa, he's not getting the time backing up both guard positions in a 3 man back court rotation as he had in years past. Dragic has started the season where he ended his rookie campaign and is looking like he's a solid backup point guard.

Comparing the two Dragic is a better defensive player, better rebounder and in five fewer minutes per game is averaging 1.3 more assists. While Leandro is clearly more explosive scorer of the two, Dragic is looking to be the better all around player with a much better feel for running the team and finding his teammates.

At the shooting guard position, Leandro's size has always been a liability on the defensive end and his relatively poor rebounding and play-making make him a much lesser player than Jason Richardson and a questionable starter for any team in the league.

Leandro will make $6.6m this season, $7.1m next season and has a player option for $7.6m in 2011/12.

Given his reduced role for the Suns one has to wonder if there's not an opportunity to move him to a team like Minnesota that desperately needs bench scoring.

A combination of Ryan Hollis and Wayne Ellington would match salaries and give the Suns some front court depth and an interesting young two guard who could split time with Alando Tucker behind Richardson. If the Suns could get back a 2010 1st round draft pick as well then this is a deal you have to seriously consider.

That is if I were even considering a trade at this point in the season. Which I am most certainly not....unless the Suns could get that Timberwolves 1st round pick (or maybe the rights to Ricky Rubio?)