SB Nation - Goran Dragic

Suns Trounce Wizards: Live by the Gilbert, Die by the Gilbert

Phoenix Stan — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:20:09 -0000

Gilbert Arenas had 22 points on 21 shot attempts and wasn't able to lead his team to a competitive game as the Suns rolled over the Wizards 121-95. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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I'm not going to lie. I totally predicted a blow out tonight. Which isn't saying all that much because what Suns/NBA fan didn't see this one coming?

What with the Wiz generally playing poor anyway and having played the night before in Golden State and barely edging out the Warriors at the end of that game.

But Wizards head coach Flip Saunders wanted none of that, "You can come up with excuses every night why not to play...It's almost as though the last thing we wanted to do was to be out there tonight. It's pretty much unacceptable."

Unacceptable, unless your name is Gilbert Arenas and bombing away is your game.

Agent "Double O" Zero was deadly tonight but to the wrong side. He put up 17 shots only connecting on 5 of them in the first half "leading" his team to an overall shooting percentage of 37.5% through the first 24 minutes. But fortunately for the Wizards he got it together in the locker room at half time and only jacked up four more in the first 6 minutes of third quarter as the Suns dropped 39 points on a Wizards team that visibly gave up playing defense.

Thank you Gilbert Arenas. It was a pleasure watching a volume shooter in action. Last night you torched the Warriors for 45 points on 25 attempts. Tonight, 22 points on 21 attempts.

Live by the Gilbert. Die by the Gilbert.

This looked a lot like an undisciplined team which is exactly what Flip said about his squad, "I think we understand now that to be good we have to be disciplined in our approach both on the offensive end and the defensive end. And our guys have to understand that that means they have to sacrifice certain things...As I told them, I gave a lot of rope early to see where they were. Now we know."

As for the home team, they did pretty well and were happy about that. Not so much happy as satisfied. They took care of business and they knew they were playing a team that didn't have their hearts in the game. As Steve Nash pointed out, "There was a point in the game tonight where you could feel the air going out of their, uh, their attack."

Nash had 15 assists in three quarters of play (29 min) which was one more than the entire Wizards team.

Amare had his fifth 20 and 10 game of the season and his fourth double-double in the last five games. And aside for a few moments, didn't look particularly engaged.

In fact, other than Jason Richardson and Goran Dragic, the Suns didn't seem to have much fire at all. Perhaps this was their new plan to avoid big let downs. Slow and steady wins the race and in this case the race was over by about half way through the third period when the Suns extended their 16 point lead to 25 points and then put the pedal down to pull away for good.

Speaking of Goran, he had another impressive game. His defense on Gilbert in the first half was outstanding and as Gentry said, he ran the team well in the fourth quarter. He finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists and looked really really good.

Steve Nash had this to say about young "Frosty" Dragic as compared to Leandro Barbosa, "Leandro is an explosive scorer where as Goran's more of a point guard."

I asked Steve specifically if he thought that Goran was a point guard and he said that he is but that he can still improve his passing. Nash said it is always easier to play the two guard position for a young player but that he sees Goran as a point guard.

For those interested Nash's take on the "Can Goran be a Point Guard" debate (and you know who I am talking about) you can listen to what Nash had to say. I think his opinion might carry some weight on the matter:

Nash audio edited 121909

Other Game Notes taken in real time as events occurred:

1st Qtr

Suns 1st offensive possession. Hill iso? So much for ball movement
Neither team playing much D to start game. 6-6 after 2 minutes
Wizards offense consists of Gilbert Arenas doing whatever he feels like
Crowd dead. Team flat. Coincidence?
Earl BOYkins is small
Wizards court chemistry looks like a 6th grade science class for the blind
JRich outside shot not falling but still playing hard getting to rim and attacking glass
Wiz put Nick Young on Nash and Boykins on Dragic. Suns didn't go to Dragic once. Shame

2nd Qtr

Dragic playing solid D on Gilbert. Stayed in front of him keeping him from getting shot of and then pressure hard on the perimeter
Suns D more engaged to start 2nd quarter up 38-23 at 9:00 mark. Let down?
Dragic gets whistled for a lot of bogus calls but is looking solid driving to the rim
Dragic forcing D to respect his drive attracting more help so he dishes to Lou for an easy dunk. Goran is a better passer on the move than LB and a far better defender
Suns up 14 with 5:37 to go. Nash hasn't played in the 2nd quarter at all
Nash back in. Lead down to 11. Trade him. Bench him. Whatever...
The Wizards just shoot anything, anytime. I see why Flip is pissed

3rd Qtr

Suns start quarter on 6-0 run. Wizards call time out. Maybe that TO will cool off Gilberts shot attempts. 18 and counting (only 5 makes)
Amare making some lazy plays on defense...and he knows it
JaVale McGee getting minutes with the Wiz down 25
This game is making me sleepy
Amare with 14 points and 5 rebounds in the 3rd
Suns up 31. Tacos early. Wizards playing possum. Playing really good possum. Too good perhaps

4th Qtr

Up 30. Does it really matter?
Suns start 4th with Lopez, Amundson, Dudley, Tucker and Dragic
No Clark?
Lopez fouls people. Hard.
I really have no idea how but Frosty dribbled through two defenders and hit a nice floating layup
Clark in with about 8 min to play. Suns up 30...ish
I like Nick Young
Robin with a SICK up fake on McGee and drove right by him for the slam
and Goran inside lob to Robin for another slam...nice

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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)

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)

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[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!

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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)

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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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No Surprises Here, Suns Drubbed by Lakers 108-88

Wil Cantrell — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:30:33 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Mr. Gentry was not in the holiday spirit Sunday night.(AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

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Tonight was deemed "Mission Impossible Part 2" by a respected Suns journalist. The local commentators were hoping for a rain out (hur, hur). While there was no rain or Tom Cruise sightings at the game, winning was to be a monumental task. The "tired" Suns on the second night of a back to back didn't play a perfect game, and even if they did, they probably still would have lost to the defending champions.

There was certainly some good that came out of this game, and there of course, was some bad.

The Suns at least competed tonight. The first quarter witnessed an active Suns team, combatting a nearly flawless Lakers attack. Amare Stoudemire showed up, feeling his outside game and battling inside for rebounds. But five turnovers leading to a 9-2 Lakers run in the first 7 minutes left the Suns in an early hole.

The Lakers D held, as it did for the rest of the game, limiting any Suns inside penetration. Pau Gasol switched off on Steve Nash, thus alleviating any pick 'n roll success.

Still the Suns were making shots, ad held close. A Jared Dudley three brought the Suns back to a 2 point deficit, the Lakers still held a 29-26 first quarter lead.

The Suns battled in the second quarter as well, going on a nice little 6-0 run. Yet the Suns struggled on D, allowing Laker penetration and two wide open threes. Robin Lopez left his man too early, allowing the first, while Steve Nash went underneath a screen allowing the second. The Suns were still playing respectable and even managed a free throw, their first with 3.49 to play in the second. But this was as good as it was to get for Phoenix on this night as they ended the first half down 54-44.

The Suns were outscored by 11 in the third quarter and all was, well, finished at that point. The lakers continued to attack and get what they wanted on the offensive end while the Suns went cold from outside, and continued to have trouble getting in the lane.

The Suns second unit closed the lead to 13 midway through the 4th quarter, but back to back three pointers by Shannon Brown ended the Suns small run.

The Rest of the Good (which wasn't a whole lot)

The Suns shot 57% 1st quarter, Nash had 7 Assists (who cares, I know)
Goran Dragic had a nice little pick off of Shannon Brown, took the ball the length of the court for a layup. (It was nearly dropped. You gotta DUNK, Goran).
Robin Lopez didn't look dreadful and confused, in fact he looked serviceable. Heis aggressive at the rim and has a nice little 5-6 foot jumper. I'm hoping he can get in shape and put in 10-15 minutes eventually this season. he could be valuable against the more sizeable teams.
The Suns second unit played pretty well. Lopez, Dragic, and Dudley all played solid. Earl Clark had a nice 15 footer off the dribble.

The Rest: A Very Small Ode to the Lakers:

OK the Suns are tired and this was a back to back game on the road. We didn't expect much. But this Laker team flat plays defense. The cut off the lanes and the Suns simply couldn't penetrate to the hoop. The Lakers also rebounded and played good perimeter defense. The Suns couldn't shoot from the field, they couldn't make a three. Further, the Lakers executed their offense flawlessly. Ron Artest made threes, Kobe Bryant simply toyed with Suns defenders. Bynum was all over the glass, and Gasol confounded Amare Stoudemire. So...what in God's name were the Suns supposed to do tonight? They played the reigning champion and got trounced. I don't like it, you don't like, but that's the way the mop flops.

End of story.

Pertinent Numbers:

Suns shot 4-13 from three point land. The Lakers were 10-21.
The Suns shot 11 free throws, making 10. The Lakers shot 22-26.
The Suns had 14 turnovers, the Lakers 11.
The Suns had 37 rebounds, the Lakers 42.
The Suns had 36 points in the paint, the Lakers had 40 (maybe I missed them, but I do not recall the Suns scoring that much in the paint).
OH, AND THE LAKERS HAVE PLAYED 16 OF THEIR FIRST 19 GAMES AT HOME. (yep, I'm just a smidge bitter).

FINAL - 12.6.2009	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Phoenix Suns	26	18	22	22	88
Los Angeles Lakers	29	25	33	21	108

Next up, @Dallas, 6.30 PM on Tuesday, 12/8

Suns vs Lakers coverage

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Big Game vs Kings? Some Suns Don't Think So. Some do.

Phoenix Stan — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:32:34 -0000

Steve Nash will have to body up on the Kings big rookie point guard Tyreke Evans and hope that he's able to keep him in check. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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The Suns blew their game in New York, lost in disappointing fashion to the Cavs the next night and have the Lakers tomorrow once again on the wrong end of the back-to-back. I would say that makes getting the W at home against the Kings as close as you can get to a "must win" for a December game.

But that's (not the only) difference between observers of the game and those that have been lacing 'em up for 10+ years.

"I can't think it would be a 'must win' in December. Maybe in April we'll have some but we've just got to keep working and try and get better every day. And whether we lose our next 10 or win our next 10 we're not a contender necessarily yet and we're not out of it yet. This team's going to think long term and try and get better every day. If we're solid we're going to win a lot of games no matter what happens tonight," explained Steve Nash after this morning's shoot-around.

That's very Zen of him but I still think this is a big one from a confidence stand-point but maybe that's more true for the fans than the team although Grant Hill had a slightly different take.

I reminded Grant about his calling a game last season the "Super bowl" and then later another the "World Cup" and asked if this game warranted such respect, "I try not to remember last year," he chuckled and went on, "You know, it's an important game. It's a long season but we've had a tough week and at least finish the week off feeling good about ourselves. So it's not so much about what they do it's more about what we do, what we bring to the table. They're a good team...we've just got to come with a lot of energy and effort today and get out mojo back."

Which just goes to prove if you ask enough people the same question eventually you will get the answer you want to hear but breaking the tie was Coach Gentry who said this about the big game question, "We've got a really tough schedule but at this stage I don't think any game is a 'must win' game. I would say they all at home are (important games). It's very difficult to win on the road in this league and I think all the home games become really important."

So you decide for yourself but while I don't see this as "must win" it is certainly a "big game".

Other Notes:

Coach Gentry said the Suns just need to keep doing their thing against the switches they have been seeing lately. No big adjustments although he did say, "There's things that we can do to compensate for them trying to put a big guy on him (Nash) so we'll do that."
Channing Frye stayed after and took some extra three's but Goran Dragic was the last one on the court and looked really loose joking around with the assistants and trainers and even got himself into a half-court shooting contest which he won after missing about 5 shots
Alvin Gentry and David Griffin were talking about Kobe's big shot last night and were thoroughly impressed as they should be...wow
Gentry was asked about Nate McMillan's blown Achilles Tendon and said that's why he never picks up a ball while the guys are practicing. He relayed a story from back when he was with the Pistons about dunking a ball on his 45th birthday, "I dunked in Washington while we were playing the Bullets when I was with Detroit. I must have pulled every muscle and bone in my back. I told somebody it was the most pain I'd ever been in." So don't look for Alvin to be throwing down anytime soon
Speaking of injuries, David Griffin had his left hand in a brace. I asked him about it and he just mumbled something about the practice court without given any more detail
Steve Nash will be supporting England in the World Cup and said this about the draw, "It's great. It's exciting. I don't think any group is necessarily that difficult as far as getting too many tough teams in one group so I think it will make for a really balanced and exciting tournament."
Nash went on to say that his parent's native England got a good draw but of course nothing's a given in that format. With Goran's Slovenia in the same Group C along with the US I asked if it made for any extra fun on the team, "Yeah of course, it's going to be a lot of fun. Too bad it wasn't during the season." But as he was turning he added, "Maybe we'll be in the finals." So all this talk about not being a contender still hasn't taken that thought from the back of his mind
Goran Dragic was much more excited about his Slovenian National team even making it to the World Cup for only the second time and said he's already been teased by Nash but added this analysis, "It's gong to be tough but I think so we can win the game against Algeria then if we're going to have some luck we can tie the game against England." But even Goran was chuckling as he said that.
He's a smart kid and realistic about their chances but like any fan he still holds out hope, "Like I said it's a tough Group but if we're going to play smart and patient and just play hard it could happen, anything."
I asked Goran to comment on what the NY Post called "a ridiculous away-from-the-play foul on Goran Dragic after Grant Hill scored on a layup." Dragic wasn't too concerned about it and said the game was physical and the foul was hard but he's not mad about it and instead talked about how bad the Suns played against the Knicks and the slow start against the Cavs.
He added this about tonight's game, "Today we have to win this game so it's going to be a huge game for us. We have to come back and play hard."
Last week I didn't get a chance to ask Goran about the between the legs move that Jamal Tinsley put on him at the very end of the Memphis game and Goran's response going right back at Jamal.
"He got me really bad. I didn't expect that," said Dragic and added this about his teammates reaction to his response, "After the game everybody was talking about this because nobody was expecting that I was going to do that. At the time I was pretty mad at myself and on what's his name Jamal so in my mind I have to get him back. So when I do that everyone was, how you say excited and after the game they saying they didn't believe I'm going to do that."
I asked Goran if he thought it was important for his reputation to go back at Jamal and he agreed that it was. "I was mad and I was a little bit embarrassed what he do to me but I got him back...Next time I'm going to be prepared when we play against Memphis."

Preview: Kings at Suns

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

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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 - Phoenix Suns vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Mike Lisboa — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:11:43 -0000

Amar'e Stoudemire must start AND FINISH with his gorilla game for the Suns to have a chance in Cleveland tonight. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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Hopefully the Suns can make like Alando Tucker and wash the icky residue of last night's loss to the Knicks off their hands before mixing it up with the Cavaliers in Cleveland tonight.

The Suns head into Cleveland 2-1 with a chance at salvaging a winning record on this eastern road swing before coming home to face the Kings on Saturday. Last night the Suns came out flat on both ends of the court and despite rallying to get within 6, never recovered offensively or defensively.

So, which Suns team will show up tonight? The 14-3 power rankings darlings or that group of zombies that took the court in New York last night.

The Cavaliers come into tonight's game riding a 4 game winning streak, including a 16-point thumping of the Mavericks on Saturday. That's right: Saturday. In addition to being at home, Lebron and company have 3 days of rest. For their part, after taking most of yesterday's game off, the Suns should be plenty rested as well *rimshot*.

Match-ups

Guards

At the point, we have Steve Nash going up against Mo Williams. On paper, this would seem to be a clear advantage for the Suns, but last season Mo torched the Suns for 30 points in their meeting in Phoenix and 44 in Cleveland (Nash missed this game with an injury). Off the bench, it's Daniel Gibson vs. Goran Dragic. While Boobie is capable of getting hot, in 8 games this year, he's only averaging 6.8 point per game. If Dragic can bounce back from a terrible performance in New York, they should basically cancel each other out.

I thought it was the 30-somethings that were supposed to struggle with back-to-backs? Jason Richardson has been a key ingredient to the Suns potent offense this year, averaging 17.4 points per game, good for 2nd on the team behind Amare Stoudemire. However on the 2nd night of back-to-backs, all of J-Rich's offensive numbers have taken a hit: -7.7% on FG%, -4.9% on 3PT%, -32.1% on FT% (yipes!), and -6.1 PPG. There's no reason he shouldn't reverse that trend against Anthony Parker (and you thought the Suns had cornered the market on lesser siblings! He has to play in the shadow of his sister Candace.) and he'll have to if the Suns want to win this one.

Off the bench at the 2, it will be interesting to see who the Suns go with in Barbosa's absence. After pouring it in (14 points on 4-7 shooting), Alando Tucker may have earned some increased minutes. Equally mysterious is who the Cavs will bring off their bench behind Parker. After seeing limited use thus far this season due to personal and health reasons, Delonte West played a season-high 29 minutes against the Mavs, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 boards.

Forwards

Grant Hill will have his hands full with LeBron James. If he and Jared Dudley can combine to keep LBJ around his averages, the Suns will probably consider that a success. I don't think anyone has any illusions of stopping him.

Off the bench, Jamario Moon is something of a Matrix-Lite, so he and Jared Dudley will engage in some kind of sideshow hustle competition.

At power forward, the Suns have what should be their clearest advantage, offensively at least. Amare Stoudemire needs to bring his vaunted Gorilla Game to exploit Cleveland's tandem of Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson. If he can stay out of foul trouble, look for Amare to log heavy minutes and heap piles of offensive abuse on the Cavs while not having to worry too much about being challenged on the other end. Except for rebounds.

Center

Here's where line-up and strategy will come into some serious play. It's entirely possible the Cavs elect to send Varejao and Hickson out on Frye at the perimeter, keeping Shaquille O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the lane to defend Amare on the pick and roll. If that's the case, look for Amare to log heavy minutes and heap piles of offensive abuse on the Cavs. (See what I did there?)

Defensively, Channing Frye doesn't have the bulk to keep up with Shaq in the post and the Cavs will probably go to this mis-match early and often, much like the Lakers did with Andrew Bynum earlier in the season against the Suns.

Robin Lopez will probably get some early minutes on the defensive end to see if he can help stop the bleeding in the paint against the much larger Shaq. Robin vs. Shaq has the potential to be explosive as Robin looks to heap some punishment on the The Big Mentor who rode his Fuzzy-head pretty hard last season.

Of course, that's just wishful thinking. Shaq will destroy Robin given the chance.

Predictions

Offensively, the Suns will look to spread the floor against the Cavs using their dead-eye shooting (which hopefully they bring with them tonight) to exploit the lack of speed of the Cavs big men. If his shot his falling, Channing Frye could have a career night. Similarly, if the Cavaliers lumbering bigs stay at home on Stoudemire, he and Nash should have a field day running the pick and roll till the cows come home.

Defensively, the Suns will have to find a way to limit Cleveland's opportunities in the paint AND contain the speedy Williams AND contain LeBron James. If the Lopez and Frye struggle with Shaq, look for Jarron Collins to come in and provide 6 additional fouls against O'Neal. I'm pretty sure Robin will use his up fairly quickly.

In a perfect world, the Suns draw the Cavaliers into an up-tempo shoot-out, regain their accuracy and out-run the Cavs. For their part, Cleveland and their 8th ranked defense (100.6 points per 100 possessions) will look to keep things slow as molasses (7th slowest pace in the NBA), bogging the Suns down in a half-court game. Look for them to pound it inside and run plenty of isolations for LeBron James. Like, 70 of them.

While I think the Suns will come out more focused than they did last night in New York, I don't see them winning this game. They'll keep it close in the first half, but their porous defense will be their undoing as the game wears on.

Final score 105-93, Cavs.

Suns vs Cavaliers coverage

Suns vs Cavaliers preview

Fear The Sword

Knicks 126, Suns 99

Seth — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:06:33 -0000

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Wow. In a season full of miscues and misery, that was just what the doctor ordered. The Knicks invited the Suns into the Garden, spanked them mercilessly, then sent the league's best team packing. Shots fell and the defense clicked as the Knicks built a lead and never really looked back. A number of different players stepped up and filled their roles with aplomb. Phoenix, meanwhile, played the part of the home team, flubbing easy plays and exerting very little effort en route to their first sub-100-point output of the season. The Knicks' best stuff and the Suns' worst just happened to coincide, and I must say it was positively exquisite.

Notes, after the jump...

I mentioned that each Knick played his role brilliantly. I wasn't kidding. Check it:

- Wilson Chandler got things started by driving to the basket on offense, getting fouled early and connecting at the line. Later, he canned a couple open threes (2-3) and otherwise let the offense come to him. On the other end, D'Antoni chose to match Wil with Steve Nash, which worked nicely, as Chandler was quick enough to stay near (not in front of. Nobody does that.) Nash, and big enough to disrupt his passes and switch onto Amare' Stoudemire when picks were set.

- Chris Duhon (2-8) didn't shoot as well as he did in the previous game, but hit a pretty big three, dished out 5 assists, and spent 23 minutes on the bench. Perfect.

- Al Harrington (8-14) took a reasonable number of shots and hit most of them. He also pulled down 8 rebounds.

- David Lee registered 24 points and 8 boards, actually made an effort to defend Stoudemire, and didn't get embarrassed on help defense because the Suns hardly attacked the rim. Lee's hands were up, too, as indicated by his 4 steals.

Those Knicks did their jobs. These Knicks went above and beyond:

- Larry Hughes up and stole the point guard reins from Chris Duhon in early going, dropping 8 dimes in the first quarter and finishing with 12 on the night. He demanded the ball, directed traffic in the halfcourt set, and hit cutters with pinpoint passes. It was beautiful. Hughes's 11 points and 4 steals were just gravy. That little display of competent point guard play was tremendous. Not to continue to dump on Duhon after a win, but Larry's leadership made a massive difference. Evidence: The Knicks started the second quarter with Hughes on the floor and won the first 4 minutes 12-10. Duhon then checked in for Hughes, and the Suns promptly went on an 8-3 run. Hughes then re-entered, and the Knicks won the next four and half minutes 17-12. I'm not just saying...I'm just saying...

- I can't say enough about Jared Jeffries's play. He was mostly a garbagebro on offense (4-6, 10 points), and I mean that in the best way possible. The rest of his line, though, is what stands out. 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, and a steal are marks of a job well done by Jeffries, and he did that in just 25 minutes. Jared's quiet contributions helped keep the Knicks afloat when it looked like the Suns were poised to strike. Superb game.

- Finally, a big ol' Rooster Salute for Danilo Gallinari. Gallo asserted himself just like we hoped he would, finishing with 27 points, 10 boards, and 2 monstrous Cock-blocks. Gallo was potent from downtown (6-12, and it would've been more with a kinder rim), but didn't just settle for threes. He looked much more confident and made his way into the center of the court to participate more in the offensive flow. There were backdoor cuts, frontdoor cuts, and even a stop-and-pop banker from about 12 feet out.If you're on Twitter, hit up @gallinari8888 and tell him to keep up the great work. Gallo's shot at stardom is tied to the kind of confidence and aggression we saw him from him tonight.

The rest of the notes:

- Billie Jean King was interviewed by Al Trautwig at courtside, and finished her conversation by calling Trautwig "Babes". The following dialogue ensued:

Breen: "Did she just call Al 'Babes?'"

Clyde: "She's from the 70s."

Breen: "Don't you go call Al that now."

- King also took the opportunity to smack some tennis balls into the crowd during a timeout. One of them whizzed perilously close to Channing Frye's head, and Frye reacted with that memorable look of puzzlement we first witnessed in his "sometimes, dinner was just crackers" Garden of Dreams commercial. If you remember that MSG ad, you're officially a pimp by P&T standards (and a moron by everyone else's standards, but forget those guys.)

- Nate Robinson got very little burn in this one. The way Hughes was playing, I guess he wasn't really needed. Robinson didn't show any blatant displeasure, and actually did a nice job pushing the tempo in his 10 minutes.

- Amare' Stoudemire, who I'd typically consider to be a pretty good shot-blocker, didn't even bother to contest a lot of the Knicks' drives into the paint. Either Stoudemire's defense has fallen off or David Lee is contagious.

- Apparently some sort of rodeo is coming to MSG, and I feel obligated to pass along the information that the Garden will be "filled with the world's toughest cowboys and rankest bulls". I know P&T folks like their bulls rank, so I figured I'd share for those of you who missed the ad.

- P&T hero Frederic Weis coined the term "Knickslexia" to describe the phenomenon of reading a winning Knicks score backwards, because your tendency to assume they're losing overrides what you actually perceive. If you checked out the 71-58 score at halftime, odds are you got all kinds of Knickslexic.

- Robin Lopez is something else. No, really. He's something else.

- Clyde always mocks Mike Breen for being a ballhog on the basketball court. Do we have any evidence that these two have actually played ball together? If so, is it on video? If so, can I have it?

- Goran Dragic probably doesn't wear a diaper on the court, but he might.

- With the season's first real blowout came the season's first real garbage time. It was magical. Toney Douglas DWTDD for a sec, burying two threes and handing out a couple assists. Jordan Hill shot and missed a bunch (2-7) but looked active (to use the adjective that's gradually becoming his middle name) and showed off some of his typically fluid moves, with a jump shot to boot. Jordan Hill is pretty good at basketball. Mark my words. Marcus Landry got to spin as well, and hit a three just to ice the cake.

- Darko Milicic, despite chants from the crowd, was a DNP-BHWCSIYMHPGT. See if you can crack that one.

Tonight was marvelous. Thanks go to everybody who commented, and also to the Knicks for putting together a masterpiece of a performance in beating the league's best team. I got a little choked up for a bit there.

I'm sure we'll have video and some more excitement in the morning, but there isn't much time to bask. The Knicks head straight to Orlando for another meeting with the Magic tomorrow night. Could they possibly keep the dream alive?

The unofficially official Phoenix Suns comic strip

watdogg10 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:00:19 -0000

We're back! Welcome to the seventeenth edition of Box n' 1 - a comic strip featuring the Phoenix Suns. Sorry for the little hiatus but we're back now...as always, don't forget to rec it if you like it and/or leave feedback even if you don't.