SB Nation User Blog: PanamaSun

Game Preview: Suns vs Spurs

PanamaSun — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:54:50 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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

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

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

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

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

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

His responses after the jump!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Guards

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

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

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

Forwards

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

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

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

Predictions

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

Game Links:

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

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

Video's via Suns.com from today

Suns beat Magic, remain perfect at home

PanamaSun — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 10:19:53 -0000

More photos »

Amar'e's reaction after dunking the winning basket. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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US Airways Center it's starting to become a dangerous place for opposing teams. The Phoenix Suns are the only team in the NBA yet to lose at home. They have won 17 straight games in the desert, dating to last season.

Some of us could say that tonight's game was fun, exciting and entertaining. Others could describe it as frustrating, nerve-wracking and bittersweet. What I'm certain about is that all of us went through a rollercoaster of emotions and that this game had so many WTF moments that you couldn't count them even if you tried really hard.

At the end of the day a win is a win and the Suns nailed some big shots down the stretch and got an offensive rebound that proved to be the defining play of the game. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and let's take a look at what happened before it came down to that exciting play.

1^st Half

The Suns were hot in the first quarter. They were hitting shots, moving the ball well and Steve Nash was finding wide open teammates with a variety of passes that made me jump from my seat on several occasions. They looked sharp and with a lot of energy. On the other hand, the Magic seemed tired and a step slower than the Suns. They were careless with the ball, having six turnovers and only scoring 9 points with three minutes to play in the quarter. Eventually their offense picked up and they managed to end the 17-0 run by the Suns with a run of their own. At the end of the quarter the score was Suns 33 and the Magic 22. Although they cut the lead to eleven, I had the feeling that Phoenix was in the driver's seat and that they would put the game away at any moment. Boy was I wrong.

Gentry decided to go with his bench to start the second quarter. Jared Dudley made a three pointer and Amar'e, who remained on the floor, got a nice feed from Dragic aka Frosty. This great play prompted Van Gundy to call a timeout as the Suns were pulling away and extending their lead to 19.

The Magic would not back down and they showed everyone why they are the best road team in the NBA, shooting accurately from the perimeter and fighting their way back in the game. At this point, Howard had been a non factor. The Suns were double teaming him as soon as he put the ball on the floor. The plan was working until Howard started to find open teammates who did what they do best...hit outside shots.

At the half, the Suns had shot 52% from the field while the Magic managed to stay close despite shooting 43%. Orlando had 13 turnovers and the Suns 6.

2^nd Half

If I was Alvin Gentry I would be really disappointed with the effort shown in the third quarter. The Magic got the lead down to eight points thanks to a great shooting performance by Mickael Pietrus. He was absolutely phenomenal, scoring 15 points in the quarter.

Suddenly we had a ball game. The Magic erased what was once a 19 point lead and got it down to three. All of this happened with Vince Carter on the bench. Carter, who seldom hurts himself while playing the game of basketball, went to the bench due to a sore knee early in the Q. The Magic closed out the third trailing just 85-81.

4^th Quarter Madness

Basketball is a crazy game. When you are in practice (Yeah, I'm talking about practice) you run drills, shoot the ball a hundred times, box out etc. You do all these things thinking that at some point of the season, these little things will help you win close games. But the truth is that sometimes you just need a little luck.

With the Suns ahead by one point, The Magic stole the ball from Amar'e. Anthony Johnson was leading the fast break and he dribbled the ball off of Pietrus' foot giving the ball back to the Suns. Steve Nash found an open Jared Dudley who shot the three ball but was closed out by Dwight Howard. With him nowhere near the paint, Amar'e was able to get the rebound off the missed shot by Jared. Offensive rebound leads to a dunk. Dunk lead to Amar'e's scream. Scream leads to the Win.

Interesting facts

Despite the comments that I saw on the game thread, Robin Lopez had a very bad game. He had only 2 points and 5 fouls in just under 5 minutes of playing time. It's very frustrating to see him play.
Jared Dudley had a monster game. He hit big boy shots in the 4^th quarter and scored 19 points to match his career high.
The Magic shot 38 free throws. Dwight Howard alone shot 17 while being held to only one field goal attempt.
Rashard Lewis didn't refuse to play in this game.

Final Thoughts

This was a game that the Suns desperately needed. They were rested and playing at home. The Magic were playing the second game of a back to back. True, wasting a 19 point lead is nothing to be happy about but remember that Orlando is a hell of a team and they showed it tonight.

Protect your home court. I bet that's on every championship team's check list. The Suns are certainly doing their best to comply with that statement.

Game Preview: Suns vs Grizzlies

PanamaSun — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:24:02 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

23 days ago: Phoenix Suns center Amare Stoudemire, center, takes a shot between Detroit Pistons defenders Jonas Jerebko, left, of Sweden, and Ben Wallace, right, in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, in Phoenix. The Suns won 117-91. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

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There's a Suns game tonight! Yay!

The Phoenix Suns get a visit from the Memphis Grizzlies tonight, and look to remain perfect at home against a resurgent Grizzlies team that has won 4 of their last 5 games.

The Suns (11-3) looked dominant against Detroit, where they shot a season best 58% from the field. They burned the Pistons from behind the arc shooting 11-18 threes. This game against Detroit was not an anomaly. Our beloved team is tough to beat at home, there shouldn't be any doubts about that. They have won 14 consecutive games in this building (counting last season) and remain being one of the few teams who haven't lost in their home court this season.

The fact that Memphis (5-9) has been playing very well as of late makes this game really interesting. Their offense has been clutch and, during their last 5 game stretch, they have been holding opponents to 96.6 points per game.

The Grizz

On their last game against The Kings, Rudy Gay took over and destroyed Sacramento literally on his own. He leads the Grizz averaging 21.9 points per game.

Marc Gasol is having a good year on the defensive end, leading the team in blocks. He blocked 4 shots in that win against the Kings. The Suns will have their hands full keeping him off the boards.

This is a team that's running on momentum but they will start their road trip playing against one of the toughest teams in the West (God, It feels really good to type that). The keys for them to win the game is to continue to shoot very well from the field and defend the three point line, cross their fingers the Suns are not shooting lights out and capitalize on The Suns mistakes. Easier said than done.

The Suns

On the other hand, Phoenix is rested and playing at home. Their mentality should be to put this one away early in the game so the starters can rest. I expect Gentry to use the bench for a lot of minutes and use active defenders (Dudley) on guys like Mayo and Rudy Gay.

Amar'e is on a roll and will look to score more than 20 points in his fifth consecutive game. He has been looking stronger and faster and I expect him to attack the basket throughout the whole game.

I have nothing but good things to say about Amar'e. I never expected him to recover this fast from a serious injury. There's no way you can play like this after an injury unless you work you ass off in the pre-season and in practice. Just like it happens with Nash, people might be taking for granted Amar'es' contributions to the team. He's deadly accurate from the field and I feel that he's doing his best on the defensive end. I'm really happy with the way that he's playing.

This is also the perfect opportunity for Gentry to give more minutes to Barbosa. He needs more playing time to shake off the rust. Some of you might have noticed that he's rushing shots and sometimes making dumb decisions on the court. This is easy to explain:

As a player, you feel and notice when your role has been reduced. You are happy for your team mates but you don't want to be left behind either. You want to contribute. So whenever you come in the game, most of the times you only have one thing in mind. Score.

You have witnessed the wonders of playing a lot of minutes, Channing Frye is a great example. He feels he belongs here and that's showing on the court. I would not give up on LB or look for a trade yet. He can get hot in a minute and prove his worth.

Wow! Sorry about that! I'm rambling already.

Get ready for the game tonight. It's going to be fun. The underdogs continue to impress. Here we come.

Go Suns!

Hornets sting Suns 110-103

PanamaSun — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:47:04 -0000

More photos » by Layne Murdoch - NBAE/Getty Images

Peja showed that he can still shoot the three.

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During this game, The Phoenix Suns were victims of a severe case of Amnesia. They forgot to not underestimate an opponent. They forgot that they need to earn every win. They forgot to do the little things that have led them to have a good record to start the season. They forgot that they still have a lot to prove.

The Suns went to New Orleans with a 10-2 record, tied for the best record in the NBA with The Atlanta Hawks and had a chance to improve to 11-2 facing a young team without their best player. Most of us thought this game was going to be easy for The Suns. There's nothing wrong with that. We are fans and after comparing their team to ours you can say it was a logical and educated guess. But Basketball is a crazy game and unlike fans...professional players can't afford to think like that. You actually have to play and earn it, because regardless of who you're facing, this is the NBA and any team can beat you. Any team.

Back when I was in High school, we were playing in a Tournament Finals against a team who was clearly inferior to ours. So we showed up to the game feeling good about ourselves and thinking that it was going to be piece of cake. We were relaxed and some might even say that we were cocky at times.

And so the game started and everything was going their way. Shots were raining, three point plays, fast breaks, steals. We couldn't by a bucket to save our lives but even under those circumstances we were thinking: "they can't stay this hot for a long time" or "our defense will get better" but none of those things happened and we ended up losing the game. We argued every single whistle that was called against us, our coach was thrown out of the gym and I fouled out of the game with still 10 minutes to play. My dad, who was watching from the bleachers, had to listen to me bitch about the refs on the way back home until he said the following:

"Jose, the refs didn't make you lose that game. You guys lost it. You didn't hustle, you didn't execute, and you didn't rebound the ball. It's like you were expecting them to suck at some point but it never happened. The fact that all of you, including your incompetent coach, were arguing calls throughout the whole game and blaming them for your misery just proves the fact that you are so arrogant that you can't even tell that you were beaten by the better team tonight and that it had nothing to do with the refs taking it away from you. Suck it up and learn from it"

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the Suns were cocky tonight but it certainly looked like they were thinking (just like we did back then) "They can't stay this hot all night"

But they were wrong and just like me...they need to suck it up and learn from it.

That's enough of my stories. Let's talk hoops now.

First Half

The Hornets came out firing, hitting shots on 8 consecutive possessions. In the mean time the Suns were ice cold and missing from every corner on the floor. A 15-0 run by the Hornets extended the lead to 13 points and it was clear that the Suns weren't expecting the Hornets to play aggressively. They were caught off guard and didn't even seem to care.

Our shots started falling and they cooled down, we ended up the first quarter only down by 4. But for some reason it felt like more. I felt uneasy. The Suns were being out hustled and were getting beaten on the boards. The classic formula for basketball failure.

New Phoenix favorite, Jared Dudley, came into the game and you can tell that he's able to jump start the team as soon as he steps on the floor. As soon as he came in he had a steal, made a three point shot and suddenly the Suns had taken the lead. The bad news is that we were still getting beat on the boards and The Hornets were taking advantage of those second opportunities. As a result New Orleans took control of the game once again and the score at half time was 52-49. Suns down by 3.

Second Half

It was clear that Nash wanted to get involved so he started shooting early in the third quarter. He went on a tear for a couple of minutes but once again his great plays and shots were overshadowed by the team's horrible perimeter defense. It was like every time The Suns were leading or getting close...Bam! The Hornets would hit a three point shot. They shot 52% from behind the arc (13-25) and two of those thirteen sank The Suns for good.

It was a close game in the final minutes of the 4^th Quarter and unlike other games our super fourth quarter clutch defense was nowhere to be found. The Suns had an opportunity to close this one out but missed easy shots like Hill blowing a bunny under the basket.

Reasons why The Suns lost:

Horrible Perimeter Defense: The Hornets had a very good shooting game, especially from behind the arc. Phoenix did not make an adjustment all night, always just a second late to guard the three point shooter.

Hornets had good transition defense: The Suns attempted to run several times, only to find themselves stopping to wait for more purple jerseys. The Hornets did a great job all night staying in front of Nash.

Free throw shooting continues to be an issue: They need to clean this up. It's unacceptable. They shot 73% as a team (16-22) which is not that bad on paper but take a look at when they missed these free throws.

Channing Frye: He went 4-15 from the field and 1-7 from three point land. I believe this is his worst shooting night as a Sun. I understand he has been great for us but at some point you have to realize that this is not your night. Nash should have noticed also. There were several plays where Nash decided to go to Frye instead of someone else. We were getting killed on the boards and this was the perfect opportunity for Gentry to put a guy like Lou on the game so he could get you more rebounds. But that's just my opinion.

Slow Start: It's getting to a point where it has become annoying. The Suns can't afford to grind it out every game. They can't afford to come from behind every game. It requires a lot of energy to do that. Save that for the playoffs. They need to try to start the games on top and play with intensity since the tip off.

Peja Stojakovic: He was on fire all night, hitting 7 three pointers including one that was big for them in the clutch. He scored 25 points and had 13 rebounds.

It's Thursday and the game was on TNT: is it Charles Barkley? Is it me? I usually recap TNT games so who knows? Truth is that The Suns have lost their last 15 games that have been broadcasted in this TV network. I guess we can say that there is a curse.

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. This type of games are necessary so we can improve. So we move on and live to play another day.

Maybe having Amnesia is not such a bad thing after all...

Game Links:

At The Hive
Suns vs Hornets boxscore
azcentral.com - members
The Suns were due a stinker and this one was not even rancid. Losing to New Orleans without Chris Paul is no bouquet but it was on the road and they had gone 12 games without a bad loss during a road-heavy schedule.
SUNS: Postgame Quotes: Suns vs Hornets, 09/11/19
They played great. They did what they had to do. They scrapped and they got their confidence going early and got the crowd into it. Give them credit. We knew they were going to be a tough team tonight without (Chris) Paul, without Hilton (Armstrong) and West was struggling, but they made plays for each other. We just didn’t play good. We weren’t focused. Shots aren’t going to fall all the time. We just have to keep them off the glass.
The Official Phoenix Suns Blog » Blog Archive » Newsroom Notes: Suns @ Hornets
The Streak Continues The Suns loss to New Orleans on Thursday night was the 16th straight time they’ve lost a game on TNT. Concerned fans around Phoenix are offering up theories ranging from Charles Barkley to painted goats but the Suns have yet to break the spell. They have four more TNT games this season with their next chance at a win coming December 17th in Portland.
New Orleans Hornets have top showing of season vs. Phoenix Suns | New Orleans and Louisiana Sports - - NOLA.com
I'm not exactly sure who were those guys wearing Hornets uniforms Thursday night or where they came from, but they're welcome to play inside the New Orleans Arena any time.
Bickley: Gentry winning games and hearts
All the Suns wanted from D'Antoni was a deeper bench and a more forceful approach to practice. Gentry has delivered where the former coach could not, and now D'Antoni is struggling with the Knicks, having won twice this season and just once in the past 18 days.... "I don't know anybody that doesn't like Alvin," NBA analyst Doug Collins said. "But he has a quiet toughness about him that people don't see because he doesn't wear it on his sleeve. But when it's time to get tough, he gets tough. And this year, the Suns have been tough in the fourth quarter, when it really matters. That doesn't happen by accident."

Suns vs Lakers Recap

PanamaSun — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:06:19 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Amar'e couldn't get it going against a bigger and stronger front court.

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That didn't go as expected, right? Kind of.

Watching this game was really painful. We saw a tired and timid Suns team just going through the motions. We saw a powerful and rested team in the Lakers, playing with confidence at home.

The Lakers are the current NBA champions, they are tough, I get that. But I feel that the Suns could have at least tried a little harder. They looked flat out scared, intimidated, overwhelmed by the Lakers inside presence. True, we couldn't buy a bucket but this is when you have to fight through it and find a way to remain relevant in the game. Grind it out and stuff. But that's just me.

More ugly details after the jump.

The Suns

It was obvious that the Suns were tired. They didn't run, they didn't get back in transition. They shot 37% from the field. They didn't defend with the same intensity that we have seen in other games.

At the end of the first half, they had 5 assists and had shot 32% from the field. Amar'e was 2-12. Amazingly, the game was still in reach and I expected a better effort in the second half of the game.

Fail.

They looked even worse and it wasn't even close for the rest of the game.

One of the few (if not the only one) things that I liked about this game was Jason Richardson on Kobe Bryant. Jason didn't back down, he bothered Kobe, got under his skin a little bit and even exchanged words. That was until Sasha Vujacic came to Kobe's rescue (yeah right) and got in Richardson's face. The battle on the post continued but Kobe proved to be a handful, whether it was scoring or getting his team mates involved.

The Lakers

They abused Suns' players inside. Scoring 76 points in the paint. Bynum hit ~~puberty~~ his shots at will and finished the first half with 16 points and 26 for the game. Oh, and Kobe scored 19 first half points and finished the game with 29.

This must have been a great game to watch if you are a Lakers fan. They saw their team play great defense, their starting Center had a great game after coming from an injury and they beat the "hot" team in the West with a blowout win.

Final Thoughts

As I said on the Game Preview, this is a regular season game, playing the 2^nd game of a back to back on the road. This game doesn't change my feelings towards the Suns. I feel they are a very good team but this just shows you that they are far from being a Championship Team. They'll keep working and as the season moves along... they'll get better.

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 11/13/09 10:42 AM MST ]

Highlight of the Night. h/t to @sunswebgeek

Preview and Game Thread: Suns vs Lakers

PanamaSun — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:44:42 -0000

More photos » by Christian Petersen - Getty Images

More of this. Please.

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Do you recognize that sound? Can you hear it? That's the sound of the Phoenix Suns Bandwagon filling up to it's capacity. Yes, just like 2004. Hey, there's still room, feel free to jump in!

Suns Basketball is officially back. Steve Nash is the best PG in the NBA, they are leading the League in scoring, three point shots are raining over opposing teams, nobody can stop the Nash - Amar'e pick and roll and the bench is freaking awesome. But wait, did I say bench? But that was not a part of Suns basketball before...

Indeed. The starters on this Suns team are not the only ones who can run and score, They are not the only ones who can make big shots and make the opposing defense work. The days of the 7 man rotation are long over. The Phoenix Suns have players coming off the bench who provide energy on the defensive end and can score in a variety of ways. They are the reason the Suns are buzzing in the news while winning games. If the bench continues to play like this all season... The Suns will be among the top 3 seeds.

But before we even think about that, there's an important challenge tonight, some people might even call it a measuring stick. The Suns are going against the defending NBA Champions. The Los Angeles Lakers.

But make no mistake, this is only one game. If the Suns beat the Lakers tonight it will feel really good, I'll give you that, but it will not mean that we are better than them. Not yet. There's a lot of season to be played and a lot of things need to happen before we come up with that conclusion. Now that we got that out of the way, let's focus on how the Suns can Beat LA!

Oh, and before I forget: To all of you doubters out there, I'm not ashamed to say I'm drinking the Suns Kool Aid... at least I'm not writing this kind of stuff at the beginning of the season.

More after the jump!

Let's not forget this is the second game of a back to back and we suck at those. What's working for us is that most of our starters are rested since we blew out a depleted Hornets team last night. Nash should be fresh and the young guys shouldn't have a problem playing with intensity. There's still a risk of being tired though. The Lakers, on the other hand, are rested and playing at home and it's no secret that we bring the best out of Kobe Bryant. Which leads me to point #1 on how to beat them:

Make Kobe work hard for every shot: There's really no way to stop this guy so why even bother? At least we have to make him work hard. I expect Grant Hill to be all over him and hopefully we can slow him down. He's going to score on you but what makes him dangerous is when he starts to get his team mates involved. If I was Gentry I would not double team him unless we recover fast to cover the open man.

Phoenix is shooting a ridiculous 50% from three point land. The addition of Frye has spread the floor for them and it's paying dividends. Goran Dragic and Jared Dudley have also worked on their three point shot which helps the team continue to spread the floor even with the whole second unit playing. That's big, to say the least and this is point #2:

Keep raining threes: Don't get me wrong. I don't want them to fall in love with the three point shot but if it's working you have got to keep on shooting. Besides, most of the three point shots are wide open looks due to the great ball movement they have shown. If it's not working, I know our team is mature enough to get away from that and try something else.

Truth is, the Suns have improved their defense and everything starts with the attitude. They are rotating and talking to each other on the defensive end, they are pointing at players who are open and holding each other accountable. But most importantly, they seem to care about defending and seem to enjoy when they get a stop or a hard fought rebound. A perfect example: Barbosa fighting for position with David West last night. Although he got called for a foul, he certainly wasn't going to back down from a bigger and stronger player. Really cool. Which leads me to point #3

Defense Sparks: Grant Hill, Jared Dudley, Sweet Lou. These guys have to continue to bring it. We have to show LA we want it more than them. Defense and rebounds is all about who wants it more. Having the extra possession in this game is going to be huge.

Final Thoughts

Let's try to enjoy this game. If we lose, that's fine. Just like Stan said, it might be better for the team to realize they're not that good yet. If we win, it'll be a confidence boost and we will all feel great (which doesn't hurt either).

Forget about Stats, rankings etc. We know how to recognize a good team. There's one thing I know for sure and allow me to quote Kobe Bryant, which I seldom do...

"The Suns are as hot as a Pistol"

You are damn right about that.

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"They're a much more talented team than us and they're the world champs," Nash said. "I don't think we're sitting here saying, 'We're better than the Lakers.' We want to continue to get better every day. If we go and play well, we can beat them, sure. I don't think it's a situation where we're, all of a sudden after two weeks, going from a team that was supposed to be out of the playoff picture to a team that's going to win a championship. We've got to be humble." - Steve Nash

Phoenix Suns Season Preview Series, Part 4: The Competition.

PanamaSun — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:06:41 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

The Phoenix Suns will be the underdogs this year. After some moves made by other teams in the West, there's no doubt about that.

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The West is as competitive as its ever been. One has to wonder if the 2004 through 2007 Suns would have been a Top Three team in this competition. Was the Triumverate of Dominance (Mavs-Spurs-Suns) based on a lack of competition or just a ridiculously silly high level of play from those teams? Was the emperor -- and his two top generals -- naked? Was Eva naked with them?

In the West, we still have capitalism at its best -- the haves and have nots. JFK stole a line from Jesus and said that the poor are here to allow us to do good things. I guess that's the Robin Hood-esque theory behind the luxury tax. The Suns, Lakers, Mavs, Blazers and (for years) the Nuggets. I'm pretty sure the Spurs joined that list with the acquisition of Jefferson in their attempt to get the most out of the waning Duncan Years (a great strategy, btw). In typical socialist fashion, the NBA redistributes wealth and draft picks to the under-achieving lazy bums in Minnesota, Memphis and Clipper-land. Is there any way we can make the NBA and the D-Leauge like the European Football leagues? We could relegate the Wolves and Clippers to the D-League and give Courtney Sims a chance to take an elbow from Kobe Bryant.

I've got to mention Golden State. I can't be the first person to liken them to the Bad News Bears. Alcholic, manipulative coach? Check. Players willing to throw down? Check. Under-sized trouble-makers? Check. Unexpected contributions from tall, effeminate players? Check. Ability to hit the long ball at just the right time? Check. Able to pull out impressive wins but unable to sustain anything? Check. I put up a link to an article in the FanShots section that discussed the Curry-Ellis-Jackson-Stoudemire controversy in a little more depth. Being a Warriors fan has to be a lot like being a fan of Evil Knevil -- you're thrilled when they pull it off, but you're just as happy to see a miserable failure and mass destruction.

All jokes aside, let's look at our competition.

Dallas Mavericks

Relevant off-season moves:

Jason Kidd re-signs
Tim Thomas and Quinton Ross signing
Shawn Marion and Drew Gooden signing

Did Dallas just get a little better? Or is it just my imagination? Sure, they aren't within everyone's top contenders for the Larry O'Brien Trophy but they've sure made everything within their reach to make a run for it.

Re-signing Jason Kidd was a good move. You can argue that he's no longer one of the top Point Guards in the game but he's a great leader and he can still give people the ball where they can do some serious damage. The addition of Shawn Marion (insert sad face here) will give Kidd more opportunities to play loose and run from time to time. Marion will be the first one to run the floor for an easy basket and I expect Kidd to take full advantage of what Marion brings to the table.

On the other hand, Shawn will give the Mavericks defensive flexibility. We know he can guard small players just like he can guard big Power Forwards. He's numbers will go up but I don't expect him to be an All Star anymore. Don't get me wrong, he will certainly benefit and will thrive with Kidd on the point, who can give him he ball close to the basket or during a fast break.

Dallas was also able to get Gooden. The Mavericks may have gotten a steal with this signing. They were interested in Marcin Gortat but with the Magic matching their ridiculous offer, they pursued Gooden, who turned out to be cheaper and brings almost the same skills to the table. Gooden will be a great replacement for Dampier. You can expect to see him next to Dirk down the stretch. Drew Gooden is no All Star but he can do some dirty work under the basket. Something that I've not seen anyone do for The Mavericks in the past few years.

Tim Thomas can still knock down the occasional three point shot and Quinton Ross could turn out to be a good signing. He's an average defender who can make threes. If he's used right he can give the starters some rest and play valuable minutes.

Dallas fans should feel happy; Mark Cuban made some interesting moves that really improved their team. The big question mark continues to be Rick Carlisle. Will he use his roster the right way? Is he too stubborn to run n gun from time to time? If he gives Kidd and his pals the green light to run... this team will be really fun to watch.

JSun: I'm scared to death of watching Marion run the floor with Kidd. I'll probably cheer when he's not playing the Suns. When he is playing the Suns, all I'll be doing is bagging dog poo to light on fire for Steve Kerr's porch.

San Antonio Spurs

Relevant off season moves:

I've talked to several people about the Spurs Off season. Some of them feel that these moves are overrated, that it will not make a difference when it comes down to winning a title. But let me tell you something my dear friends, from a Suns fan perspective. From someone who has seen their beloved team fall again and again against the Immortal Spurs...I'm scared to death.

Remember the times when the Spurs had their offensive droughts like around the third quarter? Well, I don't think that's going to happen anymore. The addition of Richard Jefferson gives them instant offense. He can be that spark on offense the Spurs needed. He can take advantage and score easily when Tim Duncan is double teamed.

The big question mark is if Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will be and remain healthy enough to actually help the team. This is something that has been a cause of concern for the Spurs main office which is why they decided to bring Antonio McDyess.

I really don't know how much he has left in the tank; one thing I do know is that this guy plays hard every time he's on the court. He will provide a lot of help with rebounds and playing under the basket. The only down side of his signing is his contract. 3 years for 16 millions seems a little bit too much from my end. But he's certainly the type of player that exceeds expectations; he's a Popovich type of player and that alone benefits their team.

No one can stop Tony Parker in the paint. If Roger Mason continues to shoot lights out from the three point line and if Manu is able to come back and play like his regular self...The Spurs could make a serious run to for the title.

JSun: I don't know why PSun didn't mention the draft. I've seen non-Texas papers say that DeJuan Blair is the next Paul Milsap. Isn't that the perfect complement to this roster? If he's able to be that, he will give Duncan the rest needed to get through the season. I had this great joke a couple of weeks back when the Arizona Wildcats finally admitted they were a joke and hired Bill Murray's relative. It was much funnier when I told my boss at happy hour. Hating the Spurs and the Cats, I fear much woe in the household come June.

Los Angeles Lakers

Relevant off season moves:

Shannon Brown re-signs
Lamar Odom re-signs
Ron Artest comes on board.

It hurts to say this but they are the title favorites this year. It was important for them to keep Lamar Odom (insert Kardashian joke here) and bring a strong small forward to play along with him and Kobe Bryant. They didn't waste their time and got Artest from the Rockets. They have basically the same team, there's really no reason to fix something if it's not broken.

Artest might be a head case, but the dude can play. Phil Jackson might have to Zen his rear end to get him focused and on the same page but I feel that in the long run this move will take The Lakers to the next level. The only complaint I have about this trade is the amount of money and years they offered to Ron. If this doesn't work they are stuck with him for 5 years. I'm not sure any other team would want to deal with him.

Kobe Bryant will continue to be the best player in the league. Pau Gasol finally stepped up in crunch time last year so we can no longer question his ~~manhood~~ character under pressure.

Unless something happens, I expect the Lakers to be the favorites to win the Championship again.

JSun: I read a tweet or something somewhere saying that Bynum is so freaked out by knee issues that he's wearing a brace on his good knee. Normally, I'd laugh hysterically and mock the Lakers for paying this guy $60 million; while he may be the most overpaid player in the leauge, he still does just enough to keep the Lakers at the top of the League.

Denver Nuggets

Relevant offseason moves:

Arron Affalo and Malik Allen signing
Chris Andersen re-signs

The years of the Denver Nuggets fighting for the 8^th place in the standings are over. The addition of Chauncey Billups has completely turned around this franchise. Their fans enjoyed one of the best post seasons that you can ask for without winning it all. They saw their young star turn into a super star on the big stage. They saw their boys fighting against every team that got in their way. Their defense was superb. They executed under pressure. They became an exciting team to watch instead of a walking frustration with a light blue uniform on.

Denver will continue to be tough. If Melo continues to play like he did last season and if Chris Andersen can keep on providing that energy off the bench, Denver will make noise once again.

Minor changes were made to their roster. Again, there's no need to fix something that's not broken and that gave you a special season. Last thing you want to do is break the good chemistry. Minor tweaks here and there. I can only imagine how eager Nuggets' fans are for the season to start.

JSun: This is an important year for the Nuggets. It's kind of like the second album a band releases. After a great break-out year, how are they going to follow it up? Was last year the Nuggets' Cracked Rear View or Van Halen I?

It's tough to predict how the Suns will do against these teams. Basketball is a crazy game and what looks good on paper doesn't always look good on the court. What I'm sure of is that the West has gotten tougher and it will not be easy for our beloved Suns.

Special Thanks to JSun for his contributions and comments. It's always fun to work with you, buddy.

Barbosa shines as Brazil downs Panama 84-64

PanamaSun — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:09:53 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

I never get tired of this.

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It's nice to watch Basketball again. It was even nicer to watch Leandro Barbosa in a uniform running the point, getting steals and shooting lights out from the three point land (sorry rosewood). Leandro is by far my favorite player and watching him mature and develop into a complete basketball player has been a pleasure. The only problem for me today was that he was doing all of this against the Panama National Team.

There are 10 teams fighting for only 4 spots in World Championship that will take place at Turkey in 2010. Group A has: Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Virgin Islands while Group B has: Brazil, Panama, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Argentina. All of the games take place at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Brazil leads all teams by improving their record (4-0) today while beating what looked like a confused and depleted Panama team. Leandro was Brazil's leading scorer with 17 points while Varejao finished the game with 15. On behalf of Panama Danilo Pinnock had 24 points and Joel Muñoz had only 8.

Brazil's game plan

Brazil's coach, Spaniard Moncho Monsalve, went to Leandro early in the game setting up plays for three point shots. The long distance attack continued while LB ran the point. He created shots for team mates Garcia and Huertas who also contributed knocking down shots from behind the arc.

The Panamanians made defensive adjustments and were able to cut the lead with a 9-0 run to finish the 2^nd Quarter down only by 6 points (42-36). The first half ended with an acrobatic, Kobe-like shot by Panama's forward Danilo Pinnock. He knocked down the three point shot at the buzzer with two defenders on him.

2^nd Half Collapse

Panama had adjusted their perimeter defense; therefore, forcing Brazil to play in the paint but Panama's small front court was exposed resulting in easy baskets for Varejao. LB once again showed that he's comfortable getting the ball to his team mates in the paint. Brazil was able to build a comfortable lead and they never looked back.

Thoughts on LB

Leandro is currently the tournaments' leading scorer averaging 19 points per game. I know he can score, that doesn't surprise me but his shot selection has been awesome. He's trying to get his team mates involved and he's showing great passing skills under pressure. As a result Brazil leads the tournament in assists, finishing today's game with 24. Once he arrived in Puerto Rico, he was interviewed and asked about his beloved team, The Phoenix Suns. This is what he said: "Our team is different now, but we don't know what's going to happen. What we do know is that Steve Nash is coming back and we are really happy about that. Besides, Amar'e is coming back also, both of them are really important and I'm sure it will play out well"

You see, the Brazilian Blur is confident and so should we!

Thoughts on the Panama National Team

This wouldn't be one of my posts without my usual rant so bare with me. Watching this team is like a kick in the nuts. Don't get me wrong, there's talent but there's no discipline at all. How is it possible that our starting PG ends up with only 8 points and 3 assists? And he was our second best player! As soon as Brazil made a run in the third quarter he completely gave up and his team mates followed. You could tell by his body language. Sometimes people tend to forget the importance of having a good point guard on the team. It's not only passing or scoring or having good court vision. You are supposed to make plays for your team mates, get them fired up, and lead the offensive attack. If you put your head down most likely the team will do the same. Your demeanor and the way you react to things is important because the spot light is on you.

Your team mates are looking at you because you have the ball, your coach, everyone.

The team's staff needs to do a better job scouting players. Just because a certain player is usually on fire in pick up games doesn't make him a good pro. It's time to do it the old way, what happened to try outs and competing for a spot? A friend of mine tried to get in and he was told that all spots were filled. He begged for a chance to show them he could play and they closed the door in his face. I bet they could use a player like him right now...

Anyways, it was certainly a bitter sweet day for me. Leandro played great and showed improvement in his defense and running the point. If he continues like this he'll become the complete package. Does he deserve a starting spot on the Phoenix Suns? with what I've seen so far, the answer is Yes.

Poll

Should Leandro Barbosa start?

No, we need some fire power coming off the bench

122 votes

Yes, the guy deserves it. We need him in the starting five

111 votes

233 votes | Poll has closed

In the Business of Winning

PanamaSun — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:46:22 -0000

More photos » by Lance Murphey - AP

Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash (13) will always do his best to win.

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I've been quiet this offseason. Really quiet. Truth is that I hate trade talks. I can't take them. It's hard for me to look at basketball like a business, maybe the fact that I played for my country for $200 bucks a month has something to do with that. Who knows?

I still believe that there's people who choose winning over money, I believe there's people who swallow their pride to play like a team and accomplish the desired goal. Call me naïve, I've heard it before. It still amazes me how good players go to awful teams just to get a big fat pay check. Where's their desire to win? How can they feel good about themselves after losing most of the games? When I ask these questions out loud, there's usually a friend who answers the following: "P-Sun, I guess it's easy to lose games when you go home driving a Ferrari and a super model wife/girlfriend is waiting for you in bed just wearing Victoria's Secret underwear". Yup, I guess he's right. When the Panama National Team lost I had to go back home in a bus in the middle of the night with two dollars in my wallet...so yeah, I guess that makes losing a little more difficult. So, on game days there was only one thing on my mind when I was bringing the ball down the court: Win. This. Game. Do whatever it takes, there's no way I'm making that ride back home harder than it already is. And this is how everyone should play the game.

You play basketball to win, period. Whoever tells you they play basketball to have "fun" is lying. Steve Nash might say it, but I don't believe him. Think about it. The guy trains as hard as anyone, is on a very strict diet, plays a style of basketball that takes a toll on his body and he's been really close of getting that elusive Larry O'Brien trophy. Do you really think he has given up? Does his decision to stay with Phoenix shows that he doesn't care about the championship? No and Hell No.

Sure, He has said on several interviews that he'll be at peace if he retires and never wins a ring but he also has mentioned that if he doesn't feel he has a shot at winning it, if he doesn't want to compete and if doesn't feel he's got that fire in him he'll just retire.

I agree that he sounded bored on the interview, he talked a lot about chemistry and having fun but maybe he's tired of talking and saying they are contenders, maybe it's time to prove it on the court instead of saying it. I'll never question Nash's desire to win. Even when he's playing badly I feel he gives everything he's got on the court and I believe he'll do the same thing when the season starts.

Everyone's down on the Suns. I get that. You look at the Mavs and Spurs and everyone getting better and it's hard to think the Suns will have a shot but I'll tell you this: As long as Steve Nash has a healthy Amar'e receiving his passes, as long as LB continues to blow by defenders, as long as Lou is blocking shots and Dudley hustling, as long as Richardson is doing 360 dunks without Lebron being near him...The Suns will continue to be a very tough team.

NBA basketball is a business but it's also a game. Games are played to win and sometimes winning starts by getting along with your team mates, Task Cohesion. Back to basics.

After death, this virus is able to restart the heart of it’s victim for up to two hours after the i...

PanamaSun — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:11:50 -0000

After death, this virus is able to restart the heart of it’s victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believe to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during "resurrection."

BBC News

Swine Flu Zombie Apocalypse is here!