SB Nation User Blog: PanamaSun

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!

Team Chemistry, the Winning Formula

PanamaSun — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:16:48 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

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While visiting my parents last week, I went in my old room to look for a book I wanted to read. It had been a long time since I had stayed in that room for more than a minute and it was nice to see that nothing had been moved or changed. The desk where I used to sit for hours studying offensive and defensive plays was still there. This desk had always been my domain, neither mom or dad had ever set hand to it and the drawers were full of 8 years' worth of junk. But going through this junk was kind of cool, old letters which I had put aside to answer but never did, what had once seemed so important now looking antique, postcards that I had bought but never mailed. I was getting ready to get up from my chair when I saw an old photo. It was 1999, 16 year old PanamaSun (skinny as hell) along with my team mates from the National Team. We were at a party after beating Puerto Rico in the Tournament Finals. I played for my country since I was 14 years old until I turned 20, and this team in the picture is, by far, the best one that I have been a part of. We weren't as talented as you may think. My scouting report probably said the following: P-Sun, average shooter, force him to his left hand, If he's double teamed he'll freak out, very emotional, make sure to taunt him and he will lose his temper. Truth is that we were an average team and it's not like we held hands after each game either. As a matter of fact there were guys on the team that I didn't like. So what made us a good team?

Was it team chemistry? But I just mentioned we didn't like each other...

Does team chemistry exist? And most importantly, does it affect a teams performance?

The first question is an easy one to answer. Yes. It does exist and sport's psychologists define it as a group dynamic that occurs when members of a team work together and make a united effort to accomplish goals and objectives of the collective whole.

But could it be possible that team chemistry has nothing to do with performance at all? Maybe good chemistry is a by-product of the teams success, who knows..

To me (and many people) Team Chemistry could be determined by:

Social Cohesion: Team mates like each other, they go out for dinner, they love to hang out, they feel like family, they enjoy each others' company.
Task Cohesion: Teams ability to focus on a specific goal and perform well and effectively on the court.

Having a team with a high amount of social cohesion means very little when it comes down to predict your teams performance on the court. It's way more important to show task cohesion, meaning that if they play together and remain united throughout the season, they'll have a better shot at enjoying success.

Unlike many people think, players that don't like each other at a personal level can play well together.

Think about it. Before the Shaq trade everyone was talking about how Marion was a cancer to the team, that everyone was upset because of his attitude. But did this ever show on the court? Did Nash deny the ball to Shawn? Do you remember Raja Bell missing a three point shot because he was upset at Marion or Amar'e or anyone? The answer is no.

On the other hand we noticed that Boris Diaw was unable to perform while playing beside Stat. I'm sure they liked each other, I'm sure they hung out and stuff but the on-court chemistry (task cohesion) was awful.

Task cohesion goes beyond liking each other and for this to happen everyone should know their role and stick to it. Role players following the leaders and all leaders being on the same page.

Chemistry is why the Suns never made it to the playoffs this year (among other things). Role players were not accepting their roles. Both leaders, Shaq and Nash were never on the same page and we saw this every single night without the need of listening to Shaq's post games interviews saying that the way to reach a championship was through him, while on the other side of the locker room Nash was saying that they needed to run more.

Believe it or not, chemistry plays a huge role in the NBA. It's the reason why coaches get fired and players get traded, and it's the reason why very talented teams don't reach their ultimate goal.

Suns Disappoint, Lose to Spurs 103-98

PanamaSun — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:57:16 -0000

The Suns finish their road trip with a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. They finish this tough stretch 0-4 in what Shaq called the "I hate Shaq" road trip, playing against his former teams: Lakers, Miami and Orlando. It ended up looking like "I want to miss the playoffs and be a lottery team" road trip for the Suns.

This was a good opportunity (again) for them to beat a good team and feel good about themselves. Instead the only feelings remaining after this game are: disappointment, frustration and anger. Once again the Suns fail to close out a game. They fought back form a 13 point deficit only to let the game slip away in the 4^th quarter with their stellar defense. It seems like these games are scripted. Parker scores a bunch of points in the 4^th quarter, Duncan has his away against Shaq, Nash with the late turnovers, circus three point shots just to get our hopes up, more turnovers, Spurs getting the critical offensive rebounds to get second chance points, game over and the Suns lose.

Heck, I should have started to write the recap right after the preview. At least I would have saved time. But no, I wanted to believe that our players were going to snap out of it and play hard. I guess I was wrong.

More after the jump.

Box Score - Game Quotes

What's the difference between a good defensive team and a good offensive team?

The defensive team can afford having a bad shooting night because they will get stops. While the offensive team doesn't have that luxury. The Suns can't afford missing open shots and going 3-4 minutes scoreless, 99% of the times they will lose.

The Suns' defense can't get any worse than this. The opposing teams feel so comfortable shooting from anywhere on the field. They don't rotate properly, they are lazy contesting shots. The defense did get better during the second half but once again they let up when it most mattered.

Point Guard Matchups: It's no secret that Parker loves playing against us. He loves to play at a fast pace. He scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and blew by anyone who was guarding him. Nash only covered Parker on a few plays and mostly Grant Hill was the one who got torched by the quick PG. Speaking of Nash, he led the team with 23 points and 11 assists but I think he tried to do too much during the second quarter where he shot around 5 consecutive times and was successful in only two. It's no secret that Nash wants to win, that's why he is trying to take over the game but that's not always going to work.

Interesting fact:

SA went to the line 27 times while Phx only went 13. That's a huge differential right there. I'm just sayin'.

Time is running out. They've got 1 month to prove they deserve to go to the playoffs. They've got 1 month to turn it around. Do you still believe?

Poll

Do you still believe?

I believe

36 votes

I want to believe

112 votes

I'm a doubting Thomas

47 votes

I'm a Suns heathen

33 votes

228 votes | Poll has closed

Suns vs Spurs - Game Preview

PanamaSun — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:29:41 -0000

The Suns are in a dark place right now, but it can always get worse. They are 0-3 on this important road trip and the last thing you want to do right now is face the team that has always found the most ~~painful~~ efficient ways to beat you.

The last time we lost to the Spurs, Stan encouraged us to move beyond hating them and just accept the fact that they are better than the Suns. He also used a very good analogy explaining how The Spurs were like the big brother who always beat you on the court because he was stronger and bigger than you. Although I understood this, I couldn't relate to it because I'm an only child, so here's one of my own.

Back when I was in third grade, I was really small for a kid my age. Being shy didn't help either. There was this kid named Christopher (I'll never forget his name) in my class, who would always pick on me and bully me around. There was nothing I could do to stop him. I ran, he caught me. I hit him, he knocked the lights out of me. I told the teachers, he hit me even harder. He always seemed to be a step ahead of me. Once I realized I was on my own, I decided to take extreme measures. No, I didn't get a gun (although that's probably what a kid would do nowadays) I enrolled in karate classes and I was determined to beat the kid up. Long story short, I grew up to be just about his size and in fifth grade I provoked the fight. I hit him first, he didn't even flinch. I panicked and froze on the spot and he beat the crap out of me yet again.

Later I realized that, at the first sign of adversity during the fight, I remembered all of the times he had beaten me up and that's why fear took over me and I couldn't react. Although I felt I was better prepared for a fight, my mind (fear) betrayed me.

Having said this, I'm not suggesting that the Spurs are bullies. Aside from Bowen -who has a very limited role this year- most of their players are not dirty. Sure they will flop from time to time but who doesn't?. They are disciplined, they have an awesome coach and they are proven champions. But the truth is that they have beaten the Suns so many times that they are in the Suns' player's heads. They panic at the first sign of adversity during the game, they whine about the refs, they don't execute in crunch time. How many times have we seen the Suns enter the 4^th quarter with a comfortable lead only to give it back and let the game slip away?

What's the difference between these two teams? Mental. Toughness.

While the Spurs mentality is that they can overcome any problems during the game, the Suns shrink in big moments at the first sign of trouble. It's not that the Suns don't have heart, or that they don't want it as much as the Spurs do, they are betrayed by their collective fear to lose against San Antonio *again*, just like I did when I faced that kid. At least that's what I think.

Enough of my stories, let's focus on how the Suns can win this game.

Attitude: The Suns still have time to turn things around. Basketball is a crazy game and a win against your nemesis should do wonders. Problem is, they could have turned things around after beating the Lakers. Well here's one more shot. They have to play with energy and the sense of urgency that this game deserves. They have to go after every loose ball, every offensive rebound. Treat this like a playoff game. Treat this game like it's your last shot.

Control pace: Besides watching his players standing around on a defensive sequence, there's nothing else that pisses Popovich off more than watching his team play in the opposing team's pace. Especially the Suns. We need to run when we can and give Shaq enough touches to wear out Tim Duncan or however is guarding him.

Perimeter Defense: This are no the same Spurs that we have faced in the past. We can't let them take uncontested shots. Matt Bonner and Roger Mason are a serious threat from behind the three point line. If Duncan is having a bad game, you can count on these two to pick up the slack. Pop has being able establish a very effective inside-out game, spreading the floor with dangerous shooters.

Point Guard matchups: Tony Parker outruns anyone in this league and I don't expect Nash to stop him. What I do expect from Nash it at least putting some resistance and not standing around ala Stoudemire. He needs to get everyone involved and limit his turnovers. In the last few games he has been scoring a lot but at the same time he's getting torched by opposing guards. He has also shown problems giving the ball to Shaq. This is a very fixable issue: Let Hill or LB give the ball to the big fellow and play Nash off the ball. This is up to the coaching staff to come up with a play that sets up a shot for Nash in case Shaq is double teamed or can't shoot a high percentage shot.

Shaq vs Duncan: Tim is a great defender, Shaq will have to bring his A-game if we want to have a shot at winning this game. In order for him to be relevant, he needs to get his touches (Are you reading this Steve?) limit his turnovers and stay out of foul trouble.

Bench Battle: Lou, Barnes and the rest of the bench need to play with energy as well. There's no excuse in letting the Spurs outhustle them when they are on the court. If they get in with a lead, they need to maintain it.

Final Thoughts:

Season is not over guys. I see everyone talking about the lottery and tanking the season. There's still time. Dallas is struggling also. They are as inconsistent as the Suns. I don't care who we play. If we get the 8^th seed and play the Lakers so be it. We know that come playoff time, nothing that you did during the regular season matters. They can still turn it around. There's still time. Believe

Lakers crush Suns, 106-132

PanamaSun — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:49:02 -0000

Oh boy, I wish I could pull a "Clipper Steve" on this one. As painful as it might be I'll have to pull it through, so here we go.

Yeah, I knew it was going to be tough but I did not expect The Suns to play like this. Give credit to the Lakers who didn't sleep on us. They came focused and determined to put us away early in the game.

The surprise of the night was Gentry putting Tucker as a starter. He did play with a lot of confidence during the first minutes of the game and did his best to guard Kobe who was hitting shots from everywhere on the field.

Let's move on to the game notes. I promise to keep it short

The Suns started the game with good energy. LB was running the show and seemed really comfortable doing so. Three point shots were falling, behind the back passes, lay ups, dunks. We where up by two and Phil Jackson called a timeout. The Lakers were not playing defense during that stretch and he let his team hear it. After the timeout Kobe and his crew decided to actually start playing defense and that's the story of the game.

You can see what happens when Nash doesn't play. We are 6-16 playing without him since he came to town. Everyone looked lost on offense, they just couldn't create anything. On the other end of the floor they couldn't defend to save their lives, The Lakers shot 57% from the field and seemed to create high percentage shots at will.

One of the things I mentioned in the game preview was that the Suns needed to avoid high scoring nights from the Lakers' bench players. Fail. Their bench scored +50 points on us.

I know we are short-handed and all, but I expected more from the Suns. Jason Richardson scored only 13 points and shot 6-14 form the field. This is a guy that is supposed to take over games like these. Right?

Grant Hill has been struggling as of late. Is the injury in his foot really bothering him? He's outside shot is not falling. He seems to have slowed down. I really hope he gets better for our sake. We can't afford another injury in this team.

Let me be clear, this was not a "must win" game for us. I would have felt better if we had at least showed up and played hard. At least the bench got to play a lot of minutes...I guess that helps or something. On the bright side, Tucker looked really good out there, although most of his buckets were in garbage time.

Let's put this game behind us. The Suns have to regroup and prepare for a very tough stretch. They'll have another shot at the Lakers on Sunday.

Pregame Q&A With Malice * Box Score * Gentry Post Game Quotes

Game Preview - Suns vs Lakers

PanamaSun — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:31:54 -0000

The Suns come to LA for what should be a very exciting game. The last time The Suns faced the Lakers they did it without Boris Diaw and Raja Bell who had just been sent to the Bobcats(along with Sean Singletary) for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley. Neither of them were available to play at the time and Shaq was not with the team due to a death in his family. Against all odds the short-handed Suns gave The Lakers a run for their money and put up a hell of a fight against what was clearly a superior team.

I was very pleased with our team's effort that night. Matt Barnes led the way with 25 points (That's right, it's not a typo), Hill had 23 while Amar'e had 21. We shot 50% from the field and only had 15 TO -that's pretty low for our standards-. Nash had an awful night, shooting 2-12, claiming that he's head was not in the game, that he failed to focus. When it was all said and done, The Lakers only beat us by 5 points.

I bring this up because, just like we do, The Lakers have their own share of problems. Their defense has been criticized throughout the whole year, Gasol has been called weak, Vujacic was called brainless by his own coach. They seem to fail keeping their energy up during games but at the end they always find a way to win. I guess that's not going to be enough for Lakers' fans since they expect their team to dominate every game and blow out any team they face. Anything less than a championship this year will be considered failure (sound familiar). The Lakers will come into this game hungry to show everyone why they are the first seed.

On the other hand, Suns are looking to build some momentum. Our record stands at 4-1 since Gentry took over but were are yet to beat a good team. We are hopeful, but reluctant to believe that just by running everything will be alright. Perimeter defense and rebounding need to get better.

How do we Win this game?

Fast Pace: The Lakers love to play fast, but they are not as good as the Suns. If they get caught up in the frenetic pace we'll have the upper hand. They will forget to play defense and will leave shooters wide open. I've seen them do that several times, last time it was against the GSW. Considering the fact that the Suns are averaging 128.4 points and shooting 56.7 percent from the field in their last five games, I'll take that any day.

The Bench: The second unit must continue to play with confidence and energy. Lou needs to continue hustling and blocking shots. Same as Dudley. At the same time we need to be all over their bench players. We can't afford Vujacic or Ariza having career nights against us. I can live with Kobe and even Gasol scoring a lot of points but their role players need to look like role players and not superstars.

Shaq: Shaq is in great shape. I think Gentry will need to call several plays for him this time. With Bynum hurt, Shaq will abuse anyone that they put on him. It'll be interesting to see how Gentry will try to balance the pace so that Shaq can he his touches. He'll see that it's easier said than done.

Point Guard: I was hoping Nash would play this game. I expect Gentry to play LB at the point with Dragic as back up. Dragic will get a bunch of minutes and it'll be interesting to see if he continues to play with confidence.

Pray that Kobe has an off night?: Not really. As I said, I always expect Kobe to be Kobe. We will be in trouble if everyone starts hitting shots too!

This is not a "must win game" but it's an important one. I'm confident that the Suns will come out and play hard. Buckle up. It's going to be an interesting night.

Bittersweet ending, Porter finally out.

PanamaSun — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:42:30 -0000

Party is over, everyone has left. Hotel rooms are empty and for those of us who follow the Phoenix Suns, a bunch of questions remain unanswered. Let me start by saying that I love All Star weekend and that I was looking forward to it this year since it was at Phoenix but I found it hard to enjoy it with all of the trade talks and rumors about Amar'e and Porter. The worst part is that I know a bunch of people felt that way and I'm sure that David Stern didn't appreciate any of the backstage drama either.

Back when I wrote Part 1 of the season preview series, most of us agreed that it was time for a change, that our up tempo style had been studied, dissected and deciphered and that we really needed to step up on the defensive end if we wanted to get a legitimate shot at the championship. All of us knew that this task was going to be difficult with the type of players that we have. They played 4 years for a coach who didn't practice nor taught defense and only preached offense, three of our starters are not good defenders (to say the least), most of the players were put together to fit one style only.

Think about it, this was not an easy job to take.

Porter's job was to come in and focus on defense. To get into these player's heads and make them understand that everything starts with not allowing the other team to score. That you can only be so good on offense and you know...get stops from time to time. I applauded his eagerness to make these type of changes but I think everything went downfall when he tried to put his own stamp in The Suns offensive strategy.

The Big Dilemma

Porter claimed that The Suns needed to use Shaq more often, pound the ball on the post and slow the game down. It's hard to blame him for going to Shaq. The Big Cactus was looking like his old self. He seemed more agile, his great low post moves were back: The baby hooks, the low post spin and dunks. But by over using him, he limited our other scorers to just watch and stand around while Shaq did his thing. Opposing teams liked this strategy because it's the same one they have always used against us with Nash. Make him a scorer and not a distributor. Only this time we did it to ourselves and we transformed Nash into a "regular point guard". Let's not forget that Shaq was not able to sustain his outbursts. We have said it a bunch of times, there would be times where he was destroying the other teams in the first half, only to score 6 in the second half. Porter's strategy to feed Shaq so often became predictable just like D'Antoni's run n gun.

D'Antoni's Shaq strategy:

Coach Mike wanted Shaq, let's not forget that. Shaq was happy to come here as a role player, he said that himself. During the last 20 games of the regular season last year, the Suns became unpredictable again. Here's why:

a) The Suns would still run, but this time they would slow down the game whenever they wanted to. Teams had no idea when the Suns were going to run or give the ball to Shaq on the post.
b) Shaq rested for large periods of time. This was done for the purpose of not clogging the lane and let Amar'e and Nash do their thing. Not to mention that it kept him fresh for whenever he was asked to be the primary scoring option. Do you guys remember the game were he just dominated the Spurs in the second half?

Porter's Issues:

Rotations: We noticed that this was an issue since day one. At first I thought that we were so used to coach Mike's rotations that maybe it felt weird to actually use the bench. Maybe Porter was trying to figure out which lineups had more chemistry and who played better with whom. This was going to get better with time. It didn't. Porter pulled out players when they were hot, Nash was playing a bunch of minutes, He insisted in playing Barnes before LB. Not having consistent rotations can cause turnovers and confusion among players.

Reluctance to run: This came as a surprise to me. Having watched TP in his prime. I thought he understood the importance of a fast break. There were games where we finished with less than ten fast break points and even ones that we finished with None. If that's not misusing our players I don't know what is.

Not earning his player's Trust: It's hard for me to believe that Porter lacks leadership skills. He was an outstanding PG and to be able to reach that level you have to be a good leader. Maybe he's the type of coach who should only work with a young staff until he gets more experience or maybe Suns players are spoiled millionaires who are so enamored with D'Antoni's system that they just refused to accept any changes. I'll leave that up to debate.

Final Thoughts

Everyone agreed that it would have been better to hire an experienced coach. It's not Terry's fault that he couldn't do the job. If someone is not able to do a specific job it's the employers fault for hiring in the first place. That's Human Resources 101. I don't have any doubts that Terry was trying to please his employers by following Kerr's instructions. Kerr is not off the hook on this one. He did have the guts to fire someone he hired, therefore, accepting his mistake publicly. You got to give him that. I'm sure that he's aware that this leaves a huge stain in his resume.

Once again we are left with a lot of questions and doubts. I guess we can only watch and keep our fingers crossed that this works out for our beloved team's sake.