SB Nation User Blog: iamtrevorpaxton

Game Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns

iamtrevorpaxton — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:36:58 -0000

It's the most wonderful time of the year! We're nearing Christmas, we're playing on our home court, and we're playing against a team that went 23-59 last year. Merry Christmas?

Not so fast. This team, similar to the Kings, is enjoying some early season "success", compared to last year. They're sitting (kind of) pretty at 13-14, good for tied for the 9th seed in the (not so) Wild Wild West. They are a young team that plays with fire, and while we should theoretically run them out of the stadium with our veteran leadership, this team has given us problems in the past.

First, let's hit some talking points:

James Harden is playing his first game in the Valley of the Sun that made him such a hot commodity
The Thunder's all-time record against the Suns? 0-4.
The total number of points the Suns have beat them by? 42...and that includes a game where we won by 22 to throw off the statistic.
Suns record on their home court? 10-1. Thunder record on the road? 6-7. Not bad for a young team, especially with wins against Utah and Miami

The Suns have to be fired up for this game. The Thunder, as mentioned before, are a young team benefitting from playing with one of the game's up and coming superstars in Durant, and have looked hell bent on not repeating last year's disastrous record. That said, the Suns have been (mostly) great in the early season, beating the teams they should beat, and even pulling off a few big wins against teams no one during the offseason thought they had any business beating.

The Thunder, on the other hand, have beaten 13 teams by Christmas. That's more than half of what they won all of last season. It's no secret that they are playing like a new team, with their most impressive victory coming against the Jazz on, you guessed it, their home court. The Thunder have a lot of weapons, most notably Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but don't count out players like Jeff Green (who can straight up ball) and James Harden. Harden is still learning the NBA game, but has been playing very well as of late and could do a lot of damage against us. We know the former Arizona State University product be fired up when he gets on the court for the first time.
Here's how I see the Suns being able to win the game:

Not letting Durant go crazy. Durant, in my opinion, is a streaky kind of player. Sure, he's going to put up his points on you (he's at 27.3 on the year), but it's the way that he puts them up. If we can keep him below his season average, and keep him in check (i.e. not let him get too fired up), we should be good.
Deny entrance to the paint. Russell Westbrook has little-to-no outside jumper, and we need to realize that. Sure, he'll hit a few shots here and there, but the way he does most of his damage is by penetrating into the post and kicking it out or finishing strong at the rim. Deny him entrance to the paint, and you take away a lot of his game.
Run, but be smart about it. During the Cavs game, the Suns tried to start their running game early, and the Cavs (LeBron) knew it. He hung back, cut off outlet passes, and single handedly took us out of the game we were so fired up in. We can't let their "defensive specialist" in Thabo Sefolosha take notes from The King and do the same tonight
Protect the home court. We're coming off one of the worst losses of the season (most embarrassing, for sure) as far as the team gelling goes. We've been blown out this season, but they were in games that we were expected to be blown out. We've been a stellar home team this year, and we need to shake off the loss (and overall confusion) and come out of that locker room ready to play.

With all of that said, I'm looking forward to this game. If we're still floundering, don't be surprised if the Thunder come up with the "W". The Thunder have had some good matchups this season, and I'm looking for the Suns to come out angry and put this young team in their place.

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 12/23/09 11:21 AM MST ]

Thanks to Trevor for stepping up and asking to do the preview and recap for this game. We certainly welcome anyone else that wants to try their hand at these exciting and self-fulling tasks.

Game (and other) Links:

Thunder vs Suns coverage
Welcome to Loud City
KTAR.com - Heated Stoudemire moving on
Tuesday morning Stoudemire said he was still pretty heated about the game. "Anytime you lose a game like that, where we couldn't score down the stretch, it's not easy to swallow," Stoudemire said after practice. "But we did a great job today of going over the things we needed to work on to improve. "We feel better about ourselves now." Stoudemire said he had trouble sleeping Monday night following the loss, but said his frustration will carry over to the team's Wednesday game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish - PaulCoro - Suns set up to get well
The Suns are entering a get-well portion of their schedule just in time. They have not won successive games since November and just suffered their first home loss since March. Oklahoma City is no pushover, as exemplified by how the Thunder pushed the Lakers to the final seconds Tuesday night, but this is the first of three successive games the Suns have against teams with losing records and Leandro Barbosa is supposed to be back for the latter two (Clippers at home on Friday and Warriors on the road Saturday).
Suns' turnovers, exploited by Cavs, a growing concern
Amar'e Stoudemire had six turnovers Monday, three of which came on offensive fouls. He is averaging 3.7 turnovers in losses. "You're not going to forget about that," he said of the loss. "I'm still pretty heated, to be honest. It's going to carry over."
Now playing in the Purple Palace: Big Game James| Valley of the Suns
no matter how Harden performs against the Suns or the rest of his NBA career, his contribution to Sun Devil basketball will not be forgotten, and he will have a rousing ovation deservedly waiting for him Wednesday night courtesy of Planet Orange.
Can you live with what Suns have become?
Paula makes some really good points...
http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/10651--steve-nash-and-partners-buy-fitness-world
It's being called a slam dunk of a deal. NBA star Steve Nash, New Evolution Fitness Company and investment firm Angelo, Gordon and Company have bought the prominent Fitness World chain.
Blog News: DBB joins SB Nation | Detroit Bad Boys
The SBNation keeps a-growing!
NBA Bloggers Power Rankings Week 8: Where (gulp) The Knicks Are on Fire, And The Lakers Win Again - SB Nation
Suns #7: From Clips Nation, "Don't be fooled by their 4-6 record in their last 10 - losses @CLE, @LAL, @DAL, @DEN and @POR are not unusual - those are 5 of the toughest places to win in the entire league. One place tougher? @PHO, where the Suns are still undefeated."
Suns welcome Thunder to town | Fanster.com
The Phoenix Suns host the Oklahoma City Thunder at U.S. Airways Center on Wednesday, December 23, 2009.

Random Tragedies and Mental Health (Not Suns related...but GREAT read.)

iamtrevorpaxton — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:50:55 -0000

Random Tragedies and Mental Health (Not Suns related...but GREAT read.)

An SBN story talking about guys like former NFL player Chris Henry, former lottery picks Kirk Snyder and Eddie Griffin, and current troubled player Delonte West.

If we have the money to pay them millions upon millions of dollars to play a sport, we should have the courtesy to try and take care of their well being. With greatness sometimes comes madness, and every sport should try to help out their individual players more often, rather than shipping them off to some new town.

A Christmas tradition...I always make a Suns gingerbread man. Never quite turns out how I want it,...

iamtrevorpaxton — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:52:19 -0000

A Christmas tradition...I always make a Suns gingerbread man. Never quite turns out how I want it, but hey, what does?

Not To Make Excuses, But... (To The Defense of the Suns)

iamtrevorpaxton — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:27:50 -0000

The Suns, for the first part of the 2009-2010 season were the feel good team of the NBA. It took them less than one week to come crashing down to earth and send every self-righteous ESPN/Yahoo! Sports/blogger-type analyst typing away at some headline along the lines of: "Suns Rise Like A Phoenix, Then Come Crashing Down To Earth".

Rightfully so. The 14-3 Suns lost, after a few days rest, to a 3-14 New York Knicks team. A very motivated, angry D'Antoni led Knicks team, but still. The records don't lie.

However, at this point in the season, there are a few other teams at very similar (I'll be focusing on the ones that have the same records...for now) points in this season. These teams are: the Cleveland Cavaliers (15-7) and the Dallas Mavericks (15-7).

The Schedule

Many of those "ESPN/Yahoo! Sports/blogger-type" analysts I mentioned earlier at least managed to mention the strength of the Suns' schedule. However, with all of the hullabaloo surrounding our hometown team, there are other teams that seem to be gliding along, under the radar. Oh, the joys of surprising people, and popping up on everyone's radars (again). I looked at the schedules, and I found some interesting things.

Here's the shakeout of each team. The @ denotes an away game, and a B2B denotes the second game of a back to back series.

Cleveland: Boston, @Toronto (B2B), Chicago, @Washington (B2B), @Charlotte, @Memphis, @Houston (B2B).

Dallas: Washington, @New Orleans (B2B), @San Antonio (B2B), Golden State, @Cleveland (B2B), @Memphis, Atlanta (B2B).

Phoenix: @Orlando (B2B), @LA Lakers (B2B), @New Orleans, @New York, @Cleveland (B2B), @LA Lakers (B2B), @Dallas.

Right now, most people are thinking, okay...so you can list teams. So what? Next, I'll touch on one of the more obvious statistics: the fact that three or four "B2B"s show up in each of the aforementioned teams' seven losses.

The Story of the Back to Back

It's no secret that many teams are worn out on the second night of a back to back, if the prior game was against a formidable opponent, and especially if they had to travel. So, I took the liberty of looking at what teams came before the B2B losses.

Cleveland:

Loss: @Toronto, Prior Game: Boston (L); Loss: @Washington, Prior Game: Golden State (W); Loss: @Houston, Prior Game: @Memphis (L).

Dallas:

Loss: @New Orleans, Prior Game: Utah (W); Loss: @San Antonio, Prior Game: Houston (W); Loss: @Cleveland, Prior Game: @Indiana (W); Loss: Atlanta, Prior Game: @Memphis (L).

Phoenix:

Loss: @Orlando, Prior Game: @Miami (W); Loss: @LA Lakers, Prior Game: New Orleans (W); Loss: @Cleveland, Prior Game: @New York (L); Loss: @LA Lakers, Prior Game: Sacramento (W).

There are a few things that stand out here. Of the back to back losses for each team, only one of those teams is a current playoff team for Cleveland, one is a playoff team for Dallas, and all four are playoff contenders for the Suns. Let's not forget to mention that 3 of those back to back losses came at the hand of last year's NBA Finals contestants: twice to the Lakers, and once to the Magic.

The Open Road Song

Anyone you talk to, be it athlete or not, can attest to not feeling 100% after a long plane trip, bus ride, or other form of lengthy transportation. Whether it's attributed to jet lag or just sitting in one spot for hours at a time, one thing is for sure: long road trips and extended periods of time on the road can wear on anyone, especially an NBA team full of athletes playing at the highest level of competition. Well, usually. Out of the 22 games our three contestants have played in, 12 have been on the road for Cleveland, 12 have been away from home for the Mavs, and 15 have been in a state not named Arizona for the Suns. That's 54.5%, 54.5%, and 68.2%, respectively. Sixty eight point two percent. I'm not here to point any fingers, but it appears the Suns are on the short end of the stick when it came to early season scheduling.

Conclusion

I know the season is early. I know that on any given night, a terrible team can find it within themselves to beat a good team. I just felt the need to offer a more complete point of view and come to the defense of a team that many bandwagon followers started hating on after a few losses.

But even through all this, we can all breathe a sigh of relief and say this: at least we're not the Nets.

The Portland Trail Blazers: The New Phoenix Suns

iamtrevorpaxton — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:46:51 -0000

[An article I published on BlazersEdge that I thought many of us Bright Siders would appreciate it.]

Yes, you read that right. The Portland Trail Blazers, though entirely different than the Suns, are essentially the 7SOL Era Phoenix Suns v. 2.0. Allow me, a humble Suns fan, fellow SBNation devotee, (Bright Side of the Sun), and basketball fanatic, to address questions you may already have brewing:

"The Trail Blazers are last in offensive pace, whereas the Suns are among the leaders of that pack. How can this be?"; "The Trail Blazers are stacked with young talent, and the Suns are relying on a few aging (which is debatable) veterans for success...where's your argument?"; "The Trail Blazers have not made the same terrible mistakes that the Phoenix Suns' front office have made over the past years, as far as draft day deals are concerned. How do you figure?"

Answers to these questions (and more) after the jump.

First, let's get to the answers of the few hypothetical questions I posed earlier.

Here's the thing: There is just about nothing in common between these two teams, as far as a basketball playing sense is concerned. Allow me to cite John Hollinger's Team Statistics to help back up this point.

Offensive Pace

Phoenix: 98.0 (4th); Portland: 90.0 (30th)

Rebounding Rate (RR)

Phoenix: 49.1 (21st); Portland: 53.4 (1st)

Offensive Efficiency (Off Eff) [Number of points scored per 100 possessions]

Phoenix: 112.1 (1st); Portland: 106.1 (12th)

Defensive Efficiency (Def Eff) [Number of points allowed per 100 possessions]

Phoenix: 107.6 (24th); Portland: 100.7 (8th)

Bottom line: The Suns are a faster, more efficient offensive team than the Blazers, but the Blazers play a slower pace, rebound the ball, and defend much better than the Suns do.

So what in the world is this guy trying to say? How are the Trail Blazers so similar to the Phoenix Suns?

It all boils down to one word: Injuries.

The Phoenix Suns, during their "Seven Seconds or Less" glory years, were a perennial prediction to make a run at the NBA title. They topped the power rankings of sites like ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, and other sports media outlets. They were one of the most exciting teams to watch in the entire league, thanks to one man: Steve Nash. Not to mention his formidable supporting cast in Shawn Marion and Amar'e Stoudemire. When this team was clicking, it was nigh impossible to stop them. Yet, for some reason, this team always seemed to hit a road bump in their quest for the coveted Larry O'Brien trophy.

We all remember the Suns team of 2004-2005. It was the maiden voyage of the D'Antoni/Nash led Suns, where the Suns wound up with a 62-20 record and the number one seed in the West. We had everything falling our way and we looked poised to make a serious run, but the Suns had the injury to Joe Johnson. He had to have orbital surgery and wear a face mask to the rest of the playoffs. The result? The Suns got trounced in the Western Conference Finals by San Antonio, 4-1.

The next year, the Suns had a tough break early in the season. Amar'e went down just 3 games into the season and had to have the ever dreaded microfracture surgery. In his absence, though, this team had a new resilience, and each and every player stepped up to the plate. The Suns ended with a 54-28 record and the number three seed in the playoffs. The Suns then, once again, made it to the Western Conference Finals, but didn't have enough left in the tank (and were missing our top scorer in Stoudemire) to bang with the red hot Mavericks, and were beat 4-2.

From there, the Suns had several other bad breaks. Once again gaining the top seed in the 2006-2007 season, the Suns had the ridiculous hip check from Robert Horry on Steve Nash. The momentum was beginning to head toward the Suns, but the Spurs caught a huge break when Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for the next game. Many will say that the 2006-2007 season was the end of the 7SOL Suns team, as right before the All Star Break in 2008, the Suns traded a disgruntled Shawn Marion for Shaquille O'Neal, to try and get them over the proverbial hump in the playoffs. In game one of that series, Tim Duncan hit a 3 pointer at the end of the second overtime, and the Spurs never looked back.

Now, I know the Blazers don't have quite the playoff history that the Suns have had, but you've got to wonder just when this team of ridiculous young talent will finally be touted as a serious contender for the NBA Championship. Every year has gotten better for them, but inevitably, someone gets injured and things begin to fall a little. This year, Outlaw and Batum are out for a lot of the season, both players who played a significant role in the offense. Then Oden gets injured again...right when he was beginning to prove everyone wrong about him not being able to stay on the court and contribute.

Now, I'm not going to blame it on bad luck, and there's no telling what the future holds, but I'm here to say this: Dear Portland fans, welcome to the world of bad breaks. Sincerely, Phoenix Suns fans.

The Portland Trail Blazers: The New Phoenix Suns

iamtrevorpaxton — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:44:50 -0000

Yes, you read that right. The Portland Trail Blazers, though entirely different than the Suns, are essentially the 7SOL Era Phoenix Suns v. 2.0. Allow me, a humble Suns fan, fellow SBNation devotee (Bright Side of the Sun), and basketball fanatic, to address questions you may already have brewing:

Answers to these questions (and more) after the jump.

First, let's get to the answers of the few hypothetical questions I posed earlier.

Offensive Pace

Phoenix: 98.0 (4th); Portland: 90.0 (30th)

Rebounding Rate (RR)

Phoenix: 49.1 (21st); Portland: 53.4 (1st)

Offensive Efficiency (Off Eff) [Number of points scored per 100 possessions]

Phoenix: 112.1 (1st); Portland: 106.1 (12th)

Defensive Efficiency (Def Eff) [Number of points allowed per 100 possessions]

Phoenix: 107.6 (24th); Portland: 100.7 (8th)

Bottom line: The Suns are a faster, more efficient offensive team than the Blazers, but the Blazers play a slower pace, rebound the ball, and defend much better than the Suns do.

So what in the world is this guy trying to say? How are the Trail Blazers so similar to the Phoenix Suns?

It all boils down to one word: Injuries.

Game Preview: Sacramento Kings at Phoenix Suns

iamtrevorpaxton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:23:54 -0000

Well, Suns fans, here we sit at a precipice: our beloved 14-3 Suns team was drubbed by the 3-14 New York Knicks in a game that should have been a definite win. But, as we've found out, you can't overlook any team in the league (even if it is a struggling Hornets team without Chris Paul). Then, we played a game the very next night, against a team that, depsite some early struggles to integrate the Shaquille "Win a Ring for the King" O'Neal, is a very legitimate title contender. Oh yeah, we played on their court too. Where they went for 30 consecutive victories last season. Ouch.

What the Suns cannot do is drop a game to a streaking Kings team, who, while spending the entirety of last season in the dregs of the league, have found a mini-resurgence with the help of their 4th overall draft pick (and strong Rookie of the Year candidate), Tyreke Evans.

More after the jump...

Match Ups

STARTERS

PG: Steve Nash vs. Beno Udrih

Every possible stat that you can possibly find on the interwebs will tell you that Nash has got this battle locked up. Udrih is almost enjoying a career year (his stats this year are pretty comparable to his stats from 2007-2008), but Steve "Two Time" Nash needs to show Udrih up in a big way in this game. After the last few games, Nash stated that it wasn't from a lack of effort, but from a lack of confidence. How you go into a game holding the best record in the league and lack confidence is beyond me, but from watching the games and hearing the players' commentary, I think we can take him at his word.

Nash is the motor that makes this team go, and our team needs to trust that he will find them in their hot spots and set them up for success.

SG: Jason Richardson vs. Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans, who, before the season started, I called as my prediction for Rookie of the Year, has not only benefitted from switching from the point to the two-guard slot in Kevin Martin's absence, he's flourished. In the 12 games since Kev Mart went down with his injury, Evans has either led the team or tied for highest score on the team in 6 of them. He's been the assists leader 6 times. And, on top of that, he's boasting an average of pulling down 5.0 rebounds per game, while averaging over a steal (1.25 per game). If that's not impressive, I don't know what is.

Meanwhile, JRich has had a bit of a resurgence here in Phoenix this season as well. After being unsure of his role last season, Rich has done just about everything we could expect from the guy. He's putting up career highs in both FG% categories (overall FG% and 3P%), most likely coming from working with a point guard who can hit you in the exact way you need to be fed the ball. He's stepped up his defense from last year, like he said, and is no longer as big of a liability on the defensive end as he was last year.

I look for this to be a great matchup, and JRich is going to need to display that improved defense to slow down the explosive rookie out of Memphis if we're going to have a shot at blowing out these guys, which we should.

SF: Grant Hill vs. Andres Nocioni

What can be said about the Ageless Wonder that is Grant Hill? He's one of the best competitors on our team...remember when he was put back in the game against the Knicks in the second quarter? He was a force to be reckoned with. Driving, being aggressive, you name it. He understands exactly what this team needs from him, and relishes that role. On the other hand, Nocioni is trying to reestablish himself in this league. He's known for his defense and his ability to knock down the three ball. Hill is one of the most reliable perimeter defenders on the team, and I foresee Noc having a rough game when paired up against Hill.

PF: Amar'e Stoudemire vs. Jason Thompson

Jason Thompson is one of my favorite young players in the league. I thought Sacramento got a HUGE steal when they landed him at 12th overall...if only he could've fallen just a few more spots to 15 (the Suns' pick, for those who don't care to think much right now). There are two major differences to these two players' games: Amar'e is a beast on the offensive end, and Thompson can rebound the ball. Thompson isn't known for being a shot blocker, though he's averaging 1.2 per game this year. I look for Amar'e to take it in to the young player, who's averaging 4.2 fouls per game this season, which, shockingly, is just as much as Greg Oden. Expect to see Amar'e engaged in taking it inside early in this game to try and take out Thompson. One thing I've noticed with the Kings, is it seems like when both of their young players (Evans and Thompson) have good games, the team is pretty successful.

C: Channing Frye vs. Spencer Hawes

Hawes was the receiver of tons of flak from head coach Paul Westphal in the preseason, and I'm not exactly sure why. He played well, though inconsistent, in the minutes he received last year's dismal Kings team, and played fairly well in the preseason. Hawes, while putting up pretty solid averages, has had a rough start to the season. He plays a similar game to Frye, in that Spence can hit the 3 ball, but I think Hawes has a bit of an advantage on the post up game than Frye.

Frye will likely be open for more threes than if there were a more mobile 4 or 5 playing him, as both Thompson and Hawes are more back to the basket type players, even if Hawes has the range to stretch the defense. Look for Frye to have a solid follow up to his 22 point, 4 3-pointer, 7 rebound performance against the Cavs.

BENCH

Phoenix Suns: The Phoenix Suns bench has been one of the biggest surprises this year, and nobody on this site can or should contest that statement. Dudley has improved every facet of his game, Amundson (while still shooting 58% from the charity stripe) has improved in most areas, and Dragic finally looks like he's got a bit of swagger and confidence under his belt. Lopez is still working his way back into full game speed shape, and Alando Tucker, while putting up a solid all-around 14 point performance against the Knicks, will likely not come play in this game.

With our former 6th Man of the Year likely out until Christmastime, we've hit a bit of a snag as far as bench production goes. Our bench hasn't been able to build leads like it was in the beginning of the year, and is struggling to maintain the leads our starters have gotten (or not gotten, see: the past two games). While our bench does have the edge in comparison to Sacramento's bench (just wait for it...), this is a game all of our players need to come out fired up for.

Sacramento Kings: Donte Greene and Sergio Rodriguez are about the only two players on the bench that are worth noting, and that's saying something. Donte is an intriguing player who has shown flashes of being able to be a solid, productive player, but due to his youth and inexperience, will put up a stinker in the next game. And Sergio only really warrants a place in this conversation due to a string of 3 or 4 solid games, capped by his 24 points in 24 minutes breakout against the Hornets. Aside from those players, you're looking at rookie Jon Brockman, Kenny Thomas, and Ime Udoka, who has played his way into anonymity after leaving the Spurs.

Bottom Line: This is a must win for a struggling Suns team. I really only say "struggling" because we've hit a two game rough patch where our camaraderie and confidence on the court have equated into us losing by a total of 44 points in two games. The Suns should very realistically come out with the "W" in this game, but the Kings should not be discounted. They are a very much improved team from last year, and if they can continue to build on the success they've had so far with key players like Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia out, there's no reason to think that they can't make the playoffs, or at least challenge a few of the borderline teams in the West.

The Suns can't afford to take this game off, but I think they know that. I look forward to watching this game and seeing a fired up Suns squad returning home and gaining some momentum before they head off to Los Angeles to face the always dreaded (yet exciting) match up with the Lakers.

Game Links:

Kings vs Suns coverage
Sactown Royalty
Suns host Kings, seek solutions
Suns get a rare chance to play at home, a comfort zone to correct problems of 2 losses.
azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish - PaulCoro - Suns pass through Phoenix
"That's why it's so important to win games like #Sacramento#," Nash said. "A team that we have a better record than. We're playing at home. You've got to win those games so it takes pressure off. You don't have to win all those back-to-backs against top teams. Obviously, you want to go in there and try to win them. We've got to win the New York games, Sacramento games."

Other Links:

Hardwood Paroxysm » Blog Archive » Shaq Is Still Bad For Your Team Defense, Just In Really Interesting Ways
Knock me over with a feather. Shaq is sagging off shooting coming off screens leaving open mid-range looks. Shocking!
On the NBA\'s Gender Barrier - Bethlehem Shoals - The Baseline - Sporting News
I was going to write about this story but Shoals said literally everything I would have (but better).
Synergy Sports & The Blazers - Blazersedge
I want to get me some Synergy numbers...
Basketball Prospectus | Articles | The Long and Short of It
Size matters...sorry fellas
Twitter Talk Thursday with JaredDudley619 - Dec. 3, 2009 - Phoenix, AZ, United States, 85004 - Planet Orange Audio track - Official Phoenix Suns Social Network
Twitter Talk Thursday with JaredDudley619 - Dec. 3, 2009 - Phoenix, AZ, United States, 85004 - Planet Orange Audio track - Official Phoenix Suns Social Network
Live Coverage Of 2010 World Cup Draw At Noon, Where We Hope The U.S. Avoids Group Of Death - SB Nation
noon ET today
Energy Move to 3-0! Defeat Ft. Wayne 102-95- Energy Hoopla – Iowa Energy Basketball Social Site
Winning in the Suns "minor league" team. Great start for the Energy!

Fourth Quarter Suns

iamtrevorpaxton — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:40:31 -0000

After seeing the way this Suns team has performed over the first 13 games of the season, many people would say that the Suns are a fourth quarter kind of team. A "let's get it together and win" kind of team. A scrappy, rebounding, chip on the shoulder kind of team.

And you would be right. More after the jump...

Suns Scoring, Defensive Numbers Still Not Great

Now, many of you avid Suns watchers have noticed the grit, determination, and overall improvement of defense since last year's team. Well, after looking at the numbers, the Suns are still a pretty terrible defensive team. The Suns offense is rolling, as usual, at 109.8 points per game. If that's not good enough for top 3 in this young season, I don't know what is.

Now, the Suns are still giving up 106.6 points per game to their opposition. That's good enough for a +3.2 point margin, when it all comes down to it. I haven't looked at any basketball statistics/reference/adjusted stat sites, I just went into the archives and added up the point totals for each game. Now, to the untrained eye, one might look at that and say, "Sure, the Suns are scoring a lot of points, but they're still giving up a ton as well". Well, here's where I say to you, John Q. Reader, to read on...

Suns Not a First Quarter Team, End Halves (and Games) With Intensity

After going through the point totals, I decided to go through and, quarter by quarter, "analyze" the Suns' performance in each respective quarter. Now, I know the season is still fairly new, and the stats, with only 13 games under the belt, aren't exactly indicative of how your team will play all year, but this is the story of this season: the Suns are a better fourth quarter team than they are a first quarter team. Now, allow me to explain.

The Suns' offense stays relatively balanced throughout the game. In the average of first halves, the Suns have scored 55.1 points. By quarter, that's 27.2 for the first and 27.9 for the second. In the average of second halves, they have scored 54.7 points. Again, by quarter, that's 27.2 for the third and 27.5 for the fourth. Not enough of a difference to say that the Suns are a fourth quarter team, or that they are not a first quarter team. But wait...it takes two to tango. Let's take a look at their defensive prowess opponents' averages.

The Suns have never been touted as an elite defensive team. They have never really been touted as a mediocre defensive team either, despite what statistics say. The Suns play a Run and Gun style that is not conducive to defense. However, the Suns, under Coach Alvin Gentry, have been able to do something Suns teams in past years have not been able to do: turn up the defense in the fourth (when it matters) and either win a game or hold off a comeback from the other team. By half, the Suns allow an average of 55.2 points for the first half and 51.4 points for the second half. Now, let's break it down by quarter. For the first, the Suns allow a ridiculous 29.2 points. They turn up their intensity and bring that number down to 26 in the second. After halftime, the Suns come out and allow only 26.2 points, and close out the game only allowing 25.2. When was the last time you saw a Suns team come out, allow more points (albeit only a difference of +0.1 for the opposing teams) and still come out with a win, and a +3.2 point margin?

Suns Still Have Work to Do

Now, i'm not here to say, "Well, due to the statistics and the Suns' ability to hold teams down in the fourth quarters, they are obviously ready to make a run for the coveted Larry O'Brien trophy." I know (and the team knows) that they have work to do. But here's the rub: Gentry actually gets on players' cases. He preaches more defense than any past Run and Fun team has ever done, and makes the team work hard for what they do (as Phoenix Stan has reported). But, the Suns are moving in the right direction, and with a little more time, I think they could make some serious noise in this Western Conference.

Call me a homer, but I honestly believe that if the Suns can relearn how to establish leads early and then hold teams down in the fourth quarter, they will have more of a shot than most anyone else is willing to give them.

What To Do With Sasha?

iamtrevorpaxton — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:05:06 -0000

As everyone in the known basketball world knows, Sasha Pavlovic does not hold a basketball playing spot on the Suns' roster. Steve Kerr has come out and said it, and both Pavlovic and his agent have accepted that fact. Now, after news that Pavlovic had no spot on the Suns' roster (as if he ever did in the first place...we all knew the trade was strictly financial), the trade speculations began. Here's my take on what I think we should do with Mr. Pavlovic.

As the ESPN Trade Machine has so graciously approved, here's my proposal: send Sasha Pavlovic to the Golden State Warriors for Brandan Wright and Acie Law. From here, I will discuss why the trade works (and also why it doesn't work).

First and foremost, we have the...

Financial Aspects: Basically, the numbers line up. Sasha has a contract worth nearly $5 million ($4.95), and combining Wright and Law's contracts adds up to $4.8 million. That's the part of the trade that the Trade Machine looks at. We all know that, according to the Trade Machine, we can land LeBron on the Suns for someone like Jason Richardson. Just because the numbers line up doesn't mean it's going to (or ever should) happen.

However, since trading Shaq to Cleveland for two players that were clearly not in the Suns' plans for the future was a cost cutting move, trading one of those pieces to Golden State would largely be viewed as a financial, rather than a basketball, move. Let's pretend that we're Larry Riley (the GM of the W's) for a minute: last year, our team finished at a dismal 29 and 53. That's 29 wins, stacked up against 53 losses. The fans in Oakland are likely not very happy about it (who likes a losing team, except for Raiders fans, who are just insane to begin with), and once the pressure starts to mount, the finger starts being pointed at the GM.

Here's where Pavlovic comes in handy. Only $1.5 million of his contract is guaranteed. So, you trade away two players who aren't getting much burn anyway, and save yourselves upwards of $3 million dollars. That's a pretty penny. And, unless Steph Curry blows everyone out of the water and gets Rookie of the Year honors, with a phenomenal season, the Warriors are likely to get a little better, but still lose more games than they win. I know all the Warrior faithful out there will start throwing out things like "Randolph is going to explode this year!" and "Monta will be healthy, as will Maggette and Jackson, we're going to be a force to be reckoned with!" (This is a dramatization.), and while I agree with a few of the sentiments there, it's likely that something will happen, and the Warriors will miss the playoffs...again.

So, by cutting costs, saving the team money this year and next, the GM can say to his public, "Be calm. I know our team is not very good right now, but let me point you to the illustrious summer of 2010. Think of a time, much better than now. Remember the "We Believe" team? I sure do. By cutting costs and shedding a few contracts, albeit smaller contracts, we are clearing a bit of room to bring in a bigger name. A player that will help us turn around our losing ways. A player that will flourish under our system, led by our fearless captain, Don Nelson. I urge you to have patience with me, as I will have patience with this team."

Sounds good, right? Right. Now, this leads me to the...

Basketball Aspects: From a basketball standpoint, this improves the Phoenix Suns much more than it does the Warriors, though Mr. Hollinger claims that the trade doesn't affect the winning percentage of either team. Here's why both teams would do this.

Phoenix: It's clear that the Suns need another big man. While Wright is listed as a SF on ESPN, he has the size to play the PF (and maybe C in an uptempo system, though I don't know if he has the bulk to play with the other centers of the league). In Law, we also get a viable third option at PG, for the nights Dragic is underperforming, or, heaven forbid, either of our point guards get injured.

Golden State: Take a look at Wright's position (according to ESPN), and you'll find that the Warriors find themselves in the same situation as the Suns' SG position. As of today, the Warriors' roster shows four small forwards: Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Kelenna Azubuike, and Brandan Wright. We all know that assigning a player a specific position in the rotation in "Nellie Ball" is about as solid as Ron Artest's rapping career. But even with moving 'Buike to the SG spot, and occasionally throwing Captain Jack into that slot, there's still quite a few players who play the same position as Wright. And, with Golden State's commitment to (and apparent giddy excitement over) Anthony Randolph, that leaves Wright with less of an opportunity to flourish.

As far as Acie Law is concerned, I think it's pretty well known that he's not the future point guard of the Warriors. So why pay another player just over $2 million that may just end up like Marcus Williams during the 2008-2009 campaign? Also, on top of that, Acie would likely be buried underneath a slew of other players (Anthony Morrow, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, etc.) that would be handling the ball much more than he would.

So, just a trade suggestion to throw at you. Any and all comments are appreciated, and whether you agree with the trade or not, please keep the comments respectful.
.

Amar'e Interview with Jim Rome

iamtrevorpaxton — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:59:19 -0000

Amar'e Interview with Jim Rome

Not a bad interview for the guy. I'd be lying if I said the guy wasn't a good PR guy. He seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders (which he always has, I'm just glad the eye surgery thing hasn't made him go stir crazy at all).