Game 34: Memphis(15-16) @ Phoenix(21-12)

[dantian]

I think they said LB tweeked his ankle and had his wrist in ice as well yesterday so doesn't seem to be completely healthy.

Good garbage time by Clark, Lou and Dragic ... Other then a block Lopez has been ordinary.

Dragic's shooting/driving seems to be heaps better this season but still unconvinced by his play-making.

Dragic still has a lot of upside. He is learning from Nash as to keeping his handle roaming in the paint. Despite the TO with his bounce pass that missed Amare on the drive, he got into good situation to make that play. Instead of the bounce pass, he should have simply tossed into the open which Amare would have easily grabbed. Also, with time his handle will further improve. He will be fine.

[Jdiddy701]

My Shirt : Kerr Killed My Suns

[hunterxaz]

Alvin Gentry after the game, "The only way that you can put it is we just got our ass kicked."

[Miklo]

This one is partially on Gentry. When Frye can hit those 3s, it's worth the weakness he presents on defense. But he is not, while on defense Gasol killed us. Coach should have been flexible and tried to get some better defense first instead of hoping the shots might miraculously return to Frye and stick to him.

I think this is an interesting point. I've always been extremely high on Gentry but does he need to be more assertive sometimes? He's shown that he has great situational IQ and a good head for the game in general, PLUS I know this is "Nash's team" but Gentry needs to be able to shut players down sometimes. Especially our Chucky McChuckChucks like Frye.

Which brings me to my next point. Call me crazy but...
Start Jarron.
Tremendous BBall IQ, great defensive awareness, above average rebounding - just the spark we need at the beginning of the game. He does the same things Lou does in the paint but with more size. Fine, give him only 10-15 minutes - but start him. JMO.

[RaisingArizona]

Nice shirt jdiddy.

I think Memphis is a good quality team, so I'm not upset or surprised we lost. I think the lack of effort is something to be concerned with though. If we're not shooting 60% from the field, we decide to not play any defense what-so-ever.

[lilfishi22]

I think this is an interesting point. I've always been extremely high on Gentry but does he need to be more assertive sometimes? He's shown that he has great situational IQ and a good head for the game in general, PLUS I know this is "Nash's team" but Gentry needs to be able to shut players down sometimes. Especially our Chucky McChuckChucks like Frye.

Which brings me to my next point. Call me crazy but...
Start Jarron.
Tremendous BBall IQ, great defensive awareness, above average rebounding - just the spark we need at the beginning of the game. He does the same things Lou does in the paint but with more size. Fine, give him only 10-15 minutes - but start him. JMO.

I'm all in favour of starting Collins. Defensively, he can be no worse than Lopez or Frye. Offensively, we have more than enough weapons in our starting lineup to off-set the offensive production of our one trick pony center, that is Frye.

I don't want him to play major minutes, but I want someone with some good defensive IQ to make those smart defensive plays to anchor our defense early. Once we have established a defensive follow in the beginning of the game, the rest of our players will follow through the 48mins.

[Qwigglez]

It appears, every time I claim the Suns will win or have a blowout the Suns lose. So from now, I'm just gonna say the Suns are gonna get blown out. It worked with the Lakers and Celtics.

[dantian]

This one is partially on Gentry. When Frye can hit those 3s, it's worth the weakness he presents on defense. But he is not, while on defense Gasol killed us. Coach should have been flexible and tried to get some better defense first instead of hoping the shots might miraculously return to Frye and stick to him.

I think this is an interesting point. I've always been extremely high on Gentry but does he need to be more assertive sometimes? He's shown that he has great situational IQ and a good head for the game in general, PLUS I know this is "Nash's team" but Gentry needs to be able to shut players down sometimes. Especially our Chucky McChuckChucks like Frye.

Which brings me to my next point. Call me crazy but...
Start Jarron.
Tremendous BBall IQ, great defensive awareness, above average rebounding - just the spark we need at the beginning of the game. He does the same things Lou does in the paint but with more size. Fine, give him only 10-15 minutes - but start him. JMO.

+1
Frye is out there so that Nash has the most room to operate. But this should not be the only offense we run.

[BurningHeart]

How are you the only team in the league that has beat the Lakers/Celtics/Magic and then turn around to get your asses whooped by NY, Vancouver, the Hornets, etc? If you're gonna suck, then suck. If you're going to be awesome, then be awesome. Don't give me this inconsistent bull.

[PHXfan85]

haha welcome to being a Suns fan BH

know what I mean? uuuuuugh...

[Classick]

By the way, did anyone else besides me laugh their asses off at Leanders Phoenix Suns All Decade team?

Boris Diaw.

[lou_skywalker]

THE NBA WHERE AMAZING HAPPENS

[rsavaj]

By the way, did anyone else besides me laugh their asses off at Leanders Phoenix Suns All Decade team?

Boris Diaw.

Eh, I'd put Boris up there over Kurt Thomas.

Nash
JJ
Boris
Marion
Amare

[Classick]

EJ's team would've thrashed Leanders.

Nash
JJ
Marion
Amare
Thomas

[JohnVancouver]

Never was interested in TMAC, but TMEC is a whole different story.

JRich + Barbs for TMEC and Budinger.

I'm in - I tired very hard to be fair with JR and give him credit for hustle, working on defense if not really providing all that much but i just think he's a problem for us. Barbs - I hate to be down on him when he's been hurt but seriously - he hasnt learned very much

[JohnVancouver]

Call me crazy but...
Start Jarron.
Tremendous BBall IQ, great defensive awareness, above average rebounding - just the spark we need at the beginning of the game. He does the same things Lou does in the paint but with more size. Fine, give him only 10-15 minutes - but start him. JMO.

Yes. I credit Frye for recognizing he is a pushover on the defensive end and i see him trying to man up, but he's just a soft guy. Nothing to be done about it.
Get Collins in there to provide some beef and intensity - maybe not start him but the minute Frye goes cold, run Jarron and Lou.

[JohnVancouver]

Not that it excuses the crap game we played but Memphis has been a decent team lately

Memphis' resurgence started after they disposed of Allen Iverson on Nov. 17. Since then, they are 14-8, including a team-record 9-4 in December. During that month, they beat three division leaders -- Dallas, Cleveland and Denver.

"It's hasn't been easy," Gasol said of the Grizzlies' comeback from the depths of the NBA to a respectable record. "We never gave up. We continue to improve. When we were 1-8, we wanted to play good basketball and be winners. It hasn't been good for us the last few years. Now, we want more. This is just the beginning."

Coach Lionel Hollins credits his team's resurgence to camaraderie.

"We've come together as a team," he said. "We believe in each other. We've developed great chemistry. This was an awesome game ... from wire to wire. We took control right from the start. I preached yesterday [Friday] and today at practice that we can't give up easy layups to this team -- and we didn't give up many. That gives you a chance to win.

"Nobody would have thought we could come back from 1-8."