Game 40: Phoenix(24-15) @ Atlanta(25-13)

[RaisingArizona]

Can we leave jrich in charlotte?

[rsavaj]

Good and Bad
this is certainly a game that had lots of both. I loved that Gentry was willing to go away from Frye and play a defensive line-up with Lopez and Dragic (who is the Suns best defensive guard) down the stretch.

Nash was pretty fresh and he and Amare carried the offense in the fourth while the others played solid D. Lopez really was fantastic. I had this thought that perhaps he’s not gotten as much playing time as Frye b/c Channing is such a nice guy and better communicator while Robin is…well kind of a goof. You wouldn’t think it matters but I am telling you I think it does. Everyone loves Channing. Everyone kind of makes fun of Robin. I’ve seen it.

Certainly when the Suns were going with a lot of zone D those two were far better than Frye and JRich. Dragic is quicker and smarter on his rotations and Robin covers a lot of space and…well 6 friggin blocks!!! while Frye was getting abused by Horford in the paint.

This would have been a solid win but you just can’t excuse blowing a 4 point lead in 10 seconds but when you look at it you kind of have to blame Hill if anyone.

On the missed FT it was just a fluke thing. Guys were aggressive going after the rebound and got in each others way. It happens a couple of times per game when teams are playing hard. This was just a really bad time for it. 9 times out of 10 the Suns get that ball. On the last shot, you just have to tip your hat. The Suns defended their first option – Joe in the corner – and Dudley switched on to Crawford and defended him well. He just nailed it.

The most boneheaded play was Hill inbounding to Amare. I watched that play several times and even counted the refs arm swings keeping time.

Nash was on the far side and made a fake cut one way and turned and was running right towards Hill with JJ several steps behind him. It would have been a pretty easy in bound to Steve but Grant was looking at Amare the entire time and lobbed him the ball.

I am never going to blame a guy for missing late free throws. I just don’t think it’s fair to call someone out for missing a shot in a situation like that. But Hill not even looking for Nash makes no sense to me.

Mostly though, the Suns fought hard and like most of the post-game quotes say, if they play like that even though the long ball wasn’t falling they are going to win most nights. If this didn’t come on the heals of all those other crappy games (Pacers, Bucks, Heat, etc) then it would have been a nothing at all.

Hopefully, it’s a step in the right direction and they can back it up tonight in Charlotte but that’s a tough place to play right now…Hopefully, Frye and J-Rich will step it up and carry their mates

[rsavaj]

We're all super frustrated because this team has been doing more losing than winning for the past 20+ games, but all in all, we played a good game last night.

Here's to beasting Charlotte and ending the first half of the season on a high note.

[Nando88]

i predict nash will get postered by gerald wallce tonight... 2006 playoffs kobe style

[MaryvalesFinest]

i predict nash will get postered by gerald wallce tonight... 2006 playoffs kobe style

That would be hilarious, hope it happens

[BurningHeart]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah


hahahahahahahahahhahahah


hahahahahahaha

hahahahahah

hahahaha

hahaha

ha ha

ha

[Frank Lee]

You know Mary, fans like you are a dime a dozen. You wish for failure because you think it will spawn change. You hope that by losing, may be we will get a new GM. You think that a complete over haul of this roster will lead us to prosperity. I dont disagree with you 100%, but your juvenile spew and senseless emotionally driven commentary is putting you on my list.

What you dont realize is all that you hope for is not necessary for change to come. This team is in a tread water state. They (Kerr and Knobert) know another hohum showing in the playoffs is just about all we have brewing now, (if that). But, their hands are tied. Once again, they have to be somewhat reactionary. We can't give Amare away... and not about to give Nash away either. Nash will be marketable next yr, with a 10 mill salary if dealing him arises. He will always be marketable. Stat can go this yr or in the off season. Both of these scenarios do not depend on this team losing, they depend on the desires of other teams for our players and their cooperation for a non roger-ing trade. For all we know, some feelers may be out on both of them as well as other members of this team.

For you to hope bad things to come, in order for good to happen is a twisted and self serving notion. Your anti-Nash jawboning, though warranted at times, is in poor taste. He has his misgivings, we are all aware of them. But right now, he is the best we have. Give some credit. Christ, I like him simply for the fact that he is as close to being a regular human being in stature as anyone, yet he plays in the NBA amongst giants. He often schools them with his fredsanford-like shots and for a non dunker, scores in the paint at a regular clip. He exists at this level purely on self determination, hard work, practice practice practice. His work ethic alone is so F-n admirable that even you could learn something from him from afar. For you to hope he gets moster dunked on just so you can get a peon-ish chuckle makes you a genuine JackAss in my book.

We are not going to win it all with this line up. It is no secret. And it is no secret that changes will and have to come. It is inevitable. If nothing is done by the trade deadline, then bitch about that, and if nothing significant is done in the Off season, well, I'll join you. But for now, just take it as it comes. You dont have to stick it in everyones face when ever you can. You are, frankly speaking... becoming a bore.

[Alyosha12]

Jamal Crawford hits a lucky shot and now we're talking Dalembert???

Delembert is a big body in the paint who is somewhat mobile, and thats why he suits the PHX style a bit more for a center then other big guys, he is a very good rebounder, defensive and offensive (his rebounding numbers in Jan. are 12,21,14,9,10,20,5), and that is something PHX desperately needs because as far as i know they are last in those categories.
Stat is a great player but he sucks, and i mean sucks on defense so much its hard to explain how much he hurts the team sometimes, thats why West would be a better fit IMO, he is good offensively, though not as good as Stat, and he is much much better defensively, and thats why i think he would be a better fit for the Suns.

The suns would lose a lot on the offensive end with that trade but they would gain a lot more on the boards and the defensive end IMO.

[rsavaj]

I think Dalmbert+a pick for Richardson is something I would do.

[MaryvalesFinest]

You know Mary, fans like you are a dime a dozen. You wish for failure because you think it will spawn change. You hope that by losing, may be we will get a new GM. You think that a complete over haul of this roster will lead us to prosperity. I dont disagree with you 100%, but your juvenile spew and senseless emotionally driven commentary is putting you on my list.

What you dont realize is all that you hope for is not necessary for change to come. This team is in a tread water state. They (Kerr and Knobert) know another hohum showing in the playoffs is just about all we have brewing now, (if that). But, their hands are tied. Once again, they have to be somewhat reactionary. We can't give Amare away... and not about to give Nash away either. Nash will be marketable next yr, with a 10 mill salary if dealing him arises. He will always be marketable. Stat can go this yr or in the off season. Both of these scenarios do not depend on this team losing, they depend on the desires of other teams for our players and their cooperation for a non roger-ing trade. For all we know, some feelers may be out on both of them as well as other members of this team.

For you to hope bad things to come, in order for good to happen is a twisted and self serving notion. Your anti-Nash jawboning, though warranted at times, is in poor taste. He has his misgivings, we are all aware of them. But right now, he is the best we have. Give some credit. Christ, I like him simply for the fact that he is as close to being a regular human being in stature as anyone, yet he plays in the NBA amongst giants. He often schools them with his fredsanford-like shots and for a non dunker, scores in the paint at a regular clip. He exists at this level purely on self determination, hard work, practice practice practice. His work ethic alone is so F-n admirable that even you could learn something from him from afar. For you to hope he gets moster dunked on just so you can get a peon-ish chuckle makes you a genuine JackAss in my book.

We are not going to win it all with this line up. It is no secret. And it is no secret that changes will and have to come. It is inevitable. If nothing is done by the trade deadline, then bitch about that, and if nothing significant is done in the Off season, well, I'll join you. But for now, just take it as it comes. You dont have to stick it in everyones face when ever you can. You are, frankly speaking... becoming a bore.

I don't wish for failure at all. Wishing failure would be hoping the Suns pick turns into #1 or #2 and the other team gets to draft Wall or Favors with it and if that happens I'd actually quit being a Suns fan (although some of you guys will probably be happy about that ) now wanting them to miss the playoffs isn't failure because let's face it this team isn't going to make any noise in the playoffs and what's the difference in rooting for them to be a 7 or 8 seed instead of a 9 or 10? If they make the playoffs you can bet it's going to be the same old for a few more years but if they miss it the second year in a row, maybe changes wont happen but it at least gives them a better chance to do something otherwise half the stadium will be empty.

As for being a Nash hater, I think I mentioned this before but I wasn't a fan of him BEFORE he came to the Suns. I like some of the things he does off the court like at the 2003 all-star game but I was never a fan of his on the court game and that's what counts.

[Frank Lee]

You are full of crap Mary.... you talk in circles.

You start threads about 'if its a good thing to miss the playoffs' You hope that more losing will get Kerr fired... you have more anti spew about this organization than anyone else that has not been banned.

I don't mind it, as long as you can back it up. But you do not and then do not listen to others. You blindly profess hatred towards players from stints on other teams (lou, Nash) And as far as you know, you have never been wrong.

And it would be hilarious to see Nash get posterized ??? See, you ignore 90% of what people say, then cherry pick a convinent point to halfassedly discuss. Failure to you is if our traded away draft pick comes in at 1 or 2 ???? WTF does that mean ??? See, Mr Halfassed at his finest.

You think that making the playoffs will solidify 2 or 3 more yrs of mediocrity ??? Your logic behind that is ???? Thats a load of crap.

'but if they miss it the second year in a row, maybe changes wont happen but it at least gives them a better chance to do something otherwise half the stadium will be empty.' more circlejerk spew.

I didn't like Dennis Johnson when he was a Sonic, nor Chambers. I wasn't a Barkley fan, and despised Mo Lucas... but when they came to phnx, and put it all on the court (as Nash and Lou do), I atleast respected them and hoped for the best. Remember, if a player excels, his value to the rest of the league increases, which is good for this team. These guys are assets. Take a hard look at Barbo... if the guy was dialing up his 20 + a night with the fire he once had, he's be desired in a deal... but he isn't and likely nobody is calling about him, and the end result, we have an overpaid sub.

You are a F-n peewee fan... all of 4 or 5 yrs worth. Face it, you want this team to lose. Nash could drop 50 in a win and you would begrudgingly say 'nice game BUT....'

and you don't even know who Al McCoy is.... that in itself is a glaring display of your ignorance about this organization. No more Mr nice guy here.

[Calvin Klein]

sadly I could just catch the last minute of the game. The worst part. But I was happy to see Rolo and Dragic in instead of JRich and Frye. Most of the times it's painful to see Lopez play but at least it shows Gentry is trying something different. And Dragic is great. He needs more minutes besides Nash.

It was absolutely heartbreaking and frustrating again. But there was some positives this time.

And yes, Frye is not a starter. He needs to come off the bench and stay in the game if he is on target. Otherwise he needs to stay out.

[Calvin Klein]

No game thread tonight? We're being humilliated again anyways.

[SteveNashMVP]

This team is absolutely pathetic. It's going to feel soo good not being a Suns fan anymore. No more pain. No more suffering. No more suicidal thoughts. No more tears. Even if they go on a twenty game win streak my support is permanently gone for good. It's a sad day to be a Suns fan.