Game 14: Phoenix Suns ( 6-7) @ Philadelphia 76ers ( 7-6)

[WallabyPie]

Do not like the fact that Gortat was benched in the 4th. Why?

Thats such a stupid, boneheaded move, especially since JO wasn't exactly great out there.

Didnt like the fact that Scola played more in the 4th than Morris. We needed toughness.

All of Gortat's good moments came against Hawes. They benched Hawes in favor of Brown, and then Gortat missed a fadeaway that he was forced into by Kwame. I imagine Gentry thought, "Not this **** again" and put in Jermaine, who fared better against Kwame than Tat did.

Well, that's not true. In the 3rd Q Gortat scored 5 points on Allen (an "and one" and a hook shot) on 2/2 FG. When Allen picked up his 4th foul on Gortat's "and one" Marcin went off on Hawes, then he missed a jumper against Kwame and got benched. In 3 minutes when Jermaine and Brown were on the court together O'Neal scored 2 pts on 1/2 FG and picked up 2 fouls (including Kwame's "and one"). Kwame played only 1:08 in the 4th quarter. For the rest of the game O'Neal was guarded by Allen, Jermaine scored 4 pts on 2/6 FG and had 2 rebounds.

[rsavaj]

Do not like the fact that Gortat was benched in the 4th. Why?

Thats such a stupid, boneheaded move, especially since JO wasn't exactly great out there.

Didnt like the fact that Scola played more in the 4th than Morris. We needed toughness.

All of Gortat's good moments came against Hawes. They benched Hawes in favor of Brown, and then Gortat missed a fadeaway that he was forced into by Kwame. I imagine Gentry thought, "Not this **** again" and put in Jermaine, who fared better against Kwame than Tat did.

Well, that's not true. In the 3rd Q Gortat scored 5 points on Allen (an "and one" and a hook shot) on 2/2 FG. When Allen picked up his 4th foul on Gortat's "and one" Marcin went off on Hawes, then he missed a jumper against Kwame and got benched. In 3 minutes when Jermaine and Brown were on the court together O'Neal scored 2 pts on 1/2 FG and picked up 2 fouls (including Kwame's "and one"). Kwame played only 1:08 in the 4th quarter. For the rest of the game O'Neal was guarded by Allen, Jermaine scored 4 pts on 2/6 FG and had 2 rebounds.

OH YEAH? WELL THOSE ARE JUST LIKE....NUMBERS....AND FACTS...AND UHHHHHHH NUH-UH!!!11!!

I graciously accept the rebuke. It appears I was mistaken.

[Frank Lee]

I think it may be a safe bet that either Gentry or theGortat will be involved with this team next yr, but not both. I cant imagine theG putting up with restricted and inconsistent minutes when he is playing for a new contract/extension.

Perhaps there is a standing offer for theGORTAT, and Gentry is testing ONeal's ability ? My favorite Marcin goes, its likely JO'N will be starting. May be this offer is one to be exercised when all players are available. Idunno

More than likely, there was no defined strategy for both theG and Dragic to be pining it in crunch time 4th Q action.

[grumpysaddle]

The reason the Suns get down in the first place has been Beasley's non-existence on defense. If he can stick with his man, and not give up 2 or 3 wide open threes in the first few minutes of games, the Suns have a better chance at not getting down big. Moving Beasley to the bench would be a smart decision... He can still have the bulk of the minutes, but the defense will be established early with Tucker in the starting lineup. There's enough scoring in the starting lineup that Beasley won't be missed on that end. He can light up some scrubs coming off the bench though, and make the second unit more potent offensively.

[Dragic13]

I understand that Gentry likes to keep who is playing well in the game for longer but you cant do that in the 4th quarter!

Im sick of seeing how starters come in with 3-4 minutes left and have no rythem..

[EB2]

I understand that Gentry likes to keep who is playing well in the game for longer but you cant do that in the 4th quarter!

Im sick of seeing how starters come in with 3-4 minutes left and have no rythem..

Even I as a Gentry supporter was puzzled by his decision to rest Gortat in the 4th. I know Kwame is a good defender, but Tat is our 1st or 2nd best player on the team.

[RunDogGun]

Perhaps there is a standing offer for theGORTAT, and Gentry is testing ONeal's ability ? My favorite Marcin goes, its likely JO'N will be starting. May be this offer is one to be exercised when all players are available. Idunno

More than likely, there was no defined strategy for both theG and Dragic to be pining it in crunch time 4th Q action.

This is the most logic explanation for what happened, but it seems odd to some what give up on the win, just to test a credible player. However, it still means that our coach doesn't really care about winning the game at hand.