Thoughts after Shaq's 1st game....

enigmatics · Post #1 » by **enigmatics** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:01 am

.......... I think we all clearly saw that Shaq's got something left in the tank. He and the team looked somewhat awkward in the 1st half, but in the 2nd it looked like they were starting to gel. It's nice to see us win on the boards, especially on the offensive boards, not to mention intimidating with blocks. Unfortunately our defense along the outside was aweful, as were the turnovers.

I'd say that they performed admirably in a game that had playoff type atmosphere to it. Amare clearly benefits from having Shaq in the game. It's going to get better for us vs. the West.........but man is it a tough West.

BurningHeart · Post #2 » by **BurningHeart** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:03 am

He's gonna kill us with his free throw shooting.

And I miss Shawn Marion's D.

-SDU- · Post #3 » by **-SDU-** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:04 am

i thnk it was more positive than negative

he will open it up for amare and boris so so so so so so much more and we will notice that more than anything

too many thoughts on this right now, gotta get my head straight, but its clear to see we werent in sync on many plays, but give it 5 games and i think we will start seeing the best of it

13-32 · Post #4 » by **13-32** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:09 am

Yea I'm damn happy after tonight which is a 1st after a Suns loss

But still Shaq is known to rise his game in big games like this...Let's hope he can maintainhis energy and effort against everyone else/

-SDU- · Post #5 » by **-SDU-** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:12 am

suns are the worst rebounding team in the league and they outrebounded the lakers 46 to 33 and 16 to 7 on the offensive glass

if our rebounding and size woes were what we were trying to solve then we can say mission accomplished

i liked what i saw

Black Jesus 1 · Post #6 » by **Black Jesus 1** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:17 am

I loved it. Diesel!

Seattlesun · Post #7 » by **Seattlesun** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:17 am

-SDU- wrote:suns are the worst rebounding team in the league and they outrebounded the lakers 46 to 33 and 16 to 7 on the offensive glass

if our rebounding and size woes were what we were trying to solve then we can say mission accomplished

i liked what i saw

this is what i noticed most. the lakers have killed us on the boards and that advantage is totally gone now.

tonights game came down to phenomenol FG shooting by the lakers which they have to be given credit for. but if its going to take 56% shooting to beat the suns, i like our chances in a 7 game series.

Arles · Post #8 » by **Arles** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:19 am

The defensive rotation needs to improve - esp on the 4/5 guys. Still, much more active play on the boards and higher % shots in the halfcourt. If Amare, Diaw and others hadn't missed around 6-7 layups, it might have been a different story.

IMO, with Marion, we had no margin for error and were a one-trick pony (4 perimeter guys and 1 PF). With Shaq, the Suns can play uptempo and halfcourt, as well as hit the boards more.

The key is going to be the play of Diaw and Barbosa. These guys have to stop laying eggs in key spots during big western conference games. We also have to get more from Raja - 0 points on 3 shots in 36 minutes? I know he was guarding Kobe, but come on. And it's not like Kobe struggled to get his points. This was a game were having a bench shooter would have been nice. Raja was 0-3 from 3, Diaw was 1-4 and we really didn't have that consistent outside threat tonight on the wings (outside of Hill).

eagles nut · Post #9 » by **eagles nut** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:24 am

The Lakers were missing their best rebounder in Bynum.

enigmatics · Post #10 » by **enigmatics** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:26 am

Arles wrote:The defensive rotation needs to improve - esp on the 4/5 guys. Still, much more active play on the boards and higher % shots in the halfcourt. If Amare, Diaw and others hadn't missed around 6-7 layups, it might have been a different story.

IMO, with Marion, we had no margin for error and were a one-trick pony (4 perimeter guys and 1 PF). With Shaq, the Suns can play uptempo and halfcourt, as well as hit the boards more.

The key is going to be the play of Diaw and Barbosa. These guys have to stop laying eggs in key spots during big western conference games. We also have to get more from Raja - 0 points on 3 shots in 36 minutes? I know he was guarding Kobe, but come on. And it's not like Kobe struggled to get his points. This was a game were having a bench shooter would have been nice. Raja was 0-3 from 3, Diaw was 1-4 and we really didn't have that consistent outside threat tonight on the wings (outside of Hill).

.........sadly both Diaw and Barbosa are not "those" kinds of players. They're too soft and indecisive in key spots. I get so frustrated watching Leandro dribble around aimlessly, killing the clock and having to put up bad shots. The block Kobe had on Diaw was inexcusable. Those are the kind of lazy Diaw plays that drive me up with friggin' wall. How hard is it to go up quick with authority? He literally looked like he was trying to dunk in slow-mo.

ClubLakers KB8 · Post #11 » by **ClubLakers KB8** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:26 am

Seattlesun wrote:this is what i noticed most. the lakers have killed us on the boards and that advantage is totally gone now.

Are you forgetting Bynum? The Lakers will be the best rebounding team in the NBA when he returns.

DEEP3CL · Post #12 » by **DEEP3CL** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:27 am

Hey fellas just wanna chime in on this topic, I thought the Big Fella was good tonight. The Suns will have to adjust to looking for him in the post when he has a certain match up. But 15 and 9 is decent for being off for like a month.

He did give you guys the advantage on the boards tonight also. As far as his free throws you just gotta hope he gets to the point where he at least splits them really thats all you can ask for.

Bottom line he looked pretty good, he just needs maybe 2 or 3 more games to get a good feel for what your team does.

Glad were finished with you guys for the season. Good luck the rest of the way fellas.

doozyj · Post #13 » by **doozyj** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:28 am

Seattlesun wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

this is what i noticed most. the lakers have killed us on the boards and that advantage is totally gone now.

tonights game came down to phenomenol FG shooting by the lakers which they have to be given credit for. but if its going to take 56% shooting to beat the suns, i like our chances in a 7 game series.

About the 56% shooting, I think we can lax on the percentage once Bynum comes back to help with our rebounding.

As for Shaq played remarkable, rebounding, passing, hustling, almost a glimpse of the old Laker. IMHO he improved the Suns roster, he offers much more than a big 36 year old body, he is a role model with his intellect with the game, a big brother for some of the younger guys and a good leader in motivating. To be honest in the 4th quarter I started to fear him. Anyhow great game.

(disclaimer: comment is IMHO)
:nod:

mkot · Post #14 » by **mkot** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:30 am

Good thread.

I have nothing bad to say about Shaq's performance tonight against the Lakers, considering he hasn't play a game in about 2 months, his numbers are pretty damn impressive (except the 5 fouls and FTs). You can already see that teams won't be getting board after board after board against us and that is definitely relieving. We lost the game because we were LOST on defense especially in the 1st half. And then in the last minutes we couldn't execute, and I think they can improve on that after some more practice.

I'm not worry about Amare, after all, he had, what, 37/15, we know he will be aggressive regardless who he's playing with. I worry about Boris, which was especially the case in the 1st half. He redeemed himself in the 2nd half but what I hope is that Shaq can somehow inspires a bit more. Boris probably already a smarter player in his head, but on the court he needs to discover the right balance of aggression. He could be aggressive without just putting up shots! He could be aggressive in attacking and then dishing, or knowing when to go aggressively to the hole. I hope Shaq can start the "Boris Diaw Project" too as Boris is such a special player if he could turn that corner. I don't want to lose Boris...we couldn't afford to lose him IMO. We will need him, and LB, in the post season.

Pugsley_2491 · Post #15 » by **Pugsley_2491** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:34 am

you know, I think you just need to net one more solid bench player and you guys can make it through the West. I'm picking you guys to survive the West but I really think you just need that one extra guy. Playing with just 7-8 (8 if strawberry can find some minutes which btw wow he was a great pick in the draft) guys won't cut it imo. But I really like what shaq brings you guys and like I said, I think you're tops in the West. Good luck, peace.

Edit: btw, how much is your TE?

-SDU- · Post #16 » by **-SDU-** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:35 am

i will say something bad about shaq, something i always knew about him anyways (because we KILL him with it every time we played against him)

.....

his pick and roll defense is atrocious! thank god we have amare there as the weakside blocker to assist

Arles · Post #17 » by **Arles** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:35 am

eagles nut wrote:The Lakers were missing their best rebounder in Bynum.

At best, Bynum will be back in late March, that gives LA 6-7 games to work him in before the postseason. With Bynum, their entire offense changes. Instead of having Odom and Gasol on the blocks with 3 shooters, they move Bynum and Gasol on the blocks with Odom now an outside shooter. I don't see this making their offense better and there are defensive issues as well (ie, having Odom on a 3 like Hill or Ginobli). Plus, with Bynum and Gasol out there, it's not like you can post up Odom a ton to exploit the smaller 3 on offense - there's only so much real estate on the blocks.

In the end, I could see the Lakers still being a work in progress with this group come the first postseason series (prob someone like Houston, Golden State or New Orleans).

-SDU- · Post #18 » by **-SDU-** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:39 am

Pugsley_2491 wrote:you know, I think you just need to net one more solid bench player and you guys can make it through the West. I'm picking you guys to survive the West but I really think you just need that one extra guy. Playing with just 7-8 (8 if strawberry can find some minutes which btw wow he was a great pick in the draft) guys won't cut it imo. But I really like what shaq brings you guys and like I said, I think you're tops in the West. Good luck, peace.

Edit: btw, how much is your TE?

thanks man,

come see us tomorrow, we should have a new player by then ;-)

we have a couple of TE's, one for about 8 mil, and one from the james jones trade for 2 ish

Pugsley_2491 · Post #19 » by **Pugsley_2491** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:41 am

-SDU- wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

thanks man,

come see us tomorrow, we should have a new player by then

we have a couple of TE's, one for about 8 mil, and one from the james jones trade for 2 ish

damn, 8 mil. package that with the ATL or your 2009 pick and grap Mike Miller (It should be your 2009 pick after seeing what LA gave up for Gasol) but if it comes down to it you should trade that ATL pick if it means getting Miller imo Miller will even give you ESPN credibility haha

mkot · Post #20 » by **mkot** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:42 am

Arles wrote:
The key is going to be the play of Diaw and Barbosa. These guys have to stop laying eggs in key spots during big western conference games. We also have to get more from Raja - 0 points on 3 shots in 36 minutes? I know he was guarding Kobe, but come on. And it's not like Kobe struggled to get his points. This was a game were having a bench shooter would have been nice. Raja was 0-3 from 3, Diaw was 1-4 and we really didn't have that consistent outside threat tonight on the wings (outside of Hill).

Raja's 0 point to Kobe's 41 is pretty damn hard to overcome. Kobe is coasting on the defensive end because Raja isn't doing much. That needs to change...Raja needs to take shot, and needs to not play too many minutes.

I also agree with you about Boris and LB. We need them both to perform as well, especially Boris...one thing I worry about after the Shaq trade is losing Boris. Like I said above, we can't afford to lose him. All the focus is on Shaq and Amare, but I'm not worry about them playing together, how about our $9 million boy? We need Boris' array of skills and IQ. He can't get lost in the shuffle and revert back to giving us nothing. I'm just afraid that's what's going to happen, unfortunately. I feel like he only plays well when its absolutely necessary. Now, he may lay back a bit and go back to coasting. And it may go unnoticed for the most part of Shaq and Amare are a dominating tandem and getting all the attention early on. So, as I said above, I hope Shaq can inspires Boris a bit just to get him perform.

I also hope we don't lose Skinner. Skinners production isn't nearly as important as Boris', but I'd still like to see him get some legit PT. I don't know why Mike isn't playing him tonight, I hope it's just a one game thing or he's still sick. He really gives us everything we want for the most part, tho his offense is lacking obviously. But even in that sense hes not as useless as a Reggie Evans or Steven Hunter. He's still useful and we'd be wise to take advantage of him as a backup 4/5 instead of just replacing him with Shaq and staying with the 7-8 man rotation.

We can go deep and actually have some decent big man depth. We shouldn't just stick him on the bench and then when Shaq gets in foul trouble, dust him off and throw him out there and expect him to play well.