Game 71: Phoenix (44-26) @ GSW (19-50)

[swe_suns]

Who: Phoenix Suns @ Golden State Warriors

When: 7:30pm MY45

Where: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA



Golden State Warriors starting lineup:

F - R. Williams
F - C. Maggette
F - A. Tolliver
G - M. Ellis
G - S. Curry

Reserves: D. George, C. Watson, C. Hunter and A. Morrow.















Phoenix Suns starting lineup:

F - G. Hill
F - A. Stoudemire
C - R. Lopez
G - J. Richardson
G - S. Nash

Reserves: J. Dudley, L. Barbosa, C. Frye, L. Amudson, G. Dragic, E. Clark and T. Griffin











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Preview:

Suns-Warriors Preview


By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA
Posted Mar 22 2010 2:43AM
The Phoenix Suns don't get limited to fewer than 100 points very often. They have an outstanding chance at an emphatic bounce-back game.

Scoring shouldn't be scarce as the Suns visit the Golden State Warriors on Monday night in a matchup of teams that have used similar philosophies to much different degrees of success.

One of Phoenix's worst offensive games of the season wasn't enough to keep it from earning a 93-87 win over Portland on Sunday night. The Suns (44-26) shot 38.8 percent - their third-lowest mark of the season - and were held under 96 points for the fifth time.

Just five days earlier, Phoenix posted the highest point total by an NBA team this season, beating Minnesota 152-114.

The Suns are averaging a league-best 109.8 points and the Warriors (19-50) are second with 108.1. Meanwhile, Golden State has the league's worst scoring defense, allowing 112.2 points a contest, and Phoenix is 28th at 105.8.

Phoenix leads the season series 2-1, averaging 120.7 points to Golden State's 112.0. Each team has reached 100 points in their last 16 meetings, with the Suns averaging 119.0 and the Warriors posting 114.9.

None of those games went into overtime.

"It's never easy playing those guys on the second night of a back-to-back," Phoenix forward Amare Stoudemire said. "They are so young and they just fast break and are up-tempo the entire game."

Despite the similarities between the teams, Phoenix's talent and depth has made it one of the Western Conference's top contenders. Golden State, meanwhile, has the league's third-worst record.

The Suns, winners of four straight, are one game behind fourth-place Utah. They are 18 games above .500 for the first time this season.

Against the Trail Blazers, Stoudemire led Phoenix with 18 points - nearly five below his season average. The veteran big man has had surprisingly unproductive performances against the Warriors this season, averaging 12.0 points over the teams' last two matchups.

Stoudemire has a chance to take advantage of Golden State's lack of height. At 6-foot-9, Anthony Tolliver has been starting at center for the Warriors due to injuries to Ronny Turiaf (knee), Andris Biedrins (abdomen) and Vladimir Radmanovic (Achilles').

"There's not much you can do as a coach," coach Don Nelson said. "You can't match up. You've got to play with what you have, and go to your strength. You can't really make anybody pay the price of a matchup."

During a 123-107 loss to Memphis on Saturday night, the Warriors at one point had four guards on the floor along with 6-foot-8 Devean George at center. Golden State allowed 121 points or more for the fourth straight game, including a 147-116 loss at San Antonio on Friday night.

A bright spot for the Warriors on Saturday was the return of promising rookie point guard Stephen Curry, who missed two games with an ankle injury. He was held to nine points after averaging 32.0 over his previous two contests.

"I feel fine, but the injuries set us back a bit," Curry said. "As a team we are just having trouble putting an entire game together. ... With nine undersized guys, and really only one center on the floor, it is tough to match up with bigger teams."

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Current standings in the Western Conferance:



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Games to look out for tonight:

[lilfishi22]

Hey nice thread mate. I fully expect Amare to go off against the Dubs. Make it a blowout early and try rest Nash.

[Jdiddy701]

I don't have a good feeling about this game.

[swe_suns]

Hey nice thread mate. I fully expect Amare to go off against the Dubs. Make it a blowout early and try rest Nash.

Thanks! No need to rest Nash though, our next game (Knicks at home) is not until Friday.

[Miklo]

oo nice thread, lots of information at my fingertips!

[lilfishi22]

Hey nice thread mate. I fully expect Amare to go off against the Dubs. Make it a blowout early and try rest Nash.

Thanks! No need to rest Nash though, our next game (Knicks at home) is not until Friday.

Playoffs are coming up, we should rest him whenever we can, so if it's a blow out early, take Nash out.

[Qwigglez]

Amare should have a field day. Is Earl Clark back from the D-League? We might need him as a defensive assignment on Corey Maggette again.
It will be interesting to see if Gentry plays more of an uptempo type of game utilizing Channing Frye or pound the ball inside with Lopez.
I'm hoping this will be Barbosa's coming out party. Rest Nash more frequently since they have fast guards and bring in Dragic and Barbosa.

[albasuna]

awesome game thread, let's root for the Spurs, Hornets and Celtics... oh yah and the Suns!

[MaryvalesFinest]

Well they shouldn't have any problem running tonight after walking the ball up the court last night.

[ma_falaa_50]

this game could easily be a game the suns can give away. I think they need to play like they did last night and balls to the wall. high octane offense is what I want to see. pound the glass ladies!!!

[Miklo]

Hey nice thread mate. I fully expect Amare to go off against the Dubs. Make it a blowout early and try rest Nash.

Thanks! No need to rest Nash though, our next game (Knicks at home) is not until Friday.

Playoffs are coming up, we should rest him whenever we can, so if it's a blow out early, take Nash out.

+1 we know that old bastad is gonna break down by Game 5 of Series One and Only if he doesn't get significant rest in the coming weeks

[swe_suns]

They are much smaller than us, majority of their players are guards. Hence having an attacking Amare, aggressive Lopez around the rim and some minutes for Lou should do it. Also post up Jrich and Ghill a lot and let Nash/Dragic distribute the ball. They play absolutely no defense so we shouldn't have trouble finding Amare some iso-plays. I expect us to dominate them just as we dominated in the last meeting against the Kings.

Mentioning it one more time: HUGE opportunity to go on a 10W streak giving us a 50-26 record.

[aIvin adams]

great thread. dangerous game.

get a chance to root for SAS (over OKC) ..altho there's a good chance SAS will be a bigger seeding threat than OKC bc...well, they're SAS.

[charley barkles]

Well they shouldn't have any problem running tonight after walking the ball up the court last night.

That drove me nuts. I can't remember the last time that we've had to worry about the suns getting 8 second backcourt calls... happened twice, and felt like a few others were pretty close too.

[aIvin adams]

Well they shouldn't have any problem running tonight after walking the ball up the court last night.

That drove me nuts. I can't remember the last time that we've had to worry about the suns getting 8 second backcourt calls... happened twice, and felt like a few others were pretty close too.

was listening on radio so couldnt tell what the pressur was like.

also, are you in the army?

[grumpysaddle]

once i think Nash just somehow lost concentration and was either trying to call a play or was listening to Gentry. and the announcer said the 24 second clock over the backboard said 17 when he crossed half-court. The next 8-second call was all about Portland smothering the Suns on defense. Still no excuse to get an 8 second call, but at least that one was because of defensive pressure.

[Blackification]

sas vs okc is a win-win if we take advantage and beat GS.

I think we will though, after being held to 38% percent by a defensive team like portland it will be kind of relaxing to play against GS's lack of defense however fatigue may be a problem and thats where the bench has to step it up. If robin and amare can beast inside like they did against utah we should be just fine. And there is no excuse for amare and robin not to beast against the worst defensive team with hardly and big men. If we lose it will be because of our perimeter defense. Rest nash if we have to especially if curry and ellis are destroying us from outside.

[TXSun]

i hope this is not one of those let down games. we tonight and UTA loses to BOS, and we are tied for the 4th seed. we need this one, period!

[JohnVancouver]

I been away, baby, but now I'm back.


Looking forward to this, and fearing the very possible meltdown just because we're the Suns. get a nice lead and then put the 2nd squad in there to step on their necks and stay there til it's over

all the Down Under guys chuffed at St. Mary's? Go Gaels -

[hunterxaz]

Hoping Spurs lose, but OKC/Spurs losing is a win/win for us. Utah of course I want to lose like NO OTHER. I hate them almost as much as the Lakers/Spurs now. Additionally, I think this game is clearly a win for the Suns if we bring it with energy and heart, knowing it's a must win game.