let's see what DJ's got

[jazzy_jeff]

All I needed was the 6:45 of playing time that Giricek had last night to know he's not going to make much impact on this team.

This team needs some shooting, it needs some defense. It needs someone else to simply eat minutes, because the 7-man rotation is wearing everyone down.

DJ can do a bit of everything. I think with some more experience and playing time, he could be a big boost off the bench for this team. But the time to get him rolling is now. I think he could be PART of the answer to SOME of the problems.

Giricek isn't, and there's no other free-agents on the market now.

[ClosAZ]

I agree. He fits our greatest need right now which is perimiter D at both the 1 and 2 positions. I don't care if he can't shoot a lick right now I'd rather see him out there D'ing it up for 10-12 minutes per night then see Janero Pargo score 30 + points against us. That's ridiculous.

But, Mike D doesn't really trust any player out of his chosen 7, prefers not to play rookies, and puts a much greater emphasis on spreading the floor and outside shooting for our 8th guy off the bench that might see 6 minutes per game. This makes me more pissed than anything regarding Mike D's coaching philosophy.

[sunchamp]

So you didn't see Giri up on his man playing tough d, you didn't see him make some nice decisions with the ball, you didn't seem him fit right in with the running style? Please, 6:45 is no where near long enough to evaluate Giri and even if it was, there were farmore positive signs than negative.

[Melon Yellow]

I think Giri can make an impact. Give it a few games and you'll see him more involved. I thought he did good in his 3-4 minutes.

As for DJ, I think that he can help this team with given time. I like his D and his energy. He hussles, plays hard, and wants to help this team. I just wish that Mike would give him some time.

[ClosAZ]

^^ I saw Giricek trying to play tough D and giving good effort I'll give him that. I also know he's been in the league for 6 years, seen him play with the Jazz, and know that tough defense isn't his calling card.

His calling card is spot up 18 foot jump shots, and can stretch it out to 3 pt range when he's hot.

The Suns need perimiter D more than anything else right now. I don't care if DJ's a rookie or not. He's the best we have on our bench for 10-12 mins per night.

[guaves13]

All I needed was the 6:45 of playing time that Giricek had last night to know he's not going to make much impact on this team.

This team needs some shooting, it needs some defense. It needs someone else to simply eat minutes, because the 7-man rotation is wearing everyone down.

DJ can do a bit of everything. I think with some more experience and playing time, he could be a big boost off the bench for this team. But the time to get him rolling is now. I think he could be PART of the answer to SOME of the problems.

Giricek isn't, and there's no other free-agents on the market now.

You're kidding right? You are ready to write Gira off after less than 7min of his first game? That's a complete joke! The guy flew into Portland today signed his contract and before the ink was dry he was in the game. I'm surprised he even had a jersey. So no practice and the guy came in and in 7min had 2pts, 2asst, 1reb. What do you expect him to do? Take over the game.

DJ ISN'T READY!. He is a late 2nd round rookie. We are lucky to get anything out of him this year. MD's rotation is frustrating at times but cmon man! Give me a break.

[Melon Yellow]

I don't agree that DJ's not ready. I think with some time, he can contribute positively and help us. Of course, if we just bring him in from time to time for 5-6 mins, that wont help and he's not getting a fair chance.

[-SDU-]

man i thought giri looked quite good in his time and i think he can be a good fit here

but i do think DJ needs 5-10 per game too

[jazzy_jeff]

-= original quote snipped =-

You're kidding right? You are ready to write Gira off after less than 7min of his first game? That's a complete joke! The guy flew into Portland today signed his contract and before the ink was dry he was in the game. I'm surprised he even had a jersey. So no practice and the guy came in and in 7min had 2pts, 2asst, 1reb. What do you expect him to do? Take over the game.

Valid comments. Perhaps Giricek can help out a bit, and you're absolutely right. 7 minutes playing for a team he has been with for less than a day is hardly time to pass fair judgment.
But I've seen Giricek with other teams, so I don't think he's going to make much impact on this team.

On the other hand, I think that DJ can have an impact for this team off the bench. But the time to find out is now. See what he can do in 15 mpg during the regular season.

[mkot]

DJ isn't ready for prime time, but dude will never be ready if we don't give him any legit playing time. I understand Mike wanting to win and we absolutely need to win games but by the way Raja is defending and shooting, I don't see how DJ won't do any worse for about 8 to 10 minutes. Tonight against the Nuggets we absolutely need to use him in the 1st half to keep Raja's leg fresh. It's a 2nd game of a b2b set, and Mike brilliantly played our guns for close to 40 minutes each. We need to get DJ and even LJ out there in the 1st half for some energy and fresh legs. We're older now and don't have that team speed we're used to having. We can't run 7-8 guys and expect them to always get back in transition...use the young guys in the 1st half to keep our guys fresher for the 2nd half. Hill, Nash, Raja, Shaq are not spring chickens anymore....this team is different than what it has been. We need to use our freakin' bench Mike!

Again, I understand what Mike is thinking - 1) we need to win, and 2) we need to get Nash, Shaq, Amare, Raja, Hill to gel and get things right, but we also can't run these guys into the ground and risk injury and wear them down before the playoffs. DJ is a rook, but I'm not talking about 15-20 minutes. I would try 6-8 minutes just to give a different look defensively. He can really get up and bother some other guards that had gave us trouble more so than Nash and LB. Just a different look can throw a guy off.

[Melon Yellow]

Who knows what will happen. In the right situation, Giri could really be good for this team. I'm excited to see how he does with us.

[PeTBuLL]

How many parents DJ Straw. have in this forum?

Dear lord! I really cant understand what is this love for this kid, GUYS, your first round pick was ALANDO TUCKER, he was supposed to have the best talent!

[ClosAZ]

^^ most of the love for this kid comes from the frustration of seeing opposing perimeter players constantly torch Nash and Barbosa. We actually have a guy rookie or not that can D up guys like Paul, Iverson etc.. with pretty good efficacy

[JohnVancouver]

So you didn't see Giri up on his man playing tough d, you didn't see him make some nice decisions with the ball, you didn't seem him fit right in with the running style? Please, 6:45 is no where near long enough to evaluate Giri and even if it was, there were farmore positive signs than negative.

I agree - I saw him paying some determined D and not forcing anything on offense. Give the guy a chance to get acclimated - did anyone expect him to come in and turn the ship around or something?

[Melon Yellow]

Especially after tonight's game where we were really lacking on D. We could have used DJ tonight. I think tonight was a major defensive lapse. Mike D should have put in DJ for a little because AI was just torching Barbs and Nash.

[187_Inc]

Mike D should have put DJ in COUNTLESS times the past handful of games when Bell and Nash and Barbs were getting torched all night. But Mike D doesn't really like giving bench players a chance, so that will never happen! No, it's a lot more fun to wear out our starters because he has to use them as his security blanket and won't play the bench. However, Nash and Bell didn't get overplayed tonight, because by the time the 4th quarter rolled around the game was so far out of reach it wouldn't make a difference if they were in or out! What a concept!

[BringinDaRuckus]

We won't see DJ ever. Especially since we got Gordan.

If the West stays this close all season we will be playing our starters into the ground. There won't be that last week of games where we rest our starters. Plus, even if we were locked in, we would still play our starters over 30 mins a game.

[Melon Yellow]

Gordan played aggressive tonight and actually did alright. Of course he wasn't effective because by the time he was scoring a bunch, it was a dead game. I just think that right now more emphasis on the D and I know you guys agree.

[TASTIC]

I thought GG did fine in the time he got. The fake and then baseline drive/dunk was particularly nice - we've missed that since Bell has stopped putting the ball on the floor. It amazes me how utterly lost we are once the game stops, and the break is halted...we run around, bouncing into each other - Shaq and Amare set picks for Nash at the exact same time at one point - and NOBODY drives inside to get to the rim.
Barbosa gives it to Shaq downlow and then runs away, when he needs to cut in and then run out to spot up in the corner...I don't know how many off balance runners Barbosa took tonight but they were all a joke. He was open twice for threes and passed them up only to get caught in mid air and settle for a 1 in 10 running shot. DA wants him to shoot the 3, and he passes it up for that!?!?

My gripe is with DA not even throwing DJ out there for 1-2 mins at the end/start of a quarter...what could happen? He affects the game and then he HAS to play him? Or he shoots and misses a 3 which means he's benched for the next fortnight.
If I'm other FA's out there, I'd stay away from Phoenix because even the guys who COULD help us with D and rebounding (DJ, LJ, Skinner - feel sorry for him) don't even get in.

This will be D'Antoni's last year as Suns coach unless we win it, so admire the stache while you can.

This is why I don't post big rants like I used to cos they come out so horribly negative! Frustrating to watch because we all KNOW that this team is capable of so much more and DA's running them into the ground so they're not getting the chance to even play at 100%. This is why SA is so strong - they fill the gaps (Oberto, Finley) with role players and keep their X factor (Manu) strong and healthy. Bell should have taken 2 weeks off after he missed those games early but DA was too pig-headed to say to Bell, "NO. You're sitting the next five out". Early in the season was when we needed to be giving DJ and/or Tucker the chance to get minutes, but no Bell has to play 38mins.

And I'm not even going to start on Barbosa...he needs to grow up and drop the 'baby-face' routine - he's in his FIFTH year, he's not a rookie and DA needs to pull him when he takes those horrendous off balance floaters. But he can't. Because there's no-one else.

I don't regret the trade, I just wish it had happened earlier in the season - even before the season - just so we could have had a full season to really iron the kinks out, because right now they aren't kinks they're friggin mountain ranges, and last time I checked we didn't bring a sherpa to show us the way.

This kind of turned into a bitter twisted view, but I had to vent. Flame away...just know that I'm only annoyed as hell cos this team has the talent but its missing a little bit of everything - a 3 point shooter, defensive intensity, athleticism in the backcourt, and a veteran leader off the bench...

GO SUNS