Preseason: Utah@Phoenix Tue, 7pm

[DaDragicShow]

Suns coming off a lovely win against the Mavs on Saturday night play the Jazz tuesday at home. We need our bench playing good and not blowing a 20 point lead in 5 minutes. Thank god it's only preseason and that could be fixed.


Lets go PHOENIX!!!


Discuss

[DRK]

Wasn't impressed by any of our point guards ouside of Steve Nash against the Mavs. Chucky Atkins and Zabian Dowdell cannot lead a team. They belong in the D-League.

I hope EC and Lawal can continue their newly formed chemistry. I was impressed with EC's passes in the last game, so I hope he can continue to impress in this game.

I also want to see Hakim Warrick start ahead of Hedo against the Jazz. I want to see how well Warrick plays with the first unit. Because Hedo can't see to find his role in the first unit at all.

[RocPHX]

The Warrick era has begun?

[JasonDaPsycho]

We need our bench playing good and not blowing a 20 point lead in 5 minutes.

Uhhh, you mean our third stringers?

[RunDogGun]

Even though I haven't liked the performances of many of the players, I am happy with how Gentry went about this preseason. In the past, it has seemed like the rosters were set, and we saw little burn for the rest of the guys. It seems like we might actually keep 15 guys this year, which is unheard of in the past. It shows that we are more committed to winning, while providing insurance in case we happen to lose some key players. In the past, if we lost any key players mid-season, we couldn't replace that person. Or we replaced them with a much less effective player. I like that Gentry is playing Lawal at the center often, giving us one more player just in case Lopez gets hurt again.

As far as the pg situation, I think I would keep Janning. Having a guy who could be a sharp shooter, and loves to hustle, is always good. We could send him to the D-League to get some burn, while grooming him behind one of the best pgs ever. Dragic needs to step things up. I don't know if this summer wiped him out, or if the influx of possible pgs has hurt his confidence, but he has been tragic instead of magic. Hedo seems bored out there.

I don't know, but I would feel more confident if we moved Hill and Hedo to the second group if we are going to continue with this hockey type line change. Have a starting group of Nash, JRich, JChill, Warrick , and Lopez and have a second unit of Goran, Dudley, Hill, Hedo, and Frye. Let Lawal and EC try and earn minutes by working hard in practice, and keep Jones and Janning for insurance. Hill, Dudley, and Hedo can all help Dragic bring the ball up and run the offense. Hedo can have the ball more while using a plethora of shooters. With Hedo and Frye, our defense will be a bit weaker in the middle, but on offense, the lanes will be wide open for Hill and Goran.

I just hope Gentry does what is best for the team, and I hope the guys also feel that it is best for the team.

[realsunsfan]

Our starting line up is pretty set according to this quote from Gentry on suns.com......

“We’ve got a lot bigger fish to fry than winning a preseason game, but I think we needed to make steps in the right direction, Gentry said. “I thought that the first group that was in there – the one that is going to play a lot of minutes for us - did a great job both offensively and defensively.”

I am actually happy to see it is being dealt with early enough so that these guys can really get a great level of continuity going before the regular season starts. As I have said before, the starting five only matters at the start of the game, after that it all depends on whos is going good and producing because that's who Gentry will play........

Here's the link to the whole article.....
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/2011autotr ... 01009.html

[RunDogGun]

Our starting line up is pretty set according to this quote from Gentry on suns.com......

“We’ve got a lot bigger fish to fry than winning a preseason game, but I think we needed to make steps in the right direction, Gentry said. “I thought that the first group that was in there – the one that is going to play a lot of minutes for us - did a great job both offensively and defensively.”

I am actually happy to see it is being dealt with early enough so that these guys can really get a great level of continuity going before the regular season starts. As I have said before, the starting five only matters at the start of the game, after that it all depends on whos is going good and producing because that's who Gentry will play........

Here's the link to the whole article.....
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/2011autotr ... 01009.html

One can still play a lot of minutes while not starting, which could easily happen with Hedo and Hill helping the second squad. While I feel Hill will end up working and running the second unit anyway, I wouldn't mind him going there from the start. Not only will it help the second unit, it will give JChill a chance to be a true slasher and work off the ball.

[Jimmy76]

From the little we have seen so far Hedo seems like a potential defensive upgrade on Amare weirdly enough

[nashrambler13]

We need our bench playing good and not blowing a 20 point lead in 5 minutes.

Uhhh, you mean our third stringers?

Agree. I honestly don't care if our third string (halfof which won't make the team) is sucking.

[lilfishi22]

From the little we have seen so far Hedo seems like a potential defensive upgrade on Amare weirdly enough

A wash at best. Hedo is a bit of a smarter defender but Amare is definitely stronger. Amare is not as bad of a post defender as everyone makes him out to be, it's just when he has to make defensive rotations and adjustments then he'll get exposed since he's late for everything. From the past few games, Hedo seems out of place when guarding bigs. He gets called for little things (like using two hands against a post up) since he's not used to guarding big men. I think over time when out defensive rotations gets better, Hedo should be alright. At least as alright as Amare was.

[Calvin Klein]

Atkins waived.

[grumpysaddle]

Our starting line up is pretty set according to this quote from Gentry on suns.com......

“We’ve got a lot bigger fish to fry than winning a preseason game, but I think we needed to make steps in the right direction, Gentry said. “I thought that the first group that was in there – the one that is going to play a lot of minutes for us - did a great job both offensively and defensively.”

I am actually happy to see it is being dealt with early enough so that these guys can really get a great level of continuity going before the regular season starts. As I have said before, the starting five only matters at the start of the game, after that it all depends on whos is going good and producing because that's who Gentry will play........

Here's the link to the whole article.....
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/2011autotr ... 01009.html

One can still play a lot of minutes while not starting, which could easily happen with Hedo and Hill helping the second squad. While I feel Hill will end up working and running the second unit anyway, I wouldn't mind him going there from the start. Not only will it help the second unit, it will give JChill a chance to be a true slasher and work off the ball.

Hill on the second unit is a nightmare. His game has suffered every time they've tried to bring him off the bench, he needs to start right after getting warmed up. It keeps him loose, and at what? 37 or 38? That's really important. He's still playing at a high-level and it would be stupid to do anything that impedes his production.

I'd like to see Warrick get one start at least, but I think keeping Hedo happy is more important. He's struggled finding his shot so far, but once it starts falling, I think people will be changing their tune. Also, give him some time to get acclimated to playing defense as a PF. It's the preseason and that's what it's all about... getting acclimated.

[SUN]

I want our bench stepping up. Jared has been missing shot after shot, Hedo was grabbing rebounds but that's it. I think that Warrick is due for a big game, and I hope that Dragic takes charge of the offense. I'd also like to see some more of Gani, he played well. Oh, and have more Nash-Warrick pick and rolls please.

[rsavaj]

Hill is far too good to bench.

[SUN]

Hill is far too good to bench.

Yes! He was doing so well last night! I loved his shot selection and I loved his shots. He was doing well.

[RunDogGun]

Hill on the second unit is a nightmare. His game has suffered every time they've tried to bring him off the bench, he needs to start right after getting warmed up. It keeps him loose, and at what? 37 or 38? That's really important. He's still playing at a high-level and it would be stupid to do anything that impedes his production.

I'd like to see Warrick get one start at least, but I think keeping Hedo happy is more important. He's struggled finding his shot so far, but once it starts falling, I think people will be changing their tune. Also, give him some time to get acclimated to playing defense as a PF. It's the preseason and that's what it's all about... getting acclimated.

I don't like the idea of Hill coming off the bench, but in an effort to help Dragic, I'd much rather see Hill running the second unit if Goran is going to continue to have 0-1 assist nights. More than likely, Hill will start, but sit early so he can work with the second unit, like he did often last year.

Hill is smart enough to learn how to stretch out while waiting to go into the game. The balance would be a bit better. Plus if we moved both Hedo and Hill at the same time, maybe Hedo won't be a baby about it. I think Hill is the oldest starter in the league at 38, but I may be wrong.

[RunDogGun]

Hill is far too good to bench.

Well so is Ginobli, Terry, and a few others, but you have to do what is best for the team, and Grant would know that. I also wouldn't mind a Nash, JRich, Hill Warrick, Lopez and then a Goran, Dudley, JChill, Hedo( runs the O), Frye line up, but I feel that Hill's vet smarts would really help that second unit, while Nash can run that first unit just fine by himself.

[grumpysaddle]

The difference between Hill and those players is that their game doesn't suffer as drastically as Hill's does when coming off the bench. It's the age thing (though they aren't getting any younger at this point either).

Dragic will be more effective when the team is more concrete. Right now I have a feeling their practices have had people switching teams, especially between the second and third unit, so no one is really comfortable with each other on the floor in an actual competitive game scenario. Once the first and second unit is solidly defined (moreso the second unit, as I'm pretty sure there won't be any changes to the first unit) and players that won't be on the team in the regular season are cut, I see Dragic picking up his assists drastically. Of course he's not going to be getting a ton of assists when he's playing alongside a bunch of scrubs that will be cut... I'm not worried about his production.

[RunDogGun]

The difference between Hill and those players is that their game doesn't suffer as drastically as Hill's does when coming off the bench. It's the age thing (though they aren't getting any younger at this point either).

Dragic will be more effective when the team is more concrete. Right now I have a feeling their practices have had people switching teams, especially between the second and third unit, so no one is really comfortable with each other on the floor in an actual competitive game scenario. Once the first and second unit is solidly defined (moreso the second unit, as I'm pretty sure there won't be any changes to the first unit) and players that won't be on the team in the regular season are cut, I see Dragic picking up his assists drastically. Of course he's not going to be getting a ton of assists when he's playing alongside a bunch of scrubs that will be cut... I'm not worried about his production.

But the Hill bench thing was a few years ago, so it is tough to say for sure that he wouldn't be able to handle it now. Hill and Nash are my favorite players in the league, so I still wouldn't mind them each running a squad. I trust them more than anyone.

Again it all depends on Goran. If he can snap back to last year game three verses spurs form, than no big deal. But if he can't even get four assists, give me Hill!

[grumpysaddle]

If he snapped back to game three vs. spurs form on a gamely basis he'd be in the running for greatest of all time. Hah. I don't think he'll ever have another game like that... I just want him to be playing slightly higher than the level he was at toward the end of the season last year.