2/4/11 Thunder at Suns

[Proteus]

Nash needs to get his turnovers back under control. He's had 14 in the past 2 games (counting tonight).

It would also be pretty helpful if he could find his shot again. It's been a few games since he shot the ball well.

 

[Proteus]

This team needs close to a 20 point lead in the 4th quarter for a lead to more or less be secure. Sigh.

 

[Proteus]

Funny...the last time we were at .500 was when we beat the Thunder back on Dec. 19 of last year.

 

[sunsfan88]

Does anyone actually think we will make it to .500 this season?

I dont.

This team chokes when they can even their record. Their "afraid" to have a winning team caude they have played so shi**y, they feel like their worse than Cavs.

This game was a HUGE wakeup call for me. For some dum*** reason I thought we could actually make a run this season but no. We can only beat the crappy teams.

 

[Cheesewater]

Does anyone actually think we will make it to .500 this season?

I dont.

This team chokes when they can even their record. Their "afraid" to have a winning team caude they have played so shi**y, they feel like their worse than Cavs.

This game was a HUGE wakeup call for me. For some dum*** reason I thought we could actually make a run this season but no. We can only beat the crappy teams.

Yeah, like the Celtics and the Hornets and these same Thunder just over a month ago.

 

[Mainstreet]

Lawal signed a 3-year contract with the Suns in August. The first year is guaranteed.

He suffered torn ligaments in his right knee during practice and was to undergo surgery, which would keep him out for the rest of the season.

http://network.yardbarker.com/nba/article_external/introducing_gani_lawal/3136385

So this says why he is still on the Suns roster. His first year was guaranteed. Thank you very much.

He was a marginal player at best. It will be hard for him to come back after the injury. Too bad.

 

[Mainstreet]

In regard to Lawal again. Since the following two years of his contract are partially guaranteed, I guess the Suns might seek a buyout at some time.

 

[sunsfan88]

Yeah, like the Celtics and the Hornets and these same Thunder just over a month ago.

Boston was on a back to back and didnt have their HC. Then Garnett got ejected when they started their comeback against. Too bad Durant didnt get ejected today or else we could have won.

And NO lost their starting center for the entire 2nd half and only then did we start leading them. Yet we STILL CHOKED in the final minutes and needed to goaltend them to win the game.

Try again!

 

[Chaplin]

Boston was on a back to back and didnt have their HC. Then Garnett got ejected when they started their comeback against. Too bad Durant didnt get ejected today or else we could have won.

Poor excuse. Again. Both those things happened against the Suns.

And NO lost their starting center for the entire 2nd half and only then did we start leading them. Yet we STILL CHOKED in the final minutes and needed to goaltend them to win the game.

Try again!

Wrong again. Do you watch the games?

You'd hate a puppy if it was a color you didn't like.

 

[AzStevenCal]

In regard to Lawal again. Since the following two years of his contract are partially guaranteed, I guess the Suns might seek a buyout at some time.

Maybe, but there's no reason to believe he can't/won't come back from this injury. Injured or not, he's a long shot to be of much value but he's not going to cost us much and I can't see us giving up on him (any time soon) given how light we are in the youth department.

Steve

 

[Mainstreet]

Maybe, but there's no reason to believe he can't/won't come back from this injury. Injured or not, he's a long shot to be of much value but he's not going to cost us much and I can't see us giving up on him (any time soon) given how light we are in the youth department.

Steve

I think the injury to Lawal is severe enough he will have a very tough time returning the NBA. He is an undersized PF who was reliant upon his athleticism. He didn't even have an outside shot. Now his athleticism is likely gone, I'm not sure what is left. I think if the Suns wanted to keep him for the following two seasons I think they would have to pay him beyond the partial guarantee. I just don't see it happening at least beyond summer league.

 

[Errntknght]

The Thunder's bench beat the holy crap out of ours - theirs averaged +13 in the +/- column versus a -12 average for our guys. Of course, the two benches didn't exactly go head-to-head but the effect is still there - our starters outdid the OKC's by about 21 points and we still managed to lose the game. Sadly, Dowdell led the demise in this game while he looked a bit better than Dragic in his first couple.

I can't figure out why Gentry has decided to bench Childress and give Pietrus his minutes (more or less) - overall the former has looked considerably the better of the two to me. And their stats agree with that. I suppose Alvin just decided he had to shorten his bench but its time to rethink the decision of which to use. I know some here have complained about Josh's ugly jump shot but his FG% is 55% - 18 pct. points better than Mickaels. Save Pietrus for desperate late situations where his urge to launch 3's is just what you want on the floor.

Frankly, I'd bench Warrick and give Siler the back up PF slot for a while. Hakim is okay when he's getting free on the pick and roll but teams seem to have little trouble shutting him out of that - and he provides little else when they do. Siler would give us better defense against stronger PFs and much better rebounding.

Of course, I'd still prefer Gentry to return to last years second unit concept as it would take success on a similar scale for this team to go anywhere this year. But its clear he has no intention of going that direction so I won't harp on it too much.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Thunder's bench beat the holy crap out of ours - theirs averaged +13 in the +/- column versus a -12 average for our guys. Of course, the two benches didn't exactly go head-to-head but the effect is still there - our starters outdid the OKC's by about 21 points and we still managed to lose the game. Sadly, Dowdell led the demise in this game while he looked a bit better than Dragic in his first couple.

I can't figure out why Gentry has decided to bench Childress and give Pietrus his minutes (more or less) - overall the former has looked considerably the better of the two to me. And their stats agree with that. I suppose Alvin just decided he had to shorten his bench but its time to rethink the decision of which to use. I know some here have complained about Josh's ugly jump shot but his FG% is 55% - 18 pct. points better than Mickaels. Save Pietrus for desperate late situations where his urge to launch 3's is just what you want on the floor.

Frankly, I'd bench Warrick and give Siler the back up PF slot for a while. Hakim is okay when he's getting free on the pick and roll but teams seem to have little trouble shutting him out of that - and he provides little else when they do. Siler would give us better defense against stronger PFs and much better rebounding.

Of course, I'd still prefer Gentry to return to last years second unit concept as it would take success on a similar scale for this team to go anywhere this year. But its clear he has no intention of going that direction so I won't harp on it too much.

I like Siler's potential. I can't picture him playing the power forward spot though. He has a better outside shot than Gortat but most PF's in this league can shoot from mid-range and beyond and take it to the basket when the opportunity arises. Until Siler loses some more weight that opportunity will rise often. OTOH, Warrick does absolutely nothing for me so I guess I'd welcome just about any change.

As for the second unit, I still think that decision was taken out of Gentry's hands. With Amundson gone, Frye starting and Dragic borderline useless, there really isn't much of a 2nd unit to work with. I'm hoping that Childress is on the bench solely to let his hand heal but I guess that's doubtful as we've heard nothing from the team to support that idea. I like his hustle and while he doesn't have much range, he rarely takes a bad shot.

Steve

 

[JCSunsfan]

In regard to Lawal again. Since the following two years of his contract are partially guaranteed, I guess the Suns might seek a buyout at some time.

"Partial guarantee" usually also means there is an insurance policy that protects both parties.

 

[JCSunsfan]

The Thunder's bench beat the holy crap out of ours - theirs averaged +13 in the +/- column versus a -12 average for our guys. Of course, the two benches didn't exactly go head-to-head but the effect is still there - our starters outdid the OKC's by about 21 points and we still managed to lose the game. Sadly, Dowdell led the demise in this game while he looked a bit better than Dragic in his first couple.

I can't figure out why Gentry has decided to bench Childress and give Pietrus his minutes (more or less) - overall the former has looked considerably the better of the two to me. And their stats agree with that. I suppose Alvin just decided he had to shorten his bench but its time to rethink the decision of which to use. I know some here have complained about Josh's ugly jump shot but his FG% is 55% - 18 pct. points better than Mickaels. Save Pietrus for desperate late situations where his urge to launch 3's is just what you want on the floor.

Frankly, I'd bench Warrick and give Siler the back up PF slot for a while. Hakim is okay when he's getting free on the pick and roll but teams seem to have little trouble shutting him out of that - and he provides little else when they do. Siler would give us better defense against stronger PFs and much better rebounding.

Of course, I'd still prefer Gentry to return to last years second unit concept as it would take success on a similar scale for this team to go anywhere this year. But its clear he has no intention of going that direction so I won't harp on it too much.

Benching tradeable pieces is not a good idea before the deadline if you are thinking about trying to make deals.