Tischer may not be back, note at bottom
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Suns show signs of putting it together against Kings
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 27, 2005 12:00 AM
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]ALBUQUERQUE - The Suns used to go through opponents with the devastation of a chainsaw. Now, they chisel away before the foe falls.
The Amarй Stoudemire effect is absent for now, but Phoenix heads into tonight's preseason finale with an offense that appears to be heading for the NBA scoring lead again and an improved defense. That sounds as good as Wednesday's night's 112-102 preseason victory against Sacramento looked for three quarters of real competition.
A crowd of 11,888, The Pit's third largest for an exhibition game, started out cheering for the "visiting" team of Sacramento that boasts former University of New Mexico star Kenny Thomas and local natives the Maloof brothers. But by the time Phoenix scored 89 in the first three quarters, the startlingly efficiency of Phoenix's offense against a struggling Kings team won over the crowd.
"We're having fun with each other," Shawn Marion said. "You can tell by the way everyone's feeding off it. It's a good vibe out there."
The Suns are meshing more with each game, to the point that they ended the third quarter with 28 assists to just three turnovers. Unless the shooters go cold at once, it is apparent that scoring should not be anyone's worry.
"We just keep running the ball and keep getting open shots and eventually we're going to make a bunch of them because we have a lot of good shooters," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "It should be the easy pass because we have so many guys who can score. You don't really have to force anything."
Phoenix is 5-2 in the preseason and that is important only if you believe San Antonio's 1-7 preseason means much. However, the way the Suns have methodically picked apart defenses of late is worth noting.
They have moments of the Suns you remember from last season. The inbounds alley-oop to Marion has begun to click. The wings are hitting quick threes from the corners off transition passes. Marion scored on a layup three seconds after a Sacramento bucket. Phoenix sank 11 three-pointers as James Jones continues to be a consistent shooter from that range.
There may not be as many tomahawk dunks, but there is some pretty basketball. Steve Nash passed to Kurt Thomas on the post. Thomas had scored a couple times out of the post to keep the Kings honest. This time, he handed off to Nash cutting along the baseline who whipped a one-handed pass to the opposite corner for a Jones three-pointer.
Nash and Marion only played the first and third quarters, but Nash still had 12 assists with no turnovers.
"I hate to overdo it," Nash said. "It'd be a mistake to say we're playing incredibly well. We've got to stay hungry."
Like Nash, Leandro Barbosa barely looked to shoot but was smooth again in a brilliant first half. He could have had six assists by the end of the half with a few converted jumpers but was just as impressive with his defensive havoc.
"That's as well as he's played," Nash said. "In the second quarter, he was as in control as he's been. He made the simple plays."
The Suns hit 47.7 percent from the field, helped by another torrid Eddie House run. He scored 18 in 16 minutes on 6-of-7 shooting.
"Eddie House came in with the flamethrower like usual," D'Antoni said.
• Rookie Lucas Tischer has returned to his native Brazil because of visa problems. It is unclear whether he will rejoin the team. Tischer did not have much of a chance to stay in Phoenix but there remained a chance that he could be assigned to the NBA Development League in Albuquerque.
• Nash and Marion will remain co-captains this season.[/font]
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Suns show signs of putting it together against Kings
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 27, 2005 12:00 AM
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]ALBUQUERQUE - The Suns used to go through opponents with the devastation of a chainsaw. Now, they chisel away before the foe falls.
The Amarй Stoudemire effect is absent for now, but Phoenix heads into tonight's preseason finale with an offense that appears to be heading for the NBA scoring lead again and an improved defense. That sounds as good as Wednesday's night's 112-102 preseason victory against Sacramento looked for three quarters of real competition.
A crowd of 11,888, The Pit's third largest for an exhibition game, started out cheering for the "visiting" team of Sacramento that boasts former University of New Mexico star Kenny Thomas and local natives the Maloof brothers. But by the time Phoenix scored 89 in the first three quarters, the startlingly efficiency of Phoenix's offense against a struggling Kings team won over the crowd.
"We're having fun with each other," Shawn Marion said. "You can tell by the way everyone's feeding off it. It's a good vibe out there."
The Suns are meshing more with each game, to the point that they ended the third quarter with 28 assists to just three turnovers. Unless the shooters go cold at once, it is apparent that scoring should not be anyone's worry.
"We just keep running the ball and keep getting open shots and eventually we're going to make a bunch of them because we have a lot of good shooters," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "It should be the easy pass because we have so many guys who can score. You don't really have to force anything."
Phoenix is 5-2 in the preseason and that is important only if you believe San Antonio's 1-7 preseason means much. However, the way the Suns have methodically picked apart defenses of late is worth noting.
They have moments of the Suns you remember from last season. The inbounds alley-oop to Marion has begun to click. The wings are hitting quick threes from the corners off transition passes. Marion scored on a layup three seconds after a Sacramento bucket. Phoenix sank 11 three-pointers as James Jones continues to be a consistent shooter from that range.
There may not be as many tomahawk dunks, but there is some pretty basketball. Steve Nash passed to Kurt Thomas on the post. Thomas had scored a couple times out of the post to keep the Kings honest. This time, he handed off to Nash cutting along the baseline who whipped a one-handed pass to the opposite corner for a Jones three-pointer.
Nash and Marion only played the first and third quarters, but Nash still had 12 assists with no turnovers.
"I hate to overdo it," Nash said. "It'd be a mistake to say we're playing incredibly well. We've got to stay hungry."
Like Nash, Leandro Barbosa barely looked to shoot but was smooth again in a brilliant first half. He could have had six assists by the end of the half with a few converted jumpers but was just as impressive with his defensive havoc.
"That's as well as he's played," Nash said. "In the second quarter, he was as in control as he's been. He made the simple plays."
The Suns hit 47.7 percent from the field, helped by another torrid Eddie House run. He scored 18 in 16 minutes on 6-of-7 shooting.
"Eddie House came in with the flamethrower like usual," D'Antoni said.
• Rookie Lucas Tischer has returned to his native Brazil because of visa problems. It is unclear whether he will rejoin the team. Tischer did not have much of a chance to stay in Phoenix but there remained a chance that he could be assigned to the NBA Development League in Albuquerque.
• Nash and Marion will remain co-captains this season.[/font]
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