As I said before

[DeAnna]

Are you kidding me? Must we read this crap after every single loss? Every one?

Apparently.

 

[nowagimp]

I've got to believe the Phoenix Suns defenders have been told to go under screens on Stackhouse and Harris. Stackhouse just hit his shots tonight.
Joe

Bingo, it was the plan, heard it on the radio: players were instructed to make them make their jumpshots(go under the screen).

 

[AzKarl]

You are absolutely right!!!!

Shut up. You have no cogent points and barely readable sentences. The entire team played poorly. Go take a shower, hop in the pool, or play some Scrabble, just calm down.

I hope the Suns can resign both Barbosa and Diaw, they are young players and sometimes young players fold in big games, but the experience will be invaluable down the road. Both players fit the Suns system and will continue to blossom in the desert given the chance.
Hey HooverDam,
You have your opinion and I have my. At no time did I disrespect you. Dont tell me to shut up. I see the game the way I do. If you disagree than say so. Dont disrespect me. I have coached the game, played the game and not watch the game. The game was close until the techincal fouls. Since when do you call 2 on a team for as little crap as that? ITs the WCF's not a single season game.

I wrote Scott Bordow of the Tribune lamenting the technical fouls. The good NBA refs of the past 60's and 70's always warned coaches and players prior to T'ing them up because these games are emotional and individual plays are critical. Today's refs blow and think they are more important than the players. There is no way double T's should have been called for what happened as it totally changed the outcome of this game. Refs should never do that. In the 60's the Celtics v Sixers games used to have fist fights and I never remember people even getting ejected. The refereeing has been bad for both teams.

 

[TucsonDevil]

I think one thing we have to keep in mind about criticizing the team after losses - This team on Paper isn't supposed to beat anyone left in the playoffs! That being said, when we do win, it is due to extra-ordinary efforts by the coaching staff, a player, and/or luck. Barbosa is not an All-Star, he is not even a "go-to" player right now. He is quick enough to get to the rim, but not experienced enough to always finish correctly if he is contested. On defense, LB struggles like most players in the league. How many players Benchplayers can you name that "shut-down" their assignment?

LB is still learning, and will be a very good player for many years if he keeps up this learning curve... he really is getting much better.

 

[nowagimp]

I think one thing we have to keep in mind about criticizing the team after losses - This team on Paper isn't supposed to beat anyone left in the playoffs! That being said, when we do win, it is due to extra-ordinary efforts by the coaching staff, a player, and/or luck. Barbosa is not an All-Star, he is not even a "go-to" player right now. He is quick enough to get to the rim, but not experienced enough to always finish correctly if he is contested. On defense, LB struggles like most players in the league. How many players Benchplayers can you name that "shut-down" their assignment?

LB is still learning, and will be a very good player for many years if he keeps up this learning curve... he really is getting much better.

Very good point that should be obvious to all posters. If Raja is injured in the laker or clipper series, the suns are not even in the WCF. Its obvious that the suns couldnt beat EITHER the Lakers or Clips with an injured Raja. So lets not get delusional and think the Mavs are easier to beat than those teams. If the suns can beat the Mavs with Raja's hobbling injury, it will shake the NBA up. Think about it, if the suns win, the NBA coach of the year is a neophyte, and ALL the experts will have been rebuffed and Dirk is a Dork. The suns are ~ .500 team since KT went down, what is a reasonable level of expectation for this team? Any reasonable level of expectation has been surpassed by this injury riddled team.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think one thing we have to keep in mind about criticizing the team after losses - This team on Paper isn't supposed to beat anyone left in the playoffs! That being said, when we do win, it is due to extra-ordinary efforts by the coaching staff, a player, and/or luck. Barbosa is not an All-Star, he is not even a "go-to" player right now. He is quick enough to get to the rim, but not experienced enough to always finish correctly if he is contested. On defense, LB struggles like most players in the league. How many players Benchplayers can you name that "shut-down" their assignment?

LB is still learning, and will be a very good player for many years if he keeps up this learning curve... he really is getting much better.

I think this is a fair assessment. Without Amare, I doubt many fans thought the Suns would be in the WCF. But now that the Suns are here... I wish they could make it to the Finals.

 

[Joe Mama]

I think this is a fair assessment. Without Amare, I doubt many fans thought the Suns would be in the WCF. But now that the Suns are here... I wish they could make it to the Finals.

that's right, but the most amazing thing is that it isn't just Amare Stoudemire they are missing. First, everybody thought they took a big step back when they lost Joe Johnson. Then Amare Stoudemire went down. Still the Phoenix Suns were one of the top 3-4 teams in the NBA. Surprisingly they were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA until they lost yet another starter in Kurt Thomas.

Yes, they did pick up Tim Thomas after he was waived, but nobody could have expected he would contribute as much as he has. Clearly this is a tribute to Mike D'Antoni's system. Raja Bell, one of three guards getting regular time in the playoffs, is injured. He missed half the first game, the next two games completely, and has played hobbled in Games 4 & 5. After a couple seven-game series and very, very little rest this team is hanging with the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals.

It's astonishing what this team is doing given the circumstances.

Joe

 

[jbeecham]

Quentin Richardson was also a big part of our team during the regular season and helped us to 62 wins last year and he's gone as well. A lot of fans liked the attitude he brought to the team, his ability to take charges and at times his streaky 3 pt shooting. I think we improved in every one of those aspects and more with the addition of Raja Bell, but Q is another big piece of last years team that's no longer here.

 

[Evil Ash]

that's right, but the most amazing thing is that it isn't just Amare Stoudemire they are missing. First, everybody thought they took a big step back when they lost Joe Johnson. Then Amare Stoudemire went down. Still the Phoenix Suns were one of the top 3-4 teams in the NBA. Surprisingly they were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA until they lost yet another starter in Kurt Thomas.

Yes, they did pick up Tim Thomas after he was waived, but nobody could have expected he would contribute as much as he has. Clearly this is a tribute to Mike D'Antoni's system. Raja Bell, one of three guards getting regular time in the playoffs, is injured. He missed half the first game, the next two games completely, and has played hobbled in Games 4 & 5. After a couple seven-game series and very, very little rest this team is hanging with the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals.

It's astonishing what this team is doing given the circumstances.

Joe

Not to mention that they have been missing their best interior defender and rebounder (well the best at boxing out anyways) in Kurt Thomas for the final 20 games of the regular season and postseason run. The thing that sucks is that we had a run that favored us in terms of matchups throughout and this is the year that injuries majorly hurt this team. I don't care who you are, losing 3/5 of your starting lineup but still making a run this far is still really damn impressive.

However I'm still not giving up on this postseason just yet. Although I've (and many other people have) declared this team to be dead repeatedly, they've proven me and others wrong. This team seems to only win when they have to.

Even if they are eliminated I can't wait to read the book that is going to be written on this year's team by an SI reporter (he's been with the team all season long). Should be a darn good read considering the dramatics of this team