Can We Continue to Sit Shaq?

[Covert Rain]

I am not sure this can continue. I don't know if sitting him is necessary or it is just precautionary. Either way, the Suns cannot afford to lose games by sitting Shaq out every single back to back. If we keep giving up games to conference foes, they will lose any tie breakers. We have 10 more sets of back to back games. If this team loses those games, we are 10 more games in the hole come the end of the season.

Can we really afford that? The Western conference is so tight that if they keep giving up games to conference foes, again they will lose any tie breakers. Even if we make the playoffs, how do we get a decent seed? Very few poor seeded teams ever get very far in the playoffs.

Specifically about tonight, I understand the thinking. Sit him tonight, play him against Minnesota, sit him against Raptors and play him against Celtics. In theory that sounds great. But your also assuming we win all the games that Shaq is in and that we also won the games when he is out. If you lose one of the games you should win then lose the game that Shaq plays....just wow.

 

[Andrew]

Shaq not playing tonight was a dumb move.

 

[Bufalay]

Shaq is a weenie.

 

[French Fries]

this seem to prove that it's the first game that would be the one shaq's taking off, bad idea. if there's a back to back, sit him out on the "easier games". if we're to choose when he'll play, denver or minny, i think we'll be unanimous on that...

 

[JS22]

No.

Just limit his minutes in some games. Instead of 0 minutes, let him play 10-15 unless absolutely needed. Last night is a perfect example. The Suns started out well and didn't need him. But by the mid point in the 3rd they could have REALLY used him. Just toss him the ball in the post and let him go to work. It would have helped stabilize things and stop the Nuggets run.

And by the way, Lopez may be the worst 7'0 player in the NBA. I'm not exaggerating either. He is absolutely terrible and contributes nothing while he is out there.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Can we afford not to?

 

[JS22]

Shaq not playing tonight was a dumb move.

Is that you in your avatar?

 

[Covert Rain]

Can we afford not to?

I say it depends. If Shaq is being sat for precautionary reasons, then I say you don't need to sit him. If Shaq is sitting out because he is telling the Suns he physically cannot take the toll of back to backs that is different.

Also, if a result of Shaq sitting is that we give up 5 to 10 games in the standings, miss the playoffs or get a lousy seed.....then sitting him doesn't help us anyway.

 

[Hat]

I can see siting him if he's hurt, but he's got to play every back 2 back for now on. Just limit his minutes to 15-20 a game.

 

[Brianellsworth]

Is that you in your avatar?

Yes that is Andrew I have already asked him. Isn't that what you pictured him looking like?

 

[Griffin]

Reasons why we should not be sitting Shaq:

• We have integrated Shaq into our offense to the point where he has become a primary scoring option. That's how we practice, that's how we play. When he sits, we are bound to struggle offensively some.
• Shaq is our best rebounder and defensive big man. When he sits, we are bound to struggle defensively in the paint (even more).
• Shaq's backup Lopez can't score, can't rebound, can't play defense, can't catch a pass, and can't stay out of foul trouble.
• Amare rarely seems to step up when we are undermanned, and gets in foul trouble a lot too.
• Sitting Shaq forces everyone else to play harder and play more minutes, including Nash and Hill, which may hurt in the following game and in the long run.
• It disrupts team chemistry.
• Sitting Shaq against tough opponents in order so that he can be rested for a weak one is just ridiculously dumb. It's like the Suns are willing to concede some difficult games in favor of winning the easy ones. This may cost us not only in the standings but also in terms of tie-breakers, not to mention team morale.
• Conceding games prevents the team from building any type of a momentum and from being able to put together a long winning streak.
• It makes whatever contribution Shaq has in the games he plays seem less relevant or significant, because it comes at the expense of losses on the nights he sits.

I think it was Grant Hill who talked about, after the last win, how the team needs not to settle for those three-game winning streaks and instead try to win 10 in a row, to build a long run and build momentum and confidence. How is that supposed to happen with this strategy?

Resting Shaq for the playoffs is pointless if we don't also rest Nash. It is pointless also because a playoff spot is not guaranteed. Resting him to prevent injury also makes no sense, because there is no guarantee that he won't get injured anyway (already missed a game with back spasms). But what it does do is allow him to put up big numbers in the games he plays, making Kerr look really good for making the trade. No wonder he wants to sit him in games where his numbers might be down. The Suns would have been much better of if he had been able to play even 15 minutes in those games, but his stats would have suffered.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Small minutes, not zero minutes. Your body doesn't need to intensively recover from 15 minutes of basketball.

 

[Mainstreet]

Small minutes, not zero minutes. Your body doesn't need to intensively recover from 15 minutes of basketball.

But he looked so fine sitting on the bench last night in his pin striped suit.

 

[Covert Rain]

Prediction: Down the final stretch, the race is so tight, the Suns will be forced to play Shaq every game. As a result, all of the early season rest is wasted and both Shaq and Nash look exhausted in the playoffs.

 

[Mainstreet]

Prediction: Down the final stretch, the race is so tight, the Suns will be forced to play Shaq every game. As a result, all of the early season rest is wasted and both Shaq and Nash look exhausted in the playoffs.

I'm thinking maybe Shaq is at least partially calling the shots on his playing time and that is not necessarily bad. He knows what his body needs. More blame should be placed on the Suns FO for relying on rookie Centers and rookie PGs to backup Shaq and Nash respectively.

Sometimes I wish Nash would do the same as Shaq so Kerr would be forced to address these backup positions more seriously.

 

[SirStefan32]

Reasons why we should not be sitting Shaq:

• We have integrated Shaq into our offense to the point where he has become a primary scoring option. That's how we practice, that's how we play. When he sits, we are bound to struggle offensively some.
• Shaq is our best rebounder and defensive big man. When he sits, we are bound to struggle defensively in the paint (even more).
• Shaq's backup Lopez can't score, can't rebound, can't play defense, can't catch a pass, and can't stay out of foul trouble.
• Amare rarely seems to step up when we are undermanned, and gets in foul trouble a lot too.
• Sitting Shaq forces everyone else to play harder and play more minutes, including Nash and Hill, which may hurt in the following game and in the long run.
• It disrupts team chemistry.
• Sitting Shaq against tough opponents in order so that he can be rested for a weak one is just ridiculously dumb. It's like the Suns are willing to concede some difficult games in favor of winning the easy ones. This may cost us not only in the standings but also in terms of tie-breakers, not to mention team morale.
• Conceding games prevents the team from building any type of a momentum and from being able to put together a long winning streak.
• It makes whatever contribution Shaq has in the games he plays seem less relevant or significant, because it comes at the expense of losses on the nights he sits.

I think it was Grant Hill who talked about, after the last win, how the team needs not to settle for those three-game winning streaks and instead try to win 10 in a row, to build a long run and build momentum and confidence. How is that supposed to happen with this strategy?

Resting Shaq for the playoffs is pointless if we don't also rest Nash. It is pointless also because a playoff spot is not guaranteed. Resting him to prevent injury also makes no sense, because there is no guarantee that he won't get injured anyway (already missed a game with back spasms). But what it does do is allow him to put up big numbers in the games he plays, making Kerr look really good for making the trade. No wonder he wants to sit him in games where his numbers might be down. The Suns would have been much better of if he had been able to play even 15 minutes in those games, but his stats would have suffered.

I could not agree more. Excellent post!

 

[AzKarl]

I think it is idiotic to sit him unless he just is unable to go due to injury. He's making 20 million dollars. Do we get a freaking rebate when he sits?

 

[Chaplin]

Sitting Shaq means more time for Nash. Sitting Nash means more time for Shaq. How can nobody realize that?? You want to cut down on minutes, then CUT DOWN ON MINUTES. On a back-to-back, why not play him for 15 minutes and then the next night (or vice versa) he can go his regular time. Don't sit him at the expense of exhausting Nash and giving up losses.

 

[BC867]

Time spent to be game-ready is a lot more than the 15 minutes of playing time some of you are proposing for one of the back-to-back games.

The 30.4 minutes per game that Shaq is now averaging certainly takes more than a half an hour when you consider practice, exercising, stretching, shoot-arounds, etc.

For the first time in our 41-year history, I want to see our Suns strong in the playoffs when we won't have back-to-back games.

I consider resting him during the season is essential to having us strong in the post-season. And I have confidence in Terry Porter and Shaq planning the best way to accomplish that.

The question of whether we rest Shaq vs. the stronger team in a back-to-back or the weaker is interesting.

Perhaps it should be based on match-ups in the post. Once again, I have confidence in Terry Porter handling that well.

 

[Andrew]

He didn't lose tonight's game for us, but it was a stupid move to not play him last night.

 

[Griffin]

The team was playing well. Then Kerr and Porter decide to sit Shaq for a game, and all hell breaks loose again. This is not a coincidence. It is difficult to have to continuously adjust your game plan depending on whether your key player is available that night or not. It is difficult to maintain any sort of continuity or momentum. Now players will lose confidence again. Everyone will be questioning themselves again. There is no guarantee we would have won both games with Shaq, but at least we would have given ourselves a chance. Now, it's back to the drawing board. Was it worth it?

 

[Mainstreet]

The team was playing well. Then Kerr and Porter decide to sit Shaq for a game, and all hell breaks loose again. This is not a coincidence. It is difficult to have to continuously adjust your game plan depending on whether your key player is available that night or not. It is difficult to maintain any sort of continuity or momentum. Now players will lose confidence again. Everyone will be questioning themselves again. There is no guarantee we would have won both games with Shaq, but at least we would have given ourselves a chance. Now, it's back to the drawing board. Was it worth it?

The Suns could very well fold on the coming road trip if they do not get their act together. The frustration level is running high. It wouldn't take much.

 

[CaptainInsano]

The loss against boston is going to do it, it will be the tipping point towards more problems boiling up.

The fact that we just lost these 2 games can very well be the dagger taking into account that game vs boston which is almost a gauranteed loss, and if we lose the game before boston dear god help us, I don't even want to think about that. Only word would be train wreck if that happends.

 

[Andrew]

Who is to say we lose to Boston? They aren't playing like the Boston Celtics recently. You can't say that's a given loss, hell we beat them last season. You play the game to decide who wins, if you know you aren't gonna win, don't play.

 

[mojorizen7]

Reasons why we should not be sitting Shaq:

• We have integrated Shaq into our offense to the point where he has become a primary scoring option. That's how we practice, that's how we play. When he sits, we are bound to struggle offensively some.
• Shaq is our best rebounder and defensive big man. When he sits, we are bound to struggle defensively in the paint (even more).
• Shaq's backup Lopez can't score, can't rebound, can't play defense, can't catch a pass, and can't stay out of foul trouble.
• Amare rarely seems to step up when we are undermanned, and gets in foul trouble a lot too.
• Sitting Shaq forces everyone else to play harder and play more minutes, including Nash and Hill, which may hurt in the following game and in the long run.
• It disrupts team chemistry.
• Sitting Shaq against tough opponents in order so that he can be rested for a weak one is just ridiculously dumb. It's like the Suns are willing to concede some difficult games in favor of winning the easy ones. This may cost us not only in the standings but also in terms of tie-breakers, not to mention team morale.
• Conceding games prevents the team from building any type of a momentum and from being able to put together a long winning streak.
• It makes whatever contribution Shaq has in the games he plays seem less relevant or significant, because it comes at the expense of losses on the nights he sits.

I think it was Grant Hill who talked about, after the last win, how the team needs not to settle for those three-game winning streaks and instead try to win 10 in a row, to build a long run and build momentum and confidence. How is that supposed to happen with this strategy?

Resting Shaq for the playoffs is pointless if we don't also rest Nash. It is pointless also because a playoff spot is not guaranteed. Resting him to prevent injury also makes no sense, because there is no guarantee that he won't get injured anyway (already missed a game with back spasms). But what it does do is allow him to put up big numbers in the games he plays, making Kerr look really good for making the trade. No wonder he wants to sit him in games where his numbers might be down. The Suns would have been much better of if he had been able to play even 15 minutes in those games, but his stats would have suffered.

Well said Griff and i agree.
I think limiting his minutes against the weaker opponents on back to backs and even during non-back to backs is a feasable solution.