jbeecham
ASFN Addict
I just got home from the game and I wanted to let you know my impressions:
James Jones: He was the bright spot tonight. He shot the ball really well and made some very nice passes ( I counted 4 assists). His defense was ok and it looked like he had about 2 blocks and a couple rebounds. His ball-handling isn't that great though.
Raja Bell: He struggled with cheap fouls tonight mostly going for steals or scrambling for loose balls (hustle fouls) that kept him out of the game most of the night. When he was in, his jumper looked good and his passing and ball handling were ok.
Boris Diaw: Diaw really surprised me. He moves so fluidly with the ball and took it to the hoop around defenders really well. He also made a lot of really nice passes in traffic or kicked out to Grant for open 15ft jumpers. He didn't attempt an outside shot though and had a few turnovers where a smaller quicker defender poked the ball away. Diaw also had 3-4 blocks while playing low post defense that were impressive (defending SGs like Quintin Ross).
Eddie House: House was horrible tonight. I haven't looked at the stats yet, but it looked like he went 1-15 from the field and he dribbled way too much and tried to shoot way more than pass. His defense looked ok, but he was only guarding Daniel Ewing or Yuta Tabuse (who has improved).
Kurt Thomas: Kurt didn't play a lot tonight, but he was living off the pick and pop and hit a fair percentage of his jumpers. He really can't jump at all and struggled to grab rebounds over Chris Wilcox.
Brian Grant: He played a lot like KT, but hit less of his open jumpers. He wasn't spectacular, but a little better than I expected after his play last season.
Shawn Marion: Marion was absolutely pathetic offensively tonight. He missed two open dunks and a ton of open shots. He did have a nice alley-oop dunk from Nash for his only made fg, but overall he sucked.
Steve Nash: Nash played very well. He looked like he hasn't missed a step from last season. He didn't really play that much and didn't play at all in the 4th (neither did Marion or KT).
Pat Burke: Pat shouldn't be on a basketball court. The guy was pathetic tonight. He got outrebounded by Yuta Tabuse on one play and then Daniel Ewing got a rebound over him later on in the game. He was also shooting from 20ft out on his shots. He had a chance at a fast break dunk except he knocked Yuta Tabuse to the ground when trying to catch the pass from Nash and got called for a loose ball foul. The one positive I can say about Burke is that he runs well for a big man. He was the 1st Sun down the court a number of times (although he probably should've been back trying to rebound).
Leandro Barbosa: DNP.......I'm not sure why because he was in uniform.
Dijon Thompson: Played a few minutes in the 4th qtr....he hit a 3 and then airballed the next one. He didn't really do anything special.
Tischer: Got in the game with 6 seconds left because Burke got elbowed in the back of the head and had to leave the game (no foul called). ]
Overall, I'm pretty discouraged by the team so far. The fast break offense isn't there at all right now. The guys aren't pushing the ball up the floor. They were solely a jump shooting team tonight. They lost, but they really didn't try to win. D'Antoni didn't play Nash, Marion, KT at all in the 4th and the other top guys played very little in the 4th. Also, the Clippers got about 40 pts tonight on buzzer beaters. Every time their shot clock got down to 1 or 2 seconds they'd heave up a prayer and it would go in and they barely beat the Suns.
James Jones: He was the bright spot tonight. He shot the ball really well and made some very nice passes ( I counted 4 assists). His defense was ok and it looked like he had about 2 blocks and a couple rebounds. His ball-handling isn't that great though.
Raja Bell: He struggled with cheap fouls tonight mostly going for steals or scrambling for loose balls (hustle fouls) that kept him out of the game most of the night. When he was in, his jumper looked good and his passing and ball handling were ok.
Boris Diaw: Diaw really surprised me. He moves so fluidly with the ball and took it to the hoop around defenders really well. He also made a lot of really nice passes in traffic or kicked out to Grant for open 15ft jumpers. He didn't attempt an outside shot though and had a few turnovers where a smaller quicker defender poked the ball away. Diaw also had 3-4 blocks while playing low post defense that were impressive (defending SGs like Quintin Ross).
Eddie House: House was horrible tonight. I haven't looked at the stats yet, but it looked like he went 1-15 from the field and he dribbled way too much and tried to shoot way more than pass. His defense looked ok, but he was only guarding Daniel Ewing or Yuta Tabuse (who has improved).
Kurt Thomas: Kurt didn't play a lot tonight, but he was living off the pick and pop and hit a fair percentage of his jumpers. He really can't jump at all and struggled to grab rebounds over Chris Wilcox.
Brian Grant: He played a lot like KT, but hit less of his open jumpers. He wasn't spectacular, but a little better than I expected after his play last season.
Shawn Marion: Marion was absolutely pathetic offensively tonight. He missed two open dunks and a ton of open shots. He did have a nice alley-oop dunk from Nash for his only made fg, but overall he sucked.
Steve Nash: Nash played very well. He looked like he hasn't missed a step from last season. He didn't really play that much and didn't play at all in the 4th (neither did Marion or KT).
Pat Burke: Pat shouldn't be on a basketball court. The guy was pathetic tonight. He got outrebounded by Yuta Tabuse on one play and then Daniel Ewing got a rebound over him later on in the game. He was also shooting from 20ft out on his shots. He had a chance at a fast break dunk except he knocked Yuta Tabuse to the ground when trying to catch the pass from Nash and got called for a loose ball foul. The one positive I can say about Burke is that he runs well for a big man. He was the 1st Sun down the court a number of times (although he probably should've been back trying to rebound).
Leandro Barbosa: DNP.......I'm not sure why because he was in uniform.
Dijon Thompson: Played a few minutes in the 4th qtr....he hit a 3 and then airballed the next one. He didn't really do anything special.
Tischer: Got in the game with 6 seconds left because Burke got elbowed in the back of the head and had to leave the game (no foul called). ]
Overall, I'm pretty discouraged by the team so far. The fast break offense isn't there at all right now. The guys aren't pushing the ball up the floor. They were solely a jump shooting team tonight. They lost, but they really didn't try to win. D'Antoni didn't play Nash, Marion, KT at all in the 4th and the other top guys played very little in the 4th. Also, the Clippers got about 40 pts tonight on buzzer beaters. Every time their shot clock got down to 1 or 2 seconds they'd heave up a prayer and it would go in and they barely beat the Suns.
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