Dallas @ Phoenix - Game Thread - Sunday April 1, 2007 - 12:30PM (3:30PM ET) ABC

[TucsonDevil]

I am very surprised to see many NOT believing Dampier could effect the outcome of this game. Let's not wear the Purple shades too much (something that I am guilty of doing, daily).

Dampier provides more than just a few offensive rebounds. He provides a large body that is difficult to shoot over in the lane. He makes you work extra hard on rebounding since he is heavy, wide and long. And Damp fouls hard (not soft touches on the arms, but hard fouls that you to think twice about trying it again).

Would those things have changed the outlook on the game? Who knows for sure... but let's not just dismiss the fact because we are drunk on the Suns Kool-Aid. We would hate to look like a Mavericks' fan.

... who's ready for another round?... don't mind if I do.

 

[F-Dog]

Oh, I totally agree with that. Dallas didn't look good at all on defense without Dampier.

...and Dampier can't guard anybody on the Suns. The presence of Devean George meant more for the Suns than Dampier's absence IMO.


Anyway, the Suns won pretty easily, just like you'd expect if I told you before the game that Amare, Marion and Diaw would all show up at the same time.

I'm especially pleased with Diaw, who shot the sideline three with confidence and took it to Diop exactly the way the Suns needed him to do in last year's playoffs. (I also like that D'Antoni brought Diaw off the bench in the first half. The one thing that seems to kill Diaw more than anything else is foul trouble, and he can't pick up fouls if he's not playing.)

When Amare's shooting like that, he's unguardable. As frustrating as it was to watch Dallas' smalls manhandle him w/o a call, it was just as impressive to watch Amare shoot over them like he was Dirk. Also, that play where Amare carried JET up to the rim for a dunk was ridiculous.

And, of course, Marion is back--he was probably the MVP of todays game. He still guards Dirk better than any player in the league...I didn't like that undercut he gave to Dirk, but since that's literally the first time I can remember him undercutting a player, I'll chalk it up as an accident.

 

[Lorenzo]

Here is my point. Yes Damp makes a difference in the rebounding (but i would say not in interior defense as Amare actually had 15 less points this game even though the total points inthe paint was higher) but not enough to the point where it makes Dallas a better team than us. I say we match up with them better than any other team in the league. Even the Heat - which have the necessary recipe for beating them as well (dynamic perimeter player, offensive inside presence, three point shooters) do not match up with them as well as we do.

With Damp the Mavs (assuming a healthy Suns team) take us to 6 maybe 7 games but i still say we eventually win. Without him they get swept or win one. We match up so well that the only advantage they have on us is when Damp and Diop are playing well and they just KILL us on the offensive boards.

Without that - they don't even stand a chance.

Which is exactly why we need to trade for KG should we lose to Dallas this year and Damp has a huge rebounding series

so without damp the suns sweep the mavs. with damp it goes 6 or 7. should the suns lose to dallas they should trade for kg. anymore off the wall statements. Oh yeah....marion can guard dirk.

 

[CaptainInsano]

...and Dampier can't guard anybody on the Suns. The presence of Devean George meant more for the Suns than Dampier's absence IMO.

Yes devean was fricking horrible. 93 million team and their deep bench is still horrible.

Even with James Jones struggling with the 3 I still say he doesn't mess things up like devean did on defense.

 

[Lorenzo]

...and Dampier can't guard anybody on the Suns. The presence of Devean George meant more for the Suns than Dampier's absence IMO.


Anyway, the Suns won pretty easily, just like you'd expect if I told you before the game that Amare, Marion and Diaw would all show up at the same time.

I'm especially pleased with Diaw, who shot the sideline three with confidence and took it to Diop exactly the way the Suns needed him to do in last year's playoffs. (I also like that D'Antoni brought Diaw off the bench in the first half. The one thing that seems to kill Diaw more than anything else is foul trouble, and he can't pick up fouls if he's not playing.)

When Amare's shooting like that, he's unguardable. As frustrating as it was to watch Dallas' smalls manhandle him w/o a call, it was just as impressive to watch Amare shoot over them like he was Dirk. Also, that play where Amare carried JET up to the rim for a dunk was ridiculous.

And, of course, Marion is back--he was probably the MVP of todays game. He still guards Dirk better than any player in the league...I didn't like that undercut he gave to Dirk, but since that's literally the first time I can remember him undercutting a player, I'll chalk it up as an accident.

I think dirk typically plays as well against marion and the suns. This was probably his worst game against the suns that i can remember. He had a poor game this go around more than anything else. as one pointed out before you guys need p.j. brown.(joke)

 

[Lorenzo]

Yes devean was fricking horrible. 93 million team and their deep bench is still horrible.

Even with James Jones struggling with the 3 I still say he doesn't mess things up like devean did on defense.

he's been out of the lineup for a while. He was much more effective earlier in the season. Hopefully he will get back up to speed come playoff time.

 

[Lorenzo]

How long is Dampier supposed to be out? I was watching the game at Majerles, and thus couldn't hear the sound.

I didn't ever hear that he was hurt. I don't know if avery just may have given him the game off. diop and dampier both have the same duty at the end of the day. Defend the paint and rebound the basketball. Dampier is not shaq out there. But he is much more effective than diop on the offensive end......on the boards and finishes at the rim. The one thing that you can say damp is at an elite level at his position is offensive rebounding. combine that with phoenix not being a great defensive rebounding team and you get what you saw in the last game. Obviously diop couldn't play the whole game and i'm sure avery opted to keep him out since he was an offensive liability today. when dallas went small....phoenix made them pay. I'm sure if they meet in the playoffs dallas won't stay with the small lineup as long as they did in this game. although when a team shoots 64% from the field there is not much you can do other than match them point for point.....which dallas couldn't do in the 4th.

 

[SO91]

The announcers said Dampier sprained a shoulder I believe. Not sure if that is accurate, but that is what I heard said during the broadcast.

 

[arwillan]

The announcers said Dampier sprained a shoulder I believe. Not sure if that is accurate, but that is what I heard said during the broadcast.

strained (not sprained) is shoulder in their game on friday is what happened. he felt he could go, but the coaches said no with the playoffs just around the corner

 

[SO91]

Thanks for the correction!

 

[Ronin]

Positive ID check for Suns
Stein
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

PHOENIX -- They did not knock Dirk Nowitzki out of the MVP lead or send his Dallas Mavericks scurrying into therapy or even clinch the No. 2 seed in the West.

Nor were they trying to.

The Phoenix Suns happily settled for success on a more modest quest Sunday.

"We have our identity back," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni says.

Small. Fast. Fun.

D'Antoni believes that the Suns' only chance to win a championship, no matter what traditionalists say about what wins in the playoffs, is when you can use all three of those adjectives to describe their game. He believes it even as he admits that the first two inevitably lead to defensive and rebounding shortcomings.

What he can't believe is how little fun he's been seeing from the Suns lately, pretty much ever since they won that double-overtime epic in Dallas on March 14.

So . . .

Blaming himself to a degree -- specifically his recent attempts to get his only accomplished interior defender (Kurt Thomas) on the floor more -- D'Antoni has vowed to play smaller and faster for the rest of the season, preferring to focus on the much-needed joy and energy it might generate as opposed to potential consequences. Yet you suspect he'd have made that vow sooner if he had any inkling of the fun that would follow: Phoenix shot 64.8 percent from the field in a 126-104 rout to register the finest display of marksmanship in the history of a building now known as US Airways Center.

"Sometimes, to a fault, we play to the level of competition," said Suns guard Steve Nash.

"When we play well, no one is going to defend us well. … This was one of those games where we were close to our best."

"If you don't miss a shot," D'Antoni volunteered, "it helps."

April Fools Day didn't get off to the funniest start for the quippy coach. Suns owner Robert Sarver called D'Antoni on his cell phone in the morning with a made-up tale about Nash and Nowitzki going out to dinner Saturday … and Nash getting arrested for climbing behind the wheel after one too many adult beverages. He had D'Antoni going for a minute or two before Sarver's victim realized what day it was.

Better news awaited at the office, where D'Antoni learned Dallas' foremost deterrent at the rim (Erick Dampier) would be sitting with a shoulder injury. Although he was determined to play his smallest possible lineup combinations regardless, making sure three quality shooters were on the floor at all times, Dampier's absence made it even easier. The Suns responded by throttling their guests with a barrage of layups and 3-pointers that, according to Nowitzki, had the Mavs "going both ways" defensively and usually making the wrong choice.

Nash and Amare Stoudemire missed only seven shots between them and combined for 47 points, but Leandro Barbosa and Shawn Marion were the Suns who hurt Dallas most. Barbosa seemed especially unguardable, sinking four triples that opened up countless drives, resulting in 29 points for the Brazilian speedster to go with Marion's all-around activity and energy.

Dallas knows it can beat the Suns even if the first two go off. It has no chance with the Suns are recording a ridiculous 50-16 advantage in points scored in the paint.

The Mavs nonetheless managed to hang in for three quarters by hitting seven of their first eight attempts from 3-point range, only for their aim to gradually waver. When Nowitzki landed on Marion's foot early in the fourth, forcing him to the bench with yet another twisted ankle, Dallas gradually faded away. Nowitzki (21 points on just 6-for-18 shooting) tried to play on after a 1:39 rest stint but was clearly hobbled when he returned. Mavs coach Avery Johnson finally pulled him with 2:43 remaining, realizing that the Suns just weren't going to miss at the end.

No joke. Phoenix made 13 of 15 shots from the field in the final period to inflict just the third defeat Dallas has suffered in the past 65 days.

It became a full-fledged holiday for the Suns later in the evening when word of San Antonio's loss in Indiana reached them, widening Phoenix's lead over the Spurs for home-court advantage in a possible second-round matchup to three games with nine to play. For the first time in a while in Phoenix, where the home team was briefly booed last time out, there was no shortage of fun.

Which explains why none of the Suns were apologizing, even though we didn't get the Phoenix-Dallas classic we've now come to expect every time these teams hook up.

"I'd say it was still better than 90 percent of the games in this league," Nash countered.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-070402

 

[elindholm]

Way to throw Kurt Thomas under the bus. "We were losing because I was trying to play him." Still, whatever works, I guess.

Sarver's April Fools prank was pretty funny.

 

[azirish]

I only caught a bit of the game on the radio. We can argue all we want about Damp, but the bottom line is that when the Suns move the ball and hit their open shots, they are very very hard to beat.

As a rule, opponents who try to play big are especially vulnerable to the Suns when they are hitting their shots. The Suns will put five guys on the floor who can shoot (especially when Amare's shot is dropping), which forces opponent's bigs away from the basket.

If anything, the Suns are more vulnerable against a talented small ball team like the Warriors who can get out on the Suns shooters and spread the the floor like the Suns do. However, the Mavs don't really have much of a small ball lineup.

If Amare is hitting his jumper, Dampier is in big trouble on defense. He cannot deal with Amare in space and has often had foul trouble. However, Amare also has trouble with Dampier without help. The irony is that Damp is vulnerable to turnovers when double teamed, so attacking Amare with Damp can easily backfire.

It's a real chess match and it is far from obvious how it will play out.

 

[cly2tw]

The most important good news from this game is, Diaw is back. With him playing like that, the floor becomes so spacious for the Suns' offense to operate. That's just ridiculous. Marion got his energy back which made it much easier for us.

Amare's effort has been quite consistent throughout the season. He still has something to learn how to get a good position downlow against small but quick defenders, actually he should take a lesson from Diaw who exploited every single size mismatch in the paint, just the way he used to do in last year's playoffs. But otherwise, as somebody mentioned, he wasn't forcing anything and let the game come to him. The tandem Amare-Diaw will be the force in the playoffs.

 

[azirish]

The most important good news from this game is, Diaw is back. With him playing like that, the floor becomes so spacious for the Suns' offense to operate. That's just ridiculous. Marion got his energy back which made it much easier for us.

Amare's effort has been quite consistent throughout the season. He still has something to learn how to get a good position downlow against small but quick defenders, actually he should take a lesson from Diaw who exploited every single size mismatch in the paint, just the way he used to do in last year's playoffs. But otherwise, as somebody mentioned, he wasn't forcing anything and let the game come to him. The tandem Amare-Diaw will be the force in the playoffs.

For the Suns to win it all, Diaw has to play well. Clearly his back problems really hurt his play and back problems are always a concern. But when he's playing well, he is a nightmare for opponents.

 

[HooverDam]

I didn't ever hear that he was hurt. I don't know if avery just may have given him the game off.

Its not baseball, players don't just get games off, especially not this game. His shoulder as others have mentioned must've been bad enough to rest him just to 'make sure' for the playoffs. Also, this gives the Mavs/Mavs fans/idiots on TV another way to say "well the Mavs didnt have X, so it wasn't fair."

If anything, the Suns are more vulnerable against a talented small ball team like the Warriors who can get out on the Suns shooters and spread the the floor like the Suns do. However, the Mavs don't really have much of a small ball lineup.

I disagree entirely, no one in the league is going to beat the Suns at their own game over a 7 game series. Even if Diaw and Marion are up and down. I think the way to beat Phoenix is to beat the snot out of them, rebound, defend, etc. It can be done, beating them by running and shooting? I don't think so.

 

[elindholm]

I guess I'm the only one who didn't love Diaw's performance yesterday. Yes, it was better, but still nowhere near the level of last year's playoffs. I'm not talking about his raw numbers, but his decision making. He still tended to kick the ball out to contested shooters rather than finish his own play at the rim. Against a team trained to react to penetration, as Dallas is, he can get away with it. Over a playoff series, however, they will adjust and he will be exposed.

Unlike Nash, who is talented enough to improvise in the split second between when the defense commits and when he has to make his own decision, Diaw knows what he's going to do as soon as he puts the ball on the floor. Just like players who are going to shoot no matter what, Diaw is going to pass no matter what (on most drives), even if the one pass he has in mind isn't there or if no one challenges him at the rim. In that respect he is like Kidd, for whom shooting is always a panicked last resort, and who depends on "good" defenders to pay attention to him so that he can find open teammates.

 

[cly2tw]

I guess I'm the only one who didn't love Diaw's performance yesterday. Yes, it was better, but still nowhere near the level of last year's playoffs. I'm not talking about his raw numbers, but his decision making. He still tended to kick the ball out to contested shooters rather than finish his own play at the rim. Against a team trained to react to penetration, as Dallas is, he can get away with it. Over a playoff series, however, they will adjust and he will be exposed.

Unlike Nash, who is talented enough to improvise in the split second between when the defense commits and when he has to make his own decision, Diaw knows what he's going to do as soon as he puts the ball on the floor. Just like players who are going to shoot no matter what, Diaw is going to pass no matter what (on most drives), even if the one pass he has in mind isn't there or if no one challenges him at the rim. In that respect he is like Kidd, for whom shooting is always a panicked last resort, and who depends on "good" defenders to pay attention to him so that he can find open teammates.

You are just hard to please. I just watched the game again.
My glass-half-full view is that Diaw drove to the basket repeatedly and scored. Also, his kicks felt rather right the whole game long, not at all of the frustrating kind so common this season. With Marion's resurrection, everyone of our big six was a threat to score, that opens up the space.

 

[Covert Rain]

You are just hard to please. I just watched the game again.
My glass-half-full view is that Diaw drove to the basket repeatedly and scored. Also, his kicks felt rather right the whole game long, not at all of the frustrating kind so common this season. With Marion's resurrection, everyone of our big six was a threat to score, that opens up the space.

I think with Amare in there you will never see last years Diaw again. All you can hope for is flashes and for him to "look" like the old Diaw when Amare is not in there. That is good enough for me. What I don't want to see is the passive no show Diaw we have seen to often this season.

 

[ma_falaa_50]

hey didnt amare torch damp, diop , and dirk on the defensive end last game?

If Phx wants to win the championship, they have to come out with energy. I admit I am very harsh on the suns. they should commit to defense. Im not expecting the San Antonio type defense. They are incapable of that. San Antonio as a team defensively focuses on their strength which is slowing the team down. Phx's strength is running and I think if they play hustle defense- disrupting defense. the type of defense that rajah and marion does then they may have a shot of winning it all.

Phx has to consistently outhustle their opponents. Their game benefits from hustle plays. I think Kurt is a good player but he may not be quick enough. He plays good when the game is slowed down though.

I think dantoni should have thrown kurt under the bus like that. it was like 1 step forward and 2 step backwards. Kurt has been a big help for this team if he is healthy. the problem is he hasnt been healthy the last couple years. I wonder if kurt will exercise his player option.

he is a good trade commodity this coming season.

I dont think Phx or any western conference team will go all the way this year. I think the east will win mainly becuase whoever survives the western conference debacle will be so beat up.

 

[dodie53]

anyone seen dirk's top 10 play of the season on nba.com?
i respect dirk's game but his top plays are so common..

 

[jbeecham]

When the Suns beat Dallas by 22 points on Sunday, We set a new NBA record for the delivering the worst loss to a team that had 50 more wins than losses (they were 61-11). The previous record was an 18 pt loss.

 

[Errntknght]

F-Dog,

I didn't like that undercut he gave to Dirk, but since that's literally the first time I can remember him undercutting a player, I'll chalk it up as an accident.

I wouldn't call it an undercut; Shawn did do a jump split move like he often does to get a fast start toward the bucket for the rebound and Dirk came down on his foot. His foot was in Dirk's space (he went pretty much straight up with his shot) so it should have a been a foul but it looked entirely accidental. Heck, the way Marion avoids contact he'd be the last guy I'd suspect of allowing another player to come down on his foot if he could avoid it.

 

[HooverDam]

Heck, the way Marion avoids contact he'd be the last guy I'd suspect of allowing another player to come down on his foot if he could avoid it.

Totally agreed, I was arguing this w/ a Mavs fan the other day. If you watch the Suns a lot, or have read ":07 Seconds or Less," you know Marion is the opposite of a physical/dirty player, sometimes to the annoyance of his coaches.

 

[Lorenzo]

Totally agreed, I was arguing this w/ a Mavs fan the other day. If you watch the Suns a lot, or have read ":07 Seconds or Less," you know Marion is the opposite of a physical/dirty player, sometimes to the annoyance of his coaches.

I don't think he did it on purpose......no way. how can that be proven?. He was just trying to get out on dirk's shot. it could have been called.....probably should have been called. That's why dirk was looking for a foul especially with his ankle issues. I think dirk was just trying to protect himself...nothing wrong with that.