Eisley finally snaps out of shooting slump
advertisement
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 18, 2004 12:00 AM
MINNEAPOLIS - Phoenix is short on experience, which translates to a lean bench.
The Suns' reserves are regularly outscored, a trend that almost worsened Tuesday when they were scoreless in the first half until backup point guard Howard Eisley's three-pointer with 33 seconds to go in a 110-95 loss to Minnesota.
Eisley, slumping since joining Phoenix, missed his first four shots Tuesday. But he hit five of his last 10, including three three-pointers, as starter Leandro Barbosa again struggled and did not play the final 18 minutes.
"I was able to make a couple shots but I still feel I missed shots I should have made," said Eisley, who is averaging 12 points in the past four games.
"It's a game we could've won. We've been close I don't know how many times but we've got to get over the hump."
Soft in the crunch
The Suns often fail in the crunch. But at least there often is a crunch time.
USA Today researched which NBA teams were the most clutch by figuring out records in games with margins of five points or less at the two-minute mark.
At 8-16, the Suns were just percentage points better than Cleveland's league-worst mark of 7-15.
To zone or not
The Suns saw what may be the NBA's best zone defense at Minnesota.
Phoenix used the look, too, as it does to hide youthful deficiencies.
"I don't love it," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I've never been a zone guy because I feel it's too easy to attack.
"We want to be careful about using it too much but we also want to win."
