Game 6 thread

[ASUCHRIS]

What a disappointing loss.......with a fully functional marbury, this would have been a completely different game. The spurs are a joke. Stephen Jackson and Ginobli are ridiculously lucky. With a fully functional Marbury, we would have won the series. While the future still looks bright, this is still a really tough loss, especially for the fans who have watched every game this season................

 

[PhiLLmattiC]

Man, I almost can't wait to see the suns next year. I think they'll be a whole lot better.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Yeah - I'm pretty much looking forward to the following - Watching the Spurs get throttled by LA - hear me out here - I hate the Lakers just as much as you all do - and then L.A., with the heads swelled to the size of watermelons will go into Sacramento - be all cocky and get their asses handed to them. The Spurs blow -period - we didn't play one good game and we were 14 minutes (last 7 minutes of game 2 and this one) from beating their ass. I can't wait for the future - and I have a sneaking suspicion that this team is gonna make some moves in the next couple years that are gonna make us unstoppable - a reunion of sorts - Marion will be traded within two years and Hardaway's expiring contract in two years and a couple of first round picks are all gonna look awful nice to a team who still hasn't been able to get out of the first round. But I will be content to watch Amare dominate until then. Great season - tough loss - but good learning experience for the kids. Can't wait for next season - can't say that enough.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Originally posted by elindholm
You know what's kind of funny? Last year was the only time in the past 15 seasons that the Suns won their last game of the year.

Cool stat.

My team's done that 3 years and counting.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Originally posted by Brian in Mesa
Cool stat.

My team's done that 3 years and counting.

Go away

Mike

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Originally posted by Chandler Mike
Go away

Mike

Update the line under your name.

 

[cly2tw]

Smallball, full-court pressure may work for extended period or even games. But it's tiring, wearing the players down. So, the team as a whole is unlikely to last long in the playoffs.

I hope they will come back to regular ball next season. Actually, I always thought that not playing Big Jake was to drive down his value for contract extension in the offseason. I am optimistic once they have him extended, they will play him 20 up min. Sure it'd be helpful to get a real coach like Silas.

I expect Amare, JJ, CJ all will make great progress in the offseason. Marion has good value to be trade bait. His defense, steals, rebounding are all great. But his shortcomings are also apparent. He has no good body control or finger touches on his drives to the basket. He needs too much space to get his shots off. That's just not there in the playoffs. Unless Amare becomes Barkley-Kemp-Duncan-like dominant real soon to create space for him like the likes of Ginobili, St. Jackson, Bowen get from Duncan, Marion's offensive value in the playoffs is limited.

Penny has been great for us. He's got some trade value too. But I don't mind keeping him around, particularly if he gets stronger in the offseason with his knees. Also, with him starting, there is less pressure on JJ.

The future is bright.

 

[JS22]

I just got home. Well, what a load of **** that game was. The suns blew an 11 point lead in the third and i'll say it: the officiating SUCKED.

Im too mad to rant tonight.

PS: Its official...0-7 when I attend.

 

[JS22]

Can't wait till next year and WASTEDFATE - wherever you are, you better go into hiding- csue i'm coming after your ass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ill never hide!


The future does look bright though for this team. With an ounce of respect from the officials they might have a shot next year. It should NOT be that way. The NBA is corrupt. (Im not talking david stern conspiracy theory...im talking officials siding with a team, and not officiating the game FAIRLY for both teams. Its a joke really. And a shame. A damn shame.)

 

[PhiLLmattiC]

I would hate to see anyone get traded on this team. Everyone looks happy (except for maybe Gugliotta) and theres just so much chemistry. With a few months off the coaches can make some adjustments and comeback with new offensive and defensive strategy. If Amare gets a whole lot better over the summer I'd consider making him the second option or even the first and moving marion over to the third option. Marion just can't create many shots on his own other than taht he's a great player to have.

 

[jbeecham]

I just got home from the game. I didn't think the officiating was that bad in the 1st half. In the 2nd half it started going downhill once we got up by 11. Duncan didn't have a foul called on him until about the halfway point of the 4th qtr........that's simply Shaqeusqe. The Spurs had 31 ft's to the Suns 16. A lot of those came in that 3rd qtr. Still the Suns had chances to maintain their lead and couldn't hit shots and they also had chances to come back and started hoisting up 3's with 3 minutes to go in the game. If they had simply kept attacking they might have won the game.

 

[Chaplin]

I think it is ridiculous and idiotic how much criticism Shawn Marion is garnering. We've been hearing it for weeks how Shawn Marion will be our trade bait. Who are we going to get for him? A big center who can rebound? Sorry, those are more valuable than an athletic small forward. Maybe a monster power forward? Gee, want small ball, then do that, since Amare would most likely move to center if that happens.

Maybe people should get out of their fantasy world and look at FACTS.

1) Shawn Marion is an All-Star. He has to work on his driving to the basket, but there are reasons for his problems. One is Bruce Bowen. The second is that he doesn't have the ball handling ability to make athletic drives. He's not going anywhere because we won't be able to get something in return that's better. Shawn Marion is a great player. Period. But if we traded him, we might not even get a player of his equal, let alone better.

2) Penny is extremely valuable to this team, but his contract is crippling. You wanna know how we become contenders? It's not by signing Jeff Van Gundy or drafting Zarko. It's by Penny and Googs restructuring and using the extra money to get a decent player. But that will never happen, so what you see is what you get.

3) The outcome of this series depended on one single thing. Just one. And that is the monster pick (and borderline illegal) that Malik Rose threw on Stephon Marbury in Game 4. If that hadn't have happened, we would have won not only Game 6, but Game 5 as well. We'd be sitting here saying how we took it to San Antonio.

This isn't Fantasy Island here. This is a team that is going to be called overachievers, but they aren't. They have a lot of heart, and are the most exciting Suns team we've had since 93. But a lot of Suns fans wear rose-colored glasses. Would Big Jake have helped? Would we have a better chance if Joe Johnson used his 4th quarter aggression throughout an entire game? What about the officiating? We'll never know the answers to these questions, but we had a damn good run, and since they instituted the 16-team playoff system, we had the 3rd best record all-time of any 8th seed.

So bitch and moan and get it out of your system. But we have the draft to talk about now!

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

right on chap

people tend to get frustrated and let their emotions go crazy if someone had an off game. I didnt get to see the last 2 games because of work, but even if Shawn wasnt all there, he still was as you said an allstar. He will be a BYC for a year or two anyways. He is only in his 4th season. He has gotton better every year. He is one of the best parts of this team.

Andy

 

[sly fly]

That's pretty sad to blame it on Joe Johnson...

Before I get to this statement, I'd just like to say that the crowd was simply amazing. I can barely talk and my friends can barely talk. We heckled the Spurs bench non-stop. We were only a few rows away, yet I doubt they heard us because of the crowd noise. Good job, fans.

Joe Johnson has the tools downstairs. He's not ready to be in the spotlight, yet. Give him 4 years and he'll probably bury these demons. But, tonight... he was one of the main reasons we lost. Not the only reason. But, one of the MAJOR reasons. You can't turn the ball over time after time and expect to come out ahead. Joe Johnson did that... and missed key jumper after key jumper. I truly feel sorry for the guy, because it's not like he wasn't playing hard.

What a frustrating game. Up by 11 in the 3rd. And, then settling for jumper after missed jumper. The noose was there. But, the experience wasn't.

This team is almost there. A couple players away. Who could help them get over the hump? I'm not sure. You build around Stoudemire. And, hope Marbury regains his swagger (which he will). Marion (like cheesebeef said) could be the bait that lands us the final piece. We'll know more after seeing Amare progress over the next couple years.

Enough ranting. I'm pissed, tired, and dreading waking up early tomorrow.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by sly fly


Marion (like cheesebeef said) could be the bait that lands us the final piece.

What exactly are all you guys who are pushing this expecting? What "final piece" do you think Marion will get us? Anything we need is something just about every other team needs as well. Which team needs an athletic small forward who has a slight fear of contact? And does that particular team have something that is worth Marion to us?

The answer is, simply, nobody. Outside of Cleveland trading us the #1 pick, there is no reasonable and realistic scenario for a trade of Shawn Marion. Period.

 

[sly fly]

I actually admire Marion. Plays hard all the time, athletic, long, etc.

Somethings missing. He had the opportunity to step up and be the man. Especially in the 4th quarter (when they needed him most). He had open jumpers, but failed. The rest of the series went much of the same way. ABUSED on defense. Sporadic jumpers. Often disappeared for stretches. Is this the guy we're going to see for the next 5 years? Or, is there room for improvement?

You don't go out and shop Shawn Marion. But, you definitely don't build around him.

Would you trade Marion for the 3rd pick in the draft? 2nd?

I'm all for stability. Let's give this thing a chance and see what we can come up with for the next couple years.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

marion was guarding rose and duncan......talk about mismatches. Rose has like 40 pounds on him. Duncan has like 5 inches.

why does everyone forget that this guy made the all star team in 4 years?? he should have technically made it in 3 years IMO. Brand And Stevie Franchise are the ONLY 2 players who are more conistant than Marion from the 99 draft class. And Brand hasnt made the allstar team yet.

He is arguably the 3rd best player from that class. Why would you trade the 3rd best player for a 2nd or 3rd pick that will have ? marks. Especially when you have to consider all the extra salaries that would need to be involved.

Lord, I cant understand how ridiculous some of you are about this. He is 24 freaking years old. He is very durable so far. He played the last 2 summers for US teams, he gets NO REST. He is a ******** all star in the western conference forward spot (The HARDEST spot to be an all star at). He is the ONLY player in the top 20 in scoring, and 10 in steals and boards. Hell, he finished number 2 in steals I think. He gets significantly better at one aspect at least every season so far.

Seriously, I guess some people just have a hard time focussing on the whole picture instead of acting on impulses. Thank god none of us will ever be in charge of a franchise, we would see a trade every week!

 

[cly2tw]

Marion is an allstar, and a deserving one at that. I am actually positively surprised by the progress he made this season. But also true is that he is a complementary player, though maybe the best at that. He needs someone else to create space for him to be playing at his best. Being a complementary player, he is easier to replace, particularly at the max money. This is all I wanted to say.

Depending on Marbury's health and Amare's progress, we may still be able to get deep into the playoffs without much changes to this roster. But I honestly think we could achieve the same with lesser players, say a combo of Stephen Jackson and D. Marshall, instead of Marion. But I wouldn't mind if there were no big roster change going into next season.

 

[sunsfn]

Talking about getting rid of Marion is just unbelievable!!!!!!

Those of you that are saying that must not have watched much NBA basketball!!
This guy is one of the best players in the NBA!
For some reason people always think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence...........some of you will probably not know what I mean by that.............(you 15 year olds!)
Marion is going to get even better....

Joe Johnson is going to be a very good player,,,,,,,,he is only a 2nd year guy give him another couple years.

With Marion, JJ, Amare, Marbury, big Jake, little Jake, the suns have a lot to look forward to.

They have to get a center who can give them a presence in the middle. I thought big Jake would do that. FJ did not play him against the spurs and I think that was a big mistake. He blocks the middle and when Rose was making all those plays in the middle I guarantee you that big Jake would not have let him do that. Big Jake also takes the pressure off the others because someone has to guard him and put a body on him all the time when he gets close to the basket, and that frees up Amare, Marion and the others.
I hope the only reason he did not play is because of his back operation?

Do not forget that this is a young team,

Amare rookie 20 years old,
JJ 2 years 20 years old,
Marion 4 years 24 years old,
Big Jake 3 years 23 years old,
((when they drafted big Jake I knew it would take 4 years for him to produce as a starting center should)) big guys just take longer.
Little Jake 3 years 25 years old,
CJ rookie 22 years old,
Marbury 26 years old.

They will get a decent player this year in the draft, and will be able to sign a free agent in another year after Googs contract is up. (probably mid level)

I really believe that in two years this team will have the talent and experience to go all the way!!

Last night proved that you need a back up point guard in case your starter gets hurt. In the playoffs you just can not have anybody but a point guard bringing the ball up.
However, with another year of experience JJ may be able to do that.

The comment by Chaplin about this team being fun to watch is certainly true! The last years have not been fun at all.

NOW ON TO THE DRAFT!!