Game Thread: Suns vs. Spurs

[matt_whitlock]

Well, get used to what you just saw.

We're gonna be seeing a lot of it this year.

 

[Pimpin]

Googs got abused by a 6ft1 scrub

Nice going Tommy!

 

[Chaplin]

Officials should be fined. Thousands.

 

[Pimpin]

Well the refs got the outcome that they wanted.

 

[Wally]

Damm!

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by matt_whitlock
Well, get used to what you just saw.

We're gonna be seeing a lot of it this year.

 

[carey]

Crap.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Crap - we had our opportunities there at the end - Marbs forced that last one - damnit. This team needs big men - badly. Tom Gugliotta shouldn't get to see the court and if we have to trade Brevin (who I have never been impressed with) - then do it.

 

[DevonCardsFan]

Horrible last minute!!! Ugly ass game Marbury ballhogged last possesion

 

[matt_whitlock]

You know I don't care how much everybody feels like Joe Johnson is the savior of the franchise. The guy is worthless, and every minute we take away from Penny, an established veteran who has proven time and again that he can help this team, is a minute that this team loses in its quest to be the best team it can be.

I'm glad the guy can shoot 30% from the field and barely manage to average 20 points a game against high school all-stars in the preseason, but it doesn't translate to real NBA basketball. It didn't last year, and it won't this year.

But look on the bright side. If Joe plays like this for another 3 games, we can expect an okay game from him after that. Sure, we'll have to then wait another 4 games for him to have another more-than-mediocre game after that, but if the Suns are getting losses, apparently it's worth it.

 

[green machine]

Tough game. Googs is a waste of space, at this point I'd cut him. Refs took our big guys out of the game, but there is no way we should have let this slip away. How come when Marbs was hot early on he took only 2 shots in the second quarter?

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by DevonCardsFan
Horrible last minute!!! Ugly ass game Marbury ballhogged last possesion

Come on Devon, that's a load. If you had to choose any player to take the last shot to win a game, who do you pick?

Personally, I think that's a no-brainer, you pick Stephon Marbury. Sometimes it falls, sometimes it doesn't. In a season of 82 games, we're 0-1. Whenever we start a season against Denver, that's our record going into the second game anyway, so what's the big deal?

 

[sly fly]

Total BS. Are you happy, Stern? Popovich (while a good coach), is a whiny, freakin a-hole.

Amare & JJ cost this team tonight. Neither lived up to off-season expectations. Granted, it's a long year... but I thought all we heard about was the progress of these two.

I'm pissed.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by matt_whitlock
You know I don't care how much everybody feels like Joe Johnson is the savior of the franchise. The guy is worthless, and every minute we take away from Penny, an established veteran who has proven time and again that he can help this team, is a minute that this team loses in its quest to be the best team it can be.

I'm glad the guy can shoot 30% from the field and barely manage to average 20 points a game against high school all-stars in the preseason, but it doesn't translate to real NBA basketball. It didn't last year, and it won't this year.

But look on the bright side. If Joe plays like this for another 3 games, we can expect an okay game from him after that. Sure, we'll have to then wait another 4 games for him to have another more-than-mediocre game after that, but if the Suns are getting losses, apparently it's worth it.

Dude, I have no idea what you are talking about. Can you quote anyone saying that Joe Johnson is a savior for the franchise?

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by sly fly
Total BS. Are you happy, Stern? Popovich (while a good coach), is a whiny, freakin a-hole.

Amare & JJ cost this team tonight. Neither lived up to off-season expectations. Granted, it's a long year... but I thought all we heard about was the progress of these two.

I'm pissed.

Calm down sly. We're 0-1 with 81 games remaining. Chill.

 

[sly fly]

Marbs shot was there. At least it wasn't short.

Damn, that ball had a chance.

Merry X-Mas, Anthony Carter. You absolutely suck. You couldn't even start on my league team.

 

[matt_whitlock]

Well the refs got the outcome that they wanted.

If by that you mean "a horribly officiated game", then you're right on. But they were consistently bad. Sure, in the last minute they screwed the Suns about 4 times, culminating with the blatant travel by Anthony Carter at the top of the key that they missed, but they called some very questionable calls on the Spurs early in the quarter that got the Suns shooting free throws relatively early in the qurater.

By the way though, how many free throws did we shoot? Johnson was 2-20,000 from the field and free throw line combined, but other than that, I can't remember us shooting many ft's.

 

[DevonCardsFan]

Originally posted by Chaplin
Come on Devon, that's a load. If you had to choose any player to take the last shot to win a game, who do you pick?

Personally, I think that's a no-brainer, you pick Stephon Marbury. Sometimes it falls, sometimes it doesn't. In a season of 82 games, we're 0-1. Whenever we start a season against Denver, that's our record going into the second game anyway, so what's the big deal?

his 1st shot I agreed with but his 2ndon the last possesion was rushed still had sometimeon the clock

 

[DevonCardsFan]

Googs was such a non-factor just a guy taking upspace can't wait till he is off the roster next season

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Anyone think BC was on the phone with Ainge working out that Battie game??

 

[sly fly]

Originally posted by Chaplin
Calm down sly. We're 0-1 with 81 games remaining. Chill.

I hear ya'.

Still sucks, though.

PHX deserved to win.

 

[fordronken]

Originally posted by sly fly
I hear ya'.

Still sucks, though.

PHX deserved to win.

If you can't close out and rebound, or prevent Anthony Carter from hitting the game winner, you don't deserve to win.

 

[jbeecham]

The Spurs had the lead for a whole 48 seconds in the game and win. This game reminded me of exactly how last season ended. The Suns have to play 5 on 6 the entire game and still almost win. I knew once the Suns had a 16-2 lead that SA would start getting every little ticky-tack foul called for them and guess what.......they did. The Suns shot pretty bad and had some lapses of defense, but it's hard to keep any continuity when your best players have to keep leaving the game with foul trouble. I really would have liked to see Barbosa when Marbury got a breather (maybe he was still a little injured from his collision with Voshkul in practice).

Overall, it was a decent game by the Suns that they should of and could of won. Marion did his usual where he doesn't have any offense in the 1st half and comes on in the 2nd. Marbury did the exact opposite, which was a shame because he was on fire. I thought Zarko played pretty well for his first game. He had some rookie mistakes but overall I was impressed. I don't think he should have been in the game at crunch time but with all the fouls we really didn't have a choice. Googs is useless. Penny looked ok, except for that one ridiculous turnover where he jumped in the air and then threw the ball away to SA for a fastbreak layup.

 

[matt_whitlock]

Dude, I have no idea what you are talking about. Can you quote anyone saying that Joe Johnson is a savior for the franchise?

Nobody says that, it's just everybody nowadays is all "JJ, JJ, JJ!" as if we really need him. We don't. At least, if we do, it really doesn't make much difference because he's not going to do for us what people expect him to do. It's not the Suns' management's fault, it's not the fans fault, and hell it probably isn't Frank Johnson's fault; afterall, the first person to talk about Joe Johnson's incredible progress is Joe Johnson. If you can find me one interview where JJ is asked about his game in the last 2 years in which he doesn't talk himself up more a large amount, speaking of his vast improvements over the offseason, then.. well i'll be very surprised. People talk about Penny spouting off! Nobody really notices it because most people only notice the things that have already been pointed out to them. Somebody reads in the paper that Penny is a cancer, and suddenly they start to deduce every different way Penny hurts the team, like they're Sherlock Holmes. Joe Johnson is worse than Penny in his talks to the media. Just look for it.

The thing is, last year we had somewhat of a luxury at the 2guard spot, because we had Penny starting, but he didn't always play well. So when he didn't, Joe Johnson could go in and give it a shot. Frank Johnson was never hesitant about sitting Penny for half of the game to let JJ get some time. Tonight, however, JJ struggled and struggled and struggled, and Penny sat on the bench. He played less minutes in the second half than Casey Jacobsen. Casey Jacobsen! All the while JJ continued to miss shots, and continued to play 33 minutes, almost 3 times as many minutes as Penny.

Rediculous.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by fordronken
If you can't close out and rebound, or prevent Anthony Carter from hitting the game winner, you don't deserve to win.

That's another load.

I'm so sick of the mentality of so many fans. Yes, we all wish they would have made it, but to come out and say they didn't deserve to win after leading the entire game... To me, since the Spurs were behind the entire game, THEY deserved not to win.