Game Watch for Saturday

[slinslin]

Philly up 77-74 against Memphis - Go Philly, they need to stay infront of New York and Memphis isn't totally out of reach for us.


Wolves vs. Rockets - Go Wolves , playoffs on the line

Raptors vs. Hawks - Go Raptors , Knicks pick on the line

Sonics vs. Wizards - Go Wizards , playoffs on the line

Pacers vs. Nets - Beat Jason, Go Pacers

Magic vs. Hornets - Go Hornets Knicks pick on the line

Knicks vs. Bulls - GO BULLS , Knicks pick on the line

Pistons vs Bucks - Go Bucks , Knicks pick on the line

Jazz vs Cavs - Go CAVS , playoffs and the Cavs pick on the line

Mavs vs Blazers - Go Mavs, but hopefully 2 OT or sth

Lakers vs Clippers - Go Lakers , playoffs on the line

 

[slinslin]

Grizzlies won

 

[hcsilla]

Do you mean that Suns still have a chance for the play-off?

 

[slinslin]

If Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion continue to play like they did in the last games? Yes there is an oustide chance.

 

[hcsilla]

Come on.

 

[George O'Brien]

Right now, the Suns are 14-26:
Currently, there are 10 teams above 500 and three more teams
above the Suns that are below 500:

Clippers 16-20
Blazers 16-21
Warriors 16-23
Sonics 19-18
Grizzlies 20-18

Playoff Teams

Jazz 21-17
Nuggets 23-18
Rockets 22-16
Mavs 26-15
Spurs 26-14
Lakers 24-12
Wolves 26-11
Kings 28-9

The Jazz have some injury problems and may get caught. None of the other teams that are out of the playoffs are doing especially well, so it is not impossible the Sunc could pass them. But the odds are against them.

 

[slinslin]

Houston is also winning tonight.

Damn.

 

[Joe Mama]

Let's not get ahead ourselves here. The Phoenix Suns are not going to make the playoffs. They played too nice games against struggling opponents who were playing without a couple of their best players. Against a team that could hit an open jump shot the Phoenix Suns would still get killed defensively.

They look better, but they aren't going to contend for a playoff spot.

Joe Mama

 

[devilalum]

The Suns would have to go at least 30-12 the rest of the way to have even an outside shot.

Basically they would have to match what the Kings have done in the first half.

I would be very happy if the Suns could go 22-20 the rest of the way.

 

[JCSunsfan]

We're in the 2004-5 preseason early.

Our goals for the rest of the year are to learn how to play together, develop effective offensive and defensive schemes, get young players experience, and get a good look at all of our personnel so we make smart choices in the off-season.

If, in doing those things, we amazingly make the playoffs, fine.

If we were to make the playoffs without doing those things--the season is a failure.

 

[slinslin]

Seattle seems like they are falling apart. They lost 3 in a row to Cleveland , Golden State and New York.

They are losing against the Wizards right now.

Utah plays without Harpring for the rest of the season.


Memphis isn't playing great really.

42 wins might be enough for the 8th seed.

26-16 could be enough to make the playoffs and we have the hardest part of the schedule behind us already.

 

[devilalum]

Originally posted by slinslin
Seattle seems like they are falling apart. They lost 3 in a row to Cleveland , Golden State and New York.

They are losing against the Wizards right now.

Utah plays without Harpring for the rest of the season.


Memphis isn't playing great really.

42 wins might be enough for the 8th seed.

26-16 could be enough to make the playoffs and we have the hardest part of the schedule behind us already.

They'd need 28-14 to get 42 wins

 

[slinslin]

Cavs lose the 2nd quarter 5-20 against the Jazz...

 

[slinslin]

Great. Just what we need, the Bulls choking against the Knicks.

 

[Errntknght]

JCSunsfan, "Our goals for the rest of the year are to learn how to play together, develop effective offensive and defensive schemes, get young players experience, and get a good look at all of our personnel so we make smart choices in the off-season."

I couldn't agree more. There are some signs this is the plan. How much playing time Lampe gets will be the litmus test... it would be great to be able to judge how hard we have to pursue another center...

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Errntknght
JCSunsfan, "Our goals for the rest of the year are to learn how to play together, develop effective offensive and defensive schemes, get young players experience, and get a good look at all of our personnel so we make smart choices in the off-season."

I couldn't agree more. There are some signs this is the plan. How much playing time Lampe gets will be the litmus test... it would be great to be able to judge how hard we have to pursue another center...

There are a lot of other questions to be answered:

Is JJ "the man" - first option offense and crunch time player? He could still be very good and not get to that level.

Is Casey going to be a part of the Suns long range plans? Right now his game has too many holes and his shooting is inconsistent. If he does not develop, then finding a backup SG will be a big part of their planning.

Is Barbosa going to become a first rate PG? He is so young and makes so many mistakes, it is hard to tell. Therre is little doubt that he is a player, but at PG or SG?

Is Harvey a keeper? So far he has looked pretty good, but he is still pretty young and his game is limited. If he is a keeper, the Suns will need to lock him to more than a one year contract.

What will Carbakapa's role be? He had 8 rebounds against the Warriors and played about 10 minutes at #5. If Zarko can develop as a backup center, then he makes Voskuhl expendible as part of a trade. If not, then Voskuhl is untouchable.

Will Marion return to his All-Star level of performance? If not, Cabakapa may see significant minutes at the #3 slot in future years.

Can White ever become more than just a minimal role player? Right now he is too slow and his ball handling is awful. Unless the Suns off load him in cap deal, they will get a chance to see if he would be worth having after his contract expires.

Is Eisley a total stiff? So far his performance has been poor, but he has not had much time to learn what he is doing. If Eisley could get back to the level he was at Utah, he might have some trade value in certain kinds of trades. If not, the Suns may be forced to waste a draft pick to get rid of him so the Suns can sign Vujanic.