Gentry has the team in a downward spiral

[AfroSuns]

The first reason that comes to mind is to showcase Barbs for a summer trade...but showcasing him versus sticking with the proven rotation during a playoff series would be........i'll let you fill in the blank.

I know many here have soured on Barbosa as of late,but i actually still feel that he has the skills to play an important role on a
championship-type team(this coming from a fan who can't stand players that are useless on defense). Unfortunately i doubt that the SUNS will ever be a defensive oriented elite team so maybe my point is moot.

I definately don't see Barbs as a sixth man on an elite team but he still causes matchup problems and his speed & offensive aggressiveness could be pretty valuable to an already talent-laden defensive oriented team.

There are a few other guys i'd rather not see on this roster next season than Barbosa. I could be wrong but IMO he's still coachable.....and i'm still all for more of a youth movement anyway but thats getting off the subject.

What type of situation do you think would most benefit Barbosa? An uptempo team with a familiar HC maybe?

I absolutely agree, I like Barbs and i have no doubt he will return to form and be a productive player in this league; either on the Suns or a different team. In this series, he is still the most productive off the bench, especially with Dudley and Frye struggling.

 

[dodie53]

i'm worried for Roy playing too early.

 

[Assface]

My biggest problem continues to be Barbs getting the minutes that Goran got. He's just so out of control/predictable...

Even if Barbosa had been playing better I'd still like to see Dragic getting those minutes because of the way he's been playing lately. Goran brings a lot more to the table than LB does.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Even if Barbosa had been playing better I'd still like to see Dragic getting those minutes because of the way he's been playing lately. Goran brings a lot more to the table than LB does.

agreed. the offense actually had a flow with Goran and Grant on the court together.

 

[SirStefan32]

agreed. the offense actually had a flow with Goran and Grant on the court together.

Exactly. Not to mention that Dragic is actually a good defender, probably better than Nash and Barbosa put together.

 

[Errntknght]

LOL at this thread title.

How is this for being specific in response to your initial post? You are being way overdramatic and it takes away the validity of any opinion you may have, no matter how true.

A thread title such as "Why isn't Gentry playing the bench more" would probably inspire more discourse and less laughter at the over all tenor of your message.

And for the record, I disagree with your premise as well. The benefit to Gentry using his bench all regular season was to keep the good players and eventual Hall of Famers, rested for this very time.

I want to see Dragic and Admunson get 20+ minutes of playoff basketball like I want a hole in the head. Nash should be playing the majority of the game and the only time he should come out is when he needs a rest.

You're probably right that a less provacative title would have produced more discussion though it hasn't done too badly. On the other hand, IF my opinion that Gentry is has the team in a downward spiral is true, then the title cannot be 'way overdramatic'.

I couldn't agree less with you about the way to play Nash. To me its been proven repeatably that Steve does not finish strong when he playing past about 32 minutes so you plan his substitutions so he doesn't have to do it. If his backup is having a poor game, you live with it. The last thing you do is yank his backup out, which undermines his confidence and thereby increases the chances he plays poorly the next time, creating a downward spiral.

If you've been using a Nash limiting strategy successfully, you have to be a little bit wobbly above the shoulders to go away from it, IMO.

 

[cly2tw]

Downward spiral is the proper description indeed. As EKnght put it, confidence is the thing that gets undermined with Gentry not trusting bench through occational less productive stretches, which in this series were not as much as some posters made it be. I know Nash has some back issues behind his play time pattern, but is that really necessary that he plays the full 1st and 3rd quarters? Why can't we just play the 1st 8 min. in 1st and 3rd q. and see how it goes? If bench were bad early on, we'd have plenty of time to correct the problem. Also, why always Nash on the court to close the 1st half?

LB has been disruptive of our offensive flow. Instruct him to give it to Goran or Amare whenever they demand it. We have good plays with catching the ball after screens etc., but they all go dead once LB has the ball early in the clock.

 

[Cheesebeef]

really, in our hearts, we all know none of this matters in this series because we're going to win and we all KNOW why.It's not the playoffs unless we lose to the Spurs... which looks like we're all set up to do... with homecourt advantage... again.

I know this. When we do advance, I'm laying HUGE money on us to lose Game 1 v. SA. You know we'll be favored and you know we can't beat them in a Game 1 to save our lives... and if we win... YAY! Worth whatever i'd lose. At least that way I'll get SOMETHING out of a damn Game 1 against that team.

 

[Cheesebeef]

LB has been disruptive of our offensive flow. Instruct him to give it to Goran or Amare whenever they demand it. We have good plays with catching the ball after screens etc., but they all go dead once LB has the ball early in the clock.

agreed. Leo should be a shooter on the wing and that's pretty much it. Why Goran has abdicated play-making duties or been told to do so with Barbs is on the court is beyond me.