Mavs at Suns 8:30 TNT

[devilalum]

indeed we have played our last game Shaqless!

the new era begins next week!!!

GO SUNS!!!

Wrong! This will not be our last "Shaqless" game but hopefully he will play after the break.

 

[Yuma]

Why didn't Skinner play tonight?

I thought he did get in tonight. He didn't?

 

[TJ]

I thought he did get in tonight. He didn't?

Nope Marks played instead

 

[Proteus]

Haha...Steve, Raja, and LB all outrebounded Amare.

 

[dodie53]

yeah,
i didn't see Skinner too.

 

[Yuma]

Nope Marks played instead

Yeah, the box score has Skinner listed as DNP. Maybe a trade with Skinner involved, so they had to keep him from playing? LOL!

 

[dodie53]

Haha...Steve, Raja, and LB all outrebounded Amare.

that's called gang rebounding.
Amare was busy boxing out.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Why didn't Skinner play tonight?

I was wondering this as well. He is the perfect matchup when dampier is in, and that lets amare torture Dirk. wtf etc

 

[dodie53]

maybe Skinner is nursing an injury or something?

 

[Sovereignz]

Amare could have done better on the boards but he WAS making a concerted effort to box out Dampier, but he is seriously overmatched. Shaq may not put up as many boards per game as Marion did but I guarantee you will we go from being the worst (or 2nd worst) rebounding team in the league to at least average with Shaq in there. He just takes up so much space, no way guys like Damp and Bass are going to be able to camp out right underneath the basket every possession like they did tonight with the Diesel down there.

And BORIS FREAKING DIAW, is this a return to form? God I hope so. He's such an incredible talent when he has his head in the game.

 

[Yuma]

I was wondering this as well. He is the perfect matchup when dampier is in, and that lets amare torture Dirk. wtf etc

We're trading Skinner! LOL!

 

[Mainstreet]

Why didn't Skinner play tonight?

Maybe the Suns just wanted to keep the game more uptempo as much as possible, however, I did think it strange Skinner did not get any minutes while Dampier was in the game. What a nice game by Diaw.

 

[mojorizen7]

Amare could have done better on the boards but he WAS making a concerted effort to box out Dampier, but he is seriously overmatched. Shaq may not put up as many boards per game as Marion did but I guarantee you will we go from being the worst (or 2nd worst) rebounding team in the league to at least average with Shaq in there. He just takes up so much space, no way guys like Damp and Bass are going to be able to camp out right underneath the basket every possession like they did tonight with the Diesel down there.

And BORIS FREAKING DIAW, is this a return to form? God I hope so. He's such an incredible talent when he has his head in the game.

Maybe the chemistry issues involved Marion calling Boris names in the locker-room.
"Doris?....knowhatimsayin.....you a puss....yaknowhatimsayinman...yougotootshootheballknowhatimean?.......it's like.....youknow....dosomethin'.....shoot...i meancomeon.....youknowhati'sayin?

 

[JS22]

Asu just beat Stanford in ot 72-68 huge win for the devils, come on suns make it a perfect night

nice!

 

[bigfoot]

We won the last game before the All-Star break and will win the last game of the year, too! Let's do it SUNS!!!

 

[GorrilaLips]

way to go suns!

I love how Dirk dribbles the ball all high and flops around....he's always on the ground complaining to the ref.

 

[Folster]

Thank you Steve Kerr.

After tonight's game I have to give Steve Kerr accolades for pulling the trigger and acquiring Shaq. He recognized that the Suns or any team for that matter could not realistically compete for a title while getting killed on the offensive boards. I was sickened tonight watching Dallas get second and third chances at the hoop. Dallas had 20 offensive rebounds which led to them getting 18 more field goal attempts! Take away those extra attempts and the game isn't even close.

Kerr also realized that the Suns relied too heavily on Nash and perimeter shooting at the end of games. Both of these deficiencies would have surely added up to yet another huge playoff disappointment laden with the usual round of tired excuses.

While the Shaq trade may not win us the title, it at least tries to address the fatal flaws that have haunted this team. There will be no more bitching about how the game bogs down in the playoffs and how the refs officiate differently. Even without Shaq playing a single game yet, I can confidently say that we are now built for the playoffs.

Hold on Kerr. I know you have watched the last few games and have witnessed our inability to guard the opposing team's guards. We have absolutely no answer for players like Chris Paul, Baron Davis, Monta Ellis or Jason Terry as they score at will on us. Please Marion fans, spare us the response that he was the guy who effectively guarded the aforementioned players. That is a fallacy. Check the stats because we have always been lit up by the likes of Tony Parker, Jason Terry, Monta Ellis and others. Please address this problem as well Kerr.

 

[BirdMan21]

After tonight's game I have to give Steve Kerr accolades for pulling the trigger and acquiring Shaq. He recognized that the Suns or any team for that matter could not realistically compete for a title while getting killed on the offensive boards. I was sickened tonight watching Dallas get second and third chances at the hoop. Dallas had 20 offensive rebounds which led to them getting 18 more field goal attempts! Take away those extra attempts and the game isn't even close.

Kerr also realized that the Suns relied too heavily on Nash and perimeter shooting at the end of games. Both of these deficiencies would have surely added up to yet another huge playoff disappointment laden with the usual round of tired excuses.

While the Shaq trade may not win us the title, it at least tries to address the fatal flaws that have haunted this team. There will be no more bitching about how the game bogs down in the playoffs and how the refs officiate differently. Even without Shaq playing a single game yet, I can confidently say that we are now built for the playoffs.

Hold on Kerr. I know you have watched the last few games and have witnessed our inability to guard the opposing team's guards. We have absolutely no answer for players like Chris Paul, Baron Davis, Monta Ellis or Jason Terry as they score at will on us. Please Marion fans, spare us the response that he was the guy who effectively guarded the aforementioned players. That is a fallacy. Check the stats because we have always been lit up by the likes of Tony Parker, Jason Terry, Monta Ellis and others. Please address this problem as well Kerr.

Agree 100%, very good post

 

[green machine]

Hold on Kerr. I know you have watched the last few games and have witnessed our inability to guard the opposing team's guards. We have absolutely no answer for players like Chris Paul, Baron Davis, Monta Ellis or Jason Terry as they score at will on us. Please Marion fans, spare us the response that he was the guy who effectively guarded the aforementioned players. That is a fallacy. Check the stats because we have always been lit up by the likes of Tony Parker, Jason Terry, Monta Ellis and others. Please address this problem as well Kerr.

Those guys are great because it is virtually impossible to stop them.

 

[Folster]

Those guys are great because it is virtually impossible to stop them.

True, we can't stop them, but we could at least slow them down and not allow them season or career highs.

 

[AceP]

Skinner sit out this game because of flu!

There is no reason to suspect a trade on him at all ...

 

[Griffin]

Good win before the all-star break. And also because it was a perfect example of the flaws of the pre-Shaq Suns. The Suns won despite getting killed on the boards yet again, but they were forced to shoot the ball much better than the Mavs to overcome the rebounding disparity. Winning must come easier than this. Now we wait to see what Shaq will bring.

 

[BeeBeard]

After tonight's game I have to give Steve Kerr accolades for pulling the trigger and acquiring Shaq. He recognized that the Suns or any team for that matter could not realistically compete for a title while getting killed on the offensive boards. I was sickened tonight watching Dallas get second and third chances at the hoop. Dallas had 20 offensive rebounds which led to them getting 18 more field goal attempts! Take away those extra attempts and the game isn't even close.

When soft players like Eric Dampier and Dirk Nowitzski are still able to throw some muscle around in the paint to grab a combined NINE offensive rebounds, on a team that had a combined TWENTY offensive rebounds, then you know there's a serious problem. Amare was great on the offensive end (as always) but was getting bullied out of rebounding position (as always) on the defensive end. Kerr has a keen basketball eye and realizes that the team needs a dominant, rebounding bruiser to put an end to that nonsense. Just think: If you put a legitimate big man in the middle to grab defensive rebounds, the problem vanishes.

We have absolutely no answer for players like Chris Paul, Baron Davis, Monta Ellis or Jason Terry as they score at will on us. Please Marion fans, spare us the response that he was the guy who effectively guarded the aforementioned players. That is a fallacy. Check the stats because we have always been lit up by the likes of Tony Parker, Jason Terry, Monta Ellis and others. Please address this problem as well Kerr.

In fairness, I don't think the rest of the league has answers to the likes of Chris Paul or Baron Davis. But Monta Ellis and Jason Terry are just streak scorers. The former came into the league barely able to jump, worked on it, and now has Olympic-class hops (40+ inch vertical). It's turned him into a great finisher, but I would still expect him to disappear when the Warriors need him most, just like he did in last year's playoffs (averaging a paltry 8.0 ppg). The same "invisible man" issue applies to Terry, who tends to miss big shots in the playoffs more often than not (28% from 3 point land during last year's playoffs). So don't worry about those two...yet.

Kerr could try to bring in another perimeter defender to help Bell stop guys like that, but the best ones (James Posey, Bruce Bowen, Eddie Jones, etc.) are sort of already taken. It was suggested in TNT commentary in last night's game that the Suns needed another SF behind Hill--and preferably a lockdown defender and garbage man rather than another scorer. What do you think of that?

 

[JCSunsfan]

Amare is a poor position rebounder. Just watch him. Part of the problem is that he is constantly trying to block shots from the weak side. This usually means he leaves his man and surrenders position.

Blocked shots are the most overblown stat in this league and often blocked shots means someone is playing poor position defense. There are exceptions, Hakeem, Mutombo and others were able to block shots straight up, without surrendering position.

Amare has to learn this.

 

[BeeBeard]

Amare is a poor position rebounder. Just watch him. Part of the problem is that he is constantly trying to block shots from the weak side. This usually means he leaves his man and surrenders position.

Blocked shots are the most overblown stat in this league and often blocked shots means someone is playing poor position defense. There are exceptions, Hakeem, Mutombo and others were able to block shots straight up, without surrendering position.

Amare has to learn this.

Agreed, he's overworked in the middle. Once he moves to the 4, it will be easier for him to focus on defending and boxing out his own man, rather than trying to block or change the shot of every guard who comes into the paint.