Memphis Grizzles @ Phoenix Suns 2-2-2015

[slinslin]

He had 21/8/7/4/2 and shot better than 50%. He should be the last to take the blame for the loss really (Dragic 4 turnovers, Tucker+Morris combined 6 rebounds) but props to him anyway.

And the first possession of the game counts for as many points as the last.

 

[sunsfan88]

I think Hornacek deserves more blame for the loss by not having Tucker, Len or Wright in the game in crunch time. This loss is on him more than anyone else.

 

[elindholm]

And the first possession of the game counts for as many points as the last.

Believe it or not, that isn't true.

Not all games are decided by a single point. If the game is decided by a wider margin, then each possession counts that much less: A team that wins 120-100 would still have won even if they had gotten value out of only 90% of the possessions that they did.

When a game is starting, there's no way to know how close the final score will be. So to accurately assess how much the first possession counts, you'd have to weigh it by the range of all possible score spread outcomes. Statistically, then, first possessions are devalued by those cases in which the eventual score margin is large.

For final possessions, there is much less uncertainty about how much it counts. Of course if the game is a blowout, it makes no difference at all what happens in the last 30 seconds of garbage time. So final possessions are not more valuable in general than opening ones, but in games that prove to be close, the known value of a final possession as it is happening is greater than the projected value that the opening possession had in the same game.

 

[BC867]

Its sad and pathetic that fans who aren't qualified in any type of way can see things so clearly and yet HCs who are paid millions can't.

But it goes deeper than that. What we are saying about the Suns now is the same as was said back in the '70's and '80's.

Even though the city of Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun metropolitan area have grown, we still act as small market teams.

If you can't become stronger than your opponents to fill the arenas and please the TV and radio sponsors, be flashier.

Ironically, the only Valley team that has broken through with continued success is the Suns' sister team, the Phoenix Mercury.

Year after year, they are among the elite of the WNBA. I was hoping that Ann Meyers Drysdale being named a Suns VP as well as Mercury VP would have some effect.

But it just gets worse. The Suns four best players are three pseudo Point Guards and a light playing Power Forward.

It is clear now why the Suns hired Jeff Hornacek. He has proven that he is comfortable with the concept.

 

[sunsfan88]

But it goes deeper than that. What we are saying about the Suns now is the same as was said back in the '70's and '80's.

Even though the city of Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun metropolitan area have grown, we still act as small market teams.

If you can't become stronger than your opponents to fill the arenas and please the TV and radio sponsors, be flashier.

Ironically, the only Valley team that has broken through with continued success is the Suns' sister team, the Phoenix Mercury.

Year after year, they are among the elite of the WNBA. I was hoping that Ann Meyers Drysdale being named a Suns VP as well as Mercury VP would have some effect.

But it just gets worse. The Suns four best players are three pseudo Point Guards and a light playing Power Forward.

It is clear now why the Suns hired Jeff Hornacek. He has proven that he is comfortable with the concept.

Main good thing right now is that the Suns attendance sucks. So many empty seats in every game.

This will certainly hit Sarver and he will realize that his fantasy of building a team around offense only with a 3 midget guard system won't work in terms of success and in terms of ticket sales $$.

Sarver has proven time and time again that he won't change it up unless it hits his bank account hard. Right now, I do believe that Sarver's bank account is being hit...tbd if its hard enough.

 

[Errntknght]

There's a surprising general unanimity amongst the lot of us in here right now. We have somewhat different views of what we should do to fix things but the overall thrust is the same and we all find the situation rather depressing - despite the fact that we have improved quite rapidly since the dark days of... heck, I can't even remember their names now.

I don't mind admitting I was over the moon when Sarver chose McDonough and he picked Hornacek to be the head coach. Coming from the Celts, McD would know how to put together a team that could thrive in playoff basketball and Jeff would certainly know everything about the X&Os - and he'd infuse the toughness of Jerry Sloan's teams. I could envision it all unfolding like it was destined to happen. Geez, wrong on every count!

 

[AzStevenCal]

There's a surprising general unanimity amongst the lot of us in here right now. We have somewhat different views of what we should do to fix things but the overall thrust is the same and we all find the situation rather depressing - despite the fact that we have improved quite rapidly since the dark days of... heck, I can't even remember their names now.

I don't mind admitting I was over the moon when Sarver chose McDonough and he picked Hornacek to be the head coach. Coming from the Celts, McD would know how to put together a team that could thrive in playoff basketball and Jeff would certainly know everything about the X&Os - and he'd infuse the toughness of Jerry Sloan's teams. I could envision it all unfolding like it was destined to happen. Geez, wrong on every count!

I was wrong on many counts too but I'm not depressed about our situation. About the only thing that has really shocked me though is how poorly Marcus has played. I expected him to take a step forward like Markieff did and IMO he's taken a huge step backwards. He'd be okay as a role player but he seems to think he's far more than that and that coupled with his sudden disinterest in defense makes him a huge liability.

But I'm still excited about our potential in the future. I don't know whether I like Jeff as a coach yet or not but I see more reason to believe in him that to doubt him. It takes time for a team to come together and we're just not there yet. But in the interim, we're not a bad team and we show glimpses of what we could be. And the best part is that those positive glimpses are at both ends of the court. Overall we haven't played great defense or anywhere near it but we've played great defense for stretches, better D than I've seen in many years as a Suns fan.

Steve

 

[Sunburn]

Can't play micro ball against the Grizz starting bigs. They're too good. Alex Len makes a positive impact pretty much whenever I see him in the game. For God sakes, play him.

 

[sunsfan88]

Can't play micro ball against the Grizz starting bigs. They're too good. Alex Len makes a positive impact pretty much whenever I see him in the game. For God sakes, play him.

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