Nets @ Suns Game Thread

[slinslin]

God is our offense terrible right now without Amare, bailed out on a horrible possession by a lucky 3 by Barbosa, then Nash takes another 3 on the next possession and misses.

That looked so stagnant, just 4 guys standing around on the 3pt line and passing the ball.

 

[Ronin]

The Good
Steve Nash
Amare Stoudemire
Robin Lopez

The Bad
9 bench points

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns need an energy boost on the roster. I agree with slinslin, the Suns look so stagnant after that early season winning streak. I'm not sure what player that should be but the Suns need another spark plug... something to get the team and crowd excited.

 

[krazyasiankid]

Now work in Clark in the frontcourt and suddenly we have a pretty athletic frontcourt of 6'10, 6'10 and 7'.

Gentry seems like he is reluctant to play Clark.

 

[WildBB]

Gentry seems like he is reluctant to play Clark.

Now is the time to see if he can contribute in real games. He needs to stop shooting outside 15 footers and get offensive boards and put backs, play tough d.

 

[CaptainInsano]

Brook Lopez -24
Robin Lopez +19

I am speechless

 

[krazyasiankid]

what a pass by nash!

 

[krazyasiankid]

Channing is getting owned by Brook

 

[HooverDam]

Brook Lopez -24
Robin Lopez +19

I am speechless

efficiency ratings are a lot about who else you're on the floor with. Robin is on with an All Star, 2 hall of famers (though not in their primes perhaps), Brook is on the floor with junk.

 

[TucsonDevil]

It was good to see Leondro score with some drives in the lane, in traffic. He needs to get his game back on line.

 

[Bufalay]

Why aren't people on this board more excited about Lopez?

I haven't watched a game in about three weeks, but his numbers have been amazing.

 

[jagu]

Can RoLo be this good???!! But remember folks, its the Nets...We can drop 20 on the Nets.

 

[nashman]

Very encouraging past few games from Lopez. One thing I like about him too he must of picked up from Shaq is make your fouls count no wussy fouls, fouls people hard I like that. Good win nice to see the bench pick it up so starters could rest in the 4th

 

[Chaplin]

4 straight solid games by Lopez. He's going to have some athletic guys coming to town with Chicago and Golden State, so we'll see what happens. But I'm pleasantly surprised.

I think the starting LB experiment should be officially over. Nobody mentioned how JRich pretty much single-handedly got us that huge lead in the beginning of the 4th.

 

[Ninjafish]

4 straight solid games by Lopez. He's going to have some athletic guys coming to town with Chicago and Golden State, so we'll see what happens. But I'm pleasantly surprised.

I think the starting LB experiment should be officially over. Nobody mentioned how JRich pretty much single-handedly got us that huge lead in the beginning of the 4th.

Wait a minute, the first good game JRich has had all month which came with him on the bench means he shouldn't be on the bench? Does that make any sense to you?

JRich getting us back into the game while he was on the bench can only be a clear sign that the change was a good one and should be permanent. If he can score on a consistent basis with Nash not in the game, that would be terrific. Perhaps Barbosa benefits more from being with Nash than JRich does.

 

[elindholm]

Perhaps Barbosa benefits more from being with Nash than JRich does.

Right. Richardson has usually been higher on the scoring options list in his career. When he's with the starting unit and third or even fourth (behind Stoudemire, Nash, and whatever big man the coaching staff is trying to force-feed), he becomes more of a spot-up shooter, which isn't his game. His talents are better applied by giving him more responsibility to create.

 

[Chaplin]

Wait a minute, the first good game JRich has had all month which came with him on the bench means he shouldn't be on the bench? Does that make any sense to you?

Simply not true. Short memory much? He had 5 other decent games in the month of January. In fact, in the month of January, in every win we've had, he's scored 20 or more points.

 

[TucsonDevil]

Right. Richardson has usually been higher on the scoring options list in his career. When he's with the starting unit and third or even fourth (behind Stoudemire, Nash, and whatever big man the coaching staff is trying to force-feed), he becomes more of a spot-up shooter, which isn't his game. His talents are better applied by giving him more responsibility to create.

This is an interesting observation. If true, and I'm not necessarily disputing, he would be one of very few that doesn't see improvement in scoring/offensive output while playing with future HOF Nash. When the Suns first acquired Richardson, we were excited about his 3-pt% and fastbreak ability. Those opportunities increase when Nash is running the offense...

It might be a combination of two things, #1 his level of concentration increases (or remains high) in direct proportion to the amount of time holding the ball. #2, he uses his speed to create more space when the defender is close to him as opposed to lunging towards his open jumper... personally, I think its easier to hit a shot when the defender is going in a different direction, as opposed to jumping at you, regardless of distance. Furthermore, it takes a different type of mentality to "wait, wait, wait then shoot". Or to wait, wait, wait, then crash the board. Or even to "wait, wait, wait, then run back on defense" (or in the case of the Suns, 'ease back on defense').

So when you say "it's not his game", it really isn't. So the Suns should put him in a position to succeed... that's why I support trading him

 

[SactownSunsFan]

What is this?

A young, sizable, actual center on the Suns team showing promise?

Seriously, what the hell is this? I've never seen it before.

 

[Ninjafish]

Simply not true. Short memory much? He had 5 other decent games in the month of January. In fact, in the month of January, in every win we've had, he's scored 20 or more points.

You're right, looking at his game log, he has had 3 other good games this month. So I'll change it to say this was the BEST game he's played all month (in fact the best game he's played since the beginning of November) and it came with him coming off the bench. Based on that, why on Earth would you think that it means he shouldn't come off the bench?

 

[Chaplin]

You're right, looking at his game log, he has had 3 other good games this month. So I'll change it to say this was the BEST game he's played all month (in fact the best game he's played since the beginning of November) and it came with him coming off the bench. Based on that, why on Earth would you think that it means he shouldn't come off the bench?

Because there's nothing that says the reason he had as good a game last night was because he was coming off the bench. LB has been ineffective starting, so why not move JRich back to the starting lineup? Especially if he's unhappy coming off the bench. Remember, his first game coming off the bench was abyssmal.

One good game where he just happens to come off the bench doesn't mean it was good BECAUSE he came off the bench. If he strings some together, then fine, I'll definitely agree with you. But with LB playing like crap whether he's starting or not doesn't give any credence to having to start him every game from now on.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

I like the idea of J-Rich coming off the bench - LB has not shown the consistency needed to be our scorer off the bench; part of that has to due with the injuries I'm sure, but J-Rich is a more dynamic scorer than Barbs anyway.

With Lopez and Barbs in the starting line-up, and J-Rich coming off the bench with the hustle guys, I think it has more potential to be a better balanced rotation than what we've had since the beginning of December.

 

[elindholm]

If true, and I'm not necessarily disputing, he would be one of very few that doesn't see improvement in scoring/offensive output while playing with future HOF Nash.

The numbers support it, for what it's worth. He shot about 42% from three-point range with the Bobcats and is down to around 38% with the Suns. His scoring is also down, but that's more likely because the Suns have more scorers. On the other hand, his assists are down too: 3 per game with Charlotte, just under 2 per game with Phoenix.

It might be a combination of two things, #1 his level of concentration increases (or remains high) in direct proportion to the amount of time holding the ball. #2, he uses his speed to create more space when the defender is close to him as opposed to lunging towards his open jumper...

I think it's more closely related to #2. Richardson strikes me as a "rhythm" player, which means he has to be active in order to be relaxed on his shot. I don't have the numbers to back it up, but my impression is that his stand-catch-shoot percentages are on the low side. Maybe someone with access to one of those fancy sites like 82games can show how Richardson stacks up against other SGs in the "contested" and "uncontested" categories.

One other thing I've noticed is that, when Nash is on the floor, Richardson is often a last resort option when an offensive set breaks down, so he gets some very poor attempts that way. It's less likely to happen when he's higher in the pecking order.

So the Suns should put him in a position to succeed... that's why I support trading him

It would be fine to trade him for value, but he has a difficult reputation, and I don't think the Suns can afford to trade him for a loss. Maybe he'll blossom in the sixth man role, the way Stackhouse (a superficially similar player) did for a year or two.

 

[Chaplin]

It would be fine to trade him for value, but he has a difficult reputation, and I don't think the Suns can afford to trade him for a loss. Maybe he'll blossom in the sixth man role, the way Stackhouse (a superficially similar player) did for a year or two.

I'm curious about what makes you (and everybody else) think that this will continue for an extended period of time. I'm guessing within the next 3 games, Richardson will be back as a starter.

I understand your postulation that he might be more effective without Nash, but I'm not sure the Suns see that--the "benching" of JRich was more to get LB going than anything having to do with JRich.

 

[elindholm]

I'm curious about what makes you (and everybody else) think that this will continue for an extended period of time.

I'm curious why you chose to overlook my use of the word "maybe."