Official Game Thread: Suns Vs. Hawks

[ASUCHRIS]

Should be a fun game to watch/listen to.

Suns better win this game.


HA HA!!! Beat you to it Ravi!!! I get dibs on first official game thread of the year!!

 

[fordronken]

I really hope we don't get "surprised" by Harrington and Walker. Please just run them out of the gym. I know it's the season opener, but c'mon...

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

10:1 we loose. This coming from the person who expects the Suns to win the Pacific.

 

[Michael]

I dont know about you guys but I havn't been that excited about the start of the season since the 99/2000.

This team should bring back the up tempo game to Phoenix I always loved. I never liked the defensive minded strategy by Skiles.

We have the players to run fast breaks, get a lot of dunks and can hit from outside. 100ppg should be in reach.

I have no idea what to expect from the Suns in terms of winning though.

Some experts rank them between 8 and 10 in the west, the preaseason has been unbelievable but doesnt usually mean that much.

I want to get a first impression of the Suns in a real game. No matter the Hawks or Pistons - get a W!

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Mark it down, we're winning by 20.....

 

[SweetD]

Mark it down we are going to wear the Orange Uniforms.

 

[arthurracoon]

Should be a fun game to watch/listen to.

Suns better win this game.


HA HA!!! Beat you to it Ravi!!! I get dibs on first official game thread of the year!!

NNNOOOOOOO!!!!!








BTW, this should be a fun game to watch/ listen to (And I actually mean it this year!)

 

[JS22]

Well, since I'm going to the game, I assume that Phoenix will lose. I've never been to a sporting event IN MY LIFE where my team has won.

0-3 with the suns
0-5 with the d'backs
0-2 with the cowboys

Sorry guys.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Well, since I'm going to the game, I assume that Phoenix will lose. I've never been to a sporting event IN MY LIFE where my team has won.

0-3 with the suns
0-5 with the d'backs
0-2 with the cowboys

Sorry guys.

my advice, stay far away from the local teams, and get season tickets to the cowboys!

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

From the Suns.com JC chat

Burns: Earlier tonight on KTAR, Coach D'Antoni acknowledged, at least for the Atlanta game, it will be Nash, Johnson, Marion, Quentin Richardson and Amare Stoudemire, who will at least start in that game.

 

[JS22]

my advice, stay far away from the local teams, and get season tickets to the cowboys!

Also, I forgot about ASU! I'm 1-1 *technically* with ASU. Does anyone remember that game about 4 years ago when they staged that near miracle comeback against UCLA? Well, I was there, watching them get hammered until about 3 minutes to go in the fourth. My friend had to get home quickly, and I figured that I'd leave with him as ASU was getting killed. Well, I looked at the TV as I entered the student union and guess what? ASU had come back to win the game.

So, that was the only game that I had ever gone to where my team won....and it's a game that I left early from. The second I left...bam, comeback time!

I hate myself.

 

[Chaz]

Also, I forgot about ASU! I'm 1-1 *technically* with ASU. Does anyone remember that game about 4 years ago when they staged that near miracle comeback against UCLA? Well, I was there, watching them get hammered until about 3 minutes to go in the fourth. My friend had to get home quickly, and I figured that I'd leave with him as ASU was getting killed. Well, I looked at the TV as I entered the student union and guess what? ASU had come back to win the game.

So, that was the only game that I had ever gone to where my team won....and it's a game that I left early from. The second I left...bam, comeback time!

I hate myself.

I'll be sure to take up a collection to get you tickets to the ASU - UA game this year.

 

[hcsilla]

From the Suns.com JC chat

Burns: Earlier tonight on KTAR, Coach D'Antoni acknowledged, at least for the Atlanta game, it will be Nash, Johnson, Marion, Quentin Richardson and Amare Stoudemire, who will at least start in that game.

That's not a surprise since Amare won't have a matchup problem at C. He will simply eat alive Collier.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I'll be sure to take up a collection to get you tickets to the ASU - UA game this year.

Lol, not even that curse will be enough to combat U of A's pathetic football team....

 

[Chaz]

Lol, not even that curse will be enough to combat U of A's pathetic football team....

Ummmm........


GO SUNS!

BEAT THE HAWKS!!!

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Ummmm........


GO SUNS!

BEAT THE HAWKS!!!

something we can definitely agree on.....

 

[JS22]

Lol, not even that curse will be enough to combat U of A's pathetic football team....

Agreed!

 

[PhxGametime]

With so many G/F's - will Atlanta start Antoine Walker at C with Al Harrington at PF? Not even sure who the Hawks PG is though? Tony Delk?

 

[arthurracoon]

bump

1 more hour until pregame

1.5 hours to tipoff

 

[PetryJr]

With so many G/F's - will Atlanta start Antoine Walker at C with Al Harrington at PF? Not even sure who the Hawks PG is though? Tony Delk?

They will probably start Jason Collier at center. Kenny Anderson is their starting point guard.

 

[Chaz]

Go Suns!





Atlanta (0-0) at Phoenix (0-0)
Game Info: 9:00 pm EST Wed Nov 3, 2004
TV: FxSo, FxAZ

Steve Nash is back in Phoenix.
That could mean the Suns will be back in the playoffs.

Nash, the new floor leader for a team reloaded for a run to the postseason, plays his first meaningful game in a Phoenix uniform in more than six years when the Atlanta Hawks visit America West Arena.

Coming off their worst season in 16 years, the Suns knew some changes were in order under new ownership, with Robert Sarver taking over for Hall of Fame executive Jerry Colangelo.

The biggest change comes at point guard, with Nash leaving Dallas to sign a five-year, $65 million free agent contract to return to the team which drafted him 15th overall in 1995. Nash spent his first two seasons with Phoenix before being dealt to the Mavericks.

His career blossomed in Dallas as he became one of the top point guards in the league and helped the Mavs become a perennial playoff contender. Now Nash looks to return the Suns to the same status.

"He does it the right way,'' Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He enjoys basketball. He enjoys being with the guys, yet he gets it done. When he's on the court, he's all business.''

The 30-year-old Nash, easily the oldest player on the roster, averaged 14.5 points and a career-high 8.8 assists last season. He's surrounded by plenty of young talent, including fellow newcomer Quentin Richardson.

``That's one of the things that brought me here,'' Richardson said of Phoenix's signing of Nash, ``having the opportunity to play with a top-flight point guard. He's like the head of the dragon.''

Richardson, 24, is coming off a career year in which he averaged 15.6 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Los Angeles Clippers. The focus of Phoenix's offense, however, may be an even younger source.

Amare Stoudemire could emerge as one of the league's premier power forwards, particularly with Nash consistently looking for him in the post. Entering his third NBA season after skipping college, the 21-year-old Stoudemire averaged 20.6 points and 9.0 boards last season as he started to become Phoenix's go-to guy.

Stoudemire, the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002-03, gained more experience from the Athens Olympics, where he joined teammate Shawn Marion on the United States' bronze medal-winning team. He worked on improving his range and free-throw shooting in the offseason, as well as his defense.

"I think I have a lot of upside still,'' Stoudemire said. ``I've just got to keep continuing to want to master the game of basketball.''

Phoenix has quite a contingent of young foreign-born players that could contribute off the bench, with point guard Leandro Barbosa, who started 46 games after Stephon Marbury was traded, as well as 19-year-old center Maciej Lampe and forward Zarko Cabarkapa.

The overseas player on the Suns likely to get the most notoriety is Yuta Tubuse, who made the team as the third point guard to become the first Japanese-born player in NBA history.

"He's going to be as big as when Ichiro came here,'' Japanese sports reporter Yasushi Kikuchi said, referring to the Seattle Mariners star outfielder. ``He was a legend when he played for his high school team, because they never lost. He's the most famous basketball player in Japan.''

Atlanta isn't a team filled with famous names.

The Hawks have only one player on their roster, Antoine Walker, who has made an All-Star team in the last 10 years. Their starting five includes unheralded youngsters Jason Collier and Boris Diaw, the only player who was with the team at this time last year.

Atlanta's roster overhaul comes under new owners after the Hawks missed the playoffs for a fifth straight year.

"We actually put down in writing a championship plan,'' said Steve Belkin, a Boston businessman who leads the new ownership group. ``We're following that plan. You can never tell if it's going to take two years or three years. Maybe if we're lucky, it will only be one year.''

While the backcourt includes aging guards Kenny Anderson, Jon Barry and Tony Delk, starting forwards Al Harrington and Walker -- both offseason acquisitions -- will be counted on for production.

Walker was the league's second-leading scorer in the preseason with 19.5 points per game after a disappointing season in Dallas, where he was unable to fit in and averaged a career-low 14 points.

"I think it's kind of a bad mystique around here that people feel like that we can't win yet,'' he said. ``One thing I learned by being in Boston is that we knew we were coming to get a win. We have to come with the mentality that we are going to win."

2003-04 STANDINGS: Hawks - 7th place, 33 GB, Central Division. Suns - 6th place, 27 GB, Pacific Division.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Hawks - F Walker, F Harrington, C Collier, G Anderson, G Diaw. Suns - F Stoudemire, F Marion, F Richardson, G Nash, G Joe Johnson.

2003-04 TEAM LEADERS: Hawks - Walker, 14.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 4.5 apg. Suns - Stoudemire, 20.6 ppg; Marion, 9.3 rpg; Nash, 8.8 apg.

2003-04 SEASON SERIES: Tied, 1-1.

LAST MEETING: Jan. 27; Suns, 89-85. At Atlanta, Marion scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, and Phoenix outscored the Hawks 30-17 in the third quarter.

2003-04 ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Hawks - 10-31 on the road. Suns - 18-23 at home.

INJURIES: Hawks - G Delk (knee), G Donta Smith (back), F Chris Crawford (knee). Suns - F Zarko Cabarkapa (knee), F Paul Shirley (back).

 

[slinslin]

Chat?

Should be a fun game to watch/listen to.

 

[pokerface]

What Channel Is It On??

I was on FoxsportsAZ and its blacked out! Is there another channel? heeeeeelp.....

 

[Evil Ash]

I was on FoxsportsAZ and its blacked out! Is there another channel? heeeeeelp.....

I'm having the same problem. Why would this be blacked out?

 

[MikeOnTheMic]

I was on FoxsportsAZ and its blacked out! Is there another channel? heeeeeelp.....

Same problem here...I go through DirecTV