Phoenix @ Denver - Game Thread - Monday Feb. 5, 2007 - 6:00 pm

[dodie53]

camby > KT

nash > ai

 

[TJ]

this game wont end!

 

[JWF]

this is over.

The Nuggest are basically trading points right now.

 

[Folster]

phew!

 

[Folster]

Carmello just wanted to up his scoring average.

 

[TJ]

Well, I guess since we were missing KT and Nash, that offsets the Nuggets injuries, so a decent win

 

[Griffin]

If I were D'Antoni, I would make his team rewatch the last minute of this game over and over until they figure out what they did wrong. Glad we won, but this game should have been over 5 minutes ago.

Big win without Nash in the 2nd half. For the most part, the Suns rebounded the ball much better than the 1st half and executed well in half-court, with Amare having a monster game.

Horrible Nuggets announcers. I hate when some announcers call the game so one-sided.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

If I were D'Antoni, I would make his team rewatch the last minute of this game over and over until they figure out what they did wrong. Glad we won, but this game should have been over 5 minutes ago.

Big win without Nash in the 2nd half. For the most part, the Suns rebounded the ball much better than the 1st half and executed well in half-court, with Amare having a monster game.

Horrible Nuggets announcers. I hate when some announcers call the game so one-sided.

That Altitude network has some of the worst announcers ever. According to them the Nuggets didn't have one foul, and the Suns were in bed with the refs.

 

[Ronin]

Suns are looking like a very average team these days.

I think it has more to do with the Suns taking the injured teams lightly. Injured teams are causing the Suns to fall into bad habits (bad defense, not rebounding, etc).

 

[Evil Ash]

I think it has more to do with the Suns taking the injured teams lightly. Injured teams are causing the Suns to fall into bad habits (bad defense, not rebounding, etc).

Well that and they're injured themselves. We lose KT, then Bell, and now Nash.

When you have a team that has gotten used to regular substitutions and some players are hurt, it takes time to adjust

 

[dodie53]

great game by james jones!
*sarcasm

 

[elindholm]

Wow, there's much less enthusiasm than I would have expected for such a great win. Denver is a good team and the Suns were missing two key players (Thomas being the other). I thought it was terrific the way the rest of the team became aggressive in the second half and stopped waiting for Nash to solve all of their problems. And I would guess the Suns won the rebounding battle in the second half as well.

Stoudemire is a beast. When he's in a groove, forget it.

Marion can't guard Anthony AT ALL, but both Diaw and Jones slowed him down a bit. If the Suns face Denver in the playoffs, it will be time for Marion to put his ego aside and let someone else take that defensive assignment.

It's hard having a player on the floor who can't score (Banks), but he is at least starting to do some other things well.

Great to see Barbosa hit that floater off the glass with the game on the line.

 

[sunsfn]

Amare scored about as many different ways as a player can.
Dunks, outside shots, some far out, running banker, running slams, running layups, he really had a great game. (36 points 13 rebounds)

Marion had a great game also.....(19 points 9 rebounds).......he worked hard the whole game, and held Anthony down in the 3rd and 4th quarters to a reasonable scoring amount. Melo is really a scoring machine!

Barbosa 20 points
Bell 18 points

Junior 0-7 YIKES!
------------------------
Amare was 13 of 17 and 10 of 12 free throws to get his 36.

Anthony was 12 of 27 and 7 of 8 to get his 31. He put up 27 shots!!
He also got a couple tickey tack calls on Marion to go to the line!

 

[dodie53]

will nash be put in the IL or just day-to-day?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Nice win, hopefully Nash recovers quickly. If there's any question about long-term health, then sit him through the AS Break.

And if I have to hear Shawn Marion gripe one more time to the media about voting him Defensive POY of the year I'm going to send him a muzzle. I could care less how many different positions he gets assigned, he guards none of them especially well which should be a pre-requisite for defensive honors.

 

[green machine]

I don't mind sitting Nash for a bit. This is a great time to start to try and develop some much needed depth.

As for tonight, the Suns showed off the trait that has helped get them to where they are now: they are a mentally tough team that never feels like they are out of a game. I like that.

 

[Ronin]

Well that and they're injured themselves. We lose KT, then Bell, and now Nash.

When you have a team that has gotten used to regular substitutions and some players are hurt, it takes time to adjust

Agreed.*sigh* What a great time for the injury bug to rear it's ugly head on the Suns.

 

[Gaddabout]

I think Nash should sit out so he doesn't have to play in the all-star game. Stay home, rest up, spend time with the family.

 

[azirish]

Except for that wacky last minute, Marion did a nice job on Carmelo in the second half. Melo is a tough matchup due to his strength and shooting, but he was successful at getting the ball out of his hands most of the half.

Overall the team looked determined in the second half and played solid defense until that last 30 seconds. In any case, the guy who made the difference was Amare. This may have been his best offensive game this season. Inside, outside, and through guys; he dominated.

 

[msdundee]

Except for that wacky last minute, Marion did a nice job on Carmelo in the second half. Melo is a tough matchup due to his strength and shooting, but he was successful at getting the ball out of his hands most of the half.

Overall the team looked determined in the second half and played solid defense until that last 30 seconds. In any case, the guy who made the difference was Amare. This may have been his best offensive game this season. Inside, outside, and through guys; he dominated.

Ah, the voice of reason. How refreshing.

 

[Chaz]

The team played great in the second half. Nice to see the guys step up with Nash out. Amare did a good job carrying the team offensively.
Suns also did a good job of making Anthony pass the ball and making the Nuggets shoot from the outside.

If Nash needs to rest they should be able to get by without him for a couple of games.

 

[Folster]

There is no reason Nash needs to play against Portland tomorrow. Hopefully he will rest while the Suns take care of business and give the reserves some minutes.

 

[jbeecham]

I read somewhere that Nash woke up the morning after the Spurs game with a very sore shoulder. I don't know if he hurt it in the Spurs game or not, but he struggled with it during the Jazz game. The announcers talked about him not wanting to shoot 3's during practice or warmups, but he was going to try to play through it. It's his right (shooting) shoulder too.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

It makes me sick to see that Nene had 27 points on us, merely 9 points less than Amare! That should be a matchup dominated by Amare to the tune of at least a 26-20 point difference. Nene made it a different game than it should have been....

BTW, what is DEN's record since getting AI and what is their record with AI and Melo both playing? Aren't they still just a 0.500 team even with both playing?

 

[cly2tw]

There is no reason Nash needs to play against Portland tomorrow. Hopefully he will rest while the Suns take care of business and give the reserves some minutes.

Agree. I'd rest nash for the next two games and play him against Bulls as little as possible. He needs an exuse not to take part in the skills contest.