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Voskuhl must be in mix for Suns to stem slide
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 9, 2004 12:00 AM
In mid-January, the Suns did not lose three straight games with Leandro Barbosa, Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire and Jake Voskuhl starting.
But since Stoudemire returned to the starting lineup, Phoenix has lost twice as part of a three-game losing streak at home.
Each time, the Suns got behind early and went small as the holes got big. When they do that, they miss Voskuhl in the middle.
As hot as Voskuhl's small-ball replacement, Casey Jacobsen, was Saturday, Phoenix can't afford many more slow starts.
Utah jumped out to a 12-6 lead Saturday before Suns coach Mike D'Antoni sent Jacobsen in for Voskuhl. In the second half, he hit the turbo button even quicker by calling a timeout after three scoreless possessions and inserting Jacobsen for Voskuhl after 1 minute, 48 seconds.
"Somehow, we just have to solve the problem when we have the two bigs (Voskuhl and Stoudemire) in the game that we can score," D'Antoni said. "We're not scoring when we have that, and we are going to the four littles and the scoring starts to open up. Then, Jake Voskuhl isn't on the floor and we need him on the floor.
"He's a big part of what we've done."
Voskuhl gave the Suns eight points and five rebounds in just 20 minutes Saturday. He didn't play in the fourth quarter until just 13 seconds remained and the Suns were down by six. Backup center Jahidi White also has gotten lost in he mix, playing four minutes Friday and, for the first time since December, not at all on Saturday.
It was only last month that Voskuhl was having a career-best run, including an 18-point, 12-rebound game against the Los Angeles Lakers and a 16-rebound effort against San Antonio.
Voskuhl averaged 12 points and seven rebounds in the four games before Saturday's loss.
"That's got to change and change soon," Stoudemire said of the slow starts.
"Once we start out slowly, we can't get all the way back into the groove."
Saturday marked the ninth Phoenix loss in the past 11 games. The Suns have been competitive with furious rallies but are in danger of ending the season's longest homestand with the same 1-4 record they had on the preceding five-game eastern road trip.
"We're in a funk," D'Antoni said. "We expect bad things to happen to us, and they happen to us.
"We're all struggling for answers. We're going to turn it around."
Most of the Suns took Sunday off. Some, including Zarko Cabarkapa, did voluntary court work or therapy.
Cabarkapa, who has missed the past five games with a sore right wrist, is expected to play Tuesday night when the Suns host Toronto.
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 9, 2004 12:00 AM
In mid-January, the Suns did not lose three straight games with Leandro Barbosa, Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire and Jake Voskuhl starting.
But since Stoudemire returned to the starting lineup, Phoenix has lost twice as part of a three-game losing streak at home.
Each time, the Suns got behind early and went small as the holes got big. When they do that, they miss Voskuhl in the middle.
As hot as Voskuhl's small-ball replacement, Casey Jacobsen, was Saturday, Phoenix can't afford many more slow starts.
Utah jumped out to a 12-6 lead Saturday before Suns coach Mike D'Antoni sent Jacobsen in for Voskuhl. In the second half, he hit the turbo button even quicker by calling a timeout after three scoreless possessions and inserting Jacobsen for Voskuhl after 1 minute, 48 seconds.
"Somehow, we just have to solve the problem when we have the two bigs (Voskuhl and Stoudemire) in the game that we can score," D'Antoni said. "We're not scoring when we have that, and we are going to the four littles and the scoring starts to open up. Then, Jake Voskuhl isn't on the floor and we need him on the floor.
"He's a big part of what we've done."
Voskuhl gave the Suns eight points and five rebounds in just 20 minutes Saturday. He didn't play in the fourth quarter until just 13 seconds remained and the Suns were down by six. Backup center Jahidi White also has gotten lost in he mix, playing four minutes Friday and, for the first time since December, not at all on Saturday.
It was only last month that Voskuhl was having a career-best run, including an 18-point, 12-rebound game against the Los Angeles Lakers and a 16-rebound effort against San Antonio.
Voskuhl averaged 12 points and seven rebounds in the four games before Saturday's loss.
"That's got to change and change soon," Stoudemire said of the slow starts.
"Once we start out slowly, we can't get all the way back into the groove."
Saturday marked the ninth Phoenix loss in the past 11 games. The Suns have been competitive with furious rallies but are in danger of ending the season's longest homestand with the same 1-4 record they had on the preceding five-game eastern road trip.
"We're in a funk," D'Antoni said. "We expect bad things to happen to us, and they happen to us.
"We're all struggling for answers. We're going to turn it around."
Most of the Suns took Sunday off. Some, including Zarko Cabarkapa, did voluntary court work or therapy.
Cabarkapa, who has missed the past five games with a sore right wrist, is expected to play Tuesday night when the Suns host Toronto.
