Suns are playing the Sonics tonight?

[green machine]

Yes because he transforms Marion into an allstar. Thats what an MVP does. I've been saying for years that Marion is an overpaid role player. He doesn't have a killer instinct and all though he claims he wants to be "the man" he cowers at the thought of actually taking the lead role. A trade in the offseason to get rid of Marion wouldn't bother me.

Agreed. Marion is not the player he thinks he is. During his time in the NBA he hasn't developed any sort of an "offensive game." He can't dribble, can't really shoot, can't post up, can't do much of anything except slash and dunk.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Or so I hear. I love how everyone has completely written off this game as mattering at all.

Seems like it was the right choice.

 

[mjb21aztd]

we better draft or trade for a young pg to learn under nash before he retires otherwise were in serious trouble when nash does call it quits.

 

[mribnik]

I credit the coaching staff for teaching this team the art of spacing, which has been phenomenal these last couple of years. However, at least from the Chicago game I was able to watch, without Nash and Diaw the spacing was crap. We really need some kind of set offense in the half-court set, especially since Nash is the only one who knows how to run it.

 

[green machine]

we better draft or trade for a young pg to learn under nash before he retires otherwise were in serious trouble when nash does call it quits.

I say trade Marion and the Hawks pick to move up and get Oden or Durant.

Wow am I an an anti-Marion kick tonight. Oh well.

 

[mribnik]

I say trade Marion and the Hawks pick to move up and get Oden or Durant.

Wow am I an an anti-Marion kick tonight. Oh well.

If the Suns are healthy come playoff time and they don't win the championship, the team has to explore the idea of trading Marion. They don't have to do it, but it'd be worth looking at offers.

I'm not going to give up on him though. He's crap without Nash, and an overrated defender regardless, but with Nash he is an all-star.

 

[just do it]

Nash just won his 3rd MVP tonight. Jones and Banks need to be traded if anyone will take them. Marion needs to shut his trap about needing more respect and quit shooting anything but layups, dunks and putbacks. And EVERYONE needs to learn how to pass the ball to Amare. Bell just saw what the real Ray Allen looks like tonight, he should not have more attempts than Amare which has happened quite often this year. This team better find a way to get a real PG for a back-up. Banks sucks, he scores some points but the team sucks when he plays as noted by Coro in the paper ,his +/- is really bad, Jones is a "shooter" going at a 34% clip "after" a hot streak with the new/old ball.

 

[Espo]

I say try to land Noah in the draft and package Marion for a true point guard of the future and some other pieces. Maybe Chicago's talent base would fit the bill.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Like it did in '04-'05 season?

There was no other player in the league on a team with the record of the Mavs in 04-05 playing like Dirk is this year. Shaq had a goood year, but his mention in the MVP race wa mostly due to the Lakers completely falling apart. Dirk deserves it, it's time everyone takes off the blinders. The Mavs had a better record before Nash got hurt and will once he gets back healthy. Best player on the best team almost always means MVP when it comes to voters.

 

[green machine]

If the Suns are healthy come playoff time and they don't win the championship, the team has to explore the idea of trading Marion. They don't have to do it, but it'd be worth looking at offers.

I'm not going to give up on him though. He's crap without Nash, and an overrated defender regardless, but with Nash he is an all-star.

I've been saying all along I think if they are healthy and don't win the title this year then Marion will be dealt, and it wouldn't shock me if it is to move up in the draft.

 

[Chaz]

Marion needs to shut his trap about needing more respect and quit shooting anything but layups, dunks and putbacks.

Except tonight Marion is even missing layups, dunks, and putbacks.

This team is just painful to watch right now.

 

[just do it]

I say try to land Noah in the draft and package Marion for a true point guard of the future and some other pieces. Maybe Chicago's talent base would fit the bill.

Id take Lewis & Ridnour from Seattle for Marion

 

[green machine]

Id take Lewis & Ridnour from Seattle for Marion

Me too, problem is Lewis is a free agent after this season I think. But this trade was talked about during this past off season if I remember correctly.

 

[mribnik]

There was no other player in the league on a team with the record of the Mavs in 04-05 playing like Dirk is this year. Shaq had a goood year, but his mention in the MVP race wa mostly due to the Lakers completely falling apart. Dirk deserves it, it's time everyone takes off the blinders. The Mavs had a better record before Nash got hurt and will once he gets back healthy. Best player on the best team almost always means MVP when it comes to voters.

By that standard Dirk should have won it last year. The fact is, Nash is more valuable to his team, period. That's partly because of Nash's abilities as a player, and partly because the coaching staff constructed a team and an offense around one players abilities. With Nash, the Suns are an offensive machine that demoralizes their opponents and are amazing to watch. Without Nash, they are more boring than the Spurs and lose by 25 to the Sonics and at home to the Hawks.

 

[Diawsome]

Id take Lewis & Ridnour from Seattle for Marion

That wouldn't really help the team all that much. Lewis might be better offensively but he is worlds behind Marion on the defensive end and Ridnour has already cried about not wanting to come off the bench so I don't see him being all that thrilled about coming off the bench behind Nash.

 

[Espo]

I think a lot of people severely under estimate how much Diaw means to this team too. His passing is a big reason for the Suns success.

 

[mribnik]

That wouldn't really help the team all that much. Lewis might be better offensively but he is worlds behind Marion on the defensive end and Ridnour has already cried about not wanting to come off the bench so I don't see him being all that thrilled about coming off the bench behind Nash.

Is Lewis really that much worse defensively than Marion? Marion is overrated defensively, but I haven't Lewis play much. Ridnour might not cry as much if he was on a 60 win team.

 

[mribnik]

I think a lot of people severely under estimate how much Diaw means to this team too. His passing is a big reason for the Suns success.

I agree with this. Even when he puts up poor numbers in the box score, he has a much larger affect on the game. D'Antoni mentioned this once, about how Diaw had pretty poor numbers after one game, but really was essentially in beating a zone defense.

 

[Bufalay]

Marion couldn't even hit the freaking rim on his ugly looking non-dunks tonight. Amare looked pretty bad too. He does not know when to pass out of a triple-team.

 

[D-Dogg]

I hate the Lakers right now...they pick this point of the year to go on a serious slump, lose very winnable, close games while Phx goes on a losing streak of their own. Instead of closing the nine game gap, the stupid Lakers just play (or whatever you call it) right into your hands.

 

[JWF]

Not suprised we lost, but by 24? It seems this team has seriously regressed defensively in the last 2 weeks. Although tonight they obviously shot garbage from the field too.

Im pretty happy with most of the players on this team, but is anyone else dissapointed with Raja Bell these days? Has been an average defender thus far, bad at the FT line late in games, and only looks for the 3 pointer.

 

[msdundee]

That was not fun to watch. Bell had a bad night. Marion had a bad night. Barbosa wasn't "up to speed." Amare didn't even look all that interested. They flubbed layups, couldn't hang onto the ball, poor outside shooting, no defense in sight.

On the other hand, Banks was high scorer, grabbed a couple of rebounds, 3 assists, 0 turnovers ......... and you all still hate him.

Time for a break, and then it's time to get back on track.

 

[TheHopToad]

I got the impression that the Suns really didn't care much about this game. I think if they could have forfeited the game and saved the trip, they might have considered it and taken the extra rest. They lacked passion. The whole attitude, including the coaching staff, is "ho-hum, we'll have everybody back after the break".

And the fact is, when Nash, Diaw, and KT come back if they resume the same level of play they enjoyed before the injuries, then the last few games will be all but forgotten--except when it comes time to vote for MVP...

 

[Shazam]

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D’Antoni Hoping Nash Returns Before Everyone Realizes He Can’t Coach

Found this on the The Brushback.com

 

[BC867]

I'm not a big complainer about officiating, but this game is rediculous. The Sonics are getting away with a ton of body contact.

Welcome to pre-post season officiating.

It's not going to get any better as the "1st season" winds down.

Remember, alibiing is simply an explanation of failure. The Suns success during the first half has also been extremely short-sighted.