Suns at Bulls Game Thread

[LV-Suns]

spurs down 12 with 1:45 left in the game

Suns down 20 with 11 left in the game

 

[hafey]

Shrug. They're going to be stinkers during the season, especially on the road. Every facet of the team was bad tonight. I'm pleased with Lopez and curious to see Dragic play some extended garbage time.

Barbs just seems like a disaster under the new regime.

 

[95pro]

i know its early,

but i'm not liking dragic's lack of aggresiveness.

he dribbles it past the half court line, then passes it and never gets the ball back.
and he is not penetrating...that my biggest concern, no penetration at all.

 

[Proteus]

Why is Amare still playing? Shouldn't he be resting for tomorrow night's game?

 

[zett]

i know its early,

but i'm not liking dragic's lack of aggresiveness.

he dribbles it past the half court line, then passes it and never gets the ball back.
and he is not penetrating...that my biggest concern, no penetration at all.

Just let your wife worry about that!

 

[LV-Suns]

Take Amare out of the game. This game is clearly over. Now put in that stupid line that Porter uses with all subs.

 

[Black Jesus]

Barbosa just got POSTERIZED

 

[az1965]

Barbosa just got POSTERIZED

Good!

 

[btimsah]

Having Diaw out there is an embarassment. He's totally out of shape. Even the Bulls comentator said it - "Diaw looks heavy". Dude looks like butter cream out there.

 

[hafey]

The one think that I do not care for is: What is the point of getting a back-up PG when Barbosa is still handling the ball 60% of the time with the 2nd unit.

Sometimes its by design, but other times the ball is inbounded to Barbosa and he just keeps it until he shoots.

 

[TJ]

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Amare for giving his heart out on the court today. Even though his shot wasn't going in, he never gave up.

Call him arrogant, call him an a-hole. But his play makes him a leader on this team.

 

[abomb]

I am rather impressed with Lopez' play. Amundson or whatever his name is is much better than the end of the bench guys from last season.

 

[Bayless2Budinger]

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Amare for giving his heart out on the court today. Even though his shot wasn't going in, he never gave up.

Call him arrogant, call him an a-hole. But his play makes him a leader on this team.

Co-sign. He was the only one who showed up for 2nites game. We lost but it was good to see that effort and it was only 1 game. I still hate the decesion to bench Shaq 2nite with Barnes out.

FYI. I cant help but laugh at your avatar. Mike S just looks goofy.

 

[mjb21aztd]

wow well this game was a huge let down man looked like the suns didn't even bother to play today expect amare.... we looked like a high school team turnover after turnover and Rose killed us all day he is going to be a very pg for the bulls. Well beat the bucks tommorow but man tonight sucks . But it's reg season and not the playoffs so lets learn from these mistakes and correct them

 

[jagu]

Barblowsa and Diaw have to go. We need another playmaker who can score on his own.

 

[TJ]

I understand the reasoning behind holding out Shaq, but the timing couldnt have been worse. With Barnes out and Alando injured, you need one of your captains out there to man the ship.

Barnes should be back no later than the Grizzlies game. That would have been the right time to sit Shaq, as they have little to no low post presence. Noah was rebounding at will out there and made us look vulnerable.

 

[Covert Rain]

This team is really thin defensively without Shaq and Barnes out there. That really showed tonight. The Suns couldn't afford to really play Amare and Lopez together much and usually whoever was out there besides the two of them didn't defend.

These turnovers are really really really really really starting to be a concern. This team cannot hold onto the ball. Despite a slower offense....despite picking and choosing shots....despite less run and gun...this team is worse so far this year on handling the ball.

Lopez....finally he brang some tonight. One thing I noticed is that he has excellent timing on blocks but his defensive rebounding timing is horrible. I watched him several times jump way to early or way to late on the defensive boards. I think that is why he underachieves there.

Dragic...hopefully the light switch went on. My gosh he looks like a different player when aggressive. When he is passive he looks like a deer caught in headlights.

Raja? His offense is streaky and his defense has completely fallen off the map. It might be time for a change at the starting shooting guard spot. I was thinking by the end of the year. We might need something now.

Barbosa....this new system doesn't fit him whatsoever. It's no wonder that the teams worst production this year (especially defensively) is from the shooting guard spot. It is by far our weakest position statistically from an offense and defensive standpoint. With the combined play of Raja and Barbosa.....wow.

Grant.....is not looking as good as last year offensively or defensively. I think he is having a hard time adjusting to the bench. He seemed confused back in the starting lineup. Hopefully, he is just warming up.

Diaw? I am starting to lean to the dark side. There doesn't appear to be any hope with him whatsoever.

Turnovers, defense and our bench....OH MY.

 

[az1965]

This team is really thin defensively without Shaq and Barnes out there. That really showed tonight. The Suns couldn't afford to really play Amare and Lopez together much and usually whoever was out there besides the two of them didn't defend.

...

Diaw? I am starting to lean to the dark side. There doesn't appear to be any hope with him whatsoever.

Turnovers, defense and our bench....OH MY.

Good points... agree with all.

Sitting Shaq for "rest" in this game was really stupid.

 

[cly2tw]

At least, our starters had enough rest for tomorrow's game. It's great to see Amare's composure on offense. He no longer forces it anymore, just calm and making the right passes or drives like the franchise player he is supposed to be. Very encouraging.

 

[JustinD]

that was one ugly game

 

[joshstmarie]

didnt see the game but as usual, a handful of you are overreacting as always.

please get a grip on your emotions.


that being said, barbosa needs to be traded. that statement stems from 3 years ago.

 

[Forrestham]

It seemed like it was one of those games on the schedule they decided early to take a knee for the "big picture". There will be more games sacrificed this year. I was encouraged by how well Dragic played. He looks like he can play in this league. It will be a good road trip if they win tomorrow. We can see how much Barnes has added to the team

 

[PDXChris]

That felt good after last years game in Chicago. The Bulls look like they are starting to gel, so maybe you guys also got beat by a good home team who does happen to be 3-0 at home and is winning be a average of 13 points per game at home. Rose is the real deal and he might lead them to the playoffs this year. The Bulls are a good defensive team and showed taht with 15 steals and 5 blocked shots. Until next time.

 

[Chaplin]

It's pretty simple. Sitting Shaq was a huge mistake. He needed to be in the lineup, even if it's for only 10 minutes. Bad move by Porter. He played only 12 minutes in Indy, and we won that game. The Bulls used his absence as motivation and it worked.

But you don't have 2 starters out and expect to win against a young team in a hostile environment. Especially when your top bench guy has been doing nothing the entire season so far.

 

[Errntknght]

I agree with Forrestham. Probably a good loss - it gave our bench guys experience they need and it underscores what Shaq and Barnes bring to the game - particularly rebounding. Its very important that all the players - and the coaches - keep things in proper perspective.

I don't claim to know what is going on in Porter's mind but it appears to me so far that he understands that the purpose of the regular season is to get the whole team ready for the playoffs - something one would never accuse any other Suns head coach of. Our recently departed one may have been the worst in that regard but regular season success at the expense of playoff preparation has been a hallmark of the Suns for forty odd years - and I've suffered through all of them.

One specific thing that I hope Porter does figure out and thats that he has to beat Leandro about the head and shoulders until the guy starts devoting himself to developing his mid-range game. We saw a bit of that when DanD was holding his hand the whole season so its within his capability - and its obvious by now that Barbs doesn't have the bball IQ to figure it out for himself.

Interestingly, Raja has moved in that direction. I remember last summer Porter made some remark about expecting more than just long range shooting from him - and we all made fun of it and wondered if he really thought Raja was capable of attacking the bucket. My guess what he had in mind was what we are seeing - fake the long shot then take a couple of dribbles into mid-range. I always thought James Jones would be more effective if he'd add that to his game but I have to admit I never thought of Bell doing it. Barbs could do it better than either of them because he's slippery enough to get below the FT line most of the time.