Suns at Rockets Game Thread

[cly2tw]

Many of our TOs were iffy offensive foul and travelling calls against Amare and Barbosa. I almost thought the refs were trying their best to keep the game open as much as possible.

Scola is very good but is on the same level of flopping artists of an Oberto or Manu. The one pass LB gave Amare was like a setup for him to get the charging call with so many Argentines parked closed to the basket. On another one, Battier's feet were clearly on the circle. Anyway, we need to feed Amare the ball on the low post a little more on such a day when the refs were calling like that.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Another fun and exciting win. But, can anyone tell me why this team is any different than the team from last year, or the year before that, or the year before that??

All I see is a carbon-copy of another dominant regular season team who will probably go on to win 60 games, again, and then the world that their unique style/brand of ball isn't made ofr post-season play... Ugghhh...

 

[az1965]

Why the hell is Grant Hill playing 43 minutes in November?!

I think D'Antoni is losing it... I have really started to believe he is a regular season coach.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

I think D'Antoni is losing it... I have really started to believe he is a regular season coach.

Totally. He's made absolutely no adjustments from last season.

 

[arwillan]

Another fun and exciting win. But, can anyone tell me why this team is any different than the team from last year, or the year before that, or the year before that??

All I see is a carbon-copy of another dominant regular season team who will probably go on to win 60 games, again, and then the world that their unique style/brand of ball isn't made ofr post-season play... Ugghhh...

well we have grant hill whose mid-range game has been amazing thus far. he has been getting to the basket and the line which will help us against the spurs especially. His defense has been superb too. Skinner has played well when given the chance to, he appears to have been a great pick up for us. If pike can keep getting minutes, we may have found the corner 3-shooter we have been looking for.i thought his shot looked really fluid tonight. against the spurs he could be a real weapon when nash is off the floor because we can hide him on bowen defensively. Barbosa is better than ever, leading us in scoring i believe. his inside game is just as good as his outside shot.

 

[az1965]

If people believe Pike is going to get consistent minutes, you are dreaming, especially if you have seen D'Antoni coach last 3 years.

 

[82CardsGrad]

well we have grant hill whose mid-range game has been amazing thus far. he has been getting to the basket and the line which will help us against the spurs especially. His defense has been superb too. Skinner has played well when given the chance to, he appears to have been a great pick up for us. If pike can keep getting minutes, we may have found the corner 3-shooter we have been looking for.i thought his shot looked really fluid tonight. against the spurs he could be a real weapon when nash is off the floor because we can hide him on bowen defensively. Barbosa is better than ever, leading us in scoring i believe. his inside game is just as good as his outside shot.

Uh.. OK... So I ask again, what is different from years past?? We got rid of Thomas and picked up Skinner.
Pike can't play defense and is strictly a catch and shoot threat. Great, just what this teams needs - another sporadic shooter who gets limited minutes... Hill presents a bit of a new twist but nothing that will transcend into W's in the post season...
The team is still the same. Can't play defense. Can't run a consistent half-court offense. Can't rebound... And if our 3-point shooting is off, forget about it...
I see another 60 win season with another flame-out in the post season, most likely another gut-wrenching loss to the Mavs or Spurs...

 

[cly2tw]

Despite the 3s, Pike should not play. He is just too slow and too weak on defense that always gets exploited. Without Bell out there, our offense was smooth asides the stupid TOs.

 

[arwillan]

Uh.. OK... So I ask again, what is different from years past?? We got rid of Thomas and picked up Skinner.
Pike can't play defense and is strictly a catch and shoot threat. Great, just what this teams needs - another sporadic shooter who gets limited minutes... Hill presents a bit of a new twist but nothing that will transcend into W's in the post season...
The team is still the same. Can't play defense. Can't run a consistent half-court offense. Can't rebound... And if our 3-point shooting is off, forget about it...
I see another 60 win season with another flame-out in the post season, most likely another gut-wrenching loss to the Mavs or Spurs...

how will grant hill not lead to more wins in the post season? he helps our half-court offense, our defense, our limiting of nash's playing time, and most importantly our getting points in the paint and at the line. i'm not expecting anything out of pike, but who knows? we out rebounded the rockets by 8 tonight when amare played limited minutes so i'd say our rebounding isn't too bad. our defense will always be something to complain about but as long as it is adequate, we can win games. when our 3-point shooting is off of course we're in trouble, that's a big part of our system. while you hate to rely on it, it is important. again grant hill comes in, when the 3's arent going we have a guy who can get to the lane and to the line.

 

[82CardsGrad]

how will grant hill not lead to more wins in the post season? he helps our half-court offense, our defense, our limiting of nash's playing time, and most importantly our getting points in the paint and at the line. i'm not expecting anything out of pike, but who knows? we out rebounded the rockets by 8 tonight when amare played limited minutes so i'd say our rebounding isn't too bad. our defense will always be something to complain about but as long as it is adequate, we can win games. when our 3-point shooting is off of course we're in trouble, that's a big part of our system. while you hate to rely on it, it is important. again grant hill comes in, when the 3's arent going we have a guy who can get to the lane and to the line.

Whatever dude... I never said this team can't "win games". In fact, I've said the opposite. We will win our 60 games again. It will be fun to watch.
Talk to me come the Western Conference Finals...

 

[devilalum]

If the Suns had had Hill last year they would have won it all. SA would have been toast.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

If the Suns had had Hill last year they would have won it all. SA would have been toast.

We won't have Hill this year if he keeps playing forty minutes a game...

 

[Bufalay]

Uh.. OK... So I ask again, what is different from years past?? We got rid of Thomas and picked up Skinner.
Pike can't play defense and is strictly a catch and shoot threat. Great, just what this teams needs - another sporadic shooter who gets limited minutes... Hill presents a bit of a new twist but nothing that will transcend into W's in the post season...
The team is still the same. Can't play defense. Can't run a consistent half-court offense. Can't rebound... And if our 3-point shooting is off, forget about it...
I see another 60 win season with another flame-out in the post season, most likely another gut-wrenching loss to the Mavs or Spurs...

Rebounds:
Suns: 48
Rockets: 40

 

[arwillan]

Whatever dude... I never said this team can't "win games". In fact, I've said the opposite. We will win our 60 games again. It will be fun to watch.
Talk to me come the Western Conference Finals...

i was talking post-season games. i am by no means saying the championship (or even the western conference or the pacific division) are ours this year, but you have to like our chances just as much as the other teams out there. that's all i'm saying.

 

[82CardsGrad]

i was talking post-season games. i am by no means saying the championship (or even the western conference or the pacific division) are ours this year, but you have to like our chances just as much as the other teams out there. that's all i'm saying.

We shot 62% from the field and 53% from 3-point land... That won't happen in the conference finals...
It will, as it always does, come down to defense, executing in the half-court, and getting "THE" stop when we need it most.
I see nothing with this team that shows me they can do this any better than in years past...

60 regular season wins. I'll be there for many of them... And then a big 'ol mess in the Conference finals...

 

[82CardsGrad]

Rebounds:
Suns: 48
Rockets: 40

The Suns are 24th in the NBA in rebounding...

 

[mojorizen7]

Another fun and exciting win. But, can anyone tell me why this team is any different than the team from last year, or the year before that, or the year before that??

All I see is a carbon-copy of another dominant regular season team who will probably go on to win 60 games, again, and then the world that their unique style/brand of ball isn't made ofr post-season play... Ugghhh...

My position to a tee. I'm just gonna sit back & enjoy the highlights for the next 5-6 months though. I'm a die-hard & bleed purple/orange.
Come June we'll all be singing the same old sad song & D'Antoni will be spewing more rhetoric on how we need to get "mentally tougher."
"Mentally tougher?" No Mike, but just plain "tougher" would be a good start....and bigger up front.

 

[azirish]

I'm sorry I couldn't get back to see the game. Just a few thoughts about other comments:

1. This is early season. Long minutes now are not going to wear the team out in April. Now if they average these kinds of minutes for the entire year, then I'll get worried.

2. Hill has had three very strong games in a row. IMHO, Hill is going to replace what JJ offered but with fewer threes and better attacking the basket. Like JJ, he can make his own shot, plays good defense, and can handle the ball. If anything, I think the team is still trying to figure out how to get him more involved.

3. Skinner is showing he can really make a difference. He'll never be the shooter KT offered, but his rebounding is not too far off. So far this season, he's at 0.355 rebounds per minute. As for blocks, prior to this evening with 8 blocks he was equal to Ben Wallace who had played 90 more minutes. Tonight he got 2 more.

4. Amare's offense seems to be a pretty good form going 8 for 8 plus he grabbed 13 rebounds.

5. Overall the Suns held the Rockets to 39.3% shooting which makes for a lot of offensive rebounding opportunties. Hard for the Suns to get them when shooting 62.3%.

DARK SIDE

1. The Suns had 25 turnovers. I hope this is due to newness, but the Rockets would not have been competative if the Suns got the turnovers down to the 14.5 level of a year ago.

2. Marion's three point shooting has fallen off the table AGAIN. He was 0-4 tonight and 1-5 against the Bulls. Inside the arc he's fine. Tonight he was 5 of 9 for two and against the Bulls was 8 of 11 for two.

 

[TheHopToad]

Just enjoy the ride.

Some of you guys are spending too much effort criticizing something that hasn't even happened yet. Makes me think that even if the Suns did win the title, you would still come here and complain that they shouldn't have.

 

[mojorizen7]

3. Skinner is showing he can really make a difference. He'll never be the shooter KT offered, but his rebounding is not too far off. So far this season, he's at 0.355 rebounds per minute. As for blocks, prior to this evening with 8 blocks he was equal to Ben Wallace who had played 90 more minutes. Tonight he got 2 more.

Thats definately encouraging. Skinners a better athlete than K.T. & fit's more into what DA wants from this role then Kurt did. I'd still rather have K.Thomas though.

 

[Stargazer]

My thoughts on the game:

1. It's official: We're spoiled. At the 4 minute mark of the third quarter, after a made Houston basket, Amare inbounds to Nash, who throws 3/4 court ahead to Marion (who isn't in a breakaway or anything, but has just a step or two on the defense), who slams it home. Elapsed time, 3 seconds (and again, not on a fast break, but on a made basket). It's the kind of play that would have people shouting all over themselves about "Phoenix basketball" in previous years. But now Tom Leander barely even bothers to announce the play, it's so routine. If Leander doesn't even get excited about it, we're spoiled.

2. Hill continues to shine. Someone compared him to JJ, but he's well beyond JJ territory, in my mind. A giant boost.

3. LB is also tearing it up this year, and seems to me to be a significant upgrade over what he was giving us last year this early in the season. To those who are wondering what we've added over last year, I would point not only to Hill, but to LB.

4. Our best offensive performance of the year comes with Bell on the bench. Makes you wonder. On the other hand, we also allowed a lot of points, so maybe Bell's defense would have made a big difference there.

5. Doug Collins on Thursday said that the Suns had played only 3 games with their top seven guys all in the lineup together. Since Bell didn't play tonight, that must still be true. To be 8-2 with only 3 games where everyone showed up is a great start, and seems to suggest that there's still a lot of room for improvement as people eventually get a chance to play together.

6. Have the Suns played a single close game this season (say, anything that came down to the final few possessions)? I've seen every game, and all I can remember are blowouts. Seems like a wierd lack of drama to these games. Sure, we're "letting teams back in," but not like we did last year.

Bring on the Kings!

 

[Hat]

Just enjoy the ride.

Some of you guys are spending too much effort criticizing something that hasn't even happened yet. Makes me think that even if the Suns did win the title, you would still come here and complain that they shouldn't have.

you're sounding like D'Antoni.

I'm sorry, but I "enjoyed the ride" last year. I want a damn championship and so does the other 99% of us on these boards. So expect us to be critical because it takes almost near perfection to get that title.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

you're sounding like D'Antoni.

I'm sorry, but I "enjoyed the ride" last year. I want a damn championship and so does the other 99% of us on these boards. So expect us to be critical because it takes almost near perfection to get that title.

Actually I am fairly fed up with the constant bitching. We are 8-2. Enough of the nitpicking.

 

[mojorizen7]

Nobody's complaining about being 8-2.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

And constant bitching isn't going to bring a title to the desert. Or change the way we are coached. Or change our thrifty ownership. Or change our players.

It's just a game Fokker. If you can't be entertained when we are winning then you should seriously consider allocating your free time to something more productive.