SUNS at TRAILBLAZERS Game Thread

[DeAnna]

Point is- defense didn't lose the game for the Suns. It was one of those games- Roy got hot and it didn't matter who was guarding him. You could have had Bowen and Artest guarding him and it wouldn't have made any difference.

Huh? how so? they gave up 124pts to a mediocre offensive team. I don't recall BRoy ever going off like that against the Suns. In the past 2 games this year he scored 20pt and 26pts respectively.

So much for JRich playing defense. By the time he got really hot in the 4th qtr, then it was too late - no one could stop him. In the past the Suns had done a better job on him.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Huh? how so? they gave up 124pts to a mediocre offensive team. I don't recall BRoy ever going off like that against the Suns. In the past 2 games this year he scored 20pt and 26pts respectively.

So much for JRich playing defense. By the time he got really hot in the 4th qtr, then it was too late - no one could stop him. In the past the Suns had done a better job on him.

You watch the game or read the box score?

Granted defense wasn't a premium for either team last night but those guys got hot and their were hands in their faces. In fact the Blazers defense looked much worse as the Suns got what ever they wanted IMO.

Roy is a borderline superstar and played like it last night. He is damn good and if you are insuinating that "defensive stud" Raja would have done much better I doubt it. He was just throwing it in the ocean last night and I am not sure Bruce Bowen would have slowed him down.

The defense wasn't Celtics caliber but I was okay with the effort with some exceptions. It just doesn't seem that way from reading the box.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I was entertained, that's for sure. This Suns team wins this type of game 8 out of 10 times. Not worried.

Truth

 

[atikiN]

Here's the thing people fail to grasp. Unlike Dantoni, Porter WILL hold players accountable for defensive breakdowns. Granted this won't make them defensive all-stars but it will force players to put more focus on defense. Slowly but surely, as the season goes on, we will see defensive improvement from this team.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Here's the thing people fail to grasp. Unlike Dantoni, Porter WILL hold players accountable for defensive breakdowns. Granted this won't make them defensive all-stars but it will force players to put more focus on defense. Slowly but surely, as the season goes on, we will see defensive improvement from this team.

That is what I am banking on and is giving me hope for us being pretty damn formidable come post season. Offensively I have never been this hopeful of sustained success.

 

[DeAnna]

You're right, it was always the opposing PF or true center.

Before Shaq came aboard, it was the above; now it's the backcourt. Pick your poison, I guess. Apparently the Suns cannot do both.

 

[bigfoot]

As bad as Nash seems to be these days, trading him will bring too much uncertainty to the locker room and the franchise. It's just too much instability to overcome even for the talented roster that will be left behind. Let's find a trusty backup for him. He'll be fine.

Boy! What a game! For all the recent talk about defense, though, we cannot protect our prize from ONE man. Let's figure this out before melo comes to town, eh?

I'm not too unhappy about this loss, however. Despite Roy's career night, one more stop or one less turnover could have given a different outcome. I think there's been too much emphasis on offense recently because: (1) We just acquired a new gun. Wouldn't you wanna fire it? (2) Nash who recently regained control of the offense is still trying to find that perfect blend that keeps us effective in two opposing styles. He will figure it out. The team just needs to be on the same page and they seem to be now.
I trust that defense will resurface and things will normalize in the next few games.

Let's go SUNS!

 

[DeAnna]

You watch the game or read the box score? quote]

I Tivo every game so yes, I watched it. Seems like the Trailblazers made a concerted effort to just run with the Suns and get into a shoot out.

LoL at Terry Porter when he was asked about the defense at halftime. He chose to totally ignore the question and talked about rebouding instead.

And, no, I didn't bring up Raja. The newspaper did:

Roy might have been happy to see Raja Bell off the Suns. The third-year pro had shot 37.5 percent in his past four games against the Suns, who started the game with Richardson on him but tried others, including Barnes.

 

[cly2tw]

There was no way anyone could stop Roy. Steve Blake will NEVER shoot like that again, and Outlaw was in the zone for 10 minutes and played more aggressively in that span than I've ever seen him be. 3 crazy atypical performances and they barely beat the Suns. I like the Suns chances.

When Blake got hot in the 2nd quarter, you could see the Suns were going under the screens giving him the shot. He just made them. I'll take my chances with Steve Blake shooting 20 footers anytime.

Two weeks ago, we'd have been thrilled to be that close to the Blazers with the performances they gave last night. Now we're disappointed. The Suns are better now than they were then. They're improving. I like that.....

Sad fact is, any avg. PG in the league always play like an allstar against Nash. Blake, Carter from Nugs, Barea, Chalmers, Brook, you name it. So, it's quite certain Blake will have the same confidence in our next match with Blazers!

But agree with the rest of your analysis.

You watch the game or read the box score?

Granted defense wasn't a premium for either team last night but those guys got hot and their were hands in their faces. In fact the Blazers defense looked much worse as the Suns got what ever they wanted IMO.

Roy is a borderline superstar and played like it last night. He is damn good and if you are insuinating that "defensive stud" Raja would have done much better I doubt it. He was just throwing it in the ocean last night and I am not sure Bruce Bowen would have slowed him down.

The defense wasn't Celtics caliber but I was okay with the effort with some exceptions. It just doesn't seem that way from reading the box.

Agree 100%. With our no-defense reputation, every team seems to be more confident than they normally are at their offense. Roy was unstoppable last night, barring a clothlining thug move.

 

[Chaplin]

You watch the game or read the box score? quote]

I Tivo every game so yes, I watched it. Seems like the Trailblazers made a concerted effort to just run with the Suns and get into a shoot out.

LoL at Terry Porter when he was asked about the defense at halftime. He chose to totally ignore the question and talked about rebouding instead.

Except we give them 2 or 3 less offensive rebounds, and we WIN THE GAME. So I'd say rebounding was a legitimate concern. If neither team is going to play good defense, might as well concentrate on something else. They had 15 offensive rebounds to our 7. Cut that to 12, and we win this game.

 

[Cheesebeef]

You watch the game or read the box score? quote]

I Tivo every game so yes, I watched it. Seems like the Trailblazers made a concerted effort to just run with the Suns and get into a shoot out.

LoL at Terry Porter when he was asked about the defense at halftime. He chose to totally ignore the question and talked about rebouding instead.

since when is rebounding not an important part of defense?

 

[Arizona's Finest]

since when is rebounding not an important part of defense?

Please make sure you attribute your response to the appropriate poster

That is slander.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Except we give them 2 or 3 less offensive rebounds, and we WIN THE GAME. So I'd say rebounding was a legitimate concern. If neither team is going to play good defense, might as well concentrate on something else. They had 15 offensive rebounds to our 7. Cut that to 12, and we win this game.

You too

I agree although the discrepancy is more pronounced with the Blazers being #1 in that department.

 

[Griffin]

"From a defensive effort, we played well enough to win."
- Amar'e Stoudemire

 

[Cheesebeef]

"From a defensive effort, we played well enough to win."
- Amar'e Stoudemire

he just doesn't get it.

 

[cly2tw]

"From a defensive effort, we played well enough to win."
- Amar'e Stoudemire

That I agree with. We definitely played defense above our own average. Aside from Blake's shots off screens, the hot streaks by Roy and Outlaw were all well defended. They just made all the tough shots.

We just played Nash too long in the 3rd.

PS: Just read Shaq's comments on phxsuns.net. It's frustrating that we played so much zone, even against all the hot shooters.