Suns @ Bucks Nov.8

[mojorizen7]

Jefferson got hammered there.

 

[LV-Suns]

Amare is doing a much better job this season keeping his fouls down. Only two in the game going into the 4th.

Jinxed. lol

 

[mojorizen7]

Sessions is a nice looking kid. Fearless.

 

[Sovereignz]

So the ref standing right on top of Amare won't call Bogut slamming his forearm into his back or Sessions slapping his arm while he tries to pass out of the double team, but doesn't hesistate to whistle the offensive foul? What a dick.

 

[Bayless2Budinger]

These fouls on Amare are ********.

Great pass though.

 

[mojorizen7]

I think this is the point in the game where the referees will attempt to get the home team back into the game by awarding them with calls that could go either way.

 

[mojorizen7]

Diaw is MIA
I've only seen the SUNS go to him in the post once though.

 

[Sovereignz]

11-13 for Shaq. Wow. Rofl.

 

[mojorizen7]

Excellent play call.

 

[Bayless2Budinger]

Shaq abusing Bogut and Gadzuric.

28/11 and counting. This is brutal

Amare with more free throws made and attempted than the whole Bucks team.

 

[TJ]

These fouls on Amare are ********.

Great pass though.

I dont mind as long as he hits his throws. Its been a rare sight to see this type of imbalance of FT attempts going in our favor

 

[French Fries]

Shaq abusing Bogut and Gadzuric.

28/11 and counting. This is brutal

Amare with more free throws made and attempted than the whole Bucks team.

not that i agree with sitting players out before the game but, that's a rested shaq for ya...

also it said in the game thread opening that bogut has played good games against the suns in the past, but 3 pts? that's saying something

 

[Griffin]

Once again, the bench was useless. The Suns outscored the Bucks by 17 when Nash was on the floor, and were outscored by 9 when he sat. Our quest for a decent back-up point guard continues. Dragic's line: 0 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 5 fouls in 13 minutes. On the season, he has as many turnovers (10) as assists. This is forcing our starting unit and Nash especially to have to work even harder.

Great game from Shaq. If we had that yesterday, we could have been 4-0 on this road trip.

 

[TJ]

on paper, we have a good bench that should be able to sustain a lead that our starters get, but they have been embarrassing.

 

[AceP]

I remember a thread talking about the centers "RANKED" ahead of Shaq. Well ... We know Shaq can no longer do this night in and night out, but he will help us win 1 or 2 games in a playoff serie, that's crucial.

It is more than good to end the 4 games in 5 days road trip as 3-1. Welcome home.

 

[SirStefan32]

Shaq is still a beast! 29 points on 12/16 shooting, along with 11 boards and 4 assists in 35 minutes. Bogut held to 5 points.
Amare had a good game again. Hill stepped up big time and had 13 points, 11 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals- very nice game.

Bench was horrible again, Barbosa and Diaw really need to step up and do SOMETHING. To be fair, Barnes is out, so the 2nd unit is missing Hill, but still- that was terrible.

The only thing I don't understand is why there are 3-4 minute stretches when basketball doesn't go to Shaq or Amare in the low post.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

on paper, we have a good bench that should be able to sustain a lead that our starters get, but they have been embarrassing.

huh? what paper are you talking about? the only paper i read says the bench has:

diaw - most maddening, inconsistent, passive player on the planet
barbs - ZERO hoops IQ and in fullblown regression mode
dragic - a mid second round pick who has shown little of the moxy that excited the front office
robin - a nonskilled offensive player who is a subpar rebounding rookie
amundson - pleasant surprise energy guy, but no more

and with barnes out, that places hill, the only moderately good player, in the starting lineup. we have NO bench, much less one that looks like it should be able of sustaining a lead on paper.

 

[Mainstreet]

I wonder if Tyronn Lue likes being nonexistent for Milwaukee like he was last year for Dallas. He could have really displayed his talents in Phoenix if he did not look elsewhere.

 

[mojorizen7]

5-2
Not too shabby.
The identity on offense(at least among the starting 5) has come a long way since i last saw this team.They looked lost in losing to the Hornets over a week ago. Obviously the bench is still struggling to produce anything.
If this team didn't put as much emphasis on defense & shot selection as they have they'd probably be 2-5 at this point considering the offensive struggles they've had.
Gotta love it.

 

[Mainstreet]

5-2
Not too shabby.
The identity on offense(at least among the starting 5) has come a long way since i last saw this team.They looked lost in losing to the Hornets over a week ago. Obviously the bench is still struggling to produce anything.
If this team didn't put as much emphasis on defense & shot selection as they have they'd probably be 2-5 at this point considering the offensive struggles they've had.
Gotta love it.

I looked at the league standings earlier tonight and the Suns had the 6th best best overall record in the league. I'm not happy where the Suns are at right now in terms of teamwork but I agree, the Suns could and probably should be doing much worse. Two things particularly concern me is the Suns over reliance on Shaq (which wouldn't be bad if Shaq could bring it every night) and the backup PG position. It seems Dragic has some Diaw in him (lack of aggression), but I will forgive him for now since he is just learning the NBA as a rookie.

If there is a trade out there for Diaw or LB, the Suns should consider it. The addition of Matt Barnes looks like gold. The Suns really miss him when he does not play.

 

[arwillan]

huh? what paper are you talking about? the only paper i read says the bench has:

diaw - most maddening, inconsistent, passive player on the planet
barbs - ZERO hoops IQ and in fullblown regression mode
dragic - a mid second round pick who has shown little of the moxy that excited the front office
robin - a nonskilled offensive player who is a subpar rebounding rookie
amundson - pleasant surprise energy guy, but no more

and with barnes out, that places hill, the only moderately good player, in the starting lineup. we have NO bench, much less one that looks like it should be able of sustaining a lead on paper.

there are two sides to that paper. you could argue something like:

Diaw- once most improved player, very good passer, decent defender and midrange shooter, creative in the post
barbosa- streaky shooter, able to score points in a hurry, one of the 3 or 4 quickest players in the league
dragic- a young point guard still developing, shows promise on the defensive end so far
lopez- very good defender, active on both ends, good shot-blocking ability
admundson- good defender and hustle player, runs the floor well for a big man.

 

[Cheesebeef]

again, at this point in the year, i'll pile up as many wins any way we can get 'em. was it pretty tonight? hell no, but Ws don't have to be, especially as this team tries to figure out what they are, on the second night of a back to back, down a starter and with a bench that really is pretty questionable at this point.

that Houston game will give us a better barometer of where we are and what we could be. So far we've really only played one tough squad and were handled at home pretty easily (regardless of final outcome the NO game never seemed in doubt). So it'll be nice to see how we match up, at home against what we all know will likely be a tough playoff team.

 

[JCSunsfan]

The Suns are 5-2 to begin the year. They are 4-1 on the road. They have been w/o their starting sf for 3 of those games. They are sitting Shaq in back to backs.

Could be worse.

 

[Griffin]

The Suns are 5-2 to begin the year. They are 4-1 on the road. They have been w/o their starting sf for 3 of those games. They are sitting Shaq in back to backs.

Could be worse.

True. But it is also true that our last five opponents were all lottery teams last season, four of them in the East, and our only win against a playoff team from last season came in the season opener against a Spurs team that are playing like a lottery team. The one challenge we've had so far, New Orleans, we've lost, and they were without their starting center.

5-2 is nice. But games vs. Houston, Detroit, at Utah and vs. Lakers (combined record so far: 17-3) coming up in the next two weeks will tell us a whole lot more about our team.

 

[mojorizen7]

True. But it is also true that our last five opponents were all lottery teams last season, four of them in the East, and our only win against a playoff team from last season came in the season opener against a Spurs team that are playing like a lottery team. The one challenge we've had so far, New Orleans, we've lost, and they were without their starting center.

5-2 is nice. But games vs. Houston, Detroit, at Utah and vs. Lakers (combined record so far: 17-3) coming up in the next two weeks will tell us a whole lot more about our team.

And the LAKERS are 4-0 and have beaten the Clippers twice,the Blazers, and the Nuggets so they haven't proven anything either right?
Lets take the JAZZ at 5-0. They've also beaten the Clipps twice,the Nuggets,the Blazers and the relocated OKC Thunder. Should we be cautious of their impressive start?
The 4-2 ROCKETS took down Memphis, Dallas,OKC & the Clippers.....wow! The ROCKETS lost to the Celtics(NBA champs) & the Trailblazers.
The SUNS are 5-2 & having just finished their first Eastern swing 3-1.

Point being, you play who you play and those teams you mentioned haven't "beaten anyone" either so to get off to this kind of start is more than just "nice" IMO.