Suns Healthy, Depth About to Shine

[jbeecham]

Suns Staying Healthy, Piling Up Wins

By Jerry Brown
East Valley Tribune
Jan. 9, 2007

Many jokes have been made about how the Suns always seem to be playing a team that is shorthanded due to injury.

That will be the case again tonight as Seattle, loser of four straight overall and 11 straight on the road, limps in. After losing Ray Allen for nine games earlier in the season, the Sonics have been without second-leading scorer Rashard Lewis (hand) for eight games and lost center Robert Swift (knee) for the season.

But looking around the NBA, it’s hard to find a team not saddled with or recovering from injury problems. Of the top 10 scorers in the league, six have endured either suspensions (Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson) or injury problems (Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce, Yao Ming, Joe Johnson).

It doesn’t end there. Look deeper and stars like Shaquille O’Neal, Lamar Odom, Kenyon Martin, Pau Gasol. Tracy McGrady, Chauncey Billups, Jason Richardson, Peja Stojakovic, Chris Bosh and Chris Paul are either just back or still out with long-term medical problems. During Phoenix’s 15-game winning streak, its opponents were routinely without key stars and starters.

Meanwhile the two teams that lead the pack – Dallas and Phoenix – endured slow starts due to lingering injury problems, but have stayed healthy since.

“You knock on wood every day because you know how fast it can change, but there are things you can do to help your cause,” Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Accidents happen, but not everything that happens is an accident.”

For three years, Phoenix’s injuries have been few, but significant. Joe Johnson was lost in the playoffs two years ago with broken bones in his face, and Raja Bell to a calf last year. Losing Bell and going without Amaré Stoudemire all of last season and Kurt Thomas for the final four months were tough hurdles which the Suns ultimately could not clear.

But the Suns have lost just 10 man-games to injury through 33 games this year, less than one game per man to their 14 roster players. Bell is the only player to miss at least three games *— and one came due to a suspension by the league. Since Dec. 1, the Suns — who push the ball every night and tax their bodies as much as any team — have been completely healthy. Back spasms cost Pat Burke, the last man on the bench, to miss one game. That’s it.

Some of the reasons the Suns keep rolling is the preventative measures taken by Aaron Nelson and his training staff. Some of it is D’Antoni’s philosophy, which demands a player stay in top physical condition, along with his penchant for not pushing his team with long practices and emphasizing rest. Some of it is just plain dumb luck.

“You do what you can to avoid the big injuries that will cost weeks and months. We’ve had some freak stuff, but otherwise we’ve been pretty lucky,” D’Antoni said.

The potential is there.

After Sunday’s win over Golden State, Steve Nash said this team could be the best he’s played on in his career. The quality depth, professionalism and ability to defend when needed all play into that assessment — especially the defense. “We’re winning the games we should, and we’ve won games when we weren’t sharp offensively and had to rely on the defense to carry us,” Nash said. “We have the chance to be the best defensive team I’ve played on. We still have a lot of work to do, but the potential and the combinations are there.

“Being a winning team is about finding ways to win.”

The Suns haven’t suffered a double-digit loss this season. An opening-game 114-106 loss on Halloween night against the Lakers represents the biggest “blowout” among their eight losses, and the 19-point deficit in that game represents the biggest deficit all year.

“This team doesn’t take any nights off,” D’Antoni said, noting the team is 14-1 against teams with losing records. “They don’t want to leave any wins behind. With people like Steve and Leandro (Barbosa) always pushing the tempo, we don’t lay back. This team does a great job of taking care of business.”

Suns vs. Sonics
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: US Airways Center
TV: FSN Arizona
Radio: KTAR (620 AM, 92.3 FM)
Records: Sonics 13-23, Suns 25-8
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_070109.html

 

[jbeecham]

Suns: Depth About To Shine
By Greg White
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jan 8, 2007, 15:53

On of the reasons Phoenix was picked by most to compete for the NBA title wasn't just because they have Steve Nash, a healthy Amare, and Shawn Marion, but because of their depth. After seeing how seamlessly Raja Bell fit into the offense, what a surprise Diaw was, and the speed of Barbosa, this team might be as deep as they come. And we haven't even mentioned Kurt Thomas who provides defense and rebounding up front when the game slows down, or the shooting of both James Jones and Jumaine Jones, or the speed and defense of Marcus Banks, and the experience of Jalen Rose.

Realistically, the Suns could go 10-11 deep if they wanted too.

But, a whole lot has been made on how Mike D'Antoni plays with a real short bench. It almost seems that he prefers to go just 7 and just sometimes 8 deep. On the flip side, there are those, Mike included, who feels that the play falls off a bit when he goes to the bench. Just look at all of the big leads they have given up or watch closely how long he keeps a number of his starters in late during some blowouts.

In no way is D'Antoni trying to run up the score, but he is simply trying to keep his lead.

With the amount of good players sitting on the bench in Phoenix, one has to wonder why he doesn't get as much success and playing time out of the role players.

With the exception of Leandro Barbosa, who has started 7 games, playing 31 minutes a contest, and scoring a starters like 16.6 ppg, no other bench player is scoring more than Kurt Thomas' 5.7 ppg. What is notable about Kurt's numbers is that, in the four games he started, he scored 10 ppg, but in just 7 less minutes off the bench, his scoring has dropped in half.

It is pretty normal for a players numbers to drop off when coming in off the bench versus starting, but you still have to wonder why the Suns aren't getting more from their bench. If you look at Barbosa's numbers as a bench player (15.5) and Kurt's numbers off the bench (5.2), along with the other role players of Jumaine Jones, Jalen Rose, James Jones, and Marcus Banks, the Suns are only averaging a combined 5 ppg off the bench. Of course those numbers seem a bit low because of Jalen or Jumaine not getting many minutes or scoring opportunities. But the unit as a whole is really only getting production from Barbosa off the bench. Kurt is more of a match-up player for the Suns. He gets more opportunities and more minutes based on who the opponent is and the flow of the game.

While James had a great night last night with 25 off the bench, he hasn't been consistent throughout the season. Consistency is a lot of times the difference between a starter and a backup.

It isn't for lack of practice. In fact, before Friday's game against Miami, James Jones was out shooting almost two hours before the game started. I asked him was he just trying to get loose or get back accustomed to the new ball. He told me he shoots partly because of the difficulty coming off the bench when you play in Phoenix. "This team plays so fast. You can't judge the speed of the game until you get in there. You have to be warm, and loose before you come in. You may get a lot of time or just 10 minutes so you have to be ready when your name is called' said James. 'I got used to starting a little bit last year and to have to come off the bench is an adjustment."

That got me to thinking. You always hear players talk about adjusting to going from a starter to a backup. That is on any team in the league. But, can you imagine how much more harder it is when you play for the Suns?

Another thing James mentioned was being in shape for "Suns basketball". You often hear about a player being in "game shape". But game shape and Suns shape are two entirely different things.

Being ready to run up and down the court every single time is hard. Now doing it after sitting in a little chair for an hour before you are called upon to enter the game late in the second quarter is even harder.

That being said, Marcus Banks, Jumaine Jones, and Jalen rose are all new to the Suns. Getting used to the speed and free flow (or controlled chaos as I like to call it) offense of the Suns, takes time, and then getting used to going from park to 5th gear is even harder and will take even more time.

So, while the Suns' haven't really been able to unveil their depth just yet because the bench players haven't performed quite up to snuff, it is only a matter of time before they learn how to turn it on quickly.

As hard as it may seem to imagine, the Suns may get even better as the season progresses. Now we see why D'Antoni feels his team is 1 1/2 months ahead of schedule. Because he knows that, as they mesh even more, and are able to go deeper to the bench, they will be that much harder to beat.

All of that, and they still have the second best record in the league!

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_20282.shtml

 

[Covert Rain]

KNOCK ON WOOD <---------

 

[Mike Olbinski]

KNOCK ON WOOD <---------

Seriously...

Everyone stop talking about how un-hurt we are

 

[dodie53]

jinx jinx jinx.. pak!

 

[green machine]

 

[B-Dogg]

One thing I have never understood is why do they not have a stationary bike or two for the bench players to ride prior to entering the game to stay warm, they do it in the nfl and a pitcher never comes into a game without warming up or a hitter withour taking some practice swings so why not stick a couple of stationary bikes at the end of the bench to allow players to come in warm...

 

[Errntknght]

I'd bet the players wouldn't like it B-Dogg... it might damage their 'image'...

 

[elindholm]

Having bikes by the bench would interfere with the view from the expensive seats. However, at least some (probably most, and maybe all) teams have stationary bikes in their locker rooms, and once in a while you hear about a player who stays on the bike until he's likely to be needed on the floor. Rodman used to do this, for instance.

 

[devilalum]

Someone should delete this thread before something bad happens.

 

[fordronken]

I remember during the playoffs one year that a player who had been injured would use a bike in the tunnel so he could still watch the game.

 

[dodie53]

.......that bike is a good thing

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Suns Staying Healthy, Piling Up Wins

Damn it.

 

[F-Dog]

Hey, look at the bright side--this is why Jumaine Jones signed with us in the first place.