Suns @ Pistons 4:30 pm

[Proteus]

Having to go through an overtime with a plane to catch and Boston to play tomorrow is rough. Entertaining game. We lost.

Sets up Shaq and Nash and a few other older players for tired leg syndrome. If we get blown out tomorrow, it won't be that surprising nor meaningful.

We don't play Boston tomorrow though, it's wednesday.

 

[cly2tw]

Actually, Skinner would have been helpful against Sheed for a couple of min. Sheed often has tendency to commit stupid fouls on no-name players for lack of focus. Pistons used their bench bigs Ratliff, Amir Johnson, Maxiel very well.

 

[Andrew]

Did hell freeze over? An ESPN analyst saying this was a "quality loss"?

 

[bigfoot]

What's the deal with the rebounding lately? In this game and the game against the Rockets, 2nd chance pts seemed to help out our opponents a lot.
Sigh...if only Hill had hit his free throws in regulation.

We only got outrebounded by 4 - all of which are offensive. Is it that bad a difference? A lot of those volleyball-style rebounding happened today and I counted 2 occasions when the ball bounced away from 3 outstretched Suns to a Piston. Maybe we're just that unlucky, but I think it's far from becoming a problem again.

 

[pokerface]

Did hell freeze over? An ESPN analyst saying this was a "quality loss"?

It was though. The Suns gained some credibility IMO because they played a tough overtime game in Detroit.

The Suns are a force to be reckoned with.

 

[arwillan]

It was though. The Suns gained some credibility IMO because they played a tough overtime game in Detroit.

The Suns are a force to be reckoned with.

they lost to a detroit team that was missing their points per game leader. Their bench out scored ours 29-17. They out-rebounded us by 6. They turned the ball over 4 less times. They got to the line 4 more times, and made their fouls shots when they counted. Grant missed 2 big ones. I would hardly call that game "quality" on our end.

 

[bigfoot]

The Celtics game is on WEDNESDAY. Y'all are getting me confused! That ought to be another good one.

Oh well, time now to root for GSW vs LAL .... Go B. Diddy!

 

[Proteus]

It seems like since we traded Marion opposing teams make relatively few turnovers.

 

[bigfoot]

they lost to a detroit team that was missing their points per game leader. Their bench out scored ours 29-17. They out-rebounded us by 6. They turned the ball over 4 less times. They got to the line 4 more times, and made their fouls shots when they counted. Grant missed 2 big ones. I would hardly call that game "quality" on our end.

Let's give the Suns credit. After all those things that went wrong - all those things you listed - and all the extra stuff people here are vehemently complaining about, the game still went to the wire with the Suns a chance to win it in the last 3 or 2 possessions. Add to that the psychological hurdle that this was the team that edged us by 30 only a month ago and took something like 10 (unsure) of last 12 meetings. That's quality effort.

 

[pokerface]

they lost to a detroit team that was missing their points per game leader. Their bench out scored ours 29-17. They out-rebounded us by 6. They turned the ball over 4 less times. They got to the line 4 more times, and made their fouls shots when they counted. Grant missed 2 big ones. I would hardly call that game "quality" on our end.

Then why was it an overtime affair on their homecourt?

 

[Andrew]

Damn with the loss and the rockets win we fall back to the 5 seed tied with san antonio for the 6th.

 

[bigfoot]

Damn with the loss and the rockets win we fall back to the 5 seed tied with san antonio for the 6th.

You'll go crazy keeping an eye on the standings with each game. The West is insane. I'll probably look when there are only 5 games left.

 

[Hat]

Yeh there's no sense worrying about standings right now.

It changes with each game played.

 

[Andrew]

I know, but if the Lakers lose tonight, are we just a half game back or do we fall even because we would have the same amount of losses?

 

[nashman]

Man it seems like we get screwed often when ever we try to play physical. Once again we were hosed by the refs and they stole that game from us!

 

[Bufalay]

That stupid block call on Nash was a make-up call. Nash didn't deserve free throws on the previous play. That foul on Shaq was BS. Poorly officiated game, but who cares at least the Suns didn't lose by 30 again.

 

[D-Dogg]

I know, but if the Lakers lose tonight, are we just a half game back or do we fall even because we would have the same amount of losses?

You have to be a full game ahead of us to take the division because we own the tiebreaker H2H.

 

[Chaplin]

they lost to a detroit team that was missing their points per game leader. Their bench out scored ours 29-17. They out-rebounded us by 6. They turned the ball over 4 less times. They got to the line 4 more times, and made their fouls shots when they counted. Grant missed 2 big ones. I would hardly call that game "quality" on our end.

You keep bringing up that Rip was out, as if that 18 ppg he has would automatically mean another 18 points on top of what they scored tonight. If Rip was playing, I GUARANTEE that Stuckey wouldn't have had as good a game, and Chauncey probably wouldn't have either. You make them out to be a cupcake, which of course in your mind makes the Suns loss all the more worse (or sweeter, in your case).

 

[Andrew]

You have to be a full game ahead of us to take the division because we own the tiebreaker H2H.

So we can never fall even?

 

[Andrew]

"I was trying to foul Shaq at the end." - McDyess in his post-game interview

 

[arwillan]

Then why was it an overtime affair on their homecourt?

Largely due to the fact that they were missing their highest scorer. I don't know how many times i have to say that.

 

[arwillan]

You keep bringing up that Rip was out, as if that 18 ppg he has would automatically mean another 18 points on top of what they scored tonight. If Rip was playing, I GUARANTEE that Stuckey wouldn't have had as good a game, and Chauncey probably wouldn't have either. You make them out to be a cupcake, which of course in your mind makes the Suns loss all the more worse (or sweeter, in your case).

i don't mean to say that the guys who stepped in his place didn't do a fine job making up for him at all. I'm just pointing out that Rip is a far better player than stuckey. If stuckey could get 13 points on 6-12 shooting, how many do you think that arguably the best shooter in the game, rip hamilton, could have gotten? Stuckey also hit 0 threes, how many would Rip have hit? Might i also point out that Billups got 32 points with Bell on him. How many would he have gotten with nash on him? Would bell have been able to guard hamilton or would he score at will like Chauncey did? nobody knows, but you have to like the pistons' odds a little bit better with hamilton starting over a rookie.

 

[D-Dogg]

So we can never fall even?

If we finish with the same record, the Lakers have the first tiebreaker, so no.

 

[az1965]

First, a foul on Nash resulted in Billups' three-point play that gave the Pistons a 107-105 lead with 1:01 left in overtime.

"I think he panicked," Nash said of the official. "He kind of stuttered and then he said: 'You were underneath him.' It's tough to take when you feel like you played well enough to win, but you feel like the win was taken away from you."

"I would have liked to see some consistency in the calls," O'Neal said. "They [the Pistons] had help, there's no two ways about it."

Suns usually don't complain about officiating in post game... today was exceptional.

 

[PHX 32]

Well we set the record for pages/replies for a thread. Haha

OT I know