Suns @ Sonics game thread

[Chaz]

Looks like Allen will return tonight. Boy I hope they can pull this one out. At least they have been competitive lately.
If they play as well as they did against the Lakers they sould win this one.


A couple of mistakes in here. I guess getting the word out quickly is more important then getting the word out accurately.

SuperSonics G Allen expected to make season debut Thursday


December 23, 2003
SEATTLE (Ticker) - Three-time All-Star guard Ray Allen is expected to make his season debut Tuesday when the Seattle SuperSonics visit the Phoenix Suns.

Allen underwent surgery to remove a bone fragment from his right ankle on November 1 and missed Seattle's first 25 games of the season. The Sonics went 12-13 in his absence.

"I'm coming back now because my body is telling me this is the right time," Allen told the Seattle Times.

Allen expects to play between 10-25 minutes on Tuesday night.

 

[Chaz]

I wonder how many minutes will Harvey play tonight. Should be interesting to see if he can help us contol the boards.

Transition defense will be key tonight.

I hope Eddie Johnson is back, I like TC but not as an announcer.

 

[creed]

Hey Chambers,

"The Glove" doesn't play for Seattle anymore...he's with the Lakers.

signed,
The fans of the NBA

 

[Evil Ash]

Doesn't look good so far ... they look lost out there!

 

[Billythekid]

Suns have battled back to within 2.

JJ starting to look more assertive and Marion is really a terror on the boards. 9 Already in the half.

 

[DaFlogger]

Shazzzam!!! 32ft shot...

How cool was that?

 

[Chaz]

Not to bad so far. They are still taking a little to long to get into the offense at times.

Harvey looks like a good addition. He needs to work on his conditioning and jumpshot.
Ray Allen looks very good, good thing his conditioning isn't in top shape either.



They just need to hang in there and clamp down on defense down the stretch.

 

[Joe Mama]

I'd better not see anyone complaining that I'm picking on Penny Hardaway tonight because he looks like crap. He's not moving on offense and leaving all of his shots short again, and he's been completely lazy on defense. I hope it picks up in the second half because I don't think JJ game keep shooting that well.

The team just doesn't look like it is moving as well as it had been on offense. It helps when someone can knock down a few shots though. Marbury and particular is not shooting well from outside. That usually does not bode well for the Suns.

I'll bet this Seattle team goes on a run with Ray Allen back. The Suns have had the bad luck of facing the Clippers right after Elton Brand returned and now the sonics with Ray Allen's first night back.

Joe Mama

 

[DaFlogger]

This game blows! Enough said...

 

[Joe Mama]

The Suns looked is interested on defense and virtually everything the Sonics are throwing up is going in the basket. The perimeter defenders in particular are getting burned on a regular basis.

On offense nobody is shooting well, so the Sonics are collapsing in the lane.

The Phoenix Suns are really the only team in the Western Conference that would not make the playoffs if they were in the Eastern conference. The strength of the Western Conference is just incredible this season. There just isn't a night off.

Joe Mama

 

[jbeecham]

I know it's Harvey's 1st game, but he looked like crap (turnovers, offensive and defensive awareness, etc). Marbury didn't play well, but he was pissed off at the refs all game and he should've been. For a 2 time all-star, he gets absolutely no respect at all. Rookies get more respect from the officials than Stephon does. JJ has strung together a couple of nice performances now, it would be nice for him to continue to play aggressively. It seems like he's discovered he can beat a lot of guys off the dribble and get easier shot. His running float shot is pretty consistent (I think he learned it from Marion). I don't even want to get started on Penny.

Overall the Sonics came out with more energy and made their shots. They shot very well from everywhere and it's impossible to defend that. I think the Suns let the officiating take them out of the game mentally in the 2nd half. Oh well, on to the next game.

 

[George O'Brien]

I think the Suns let the officiating take them out of the game mentally in the 2nd half.

I agree, although the Sonics outside shooting was just unreal - 11 of 20. My guess is that if they shot that way every night they would win the west. As it was, it forced to the Suns to go small even though it did not seem to help.

Harvey really looked like he was trying too hard. I understand why Mike played him, but clearly he was not ready.

 

[Yuma]

The only thing I noticed Harvey did well, was once he fouled, you knew it! That guy made sure there were no shots made when he fouled!! Hey, my philosophy is, if you are stinking up the court that day, at least you have 6 hard fouls to give. Harvey did that, at least. I can see he has the right instincts on offense, just he hasn't got the hands, or enough practice on the moves he is trying to make in the post. It seems he knows what he should do with the ball, he just can't get there quite yet. I think he has promise. Only time will tell if he catches up to the NBA speed of play, or he remains an end of the bench kind of guy his whole career.

 

[slinslin]

When will the Suns not allow 100+ points?

 

[Beaver]

Originally posted by slinslin
When will the Suns not allow 100+ points?

Next time they play Toronto.

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by slinslin
When will the Suns not allow 100+ points?

Let's see. On the 16th Seattle scored just 91 points and in an overtime game, and on the 20th Houston scored 87 points. Sacramento and the LA Lakers average over 100 ppg. Seattle and the LA Clippers are #5 and #6 in the NBA in scoring at about 96 ppg each. They also both got their best players back just before the Phoenix Suns played them also.

I think there are a couple reasons the Phoenix Suns opponents are scoring more than they did against Frank Johnson. First, because of the injuries the Phoenix Suns have had to play small. For the most part they've been killed on the boards, and the size is causing a lot of mismatches. Secondly, D'Antoni is putting an emphasis on pushing the ball and scoring quickly. That means each team is going to get more shots per game. In other words on offense the Suns aren't standing around killing the clock every time down the floor like they did under Fj.

Joe Mama

 

[George O'Brien]

Really Missed Amare

Seattle was able go small and the Suns could not counter. I'd have rather played against their big lineup, but the Suns could not force that without a major inside threat. They really missed Amare who would have forced Seattle to play big.

Overall, the Suns have problems when they have to chase shooters, because it opens the paint for penitration. Without a quick, straight on shot blocker, this is regularly a problem. White had two shot blocks in 10 minutes, but is not quick enough to handle penitration by outside guys. (Harvey looked slow and out of shape.)

About the only hopeful sign was the good play by JJ: 9 of 14 from the field, 3 of 5 for three, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. In spite of his 3 turnovers, it was one of his best games as a Sun. JJ's overall performance has improved substantially since Mike D'A has been coach.

This was the second poor game by Hardaway in a row after shooting quite well for the previous 6 games. At least against the Lakers he had 6 assists, but he had only 1 against the Sonics and shot just 2 of 7. Hardaway was not the only outside player to have trouble with the Sonics, but it appeared that he was having a problem keeping up.

:-(

 

[jbeecham]

Well, Amare got hurt on Dec 5th and the prognosis was up to 4 weeks missed. Now the reports are saying he should be back by mid-January, which is more like 5-6 weeks. I don't know why the time has been extended. Either the injury is worse than they thought, he's taking longer to heal than expected (which shouldn't be likely because he's so young), or they are just being extra careful because Amare is a major part of the future.

Zarko got hurt on November 26th and was supposed to miss 6-8 weeks so he should be ready around the mid to end of January.

 

[Joe Mama]

I read that they just want to make sure the ankle is good and strong before he returns. That is where the extra week is coming from.

Joe Mama

 

[George O'Brien]

It is my understanding that it was level 3 sprain, which means it is about as bad as gets without being broken.

As it is, even after he comes back, he is unlikely to be in top shape for several weeks. By contrast, Zarko will be able to play soon after he is back although I would doubt his shooting will be first rate.

 

[Errntknght]

I think this is one of those games you just forget about... the Sonics were pumped up about getting Allen back and they shot the lights out. They'd have probably beaten anyone they played last night. Against us they had a little extra incentive because of losing to us in OT a week before...

 

[sly fly]

Originally posted by jbeecham
Well, Amare got hurt on Dec 5th and the prognosis was up to 4 weeks missed. Now the reports are saying he should be back by mid-January, which is more like 5-6 weeks. I don't know why the time has been extended. Either the injury is worse than they thought, he's taking longer to heal than expected (which shouldn't be likely because he's so young), or they are just being extra careful because Amare is a major part of the future.

After seeing his ankle turn, I'm not surprised it's going to take 6 weeks.

I will be surprised if he's anywhere near the player he was this season.

Bad ankle sprains are wicked. And, they play with your psyche for a long time.

I'm sure Amare is rehabbing that sucker 24/7. But, don't expect him to fly around the paint like he used too.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Errntknght
I think this is one of those games you just forget about... the Sonics were pumped up about getting Allen back and they shot the lights out. They'd have probably beaten anyone they played last night. Against us they had a little extra incentive because of losing to us in OT a week before...

The other problem was that after it became clear that the refs were not going to give the Suns the calls when they went to the basket, it seemed like they lost heart. Marbury had only 4 foul shots, but could have easily had 10 more. It is not that they called that many fouls on the Suns, but the lax calling hurt the Suns more.