Suns V Bulls

[Chaz]

A little letdown in the third but I still like the player rotations.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I like the rotation a lot. It is depending on matchups.

Casey hasn't played in the 4th, and Penny is playing instead which is working wonders. We didn't go small, and Williams is on his way in to deal with Fizer.

This is the balance from Penny and JJ I think we all expected, and if they can make this consistant, I don't think any of us will care who is starting.

 

[matt_whitlock]

Originally posted by matt_whitlock
I'd rather be able to see what Amare could do with Penny on the court, but that's probably just a dream.

Well, it looks like I'm getting my wish. After this timeout, Penny will probably be subbed out, but I like that ally-oop to Amare.

Eddie Johnson has it right. You can't overstate a player like Scottie Pippen and Penny Hardaway.

 

[slinslin]

Maybe we will get some Barbosa action?

 

[Cheesebeef]

Originally posted by thegrahamcrackr
I like the rotation a lot. It is depending on matchups.

Casey hasn't played in the 4th, and Penny is playing instead which is working wonders. We didn't go small, and Williams is on his way in to deal with Fizer.

This is the balance from Penny and JJ I think we all expected, and if they can make this consistant, I don't think any of us will care who is starting.

agreed. Nice to see some balance out there tonight as well guys dishing the rock - that needs to continue - they need to go 5-1 on this stretch ending with the Golden State game.

 

[PhiLLmattiC]

I think the fact that FJ is now giving them an idea of how many minutes they will be playing is making a big difference.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I think the fact Googs AND Casey haven't played a minute made a big difference

 

[matt_whitlock]

Well, let's not overstate the reality of this game. In truth, the Chicago Bulls are pretty bad as NBA teams go.

They're like the Casey Jacobsen's of the league - they'll hit a 3 once in a while, dumb coaches will think they're good defenders, but the reality of it is, they're just not very good.

If we finish up winning this game, it's a W, and it's certainly a step up from any of the garbage we did last week, but it's the Bulls, and afterall, Bruce Bowen, Ron Artest, Kobe Bryant, etc, don't get too excited when they shut down Casey Jacobsen...

 

[Chaz]

I like the fact they are on an 8 man rotation.

Maybe go to 9 or 10 players at times but the guys at the end of the bench need to stay there unless there are injuries or foul trouble.

 

[matt_whitlock]

And, uh.. one question:

Who's been guarding Kendall Gilll?

The Guy is 10-16, for 21 points.

That's 63%.

 

[slinslin]

I like how Amare stuffed Eddy and the boxscore gives plenty of firepower against all the Amare hating and Eddy hyping Bullsfans! YES!

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Originally posted by matt_whitlock
Well, let's not overstate the reality of this game. In truth, the Chicago Bulls are pretty bad as NBA teams go.

They're like the Casey Jacobsen's of the league - they'll hit a 3 once in a while, dumb coaches will think they're good defenders, but the reality of it is, they're just not very good.

If we finish up winning this game, it's a W, and it's certainly a step up from any of the garbage we did last week, but it's the Bulls, and afterall, Bruce Bowen, Ron Artest, Kobe Bryant, etc, don't get too excited when they shut down Casey Jacobsen...

Thats true, but it isn't like we beat them playing the way we have been the past 8 games. If that was the case, I don't think anyone would be excited, it would be more of a relieved feeling.

The players and coaches have shown radically different approaches tonight. The rotation makes sense for one, and it is a much smaller one than normal. The players are moving without the ball, and the ball is being moved around till there is a good shot.

While this win isn't impressive, it does lead us to believe the Suns may have finally realized they are a good team. If these attitudes carry on throughout the week, the team should be more than fine.

 

[matt_whitlock]

Now we have the Magic coming up. We have to really be wary of them. Obviously, they have Tracy McGrady, and if that guy is scoring around 40 points it's going to be trouble no matter how you slice it.

However, they're coming off the firing of Doc Rivers. Oftentimes, when a coach gets fired midseason, the team goes on at least a mini-winning streak. I remember when Ainge left, Skiles won like his first 5 games as the head coach. Something similar I believe happened with Frank Johnson. Now I don't know who the Magic head coach is doesn't matter, but if hitting double digits in losses after 11 games isn't a wake-up call, then usually the firing of a coach can be.

That, with the fact that they're just getting Giricek back, somebody who gives them another scoring option, and Tracy McGrady's on-court prowess, leads me to believe the Magic could cause some problems coming Thursday. Just a warning.

Good win tonight. But who was guarding Gill?

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by matt_whitlock


Good win tonight. But who was guarding Gill?

Nobody was. So that pretty much means that Penny was in his vicinity.

 

[matt_whitlock]

Hahaha, no, JJ was guarding him.

One last question though, seriously:

If you shoot 14 shots, and make 5, what percentage does that come out to?

 

[Chaz]

Originally posted by matt_whitlock
Hahaha, no, JJ was guarding him.

One last question though, seriously:

If you shoot 14 shots, and make 5, what percentage does that come out to?

What is this a math quiz now? What is the point?

 

[Chaz]

I think JJ was playing a little to far off Gill and he got hot.

In fairness however, The Suns defense has people switching assignments constantly.

 

[slinslin]

They were leaving Gill open because of their double teaming. The Suns are always guilty of leaving shooters open in many situations.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

The let Gill get hot, but that doesn't really bother me. They kept Jalen Rose out of the game, which was a big key.

And Penny was guarding Gill for a amjority of his points at the end of the third, early forth. I think he scored around 10 points in that time. JJ was most likely guarding him the rest of the time.


However, the suns help defense lead to 13 steals tonight, so defensivly as a team they did very good.

 

[scotsman13]

Originally posted by Chaplin
Nobody was. So that pretty much means that Penny was in his vicinity.

god isnt that the truth. i think that we saw the best out of penny that we will see tonight. penny got the time that he did because we were leading the whole way. otherwise i dont think that he would have gotten the time that he did. barbosa should have been in there during that time.

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by scotsman13
god isnt that the truth. i think that we saw the best out of penny that we will see tonight. penny got the time that he did because we were leading the whole way. otherwise i dont think that he would have gotten the time that he did. barbosa should have been in there during that time.

Come on now. I thought Penny Hardaway played a very good game.

Joe Mama

 

[arthurracoon]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
Come on now. I thought Penny Hardaway played a very good game.

me too

 

[slinslin]

Except for the stupid turnover.

 

[Beaver]

I just checked out the box score for tonights game. Wow. Well balanced attack. Z-Man went 7-9, were they mostly dunks-layups? Only complaint is the poor FG% from the starting guards.

 

[Chaz]

Originally posted by BendCardfan
I just checked out the box score for tonights game. Wow. Well balanced attack. Z-Man went 7-9, were they mostly dunks-layups? Only complaint is the poor FG% from the starting guards.

Steph started shooting well as did JJ. JJ took a couple bad shots in the third when the offense started to stagnate. Steph was defering to others and his shot took a little while to come back later.

I think about 4 of those 7 were layups and dunks. 3-5 from the outside seems right. Zarko was doing a great job of flashing to the middle of the zone and getting to the basket.

I thought Penny played pretty well also. He wasn't shooting jumpers he was passing and running the offense.