Suns Versus The Magic

[TucsonDevil]

Personally, I thought PB was good tonight, he was active inside, even got a steal - hit a shot, and grabbed 2 boards - all in 2 min...

I didn't hear that he complained about playing time - where was that?

 

[jbeecham]

Thomas was impressive offensively. His bullfighter defense wasn't impressive at all (OLE!), hopefully conditioning hurt that area of his game and it'll improve. He seems like a rich man's Walter McCarty.

Overall our defense wasn't very good, but it wasn't bad. Bell, Diaw & Marion all played good defense, but Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson & Carlos Arroyo were playing really well.

Also, the Clippers are losing to the Jazz right now in the 4th.

 

[sly fly]

For all you computer game watchers out there...

- More than the Suns bad D, Orlando was just on fire. J. Nelson has a bright future if he can play like that more consistently.

- Hedo and Arroyo, for some reason, always present problems for the Suns. They were pretty good until late.

- I'm giving the Suns D a free pass for awhile. To do what they do on the defensive end, glass, blocked shots, steals, and charges... while being severely overmatched... is amazing.

- Is it me, or has James Jones shot just looked wildly horrible lately? It's almost as if he's changed form. He's working to hard, while earlier in the year it was just a smooth release.

- I think Darko about pissed his shorts when PHX double him late.

- Boris Diaw was the best player on the court tonight. The tip pass to Maion's alley-oop was absolute highlight material missed by most of the gray hairs in the lower bowl who were too busy munching on their stale nachos.

- Is Marion a Hall of Fame player?

- Release the Beast!

 

[TucsonDevil]

Who was T. Thomas guarding? How does a guy, 6'10, play 20 min and not get a board. Also - how can you play 20 min on a Suns team and not get a rebound? That being said, I was impressed with his 3-pt shooting, very timely and needed.

James Jones is still a good solid player for us - and more than likely more affordable than T.Thomas. BTW, why did he not get along with Chicago? He seems like a easy going guy... I don't know him at all though.

One more thing - Jamier Nelson, WOW! I was wrong about that guy coming out of college..

 

[keric]

Great Game

One of the most entertaining games of the season, regardless of the outcome.

-Tim Thomas is better than advertised. The guy obviously been doing only two things while not playing. 1. shooting jumpers 2. lifitng weights (Very disappointed in his rebounding and D or lack there of)
0 rbs, 0 bs, 0 assists

-Speaking of D: This was probably one of the worst defensive games of the season. Barbosa was totally schooled by Nelson in the 2nd half. Luckily Marion and Diaw stepped up in the 4th.

-Nelson, Howard and Darko have a bright future ahead. Yes i did say Darko. The guy has all the tools, just needs the time.

-Burke must feel ambivilent right now. (Just when he had his "breakout game" along comes Tim Thomas and completly overshadows it. Burke knows Thomas is better, hell who isn't. I'd take Pat Garrity and Darko over Burke.

-Looks like we take the winning streak into Dallas

 

[elindholm]

BTW, why did he not get along with Chicago?

It's not really that he didn't get along, just that the Bulls never wanted him in the first place. He came over as salary-cap ballast in the Eddy Curry deal, and Skiles pretty much announced right away that he was going to ignore Thomas and play his youngsters. As near as I can tell, Thomas handled the situation well, even though it must have been frustrating.

 

[mribnik]

Pat went off about not playing enough?

Yeah, he did.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0302sunsside0302.html

The reserve center's frustration isn't a secret in Suns camp. Burke wants to play more. To be effective, he says he needs to play more. It's a must.

"If you play with Steve (Nash) every game, you know what he's capable of doing," Burke said at his locker. "If I go out there for three minutes once every four games, I don't really know what's going to happen. And when I get hit in the head or I lose the ball, it pisses me off. And I don't get the opportunity again."

Burke knew added minutes were a possibility following Kurt Thomas' foot injury. But he played just 11 minutes Monday against Houston and only five last week against Charlotte.

To make matters worse, practice hasn't helped. Not with all the injuries. The Suns are so hobbled, they haven't played much full-court five-on-five in recent weeks.

"I'm playing two-on-two with Amaré (Stoudemire), and two-on-two is not five-on-five in the NBA," Burke said. "You know, that's some (expletive) you do in the driveway."

 

[reader]

Folks, on behalf of those of us who are unable to see the game, only boxscores, thanks for fleshing out some of the plays. Sunsfn, the last 3 plays of the game sounded very exciting.

I just wish they had played a bit of D earlier in the game, it probably would have saved some people from searching for the antacids.

Good win.....

 

[mribnik]

Folks, on behalf of those of us who are unable to see the game, only boxscores, thanks for fleshing out some of the plays. Sunsfn, the last 3 plays of the game sounded very exciting.

I just wish they had played a bit of D earlier in the game, it probably would have saved some people from searching for the antacids.

Good win.....

I feel your pain about not being able to see the games since I live in San Diego. You can watch the highlights on Suns.com if you wish. Sometimes you can watch the nba games via chinese television (international ESPN) through those online tv sharing programs. Sometimes they are even in English, with Chinese subtitles.

 

[JS22]

Who was T. Thomas guarding? How does a guy, 6'10, play 20 min and not get a board. Also - how can you play 20 min on a Suns team and not get a rebound? That being said, I was impressed with his 3-pt shooting, very timely and needed.

James Jones is still a good solid player for us - and more than likely more affordable than T.Thomas. BTW, why did he not get along with Chicago? He seems like a easy going guy... I don't know him at all though.

One more thing - Jamier Nelson, WOW! I was wrong about that guy coming out of college..

I noticed that Thomas would simply box his man out and let marion / diaw go for the board. But c'mon...grab ONE!

 

[jibikao]

Wow, Tim Thomas really brings offense to us and NOTHING else. For a 6-10 guy, he has zero rebound? Can somebody tell me how he did that? It's quite amazing actually. lol

But he was freaky hot... 5/8 3pt. He brings even more outside threat!

By the way, why did James Jones start? Well, Tim Thomas said he may even start and I guess he CAN now since James Jones played less mins than he does. lol

Well, we won the game and that's what matters. Our next opponent is Spurs?? Darn.

 

[reader]

Next opponent is the Mavericks on Sunday, on ABC.

 

[jibikao]

Next opponent is the Mavericks on Sunday, on ABC.

Ok, we gotta win then!

 

[Mainstreet]

Who was T. Thomas guarding? How does a guy, 6'10, play 20 min and not get a board. Also - how can you play 20 min on a Suns team and not get a rebound? That being said, I was impressed with his 3-pt shooting, very timely and needed.

TT is a great offensive rebounder when he follows his missed shots.

He just had trouble missing tonight.

Forgive the sarcasm.

Seriously, since he reportedly only participated in a half of practive, I'll give him a break this time. He scored 20 points on a silky smooth shot and he played some good defense under the bucket on at least one possession I recall.

I find it difficult to believe that he appeared in such good shape and played so well tonight.

 

[jibikao]

I just watched the recap video. The first one is how Tim Thomas played one-on-one and hit a fade away jumper. NICE!!! I don't think anyone else can do that on this team. lol He is 6-10 and he has to take advantage of that!

 

[Gaddabout]

James Jones obviously still hasn't fully recovered from his wrist injury. Thomas has a sweet stroke, but I'll take him coming off the bench. Jones is a more legitimate spot player at the 4, he plays stronger, and when healthy, he can shoot about as well. Jones also knows how to pass and he's one of the few guys who knows how to get to line when his shot isn't falling.

If y'all think Thomas' lack of defense has to do with conditioning, you haven't been reading the scouting reports. Not that I have a major problem with that from a true scorer. I mean, Tom Chambers' jersey is hanging from the rafters after all.

 

[goldseraph]

What's the fascination with Howard again? Compared to Amare as a rookie he is pretty much still worse at everything except rebounding and maybe defense although his defense is nothing more than average at best.

He's 20, 2nd year out of high school, and is leading the league in rebounding. He is 6'11" with an amazing physique and athleticism, and has a great work ethic. Big men take a long time to develop, and Howard is very raw offensively, but he has the desire and talent to be dominating. Imagine in 4 more years, he will be 24 with 6 years of nba experience. He will certainly be a 20+ppg, 14+rpg center if he stays healthy.

 

[ProdigalSun]

I agree about Jones's wrist affecting his shot right now. Aside from his shot though, I've been impressed with the improvement in other aspects of his game. His defense has gotten better, he's done a great job with the weakside help, he boxes out and rebounds, and on the offensive side he's been attacking the glass more. Tim Thomas was impressive tonight but if he doesn't contribute anything other than scoring he'll just end up being a taller Eddie House. To completely give up on Jones at this point would be a mistake IMO.

 

[mribnik]

Everyone's talking about those last-minute alley-oops, but how about that tip alley-oop from Diaw to Marion in the first quarter? That was pretty damn impressive. Just saw it on sportscenter.

If I recall, Nash dribbles down the course and passes to Diaw. The pass is pretty close to Diaw's defender as well, so Diaw tips it up into the air for a Marion alley-oop.

Edit: Oh, and the Clips lost, so the Suns are now 7 games up with 25 to go!

 

[Mainstreet]

James Jones obviously still hasn't fully recovered from his wrist injury. Thomas has a sweet stroke, but I'll take him coming off the bench. Jones is a more legitimate spot player at the 4, he plays stronger, and when healthy, he can shoot about as well. Jones also knows how to pass and he's one of the few guys who knows how to get to line when his shot isn't falling.

If y'all think Thomas' lack of defense has to do with conditioning, you haven't been reading the scouting reports. Not that I have a major problem with that from a true scorer. I mean, Tom Chambers' jersey is hanging from the rafters after all.

I like James Jones alot and with his reasonable contract, the Suns should be able to keep him into the future. I too, feel he has not fully recovered from his wrist injury. He also plays some respectable defense.

Until I know TT's game better, I will probably think of him as a bigger version of James Jones, with the body to do some damage inside should he so desire.

Maybe he will focus more on the inside part of his game as the season progresses and in the playoffs (maybe not). I really enjoy the additional depth, height and shooting he gives the Suns.

I'm not a Robert Horry fan, but TT could play such a role for the Suns. I also like his ability to play all three positions on the frontline.

 

[mribnik]

Interesting stat. On the season, Nash, Marion, Jones, Barbosa, Diaw, Bell and House all have an adjusted FG% over .514. Well, Burke does too. The only contributer that doesn't is Kurt Thomas at .486.

 

[Evil Ash]

I'm not a Robert Horry fan, but TT could play such a role for the Suns.

We needed someone to bite Jerry Stackhouse?

 

[jbeecham]

I think Stackhouse has been suspended for 1 game for the altercation with Horry so he should miss the Suns game on Sunday.

 

[Chaplin]

I think Stackhouse has been suspended for 1 game for the altercation with Horry so he should miss the Suns game on Sunday.

I thought it was Horry was suspended for 2 games and Stackhouse was just fined $30k.

 

[jbeecham]

Yeah, Sportscenter originally said that Stackhouse was suspended 1 game for the altercation and fined for his comments, but ESPN doesn't mention the 1 game suspension at all so either it was lifted of Sportscenter had it wrong.