Suns Vs Pistons game thread

[JPlay]

Plus they need to stop double teaming everyone! If they didn't double team they could get the rebounds and there wouldn't be so many wide open layups.

Yeah I hate the double teaming. the Spurs and Detroit rarely do this, but the Suns have to because they are always in a defensvie mismatch because of small ball. There is no way Marion can guard Rasheed straight up.

 

[Gaddabout]

The Suns always look confused on defense to me. You can hear them talking "help me! help me!" but there's rarely anyone who makes the right rotation. They don't seem to know if they're supposed to be contesting threes or packing it in for a rebound -- and the 2s and 3s are regularly caught in no man's land. When a player like Ginobli decides to take it to the hole against tight man, JJ or whomever's guarding him is on an island. He has to know he won't get any help.

I think the Suns are fully capable of playing respectable defense. I don't think they've had much help from the coaching staff, though. Maybe the staff has a great understanding of team defense, but it doesn't seem to have been communicated to them very well, and they don't always get a lot of help from the coach in terms of player rotations.

OK, I'm done venting on the topic ... for now.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Curious - I was at the game, and it seemed like the fans were REALLY Loud in the last quarter - did it come across on the tube? I've never seen the place as fired up in the dozen or so games I've been to.

It was incredible last night. When I left my hands were bright red for about 20 minutes and my voice was totally shot. The game was absolutely amazing to be at.

 

[George O'Brien]

The Suns always look confused on defense to me. You can hear them talking "help me! help me!" but there's rarely anyone who makes the right rotation. They don't seem to know if they're supposed to be contesting threes or packing it in for a rebound -- and the 2s and 3s are regularly caught in no man's land. When a player like Ginobli decides to take it to the hole against tight man, JJ or whomever's guarding him is on an island. He has to know he won't get any help.

I think the Suns are fully capable of playing respectable defense. I don't think they've had much help from the coaching staff, though. Maybe the staff has a great understanding of team defense, but it doesn't seem to have been communicated to them very well, and they don't always get a lot of help from the coach in terms of player rotations.

OK, I'm done venting on the topic ... for now.

Small ball works on offense. Amare had 26 points and should have had more if the refs had called the game tighter. The reason is that Sheed absolutely couldn't defend either Amare or Shawn. However, small ball creates defensive mismatches and if the Suns don't create turnovers, they give up too many points inside.

 

[F-Dog]

I agree 100 %. I really believe that only reason the Suns got back in this game was that Hunter AND Amare were in the game at the SAME time. Hunter doesn't always get the rebound; Amare doesn't always get the rebound; but, the TEAM seems to allways get more rebounds when they are BOTH on the floor at the SAME time.

I was as happy as anybody to see Hunter in the game, but the big lineup never rebounds as well as they should. Maybe I have higher expectations than you do.

In the third quarter (after Hunter came in), the "regular-sized" Suns were out-rebounded 8-3. They did better in the first part of the fourth quarter (5-5), but the small lineups actually out-rebounded Detroit from that point on (7-4).


I think this was the first close game this season where the Suns' bench was better and deeper than the other team's. The Suns had a solid eight-man rotation in the second half, when the Pistons cut their own rotation down to seven. Tayshaun Prince played the whole second half, while Steve Nash got a full nine minutes of rest; the difference between the two at the end was pretty obvious. I'd love to see the bench get this much play for the rest of the season.


I think the refs must have been allergic to blowing the whistle. The Amare travel was a great example: Amare got hit, stumbled across the lane, then stared at the official, waiting for some kind of call...and the official stared right back at him, like he'd forgotten what he was doing there in the first place. Then, after Amare scored, Rasheed went nuts on the guy, and he just walked away...I guess one of the refs had a hot date after the game or something.

Amare managed to have a good game anyway, which I loved to see. Amare's starting to become one of those players who might want calls, but doesn't actually need them to score--like Shaq and Kobe back when the Lakers were good.


How about that Barbosa layup off the high corner! That's becoming one of his signature shots, right there with the push shot from 3-point range.

I think that his next play was an intentional pass off the glass, too. Barbosa has to learn to get in the official scorer's face after a play like that.


Anyway, the Pistons are back to being a very good team, and they controlled the game most of the way. It was great to see the Suns pull out the win in a Detroit-style game.

 

[F-Dog]

DETROIT AT PHOENIX Time: 21:35
Price Price


Detroit
+3.5 -110 Click here to bet on Detroit

Phoenix
-3.5 -110 Click here to bet on Phoenix

The lesson here: don't bet on the Suns.

My guess is that the Suns have a losing record ATS this year. They've had a lot of trouble covering wide spreads, in the games where I paid attention to the line, at least.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

How about that Barbosa layup off the high corner! That's becoming one of his signature shots, right there with the push shot from 3-point range.

That layup was incredible. Only thing to say about it.

 

[cly2tw]

F-Dog,

agree with you. We were rebounding better to a large extent due to Pistons being tired later in the game. However, in the 4th, our players locked their counter parts down with great focus that worked liked boxing for defensive rebounds.

As it's revealed again, it's about focus why Hunter doesn't see more court time. Focus off the ball, attention to the situation, is the first important issue to get a rebound. That's the reason he is not a good rebounder. In comparison, for blocks, he can focus on the ball and lock down the guy with the ball to be effective.

 

[jibikao]

D'Antoni says that the Suns don't communicate well enough on defense. The result is that guys end up getting fixated on their own man, but tend to be late on their rotations.

Personally, I think the Suns need to learn how to play zone against teams that are not great outside shooting teams, like the Pistons. I'd just put Hunter near the basket and dare people to try to make layups over him. This doesn't work against good outside shooting teams, but it might be a useful option.

And plus, we need to box out more to get the easy rebounds! Our guards (especially Nash) need to get the long rebounds.

 

[elindholm]

That layup was incredible. Only thing to say about it.

I loved how Doug Collins interrupted himself in mid-sentence to say "Oh my goodness!" when that shot went in. That was classic.

 

[Gaddabout]

Small ball works on offense. Amare had 26 points and should have had more if the refs had called the game tighter. The reason is that Sheed absolutely couldn't defend either Amare or Shawn. However, small ball creates defensive mismatches and if the Suns don't create turnovers, they give up too many points inside.

I think there's something to be said about simply moving your feet and keeping a body in front of the offense. The Suns don't do that because their team defense concept is often in disarray. A small lineup is ultimately going to give up a few points down low, but I guarantee you that FG percentage drops when you're contesting every shot. The Suns give up quite a few uncontested shots. It didn't hurt them so bad last night in the fourth quarter because they were getting better pressure on the backcourt, but that third quarter was brutal.

 

[elindholm]

The reason is that Sheed absolutely couldn't defend either Amare or Shawn.

Huh? Wallace ate Marion alive, on both ends of the court. And no, it isn't because Marion got fouled on every play. He couldn't get any space to get his shot off, and he isn't strong (or big) enough to force things up successfully in traffic.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Not to mention Wallace had 4 blocks, and I know that at least 3 of them were against either Amare and Shawn.

 

[SirStefan32]

I recorded the game and just finished watching it, and for the life of me I do not understand how a team can get beat so terribly on the boards, give so many 2nd chance point and win the game.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I recorded the game and just finished watching it, and for the life of me I do not understand how a team can get beat so terribly on the boards, give so many 2nd chance point and win the game.

it's called outscouring them 30-9 from the three point line. We live and die by those suckers - but hey - were winning a lot more than we're dying right now so who am I to bitch about it?

 

[Wally]

it's called outscouring them 30-9 from the three point line. We live and die by those suckers - but hey - were winning a lot more than we're dying right now so who am I to bitch about it?

Before every Suns game they should have a disclaimer which states "CAUTION, IF YOU HAVE A HEART CONDITION, WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK"