Suns vs. Sonics 12/17

[jibikao]

Q's misguided shooting in the middle of the game irked me a little, but he is absolutely money with his positioning and strength. Nobody says much about Q's defense, but in the 4th, he and Shawn switched--Shawn took Lewis, and Q GUARDED REGGIE EVANS--and held him in check! I love watching basketball away fromm the ball--and Q was doing terrific keeping Evans away from rebounds, and either getting them himself or giving space for Amare or Shawn to snatch them. Just a terrific performance that I think he isn't given credit for.

I thought Suns' perimeter defense is awesome. Marion, Q and JJ are all fast and long hands. Hell, I even think Nash's defense was above average tonight. He has so many little tricks... like pulling the pants, pushing the opponent away..LOL

And Nash did his usual Nasty thing: Setting picks for big guys. Nash used to do that all the time to get Dirk open. That pick was nasty too..LOL Very John Stockton like! That's how little guys set picks, with two hands on you!! LOL

Jimmy

 

[sly fly]

I'm so damn proud of this team right now, it's unbelievable.

This game was not your typical NBA game (or, one we've seen in the last 10 years). Action was off the charts. Good ball movement. Phenomenal shooting. Tough as nails defense. Clutch ending.

For PHX to come back in a hostile environment such as this, just says measures about this team. What nads!

It's time for this city to get off it's lazy ass, and start getting crazy for the PHX Suns. We're witnessing the best start in Phoenix pro sports history. And, we're knocking on the door for a World Championship.

Not only that, but we have the YOUNGEST team in the league. I hope that sinks in for some of you. This team should be kept together for years. Let them age like fine wine. And, build around this core of 5 to 6 super players.

 

[green machine]

The sign of a good team: They find ways to win.

It wasn't easy against a good team on the road, but the Suns found a way to win tonight's game. Bad officiating, an off night from Amare...yet the Suns found a way to win.

Amazing stuff, really. I keep telling myself that this team CAN'T be good enough to win it all. Really, they can't be. But then I sit there and ask myself "Well who's gonna beat them in the playoffs?"

 

[Billythekid]

Wow. Great game by the suns. Really shows the maturity of this team to come back. Even though we were down big early, we just chipped away and eventually pulled out a close game.

This team is simply awesome.

 

[Gee!]

So I take it we won? SWEEEEEEEEEEET!

 

[Lefty]

you know what's great? The Sonics played about as well as they could play - at home - and we STILL beat their assess - with Amare having an off game.

So impressed with this team. Finally - I get to root for one of those "from out of nowhere" teams. It's awesome. Everyone doubting your squad, not believeing they are for real, yet they just - keep - winning. 20-3 is pretty damn impressive - and those three losses came in OT, a two-point loss at the beginning of the season and by 4 against a Wolves team that was two games away from the Finals last year. 20-3 - absolutely sick. I hope this game gets us at least 5 ore game son ESPN/TNT for the rest of the season, otherwise, I'm gonn ahave to start going out and bothering bar onwers to use their NBA league Pass.

Exactly, I was thinking the same thing. Seattle played a great game and also got some gift calls from the refs. I still can't believe that one goaltending call where the ref said the ball hit the glass.

This win just gives this team even more confidence. They know even if they are down 15 points they are not out of the game.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Amare is not most players George - and that IS a compliment. He looke doutof sort all game long.

Phenomenal win though - absolutely stunning. Barring anymajor injuries - this team wins 60 games - HOLY COW!

He did look out of it. Most of his ft's weren't even close. I think Fortson roughed him up quite a bit in the 1st.

Its good for Amare to have a game like this and still win. It takes some pressure off, and it can also keep him a little humble knowing his teammates can do it without him.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I thought Suns' perimeter defense is awesome. Marion, Q and JJ are all fast and long hands. Hell, I even think Nash's defense was above average tonight. He has so many little tricks... like pulling the pants, pushing the opponent away..LOL


Jimmy

The perimeter defense in that last set was fantastic. Props to D'Antoni on that. We could allow them a 2 but not a 3, so he took Amare out and brought Casey in to play perimeter D. The Sonics could get to the rim, but they couldn't get a good look outside the arc. Terrific coaching and terrific execution by the players.

 

[sunsfn]

I thought this was a great win for the suns, playing another top team on the road is really a tough win in this league.

As this game started it seemed to me that the suns needed that big man to to block a couple shots and jam up the middle. When they put Hunter in he did just that for a while.
But this team in really unbelievable in that they just kept coming back even without a big man in the middle.
Now I do not know what they need if anything. Hunter can play a few minutes and block a shot or two, and stop the drives up the middle for a while and that is all they seem to need.

----------------------------------------------
George said,

It is curious that we think Amare had a bad night. For most NBA players, 20 points on 6-11 shooting, 9 rebounds, a blocked shot, and an assist would be considered a pretty good night. But for Amare it was a bad night.
----------------------------------------------------
I think Amare had a very good game, if you will just think about the defense against him it was tough. The Sonics tried to take him out of the game and did not succeed. Amare had to play damn hard to get what he got and the refs did not help him with a couple bad calls.
When a team decides to take a player on another team out of his game and make sure he does not contribute a lot, that player will not get the stats that Amare did.
I bet if you asked the Sonic players if Amare had a bad night they might give you the finger because they know all they did was slow him down a little, they did not stop him.

 

[Chaz]

Awesome, awesome game last night!

I was really frustrated in the first half but the Suns didn't stop fighting and really stepped up on defense.


Seattle is an excellent team and put on a lot of pressure with thier ability to score. The run their offense very well and I can see how they would win a lot of games.

 

[Joe Mama]

Exactly, I was thinking the same thing. Seattle played a great game and also got some gift calls from the refs. I still can't believe that one goaltending call where the ref said the ball hit the glass.

This win just gives this team even more confidence. They know even if they are down 15 points they are not out of the game.

Actually when they showed the replay from the side it was pretty clear that the ball did hit the glass first. Believe me I was screaming at the TV before they showed that angle though. The one that was really bad was the Q shot in the first quarter. that goaltending on James could not have been more obvious, but the referees did not call it.

Amare Stoudemire went to the free-throw line a couple of times on phantom calls against Danny Fortson. However he should have gone to the line a half a dozen more times in the first half, but there were no calls. I thought the game really changed when the referees started calling the defensive three second violations against the sonics. In that first quarter they were just camping in the middle of the floor on defense. They were also getting away with a lot of handchecking on defense on the perimeter. In the first quarter Luke Ridenour was manhandling Nash.

Amare Stoudemire said it was the worst officiated game he has ever been a part of. He was clearly frustrated. I'm not saying he needs to start flopping all over the place, but he probably needs to start emphasizing/ exaggerating the contact when he goes to the basket.

BTW not since the last time I watched Divac or Reggie Miller have I seen someone do a flopping/acting job like Reggie Evans did twice last night. He did it once against Amare Stoudemire then against Steve Nash of all people in the fourth quarter. The referee that made that last call should be up embarrassed.

Q can JJ were just fantastic last night. So was Steve Nash. The team also did not flounder when Barbosa came in at the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter. CJ obviously look bad trying to guard Ray Allen one-on-one, but otherwise he played good defense and made some nice plays on offense. He also nailed that big three-point shot on the fast break.

Great game. I hope they did not wear themselves out too much because Washington will also play a fast game.

Joe Mama

 

[justAndy]

...

I was playing with my band Dephinger @ Tupelo Taproom.
I was facing a big flatscreen mounted up high enough to see over the crowd.
I kept missing backup vocal cues and blamping bass notes because the Suns were on that late comeback and i just HAD to watch.
When they ended up winning, I gave out a "WOOHOO!!!" in the middle of the song that was very out of place.

 

[Joe Mama]

I was playing with my band Dephinger @ Tupelo Taproom.
I was facing a big flatscreen mounted up high enough to see over the crowd.
I kept missing backup vocal cues and blamping bass notes because the Suns were on that late comeback and i just HAD to watch.
When they ended up winning, I gave out a "WOOHOO!!!" in the middle of the song that was very out of place.

LOL. You paint a vivid picture. It reminds me of when my brother-in-law was cutting my hair during a game last season. The Suns made a big shot, and he ran the tremors without a guard right up the back of my head. I had a 3-4" bald spot on the back of my head for a week or two.

Joe Mama

 

[devilalum]

Amare Stoudemire went to the free-throw line a couple of times on phantom calls against Danny Fortson.

Joe Mama

Fortson makes a lot of his fouls with his body. The commentators were missing it but you could clearly see him practically knock Amare over with his hips on 3 or 4 occasions.

Good job by the refs for calling it.

 

[cly2tw]

A great game! A fantastic team effort.

Amare was a bit irritated by the defense and the officiating. But his presence made the job for JJ easier, who would shake off one defender, get enough space and shoot like he did after the 1st quarter. I think Amare should learn to calm down a bit more, play closer to the basket a bit more for better offensive-rebounding position.

It's amazing houw Allen and Lewis could stick the jumpers with a defender close to them and hand in their face. As well as JJ and Marion did in the game, they needed space for their jumpers to fall. It speaks for the Suns offense, and for JJ's personal talent, that they created enough space to make it happen, after the 1st quarter. I love it when JJ rebounded his own miss and layed in in the closing minutes. Compared to Q, JJ is a bit too calm. And that crucial off. reb. and score showed some emotional part of JJ. Hope he will show more of this kind of attitude in the future.

Q loves contact and he is the best to make the best out of a closely contested situation. His 3-pt play at the end of the game is a perfect example. Also he scored on a cut to the basket with an assist from Nash, who was kind of sacked in the right corner. He had a much bigger defender right on his back but still scored (or was he fouled and sank two free throws?). Anyway, compared to JJ, Q is much more energetic and he definitely has the so-called "big heart". We really need this type of players on the team.

I also noticed that Nash lacked some legs in his 3-pt attempts. It remains the concern #1 for our postseason chances. Another concern is that we are not good at scoring on closely contested shots the team as a whole. It remains to be seen whether we can keep creating space for our shots the way we have been successfully doing.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I am up in Denver this weekend and I was at a Christmas party. I was camped out watching the game.

It really was exciting to watch them come back after a terrible first quarter. I think the Sonics shot like 72% in the first quarter. It wasn't that the Suns were playing awful defense, Seattle just couldn't miss. The bartender looked at me and said "looks like your Suns are getting taken to the shed"

I responded with "Down 16 points? It is really early to be worried."


The second quarter was like a Ray Allen/JJ duel. In the blink of an eye we were within 7 and I just looked at the bartender and smiled. He was a Nugget fan and hadn't really gotten to see how fast the Suns can fill it up now. When we were within 2 at the half, I knew we would win. We had taken Seattle's attempt at a knockout punch in the first quarter and it meant little by the half.

The only thing this team is missing right now is that killer 6th man. I suppose this could be Q, but I wouldn't change the starting lineup right now because of the chemistry they have. We may already have that player sitting on the bench...we just don't know yet. I think it could be Lampe...he has shown flashes of it. This and finding a way to keep Stoudemire out of foul trouble are the big challenges that D'Antoni faces as a coach still.

 

[jbeecham]

The JJ Vs Ray Allen duel was definately fun to watch. They'd go back and forth crossing each other over and pulling up for jumpers. JJ mostly did it on his own skill, while Ray Allen kept going around illegal screens to get open. Tom Leander kept calling Ray Allen = Ray Lewis. I don't know if he was just confused because Rashard Lewis was on the team too, but he probably did it 15 times during the game.

This team continues to amaze me with the amount of fight and determination they play with, even against all odds. They always have the confidence that they can come back and win every game. Seattle really didn't get tired last night, despite the fast pace. Maybe they were a little worn down, but they weren't as bad as most of our opponents usually are in the 4th.

Now we just need to bring an even better effort tonight against a much improved (at least record-wise) Wizards team. Let's stretch out win streak to 8.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I was at a party last night too, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, it's hilarous. When the Suns were down 35-19, people were freaking out, and I told them, it's a long game. The Suns came through again, as they always do. The real mark of a team is what they do in crunch time, and the Suns are showing that killer instinct to put the other teams away. What an exciting year this has been....

 

[George O'Brien]

I about freaked out when that incredible flop by Evens got him two foul shots in the late stage of the game. I'd love to sit with the refs and watch that monstrosity and make them explain why they shouldn't be suspended for incompetance.

The Suns ability to silence the crowd was very impressive. The Sonics would make a few baskets and the crowd would start getting excited, only to watch the Suns run a fast break. It was like someone had knock their wind out - whoosh.

In the Sonics loss to the Celtic last Saturday, the Sonics just didn't shoot well. It had to be shocking for the Sonics fans to watch their team on a night when everything they shot went in and still got beat.

 

[sly fly]

Atta boy, George. Like to see that fire coming from you.

 

[elindholm]

I about freaked out when that incredible flop by Evens got him two foul shots in the late stage of the game.

Actually, that was one of the highlights of the game for me. I was watching with a good friend who is a Sonics fan. When the play happened in real time, I said it looked like a flop. He was skeptical and we agreed to watch the replay. When my friend got a good look at how obvious the flop was, he burst out laughing. It took him about 15 seconds to settle down.

 

[F-Dog]

That was a good win for the Suns. The Sonics look like a good team, and they got some bounces and even a little home cooking (although the refs were pretty bad for both sides--I think Tolbert was right that the officials weren't fit enough to keep up with the two teams). Anyway, the Suns came back and got a big win on the road.


Amare looked bad last night--his head didn't seem to be in the game, for whatever reason. I don't know whether his FT shooting was the cause or the effect of his other problems. I guess the Sonics didn't really win the rebounding battle, though, so inside play was a wash.

I like this team's heart. It was a foregone conclusion they'd come back from their first-quarter deficit, but the second comeback at the end of the game was very impressive. Marion was very clutch at the end of the game--I liked having him at the FT line even more than Nash: his FTs were going down perfectly, not even close to hitting the rim. Marion's baseline 3-pter was the shot of the night.


It looks to me like Seattle's success is built on making difficult shots, although the Suns' defense (after the first quarter) may have had something to do with that. Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis both looked like All-Stars to me.

They had an interesting tactic at the beginning of the game--Ridnour picking up Nash in the backcourt, to slow the Suns offense down a little. I kept waiting for a crunching back-pick by Jerome James' man, but it never came.


Anyway, yet another nice win by the Suns! Now, time to get ready for the next one...

 

[MigratingOsprey]

that was a fun game with a disapointing ending .... the sonics just kind of froze in the crunch .... let way too much time run down on that series near the end, there was one play in the last minute where the sonics were down by 3 and rashard could of made the layup, but instead tried to draw the contact for a possible 3 point play and missed the layup

the suns played well ... officiating was bad in all directions, but watching as many NBA games as I have this year it's something that is to be taken as a given ... NBA refs suck

congrats to the Suns for a tough win ... Seattle needs to find a way to work Flip back into shape or keep him off the floor in the 4th

when he came in no one respected his shot, he was out of position (including one where he moved in the wrong direction and a pass intended for him ended up out of bounds on the other side of the court)

hopefully games and styles like this are the future of the NBA