Suns @ Wizards 3-26-14

[BC867]

It just seemed that Dragic but more particularly Bledsoe were taking the ball to the rim without much passing. It was like these were the Suns go-to players near the end and they were trying to win the game on their own. Bledsoe was forcing some weird shot attempts inside without success. Of course, he makes that big 3 point shot and all is well. I think the Suns choked a bit in the 4th quarter and they wanted to seize control by some one-on-one stuff.

'Sort of like what Kevin Johnson morphed into. But he was a solo Point Guard and we have two.

I hope the Suns realize that this philosophy leads to disappointment. And four other players standing around on offense.

 

[sunsfan88]

Bledsoe takes a lot of hits. When are the refs gonna start calling those?

 

[95pro]

Things could have been better if Okc didn't lose to the mavs last night.

 

[Cheesebeef]

23-10 with Bledsoe, 7 of 9 since he came back...and some
People want to trade him so we can have the most unathletic, defenseless big two of Dragic and Love.

This board never ceases to amaze.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Things could have been better if Okc didn't lose to the mavs last night.

Utah was leading Memphis ALL game and then lost it in the last 2 mins

 

[Catlover]

Utah was leading Memphis ALL game and then lost it in the last 2 mins

Was there ever a doubt? I got sucked into that game even though I knew it was going to end badly for us Suns fans.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Was there ever a doubt? I got sucked into that game even though I knew it was going to end badly for us Suns fans.

Realistically it's more likely that Dallas or even Portland drops out before Memphis but I was still hopeful that Phoenix could end up in 7th by the end of the night.

 

[95pro]

this happened last year too. suns would win, then the other teams would win, and then added was the Laker fix too.

here's hoping the hot suns get the spurs while they cool off. hah

 

[AfroSuns]

this happened last year too. suns would win, then the other teams would win, and then added was the Laker fix too.

here's hoping the hot suns get the spurs while they cool off. hah

If we make the playoff. i HOPE Suns get the Spurs in the 1st round
The Spurs were streaking like this before the Hill/Nash playoff run too....we all know how that ended.

 

[Catlover]

If we make the playoff. i HOPE Suns get the Spurs in the 1st round
The Spurs were streaking like this before the Hill/Nash playoff run too....we all know how that ended.

This year though the Spurs are giving their main guys even more rest than usual and their bench is much better now than a few years ago too. Markieff Morris, for example, would be their second biggest minute guy trailing their leader by just 46 total minutes and we have four players that have each logged quite a few more minutes than Keef.

If I had a preference for an opponent it would be Portland but I really think that if we play well enough to earn a spot we'll be a tough out for whoever we face. I still think the odds are slightly against us but two weeks ago I thought we were without hope.

 

[Catlover]

Realistically it's more likely that Dallas or even Portland drops out before Memphis but I was still hopeful that Phoenix could end up in 7th by the end of the night.

Definitely. But an injury to Marc Gasol is never too far away so it would have been nice if Utah could have knocked them off.

 

[JS22]

'Sort of like what Kevin Johnson morphed into. But he was a solo Point Guard and we have two.

I hope the Suns realize that this philosophy leads to disappointment. And four other players standing around on offense.

I guess the 5 straight wins since Bledsoe has gotten gotten back into a groove are meaningless?

I'm not saying I wouldn't part with one of the two if the offer was right. But for the time being I'm going to say 20+ points and 5+ assists from both Dragic and Bledsoe (and 5 straight wins) is far from a disappointment.

The West is ridiculous this year but I could see the Suns fighting for home court with a healthy Dragic and Bledsoe. And running away with the #3 seed in the East.

 

[Catlover]

It just seemed that Dragic but more particularly Bledsoe were taking the ball to the rim without much passing. It was like these were the Suns go-to players near the end and they were trying to win the game on their own. Bledsoe was forcing some weird shot attempts inside without success. Of course, he makes that big 3 point shot and all is well. I think the Suns choked a bit in the 4th quarter and they wanted to seize control by some one-on-one stuff.

I hadn't noticed this when I watched it live but I re-watched it this morning and I can't really agree with this. They did what you're talking about once or twice but you could see they were a very tired team and on most possessions no one else was moving without the ball nor were they in position for a catch and shoot. We'd pass the ball around until the clock was running down and then Goran or Eric would have to take over. I think our guys were just exhausted at the end of this road trip and having to play a team that went small and ran hard.

We dominated that game until Washington went really small. Their best lineup last night was probably that stretch where they played Wall, Beal, Andre Miller, Ariza and Gooden. They would spread the court and whichever ballhandler wasn't guarded by Bledsoe would drive to the hoop (Wall most of the time). Once they went back to their traditional lineup (Gortat IOW), we built our lead back into double figures again. Down the stretch they closed with that same kind of lineup although they replaced Miller and Gooden with Webster and Harrington.

You could point to a lot of reasons why we won this game but after watching it a second time I'd give the game ball to Harrington. Wall was eating us up by this point of the game even though we were again guarding him with Tucker or Bledsoe (the guys who shut him down in the first half). Anyway, On Washington's first play after Eric made that deep three, Harrington slipped the pick and dived to the hoop taking away Wall's room to drive so he chucked up that long distance 3 that sealed the game for us. I guess Al didn't get the memo that they wanted the lane clear for their guards. By slipping that pick and rolling to the hoop he allowed help defenders to move in there with him and there was simply no room left to penetrate.

 

[sunsfan88]

There was an interview in which Dragic said that him and Bledsoe have talked to Hornacek and told him that they want to be taking the big shots late in games.

It makes sense, they are the best players on the team.

 

[Catlover]

There was an interview in which Dragic said that him and Bledsoe have talked to Hornacek and told him that they want to be taking the big shots late in games.

It makes sense, they are the best players on the team.

They should be taking most of the big shots late in the game, along with Green. Gerald isn't the smartest player on the court but he tends to rise to the occasion and he's a good clutch shooter.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

^This.

I believe that the 3 he made late eased the pressure on the team, as no one had made a shot for seemingly 5 minutes. After that, the team played better and sealed the deal, in spite of the John Wall "Ole'" defensive strategy.

 

[Mainstreet]

I hadn't noticed this when I watched it live but I re-watched it this morning and I can't really agree with this. They did what you're talking about once or twice but you could see they were a very tired team and on most possessions no one else was moving without the ball nor were they in position for a catch and shoot. We'd pass the ball around until the clock was running down and then Goran or Eric would have to take over. I think our guys were just exhausted at the end of this road trip and having to play a team that went small and ran hard.

We dominated that game until Washington went really small. Their best lineup last night was probably that stretch where they played Wall, Beal, Andre Miller, Ariza and Gooden. They would spread the court and whichever ballhandler wasn't guarded by Bledsoe would drive to the hoop (Wall most of the time). Once they went back to their traditional lineup (Gortat IOW), we built our lead back into double figures again. Down the stretch they closed with that same kind of lineup although they replaced Miller and Gooden with Webster and Harrington.

You could point to a lot of reasons why we won this game but after watching it a second time I'd give the game ball to Harrington. Wall was eating us up by this point of the game even though we were again guarding him with Tucker or Bledsoe (the guys who shut him down in the first half). Anyway, On Washington's first play after Eric made that deep three, Harrington slipped the pick and dived to the hoop taking away Wall's room to drive so he chucked up that long distance 3 that sealed the game for us. I guess Al didn't get the memo that they wanted the lane clear for their guards. By slipping that pick and rolling to the hoop he allowed help defenders to move in there with him and there was simply no room left to penetrate.

It seemed to me that Bledsoe took some awkward shots in the 4th quarter (when the Suns were losing their lead) trying to drive the ball to the basket, forcing the ball inside was my opinion. Of course when he made that big 3 point shot it seemed to relieve the pressure. Anyway, these were my thoughts as I watched the game live. I wasn't really getting into the Suns plight defensively.

 

[Catlover]

It seemed to me that Bledsoe took some awkward shots in the 4th quarter (when the Suns were losing their lead) trying to drive the ball to the basket, forcing the ball inside was my opinion. Of course when he made that big 3 point shot it seemed to relieve the pressure. Anyway, these were my thoughts as I watched the game live. I wasn't really getting into the Suns plight defensively.

He did but so did Dragic. Bledsoe took one very ill-advised shot but IMO most of our wild shots were the result of the rest of the team showing signs of being tired. Players were not moving without the ball or opening themselves up to the pass. The clock would run down and then Bledsoe (or occasionally Dragic) would have to penetrate and take a difficult shot against a defense that was prepared for the drive because we had stopped putting any pressure on them from the perimeter.

Washington plays small generally and their offense depends on spreading the court and using penetration and spacing for the three point shots. They do it fairly well. Against us, we matched up so well with them that they took it even a step further. They had four and five guys setting up outside. Our guys chased them all over the court and we started wearing down in the fourth quarter. We might have also relaxed a little because of the big lead but that's so hard to tell for sure.

 

[Mainstreet]

He did but so did Dragic. Bledsoe took one very ill-advised shot but IMO most of our wild shots were the result of the rest of the team showing signs of being tired. Players were not moving without the ball or opening themselves up to the pass. The clock would run down and then Bledsoe (or occasionally Dragic) would have to penetrate and take a difficult shot against a defense that was prepared for the drive because we had stopped putting any pressure on them from the perimeter.

Washington plays small generally and their offense depends on spreading the court and using penetration and spacing for the three point shots. They do it fairly well. Against us, we matched up so well with them that they took it even a step further. They had four and five guys setting up outside. Our guys chased them all over the court and we started wearing down in the fourth quarter. We might have also relaxed a little because of the big lead but that's so hard to tell for sure.

We seem to agree about what the Suns were doing offensively when their lead started to evaporate in the 4th quarter as noted in one of my earlier posts.

It just seemed that Dragic but more particularly Bledsoe were taking the ball to the rim without much passing. It was like these were the Suns go-to players near the end and they were trying to win the game on their own. Bledsoe was forcing some weird shot attempts inside without success. Of course, he makes that big 3 point shot and all is well. I think the Suns choked a bit in the 4th quarter and they wanted to seize control by some one-on-one stuff.

I did not focus as much on what the Wizards were doing offensively that nearly brought them back.

 

[95pro]

close game with the Mavs and Clips.

 

[AfroSuns]

Mavs gonna lose this one.........sweet

 

[Mainstreet]

Mavericks lose to he Clippers tonight and the Suns gain a game on them. Too bad Portland won.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns would have been in even better shape if the Thunder had taken care of business a couple of nights ago.