Suns/wolves...

[sly fly]

A little notage...

... this team needs HELP! It really is sad to watch Minnesota tame PHX with relative ease.

- Amare "Black Hole" Stoudemire thought he was still in the rookie game. Someone needs to get to him QUICK. The next time he dribbles facing the basket, should be his last. I know he never had to pass in high school, so now is a good time to start learning how to play without the ball in his hands.

- Marion. Wow. How did his offense become so bad? How many times must we endure the sight of the ball clanking off backboard, catching nothing but air, or landing in the opposition's hands? Very frustrating to see. He seems to find a way to fill the stat book, but his play is not condusive to winning.

- JJ. Just keep improving.

- I just want to see players who know how to play ball. It really isn't that difficult a game. But, all this sh** I'm seeing out there looks like pick-up ball. Too much dribbling. Just make the simple play, move without the ball, and you'll be amazed what comes out of it.

But, what do I know...




BTW... glad as hell I didn't fork out $$$ for season tix this year.

 

[slinslin]

Amare was by FAR the best sun out there, they should have gone to him a lot more.

It's hard to get assists as a big man when the rest of your team couldn't make a jumper.

Playing without the ball? He is doing that just fine that is establishing position in the post.

 

[sly fly]

Originally posted by slinslin
Amare was by FAR the best sun out there, they should have gone to him a lot more.

It's hard to get assists as a big man when the rest of your team couldn't make a jumper.

Playing without the ball? He is doing that just fine that is establishing position in the post.

Yes, Amare is the most talented. I was probably a little harsh on him. But, I'd still like to see him do more (or try).

When he gets the ball, it's going up. Doesn't matter if he's out of position or not.

This whole thing is frustrating as can be. I'm sick of this rebuilding crap. And, I'm sick of seeing silly mistakes.

I keep on comparing this team to the Suns of past years (mainly the early Barkley/KJ/Hornacek years). And, I can't ever remember seeing the flat-out ugly ball that's being played.

It's just sick seeing Marion leave his feet and throw the ball away. Or, the massive dribbling by a majority of the players. Or, the poor decisions on the break. Or, not trying to create shots for the hot guy. Bottom line... it's just not very good ball.

 

[zett]

I missed the 1st quarter, But I thought the suns put out one of there better efforts, they played hard they were just out manned! Amare needs quit looking at stats he tries way too hard when he knows he needs 1 more basket for 30, he needs to learn that it comes easier when the whole world is expecting you to shoot! we were not helped any by the biased officials

 

[Chaz]

Not a bad effort but the defensive lapses and Cassell killed them.

Zarko tries to rely on his hight too much but he will learn to get position and use his strength (when he gets some).

Amare is coming aroud I think. He was much more patient and under control tonight. His defense was better but there is quite a ways to go.

JJ, what can I cay but, DAMN! that guy is on.

Marion needs to go stronger and draw contact not avoid it all the time.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by slinslin
Amare was by FAR the best sun out there, they should have gone to him a lot more.

It's hard to get assists as a big man when the rest of your team couldn't make a jumper.

Playing without the ball? He is doing that just fine that is establishing position in the post.

Marion is still terrible from the outside (nothing new), but they actually did some stuff to get him the ball in close. Unfortunately, he let KG intimidate him rather than trying to get him moving and initiate contact. Marion did get steals and grabbed 11 boards, but his shooting was disasterous. I'd give him a C-.

JJ had a very solid game 9 of 16 for 25 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. On the downside, he had 8 turnovers as the refs refuse to call hacking fouls on the Wolves. I'd give him a B+

Amare was 10 of 20 from the field (not counting the times he was fouled that weren't called), but only had 6 rebounds. He remains a weak spot for the Suns defense. I'd give him a C.

Eisley looked better than his stats (5 of 14) and only had 1 turnover and 3 assists. He was 3 of 6 on three's. But he took too many shots and ignored JJ for extended periods. Overall, I'd give him a C-.

Voskuhl actually played a pretty good game, although he continues to made stupid switches on defense. I'd give him a B-

Zarko still looks rusty and Harvey got 5 fouls in only 13 minutes. Casey hit a 3, but otherwise did not contribute anything. Barbosa had a horrible game, 5 fouls in 16 minutes and no points. All get D's and F's.

Bottom line: the Suns shot 38% from the field while the Wolves shot 49%. The Wolves grabbed 44 rebounds to the Suns 35. The Suns simply could not stop the Wolves and only JJ and Amare were effective on offense.

The defensive breakdown was team wide. The Suns made a brief run when the Wolves went cold in the 3rd quarter, but that was because they weren't shooting well and not because of anything that the Suns were doing.

There were some positive signs: the Suns are moving the ball better and looking for cutters. JJ's performance suggests that his slump was due to fatigue rather than anything else. But until the Suns get a LOT better on defense, this is not going to be a good team.

 

[Joe Mama]

I can't believe anybody would criticize Amare Stoudemire's effort tonight. He was far and away the best player for the Phoenix Suns. JJ I did get hacked a few times, but he just turned the ball over most of the time. Overall he had a nice scheme though. I think he needs to demand the ball in the fourth quarter, especially with Howard Eiseley in the game. Eisley hit some nice shots, but he was the black hole most of the game.

How about this for an explanation of what happened tonight? The Timberwolves are just a better team. They have more talent, and their best players are veterans who know how to win. I thought Amare Stoudemire did a very good job most of the night defensively. He got into early foul trouble because of a couple stupid place, but he still played his men closely.

I'm not sure what needs to be done about Shawn Marion. First of all they need to just stop them from taking three-point shots altogether until he can get the rest of his repertoire going. In the past he was money with that little 10 ft. jumper in the lane. Now it almost never goes in the basket. He is going to need a lot of work this summer to get his game back. This team can not be a consistent winner with him struggling on offense like he has most of this season.

The Suns are really need Zarko Cabarkapa to play better if they are going to get better as a team. For the most part his play has just been bad since the original injury.

I guess I'm not sure what people want from this team. They definitely have holes to fill. They are very young, and tonight they played one of the best teams in the NBA away. They struggle in the fourth quarter like young teams often do. I think this team is far, far from hopeless. In fact I think they have a very nice nucleus, and I am not discouraged one bit by games like tonight's.

Joe Mama

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
I can't believe anybody would criticize Amare Stoudemire's effort tonight. He was far and away the best player for the Phoenix Suns. JJ I did get hacked a few times, but he just turned the ball over most of the time. Overall he had a nice scheme though. I think he needs to demand the ball in the fourth quarter, especially with Howard Eiseley in the game. Eisley hit some nice shots, but he was the black hole most of the game.

How about this for an explanation of what happened tonight? The Timberwolves are just a better team. They have more talent, and their best players are veterans who know how to win. I thought Amare Stoudemire did a very good job most of the night defensively. He got into early foul trouble because of a couple stupid place, but he still played his men closely.

I'm not sure what needs to be done about Shawn Marion. First of all they need to just stop them from taking three-point shots altogether until he can get the rest of his repertoire going. In the past he was money with that little 10 ft. jumper in the lane. Now it almost never goes in the basket. He is going to need a lot of work this summer to get his game back. This team can not be a consistent winner with him struggling on offense like he has most of this season.

The Suns are really need Zarko Cabarkapa to play better if they are going to get better as a team. For the most part his play has just been bad since the original injury.

I guess I'm not sure what people want from this team. They definitely have holes to fill. They are very young, and tonight they played one of the best teams in the NBA away. They struggle in the fourth quarter like young teams often do. I think this team is far, far from hopeless. In fact I think they have a very nice nucleus, and I am not discouraged one bit by games like tonight's.

Joe Mama

Maybe it's me, but I am not convinced the Wolves are a super team. Ervin Johnson is their starting center and he is a career journeyman. Madsen totally outplayed the Suns and he is a complete journeyman. It is the same story though, the Suns are hopeless against teams that pass the ball and can hit open jumpers.

I was very disappointed that D'Antoni kept using the press when it was obvious that it was was not working. Once the Wolves would get through the press, they got easy open looks at the basket. It was ugly.

I am getting worried about Carbakapa. I just hope he can regain his confidence over the summer because right now he looks totally lost.

This was not the first time JJ has had problems with teams stripping the ball from him. It is the biggest flaw in his game right now, but it is a serious one. Teams are scouting the Suns and know that it is his fatal flaw.

 

[Chaplin]

I hate to say it, but maybe we actually need Antonio McDyess.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Chaplin
I hate to say it, but maybe we actually need Antonio McDyess.

I hate to think it, but I have been coming to the same conclusion. After so many years of promises that Googs was finally healthy, I try to keep every claim of recovery from injury in perspective.

But a year ago I doubt there was one NBA fan in a 1000 who would have claimed that Camby would go through the season healthy. Sometimes the improbable happens.

So while Layden may be idiot, he was not far wrong when he believed that at one time Dice was better than Camby AND a lottery pick. A reasonably healthy Dice could transfor the Suns overnight. Even if he is no longer a leaper, he might very well become the Suns starting center. If he can play solid defense, rebound, and score -- it would put him above about 70% of the guys playing center right now.

Yet after having my hopes crushed by Googs so many times, I don't want to get my hopes up.

 

[Errntknght]

Generally, I agree with Joe about the game being one of the Suns better efforts. What I really liked was that they didn't double anyone but Garnett - and when they did it was quite effective. I'm not saying the defense was especially good but if they'll keep playing straight up like that, the guys can be learning something worth while - which you can't do when you're constantly scrambling. Glad to see that D'A followed through on what he said he planned to do with the D. Now, if he'd just scrap the mid-line trapping - it hasn't progressed any so there seems to be little rational hope that it will become effective.

Somebody complained about Voskuhl's 'jumping out' - maybe he mistook Amare for him. I haven't seen such poor handling of a screen by a big man since Corie Blount left - three times Amare took the his teammate right out of the play. Well, he's young and dealing with screens is learnable so it's not really that upsetting.

The offense was mostly one-on-one still but there was a little more co-ordinated activity than we've seen to date. Let's hope that's a harbinger of things to come. Marion was still an auxillary SG - JJ showed an inclination to work along the baseline. That's better than nobody doing it but D'A needs to kick Shawn in the fanny and get him down there - do some serious work on offense to earn those big bucks. JJ is far more effective than Shawn out front so I don't want to see them switching roles.

Zarko can't seem to do anything right lately - he needs minutes to develope but they don't seem to be doing him any good. There no way Lampe could be less effective so why not give Z some pine time to reflect on things and let Lampe in on the fun.

 

[Joe Mama]

That's right. I said earlier that Amare Stoudemire had a good defensive game, but I forgot about the way he handled those screens. Hopefully the coaching staff will be reviewing the tapes day and going over that with him before Friday.

At some point the coaching staff needs to sit down with Shawn Marion and tell him to things. First, he needs to stop shooting three-pointers unless it is near the end of the shot clock, and it's the only shot he can get. Second they have got to tell him to start taking a little contact when he is going to the hoop. There was at least four times last night when he adjusted his shot to avoid contact. The guy is money from the free-throw line, and he's wasting it because he won't take a foul. A little contact and a little acting with go a long, long way for Shawn Marion.

Joe Mama

 

[NDSunsfan]

This is from the Minneapolis Star Tribune today on the Suns/Wolves game:

"For a while, it looked as if Tuesday's game was going to be a nice little tuneup for the Timberwolves, a great way to work out whatever cobwebs had formed during the NBA's All-Star break.

You know, go out and get in a workout, beat up on a lightweight while preparing for the heaving lifting ahead. But those pesky Phoenix Suns just refused to follow that script."

-----------------------




The Suns have become a 'nice little tuneup' and a 'lightweight' who played 'pesky.' Yikes.



brad

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by NDSunsfan
This is from the Minneapolis Star Tribune today on the Suns/Wolves game:

"For a while, it looked as if Tuesday's game was going to be a nice little tuneup for the Timberwolves, a great way to work out whatever cobwebs had formed during the NBA's All-Star break.



You know, go out and get in a workout, beat up on a lightweight while preparing for the heaving lifting ahead. But those pesky Phoenix Suns just refused to follow that script."

The Suns have become a 'nice little tuneup' and a 'lightweight' who played 'pesky.' Yikes.



brad

That's what other teams' media thinks when the team has 18-38 record. I think most good teams realize that they should beat the Phoenix Suns, but it isn't going to be a cakewalk.

Joe Mama

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
That's right. I said earlier that Amare Stoudemire had a good defensive game, but I forgot about the way he handled those screens. Hopefully the coaching staff will be reviewing the tapes day and going over that with him before Friday.

At some point the coaching staff needs to sit down with Shawn Marion and tell him to things. First, he needs to stop shooting three-pointers unless it is near the end of the shot clock, and it's the only shot he can get. Second they have got to tell him to start taking a little contact when he is going to the hoop. There was at least four times last night when he adjusted his shot to avoid contact. The guy is money from the free-throw line, and he's wasting it because he won't take a foul. A little contact and a little acting with go a long, long way for Shawn Marion.

Joe Mama

Both Shawn and Casey are much better shooting the three from the corner than on the wing. Unfortunately, Shawn doesn't work the baseline very much, so he tends to drift to the wing which is where his outside shooting has fallen apart.

In terms of technique, Shawn needs to have his feet set and not be moving at all. He shoots a low trajectory "set shot" with a slow release. The Suns do not have that many games over the next few weeks so maybe the team can actually work with him on his shot. Or maybe they could just tell him he cannot shoot a three unless he has taken two foul shots since his last three.