the playoff drive: Suns@ Pacers thread

[slinslin]

Penny hasn't played for a reason. He stunk.

 

[JS22]

But so did JJ, and especially Casey.

 

[slinslin]

Actually JJ was on fire in the 2nd half.

 

[Joe Mama]

Maybe I missed something. I saw one post where somebody said the officials suck. I must have missed all of the complaining. I actually thought the officials did a pretty decent job today. The Suns lost the scheme because they did not take care of the ball, did not shoot the ball well, and allowed the Pacers to get great position in the low post before the entry passes.

Joe Mama

 

[slinslin]

If I knew that Amare wouldn't get punished for it and getting a bad reputation I would have enjoyed it if he sent Artest to the floor in the end.

Artest is much much worse than Kenyon Martin last season.

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by WastedFate
But so did JJ, and especially Casey.

Overall, Joe Johnson had a decent game. Regardless of how Hardaway had played earlier in the game he should have been in there instead of Casey Jacobsen in the fourth quarter. Hardaway has been one of the best players in the NBA in the fourth quarter this season.

I really wanted the Phoenix Suns to win today, but I can handle the loss. Indiana is very talented and very good at home. Now if they lose either of the games to Denver this week I'll be ready to throw in the towel.

Joe Mama

 

[JS22]

I was frustated at one point where Amare was thrown to the ground. (I thought it could have been a flagrant fould when the whistle blew.) They called an OUT OF BOUNDS on Amare. He was visibly upset as I would have been.

Then on the very next possesion Miller takes it in for a layup, and they call a foul on JJ when he was barely even in the area.

THAT'S why I complained. I mean, some calls arent obvious. But that was flat out horrible officiating.

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by slinslin
If I knew that Amare wouldn't get punished for it and getting a bad reputation I would have enjoyed it if he sent Artest to the floor in the end.

Artest is much much worse than Kenyon Martin last season.

That's funny. I was thinking the exact same thing at one point late in the game. I would love to see someone knockout Artest.

Joe Mama

 

[slinslin]

Ron Artest tonight: He elbowed Bo in the back of the knee, he followed bo outlaw out of bounds to bump him, pushed Casey Jacobsen during a timeout, tried to get into Amare's head a couple of times...

 

[JJ Slim]

Originally posted by JJ Slim
Big Jake plays = win
Big Jake doesn't = lose

Need I say more?

 

[elindholm]

Casey will have to do some dramatic improvements to justify that first round pick.

Here we go again. Late first-round picks are always guesses anyway. How many recent #21 picks have done much better than Jacobsen? All you can do with a pick that late is choose someone who might turn out to be good. If he doesn't, whatever.

 

[fordronken]

Take a look at some draft histories over the past few years and check out mid to late first rounders. Very few of them have done anything(and some that did, were drafted by Phoenix and traded).

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Overall it wasn't a bad game. In fact, I was pretty impressed until the suns collapsed with a minute to go in the 2nd quarter. To me that was a big point, they just let them have their way, and gave them a good cushion. The officiating was a little spotty, but both ways. I can more than live with that. The only real thing that bothered me was that Artest wasnt tossed. I mean, if the offical didnt see the move he pulled on outlaw, fine...outlaw let him know about it, and he should have at least had an eye open for it when he did it to cj. I do not care if it was a little hit, it was after play stopped, and it was intentional.

I was pretty pissed that CJ was in during the 4th too. There was just no reason for him to be there. No matter what penny was doing earlier in the game, he should be there instead of Casey. I was amazed at how well strickland was able to stay with steph. I dont know if i have seen him defended better then that all year. Of course the 2 chaerges messed him up all night. Without those, we probably would have been able to control this game.

 

[cheng]

FJ is doing a terrible job as a head coach who fails to assign roles to the players. Besides Marbury and Marion, no one on the team has a defined role.

Stoudemire has not played enough minutes. Yes, he is raw and is making rookie mistakes. However, he is still the best PF on this team. I would definitely keep him on the court as long as he is not in foul trouble.

JJ/Penny basically share the minutes at SG depends who plays better on a game to game basis. It seems to me whenever Penny has a good game, we usually win. JJ did have some good games since the all star break, but we lost most of those games. When both played poorly, we got blown out. Maybe Penny's thumb is still bothering him, but how come he gets 40 mins a game then 20 mins in next?

Langhi should get ZERO playing time, no way he should get minutes over Googs, Outlaw or even CJ. He isn't a veteran with experience non any type of specialist(shooting/defensive). He has shot below 40% and 30% from 3pt all year. I can't believe he still gets to play when every game is must win situation. No wonder Googs complains his role when a scrub like Langhi gets minutes before him, at least Googs can rebound far better and shoot the ball as well as Langhi.

Outlaw and Voskuhl are typical bench players who give same efforts every game without knowing how long they are going to play. They are always ready. But for other players like Penny, JJ, Stoudemire and Jake, they need minutes to produce or get lost.

Bascially, FJ is still experimenting with his rotation. He can't make up his mind while afraid to criticize his players. I really do think we are a playoff team talent wise, but the team isn't going anywhere with poor coaching.

 

[Joe Mama]

I only really had two problems with Johnson's coaching yesterday. First I did not understand why Casey Jacobsen played so much while Hardaway sat on the bench. Secondly, like most of you, I didn't understand why Amare Stoudemire wasn't out there more. Actually it wasn't his minutes that disturbed me most. He seemed to be scoring at will against the Pacers frontcourt, yet after the first quarter he wasn't a big part of the offense.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
I only really had two problems with Johnson's coaching yesterday. First I did not understand why Casey Jacobsen played so much while Hardaway sat on the bench. Secondly, like most of you, I didn't understand why Amare Stoudemire wasn't out there more. Actually it wasn't his minutes that disturbed me most. He seemed to be scoring at will against the Pacers frontcourt, yet after the first quarter he wasn't a big part of the offense.

Joe Mama

So you have no problems with Big Jake and Googs getting no playing time?

 

[elindholm]

So you have no problems with Big Jake and Googs getting no playing time?

At this point, I don't.

Let's start with Gugliotta. From what I've seen of him, he is completely ineffective. He can hardly move, he certainly can't jump, and it takes him half an hour to get his shot off. I'd almost rather have Langhi.

And now Tsakalidis. Obviously I haven't seen much of him recently. But the reality is that he hasn't looked good since late last season, and that was in an offensive role that is now being handled (better) by Stoudemire. It's too late in the season to be "developing" Tsakalidis. He may indeed bring a defensive presence that no one else on the team has, but he also may not. In this particular case, I am willing to trust the judgement of the coaching staff.

 

[JS22]

Langhi should get ZERO playing time, no way he should get minutes over Googs,

I COMPLETELY disagree with that. Langhi is 10x the shooter Googs whishes he could be. Googs is worthless now. Its like hes running in mud while wearing high heals.

Atleast Langhi is a big man with a pretty good stroke.

 

[PhiLLmattiC]

Originally posted by elindholm
So you have no problems with Big Jake and Googs getting no playing time?

At this point, I don't.

Let's start with Gugliotta. From what I've seen of him, he is completely ineffective. He can hardly move, he certainly can't jump, and it takes him half an hour to get his shot off. I'd almost rather have Langhi.

And now Tsakalidis. Obviously I haven't seen much of him recently. But the reality is that he hasn't looked good since late last season, and that was in an offensive role that is now being handled (better) by Stoudemire. It's too late in the season to be "developing" Tsakalidis. He may indeed bring a defensive presence that no one else on the team has, but he also may not. In this particular case, I am willing to trust the judgement of the coaching staff.

I agree. I think I stated the same thing in another post how about how ineffective Gugliotta really is if he's not starting and getting into the flow of the game. I also agree with the fact that Big Jake may not do much defense.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by elindholm

And now Tsakalidis. Obviously I haven't seen much of him recently. But the reality is that he hasn't looked good since late last season, and that was in an offensive role that is now being handled (better) by Stoudemire. It's too late in the season to be "developing" Tsakalidis. He may indeed bring a defensive presence that no one else on the team has, but he also may not. In this particular case, I am willing to trust the judgement of the coaching staff.

But from what I see, he can be no worse than Scott Williams.

 

[PhiLLmattiC]

Well scott Williams can step out of the lane and act like he's about to take a jumper and he really doesn't demand the ball in the post. Big Jake stends to demand the ball in the post and that tends to stop marbury's penetration. I remember saying earlier taht for Big Jake to really be effective on the offensive end, he needs to be the first option. Too bad his skills doesn't warrant it.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by PhiLLmattiC
Well scott Williams can step out of the lane and act like he's about to take a jumper and he really doesn't demand the ball in the post. Big Jake stends to demand the ball in the post and that tends to stop marbury's penetration. I remember saying earlier taht for Big Jake to really be effective on the offensive end, he needs to be the first option. Too bad his skills doesn't warrant it.

Big Jake's value is in the defensive end, not the offensive one. Scott Williams moves like his feet are in molasses--he is easily the worst footwork/slow mover on the team (yes, worse than Googs). Just because his jumper hits 30% of the time doesn't make him more valuable--Googs could fit that bill just fine. Although, for the record, I support Jake getting more time rather than Googs. At least Big Jake has a better chance of blocking shots as well. And his presence could clear the paint for Amare to get rebounds, if not get rebounds himself. Scott Williams (and Little Jake) are not very good at boxing out.

 

[elindholm]

But from what I see, he can be no worse than Scott Williams.

Well, yes, there is that. Williams has looked terrible recently.

 

[tommcnabb]

Artest is a bitch

Somebody needs to put that bitch in his, I mean her, place.

 

[SirStefan32]

Do you guys think that the C's will fire FJ and hire a real coach if the Suns lose most of their remaining games and/ or miss playoffs?

I guarantee you that the Suns would be fighting for the home court advantage if they had Mike Dunleavy or Jeff Van Gundy on the bench.

Please, fire Frank Johnson, the guy just can't coach. Why does he always take players out of the game when they are playing well?