Utah @ Phoenix - Game Thread - Sat. 2/3/2007 - 7:00 pm

[Treesquid PhD]

This was a tough loss, but there were some encouraging signs. Banks had by far his best game of the season, and Jones contributed well on both ends of the court. If not for some bad bounces and inept free-throw shooting, the Suns would have won, on a day where a lot of things weren't in their favor. D'Antoni did a good job with his substitutions in the second half and found ways to keep the Suns in the game.

According to the box score, the Suns had 24 defensive rebounds and the Jazz had 16 offensive rebounds. That means that the Suns collected only 60% of the possible rebounds on their own defensive end. That's completely unacceptable and is the main reason for the loss.

The other problem is that Diaw is mentally soft. His games with four or more turnovers are far too common, given that he really doesn't handle the ball that much. If you foul him and he misses both free throws, which is a distinct possibility, that has the same effect as a turnover. So the bottom line is that he really isn't an efficient offensive option, in spite of his creativity around the basket and occasional pretty pass.

I can't remember who it was who said he hoped Marion would get snubbed for the All-Star team, so that he'd be more motivated the rest of the year -- but he was right.

Anyway, almost a great win.

I agree with this, Diaw might be one of those players that is a globetrotter ability to make the Tom Leander jump up and down like a Gramatica brother but really hurts the Suns more than he helps them.
He was just standing there watching the ball go into the hands of the Jazz on the boards, he was cheating on every defensive play eventhough it was his man the was draining jumper after jumper, he was chucking cross court passes all game long, forcing the ball in the lane off the dribble, not to mention totally choking in crunch time; this was the worst game I have ever seen him play. The better STAT gets the more useless this guy becomes.

I also think Banks had some outstanding defensive plays though,very encouraging.

 

[jbeecham]

Exactly. How many times do our guards have to get caught on big men down the stretch before we learn that we need to go big at the end of games? If the Suns don't think we have the personel to go big, then make a trade. Something tells me we are going to have to play Utah come playoff time.

Who should we have brought in off of the bench instead of LB? Banks was the only guy who had played in the game that was on the bench. Should we have brought in Burke or Marks totally cold and expect them to perform in a clutch moment? I don't see that working. The Clippers tried that in the playoffs last year and Raja Bell nailed a game tying 3 to force OT over the guy.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

Who should we have brought in off of the bench instead of LB? Banks was the only guy who had played in the game that was on the bench. Should we have brought in Burke or Marks totally cold and expect them to perform in a clutch moment? I don't see that working. The Clippers tried that in the playoffs last year and Raja Bell nailed a game tying 3 to force OT over the guy.

I agree, there is no magic bench, the Suns are 7 guys pretty much, everyone else is sub average NBA or not a system fit.

 

[DeAnna]

Diaw reportedly left his balls in Tony Parker's mouth.

Now, now, now..that wasn't nice.

Everybody knows Eva has them.

 

[cly2tw]

Exactly. How many times do our guards have to get caught on big men down the stretch before we learn that we need to go big at the end of games? If the Suns don't think we have the personel to go big, then make a trade. Something tells me we are going to have to play Utah come playoff time.

That's calculated risk with our game plan. However, with Barbosa off the whole night and Okur hitting everything, the risk was not in our favor in this game.

I'm more worried about Amare's logging too many minutes lately. I don't want more fatique-induced injuries like Bell had in the WCF last year. They need go to bench more even if we lose some games this way.

 

[Covert Rain]

Who should we have brought in off of the bench instead of LB? Banks was the only guy who had played in the game that was on the bench. Should we have brought in Burke or Marks totally cold and expect them to perform in a clutch moment? I don't see that working. The Clippers tried that in the playoffs last year and Raja Bell nailed a game tying 3 to force OT over the guy.

That's the point I was tyring to make. We should have another LEGIT big man to come off the bench at the end of games for rebounding and defense. Burke or Marks?? Those guys couldn't come off the bench to play defense if their lives depended on it. We don't have the bench guys we need to go deep in the playoffs IMO. The West is deeper and better this year.

That's calculated risk with our game plan. However, with Barbosa off the whole night and Okur hitting everything, the risk was not in our favor in this game.

I'm more worried about Amare's logging too many minutes lately. I don't want more fatique-induced injuries like Bell had in the WCF last year. They need go to bench more even if we lose some games this way.

I think part of that is Kurt being hurt. However, I think this also highlights that some guys on this team are logging to many minutes. Come playoff time that is going to hurt. We need a deeper bench rotation. If the organization feels we don't have the guys then go out and get someone.

 

[TJ]

I cant believe that D'Antoni went with a 6 1/2 man lineup

 

[az1965]

Now, now, now..that wasn't nice.

Everybody knows Eva has them.

Eva has Diaw's balls...??????

 

[az1965]

I cant believe that D'Antoni went with a 6 1/2 man lineup

Believe it... It has happenned few times already and will continue to happen.

 

[sly fly]

Soul-cleansing loss. The dog days are here until about 1 month before the playoffs. PHX has a big bullseye on it's back right now.

If they can get/stay healthy, get the bench some reps, and settle in on a set rotation... the wins/losses between now and then will be largely irrevelant.

The break is coming at a good time. Most of the guys could really use the rest, as they've been going full tilt since Italy.

Couple notes on the game...

- Okur is the best Euro since Peja Stojakovic.

- Deron Williams is Jason Kidd reincarnate. It's easy to see who he patterned his game after.

- Confidence is such a fine-line for some players. Separates the men from the boys.

- I get a kick out of Utah. They reach more than any team in the NBA... but the refs can't call of them, or the game would last 4 hours.

Yet, the refs will turnaround and anticipate contact on the other end... thus becoming wildly inconsistent.

- James Jones could be a deciding factor in the postseason. I could see him getting the starting assignment on Dirk (if it ever comes down to it).

 

[TJ]

I only watched the game on gamecast, but im getting the feeling from some of you guys that the refs bad calls had a negative effect on this game. I truly hate games like that when the refs have too much influence on the outcome of the game

 

[elindholm]

I cant believe that D'Antoni went with a 6 1/2 man lineup

Who's the half? Everyone played at least 24 minutes.

 

[jbeecham]

I only watched the game on gamecast, but im getting the feeling from some of you guys that the refs bad calls had a negative effect on this game. I truly hate games like that when the refs have too much influence on the outcome of the game

The refs were bad tonight, but it wasn't really a case where they just blew a ton of calls against the Suns that cost them the game. There were a few really bad calls (like the 2 charges called blocks early on and potentially the Nash to Amare alley-oop called a goaltend), but those happen every game. What really made this game different from a ref standpoint was that the refs decided not to enfore certain rules tonight against either team. Those rules were hand-checking, reaching in & hacking the dribbler, over the back and 3 seconds in the lane (offensive & defensive). Ignoring those rules gives a huge advantage to a team like the Jazz and they exploited it to the fullest and still barely won. I'm sure the experts will talk about what a great defensive performance the Jazz had forcing so many turnovers and holding the Suns to 104 pts.

 

[TBaslim]

Soul-cleansing loss. The dog days are here until about 1 month before the playoffs. PHX has a big bullseye on it's back right now.

If they can get/stay healthy, get the bench some reps, and settle in on a set rotation... the wins/losses between now and then will be largely irrevelant.

The break is coming at a good time. Most of the guys could really use the rest, as they've been going full tilt since Italy.

Couple notes on the game...

- Okur is the best Euro since Peja Stojakovic.

- Deron Williams is Jason Kidd reincarnate. It's easy to see who he patterned his game after.

- Confidence is such a fine-line for some players. Separates the men from the boys.

- I get a kick out of Utah. They reach more than any team in the NBA... but the refs can't call of them, or the game would last 4 hours.

Yet, the refs will turnaround and anticipate contact on the other end... thus becoming wildly inconsistent.

- James Jones could be a deciding factor in the postseason. I could see him getting the starting assignment on Dirk (if it ever comes down to it).

Great points.

People were pissed a few summers ago when Bryan C was interested in Okur for the Suns. Thought he was a big Euro stiff. He would not fit in this current squad well, but credit the Suns scouting for seeing something in him during his Detroit days.

D Williams will be a solid player in the league for a long time. Not Stockton, but Sloan has to be happy to have a real point guard again.

You nailed why Sloan gets so much out of sometimes limited talent. Possibly the dirtiest team in the league over the last 25 years...absolute masters at pushing the boundries so far that refs don't know what to do. Love how it is always described as 'hustle' and 'defense'. Yeah, they hustle all right. The old Jazz Hack n Hustle.

I sure hope JJones gets a chance to make some good contributions in the playoffs. He definately works his tail off in the games.

 

[Gaddabout]

- Okur is the best Euro since Peja Stojakovic.

You mean other than Dirk, right?

- Deron Williams is Jason Kidd reincarnate. It's easy to see who he patterned his game after.

Except Deron can shoot lights out. This guy should be on the U.S. team right now. Wow, he can play. I like him better than any of the young point guards out there.

- James Jones could be a deciding factor in the postseason. I could see him getting the starting assignment on Dirk (if it ever comes down to it).

A salient point. When Junior can shoot so confidently, it really makes the Suns a better team all around. It's like having another starter out there, because he's a multi-dimensional player. He's not quite a stellar one-on-one defender, but he has his moments, and he's on of the better weak-side defenders as a small forward. He's also aggressive on the boards, which the Suns surely could use.

I don't know how I like a Junior vs. Dirk matchup, though. It probably wouldn't look pretty when Dirk takes him off the dribble.

 

[dodie53]

diaw for pau

 

[green machine]

Diaw missing free throws wasn't as much him choking or being soft (anyone remember the game winner against Dallas in game 1 last year?) but more that he just isn't a good free throw shooter. That will come though, notice how not only is he a semi-reliable jump shooter but now he has 3 point range? Boris is improving.

The sad thing is tonight he had a pretty good game, just the missed free throws overshadow it.

The Jazz give the Suns trouble but I wouldn't read too much into this game. Again the Suns came out like crap, and again they still had a chance to win the game. Okur hit some big shots, and if a 7 footer is hitting fadeaway 20 foot jumpers then there isn't much you can do.

 

[Espo]

Seven footers hitting fadeaways seems to be our achillies heel this season.

 

[dodie53]

a team that has
dirk,
okur,
and
bargnani

will surely give the suns or any other team problems..

 

[green machine]

a team that has
dirk,
okur,
and
bargnani

will surely give the suns or any other team problems..

I'm glad you posted this as I now feel much, much smarter.

 

[sly fly]

You mean other than Dirk, right?

Gotcha. I'd say that was a pretty glaring omission.

 

[az1965]

I think there were questionable decisions towards the end:

1. Why was Diaw, a poor free throw shooter, driving for the game winner? Not only he is a poor FT shooter on the team, he was having a horrible FT shooting night.

2. With 1.3 seconds left, down by 3 points, why the hell Barbosa was inbounding the ball???? Wouldn't we want ALL our 3 point shooters spreading the floor? Should have been Diaw throwing to one of the shooters.

 

[tobiazz]

Diaw missing free throws wasn't as much him choking or being soft (anyone remember the game winner against Dallas in game 1 last year?) but more that he just isn't a good free throw shooter. That will come though, notice how not only is he a semi-reliable jump shooter but now he has 3 point range? Boris is improving.

In preseason (or maybe international games) before Boris's first season here he shot something like 5-for-24 FT's. In that context, he has improved greatly.

FT shooting stats are what worry me with most of the PF's the Suns might nab in the draft. They are terrible FT shooters, which means they will probably be poor mid-range shooters as well (big minus for a Suns big man). That's why I've been somewhat intrigued by Al Thornton. Looks like the guy can shoot, but he is prob more of a SF than PF anyway.

 

[Espo]

I think there were questionable decisions towards the end:

1. Why was Diaw, a poor free throw shooter, driving for the game winner? Not only he is a poor FT shooter on the team, he was having a horrible FT shooting night.

2. With 1.3 seconds left, down by 3 points, why the hell Barbosa was inbounding the ball???? Wouldn't we want ALL our 3 point shooters spreading the floor? Should have been Diaw throwing to one of the shooters.

The play may have been one of those plays where the inbounder is suppose to get the ball back and actually shoot the three. Thus it would have made sense for Barbosa to inbound.

 

[green machine]

The play may have been one of those plays where the inbounder is suppose to get the ball back and actually shoot the three. Thus it would have made sense for Barbosa to inbound.

That's what I was thinking, Suns did the same thing against Chicago.