Utah@Phoenix

[slinslin]

Mmmm I don't know how much I like a starting 5 of

Jake
Amare
Zarko
Marion
JJ

Zarko didn't exactly earn that and Barbosa didn't deserve to lose it either.

2 offensive fouls on Amare in the first 4:36.

 

[Ryanwb]

Amare is mailing this one in

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Originally posted by Ryanwb
Amare is mailing this one in

???

He has looked pretty good from what I have watched

 

[slinslin]

Our defense is pathetic, horrible, disgusting, crap, whatever....

Could we please consistently keep a team under 50% shooting and scoring pace of 100+?

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Originally posted by slinslin

Could we please consistently keep a team under 50% shooting and scoring pace of 100+?

Lets try and do it once before we focus on consistancy

 

[Mainstreet]

Are the Suns really this bad? I have watched some of the worst Suns teams over the years but this team is flat boring. Perhaps one the most boring Suns team ever.

The above statement is really made worse because I live and breathe the Suns.

I really don't know where the problem lies. Is it youth, lack of talent, poor coaching, lack of effort? I certainly know the Suns are not playing any defense or any resemblance of an offense.

If the Suns can't play well, then they certainly should be more competitive just on effort. Is there any hope for this team or have they just given up?

I just don't have an answer.... just frustration.

 

[elindholm]

I couldn't watch the game very carefully, but I thought that the Suns' effort was pretty good in the second half. The score was about even in both the third and fourth quarters.

The Suns held their own at forward and even at center, but simply got killed in the backcourt matchups. Aside from Joe Johnson, the Suns don't have any guards who are legitimate NBA players (at this stage in their careers). Barbosa, Jacobsen, and Eisley really should not be getting regular time on any NBA team right now; Jacobsen is probably the best of the bunch, but if he's not making contributions from behind the arc, he has little to offer. And they are are weak on both ends of the floor, not just on offense.

The experiment of starting Cabarkapa at SG was worth trying, I think, and even though it was a disaster tonight, it's probably worth trying again. But when the likes of Giricek, Lopez, and Bell completely outplay your guards, that means your guards really aren't good.

 

[Cheesebeef]

6 of the last 9 nine games JJ shoots below 38 percent - is this kid ever gone realy get it together - this is the end of his thrid year - we should be expecting consistency by now.

Amare's a stud - get Kobe Bryant - and this team starts killing people.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by cheesebeef
6 of the last 9 nine games JJ shoots below 38 percent - is this kid ever gone realy get it together - this is the end of his thrid year - we should be expecting consistency by now.

I did not think JJ's shooting was that bad. He took some ill advised three pointers (some near the end of the game when they were in despiration mode) and he had at least one shot blocked (supposedly); but he was hitting his mid range jumper and would have scored more if he was not fouled every time he tried to make a layup (he had 9 foul shots and could have had several more).

There are several reasons why the Suns lost, but I'm not convinced JJ is one of the primarly reasons.

 

[Cheesebeef]

7-19 - that's not exactly good George - and it's becoming the norm again - it worries me - that's all.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by cheesebeef
7-19 - that's not exactly good George - and it's becoming the norm again - it worries me - that's all.

Did you watch the game? He was hacked repeatedly when he drove the basket and it was never called. It wasn't like he was missing a bunch of open jump shots. The Jazz are a classic example of a team that fouls so much that the refs stop calling all their fouls. As it was, JJ went to the line for 9 shots -- all of them layups. If you assume that 4 of those shots that were called as fouls were added to his shots taken and shots hit - he would have had a 47% average.

The Jazz philsosphy is that they refuse to let teams make layups. They will always foul and force the team to shoot free throws. The Suns went to the line 32 times, although they only hit 23 of them. Hit them all and the game is very different.

 

[sly fly]

Originally posted by George O'Brien
Did you watch the game? He was hacked repeatedly when he drove the basket and it was never called. It wasn't like he was missing a bunch of open jump shots. The Jazz are a classic example of a team that fouls so much that the refs stop calling all their fouls. As it was, JJ went to the line for 9 shots -- all of them layups. If you assume that 4 of those shots that were called as fouls were added to his shots taken and shots hit - he would have had a 47% average.

The Jazz philsosphy is that they refuse to let teams make layups. They will always foul and force the team to shoot free throws. The Suns went to the line 32 times, although they only hit 23 of them. Hit them all and the game is very different.

George. Don't defend JJ. Good, smart players find ways to get it done against inferior talent. If JJ ran off backscreens, and moved without the ball like he should (instead of dribbling every damn second) his FG% would be much higher.

I can't stand the way some people just accept the way some of our players play. JJ needs to find a way to make his team better. Heck, there are tons of players in this league who can score. Show me the ones that are WINNERS, forget the rest.

Just win, baby. Put down the stat book and start showing me some W's.

 

[sly fly]

BTW, Utah would be scary with Matt Harpring on board.

This team plays basketball like it should be played. Forget their record. This team has less athletic talent than 99% of the NBA. Yet, they get it done with smarts and hustle.

Go figure. What a concept.

 

[Errntknght]

The Jazz are a well coached team and the Suns are not. We have some guys that are pretty good at scoring one-on-one so we stay close most nights. Now and then we beat a team that is weak defensively or just mails in the game. If we were dependent on team play to score we'd be blown out every night.

I've come to the conclusion that not only does D'Antoni not have a clue how to organize an NBA worthy offensive or defensive scheme, neither do any of our other coaches. They seem to be decent at coaching individual players but are useless when it comes to team play. Our management has been stumbling around in the dark when it comes to coaches for three decades... in fact they are getting worse and worse as time goes on. Let's hope JC sells the team to someone that will take over forthwith - he doesn't have to know anything about basketball, just how to hire competent professionals.

 

[Dr. Dumas]

Here goes all the we suck, coach sucks talk. This team is going to struggle every night for the remainder of the season. This is the youngest team in the NBA, who probably went through the most changes during the course of a season then any other team.
Last nights game looked no worse to me then the Suns/Jazz game in the beginning of the year(and that was when we still had Steph/Penney & FJ).

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by Dr. Dumas
Here goes all the we suck, coach sucks talk. This team is going to struggle every night for the remainder of the season. This is the youngest team in the NBA, who probably went through the most changes during the course of a season then any other team.
Last nights game looked no worse to me then the Suns/Jazz game in the beginning of the year(and that was when we still had Steph/Penney & FJ).

Thank you. The Phoenix Suns have had games like this against the Utah Jazz for years. It was not Arroyo, Giricek, etc. who beat the Phoenix Suns defenders tonight. It was the Utah Jazz offensive system. I wish like hell the Phoenix Suns ran their offense like the Jazz while pushing the ball up the floor every time they got the chance. Last night in the chat room I said several times that won the coach I would gladly dump D'Antoni for is Phil Johnson, the longtime Utah assistant coach. Of course in order to run a system like Utah's it's very helpful to have players who can consistently knock down open midrange and three-point shots.

The referees were allowing a lot of contact on both ends of the court last night, but I think it definitely hurt the Phoenix Suns more. Amare Stoudemire should have gone to the line 5-10 more times last night, and I'm only counting blatant fouls. If he had been getting the calls last night that he's been getting over the last few weeks he would have gone almost every time he put the ball up. JJ was also getting hacked left and right. Worst of all was the 4-5 obvious travels they didn't call against Utah last night. Most of the were on open place and very, very easy to see. Arroyo himself did it 2-3 times.

That said, the Suns lost the game because they could not defend the Utah Jazz system. The Jazz players were constantly seeking to the basket for wide-open layups. It looked like the Phoenix Suns might get back into it, but then Raja Bell hit some incredible shots down the stretch where he was well defended.

Joe Mama