Voluntary Workouts

[elindholm]

I'm by no means pimping Tsakalidis, but he has a little more offensive ability than some of you remember. During '01-'02 (his second season), he had quite a few big games when Marbury kept finding him on pick-and-roll plays to the basket. His skills are limited, but he's pretty good at catching the ball in traffic, steadying himself, and scoring right at the rim if no other trees are around. In fact he scored in double figures 18 times that year, with 15 of those games coming in the second half of the season. Eight times he scored 15 points or more.

His lack of mobility is a major problem, and I'd expect him to have problems on defense against quicker opponents, which means pretty much everybody. But with Nash running the show and a bunch of other scorers opening things up, my guess is he'd actually do just fine on the offensive end.

 

[Chaplin]

His lack of mobility is a major problem, and I'd expect him to have problems on defense against quicker opponents, which means pretty much everybody. But with Nash running the show and a bunch of other scorers opening things up, my guess is he'd actually do just fine on the offensive end.

I've thought about this for a little while, and I have to agree with Eric. If we do sign him (which to me is unlikely, but still possible), he will get at most only a few minutes per game--probably not enough to really affect the outcome except to give Kurt/Amare a breather. And those few minutes might be without Nash on the floor, which gives Jake a much better chance of making an impact, if just a very small one.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

His skills are limited, but he's pretty good at catching the ball in traffic

You and I must remember different versions of Big Jake. I remember Steph and Big Jake running numerous pick and rolls, with Jake having hands of stone. He couldn't catch the ball for squat, and someone could swat the ball away from him at anytime, a la Hunter or Little Jake.

If there is one thing that I clearly remember, it was that Big Jake had terrible hands in the low post.

 

[Errntknght]

I'd have to come down between Eric and Dreamcast regarding Big Jake's hands when it comes to catching passes - he catches them on the move okay but not when he's in traffic. He's certainly not as stoney handed as Jahidi was but he has more trouble in traffic. On the pick & roll with Nash I'd rate him as slightly worse than Hunter - Hunter might be better than we saw with his dislocated finger. (I just thought I'd throw that in...)

I wouldn't come out strongly for or against getting him without seeing video of his most recent play and his medical history. He had a bad back his last year here and there was always some question in my mind how much that hurt him - here and in Memphis.

To my way of thinking he had his chances to play with the Grizz and he didn't make much of it so I wouldn't have great hopes for him. Still the Suns have no low post offense outside of Amare and Jake would give us a little something - I always liked his big sweeping hook shot.

I'll have to take issue with those who say Jake had a mobility problem - granted he looked like he should have one but, in fact, he didn't except when he got carried away and started chasing guards on the perimeter. In the paint he was surprisingly mobile and was nearly as good a shot blocker as Hunter. On the other hand he did have a problem in the paint - he never learned how to use his great bulk. Against Shaq he did okay but, in general, against smaller players he was constantly getting knocked off balance. I remember one play against the Kings when Bobby Jackson bumped him clear out of the play when they were both going for a rebound.

So he's not much of a rebounder but I clearly remember in the playoff series against the Kings they completely killed us on the boards when Jake was sitting but when he was on the floor we held our own - I think it was just due to the amount of space he took up.

Also, for short stretches Jake does fine getting up and down the floor - again I think it's his appearance that causes people to complain about his slowness. He does lumber along but he does it surprisingly fast - he's certainly not Longleyesque in his speed. At least he wasn't when he played here. And you didn't see guys stepping in to take a charge when he had up a head of steam.

Of course, there is the D'Antoni factor to consider - Jake would definitely be a situational player and D'A has shown little interest in such up 'til now. He's going to have a lot to cope with organizing his line ups already and I just can't see him figuring out when Jake would be of benefit.

 

[George O'Brien]

At $2.9 mil each for this year and next, I think Big Jake would be an awfully expensive luxury.

 

[PhxGametime]

Okay I once really liked Tsakalidis and I haven't been in Fantasy Basketball for years (so I don't know rosters as well as most here) but I feel if the Suns wanted him, the Suns should get a Pick out of the whole deal... don't the Grizzlies have 191 players on roster and need to cut down? With a salary like that... the Suns should be able to get a Pick, assuming Grizzlies don't have a low cap...

 

[devilalum]

At this point, the younger guys need more time leanring the Suns fast break than Marion and Jackson.

What's to learn?

D'Antoni tapes an x on the floor where he wants Jones, House, Bell, LB, Major Mustard to stand at the 3 point line. A 6th grader could do it. Nash, Amare and Shawn take care of the trickier stuff. Thomas and Grant follow up the rear.

Isn't that basically the Suns fast break?

I really have no idea how Diaw fits into the this?

 

[devilalum]

At $2.9 mil each for this year and next, I think Big Jake would be an awfully expensive luxury.

Just say NO to Tsucksalotis.

 

[elindholm]

D'Antoni tapes an x on the floor where he wants Jones, House, Bell, LB, Major Mustard to stand at the 3 point line.

Heh, probably a few different X's, but I like that description.

I really have no idea how Diaw fits into the this?

I think he's supposed to be leading the show when Nash is on the break. Our inside information specialists (thegrahamcrackr and Joe_Mama) keep telling us that it's Diaw's PG skills that most intrigue Suns brass.

 

[George O'Brien]

I really have no idea how Diaw fits into the this?

I think he's supposed to be leading the show when Nash is on the break. Our inside information specialists (thegrahamcrackr and Joe_Mama) keep telling us that it's Diaw's PG skills that most intrigue Suns brass.

Diaw Impresses I posted the Suns.com item in antoher thread. "If Boris Diaw’s efforts in the European Championships are any indication, the Suns have found their back-up point guard for the upcoming season. "

D'Antoni and Ivaroni were at Thursday's game, so they are definitely looking to see what Diaw can do. “Watching Boris play overseas, he's been playing very well,” Suns assistant coach Marc Iavaroni said. “He’s been very aggressive and confident. Obviously he can play one, two, maybe three. He can defend pretty well. He’s got size and quickness. We’re excited about him as a sleeper kind of guy.”

 

[Chaplin]

Marion is back, so that leaves just Jim Jackson and Boris Diaw being absent at workouts...


Marion anticipates small-forward time
All-Star joins arena workouts

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 24, 2005 12:00 AM

Barely sweating, Shawn Marion rebounded, led the break and slipped a bounce pass between two defenders for a teammate's easy layup.

Marion looked as if he stepped straight out of May's playoff games when he joined the Suns' voluntary workouts Friday at America West Arena. His return seemed seamless, but Marion said he felt out of shape and hardly knew anybody in the pickup games.

Welcome to a team with nine new faces.
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"There's going to be a little bit of change out there on the floor because our lineup's different, but hopefully we're still going to be running and gunning," Marion said.

The addition of Kurt Thomas allows Marion to return to a swingman role to start games, although Phoenix likely will still employ its quick look often with Marion and Amaré Stoudemire at the posts.

"I'm a three (small forward)," Marion said. "I'm not a four (power forward). Definitely, it's going to help. I can play anywhere. It's just a matter of how we're going to use me. We can go out there with any lineup, and I'm going to try to do it in some kind of way."

Marion's short summer was a blur between charity games and leisure travel. Marion took a vacation to Italy with Suns President Jerry Colangelo and others as a reward for his Suns Charities work and donations.

"The older I get, I'm starting to realize I need that time to rest," Marion, 27, said. "I'm not going to be doing that stuff (summer games) anymore. That's a wear and tear on your body. I'm still trying to rest my body from the playoffs."

Free throws
With Marion back, Jim Jackson and Boris Diaw are the only Suns players who have not joined voluntary workouts. Jackson was on a NBA Basketball Without Borders trip in South Africa this month. Diaw is starring for France in the European Championships in Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro, where the French play Greece in a 9 a.m. semifinal today on NBA TV. Suns coach Mike D'Antoni was on hand to watch Diaw's 18-point, 11-rebound game Thursday.


• Half of the team went beyond volunteering for pickup games this week and showed up at the Arizona State track for two workouts with Suns strength and conditioning coach Erik Phillips.


• All of the proceeds from the Suns' Oct. 8 scrimmage in Tucson will go toward the University of Arizona's new practice facility. The Suns have not made a Tucson appearance in five years.