Vs Portland

[George O'Brien]

I checked the box scores and Ratliff played on 8 minutes against the Spurs and was DNP against the Warriors last night. Yahoo indicates that it was due to a sore shoulder. Also, Randlolph did not play last night due to Right Knee Tendinitis, but played against the Spurs on the 30th.

Does anyone have an update on their injury status?

 

[elindholm]

A great resource for this kind of question is

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players

You can call up any player and get the "published" information about his injury status. For Ratliff, it says

Theo Ratliff (shoulder bursitis) did not play in Saturday's game agaisnt the Warriors. He was injured in the previous game.... Questionable for Jan. 2 at Phoenix.

This is definitely a site to bookmark, in my opinion.

 

[King A]

should be a fun game to watch / listen to

 

[jibikao]

We need to start the year with a BIG win!!!

Jimmy

 

[sunsfn]

should be a fun game to watch / listen to

Where is arthurracoon when you need him?

 

[Billythekid]

Suns have turned up the D! This is the sort of the D we need to be playing. Covering the lanes and getting out on the break.

Suns are 'sounding' sensational in this 2nd qtr.

 

[arthurracoon]

Should be a fun game to watch/listen to!




Sorry, I was distracted by the Cards' AWESOME win!

 

[Wally]

Suns have turned up the D! This is the sort of the D we need to be playing. Covering the lanes and getting out on the break.

Suns are 'sounding' sensational in this 2nd qtr.

The difference in the 2nd qtr was Hunter AND Amare on the floor at the same time. Rebounds during that time was in favor of the Suns..... Announcer said 8-2. The combination turned the game around completely.

 

[arthurracoon]

Amare has 39 POINTS!!! There is still 6:30 to play!
PLUS:
8 Reb
3 Ast

 

[Billythekid]

Wow. Huge 3! The crowd is going crazy! I hope Amare gets to the mid 40's.

Go Suns!

 

[scudney]

This has been one of the most entertaining games of the season to watch. Amare with 46 points right now.

Hunter has also played a great game. Nice to see the Suns playing with Hunter, Amare, and Marion for an extended period of time, especially in the 4th quarter. That lineup put the game out of reach in the 4th.

Bring on Minnesota

 

[slinslin]

Man if Amare made all his freethrows he would have 55 points right now.

 

[arthurracoon]

Amare has scored 50. PLUS he shot 74% from the field!!!

And Q has just nailed a 3

The crowd is going CRAZY!!!

117-98 SUNS WIN!!!

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

so glad I got my sat working in time to watch the 50th point go in

 

[Billythekid]

All hail Amare!!! :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

 

[slinslin]

Is Amare the youngest player to get to 50???

 

[devilalum]

He played like he heard what we've been saying about him.

What's the record for dunks in a game?

 

[George O'Brien]

One key to the game was the play of Hunter. He had 10 points and 5 rebounds, but what was crucial was that their guards had to shoot floaters and jumpers.

BTW, the theory that having Hunter in the lineup would hurt Amare's scoring does not appear to be valid.

 

[baltimorer]

Haha, Amare had 50 points in a 20-point blowout.

 

[elindholm]

Haha, Amare had 50 points in a 20-point blowout.

Of course, a big reason it was a 20-point blowout was that he had 50 points. Or don't you think the two are related?

 

[Chaplin]

Haha, Amare had 50 points in a 20-point blowout.

Of course, a big reason it was a 20-point blowout was that he had 50 points. Or don't you think the two are related?

No kidding--Amare had like 40 points when we only had a 3 point lead.

 

[Wally]

In the 1st Qtr Blazers had a 12 point lead and a 20-7 rebound advantage. In the 2nd qrt when Hunter AND Amare were in the game we had 8-2 rebound advantage and ended up with a 19 point swing for a 7 point lead. 3rd qtr with Amare only, lead went down to 3, rebounds were about even and then Hunter came back in with Amare. Hunter - Amare combo again made the difference.

No doubt in my mind that having 2 big guys on the floor at the same time made a BIG difference.

Amare's post game quote was something like..... "Having Steve Hunter playing CENTER was a big difference"

I rest my case..... for this game anyway

 

[jibikao]

Was the coach afraid that Hunter would cause conflict with Amare in the paint?

Damn, again, I didn't watch the game but sounds like the combo of Amare + Hunter is great. Now we have 3 pretty long players on the court: Amare, Hunter and Marion.

Hunter doesn't need to score to be effective. If he thinks his role is to score, then he should be benched. His role is to provide defense and inside presence so that we don't give layups for other teams.

I am glad Suns' first 2005 is a very successful one.

Way to go Amare. Keep it up!!

Jimmy

 

[George O'Brien]

Hunter looked very good on offense. He showed some very good moves and Eddie Johnson on TV was raving about his foootwork. I would say there is not doubt he has shown more growth this season than anyone on the team.

Right now the only problem Hunter has is a complete lack of respect from the refs. I saw at least three times he was pushed in the back in a way that prevented him from getting the rebound. Blatant stuff, but the refs were not doing the Suns any favors.

 

[Joe Mama]

Hunter looked very good on offense. He showed some very good moves and Eddie Johnson on TV was raving about his foootwork. I would say there is not doubt he has shown more growth this season than anyone on the team.

Right now the only problem Hunter has is a complete lack of respect from the refs. I saw at least three times he was pushed in the back in a way that prevented him from getting the rebound. Blatant stuff, but the refs were not doing the Suns any favors.

The last time the Phoenix Suns played Portland it was the outside shooting of Richardson and others that turned it into a blowout. This time it was Amare Stoudemire and Stephen Hunter. At the beginning of the season I don't think Hunter had the moves to score most of his points tonight. He looked great against a big, mostly athletic team. I felt sorry for Shawn Marion tonight. They really went after him even when he was guarding Miles, who is a big small forward.

I really think this is a preview of what we will see a lot of the time against Minnesota on Tuesday. I think the Suns will start small as always, but as soon as they struggle we'll see Hunter, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, and two other players as much as possible. It wouldn't surprise me if Hunter plays 25-30 minutes Tuesday. At least I hope he plays around 25 minutes.

Joe Mama