Dissapointing start and the New Guy

The Suns lost to the Clippers tonight, running their record to a disturbing 1-3.

They lost on opening night to the Fakers, and again last night to the Jazz. Turnovers have been a big problem early (although tonight they only had 10). The Suns have shown an ability to not box anyone out or play any interior defense in the early games.

Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, two keys to last year's success have shown little of the game that the Suns relied upon so much last year. Bell hasn't shot the ball well and Diaw, well, he hasn't done much of anything.

Hopefully this team will pull it together and get on a roll, but the schedule won't be kind. After playing their first four games in five nights, they have back to back games against Western Conference powers San Antonio and Dallas on Wed. and Thurs. night before playing home vs. Memphis next saturday. If they continue to struggle they have a chance to start 1-5 which would not be good.

On another note, the Suns expect to sign veteran swingman Jalen Rose on Monday, pending his physical. Rose was cut by the Knicks in preseason (insert joke here). I'm hoping for a Tim Thomas - like situation where a veteran comes in and energizes this team and plays better than he has ever played before, but I'm not quite sure what to expect. Rose has a career avg. of almost 15 points and almost 4 assists, so he's capable, but his best years seem to be behind him. I'm not counting on much, but I'm hoping for the best from him.

THE AMARE REPORT:

Amare has looked good at times and bad at times. His best game was the home opener vs. the Clippers, but overall he looks scared to go up strong and very tentative around the hoop. He only is playing about 17 minutes a game and most of his minutes seem to come in the first half. Will we ever see the old Amare? I'm starting to wonder.

Not quite what we expected

Opening night for the Suns wasn’t quite what was expected. After getting out to a 19 point lead in the first quarter, the Suns blew the lead and were defeated by the Evil Empire of the Lakers 114-106. The Suns scored 41 points in the first quarter, and then seemed to quit playing. They were dominated by Lamar Odom, who scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. He also had 6 assists just for good measure. The real story of this game was second year center Andrew Bynum. The 10 year old Laker scored 18 points. I have shoes older than Andrew Bynum.
The Suns decided after the first quarter that rebounding, defense, and fast breaking were no longer important. The Lakers proved why Kobe Bryant is a cancer. The Grim Raper didn’t play, contributing to the Lakers win. With Kobe in the game the Suns would have had an easy win, as the Grim Raper would have turned the game into a one on one battle with his mortal enemy, Raja Bell. Instead, the Lakers showed balance and team play, and were able to beat the Suns from the inside out.
Tonight, the Clippers and former Suns playoff hero Tim Thomas come to town. The Suns need to show the ability to bounce back and take their home opener.
Amare note: Stoudemire scored just 6 points in only 11 minutes of playing time. He did have one nice highlight dunk.

FINALLY! The season is here!

Training camp is over, the preseason is over, and now, FINALLY, it’s time for the 2006-07 NBA Season to begin.
There are high expectations for the Suns this year. A number of publications, including Sports Illustrated, have picked the NBA championship to come to Phoenix this year. Much of the success will depend on the knees of Amare Stoudemire. There have been three preseason games at home (two of which I have attended) and Amare has shown flashes of his former self at times. At other times, however, he has looked tentative and scared to go up strong to crash the boards and take the ball to the basket. He seems to only go strong to the hole when there’s nobody in his way. Hopefully that will get better as the season goes on. Right now, Amare is the highest paid sixth man in the NBA, as the Suns are using a starting lineup of Nash, Bell, Diaw, Kurt Thomas, and Marion.
The Suns went 4-4 in the preseason, with losses to the Sixers, Lakers, Sonics, and Clippers. Not that any of that matters. Preseason is for trying different lineups and working out the kinks. Not to mention getting new guys used to the run run run style of Phoenix Suns basketball
Some observations of preseason: Leandro Barbosa will have an excellent season. He doesn’t have to worry about playing the point this year with the addition of Marcus Banks. This allows him to concentrate on scoring and getting to the basket and using his speed as a weapon. Barbosa probably won’t ever be a point guard, but he’s a very good shooter and an excellent scorer in the lane.
Marcus Banks has looked like he’s not quite sure what to do in the Suns system. He’s almost playing too fast for his own good. His shot hasn’t fallen and he’s had a high number of turnovers. He’s an upgrade from Eddie House, but he’ll really need to start shooting better in order to take the pressure off of Steve Nash.
The regular season starts on Halloween, as the Suns go to Los Angeles to play the Lakers. That should be fun. The next night the Clippers are in Phoenix as the Suns have their nationally televised home opener.

Back in the USA

The Suns completed their European trip yesterday, beating an Israeli team, Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv, in Cologne, Germany. They won two of the three games they played in Europe, with their lone loss coming at the hands of the only NBA team they faced, the Sixers. The most important thing that happened was the fact that Amare Stoudemire played two games on back to back days and reported no problems with the knee.
Amare played 19 minutes against the Sixers and played 25 minutes against Maccabi Tel Aviv. He looked slow on defense, and had some trouble with turnovers, but he did show some flashes of the vintage Amare, even dunking over a Maccabi player.
Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa, the Suns two emerging stars from last year's playoffs both played well. Diaw is in the final year of his contract and if he does not sign an extension before Oct. 31, he will become a restricted free agent after this season. This concerns the Suns because they don't want a repeat of the Joe Johnson situation. Diaw and the Suns do not appear close on a contract. This makes me wonder if Diaw and his agent may think they'll test the waters next summer. I also wonder if Diaw would be as good in another system as he is in the Suns run & gun style.
Speaking of the run & gun, the most important signing of the summer was backup guard Marcus Banks. Banks could start at PG for many NBA teams, in fact he did start most of the second half for Minnesota. The Suns success rests on the back of Steve Nash, and having a legit backup PG will help Mike D'Antoni get Nash out of the game and not worry about the team faltering, like last year when Eddie House came in the game.
The first home preseason game is next week. I can't wait to see this team play.

The beginning of things

Earlier today the Suns played their first exibition game against a team from Rome, Italy. As expected, the Suns came out on top with a 100-93 victory. The game wasn't that close as the Suns put it on cruise late in the game and got a look at some of thie bench players. Shawn Marion had 19 points to lead the Suns and Leandro Barbosa continued where he left off in last season's playoffs, scoring 18. The Suns shot the ball well, and hit their three pointers, which is how the Suns need to play to win during the regular season. The next game is in Germany vs. the Sixers, who lost their first exibition game against a European team.
The biggest concern for the Suns was not what happened on the court, but rather who wer NOT on the court for them. Yep, Amare Stoudemire missed this game, and has missed a couple of practices with knee soreness. This time he says both knees are sore. There is no swelling or structural damage in his knees, and word is that his teammates are getting sick and tired of his complaining and sitting out. I am starting to be skeptical if there is anything wrong, or just normal soreness from playing basketball. I don't think Amare has much of a pain tolerance. Everyone that plays basketball has knee soreness. Look at any post game locker room, every player ices their knees after games. I play basketball and my knees are sore and I don't play close to as hard or as often as an NBA player. It's part of the game.
The Suns started Nash, Marion, Bell, Diaw, and Kurt Thomas. I think the Suns can win with this group and their strong bench of Marcus Banks, Leandro Barbosa, James and Jumaine Jones, but not having Amare really hurts their interior depth, a department where they were in dire need of improvement last season.
It will be interesting to see what happens as the October 31 season opener against the Evil Lakers quickly approaches.

Training Camp

Off to Italy.
Not me, the Suns. Training Camp 2006 will be in Italy. The Suns will play some preseason games against European teams and NBA teams. It should be interesting once they get back to see how the jetlag will affect them.
The Suns will bring 14 players to camp.
Jeff Varem, a former Washington State Cougar was scheduled to be the 14th man, but due to some visa problems from his native land, he can not go. Instead they will bring some guy Davin White from Cal St. Northridge.
No chance he will make the team...just an extra body for practice.

Amare had some soreness on his non microfracture knee the other day and had an MRI, which turned out negative. It will be interesting to see how he plays in training camp.

Roster Moves Completed (?)

The Suns are in the process of signing Jumaine Jones, a swingman type player who played for the Charlotte Bobcats last year.
His signing completes the roster with 13 players.
Other than the fact that the moves brings a headbanded player to the Suns, it is a good move. Jones is a decent outside shooter and a good defender. He will definately help off the bench and can start in case of an injury to someone.
Here's the roster as it stands now:

Starters:
NASH
BELL
STAT
DIAW
MATRIX

Bench:
Barbosa
K. Thomas
Banks
James Jones
Jumaine Jones
Piatkowski
Burke

Inactive List:
Sean Marks

I'm not sure if this is going to be the roster when the season opens in November. The Jumaine Jones signing is interesting in terms of where it leaves James Jones' status. I like James Jones, but his inconsistancy hurt the Suns last year, and he really was a non factor in the playoffs when he was counted on due to the Raja Bell injury.
I don't know this for sure, and I haven't heard it in the media or from any inside sources, but I have a feeling that James Jones may be traded.
If the Suns can get a couple of future high draft picks that may be a good move. After all, Nash won't last forever. Although we do have Banks and Barbosa, I don't know if either of them are the PG for the future.

Feel free to send me comments or emails on anything regarding the Suns, this signing, or anything else!

Barbosa Signs...Stat Sits

The past week brought some good news and some bad news to Suns fans.
First, the good...
The Suns were able to lock up guard Leandro Barbosa for five more years (his rookie contract was due to expire after this upcoming season) for the relatively low price of $33 million. That sounds like a ton but if Barbosa continues to progress like he did last year, it will look like a bargain when he would have been due for free agency next summer. After all, Francisco Elson, a bench warmer from the Nuggets got a 2 yr / $6 million contract from the Spurs.
Next, the Suns are looking to get a multi year deal done for Boris Diaw, the reigning NBA Most Improved Player.

Now...the bad.
Amare Stoudemire's rehab is not to the point where he had hoped it would be at this point. After a cautiously optimistic performance in the Summer League, Amare was left off the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Championships. USA Basketball officials said that Amare looked stiff and tentative when working out and scrimmaging this summer. It will be important to the Suns championship chances that he is near 100% for the season. Luckily, there are about 2 1/2 months until opening night, and Amare can continue to rehab.

2006-2007 Schedule Released

The 2006-07 NBA schedule was released today. The Suns play 33 games on national TV, which I think is the most of any team.
The season begins in LA against the Rapers on Haloween. The home opener is November 1 against the real team in LA, the Clippers. It will be interesting to see the reception Tim Thomas gets in Phoenix.
Some other highlights of the schedule include:
Suns vs. World Champion Miami Heat Dec 13 @ Miami, and Jan 5 @ Phx.
Suns vs. Dallas in a rematch of the 2006 West Finals November 9th at US Airways Center.
Cleveland and LeBron James comes to town on January 11.
Kobe and the Rapers don't make their first appearance in the Valley until March 4. That game will be fun, as the chant of KOBE SUCKS will be alive and well.

The regular season ends on April 17 with the Clippers coming to town again.

I can't wait until the season starts and it's only August!

Depth Chart:

PG: Steve Nash, Marcus Banks
SG: Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, James Jones
C: Amare Stoudemire. Kurt Thomas, Pat Burke
SF: Shawn Marion, Eric Piatkowski
PF: Boris Diaw, Sean Marks

Marcus Banks, Sean Marks, and STAT

The Suns finished their offseason moves (hopefully) with the signing of Marcus Banks to be the backup PG and Sean Marks to be the backup benchwarmer.
Marks is not relevant so I really don't have anything to say about him other than he's a big oaf from New Zealand. He'll sit in the seat on the bench next to Pat Burke that was previously occupied by the now retired Rastafarian, Brian Grant.
I like the Banks deal. I haven't seen much of this guy play, but from what I have seen he will be a good fit into the Suns' system. He is definately an upgrade from Eddie CrackHouse. Of course, my cat would be an upgrade from House.
Banks could have commanded more money and probably a starting job from some other team (Lakers?) but chose to play in Phoenix. He went to UNLV so Phx is close to his Vegas home, and who wouldn't want to play for this team?
Banks will allow Barbosa to contine to be a #2 guard off the bench, and not play the PG, where he is less comfortable.

The most important acquisition the Suns made this summer so far isn't even a new pickup. It is the return of Amare Stoudemire. He played well in the Summer league and currently is training for Team USA for the World Championships. Hopefully he will be able to regain the explosiveness he had during his first three seasons. If Amare is at 90% (and the Suns don't make any dumb moves...I.E. Trading Shawn Marion), the Suns should be the favorite for the Western Conference Title.

Now What?

Tim Thomas is a Clipper.
The only good basketball team in L.A. gave him $24 million over 4 years. The Suns offered him $12 million over 3 years. That is what you would call a no brainer.
Tim did well in his brief stint with the Suns, and said all the right things leading up to free agency. The Suns offered him a fair offer, but the Clippers gave him an insanely large contract after losing Valdimir Radmanovic to that other team that plays in the Staples Center. So...where does that leave the Suns??
The loss of Tim is not that crushing of a blow for the Suns. The only reason he was signed to begin with was to compensate for the loss of Kurt Thomas, who will be back from his stress fractured foot. Oh yeah, there's that Amare guy who is coming back too. I hear he's pretty good.
The Suns key need right now is a backup point guard, so Steve Nash doesn't have to play 40 minutes a game for 82 games plus playoffs.
Unfortunately, in this summer of overblown contracts, the best available backup PG's have been given huge sums of money the Suns don't have under the salary cap to commit to a bench player. Speedy Claxton and Bobby Jackson got huge contracts to play backup roles in Atlanta and New Orleans / Oklahoma City respectively.
So...where does that leave the Suns?
We can go out and get another shooter, and keep what we've got...that means Barbosa would be the backup PG; a role he has clearly shown he is not suited for.
We can go and re-sign Eddie House (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't do that!!!)
Other than that, there's not much left out there.
Now that the free agent period is underway, the Suns selling their draft picks for cap space isn't looking as good as it did on draft night. Marcus Williams could have definately helped in the backup PG dept.
Well...we shall see what develops. Stay tuned.
On a more positive note (I hope), Suns summer league is beginning today. Amare Stoudemire is going to play against a bunch of scrubs from other teams. Hopefully his knee is fully healed and we will see the "old" Amare dominating a bunch of 12th men and rookies in Las Vegas. Three of the games are televised on NBATV so we will get to see how STAT looks. I'm cautiuosly optimistic.

When nothing is good

The 2006 NBA draft was very memorable for the Suns. It's not too tough to remember nothing. That's exatly what the Suns got in the draft. In fact, the Suns left the draft with one less player than they had before the draft, despite having two picks in the first round.
Why am I not complaining?
Because that's exactly what the Suns needed to do. The Suns didn't need to waste money on some players that wouldn't play or get sent to the NBDL. By trading their draft picks for cash, they will have money to sign Tim Thomas, and maybe even get contract extensions for Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw (lets not get ahead of ourselves yet).
By getting rid of Brian Grant (and his salary) the Suns freed up some more money to possibly go after someone in the free agent market (Backup point guard, anyone?).
As it is the Suns' roster shapes up like this:

Steve Nash
Shawn Marion
Amare Stoudemire
Kurt Thomas
Boris Diaw
Raja Bell
Leandro Barbosa
James Jones
Pat Burke
Dijon Thompson
Tim Thomas (hopefully)


If the Suns can get a quality backup PG (Bobby Jackson?) they really would have no holes. As it is currently, this team is a championship contender. Add Amare Stoudemire to a team that was 2 wins from the Finals? That's better than any trade or draft pick a team could ask for.
Well, we'll see what happens the rest of the summer. I'm already excited for the 06-07 season.

Damn Rumors

Well...another offseason...another round of Shawn Marion trade rumors.
This year there is talk of The Matrix going everywhere from Chicago to Seattle. There are a couple of other rumors as well.
Marion has been the heart & soul of the Suns organization for the past 6 years. He has suffered through the awful Stephon Marbury experiment. He has played with 3 different point guards, 4 different coaches, but has been able to put up big numbers every year throughout his career.
I don't get it. Marion scores. Marion rebounds. Marion defends. There's NOBODY in the NBA that can provide the things he can. Sure, someone may be a better scorer. Someone may be a better defender. Someone may be a better rebounder. But there is NOBODY in the league that has the combination of things that Marion brings to the table.
If he is traded I will be extremely dissapointed.
As a Suns fan, it's hard to root for a team that completely changes its core each and every year. I can't imagine, after being so close to an appearance in the Finals, that this team would take people away.
If you add Amare Stoudemire to this core, how can this team NOT be the favorite to win the championship?
I'll post next after the draft on Wednesday night.
We shall see.

The Ride Comes to an End.

The magic carpet ride that was the 2006 NBA Playoffs has ended for the Phoenix Suns. I had hoped that I would be posting about a game 7 here today, but instead I must take a step back and reflect on what truly was a magical season for the Suns.
After losing Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson there were lots of question marks about this team. When Amare Stoudemire went down, the question marks became doubts about even making the playoffs from many people including myself. This team fought all year and overcame whatever challenges were put in front of them and made an incredible journey that included a second straight Pacific Division title, a second straight MVP award for Steve Nash, and a memorable playoff run that ended with one more win than last year's.


I gotta take my hat off to Dallas for winning a tough series. In the end they were able to out play the Suns when it mattered, overcoming an 18 point Suns lead to close out with a victory.
All the injuries and fatigue finally caught up to the Suns, and they just weren't able to hold on in the second half. Congrads to Dallas and their fans and good luck in the Finals.

There are a number of decisions to be made this summer for the Suns, most notably the free agency of Tim Thomas. Tim has said he'd take less money to remain a Sun, but sometimes the NBA's salary cap makes personnel decisions for teams. I'd like to see him in the purple & orange next year, but we'll see how this plays out.
I feel one of the Suns biggest needs is a backup point guard. Eddie House is definately NOT an option. Leandro Barbosa is much better in a scoring role. I want to see someone that can come in and run the offense, allowing Nash to get some rest.
I'll update this blog when things happen this summer, or when the rumors become rampant. Feel free to leave comments on the blog or anything Suns related, or you can email me at: kobesucks@cox.net

Here we go again

THIS WAS A FOUL ON STEVE NASH?

Well once again the Suns are facing elimination. It seems they only can play well when their backs are against the wall. Or when the officials aren't wearing Dallas jerseys.

Game 5 was a good game until about midway through the fourth quarter. That's when Danny Crawford, Jack Neis, and Kenny Mauer decided to take this game into their own hands. On paper it looked like Dirk scored 50 points and led Dallas to a 16 point victory. On paper it looked like the Suns blew a 7 point third quarter lead. Games aren't played on paper. Let's look at what REALLY happened.

Suns up by 7. Shawn Marion is called for a phantom foul which happened to be his fourth. He goes to the bench...Dallas goes on a 10-0 run. Then things really got bad for the Suns. Dallas had a one point lead and Raja Bell was kicked by no talent Josh Howard, and Raja gets a technical foul. Mike D'Antoni voiced his displeasure with the call and was T'd up as well. From that point on, Dirk was allowed to do anything he wanted and whenever he missed a shot a foul was called on the Suns. It was a fuckshow.

How does the softest player in the HISTORY of the NBA get to the line 18 times? Dirk = 18 free throw attempts. The Suns TEAM = 20 free throw attempts. Suns lose by 16...hmmm...

Dirk does nothing but take fadeaway jumpers and three pointers. How the hell does a jump shooter get to the line 18 times? Insane.

Danny Crawford should turn in his whistle after that performance.

RAJA RAJA RAJA!!!!!!!

It's funny how one player can make a difference. Take away Steve Nash from the Suns, and you have a team like the Timberwolves. Talented players with no direction. Steve Nash makes the Suns go. He runs the offense, finds open shots for his teammates, and provides on the floor leadership.
I never thought Raja Bell would be as important to the Suns as Steve Nash. With Raja sidelined for games 2 & 3, the Suns looked overmatched. The defense just wasn't there. They couldn't stop guys like Josh Howard & Devin Harris. Their double teams didn't have the same effectiveness on Dirk Nowitzki, and they didn't have the fire to go after loose balls.
Raja surprised everyone by suiting up and playing in game 4. His presence gave the Suns the fire they needed to pull even in the series with a 20 point victory. A loss in game 4 would have been devastating, but the Suns followed Raja's lead and came out with fire and passion to put the Mavs away in the 3rd quarter.
Raja has really made his place in Suns history during these playoffs. Everyone knows about his clothesline to Kobe Bryant.
Had he done that and the Suns lost the series, nobody in Phoenix would want anything to do with him. However, that play alone inspired the Suns to win game 6 on the Lakers floor, and fueled the beat down the Suns put on the Lakers in game 7.
Fast forward to the Clippers series: Game 5, Suns down 3 in OT, and Raja hits what may just be the biggest shot in Suns history to put the game into OT #2 where the Suns took control...another game 7, another spanking put on a team from LA.
Now, Raja comes back from an injury he probably should not have been playing on, and inspires his team to win by 20 over a team that had outplayed them for the 2 previous games. That's the stuff legends are made of.
I only hope the Suns can continue to play with that kind of passion and fire throughout this series. If we can go into Dallas and win game 5 you may as well make your reservations for the Finals.

Game 4: A Must Win

The picture that is in this post should be a nightmare for Suns fans. Steve Nash on the bench. Raja Bell in street clothes.
What does this mean? Probably that Eddie House is in the game. Eddie House may be the worst player in the entire NBA. No, not juse because he went to Arizona State, although that may account for his lack of intelligence.
The Suns have been leading each game of the Western Conference Finals at halftime. At the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth, Mike D'Antoni has put Eddie House in the game to give MVP Steve Nash a rest. In games 2 and 3, the Suns lead evaporated during the time with House in the game.
Sure, he may get lucky and hit an off balance three pointer that he throws at the basket without being set, but he is a liability on every aspect of the game.
He can not defend anyone. Avery Johnson knows this so whomever House is guarding goes to the basket on every possession, and usually comes away with a basket.
He can not pass. The Mavs pressure him and most often come up with a turnover. He can not rebound. There was a loose ball late in game 3 that BOUNCED next to him, and he just looked at it. Either he is too dumb to pick up the ball, or he's being paid secretly by the Mavs. I go with option A.
His basketball IQ is below zero. He pulls up in transition and jacks up awful shots, or he'll throw a shot up when there are 3 guys on him and 4 other Suns standing there unguarded.
Now, back to game 4.
The Suns MUST win this game to stay in the series.
I know they can if they play with the intensity they need to. It is the playoffs. Who cares if you're tired? You have all summer to rest. It's time to empty the tank and leave EVERYTHING on the court.
Luckily, the Suns seem to be at their best with their backs against the wall. I'm confident for a victory tonight, and then it will be a tied 2-2 series, where anything can happen.
Do we want a game 7 at Dallas? Well, that's not the best scenario, but we definately can win there. 3 straight wins would be nice, but realisticly, We'll probably have to go in to Dallas and win a game 7.

All Tied Up

Well after two close games the Western Conference Finals are tied at one game a piece going back to Phoenix for the next two. The Suns seem to be in the driver's seat now, taking home court advantage after a 3 point win in game one behind a huge performance from Boris Diaw. That win came with a huge price as Raja Bell went down with a tear in his calf muscle. His abscence was noticed in game two, as the Suns only managed to shoot 44% and allowed the Mavs to score almost at will in the second half. Raja's defense was especially missed on Josh Howard who, despite having the biggest lips in the history of basketball, scored 29 points.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 on 12-21 shooting, and did not attempt a three. It seems he may have gotten over his allergy to the post he previously had.
Shawn Marion used to do a great job on Dirk because Dirk absolutely REFUSED to take the ball down low. Now, he has realized that a 7 footer should NEVER take a 3 pointer and has abused the smaller Marion in the post.
I don't see why D'Antoni hasn't tried to go to Kurt Thomas, even for a few minutes, to bring some size in the lineup.
On the other hand, I must question his use of Eddie House, who may be the worst player in the NBA. This douchebag comes in the game to give Nash a rest, and jacks up 7 shots in just 14 minutes. Sure, he scored 7 points, but his basketball IQ is below zero. He jacks up bad shots in transition, and he cherry picks, so basically the other team has a 4 on 5 on every offensive possession. The Suns should seriously consider not allowing him on the charter back to Phoenix.

In any case, this is shaping up to be a great series. I predicted Suns in 6 and it looks like that may hold true. I am hopeful that Raja will return on Sunday, but if he doesn't the Suns need to go to the basket more (The Mavs shot 36 free throws and the Suns only shot 11. Part of that can be attributed to Joey Crawford, but the Suns have some responsibility for taking too many jumpers)

DALLAS HERE WE COME!!!!

What a night! What a game! It seems like the SUNS come out at their best in game 7. The entire series was close, with no team winning consecutive games, but the Suns came out last night and put a spanking on the Clippers, sending them back to LA to go fishin with the Lakers. We were strong inside, holding even on the rebounds, but deadly from the outside. The Suns 3-point shooting won that game for them. They shot 15 of 27 (55%) from beyond the arc, including 5 long range bombs from The Matrix, and 4 from Mr. MVP.
Now, we go to Dallas. A team we beat in the playoffs last year. A team that holds a special place in the heart of Steve Nash after Mark Cuban didn't want to sign him a couple of summers ago. Nash loves to take it to Dallas. I expect a good series, with the Suns coming out on top. Dallas likes to run, which is bad news for them. Their big men aren't much of a threat, Dasagna Diop and Erick Dampier, and down low is where we struggle the most. Dirk always seems to choke against the Suns. I expect Matrix to continue his excellent defense against the big German, and since Irk (he has no D) can't guard anyone, 30 and 10 nights from the Matrix should be routine. Game 1 is Wednesday night in Dallas, get ready for a barnburner (or barnbarner as Charles Barkley likes to say)
Oh, and Scottie Pippen, just shut the hell up already.

GOTTA DO IT!!

I didn't have time to post after game 3, but the Suns won a close one. Game 4 was a different story. The Suns shot under 40%, they missed a ton of threes, and got outrebounded (again) by more than 20. But they still had a chance to win at the end, cutting the lead to one point late in the 4th before Alien Cassell hit a big three that ended the Suns comeback plans.
So...it all comes down to this: a best of 3 series with the Suns having 2 possible home games. Sounds good.
Game 5 is a must win for the Suns. I don't advise going back to LA (Clipper Nation? I think not), down 3-2. The Suns must focus on the boards tonight, not letting the Clippers get second chance points.
The Suns have to knock down their jump shots. Other than Raja Bell, who shot 7-12 from three point territory (with that noted defender Vladimir Radmanovic "guarding" him), the rest of the Suns shot a dismal 3 of 24 from outside the arc. That's not going to win too many games. We shall see what happens tonight, but I expect a Suns win.

Time to rebound

What can I say about game 2? The Suns were outrebounded 57-26. The Clippers had 19 offensive rebounds. The Suns? 5. When a team gets their rebound total more than doubled they can't win many games. So...what's the plan for game 3? Box out! Boxing out is one of the basic skills they teach when you play basketball in elementary school. How can a professional basketball team not box out? How can a team stand around while the other team grabs every damn rebound? There's not much else I can say about game 2. If the Suns can grab some boards they can win. If not, they're done. This isn't a team that won their division by accident, so I'm pretty sure they won't just roll over and die. All they need to do is win one game in LA, and the Suns get home court advantage back. We'll see on Friday night.

ROUND 2: THE HANGOVER

Tonight is the second game of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Clippers (I still can't belive I am typing that...let me do it again...we are playing the Clippers tonight. In the playoffs). Game One was what happens after a big party (Lakers series), a hangover. The Suns and the fans just didn't seem to be in to the game. Sure, we won 130-123, but there wasn't the energy in the arena we had for game 7 of the Lakers series. Maybe because it was the Clippers. Maybe it was because of the emotions of the previous series...whatever it was, the Suns need to turn it up to win this series.
Elton Brand (I freaking hate Duke) scored 40. Sam (Mr. potato head / alien) scored 28. But the Suns were able to hold off the Clippers in the second half by scoring a ton of points and getting a couple of defensive stops (something nobody did for most of the game).
I still think the Suns will win this one in 6...but these ARE the Clippers we're talking about.

BEAT LA!!!! (AGAIN)

On to the Clippers. As strange as it sounds, the Suns now are set to take on the LA Clippers in the Western Conference Semifinals after defeating the hated Lakers in an anticlimactic game 7, 121-90.
Aside from a cheap elbow by the Grim Raper to the face of Raja Bell (again) and another cheap foul by Lamar Scrotum, there wasn't much fight by the Fakers last night. The US Airways Center was rocking, and the Lakers never responded.
The best part of the game was how we, the fans, got into the head of Kobe the Grim Raper. The Kobe Sucks chant was going on all night, and after a hot first half (23 pts) he decided to give up and only took 3 shots in the second half (one point). Is this the performance of someone people think is an MVP candidate? Is this the performance of a leader?
Kobe just showed exactly why he is a classless individual. Who quits on their team in a game 7? Would the Fakers have won if he shot more? Probably not. But wouldn't you at least want to compete if you think you are as good as Kobe thinks he is? After all, the Suns were only up by 15 at halftime. Sure, that's a big lead, but it is a lead that is very easy to come back from in the NBA. Instead, Kobe decided to go in the tank and the Suns won by 31. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
To add to his already classless persona, after the game the Grim Raper refused to shake hands with any of the Suns players. Classless.
The quote of the game came from Raja Bell's mother responding the Kobe's quip that Raja "must have not gotten hugged as a kid"
She saw him outside the locker room after the game and asked "Hey Kobe, you need a hug?"

TIM THOMAS FOR PRESIDENT!!! (Game 6 Review)

WOW!!!!!!
What a game we had in game 6.
Back & forth, Suns - Lakers.
Suns got out to a big lead, then the cheap shot artist AKA The Grim Raper hit Leandro Barbosa in the face with an elbow, opening up a gash that needed 4 stitches to close (don't worry...Leandro got the better of the bastard).
With Barbosa out the Fakers jumped out to a lead, capped by The Grim Raper hitting a 3 to close out the 1st quarter with the Suns down by 7.
The Suns came storming back...the game was back & forth until the end...with 6 seconds left Tim Thomas hit the biggest three ball of his life, tying the game. But there was still too much time. Everyone knew the ball was going to the Grim Rapist to try to win it...but he came up short (with a little help from the Matrix)
OT was all Suns. 21 points. Only one scoreless possession in the extra session. That's all she wrote.
SUNS WIN SUNS WIN SUNS WIN!!!
I'll be there for Game 7 on Saturday cheering on the Suns as we take the Fakers and their cocky arrogant fans out.

Thanks Bulls, for letting us take Tim Thomas off your hands.

Game 5 Review

Raja Bell.
Raja Bell.
Here's a guy that I admire.
Raja Bell.
Keep saying that name.
Now, I'm not a violent guy. I don't usually condone violence. But Raja Bell put the little bitch Kobe in his place last night. Sure, his clothesline was a blatent cheap shot. But, Kobe deserved it. After all this is a guy who, after getting a technical foul while being guarded earlier in the year said "Raja Bell? I got bigger fish to fry than Raja Bell."
Well Rapist, who's being fried now?
Speaking of rape, The Lakers Kwame Brown is under investigation for rape.
How dumb is this guy? He plays for the Lakers, a team with a history of players raping women, and in the middle of the playoffs, he goes out and does that? Moron.

Back to Raja - Kobe...
Kobe had been elbowing Raja all night, and finally he had enough. He took the Grim Raper down by the neck and smacked him with his other hand. A good move in the WWE. A good move in an NBA game only if the opponent is the Grim Raper (Kobe Bryant).
So, today I have a much greater respect for Raja Bell than ever before. Hopefully he won't get suspended for it, but if he does...well...it was fun to watch.

2006 NBA PLAYOFFS

Well I now have a blog.
This blog will be dedicated to the Phoenix Suns and what they are doing. I will try to update during the regular season, playoffs, and offseason.
I have been a Suns fan my entire life. When I was a little kid I used to go to basketball camps with Suns players such as Larry Nance, Walt Davis, Alvin Adams, Maurice Lucas, etc.
Currently, I am in my first full season of having my own season tickets and I love it. There's nothing better than going to an NBA game and watching your team win.

Well that brings me to the current state of affairs in Suns Nation (Is there a Suns nation?). We currently are down 3-1 to the hated, evil Los Angeles Lakers. A team that as all Suns fans know, has broken our hearts many times before.
After all, this is the team that knocked the Suns out of our first playoff appearance all the way back in 1970.
In the world of the NBA a 7 seed rarely beats a 2 seed. It just doesn't happen. But today we may be looking at one of those rare occasions.
On paper, it didn't look like much of a matchup. After all, the Suns had beaten the Lakers the previous 7 times they have played (I don't count the last regular season meeting...MVP Steve Nash did not play, nor did Raja Bell, the Suns' best defender).
We came out in game 1, didn't play well, but pulled out a narrow win at home. Game 2 was more of the same...poor Suns play, but the result was different. The Suns didn't score for the first 6 minutes of the 2nd quarter in that game.
Game 3...on to Los Angeles, and the Suns get beaten in another close one...
Then there was game 4.


Quite possible the worst game I have ever seen. The officials stole this game from the Suns. Anyone that watched that game knows it never should have gone to overtime, and when it did, the Lakers never should have had the ball at the end. Kobe Bryant, the biggest bastard in professional sports, should have NEVER had the opportunity to take the shot that stabbed Suns fans in the heart.
Maybe I'm bitter, maybe I'm realistic, but the fact is that the Suns got bent over and screwed in that game.

Game 5 is back at home on Tuesday. I'll be there supporting my team as always, but things are looking grim. I'll never say it can't be done, but I'd be surprised if we came back.
Of course, back in 1993 when the first round was best of 5, the Suns came back from being down 0-2 against the Lakers.