New Jersey Nets @ Phoenix Suns [Game 41]

-SDU- · Post #161 » by **-SDU-** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 8:20 am

i wouldnt say he is back to then, in the sense that he now lays up and does stuff when in the past he would have dunked it, BUT i guess that is due to more control and patience than he had before, his athleticism does seem to be up there again

i think he has lost a bit of his first step more than anything

but when you see games like this, how can you argue!

click me for AMAREGEDDON
holy shiatsu!

Post #162 » by **KJ7** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 8:39 am

That left-handed dunk was pretty impressive too. Never seen him do that.

Good game all round. First bad shooting game in a while for Marion and it was more towards the end when he was just chucking 'em up there (I think he was 2 from 4 at one stage). Bell's shooting is improving.

Get Hill back and slowly everything is starting to click together. I won't get too hopeful just yet, but the next 5-10 games are gonna be VERY interesting.

I don't mind D'An giving Banks mins to DJ either.

-SDU- · Post #163 » by **-SDU-** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 8:47 am

you guys seen our schedule to end feb / march

thats make or break where we gonna finish this year

both detroit boston games are back to back

Wed 13 @ Golden State 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Thu 14 vs Dallas 8:30pm RTV,
Wed 20 vs LA Lakers 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Fri 22 vs Boston 8:30pm FSN AZ HD
Sun 24 vs Detroit 12:30pm
Tue 26 @ Memphis 6:00pm My45 HD , SCORE
Wed 27 @ New Orleans 6:00pm My45 HD NBATVHIGHDEF
Sat 01 vs Philadelphia 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Tue 04 @ Portland 8:00pm My45 HD , SCORE
Wed 05 @ Denver 7:00pm My45 HD
Fri 07 vs Utah 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Sun 09 vs San Antonio 12:30pm
Tue 11 vs Memphis 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Thu 13 vs Golden State 7:30pm RTV,
Sat 15 vs Sacramento 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Tue 18 @ Portland 7:30pm My45 HD
Wed 19 @ Seattle 7:00pm My45 HD
Sat 22 vs Houston 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Mon 24 @ Detroit 4:30pm My45 HD NBATVHIGHDEF
Wed 26 @ Boston

Post #164 » by **KJ7** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 8:59 am

Wow, only 2 "easy" games out of our next 12 (mem/philly). I think this will show us what we're made of. It almost seems like this group wants to play the big games and the better opponents. Dunno why but it just seems like they are starting to take it more seriously and want to show ppl what they're made of ... just a feeling I get now.

acis · Post #165 » by **acis** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:33 am

KJ7 wrote:Wow, only 2 "easy" games out of our next 12 (mem/philly). I think this will show us what we're made of. It almost seems like this group wants to play the big games and the better opponents. Dunno why but it just seems like they are starting to take it more seriously and want to show ppl what they're made of ... just a feeling I get now.

i agree kj7. diaw is starting to go off, bell is beginning to hit his shots. i hope the can keep it up.

Never Fear 33 Is Here · Post #166 » by **Never Fear 33 Is Here** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:00 am

mkot wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

I know you're a big Grant Hill fan, NF33IH, but this is an idea to improve the Suns team we're rooting for to win games. Boris probably hasn't really earn it yet but he just seems to be playing better with the starters. Like I said before, Boris isn't the kind of player who can come right in and impose his will on a game like LB can. He needs to be in the flow of things to get a feel for how the game is going and react to it. LB can come right in and be a factor on the first possession he plays because that's his instinct. Hill can be that kind of player as well because he's got the aggressive mentality to impose his will. Boris, not so much. I think Hill can do more for us off the bench than Boris has been because Hill can be a scorer in his own right, while distributing off to LB and playing PG effectively. Not so much with Boris.

I'm not saying Hill isn't playing great with guys like Shawn and Amare, but if we can have Boris in the starting lineup and play well with those guys, it's just another weapon for us off the bench. That would make us a much more dangerous team, especially now with him and Amare playing well together, proving they CAN co-exist.

I don't think you mess with a good thing. At the very least, play Hill off the bench his first 3-4 games until he really gets back to the level he was playing at, see how he does with the other bench guys and take it from there. I know it probably isn't fair to take away Hill's starting role because of injury like that but perhaps the management could talk to him about it and I think he'd understand the need. It wouldn't necessarily mean fewer minutes or a lesser role for him.

I said this in another thread, so I will just copy and paste.

On most teams you would think that an injured player would come back through the bench. Heck even star players tend to do it sometimes, ala Vince Carter. However, if the Raja situation taught us anything where we cleary played better with Barbs starting then I would expect that G Thrill will start.

Of course I want him to stay starting, Grant Hill that is, but whatever gets the team more wins I am all for.

mkot · Post #167 » by **mkot** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:23 am

This is different from the Raja and LB situation tho. LB has proved he can be effective coming off the bench. Not so much with Boris (btw, now with Raja playing better and injury free, I'm all for him starting and bring LB off the bench as our scoring spark.)

With the Boris and Hill situation tho, we can't wait and see if Boris can play the way he is coming off the bench with Hill starting. We can't re-visit the issue if Boris start to suck coming off the bench. I mean, if we bench him and he suck/regress, we can't reward him by moving him back into the starting lineup. The reward should come NOW since he's been playing well. I'm not worry about Hill, we know he is a more mature and more talented player than Boris and can play well either starting or coming off the bench. It's probably not very fair for him, but if that's mean we can have Boris, not Doris, I think he'd understand.

That's just what I think about the situation. Hill will probably start when he comes back, that's what Mike likes I believe.

impulsenine · Post #168 » by **impulsenine** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 7:00 pm

re: highlight film ---- >>> HOLY BALLS

That was for one game. Wow. Wowwwwwie. Oh, STAT is back.

BurningHeart · Post #169 » by **BurningHeart** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:43 pm

Didn't get to pay full attention to the game....could someone give me a quick summary of how Strawberry played?

ClosAZ · Post #170 » by **ClosAZ** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:00 pm

DJ played pretty well in that he brought great intesity, tough defense, he drew offensive fouls, and didn't really make any mistakes. His shot still needs a little work but what I liked is he never forced anything and moved the ball around.

I think his focus right now is to come in and bring great energy, hustle, intense defense, and be there for an open shot if given. When the Suns had Bell and Strawberry out there at the same time you could see we had 2 really good perimeter defenders playing at one time. I hope he continues to get some burn. It will be tough with Hill coming back though depending on the matchup, score etc..

Frank Lee · Post #171 » by **Frank Lee** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:55 pm

-SDU- wrote:you guys seen our schedule to end feb / march

thats make or break where we gonna finish this year

both detroit boston games are back to back

Wed 13 @ Golden State 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Thu 14 vs Dallas 8:30pm RTV,
Wed 20 vs LA Lakers 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Fri 22 vs Boston 8:30pm FSN AZ HD
Sun 24 vs Detroit 12:30pm
Tue 26 @ Memphis 6:00pm My45 HD , SCORE
Wed 27 @ New Orleans 6:00pm My45 HD NBATVHIGHDEF
Sat 01 vs Philadelphia 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Tue 04 @ Portland 8:00pm My45 HD , SCORE
Wed 05 @ Denver 7:00pm My45 HD
Fri 07 vs Utah 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Sun 09 vs San Antonio 12:30pm
Tue 11 vs Memphis 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Thu 13 vs Golden State 7:30pm RTV,
Sat 15 vs Sacramento 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Tue 18 @ Portland 7:30pm My45 HD
Wed 19 @ Seattle 7:00pm My45 HD
Sat 22 vs Houston 7:00pm FSN AZ HD
Mon 24 @ Detroit 4:30pm My45 HD NBATVHIGHDEF
Wed 26 @ Boston

21 games.....14 and 7 would be a good run...acceptable if the play is consistent.

Hey, I am no 'elitist'

Black Jesus 1 · Post #172 » by **Black Jesus 1** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:02 am

This board would be a mess if we lost 7 of 21.

-SDU- · Post #173 » by **-SDU-** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:03 am

14 and 7 would be solid for sure

as long as those 7 losses arent to the 7 best teams in that list, further adding fuel to our poor record against elite teams

i would like to get some wins against some top teams, even if it means we lose one against a lower team

14 and 7 would be good

mkot · Post #174 » by **mkot** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:08 am

Well, the Suns have to play better than they are now to maintain their record. According to the SOS (strength of schedule) numbers for all 30 NBA teams, along with the count of each team's home and away games, we have had the easiest schedule of any NBA team so far, which implies that we are not as good as our record. Again, they'll have to play better, and as we all know, this team haven't really play up to their potential - they've been inconsistent, and consistently struggling on both ends. One problem for our slow start was injuries, now they seem to be as healthy as they have been all season, so we'll see what happens.

The Spurs had the 5th easiest schedule, but they have a load of road games to play, and they're just 6-9 on the road. They too will need to play better than they've played so far to maintain their record.

I'm not looking at the schedule and as if I'm saying: the Suns are not a good team because they've had a relatively soft schedule. What I'm saying is that I think they have the record you'd expect them to have (if not better) given who they've played. Bottom line: they haven't been challenged yet like some other teams have. Now that they're entering the most difficult part of their schedule, we can get a better idea of how good or bad this team really are. We'll see.

garrick · Post #175 » by **garrick** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:34 am

That left handed dunk by Amare was impressive! If he could learn to do lay ups lefthanded he'd be unstoppable in the paint.

BurningHeart · Post #176 » by **BurningHeart** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:08 am

ClosAZ wrote:DJ played pretty well in that he brought great intesity, tough defense, he drew offensive fouls, and didn't really make any mistakes. His shot still needs a little work but what I liked is he never forced anything and moved the ball around.

I think his focus right now is to come in and bring great energy, hustle, intense defense, and be there for an open shot if given. When the Suns had Bell and Strawberry out there at the same time you could see we had 2 really good perimeter defenders playing at one time. I hope he continues to get some burn. It will be tough with Hill coming back though depending on the matchup, score etc..

Sounds good, thanks for the summary man. Hopefully he can step in and play some good D on Tony Parker if we end up meeting the Spurs in the playoffs.

impulsenine · Post #177 » by **impulsenine** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:03 pm

Regarding strength of schedule, I'm glad we got the appendectomies, ankles, backs, etc, out of the way.

I hope.

mkot · Post #178 » by **mkot** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:42 pm

impulsenine wrote:Regarding strength of schedule, I'm glad we got the appendectomies, ankles, backs, etc, out of the way.

I hope.

If the appendectomies in mid-season is the worse injury we can have this season, I'll take it.

Post #179 » by **rsavaj** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:46 pm

mkot wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Not just tonight, huk. It is what he has been doing for the past few weeks. I am really excited about Amare now. I think we can safely say, after watching him the past few weeks, he's all the way back to where he was preMF physically with improved basketball skills. I don't think we need to go back and look at those 04 highlight reels again

In terms of athleticism, sure. But his first step isn't back yet, which is why he is still pretty reliant on someone else to set him up. That crush on Williams was so exciting for that reason; because he exploded past his defender like he used to.

If he continues to do that, then I'll join the "Scary Amare is Back" bandwagon...