From a Courtside Perspective

by iamtrevorpaxton on Nov 13, 2008 12:00 AM MST Comment 16 comments

Editors Note: Bumping this up to the front page after slight rearrangement of content. Thanks trevor! -ZF

So, I had the opportunity to attend the Rockets vs. Suns game...for free, might I add. After hyping myself up for a night at home watching ESPN, I got the call from a friend and I was on my way. Section 110, row 19, seats 3 & 4. But that's just to rub it in.

All in all, it was a good experience to have been at the game. I got to see a nearly full fledged brawl (maybe Artest really has learned to calm his temper), some questionable officiating, and Rafer Alston go off for nearly 15 first half points. An interesting experience indeed.

Game Notes:

Yao Ming is much bigger when you see him in person. I mean, seriously. That dude is a beast.

Greg Willard is on my "I don't really know if I quite respect you as an official" list. There were a few boneheaded calls he made (the Lopez block, which actually was a block, the Aaron Brooks travel, which he pegged the foul on a Sun instead of calling the travel, etc.).

Where the hell was Amaré? He was nearly a complete phantom on the offensive end. Was he really intimidated by being guarded by Luis Scola, or just afraid that the Great Wall would obliterate him once he went inside? Either way, when we needed Sun Tzu to step it up, he was relatively invisible.

Ejection central: I understand Barnes and Alston getting the boot. I also understand Nash and Shaq receiving the technicals. What I don't understand is, after throwing Nash to the floor, how T-Mac escaped with merely a technical foul. He seemed to be doing the most shoving of anyone on the floor. Maybe it's just me, or did anyone else think T-Mac should have gotten the boot as well?

After the overall hype had passed, I sat there and made my predictions (of each team's big three) to my friend. Here's what I projected after the jump.

I welcome any comments.

Suns:

Amaré: 24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals and 1 block.
Actual Line: 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 0 blocks.

Shaq: 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks.
Actual Line: 18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals and 4 blocks.

Nash: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 0 steals and 0 blocks.
Actual Line: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals and 0 blocks.

Rockets:

T-Mac: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks.
Actual Line: 27 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.

Yao: 18 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 steals and 3 blocks.
Actual Line: 17 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks.

Artest: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
Actual Line: 4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 0 blocks.

I didn't too too badly in a few areas, aside from Artest going completely cold (1-12?!). Either it was an extremely off night for him, or our defense was intent on him not taking over the game, like he did against the Mavs.

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T-Mac seems to have a history

Of going after people smaller than him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqchQeFF8rA

by hcblankscreen on Nov 13, 2008 1:29 AM MST reply actions 1 recs

Testy. but that rookie flopped.

Suns Re-ignited.

by ZonaFlash on Nov 13, 2008 1:32 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Amar'e's road to MVP hits speedbump!

Suns Re-ignited.

by ZonaFlash on Nov 13, 2008 1:42 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

I don't get it either

By the letter of the law/rules… Barnes, Alston, Nash, Shaq and T-Mac should all have been ejected for either instigating or accelerating the “scrum”. Worst part is that none of this would have happened if Alston just recognized that Barnes was trying to get in his head and take him out of the game. Alston could have just walked away, but I guess he values his street cred too much. The FatAss is still a punk though.

by grungedave on Nov 13, 2008 8:51 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Last Night...

From a former player’s perspective, while trying to fight around a screen, it gets really old really quick when the picker continually extends their knees/legs into your thigh. The Rockets are masters at that (Battier, Alston, McGrady, Scola) and coupled with the fact our offense was virtually non-existent, it’s easy to get pissy real quick.

While I do admit that Barnes did cheap shot Alston, I also admit that I enjoyed it. Sure, it probably wasn’t the smartest play but we haven’t seen intensity like that from Raja in the last 2 years.

It's Ba-Nash. It's a no brainer.

by Suns Ben on Nov 13, 2008 9:28 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for that perspective

I am wavering here. I get ZF’s point that if what KG is punk ass then how is this not.

But I also kind of like someone getting pissed about getting blown out and pushed around and sending a message that this is not a soft team.

I guess the difference is that KG’s taunts were punk b/c he didn’t “do” anything. He didn’t put anything “on the line”. While Barnes hit was definitely a cheap shot and fully intentional he at least “did” something about it if he was feeling like something needed to be done. It’s hard to say – I could definitely see Rafer being a guy to talk a lot of trash after hitting his shots and combined with some hard screens give Barnes what he felt was a reason to “do” something.

Certainly in other sports like baseball and hockey there are normal outlets for self policing. I respect that Barnes took action if he felt it was warranted. He did it in a clear and open way. And that’s not bitch. That’s not a Melo slap and run. That’s not KG wagging his finger while retreating down court.

I am not saying what Barnes did was right. But I am willing to assume there was some other provocation and I respect that he did something about it.

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Phoenix Stan on Nov 13, 2008 9:37 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Couldn't Agree More

To be blunt, there is a difference between being a dick and someone who doesn’t take any crap. Rafer is known to be a talker and something of a cheap-shot artist himself. I watched the entire first half of him setting screens and digging his knee into our players thigh’s.

I respect Barnes because he didn’t try and hide anything. It was right in front of the ref and he knew exactly what he was doing. Not taunting, not waving a finger, just sick of getting a knee into the thigh every time a screen comes by.

Like Phoenix Stan said, I don’t necessarily condone what Barnes did. But I like the message that we sent when Barnes doesn’t take any crap and our leaders Shaq and Nash came to help a teammate.

Maybe, like ZF’s signature says, it will re-ignite us.

It's Ba-Nash. It's a no brainer.

by Suns Ben on Nov 13, 2008 9:48 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

huh??

Rafer is a lot of things… a bad shooter, a trash talker, a drunk driver…

but I’ve never heard any rumors of him being a “cheap shot artist”. That’s new. Please provide evidence or retract the slanderous statement. (And I am an unabashed Rafer hater.)

by grungedave on Nov 13, 2008 10:17 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

What?

T-Mac went straight for Rafaer to stop him from escalating the incident. Then wee Nash comes flying in like someone stepped on his grandmother’s throat trying to get at RAFAER. Not trying to stop his own teammate, but going straight after the other team’s guy who was being restrained already by McGrady.

And to top it off, Shaq comes in and just starts shoving anyone on the other team whether they are involved or not. Really, he shoves 3 people including Yao who was helping his teammate off the ground. Pretty pussy move. Shaq, Barnes, Rafaer and Nash should have been ejected. T-Mac could also have been ejected despite just keeping Nash from gnawing on someone’s knees.

by KungFuJesus on Nov 13, 2008 5:50 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Please

We don’t know what anybody was trying to do, so don’t spin it like Nash was throwing punches at Rafer.

by hcblankscreen on Nov 13, 2008 9:43 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

after further review...

i decided that if t-mac was ejected, so should have been nash and shaq. i was still going off of my memory of what transpired during the game, and upon watching the video of the fight a good number of times, i retract what i said about t-mac. it was a pretty heated situation, and i think the officials did a decent job with the fouls awarded.

that still doesn’t excuse the other mistakes they made. especially the “goaltend” on lopez.

by iamtrevorpaxton on Nov 13, 2008 10:41 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Ref's

The ref’s handled the aftermath well and I agree w/ booting Rafer and Barnes and none of the others.

The problem is that they didn’t blow the whistle on Barnes right away. How on earth is that not called! Imagine if Rafer hadn’t retaliated and that had been left uncalled. Tuurible.

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Phoenix Stan on Nov 14, 2008 7:25 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

It was funny watching Shaq just shove people around.

by KungFuJesus on Nov 14, 2008 8:36 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Indeed...

But you can probably rule out that Steve was running in there to give Rafer a kiss on the cheek.

One thing you can be sure of is that Nash ran up to Rockets players quickly, slipped when he ran into them and then T-Mac shoved him down. You notice more and more things when you watch the video closely.

by KungFuJesus on Nov 14, 2008 8:34 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Well hell.

Now that I know Suns players were completely to blame and Rockets players were innocent in all this, life is much easier.

by Azreous on Nov 14, 2008 2:31 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

good

I’m glad you can see reason. I still don’t see how the refs missed that initial call on Barnes. That’s not “fighting through a pick” that’s like the clothesline that second rate player gave Kobe in the playoffs a few years back, just a total cheap shot. I don’t blame Rafer for being upset, he had quite a right to be, but rules are rules and you can’t retaliate without repercussions.

by KungFuJesus on Nov 14, 2008 8:39 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs