Suns Mash Mavs: 109 - 97 - Bright Side Of The Sun

Suns Mash Mavs: 109 - 97

by Phoenix Stan on Feb 15, 2008 12:44 AM MST in Game Coverage

Boy that sure was fun! Any time the Mavs are in town the house is a rock'n. Well, at least in the fourth quarter it was. The team and the fans all kind of picked it up at the same time sparked by strong late 3rd quarter run by LB and punctuated by an Amare slam w/ Dirk foul kicker that brought the roof down. That pretty much put this one out of reach.

Question of the night: Does the team feed off the crowd's energy or does the crowd feed off the team's. I don't know how many times it happens that the two rise and fall together. Any shrinks out there that specialize in large group motivational forces?

I have to hand it to the Dirks though. Even though they were down J-Ho and D-Har and were playing w/ a cloud of on-again off-again trade issues (and their best bench player was Mark Cuban) they managed to come into town and at least refuse to roll over. They really stepped up and lost like men.

The big Schnizel himself was utterly unstoppable for a stretch there and the entire world knew it. After the Suns had some success with a timely double the Mav's just gathered on one side of the court with their knitting needles and let Herr Dirkenstein go mench v mench with Boris or Grant. I don't recall ever seeing clear out that blatant. That's one way to build confidence in your team play. I guess.

Anyway, as the lady says it takes a village and you generally won't win if you only have two guys on your team that can score. Especially versus a balanced Suns attack.

The only reason it was close at all given the huge 57% to 40% FG advantage was the...say it with me now...Mavs offensive rebounding advantage of 20-8 leading to 18 more FGA's. I guess the Suns might benefit from a big guy in the middle. Hmmm

Player of the Game:

Tough call here. Amare. Nash. Grant. They all played well. And let's not forget to award the Full French to you know who. He still passed up a few shots he should have taken and did he really hit Amare in the face w/ the ball? I will have to watch the replay. Regardless, he crossed the Maginot Line (10,5 and 5) and won himself the honor (if you are new around here and have no idea what this award is all about..well, I can't find the link right now so sorry).

Runner up:

This has to go to your's truely for calling the 12pt victory. Anyone want to take me to Vegas? I'm available. You can't win if you don't play.

Intro Update:
For those dying to know - there was no Shaq in the intro video. They are still going w/ the old one with a sloppy splice of the Big White Kiwi where Shawn used to be. Oh, I did note that the Suns for the first time in years, didn't do their pre-game circle dance thing. They simply did the all hand's in "break!" I guess Shaq has already changed the way the team runs since I seriously doubt he would have been able to bend over and hold hands and move in a coordinated group motion to the right while maintaining some sense of rhythm and balance. At least without a walker.

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fun game,

nice to see us pull ahead becoming more and more impressed with Hill and Amare, plus another Diaw sighting, plus LB had some great moments. Here's the big question in my mind, because the west is so close in records, and it's possible 2 50+ win teams in the west miss the top 8 spots for the playoffs. Kobe, after a few days, if he gets surgery, it's crazy to say, but it's possible the lakers could kick themselves out of the playoffs. Amazing considering the gasol deal, bynum playing so great early on, the 2 teams I fear the most as a suns team are N.O. and the Lakers at full strength. Fun game!!

by jasonsuns1 on Feb 15, 2008 12:57 AM MST 0 recs

Mav's problems may not be solved by trade

This game illustrates the reason why Dallas is going for Kidd. Even though Howard is out, it is clear the Mavs attack consists of a series of isolations, probing the defense to find weaknesses. The system is the leader, and the point guard is Avery Johnson. I think Harris will eventually grow into a Gary Payton-type point guard, but the Mavs are desperate to prove to themselves and the world that they belong among the elite after the playoff debacles of the past two years. That is why they cannot wait for Harris to grow. I know they made the finals two years ago, but does anyone really believe they would have achieved that with a healthy Suns team?

Anyway, the Mavs problems were reflected in two stats: One, the 8 assists. They need to have at least 15-20. This is where Kidd may help, but it will require an adjustment by Dirk, Josh, and JET, who are currently used to finding their own shots. the second stat is 7 points from the center position. I have constantly said that you cannot win a championship with no offensive threat from the center position. Even the bulls had an outside shooting threat from <him who cannot be named>.

'07-'08 Suns: It's clobberin' time!

by Hawk42 on Feb 15, 2008 5:54 AM MST 0 recs

you kill me

him who cannot be named - funny!!

by jasonsuns1 on Feb 15, 2008 10:33 AM MST up 0 recs

<he who cannot be named>

He is cursed because of the unfulfilled promise that was his legacy with the Suns. We cannot mention his name.

'07-'08 Suns: It's clobberin' time!

by Hawk42 on Feb 15, 2008 10:56 AM MST up 0 recs

Tacos

Did anyone see the end of the Bulls game? The fans booed Sefelosha because he didn't shoot with 5 seconds left and the Bulls with a 99-92 lead. Think about that when you complain. you could be left with nothing else to cheer for but tacos!

'07-'08 Suns: It's clobberin' time!

by Hawk42 on Feb 15, 2008 6:41 AM MST 0 recs

Sad

I'm kind of sad they didn't do the circle pre-game ritual. I always enjoyed that and seemed to show the team unity and sense of fun. Maybe something new and better will pop up.

by frienetic on Feb 15, 2008 7:20 AM MST 0 recs

circle

Yah, I noticed this, too. I bet we do see something new after the break this weekend. Speaking of the break, I'm more excited about it than usual. It seems like some of the guys are really putting in some thought/effort to the dunk contest! Not to mention Nash in the shootout.

by KJ7 on Feb 15, 2008 7:43 AM MST up 0 recs

Huh?

I was there and didn't even notice that they didn't do the "ring around the rosy" as I have always referred to it. I was always afraid someone would trip on their own ankle or someone else's ankle and get hurt before the game even started!

by TwinnerA on Feb 15, 2008 8:47 AM MST up 0 recs

Shaq

I just couldn't imagine Hi Shaqness doing this. So my theory is that they scrapped it for him but didn't want to drop it in his first game to make it that obvious.

Or maybe it was a Marion thing and now that he's gone they don't do it any more. Although I was at the Sonics game Friday and specifically recall them doing it b/c I pointed it out to my out of town guest.

Phoenix - where bitter happens

by Phoenix Stan on Feb 15, 2008 9:02 AM MST up 0 recs

So I was at the game ...

and I got 4 rebounds from where I was sitting .. (Upper level, last row)

How can Amare not get more than 1 rebound per quarter? How?

by emirem on Feb 15, 2008 9:40 AM MST 0 recs

re-watch

I had the same thought...with the long break in front of us I am deffinately going to re-watch this game (saved on Tivo) and look at that as well as a few other things like how the Suns managed to tighten up D on Jet. How did DJ look. etc.

Phoenix - where bitter happens

by Phoenix Stan on Feb 15, 2008 9:44 AM MST up 0 recs

defense on JT

I would appreciate your take on that also. I had to turn in at halftime, ao I didn't see the second half. I saw that finally Terry cooled down. Since Dirk is going to do better now that we don't have shawn, we need to make sure Terry stays quiet.

'07-'08 Suns: It's clobberin' time!

by Hawk42 on Feb 15, 2008 11:05 AM MST up 0 recs

Boris

has been so damn good since Marion left. It looks like he's finally back to where he was when Amare was on the shelf.

My question is, what is going on with Raja? The guy played over 40 minutes and I hardly realized he was there. He's been rather quiet lately so I wonder if he may be hampered by injury or something. Any thought about Raja?

by AZSEAfan on Feb 15, 2008 9:53 AM MST 0 recs

Raja

I think this is very normal for Raja. He's streaky anyway and his primary role is on D.

I am fairly sure that once he focused on shutting down JeT that he was very effective on that.

I am going to re-watch the game and look for that though.

His game is really dependent on get open spot up 3's and that really varies game to game depending on how the D is playing us. I believe the Mavs made an effort last night to cover us at the arc and not leave him or LB open shots which was why Boris and Grant were getting more open mid-range looks. Again, that's just from my overall sense from having seen the game and not having yet looked at the tape.

Phoenix - where bitter happens

by Phoenix Stan on Feb 15, 2008 10:37 AM MST up 0 recs

The Suns Circe thing

Was apparently created by Eddie House (that what 7 seconds or less seems to imply). I'm glad they stopped - I think they had just been doing it out of tradition. They have a new identity, they're a new team, and i'm glad they're acting like one.

by UASun on Feb 15, 2008 10:24 AM MST 0 recs

instead of circle

They should all do "the shaq" and point to shaq's finger, then up at where a championship banner would be placed... or maybe they should bring dolls of the other teams players, and stomp on them (too strong?) or maybe go up into the stands and talk to people, or maybe inhale a mysterious smoke from mars and start cutting themselves and going crazy...(ok, I just saw "ghost of mars" recently, good movie...sorry) wrestling a bear (jackie moon style) is always good,

by jasonsuns1 on Feb 15, 2008 10:52 AM MST up 0 recs

Matrix one on one

Whilst waiting for the game to start I caught a bit of the Heat-Bulls game. I saw a play where Marion actually took some Bulls off the dribble! I've never seen that. He got his own shot, left side, baseline. A little shake and bake, and TThomas was history!

'07-'08 Suns: It's clobberin' time!

by Hawk42 on Feb 15, 2008 11:11 AM MST 0 recs

I've been impressed

with the way Marion has been playing with the Heat after watching him for the second time in that weird uniform. He definitely still has some learning to do as he was caught so far out of position on quite a few plays.

In regards to TT...Marion made him look foolish at one end but on the flipside, TT didn't seem to have much problem with Marion's 1 on 1 "D".

by AZSEAfan on Feb 15, 2008 12:02 PM MST up 0 recs

Matrix

The thing about Marion is this. In some ways he is like a rookie. He hasn't learned some basic things even after 10 years in the league. Is this because no one taught him, or that he refused to learn?

'07-'08 Suns: It's clobberin' time!

by Hawk42 on Feb 15, 2008 1:08 PM MST up 0 recs

Re: Matrix

The Suns groomed him from his rookie year on to be a complimentary player.

He never had to learn to be a ballhandler or to create his own shot because he had Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury and Steve Nash to handle those departments.

He started to show signs that he was starting to improve his deficient skills in 05-06, when Stoudemire was out and he was the star of the team behind Nash. But once Stoudemire tried to come back in the middle of the season, and all anyone was talking about was how important Amare was to the team, he shut it down again. He never turned it on again.

He was still a versatile part of the Suns offense, but often he would only be playing with his skills and not his passion. That all came to a head last year in the playoffs.

So I think the basic skills he's missing started because of Ainge's original plan for him in the offense. But after time, and seeing he was never going to be the star he wanted to be, he refused to expand his game for a team that (maybe) often took him for granted.

by Genesius on Feb 15, 2008 1:18 PM MST up 0 recs

All true

but let's not also discount that funky jump shot. With the way he shoots the ball from his chest it makes it hard for him to develop a pull up jumper that he needs b/c its too easy to defend.

If he could develop a true over the head jumper w/ his hops he would be much more effective. Kind of like McGrady. He could have been far better then T-Mac in fact given his superior atheltic abilities and defense. But his shooting mechanics prevent that.

Of course, if he had a clean jump shot from the beginning and had developed that part of his game maybe he would never have turned into such a great defender and rebounder....

Phoenix - where bitter happens

by Phoenix Stan on Feb 15, 2008 1:47 PM MST up 0 recs

Marion's development

Hard to say. I guess I expect a lot from star players making lots of money. Did anyone have to show Larry Bird how to improve himself? How about Barkley? Now there's a self-made player.

'07-'08 Suns: It's clobberin' time!

by Hawk42 on Feb 15, 2008 2:29 PM MST 0 recs

I'm going to miss the Intro

I'm not going to Wednesday's game. I got what I thought was a good price before the Gasol and Shaq trades. Most of the time (especially without Bynum) it's just Kobe keeping it close and then getting tired or Kobe not playing and the game getting too far out of reach.

Greed kills (and I could have sold them for more if I had waited).

Nobody mention the effing intro in your entries! Got that? Nobody! I'll catch it against the Celts.

Eddie House used to dance in the circle, too. DJ danced in one a couple of games ago ... I thought he was bringing it back. So sad.

Shaq said he wants to be part of the team. If so, he must dance. Does he think he's too good for us.

Nobody mention the intro until after the Boston game or I'll have to go Irish Mafia on you.

Mmmmm ... Guinness

by JSun on Feb 15, 2008 9:23 PM MST 0 recs

Full French

Don't forget that the Maginot Line is 10-5-5 and the subjective category of good defense (which he played and usually does). However, can you really give the Full French when he passed up so many layups? Right now, I recall three he should've taken: the pass to Amare's face, the travel where he decided mid-hop to change from a shot to a pass, and the lay-up he passed up the possession before he hit that 17-footer but the one for which Coach D sent LB to the scorer's table.

Let's call it a Beginner's Full French (you've got to get on-the-job training sometime).

Mmmmm ... Guinness

by JSun on Feb 15, 2008 9:27 PM MST 0 recs