Suns fluke to Dallas: 105 - 98 - Bright Side Of The Sun

Suns fluke to Dallas: 105 - 98

by Phoenix Stan on Apr 6, 2008 4:26 PM MDT in Game Coverage Comment 37 comments

I am going to re-watch that 4th Qtr again and will have more to say later this afternoon/evening. In the mean time my immediate reaction is that the Mavs simply wanted it far more and the Suns hubris finally caught up to them (or maybe it was the return of the curse of the early Sunday national TV game).

One new thing I deffinately saw was Shaq and Amare switching the high screens leaving Shaq to play D way out on the perimeter. I am sure you all saw this as well as he was on an island against Dirk and didn't look all that bad. This is certainly a new wrinkle from the Coach.

Update [2008-4-7 1:2:36 by Phoenix Stan]:

I was hoping that a few hours would somehow make this just a little less painful but I can see by the comments that I am not alone in my frustration.

That said - a little perspective might be in order before we totally pull the plug on the Sun's chances. Let's just remember these fun facts - they might help us all get through the night:

What are the chances of the Suns going that cold for a quarter ever again in our lifetime. Hopefully pretty slim. The fourth quarter began with some wide open shots just missing. Hill wide open from the free throw line. Miss. LB with a little flip shot in the lane. All air. Nash from 3. Clank. Clank. Clank.
You really can't give the Mav's credit for all those misses. At least early in the quarter. But when it got close the Dirks stepped up and the Suns...well, the Suns dirked it. I don't really take too much from that. Its not as if we played this game over again 10 times the same thing would happen. Let's just call it a fluke. As in a huge whale's tail of a fluke.
Of course a fluke like this is much easier to take when you aren't fighting for playoff position. But let's not forget that we aren't the only team in the race to lose a game. Remember this? Or this? Or even this one which appearantly was so bad that PTR couldn't even blog about it.
In the end, Steve tried to get Amare the ball and the Mav's D finally stepped up. They either pulled in J-Ho from the corner (leaving Hill very lonely waiting for the Amare dish) or they switched leaving Kidd on Amare which worked out much better then the Mavs had any right to expect. But yes, the Mavs certainly showed that once the game was close and the blood was in the water that they were the team with the Hungry Man in the form of a falling down German H.O.R.S.E. player. Scoreboard Dirk.
I still think the most amazing sight of the entire game wasn't "The German Prayer" but Shaq playing defense on the perimeter. Let's not forget that it was just a few days ago that we talked about this being the last big hole on the Suns defense. That being Shaq's inability to defend away from the rim. The Suns had being using a lot of zone to try and cover this but tonight they tried something totally new. And it didn't look half bad. Shaq and Amare were switching the Dirk/Damp screen and rolls and Shaq did a pretty dang good job out there w/ the Dirkmeister. I have to think a lot of that was just surprise to see the Big Catcus so far from his planter but hey - at least Coach D is trying. This development certainly bares watching. Especially Wednesday against the Spurs.

Player of the Game

Hard not to give it up to the big Kraut for not only his performance but for showing some serious stones in even being back on the floor so fast after the horendous fall. Just compare that to the Spainish Poodle that missed like 12 games with a similar sprain. Hat tip to Eddie Johnson for the "Spainish Poodle" moniker. Classic EJ.

Almost Player of the Game

The Big Cactus. Shaq had a very good game although for the most part it was par for the course as of late. So consider this meaningless award for not just this game but his past few. See, just like I can give my MVP nod to Kobe for his "body of work" I am perfectly willing to break the non-existing rules of this non-existing contest to recognize Shaq for stepping up, getting his ass in shape and perhaps just maybe moving out a bit from the rim to cover someone on D.

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While watching the game, it seemed to me that the Suns had a comfortable lead and did not react much when the Mavs cut it to 91-87. In my opinion, part of this was Meow's fault. Then, they got serious but a few bad calls got the Mavs up by 1. STAT missed 3 end of game free throws and also missed a dunk in the second half of the fourth quarter. Nowitzki hit a ridiculous shot (I mean, he was actually falling to the ground when he jumped up and shot the ball). In my opinion, it was first a false sense of comfort, and then bad luck, and then some STAT problems which are excusable (IMO) given his recent performances. Even on TV, he did look pretty upset.

I may be wrong here though and there may actually be a basketball reason for the scoring drought (some type of defense Dallas used or something). Would love to find out. It was heart wrenching though. I guess we can kiss that 2/3 seed goodbye. Assuming we cannot get the 2/3 seed, I would prefer the 6 seed to the 5 seed. The 6 seed puts us up against the Lakers, sure, but they are still regrouping and still don't have Bynum back. If we don't face the Lakers, we would be against the Spurs and I feel we could take that as well. In the next round, assuming Dallas/Denver/GS don't upset SA/Lakers we would face the other team (SA or Lakers). However, if we grab the 5th seed, we need to beat Utah (Okur's 3 point shooting and Boozer's quickness will be a real problem here). We will have to do this while Deron gets all the calls since Stern is rooting for a Paul-Deron second round. Deron already gets all kinds of ridiculous calls anyway. And, if we beat Utah, our present would be New Orleans (assuming they are not upset, which IMO is a good assumption). And that, to me, is less appealing than the Lakers/SA path.

by RealTangiblesGuy on Apr 6, 2008 4:45 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Mavs adjusted in the 4th

Suns didn't. Maybe there was a false sense of confidence, but that definitely wasn't the main reason IMO. We give up 10+ leads quite quickly, that's nothing new, but we can usually punch back.

by alta on Apr 6, 2008 5:14 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Complete collapse

I was there and you could see it coming when Giricek started getting all those fouls in the 4th. Nothing was dropping, they got sloppy, the Mavs took advantage, etc. etc. Then it seemed that every time Nash had the ball and we needed to get a basket desperately, he was dribbling around looking to make something happen and we'd take a bad shot, couldn't draw a foul for our life, couldn't get an offensive rebound, nothing, and Dallas would go right down and score. It made me sick and I heard a few boos as time was running out. Skinner was nailed to the bench, Barbosa sucked, Nash couldn't hit any of his shots, Amare couldn't get a free throw when we needed them badly, and that was it.

by TwinnerA on Apr 6, 2008 6:04 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Shaq Attack

I do remember a memorable moment in 4Q when Meow jumped on a Nowitzki fake near the basket. It looked like the moment Shaq realized Meow was going to foul Dirk, he ran right through Dirk and put him on the ground. Also, the Dirk shot Shaq blocked late in 4Q where Dirk recovered and drove to foul line and hit a jump shot. After the block, I thought I saw Shaq use his other hand to slap Dirk's head from behind. It looked that way because Dirk's head was still rattling when he began driving.

by RealTangiblesGuy on Apr 6, 2008 6:37 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm still at a loss at how

we only scored NINE FRIGGEN POINTS in the 4th!

Yes Dallas's D did tighten up, but we were passive I thought, like we could make all our miracle 3s and win.

Also some of the shots Dirk hit were unguardable like the one where he practically fell on his feet. Still I wish we played better D on him when it was clear he was the only one hitting for them late in the 4th.

by alta on Apr 6, 2008 6:47 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

at a loss

This team will not make it through the first round.

There is no defense and we have nobody like Nowitski that is "unguardable" and can hit those kinds of shots.

they do not have the mental make up or the coaching to win in the playoffs.

by CJJ on Apr 6, 2008 9:01 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Uncoordinated Dirk

Geez that play where Dirk fell over his own feet looked damn ugly. I hate the fact that he makes that shot - that doesn't deserve to go in based on style points alone.

At a loss for words also, just finished watching a replay of the game, did well to keep the score unspoilt, but I did see some apprehensive posting going on over at thesportsstuff.com......

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by dang on Apr 7, 2008 5:00 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Style doesn't matter

Dirk always makes off-balance shots, that's why he's a freak of nature considering he's a 7 footer.

Should we take away all of Marion's shots that he made for the Suns cuz they were damn ugly too...hehe.

by alta on Apr 7, 2008 6:09 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Blame D'Antoni

He is the ultimate Doris Meow "Sackrider." He is a great X's and O's coach, but when it comes to judging psyche, he just doesn't have it. Skinner desperately needs to get some run, and a lot of it. Every time he plays, he does his job. He plays his heart out, probably because he is playing for another contract, unlike the overpaid Meow aka Tim Thomas Jr. Yes Meow played well in the first half, but he kept getting owned the defensive end as Nowitzki and Bass owned him. Skinner plays with a chip on his shoulder, Meow played with one in 2006. Then he got paid, got fat, started partying with a bunch of "Sorostitutes" (Sorority girls), he totally abused the system.

Here is the bottom line IMO: The Suns can only win the title, IF they play Skinner roughly 20 minutes a game from this point out, and cut some of Doris' playing time. If D'Antoni fails to do it, the Suns will lose either in the 1st or 2nd round. D'Antoni needs to quit being loyal to foolsgold (Doris) and put him where he belongs, in the doghouse.

by Aluminum Foyle on Apr 6, 2008 8:20 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Doris Meow "Sackrider"

He's probably getting paid to much to be traded at this point.

When is his contract up??

by CJJ on Apr 6, 2008 9:04 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

My Bad -- I'll take the heat for this one

Every game I've been to recently I've worn my purple-people-eater (purple Shaq) jersey.

I took JSun2 today and he wanted to leave after seeing the Gorilla dunk. Up 10 against a team that's been folding in the 4th, I figured, "Why not?"

So, I can only blame myself ... and Doris. I didn't see him in the 4th, but I'm sure he sucked.

Mmmmm ... Guinness

by JSun on Apr 6, 2008 8:59 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

TRADE FATSO

I really don't know why we keep him... There's gotta be some team out there that may want him...

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone

by Nobs on Apr 6, 2008 9:07 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

What are you all talking about?

Boris had a good fucking game, and Skinner definitely wasn't the solution to the offensive drought

Nash choked in the 4th and Amare played like he was trying to get into the ESPN top 10 plays on offense while showing 0 intensity on defense, especially on the glass.

Dallas adjusted well in the 4th defending the pick and roll while covering the shooters. D'Antoni relied on Nash to shoot the lights out. Amare turned an easy lay-up into a missed dunk, and couldn't go to work on Kidd.

by hcblankscreen on Apr 6, 2008 10:04 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes, we saw Bad Ass Boris this game

You have to blame the 9 point quarter on the team MVPs and the starting lineup.

by ZonaFlash on Apr 6, 2008 10:18 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

too many breakdowns....

but, its not the end of the world. we beat the celtics twice, s.a. twice (i think), etc, I still think we have a chance here. We're very likely in the playoffs, that's what matters. And I don't honestly think it matters home court or not, 1st seed or 8th, what matters is who we play. And that is too hard to know right now.

There were many times where I thought the suns were going to break out to a 20 point lead but started missing shots, not incredibly hard shots, just open shots. The Suns normally are a great shooting team, tonight it left in the 4th.

This wasn't game 7 of a playoff series, plus dallas is on the edge on not making the playoffs,
they were simply hungrier than us.

I couldn't agree more about playing skinner instead of diaw.

This game is going to be buried in the 'don't ever open it chamber' along with the big detroit loss and a few others (mn-miami losses)....

Many teams in the nba have half or more of their season games with losses, I think we get spoiled by the Suns doing so well the last few years. Playoffs are what matters, tough way though to lose after beating the mavs in the first 3 q.

Nothing in this Verse can stop us!

by jasonsuns1 on Apr 6, 2008 11:40 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Could be worse for Phx

Denver lost tonight so the Suns clinch a playoff spot. Denver is playing with fire by not winning games against teams like Sacramento and Seattle, while Golden State has had to play (and lost) to to Dallas, San Antonia and New Orleans. So Phx could be toughing out each and every game like those two teams. It would have been nice to have won against Dallas tonight and put them on the hot seat regarding their playoff hopes.

Phx split 2 games with Boston and is 2-1 against San Antonio with one game with S.A. upcoming.

I'd be willing to bet that the Suns take out their disappointment in their poor finish today on those Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.

by TwinnerA on Apr 6, 2008 11:58 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

The only solace...

is that we'd very likely beat the Mavs like red-headed stepchildren in a 7 game series.

But this is the kind of game where you put in a DJ or a Skinner to shake things up, and just provide a different look. That's just Redology 101.

Now, I'd never second-guess Mike D, on the basis that his little toe has forgotten more about BBall then I'll ever know, but I'd really like to understand what he was thinking.

by Pliny the Elder on Apr 7, 2008 1:15 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

coach d

I'd disagree with you, my guess is you know a lot, and the coach is not perfect. I think he's got favorites, and Diaw is one of them. You'd think Nash or Amare, or other players would put pressure on the coach to play skinner more. Hmmm...I'd be very curious to really hear from a few players on the Diaw vs Skinner thing.

Nothing in this Verse can stop us!

by jasonsuns1 on Apr 7, 2008 1:28 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Boris is probably one of coaches favorites, but..

I'd posit that Mike D is looking at the game from an entirely different perspective than the rest of us. In fact, I know that, because I read McCallum's book. And Boris really does give the team a whole bunch more options than Brian..

The point I was making, though, is that sometimes you put in an energy type player just to shake things up. My guess, is that had the collapse happened in the 3rd, either DJ, Brian or even Eric Piatowski would have gotten some run, and where I'd fault Mike D is that he didn't recognize the need to make those substitutions. I think even 2 or 3 minutes would have been enough.

The ability to recognize game flow is what separates the "Reds" of the game: Auerbach, Holzman, Sharman, Jackson and Riley, from the other near great coaches. You can betcha-ass Auerbach would have made that substitution, or gotten a technical to fire his team up.

And as much of a Steve Nash fan as I am, you know things aren't going well when he shoots 4/17, and that's where the game was lost, imho. It also seems to me that since Steve said Amare deserved MVP consideration, Amare has slacked off a bit.

by Pliny the Elder on Apr 7, 2008 2:12 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Good points

didn't realize Nash shot so poorly, missed part of game. On Skinner, I think I wasn't clear, I do think Boris provides more than Skinner often, it was just against this team (mavs) and some others where I thought with Shaq and Amare we should've already dominated inside, and with skinner playing, it would've been even better. I think we go fast too often,

great point on what makes coaches almost great vs great...the red A.(celtics coach) comment....great thoughts.

Nothing in this Verse can stop us!

by jasonsuns1 on Apr 7, 2008 3:09 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Basket-ball version of french bashing?

A lot of interesting comments, and I agree with Stan, everything was not so bad. It was overall quite painful, but there's no way (I hope so) the suns reproduce this kind of fourth quarter.
However, we have to understand why it happened (in November, this kind of hubris won't have been so bad, but in April against Dallas...), in order to transform this rout into a useful loss (alongside Denver loss, Detroit loss, Boston loss... finally, to much useful loss could be detrimental, isn't it?).

I'm very surprised by the fact that some of you are straightly pointing Meow at the principal reason of this loss. I'm not very proud of his performances since 2005-2006, and I agree with most of you:
*    he could be very good, has a lot of talent, but he's so inconsistent, it's a shame
*    it seems that his huge contracts is the main reason why he slumped; it's not very loyal from him
*    it seems he doesn't fight enough to merit more love from fans
*    he probably is considered as a good ball handler or good passer partly because he doesn't want to attack the rim, therefore, he has to pass the ball, and too often, it becomes a turnover
*    Because of all of this, it is very hard to understand why the coach didn't bench him more last year and in the first months this season. It would have allow Skinner to play more, to be more confident, to add a ninth player in the rotation and it would have sent a message to Doris: fight and you'll find more playing time, play soft and you'll be benched.
*    Perhaps he wouldn't care about being benched, because he has a fat contract, and that's all. In this case, I agree, he sucks and must be traded. But perhaps, he would have been ashamed by this possibility and would have fight. We therefore would have had two big and productive and fighting guys from the bench, one more defensive minded and the other more versatile (which he is).
In my opinion, it's a bit late to try this kind of emulation/competition with Doris and Skinner. But I could understand why some of you want to try it anyway.

However, what I can't understand is why you point at Diaw for this very awful loss!
*    He played well in the first half (it's not a reason to rest in the second), and the team was not in danger when he was on the court during the third quarter
*    However, he was not very productive during the 5 minutes he was on the court at the beginning of the fourth: 0/2 FG and nothing else, with a +- rating of -10.
*    Therefore, he can be blamed as a member of the team and as a player on the court for not fighting, not making shots, not keeping the score ahead and all the collective slump.
But look at this :

http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20080406&game=DALPHO

*    Giricek: 3 PF, that's all
*    G. Hill: +- = -7
*    LB: 0-1 FG, that's all
*    Bell: 0/1 FG, +- = -11
*    Nash: 0/6 FG, +- = -17
*    Amare: 2/6 FG, ¼ FT 1 rb, +- = -11
*    O'Neal: +- = -17 (but at least, 1 block and 1 steals, almost the only defensive lines of the quarter for the team!)

And during this fourth quarter, the suns were out rebounded 7-18, Amare grabbing only 1? Is he really the new MVP? And where was the best shooter of the league? And one of the best perimeter defensive player? And Barbosa? 27 mn, 2 points !

Therefore, I want to stay positive, it's perhaps not so important to be in the 1-3 seeds, Diaw is overpaid and Skinner shall play more, but please, don't blame Diaw more than he merits for this offensive drought and painful loss. It comes mainly from the starters and the coaching, as Pliny points it...

And please, suns, NO HUBRIS IN MEMPHIS!

where full french will perhaps never happen during a whole game...

by warmup on Apr 7, 2008 3:23 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Yup

I agree that Boris is an unfortunate whipping boy.

And while I think Skinner should have played earlier in the game, Diaw was playing well and the Suns were winning.

Then in the fourth when the rim closed and the shots weren't falling its pretty hard to argue that Skinner was going to come in and provide a scoring boost.

I also think its fair to point out that Boris and Giricek were the ONLY Suns to shoot over 50% in that game.

So I agree, you can't blame this one on Diaw.

Phx - where run and thunder happens

by Phoenix Stan on Apr 7, 2008 8:07 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Of course you can!

Nash and Amare didn't have good games. But Amare still scored a lot, and Nash is Nash. We're lucky that Hill is not injured, Shaq is funny, Bell is average, Giricek was ok, and Barbosa is too brazilian. Who's left? That fat lazy french bastard! :)

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone

by Nobs on Apr 7, 2008 10:50 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Strange way of reasoning

Nash is Nash, I'm ok with that. Hill not injured and Shaq funny, ok (I never thought I'll write one day that Shaq is fun...)

But I don't agree with the way you're reasoning: it can't be anyone else; therefore it can only be Boris, whatever he did. And when the coach will finally bench him the whole game, if they lose, as it can't be anyone's fault, you'll blame Boris for sitting all the game?

And I don't agree either on Amare:
I think he's amazing on the offensive side, explosive, best finisher, one of the best big men on this game, he should have the ball more... he's a beast.
But there are a few things I noted for some time which are not as positive as his offensive game, and which could provide a better explanation for this awful loss:
He doesn't have the right attitude about his MVP level of playing. As it has been said elsewhere, he should try to grab more rebounds and bring more defence before whining about not been listed as potential MPV). he had 1 rebounds during this fourth quarter, during which a lot of potential offensive rebounds could have been grabbed (however, I was very glad to see that he caught a lot of rebounds these last few games, that is a good thing). He scored a lot, but he has now to prove he can carry the team on his tattooed shoulders, by scoring a few points at the end of a game when it matters the most or by providing some stops, or by putting opposing big guys in foul trouble or by making these damned FT. Therefore, if we can't blame Shaq or Nash because they are Shaq and Nash, we have to blame the player who wants to be recognized as the best player on the team, not one of the bench player, even when he's French and he sucks (okay, you can blame him just because he's French, I don't care so much about that!).

By the way, I think that Nash is very clever, as are Grant Hill and -arghhh- Shaq, and that the suns bring a lot of basketball IQ on court. But as much as I love Amare's offensive game and Amare's stats, I'm not sure he is a very intelligent player...At least, he has to prove it... and the sooner is the better!
Suns, please, DESTROY Memphis early and take some rest...

where full french will perhaps never happen during a whole game...

by warmup on Apr 8, 2008 3:15 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Something about...

"on his tatooed shoulders" made me laugh.

by RealTangiblesGuy on Apr 8, 2008 3:30 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

nuthin

The Suns had some very good looks in the fourth. They played, well, what can you say? They played hard? They played great? They played ok?

Truth from my eyes, is that their intensity drop off in the fourth quarter in comparison to their gritty, confident determination of the first 3 quarters handed Dallas this one. Sure, you get tired as the game wears on, but really, when that lead is getting frittered away, before it even gets to being a 1 or 2 point game, Mike D'Antoni needs to do something about it. He had Shaq and Nash in when the Mavs were just 2 pts off the Suns, and then decides to bring Amare in - Bring him in earlier, just 1 minute earlier, 60 seconds, and keep Shaq out there with him for a couple of minutes - who am I kidding, I don't know what works best with this rotation, but I do know Phoenix blew a 13 point fourth quarter lead.

Barrr.....

Subscribe to Run N Gun Podcast here www.thesportsstuff.com

by dang on Apr 7, 2008 5:10 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Bah

This game, more than perhaps any other this season, worried me about our championship hopes... It 's simple: we just couldn't exectute our offense when it mattered. The Nash/Amare PNR that hade been so successful in the first 3 quarters was completely swallowed up... And for all of you who are blaming the D: COME ON! Dirk hit like 3-4 SICK fallaways which are simply impossible to block or even contest when they come out of the hands of a 7-footer...

by TheyCallMePhil on Apr 7, 2008 7:57 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Dirk impossible to defend

Except when you're the Matrix

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

by Hawk42 on Apr 7, 2008 9:24 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Not Diaw's Fault, I think

That was a tough one to watch, no doubt, and I agree that was probably the kiss of death in terms of one of those top seeds, but this loss can't really be pinned on Diaw, unless you're just going to blame him for not being a superstar and not hitting falling-down desperation heaves a la Dirk Diggler. Boris drove to the rim on several occasions, put in the effort defending Dirk (even if he was overmatched), and he did hit that long jumper numerous times.

Avery made several defensive adjustments in the 4th that D'Antoni didn't react to, and, as the Republic pointed out today, Nash had his worst shooting day ever in a Suns uniform. When the Mavs finally took the lead at 92-91, the announcers indicated the Suns hadn't scored in almost 8 minutes--even one basket during that span would have kept the lead. The Suns wanted this game, but the Mavs needed this game.

The other feeling I had while watching the 4th quarter drought was that the game seemed to be already over, and pretty clearly the Suns had mentally shut it down a little early. The Mavs kept fighting, and combined with some inspired shooting by the reigning MVP (and doesn't that seem a like a long time ago), they got the w.

In comparison, The Nugs dropped games to Sacramento AND Seattle this weekend, put in that light this loss doesn't seem so bad to me.

by SoCalSun on Apr 7, 2008 10:09 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Nash sat too long

I know Steve wasn't shooting all that well, but he was doing a decent job guiding the offense. D'Antoni sat him too long in the fourth quarter. The Suns' offense got discombobulated and the momentum swung to Dallas. By the time Nash got back in, the Suns were on their heels and Nash was ice cold.

Normally, I think Mikey overplays his guys, but last night he needed more Nash at that critical juncture.

by basketbawful on Apr 7, 2008 12:00 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Hmmm - I don't think so

Nash came back in at his normal point in the fourth - about the 8 min mark.

During both the 1st/2nd Qtr and end of 3rd Qtr portions of Nash's rest periods the Suns did just fine. In the early part of the fourth their offense was getting wide open looks without him.
And missing them. The Suns went cold but they still were getting great looks.

Then when Steve came back in the Suns were still up by about 10. I think everyone expected the Suns to turn it back on and close the game out as they have a million times. It just didn't happen but bringing in Steve earlier wouldn't have made a difference.

Unless of course his back and/or shoulder tightened up while he was off the floor - which is possible but I haven't seen/heard anything about that.

Also credit the Mavs for knowing that the Suns in those tight situations will always go to the Nash/Amare pick and roll and they threw a few different looks at it and the Suns didn't respond. It was a good lesson for the playoffs.

Welcome to BSoS btw - love your stuff.

Phx - where flukes happen

by Phoenix Stan on Apr 7, 2008 12:26 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

BASKETBAWFUL!!!!

HI!!!! I read your stuff everyday. Closer and Basketbawful. Great stuff.

by RealTangiblesGuy on Apr 7, 2008 12:47 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes--not the minutes, it's the timing

For the most part I don't spend a lot of time second-guessing D'Antoni's coaching moves/sub patterns etc, yeah, I'd like to see a bit more Skinner, but mostly I think Coach Mike is pretty solid. The one thing I question is what seems to be his rigid timing--seldom (if ever) do you see Nash come in before the 8 minute mark of the 4th. It was beginning to slip away by that point yesterday, would have been good to see that lid come off the basket a little earlier and put some pressure back on the Mavs. Sometimes by waiting to get Nash back in the offense stalls a bit too long.

by SoCalSun on Apr 7, 2008 1:46 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jerry Sloan...

used to do the same thing with John Stockton, i.e his rest periods would be set for certain times in the game.

by Pliny the Elder on Apr 7, 2008 2:26 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Paul Coro blames the Suns D

This is a very interesting and as we expect from Paul a well-done breakdown of the Suns defensive breakdown's in the fateful fourth.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/20988

Nice work from Paul. I love when Coro has the time to do this kind of analysis and give a bit of his opinion. I wish he could/would do more.

Phx - where flukes happen

by Phoenix Stan on Apr 7, 2008 12:41 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Be as one!!!

hey guys i really hate to see my fellow suns fans arguing on the last game. We can say anything what we want about boris,skinner,nash,stat,Mike D and the whole group, but what we need here is faith. Let's just support them till we reach the last game of the year.(i hope its going to be the awarding of the NBA Champ.)

Peace and have faith to my fellow suns fans!!!!

by wapsobsidians on Apr 7, 2008 3:10 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs