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Suns Fall Short Against Warriors, 104-101

Anthony Morrow's secret to scoring 30-continually toss elbows at your defender.(AP Photo/Francis Specker)

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Anthony Morrow's secret to scoring 30-continually toss elbows at your defender.(AP Photo/Francis Specker)

Last night the Phoenix Suns lost to the Golden State Warriors 104-101 in a preseason game that was held outdoors in Indian Wells, CA. As with most preseason games, the outcome means little. And while any NBA game played outdoors means even less than one played indoors, I do think the Suns played pretty well last night.

I have a few thoughts that I'd like to bullet point, and I'm sure there is more to discuss:

  • I liked Frye's game tonight. He looked pretty comfortable on both ends of the floor.
  • Nash was sick, so his line doesn't concern me.
  • Stoudemire is not sick, but he is clearly not in tip top Sun Tzu shape.
  • Some good efforts on defense from Amare Stoudemire, Frye, and Jason Richardson.
  • Clark is a rookie, and played like one.
  • I didn't see much that makes me worry about this team. The starting 5 will be as good as we expect them to be. They are seasoned professionals who know how to play the game and execute the offense in this system. Tonight it was the second unit that looked shaky.
  • Oh and, um what's the point of this game? That is playing outside, in California, in October? I'm not sure I get it other than obviously, for profit.

Star-divide

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 10/11/09 7:53 AM MST ]

A few notes from Phoenixstan (a hot and dry place...)

  • As Wilie C pointed out, Amare is looking very rusty. He was unable to face up and get anything going against Randolph while on the other he got beat several times. Randolph is a very solid talent but there's no way that should be happening to Amare. Chalk it up to preseason and lack of playing time for Sun Wzho (but it's worth watching for the next few weeks)
  • Grant Hill had 6 rebounds in 24 minutes. Channing Frye had 8 rebounds in 23 minutes. Amare Stoudemire had 5 rebounds in 29 minutes
  • Nash couldn't buy a bucket and nothing could matter less
  • Hill seemed pretty darn aggressive on both ends of the floor for about 12 minutes
  • Can Frye really shoot that well all season? He was 7-13 for 19 points. If so, too paraphrase Michael Schwartz' tweet - you better just give him Most Improved Player right now 
  • The Suns ran an interesting three man pick and roll with Amare setting the high screen for Nash and then Nash coming off and hitting Hill in the mid-post who then finds Amare rolling down the lane. It looked good once but the spacing might not work well enough since Hill's man can quickly help on Amare
  • Amundson does in fact only play at one speed. Balls out. 4 blocks, 7 rebounds and he was everywhere. He also shot 0% from the FT line but he did hit a 17ft jumper which was....interesting
  • I don't like Clark taking all those jumpers. He was 4-16 and was far too aggressive once the game turned into playground ball which was from the 2nd quarter on
  • I didn't like it at all in fact. I want to see his instincts geared more towards being a team player and not looking so hard for his own shot. Especially his jump shot. A couple of times he put his head down and attacked the rim and that was cool. The turn around jump shot? Lets save that for next season, Earl
  • Gentry used the phrase "work in progress" when talking about the Suns defense

0 recs  |  Comment 16 comments |

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You got it Phoenix Stan

Earl Clark should not ever be taking that many shots. He needs to recognize his role as a versatile defender, a person who can get easy lay-ups set up by other players, and a player who can sometimes either attack the rim or shoot a 15-17 footer.

+ Earl Clark was an inch away from the top play on Sportscenter when he came flying down the lane and tried to pulverize Andris Biedrins. That would have been awwweeessoommmeeee

by BJabs on Oct 11, 2009 10:41 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Good game

The starters were not even in the entire fourth if I remember correctly. Goran looked good in the beginner but was having issues towards the end, and Gentry went with Dickau at the end. I did like Gorans help defense as well.

Amare has a lot of work to do, and pray to god he doesn’t just work on his jump shot, I get tired with jump shot Amare very quickly.

Grant Hill diving for loose balls in preseason scared the crap out of, but I love that guy. One of the announcers was baffled as why we resigned him, obviously he didn’t watch a single Suns game last season.

by AcucracK on Oct 11, 2009 11:17 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

smart Gentry

I was happy with Coach Gentry for not putting his starters in in the fourth. It showed that he trusts his bench and that he knows the preseason isn’t about winning.

by species8473 on Oct 11, 2009 12:18 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Was it just because of the free-throw disparity, and the bench handling the fourth quarter, that Golden State won even without Stephen Jackson? I hope so.

by species8473 on Oct 11, 2009 1:09 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

They were aggressive into the paint and got fouls. Us, not so much. This lead to the free throw disparity.

We also gave a lot of minutes to our young players and bench to see how the could handle the situation. Nash was sick, Amare was uber rusty. I wouldn’t read too much into this preseason outdoor game.

by AcucracK on Oct 11, 2009 1:54 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Warriors crushed Lakers two days ago ...

… with Stephen Jackson fouling out in the first half. So there’s not really anything to read into these pre-season games, IMO.

"The mustard is off the hot dog!"

by Billy Hoyle on Oct 11, 2009 4:13 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Still, they did beat the Fakers. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

by species8473 on Oct 11, 2009 7:39 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

People keep wondering what the point is of having a game outside

but I’m just happy that I got to watch a preseason game on TV.

by Suns' Sensei on Oct 11, 2009 2:00 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

I don't mind it

but I am also not likely to drive out there again for it. It would be nice if it was a regular season game though. That might be more fun but 9 or 10 hours round trip for preseason basketball? Not unless it’s in Vegas or maybe San Diego.

Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @phoenixstan

by Phoenix Stan on Oct 11, 2009 8:01 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

true.

i took a weekend trip up there for the first one and there wasnt a whole lot to do. beach or the strip would be nice.

by Suns' Sensei on Oct 11, 2009 9:50 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

I thought it was a good game...

considering it was the first preseason and Amare’s first game back since his injury. I was impressed with Frye and hope he can play like that the whole season. When Lopez comes back, the two of them might get us through the season at the 5 spot. I agree Sun Tzu looked rusty. It’s understandable. I’m expecting he’ll polish up his game before the start of the season. I’m not worried about the 1-4 spots. I know these guys are veterans and professionals and will play as such. I was happy as hell to see Frye shoot so well and play good defense and grab 8 boards. I don’t think he played the fourth quarter.

I think the bench needs some work. Except for Amundson; he was all over the place as he usually is. I was happy with Clark getting 10 points. Although I agree he took and missed a bunch of jumpers. We know what Barbosa can do. Dragic and Dickau looked alright. If Lopez comes back healthy and can give us solid play off the bench, this might be a pretty good second unit once they get some playing time together. I think Dudley/Tucker/Griffin will give us some good minutes as well.

Geo

by Galvara1022 on Oct 12, 2009 10:44 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Some notes from the stands

I’ve done the outdoor game for the 2nd year now and I would recommend it..palm springs is a nice enough town and the outdoor court has a nice feel. Anyways, some observations:

- Amare was messing with his goggles at every play stoppage..they’re bothering him somehow and that kind of worries me.

- The bench was oddly subdued- I couldn’t tell if they were worried, intensely focused, or just bored.

- Don Nelson is never as fat in person as he looks on TV

- Griffin has got some hops..he showed alot of hussle on rebounds out there and looked alot more comfortable than Clark. I hope with some D leaque time he can contribute sometime soon.

- There was alot more golden state support than I would have expected. They were easy to find -just listen for any drunken guy yelling advice at the players-mostly GS players.

- Though Nash’s shot was off, I thought he showed alot more effort on D guarding Curry- mostly stayed in front of him, working to disrupt passes, etc. Also working for rebounds a bit more as well. good stuff

- I kind of like Dickau’s game..can we keep him?

by Fritzy on Oct 12, 2009 11:41 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Dickau

And how does Dickau play?

by species8473 on Oct 12, 2009 1:07 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

from what I remember

- he’s a pass first guy- he had a least a couple nice assists in very limited minutes

- he can drive inside and finish at the rim ala nash

- he’s got wheels..probably comparable to dragic in that sense

- active on D

 Overall, shows alot of confidence on the floor and from what little I saw, he had good court vision. He’d have easily had 3 or 4 more assists had Earl Clark and other rooks not clanked some fairly open looks

This just off the top of my head and it’s possible I may be overly generous..does anyone else want to weigh in?

by Fritzy on Oct 12, 2009 3:17 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

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