Dragic out vs. Jazz - a GOOD thing?
by Alex Laugan on Mar 4, 2010 7:08 AM MST
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PrintAccording to Coro, our Slovenian Sun, the Paper Boy, the weird kid on the basketball team who makes the stud athletes on the floor feel uncomfortably threatened because he plays better than they think he will, might be out against Jazz.
Steve Nash is laboring through back and abdominal pain. Grant Hill, now our backup PG, generally feels 97 years old on B2Bs, especially after an active front-end game. And on top of all that, we get to play a hot Jazz team on the worst possible stage - TNT. Sounds like a recipe for failure, huh?
Well maybe, just maybe, having Goran roll his ankle is a GOOD thing.
Why? Because otherwise the Suns were ripe for a loss tonight. I went to bed thinking we were in big trouble against the Jazz because our team would still be basking in the glow of blowout on the road against a Clipper team that had just beaten Utah in their prior game. We beat the team that beat the team that we're playing tonight. Easy win, right?
But with Goran Dragic hurting, the rest of the team won't be able to ease up. Similar to the Thunder game, the rest of the team will feel they have to rally around each other to gut this game out. They know Steve is hurting. They know Grant will be tight. And without Goran, every other guy will come in knowing they have a bring their best or the game could get real ugly real fast.
It's no longer just a cursed TNT game. Its no longer a game they should win.
Its a test of manhood against a healthy, rested, frustrated Jazz team (due to their Clipper loss).
I can't wait for this game to start.
P.S. Hey there! First time fan poster, long time bystander. I figured it was time to step into the room and introduce myself.
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welcome!
totally disagree ….but welcome and thanks for posting!
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Mar 4, 2010 12:05 PM MST up reply actions
you disagree
that Dragic being out is good? or the whole premise that they sometimes need adversity to overcome an otherwise predictable letdown? or what?
maybe earlier in the season
but this team at this time doesn’t need any extra motivation. They do need as many of their players healthy as possible
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
I see what you're saying
and you are closer to the team than any of us.
I was just putting this in context of this game – second night of B2B after a blowout win on TNT… cards are stacked up.
Well an injury to an effective player is never what I'd call a "good" thing
But it could have its beneficial side effects, as you described.
I see what you are saying...
these sorts of things can serve as rallying points for an inconsistent squad which the Suns have proven to be…. I would still rather have him but interesting angle…
You make some good points dking....
It is not uncommon for teams to let up psychologically coming off a big, blow-out win. It is just human nature. Teams tend to feel invincible and sometimes don’t bring the same effort after a blow-out. I also agree with the “rallying cry” theory. I hope you are right, because it ’ll take a strong TEAM effort to beat the Jazz. Nash is obviously still not his normal self and we are coming off B2B.
Fortunately, Nash didn’t have to play real heavy minutes last night. Should be an interesting game for sure…
sign an extra PG
It might be prudent to sign a new point guard for a while, especially if Nash is not going to sit out for entire games.
how come the suns never sign anyone from the d-league...
other teams do this to 10-day contracts but we never seem too…
hell GS signed Tolliver out of there and he is looking pretty decent…
as is Sundiata Gaines in Utah….
With a healthy Barbs
Our rotation is already 10 deep.
by hcblankscreen on Mar 4, 2010 2:19 PM MST up reply actions
Nash/Richardson/Hill/Amare/Lopez
Goran/Barbosa/Dudley/Lou/Frye
10 men ftw!
Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."
plus, if Earl Clark can't get playing time
after practicing with us all year, how can a D-leaguer hope to?
GS has no scheme to pick up, so it’s easy for them to add guys left and right. And they’re not held to winning…
Utah, on the other hand, surprised me with playing that Gaines guy. Not sure how that happened.
We don’t need another pg. However, Dragic will probably be out 1-2 weeks. Thats how long it usually takes for a rolled ankle to fully heal. I hope Barbosa comes back soon. This could be a good thing in the long run because it can give Barbosa more time to get re-adjusted.
okay, but who can play PG that isn't hurt or old?
Nash and Dragic are both hurt, and Grant Hill is often tired. Who else is there? Even if Barbosa comes back and isn’t rusty, he’s not a point guard. It would be terrible if Nash had to run himself into the ground by playing more minutes while hurt.
Nash is always hurt, but he will be fine. Don’t worry. Yes, Barbosa isn’t a pg, but we still won games in the years Nash didn’t have a backup. If Dragic is out for a while and Barbosa still hasn’t comeback than I assume Grant will get most of his minutes at the PG spot which means we should also see an increase of minutes for Dudley. In fact, maybe we should start Dudley at the 3 and have Grant come off the bench as the pg.
Also, don’t worry about the “Old” thing. These guys are in great shape, they have the best medical staff and have had less ware and tare in this season than in any other year for their career because of our good bench.
Besides, I heard we have a stretch coming up where only have like 2 games in the next 8 days. The guys will get plenty of rest.
good point
I thought that stretch of about a week with no games was absurd, but it might prove extremely well-timed.
Yea, just looked at the schedule. We get about a good 5 days rest before we play the Lakers at home on Friday the 12th which is next week. Better make this game tonight count. Just keep Boozer off the boards and we should be fine. Winning the rebounding battle against this team is important. That means Amare needs to step up and play like he did last night.
energy
is the biggest key to any game. Whatever reason, whatever it takes to get that energy going, they just need to find it.
Very different than Nash sitting out the Thunder game
Where the entire team rallied because the team leader both on and off the floor was out. Might be hard to get as fired up with Goran sitting out.
Will get a full update on Dragic
this afternoon before the game….
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
Having rolled my ankle umpteen times
I wouldn’t be surprised if he misses less time than we think.
But then again, this is the NBA where you need your ankles (as opposed to me, in my desk job)
?@XX! late game...
I hate the 8:30 games. They can keep you up into the wee hours, especially if they have overtime. I want to watch this one because it’s so important, but I also have been even more tired than usual recently and want to get some sleep. D’oh.
You've been losing sleep...
wondering what the differences between the early season Suns, mid-season Suns, and current Suns are, haven’t you?
Seth to the rescue!
Twitter: @MikeLisboa
I love 'em
Live in Hawaii so if I rush home from work I get to watch from tip.
by hcblankscreen on Mar 4, 2010 1:39 PM MST up reply actions
yeah, but it won't help
Actually, I used to be an insomniac and a near-constant user of OTC sleeping pills, but something else has been physically wrong with me recently. I get to sleep, but wake up horribly tired. It’s arguably worse.
they dont necessarily snore
but they do have uneven breathing. The body wakes itself up every minute or two to get the air moving again. Sometimes its not real noticeable, but it disrupts your sleep patterns.
Yes it is very good...
Now only if we could injure Amare, Nash, Hill, Lopez, and J-Rich the other guys would be really, really focused and have to step their games up
OK, so...
the final answer to my post is “NO, it’s not a good thing” that Dragic was out. The PGs Nash and Hill ran out of gas in the 4th. Why make Nash play the entire 4th, I wonder?
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