View from the Homefront Part 2: Suns Spurt Past Bulls 112-102

by TexSUN on Nov 16, 2007 3:40 AM MST in Phoenix Suns Commentary

I'm going to remember this game as:

The most exciting game I have seen at the US Airways Center to date.
My first attempt to photograph an NBA game.

(Shawn Marion is going to remember it as something else)

To explain #1 to those who aren't regular readers here, I live out of state and only get to see a Suns home game whenever I make my way out this direction. It's always been at the beginning of the season when the team is not yet at its best and/or (as was the case on Tuesday), not playing against a team that gave the crowd anything to be excited about. This means my experience with the crowd at the USAC has been similar to Mike D'Antoni's assessment after the game on Tuesday: Severely lacking in enthusiasm. That was not the case tonight, as the Suns closed out the game in thrilling fashion, going on one of their patented scoring spurts to finish off the Bulls 112-102. The crowd was really into this game. Even when the Suns let the Bulls back in it, the fans kept cheering them on. By the time the game was over, Steve Nash was getting the MVP chants when he went to the free throw line. It was a great atmosphere, and it was a lot of fun to be a part of it. The win brings the Suns into a four-way tie with the Spurs, Hornets, and Jazz for the top spot in the Western Conference standings.

The Suns were on fire in the fourth quarter

The real adventure of the night for me personally was to snap a few photos to satisfy my inner tourist, and also to spruce this place up a little. I knew going in this was going to be difficult. Wide-open indoor venues are not my forte as a "serious amateur" photographer. Trying to zoom in on someone from the 10th row in a wide-open indoor venue is even worse. I wasn't sure what to expect, and having flipped through the results, it's safe to say that I got some of what I wanted, but nowhere close to enough. Most of the "action" shots didn't work at all, so what I ended up with were several shots of players standing around during timeouts and warmups, or shooting free throws. The couple of times I managed to catch someone going for a dunk ended up in one big blur. Let's just say I have a lot to learn about sports photography, and I have gained a new found respect for those who can do it well. After spending the past two hours trying to clean up a few of the shots I took, I am going to forgo the rest of the recap and just post some of what I got. It's not great, but hopefully it's a start. View from the Homefront Part 3 (more pictures from something else Suns-related I did today) will be posted early next week.

The Suns huddle during a timeout

LB shoots a free throw

Raja Bell heading for the layup line

Marcus Banks didn't get to play on TNT, but at least he gets to be in my recap.

Heading back to the fray

Steve points the way

The Matrix greets the press

It's a wrap

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Comments

Great shots

Glad you got to see a good game, TexSun Get any shots of Grant Hill? He's officially my new second-favorite Sun. ;)

by SueB on Nov 16, 2007 7:38 AM MST reply actions

Grant Hill

From what I can tell, the only one I got of Grant Hill that's going to be salvageable is this one of him and Steve Nash. It's kind of a goofy one though, so it didn't make the cut for the recap post:

by TexSUN on Nov 16, 2007 10:14 AM MST up reply actions

Oh, and about the game...

For some reason, I guessed there must be comments from others about the game itself somewhere else but didn't see any, so ....

Regarding Grant Hill, I NEVER expected him to be playing 40 minutes and producing 20-point games like this. I only hope his body can hold up. Haven't heard anybody regretting the loss of James Jones lately. Although I liked JR as much as anybody, Hill is definitely a step up.

I was thinking about the Knicks game when the Suns couldn't ever quite put the Bulls away, knowing that despite their record, the Bulls are not the Knicks. Sure enough, the big comeback was a little bit scary, especially when Amare had to sit.

The Nash comes back in and Boris comes out of his funk and starts to play. He has to be most maddening player on the planet because we can see how good he COULD be, if he could just do it with any consistency.

by SueB on Nov 16, 2007 7:46 AM MST reply actions

Nice pics!!

I bet it was a cool game to watch, to come back in the fourth like the Suns did! On your pics, I've recently become more serious on photography myself, I'm guessing on your action pics, maybe your camera just didn't have the speed to handle the action pics?

What brand and model slr were you using, and what lens?

Link to sports photos info

As I suspected, it's mostly about positioning, and shutter speed. Thanks for posting the pics, really adds a lot

by jasonsuns1 on Nov 16, 2007 8:02 AM MST reply actions

The key

"The best advice for sports and action photographers is to get close to the action, either with a zoom lens or by walking right out onto the field. OK, OK, the sidelines will do, but you really can't get good shots from the stands."

See, unfortunately, they don't allow someone like me on the sidelines. :) I was shooting most of these from my seat about 10 rows up. I was using a telephoto lens, but not one that's really designed for indoor use (it's not one of those fancy ones with built-in lighting or anything). You probably already know this, but for those who aren't as into photography as you are, the closer you zoom in on something with telephoto, the lower the light level gets, and the greater the chance your hand isn't going to be steady enough to get a clear shot. Also making the shutter speed faster is not possible from that far back, else you end up with a dark black photo, kind of like you get when you take a picture in a dark room without using a flash (the light issue again). I tried a bunch of different shutter speeds and apertures, but I was (a) just too far back in the stands, and (b) too inexperienced to know how to adjust for it. Maybe next time I'll do better. :)

by TexSUN on Nov 16, 2007 10:23 AM MST up reply actions

i still think you did great

I couldn't have done any better, I think on action photos, being close and having top equipment are the 2 keys, along with experience. Still, you did great,
thx

by jasonsuns1 on Nov 16, 2007 10:54 AM MST up reply actions

Nice pictures!

Better than anything I could've done. I think even if you gave me an SLR all those pictures would turn out blurry...even if the players were at a dead standstill.

by whatisboxhappening on Nov 16, 2007 9:41 AM MST reply actions

The crowd did seem better on this night...

(The fans from Chicago probably didn't hurt. ;))

Don't forget it's Amare's birthday today!

by NativeArizonan on Nov 16, 2007 10:01 AM MST reply actions

Good win and nice pics!

Looks like things are beggining to click for our glorious Suns. The real test shall be against Houston tomarrow, then we'll know just what our team is made of.

Hill is just looking better and better every day. Suddenly that fantasy pick doesnt seem so dicey. Ha ha.

I truly hope Couch D can get DJ in the lineup sometime soon. Seeing as how Banks is apparently back in the doghouse.

And lastly let's hope and pray STAT can learn to keep those fouls at a min

"Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating your enemy without ever fighting." Sun Tzu

by Turambar on Nov 16, 2007 2:11 PM MST reply actions

Raja

won't play against HOU: the ankle again.

When oh when will coach learn he's the coach, not the players? Start doing ALL of your job!

Even Dubya knows he's "the decider"!

by marionette on Nov 16, 2007 5:36 PM MST reply actions

Where did you see this?

Just checked the AZ news sites and didn't see the bit about Raja (although did see something a bit disturbing about Steve Nash).

On Mike D and "Dubya"--thank goodness Mike D is not "Dubya". If Dubya coached the Suns, he'd have our guys trying to take on the New York Yankees because the Spurs beat us in the playoffs.

by TexSUN on Nov 16, 2007 5:53 PM MST up reply actions

Eeek re Nash

Thanks for that heads-up. Don't like to hear about this. Explains his bad shooting in the last two games though. A rib slipping out of place sounds pretty painful!

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/102176

by SueB on Nov 16, 2007 6:35 PM MST up reply actions

This is the most

complete explaination of the February Nash malady I've seen. After 9+ months, I understand finally. Thanks for the link!

by marionette on Nov 17, 2007 2:03 PM MST up reply actions

Found the link

(Or a link anyway) for the Raja Bell ankle issue: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1116sunsnotes1117.html. Says he's "unlikely" to play against Houston.

by TexSUN on Nov 16, 2007 8:47 PM MST up reply actions

Texsun,

I apologize for freaking (and failing to mention I'd heard it on radio). But this is the button pushing issue with the team for me. It's not just that Mike plays 'em too many mins and doesn't play a bench. Time and time again the players come back too soon, as we've seen with Raja before, Amare to begin the year, Boris last year (he wasn't that bad 'til the back injury), etc. I thought Leandro could've used a couple games off to start the season too. Whether too much PT leads to injuries is debatable (Nash's worst comes in his sleep!), but clearly there's a cycle of: more PT needed if someone's out 'cause we don't play more than 7 or 8 which is more PT than even Coach wants so "let's get the guys back 'cause they been buggin' me and they're warriors" but then they're back but can't do things we need them to do as well as they did them before but still Coach doesn't trust the bench 'cause they never got any PT 'cause even when everyone's heathy we only play 7 or 8...

And we all see it coming, don't we?

Obviously Mike is a visionary coach, a good thing. I just wish he had a greater vision (to do more than roll out his all-stars, MIP, 6th MOTY, and that SOLELY). To see some forest behind the trees.

Now let's get Hou! I'd almost rather see McGrady in there to miss more than his share vs Shawn. They could be tougher in a way tonight with more balance.

by marionette on Nov 17, 2007 3:03 PM MST up reply actions