Game Thread: Phoenix Suns vs Memphis Grizzlies

by Dan @ Bright Side Of The Sun on Mar 26, 2007 3:37 PM MDT in Phoenix Suns News

Another game to put the taste of yesterday's loss behind us. I've been a bit snippy on the site the past couple of days. I guess maybe cranky is a better word. Why? I hate it when the team loses a couple of games and everyone starts predicting the demise of the franchise. The Suns have won 7-10 their last 10 games and there are people saying the Suns won't get out of the first round of the playoffs now. Winning 70% of your games over a season would put you winning 57-58 games. Winning 70% of the games last season would have kept the Suns in exactly the same spot they ended up last year - except they would have won 3 more games.

All that being said, I just don't know what to expect from the Suns tonight. Are they going to show up and blow out the Grizzlies because they are upset at the loss to the Kings? Or are they going to be complacent again because they still don't have anything to play for? If anything, they've got to still win games just so they can stay ahead of the Spurs in the standings.

So I don't really have any keys to the game tonight because I'm not sure what team is going to show up. I just hope that Boris Diaw actually plays hard tonight and the rest of the team can pick up whatever slack they've had over the past few games.

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Getting snippy

Ok you have a point about everyone getting snippy, but I don't remember anyone saying that the Suns are going to go out in the first round. Just that there are days where the Suns don't bear even a passing resemblance to a championship team, and that they seem to be having a lot more of those days lately than the other "contenders". Take Dallas for example--there is no team in the league who has less to play for than they do right now, and yet they're already over half-way to yet another double-digit streak. Of course, there's probably no other team in the league that could pull off the kind of "miracle comeback win" that the Suns accomplished on March 14. Well, maybe the Lakers could do it, but that's only because they get a lot of help from the refs. :) We have a very unique team. That why we love them, and that's why we get disappointed when we know they're not trying.

I probably mentioned before that one of my major pet peeves are teams that slack off during the regular season only to "turn it on" for the playoffs. See Miami Heat for Exhibit A. I know the goal is to win a championship, not rack up regular season wins, but most fans who get to go to games go during the regular season. So I hate teams that don't give them their money's worth. The Suns are very rarely that sort of team, which is probably why it's so shocking and disheartening when they are. But I guess there weren't too many people at Arco Arena yesterday upset about what happened, so maybe I shouldn't be either. So point taken. For now.

by TexSUN on Mar 26, 2007 6:15 PM MDT reply actions

38-5?

I think I just heard the announcers say that the Suns are 38-5 with the Amare/Diaw/Marion/Bell/Nash starting lineup. That's over 88% !!!

Did I hear that right?

Assuming I did, anybody still think we should change the starting lineup? Nope? Didn't think so. :)

by TexSUN on Mar 26, 2007 8:14 PM MDT reply actions

Read through the comments

There were a couple of people on this board and I think there were some at phxsuns.net that made comments saying they thought the Suns would go out in the first round. I know they were saying that would happen if the Suns kept playing the way they are right now but still. It was just frustrating that people would be talking about my Suns that way after just a few losses.

by Dan @ Bright Side Of The Sun on Mar 26, 2007 8:38 PM MDT reply actions

That's what happens...

...when you open the site up to other people's opinions. :) Seriously, though, the only one on this board I remember saying anything remotely worrisome about the first round (other than my "which team can the Suns defeat the quickest" posting) is Vash01 who's got an irrational paranoia about Denver. (Just kidding, Vash, lol).

As for the phxsuns.net crowd, they're tame compared to the AZCentral gang.

by TexSUN on Mar 26, 2007 9:18 PM MDT up reply actions

I don't even read AZCentral comments any more

It's just a bunch of people who try to annoy each other. There's not much real conversation going on there anymore.

by Dan @ Bright Side Of The Sun on Mar 26, 2007 9:35 PM MDT up reply actions

Denver

Yes, TexSun, I am paranoid about Denver but I am paranoid about any team that plays against the Suns these days, because- as you correctly said- I don't know which Suns will show up.

However, I expected them to win tonight's game. I thought they would be upset about what happened in Sacramento, and they played much better. I wish they could get mad before every game. I did not see a drop off in intensity (but I watched mostly the 4th quarter). The real test will be against GSW - another Kings like situation. In this case I won't mind if the Suns lost (I can't believe I am saying this!) I would really like GSW to make the playoffs and play against the Mavs or the Suns (pushing Denver down to #8). Anyway, I will root for the Suns to win.

What scares me about Denver is their fire power combined with the Suns' porous defense. It shows up sometimes during the game, and at other times it is invisible. The embarrassment of the last game against Denver is fresh in my mind. I am going to that game on Fri. If the Suns win big, it may put me at ease just a bit.

However, I think LAL is just as dangerous. I am a self proclaimed pessimist, so I always like to believe that the Suns will lose (Dan, you must understand this). I know that if I expect the Suns to win, they WILL lose!

by Vash01 @ Bright Side Of The Sun on Mar 26, 2007 11:40 PM MDT reply actions

Denver and defense

The thing is, Denver isn't exactly a great defensive team themselves. Especially AI, who normally gets destroyed by the Suns, and by Nash especially. This was the first game I can remember seeing AI outplay Nash or the Suns. Of course, he's on a different team now, so maybe that changes things. But one game under very special circumstances isn't enough to convince me Denver can bring down the Suns in a 7-game series. I don't think the Lakers can either, but I think the Lakers have a better chance of extending it out into a very long and physical series (i.e., exactly what we don't want going into a tough second round against San Antonio). I wouldn't get too worked up over this next game against Denver either--the Suns will be on the second night of a back-to-back, and will probably have Dallas on their minds as well. Not saying they're going to lose, but if they do, it still doesn't make Denver an odds-on favorite to beat the Suns in the playoffs (in fact, I think the Nuggets would be in for a very rude awakening. :) ).

by TexSUN on Mar 26, 2007 11:52 PM MDT up reply actions

P.S. Azcentral

ITA about azcentral.com. The conversations there are totally meaningless. I don't know why I even bother to post there. However, if I had not been to that board, I would not have found this site.

by Vash01 @ Bright Side Of The Sun on Mar 26, 2007 11:41 PM MDT reply actions