Suns - Sixers: Open Game Day Thread

by Seth Pollack on Mar 1, 2008 11:47 AM MST in Phoenix Suns: Game Coverage

Phoenix Suns	at	Philadelphia 76ers
39-19		26-33
7:00 PM Mountain / 9:00 PM Eastern
TV: FSNAZ HD, NBA League Pass
Probable starters:
Steve Nash	PG	Andre Miller
Raja Bell	SG	Willie Green
Grant Hill	SF	Andre Iguodala
Amare Stoudemire	PF	Thaddeus Young
Shaquille O'Neal	C	Samuel Dalembert

The conversation around here has (understandably) taken on the tone of a mutual grief counseling session: Anger, denial, bargaining. So this game thread is all about looking forward. Maybe just not that far forward.

And besides, on advise of my therapist and under threat from my wife I never watched the Hornets debacle on Tivo so I have nothing insightful, clever or incorrect to say about that disaster.

Moving on then...

The Suns seek redemption (or practice) tonight against a 76ers team that I honestly know very little about. There are 30 teams in the league and some standout for their surprising play and some for their pure hilarity and some don't stand out at all. That's the 76ers.

Here's what I know (or think I know):

They have a very small front line and are starting a 6'8" rookie at PF - I kind of like Amare's chances in that match up
I keep hearing how hard they play and according to Hawk's latest they are 7th in the East at 26-33 which puts them behind the Kings but ahead of the Clips out west. Given the roster I just reviewed that may in fact be an accomplishment. Compared to the talent and payroll in NYC its downright Celtic's-like
I lived in Salt Lake City in the late 90's when Andre Miller played with Keith Van Horn and Michael Doleac and got to the final 4. Relevant to this game? Not in the least. I told you I don't know much about the 76ers...
Given all that, this should be a pre-season game that the Suns ~~should~~ better win

I assume live blogging will commence at the appointed moment...not sure though since I can't really manage to watch, scream and blog all at the same time so don't wait on me

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looking forward to this game...

if we don't win.. i might cry myself to sleep tonight.

also, in the preview, the 76ers record wasn't changed from the hornets game.

by brian13 on Mar 1, 2008 4:26 PM MST reply actions

this is my first game on nbalp!! yes!!

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 5:29 PM MST reply actions

Discount

do you get a discount by waiting this far into the season? Just curious.

Phoenix - where tired of things happening happens

by Seth Pollack on Mar 1, 2008 6:28 PM MST up reply actions

yes

$24 a mth - 4 times, still high, I should've done it sooner but the timing $$$ wise was off. I know playoff games are on regular tv, oh well, I'm still excited

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 6:35 PM MST up reply actions

another reason i waited

fios doesn't have nbalp, i switched to direct tv

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 6:36 PM MST up reply actions

Should get a discount next year too

The renewal is cheaper than the original purchase.

by TexSUN on Mar 1, 2008 6:36 PM MST up reply actions

didn't know this, cool!!

thanks,

something cool happened today, I was in Wylie, Texas - where I live, and I came across a family also from Phoenix, they had recently moved here. He asked me if I followed the Suns, those precious words, I probably scared him with my wild rant about the shaq experiment, etc etc, and how I keep thinking about the celtic game, makes me hopeful for the suns...etc

Pretty cool, as he and his family walked off to eat lunch....I gave that big shout GO SUNS!!!

Texsun, me, others...we're taking over Dallas as phoenix suns territory...ok...that may be stretching it, but it was still cool

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 6:54 PM MST up reply actions

Refund?

Maybe after tonight you want a refund...

Phoenix - where tired of things happening happens

by Seth Pollack on Mar 1, 2008 9:47 PM MST up reply actions

pre game media spin

Its really getting silly now w the media flack...er Suns broadcasters saying that Gordon Girawaherver is a better player than B Barry after all.

That must explain why Kerr went after Barry first.

Phoenix - where tired of things happening happens

by Seth Pollack on Mar 1, 2008 7:01 PM MST reply actions

lol

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:04 PM MST up reply actions

Well..

I'm not all that down on Giricek, mostly because I wasn't really expecting great things from Barry either. Even if Barry had come to the Suns, I'm not sure he would really have been a lot of help on the court this season. He's coming off a calf injury, that I think was similar to what Raja Bell had in the 2006 playoffs. So factor in finishing to heal from that, then getting worked into the system (just what the Suns need, more guys to work in), and I'm not sure there would have been enough time left for him to contribute much beyond maybe some inside info on the Spurs. :) Not saying Giricek is going to be a great fit either, but at least he should be ready to get on the court right away to at least see what we have. Plus he seems to really want to come here, unlike Barry who I'm still not convinced wasn't just putting on a bit of a show to avoid another Stackhouse situation.

by TexSUN on Mar 1, 2008 7:10 PM MST up reply actions

that pass by nash...a little low and forced I

think

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:14 PM MST reply actions

Game on

I'm amazed at how Shaq always gets the tip without appearing to jump more than three inches off the ground.

Nash misses the three but Suns get the rebound and end up with a turnover. Sixers get a turnover of their own, followed by another missed shot by the Suns and an airball by the 76ers. A bit ragged by both teams in the opening seconds.

by TexSUN on Mar 1, 2008 7:14 PM MST reply actions

yep

i was wondering about that also

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:15 PM MST up reply actions

Q1 10:08 - Suns join 76ers on the board

Nash with the jumper. Tied at 2.

by TexSUN on Mar 1, 2008 7:15 PM MST reply actions

smart foul by nash

shaq is still short on his shooting

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:16 PM MST reply actions

i do think shaq

is a great passer..nice to bell for 3!!

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:16 PM MST reply actions

a lot of missed short shots

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:20 PM MST reply actions

2 touches by diaw to keep

offensive possession going, i don't think he'll get credit for offensive rebounds (2), but good to see

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:21 PM MST reply actions

Shutting this down

Sorry guys, I'm going to lay off the live blogging tonight. Not feeling well. I was going to give it a try anyway, but without going into unpleasant details, let's just say I'm having to leave the room a bit too often to make this work. :( Hopefully jasonsuns1 and others can chime in for those who can't watch the game.

by TexSUN on Mar 1, 2008 7:21 PM MST reply actions

later

hope you feel better

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:24 PM MST up reply actions

sweet drive by hill

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:23 PM MST reply actions

18 points 27% fg

nothing else to say really, suns really struggling

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:38 PM MST reply actions

is that phx in black?

Remember the good ole days when the Suns were the fastest team on the floor?

Phoenix - where tired of things happening happens

by Seth Pollack on Mar 1, 2008 7:38 PM MST reply actions

don't look now

suns woke up after a shaq dunk, a shaq pickup and outlet to diaw and score and 1

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 7:45 PM MST reply actions

did Boris just dunk

I had nodded off a bit.

Phoenix - where tired of things happening happens

by Seth Pollack on Mar 1, 2008 7:56 PM MST reply actions

yep

he really slammed it home!!

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 8:02 PM MST up reply actions

nice fast break all started

by shaq outlet!!

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 8:01 PM MST reply actions

How do you

change your pw on this site? Nash is maadddddd

by RealTangiblesGuy on Mar 1, 2008 8:03 PM MST reply actions

nevermind

my question

by RealTangiblesGuy on Mar 1, 2008 8:04 PM MST reply actions

Goodness!

Diaw is playing like a freaking MVP! Nash is hardly taking shots now over the past few games it seems...I feel some of the Suns recent woes maybe related to Nash trying actively to spend every possession trying to perfect the new offense. Stoudemire is a freaking foul magnet, goodness!

by RealTangiblesGuy on Mar 1, 2008 8:07 PM MST reply actions

Bad Half Really

Still, I think the woes of the first quarter won't be back. I predict the Suns by 15.

by MichiganSunsFan on Mar 1, 2008 8:11 PM MST reply actions

nice little hook by shaq

i really think in a few weeks he'll be hitting those much more

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 8:31 PM MST reply actions

I don't know

I watched Miami before and he does miss a huge amount of those

by RealTangiblesGuy on Mar 1, 2008 8:38 PM MST reply actions

that's not good for us then

I rarely saw miami, so, thanks sadly for that info

:-)

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 8:54 PM MST up reply actions

ok

it's official, bender is an idiot, eddie johnson was trying to make a point and bender just says blah blah blah, seriously, it seems like half the people in the nba...including stern can't ever be fired or replaced with people that know what they're doing....

the nba...its a job for life...

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 8:53 PM MST reply actions

Oh no....

whats happening....

by RealTangiblesGuy on Mar 1, 2008 9:05 PM MST reply actions

suns really are in trouble to

keep their spot in the playoffs playing like this

and even if we sneak in the playoffs, playing like this, it won't matter

I'm hoping it's just that period of adjustment...

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 9:10 PM MST reply actions

Seattle in line for a better than expected

first round draft pick, courtesy of your PHOENIX SUNS!!

by ZonaFlash on Mar 1, 2008 9:19 PM MST up reply actions

suns really are in trouble

Say goodbye to this season. The Heat have won as many games since the break as Phoenix. I'd like to say there is always next year but the Suns are aging and I just don't have much hope anymore...

by CJJ on Mar 1, 2008 9:35 PM MST up reply actions

Coach

Maybe it's time for a new one

by CJJ on Mar 1, 2008 9:38 PM MST up reply actions

yeah but

if we had brent barry we'd be up by 20 YOU KNOW IT

downintx.com

by kidjay on Mar 1, 2008 9:11 PM MST reply actions

hey...come on now

we all know we'd be up by at least 30!

so sad...this is a perfect example of why it's so much fun being a fan of tiger woods, he comes through

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 9:31 PM MST up reply actions

true--

but whats the fun in that, it's like cheering for the sun to set each day in the west...(okay maybe a bad metaphor...)

downintx.com

by kidjay on Mar 1, 2008 9:35 PM MST up reply actions

haha

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 9:43 PM MST up reply actions

Steve Kerr...

...inching closer and closer to moron.

by RealTangiblesGuy on Mar 1, 2008 9:19 PM MST reply actions

Stick a fork in us

We're done.

Thank God we got Shaq.

I hope we don't make the playoffs so we can lose D'Antoni and Kerr at the same time.

by zooropa on Mar 1, 2008 9:41 PM MST reply actions

Come on now...

They can get it together, still, in my opinion. In my opinion, if they play like this for another 3-4 games, it will become obvious that Shaq cannot be worked into Phoenix's offense. I think then, Phoenix should do this (its crazy but it might work):

1.) Figure out the team w/o Shaq by getting Boris fired up and by trying their best to get Raja in shape as a tier 1 defender.

2.) Sign a shooter (gordon).

3.) Use Shaq like an offensive Kurt Thomas and also use him to attack people in foul trouble.

4.) Hope Shaq doesn't throw a hissy fit.

by RealTangiblesGuy on Mar 1, 2008 9:46 PM MST reply actions

i think if you add shaq to our team with marion

and only lose non starters, we'd be better, but it's looking pretty bad. Nash is really causing a lot of this, whether he is playing hurt, or getting older, he is making so many turn overs, that it can't be overlooked anymore. I hope he is playing hurt,

also, in the past we had many scoring options, it's clear our number one option is now amare, and our best offensive player can't play like he did in the first q against a team like this..

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 9:46 PM MST reply actions

Tryron Lue

Reported on TV during the game that in addition to Girachunk that the Suns are looking at Tyron Lue....lending credance to the "something is wrong w/ Nash" theory.

Phoenix - where tired of things happening happens

by Seth Pollack on Mar 1, 2008 9:48 PM MST up reply actions

thanks...i think i heard that also

but hadn't heard of him before

Link to Lue info

Interesting, very good stats on shootings, etc just very low on assists, still, looks like he could help us. I wonder what it is with nash - back - something else? Better to let him get well than have him play with how he's playing...

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 9:52 PM MST up reply actions

I think the Suns are just drowning and

just looking for any player that might look like a life-preserver.

I don't think Lue is a very compelling option. Not bad in the locker tho.

by ZonaFlash on Mar 1, 2008 10:24 PM MST up reply actions

steve kerr's face during the piston game

the "uh oh what the hell did i do" face. you think he goes around town wearing that face now?

I WANT TO CRY MYSELF TO SLEEP

by najmsh on Mar 1, 2008 9:49 PM MST reply actions

Guh

Nash and Shaq combined for as many turnovers as the entire 76ers team.

We are so fucked.

by zooropa on Mar 1, 2008 9:49 PM MST reply actions

we just have to

believe. i'm not ready to tell lakers fans they're better yet. i hate lakers fans.

by najmsh on Mar 1, 2008 9:53 PM MST reply actions

i'm starting to feel like

we got bamboozled, like we just bought a $20,000,000 bar of gold and it's turning out to be a $3,000,000 something r-other

but, as some others have said, this is resting much more on other things as much as it is on shaq, nash's turnovers were number one,

well, after looking at stats, some other things that
really killed us, and like the last few games, it was us not doing stuff...

bell 0-4 fg / 3 for 9 3pt
hill 3-7 fg / 0 for 2 3pt

and most importantly, boris 8-10 fg, but then he barely even takes any shots in the second half...this should be the biggest thing, since he was doing so well, seriously, what the f (but, of course we're used to seeing this from boris..)

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 1, 2008 10:04 PM MST reply actions

a few hopeful signs...

okay i realize that things are bad. but rome wasn't built in a day. so...

good things i've noticed:
leandro has quietly turned his year around. he's starting to play a lot better, a very good thing because we need him.

boris has had like 2.5/6 good games with shaq. that beats his old ratio of 1/1000 good games without shaq. sorry, that came out more bitter than it should have

nash, bell, and hill have played like crap and we've still remained competitive (other than detroit). think about this. 3 of our starters have SUCKED over the last week, and we've still won a few games, kept it close against the lakers (side note: i'm not ready to crown a team that goes 10-2 against 8 losing teams the best in the league), and beat boston at their game.

amare has become the best power forward in the league.

that boston game: i think that is keeping me hopeful. for one game, they won with shaq. those are the games in the playoffs that shaq will win for us. grind it out, 30% shooting nights.

i'm still convinced we'll win a championship. we played horrible for a whole month at the beginning of the season and that was with the same team from the last two years. we'll integrate shaq and it'll be fine

steve nash is the best point guard in the league. if anybody could make it work, it'd be him.

our coach: watching d'antoni every day, its easy to think he's just dumb, but the man is considered one of the best coaches in the league. kobe called him an offensive genius after playing with him on team usa. the man will find a way to make this work.

lastly, its easy to compare ourselves against the lakers and mavs after their trades, but both of those teams had very easy schedules.

in the next two months we have about 7 hard games. i'm convinced we'll make the playoffs, especially because the warriors and rockets are in our conference. we just need to keep our head up

by najmsh on Mar 1, 2008 10:19 PM MST reply actions

Sucking on the perimeter....

Can anyone guess why Nash/Bell/Hill haven't been on recently?

I'm most concerned about Bell on defense. How has he been there?

by ZonaFlash on Mar 1, 2008 10:22 PM MST up reply actions

i don't know but i'm not worried

hill actually hasn't played that badly. and these guys are affected the most (run and gun really helped them out a lot. boris and leandro still play small ball, cuz they play a lot of the time with the second unit i.e. without shaq). bell has had dry spells before, he's having trouble with injuries, but he's the heart and soul of this team. he'll figure it out.

nash's play really really worries me though (still feels weird to say a guy with 23 pts and 11 assists is struggling). but i think if anybody will get back, nash will. nobody works harder. if he needs to shut it down for a few games, he will. and i really hope he does

by najmsh on Mar 1, 2008 10:24 PM MST up reply actions

Dont you think

Nash's troubles simply stem from re-orchestrating the team and dealing with spacing and off-the-ball movement?

Everyone's moving a bit weird once you have a guy like Shaq in the middle. That and the fact that only Bell and Barby are the only other 3 point shooters? The floors a bit clogged on offense these days.

I'm not concerned about Bell's shooting. I'm concerned about his effectiveness on defense these days. There may not be a problem. Just Curious.

by ZonaFlash on Mar 1, 2008 10:31 PM MST reply actions

I think some of the blame has to put on

Amare. I don't care if his numbers are up, he's been shoddy on D (except not as bad this game).

Others have already pointed out the other problems already. Bleh.

by alta on Mar 1, 2008 11:56 PM MST reply actions

Long days ahead for Suns fans....

Long indeed!

by lakersstillontop on Mar 2, 2008 11:45 AM MST reply actions

If only

we could have traded our worst contract and crappiest player for a proven all star....that would have been a brilliant move. To bad we couldn't do that.

where monsters hap

by Seth Pollack on Mar 2, 2008 1:43 PM MST up reply actions

the nba has a lot of problems,

and a lot of great things, one of the bad things is teams can make deals (whether involving money or favors) to get an all star level player for close to nothing. This is what the lakers did, what's scary is how good they'll be when Bynum returns..

On the laker trade, obviously it was a 10, but as far as being fair to the league, it was crooked, it's obviously a simple case of the league not caring because a large market team is improving, and so is the money the league brings in

On our trade for shaq, we still have time, but be gave up an all star for an older all star. It might work out, but we gave up too much. (trade picks)

by jasonsuns1 on Mar 2, 2008 6:47 PM MST up reply actions