Tonight, on a back to back, I wonder if they won't coast just enough to lose. Or perhaps they will show some signs of improvement and come out strong.

Denver doesn't play D and other then Camby and without Nene they aren't a great rebounding team.

We will miss Shawn tonight though on Melo. That's another guy that the Matrix would regularly shut down.

Anyway, its a test. That's for sure. A lose to the 9th seed won't be a good sign at this point in the season. Time to step it up.

I would like to see DJ for a few minutes on Iverson.  I suppose Diaw/Hill will take Carmelo, and Amare has Kenyon Martin.  He should torch Martin.  In a battle against the aftereffects  of microfracture, Amare has fared better.  Amare is used to being covered by Camby, but Marcus has to cover Shaq.  Watch out for JR Smith off of the bench.

http://www.nba.com//news/nowitzki_suspended_080305.html

That should even things up, with Yao being out.

...meanwhile, Raja gets the three, and the Nuggets answer in less than 3 seconds with a two. 17-14, Suns.

...and now with the down the court to LB. Yeah, safe to say Nash is in one of those "assist zones" at the moment. Already seven and we're barely two-thirds through the first.

Numbers that are good:

• Nash with 7 assists; always a good indicator of how well the offense is flowing.
  
• Amare with 4-4 from the field.
  
• Suns with a one-rebound edge on the board.
  
• Shaq with some early involvement, especially on the boards.
  
• 64% from the field to the Nuggets' 47%.

• Amare and Raja with the two fouls
  
• Amare with the tech
  
• Shaq from the line (still an eyesore, even at 2-4).

I didn't notice either way last night in Portland but its clear that they are going away from that plan. The one time Nash did give to Shaq as he trailed up the floor Shaq and Bell weren't on the same page and he threw it away.

Other they that, no more high screen and rolls w/ the big fella. Its all either going in to the post or treating him like Brian Skinner on offense.

I like it.

Two straight fastbreak scores brings the Nuggets lead to nine at 49-40. (When can we bring Nash and Amare back in?)

I say they make the POs.  Maybe HOU does not...

...meanwhile, nice steal by Diaw. Gets rewarded with the easy one under the basket.

Redemption for Nash with the three, though. 45-50, Nuggets.

Good news: Aside from that dry spell when Nash was resting, the offense has looked better than it has maybe since before the trade. Gotta get some stops in the second half, though, but the nice run at the end made it a lot more respectable.

Still too many turnovers. Shaq has five. Maybe things are moving a bit too fast for him? :)

Suns are outshooting the Nuggets 56%-52%, and outrebounding them too, but the Nuggets still have 10 more shot attempts thanks to the turnovers (most of which went straight in the hole on the fast break, making the defense look worse than it actually is). In other words, take care of the ball and there's no reason the Suns shouldn't come back to win this because they're pretty much getting it done every where else.

That's right, Senior Citizen Shaq!

More, please.

...meanwhile, the Nuggets restore the 12-point lead after the Suns fail to make good on two rare consecutive stops.

But, the Nuggets get it back plus one, so we're heading the wrong direction.

I think Shaq is looking fine on the court and +/- and stat wise.  

The rest of the team needs to speed it up a bit to bring back the Matrix magic.  I felt Amare was lethargic.  Boris will get better getting his passes right in the shooters' pockets.

We still have to work on TOs but that will come when the team plays together more.  I prefer to see the aggression and that they are trying things.  Now is the time to make the mistakes and learn what each player can and cannot do.

Wait, Shaq and Nash on the bench with 4 minutes to go?  I'll hold that thought.