The Kings are playing for their playoff lives. The Suns are playing for...well, they're playing just to get another game done and behind them. When there are two differing reasons for teams like that, it's no wonder the Suns lost the game - especially when the Suns beat the Kings by 18 points on Friday.
Mike Bibby made 9-12 three point shots and after he made the last one and strutted down the court, that showed me the difference between the two teams. The Suns just didn't have a lot of energy. At one point, Leandro Barbosa scored 17 straight points for the Suns. If he would have had an off day, the Suns would have been blown out.
The Suns starters (except for Diaw) played well. Sure, Nash had a few too many turnovers (7 total, more than half of all Suns turnovers), James had 4 fouls and zero points, the Suns only shot 30% from the three point line and only Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire got to the free throw line.
But even still the Kings had to have a stellar game to even have a chance to win. Mike Bibby shot 75% on three point shots and everyone is up in arms about that. They're saying he's one of the best shooters in the league and the Suns should have stayed on him. I didn't hear anyone saying that the last game when he shot 2-5 on three point shots and only made 8-21 shots on Friday night!
I've heard people complaining that Jalen Rose should have been out there more. Why? He played 9 minutes and scored zero points on 0-3 shooting. James Jones played 14 minutes and shot 0-2 while getting 4 fouls. Kurt Thomas played 11 minutes and shot 0-3.
I think Boris Diaw should continue to come off the bench. He got the start yesterday and played like garbage. Shooting 2-5, scoring 4 points and getting 2 rebounds? That's terrible considering what he had the past two games.
The Suns get to turn around and play the Grizzlies tonight and try to get the taste of this loss out of their mouth. I know people are upset because the Suns lost but to say that they are going to lose in the first round of the playoffs just because they lost this game is ludicrous. Wait until they have something to play for. Then see what they can do.
The Suns have won 7 out of their past 10 games. The Mavericks and Spurs have won 8 out of their past 10 games. It's not like the Suns are falling completely off course. Sure, it would be nice to see them win games but they'll do absolutely fine.
More on the Grizzlies game later today.