Suns Lose in a Blowout

Sure, the score was 124-119 but it really wasn't that close.  In fact, the Suns were down 20 in the first quarter, closed to within 7 in the 2nd and in the 3rd quarter they were down by 20 again.  Was it just poor play by the Suns or excellent play by the Warriors?  (Golden State of Mind got a little excited and is trying to increase the score...they're reporting 125-119.  Come on guys!  We need a break!  Your team killed the Suns...do you have to increase the score on us too??)  While I would like to say both, I really don't think it was excellent play by the Warriors.  It was just a lack of intensity and attention from the Suns.  Jason Richardson was shooting 10% in the past few games.  Last night's game?  He shot 14-23.  8-13 from the three-point line.  At one point he made 7 shots in a row.  Why weren't the Suns guarding him?  When the Suns were allowing Mike Bibby shoot from the three-point line and he beat them by himself, I argued that it was the Suns' game plan to let him shoot and if he beat the Suns, it was because they decided to stop everyone else and let him do it single-handedly.  But after watching last night's game, I think TexSUN was right.  Teams are watching the tape of the Kings beating the Suns and are learning how to play them on the three-point line.  It is now 2 teams out of three that have had someone shoot well from the three point line.  Don't expect Denver and Dallas to try something different when they see that beating the Suns from the three-point line is working.

If I had to pick one redeeming quality from this loss, I could choose from the following:

1.  The 2nd-string players played well in the 4th quarter.  It was great that Mike D'Antoni kept them in the game when they got it within reach.  Why reward the players who got behind by 20 points by putting them in at the end of the game?
2.  With Golden State winning, they are only a game behind the Clippers for the 8th spot in the West.  I would love to see a matchup of the Mavericks and Warriors.  The Warriors have beat the Mavericks twice in the regular season.  Obviously the playoffs are different and the Mavericks would have a great chance of winning the series but it would be a fun matchup to watch.

The Suns face Denver tonight in what could be a matchup for the first round of the playoffs.  Will the Suns actually show up tonight?  Or will they continue to fall to teams they should beat and continue to let the Spurs catch up to them for the 2nd seed in the playoffs?  More on the game later today.