 Phoenix Suns |
|
 Chicago Bulls |
| 31-13 | 17-25 | |
| 11:00 AM Mountain / 1:00 PM Eastern | ||
| TV: FSN AZ HD | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Steve Nash | PG | Kirk Hinrich |
| Raja Bell | SG | Thabo Sefolosha |
| Boris Diaw | SF | Joe Smith |
| Shawn Marion | PF | Andres Nocioni |
| Amare Stoudemire | C | Ben Wallace |
A note on the starting line-up's:
The Bulls will be without Luol Deng for a few weeks and Gordon and Duhon are listed as game time decisions.
Also, it looks like Grant Hill won't play due to his balky back. I will try and listen to the Suns pre-game on the radio and post an update if I hear anything.
Update [2008-1-27 12:21:9 by srp]: Just heard Paul Coro on the radio report that Hill isn't going to play. Neither will Gordon. No word on Duhon which pretty much says everything you need to know about him.
Suns Trends
The Suns are coming of what can either be described as a lucky win or a gritty come from behind performance that really seemed to lift the teams spirits in the locker room. Either way, the team finally dug deep into the travel bags and finally found their defensive intensity during the half time of the Cavs game. I just hope Aaron Nelson remembers to pack it on the top of the bags for the trip to Chicago.
Assuming Hill doesn't start or perhaps even play, let's see if Diaw can have another solid game and cross the Maginot Line. Hinrich is one of the few point guards that can give Steve fits so Diaw may really need to step it up and prove my theory about running the offense with Nash off the ball.
Bulls Trends
I have not followed the Bulls much this year as they crashed from a top Eastern team to what looks to be an also ran this year. I have to admit that I predicted the Bulls would win the East so clearly I am qualified to work for ESPN or perhaps as a political pundit.
srp's Keys to the Game
- Without Deng and perhaps Gordon and no real inside threat the Suns D can key on Hinrich who is in the running for Most Regressed Player but showed the other night that he's still got game.
- Its beging to sound cliche, but against teams like Chicago its really very simple. Show up. Win. Come home.
- And finally: Show up.
jasons1:yep, but in the spirit of MN, who knows. I feel better about our chances against the best teams than the worst, our suns teams has some motivation issues as a team recently, lets hope they can fix this.
Hopefully it won't come down to this but here's to a great LB game anyway:
Live Blogging:
Once again, we will be without the benefits of TexSun's live blogging. I will likely watch this game later in the day so look for a recap later tonight. Enjoy, and don't forget to flip over and watch some Celtics-Magic on ABC during the time outs. And for those in extended Suns-land that can't watch our game I would love to hear your take on the KG-Howard matchup!
And finally, check out BlogaBull for their take on the game. Although as of this moment they don't seem too excited based on the lack of a pre-game thread..Can't say's I blame them.