 Phoenix Suns |
|
 Charlotte Bobcats |
| 33-14 | 18-30 | |
| 7:00 PM Mountain / 9:00 PM Eastern | ||
| TV: FSN HD, NBA LP | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Steve Nash | PG | Raymond Felton |
| Raja Bell | SG | Jared Dudley |
| Grant Hill (or Boris Diaw?) | SF | Jason Richardson |
| Shawn Marion | PF | Emeka Okafor |
| Amare Stoudemire | C | Nazr Mohammed |
Let's see, the Jordancats are coming to town and will be without high-flyer Gerald Wallace who is resting up for the Dunk Contest. Oops. Wrong Gerald. Of course, here in Phoenix we have the Best Gerald EVER!
Without Wallace the Cats are a less then average team. With Wallace they are a less then average team. That doesn't mean (as we well know) that they can't rise up and beat a well above average team. But seriously, the most interesting thing about the Bobcats is the train wreck that is this phase of the Chosen One's career.
As for the home team, the big "controversy" seems to be if Diaw or Hill will start. No one, myself included, seems to care all that much. Except maybe Le Diaw who seems for some reason to play much better when he's on the floor with Nash and Amare. Go figure.
For the record, I was against this move arguing that Diaw is a better ball handler and can run the offense with LB playing off the ball. A solid enough position but clearly the missing variable here is heart man region. As in Diaw doesn't have the man region to run the team while Grant has spent his entire career being the focal point of the offense. There is that.
So, call me a flip-flopper but I am officially on the Diaw starting/Hill subbing band wagon. At least until it stops working.
Update [2008-2-4 17:27:4 by srp]:
I just heard on local radio that Hill is likely to start tonight. There was a quote from Coach D at practice today that sounded something like this: "er..uh...grr..I don't know...uh...I talked to both guys and neither player cares...". That's some awesome leadership right there. I knew starting Diaw was a horrible idea.
Update [2008-2-4 19:15 by TexSUN]:
Live blogging returns tonight. Check the comments of this post after tipoff. We may be hearing from srp a bit during the game as well. He'll be at the arena, Blackberry in hand. I'll relay his messages as they come in.
srp's Key's to the Game:
- Don't look too far forward to the Hornets (wow, I still can't get used to saying that)
- and remember that any team can beat any other team if the team in question doesn't come to play
- Play solid D and put an "x" on J-Rich
- Move the ball and don't play offense like the Knicks again. I am looking for 25+ assists in this one
- Don't make me regret not stiffing my buddy for $50 for tix to tonight's game