There's a Suns game tonight! Yay!
The Phoenix Suns get a visit from the Memphis Grizzlies tonight, and look to remain perfect at home against a resurgent Grizzlies team that has won 4 of their last 5 games.
The Suns (11-3) looked dominant against Detroit, where they shot a season best 58% from the field. They burned the Pistons from behind the arc shooting 11-18 threes. This game against Detroit was not an anomaly. Our beloved team is tough to beat at home, there shouldn't be any doubts about that. They have won 14 consecutive games in this building (counting last season) and remain being one of the few teams who haven't lost in their home court this season.
The fact that Memphis (5-9) has been playing very well as of late makes this game really interesting. Their offense has been clutch and, during their last 5 game stretch, they have been holding opponents to 96.6 points per game.
The Grizz
On their last game against The Kings, Rudy Gay took over and destroyed Sacramento literally on his own. He leads the Grizz averaging 21.9 points per game.
Marc Gasol is having a good year on the defensive end, leading the team in blocks. He blocked 4 shots in that win against the Kings. The Suns will have their hands full keeping him off the boards.
This is a team that's running on momentum but they will start their road trip playing against one of the toughest teams in the West (God, It feels really good to type that). The keys for them to win the game is to continue to shoot very well from the field and defend the three point line, cross their fingers the Suns are not shooting lights out and capitalize on The Suns mistakes. Easier said than done.
The Suns
On the other hand, Phoenix is rested and playing at home. Their mentality should be to put this one away early in the game so the starters can rest. I expect Gentry to use the bench for a lot of minutes and use active defenders (Dudley) on guys like Mayo and Rudy Gay.
Amar'e is on a roll and will look to score more than 20 points in his fifth consecutive game. He has been looking stronger and faster and I expect him to attack the basket throughout the whole game.
I have nothing but good things to say about Amar'e. I never expected him to recover this fast from a serious injury. There's no way you can play like this after an injury unless you work you ass off in the pre-season and in practice. Just like it happens with Nash, people might be taking for granted Amar'es' contributions to the team. He's deadly accurate from the field and I feel that he's doing his best on the defensive end. I'm really happy with the way that he's playing.
This is also the perfect opportunity for Gentry to give more minutes to Barbosa. He needs more playing time to shake off the rust. Some of you might have noticed that he's rushing shots and sometimes making dumb decisions on the court. This is easy to explain:
As a player, you feel and notice when your role has been reduced. You are happy for your team mates but you don't want to be left behind either. You want to contribute. So whenever you come in the game, most of the times you only have one thing in mind. Score.
You have witnessed the wonders of playing a lot of minutes, Channing Frye is a great example. He feels he belongs here and that's showing on the court. I would not give up on LB or look for a trade yet. He can get hot in a minute and prove his worth.
Wow! Sorry about that! I'm rambling already.
Get ready for the game tonight. It's going to be fun. The underdogs continue to impress. Here we come.
Go Suns!