Not all that much new from Suns practice today. They practiced. Then they were done practicing and some of them stayed and took more shots (like Hedo, Robin and Goran) and others (Steve Nash and Alvin Gentry) answered silly questions.
That's the rhythm of things.
- Nash still says they have a lot of work to do but that they aren't far away and hopefully can get ready in next 8 or 9 days and if not he hopes they can play their butts off and get better as the season goes on.
- That's pretty much Steve's standard answer right now. I've heard it at least five times. It must get old for him. That's followed by answer number 2...
- It comes down to offensive and defensive cohesion which is about incorporating the new guys.
- The Suns are horrible from three point line but Nash and Gentry think they are getting good looks and just missing them. That's a lot about getting into game shape. Neither are worried about it, nor am I. This team has too many good shooters to be this bad. Suns are hitting on 25.4% of their three's in the preseason. No WAY that carries over.
- Nash again says the 2nd unit will have to be really good this year but they need time...cohesion...new players...understand each other...
- Looking forward to next two games playing with the regular rotations...still have a lot of work to do
- I asked Nash aboot the "polite" reception Canada gave Hedo. He said, "I was surprised. Toronto is supposed to be the big bad city but all my homies back in Vancouver were the ones who really gave him a shit-kicking. I don't know what's going on if they're getting soft in Toronto or what."
- Asked about the small crowd in Toronto, Nash cited "preseason apathy"
- BOOM, sucka!
- Oh, sorry. I don't want to offend any Canadians. We still love you and Nash also mentioned the blocked streets downtown and how hard it must have been to get to the game on a Sunday morning.
- Gentry is setting the exception bar to "low", reminding us it's a "long, long season" and that even last year when they started 14-3 he still wasn't sure how good the team was. So, I think patience and the long-view probably applies to the 1-5 preseason record as well. Or not, they've been pretty horrible so far. You're call whether you think it matters.
- Coach says he's focused on trying to get better each day with defensive rotations and rebounding and if they do that perhaps the Suns will be very good. Eventually.
- Gentry said he's going to play "those guys" about 30 minutes in these next two preseason games. I think he means Nash, Hill, J-Rich, and Hedo.
- Gentry's not sure if this year's second unit will be as good as last year's but hopes they will be. He thinks last year they won 10 or 12 games for the team. They need to develop the bench this year so they "play with the confidence that group had." He called them "the most important second unit in the league" -- talking about last year's bench.
- Asked about Channing Frye's poor shooting in the preseason, Gentry joked, "I'm not sure if he thinks it's the playoffs or what." But then went on to say that at the end of the day he'll hit 150 or so three's. Again, no worries. Are you worried?
Warriors' Amundson Needs Surgery on Finger
Amundson suffered a fracture in his right index finger during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers – and the injury will require surgery.
Amare back to playing center for D'Antoni. That can only end one way...
The Works: Amar'e at Center (Again); Can the Blazers and Jazz Contend? -- NBA FanHouse
Stoudemire survived at center in Phoenix because of Marion. The Matrix rebounded as well as Amar'e (despite the size difference); instead of a center-power forward tandem, the Suns essentially played two power forwards. That left some deficit on defense and the glass, but the otherworldly offense, led by Nash and Stoudemire outweighed the bad year after year.
Toronto really really hates Turkoglu. I think they just have too many newspapers up there and not enough other things to worry about.
- Raptors defeat Suns in the return of Turkoglu | The Toronto Observer Turkoglu was certainly booed any time his name was announced or when he touched the ball, but the former Raptor — who demanded a trade in the off-season and made some negative comments about the city and franchise — didn’t hear much from the crowd simply because he hardly played.
- No love for Turkoglu in T.O. - The Globe and Mail Turkoglu's body language and complaints about his use were one of the subtexts to the demoralizing 2009-10 season. He bobbed and weaved around issues after the game Sunday, saying he never bad-mouthed Toronto, holding back criticism of head coach Jay Triano or general manager Bryan Colangelo.
- Turkoglu shrugs off Toronto's cold reception "Turk always has his sense of humour going," Raptors point guard Jarrett Jack said. "I’m sure he’s not going to let it grasp on to him too much. He’s just going to shrug it off, smile a little bit and just go about his business." "I didn’t get much love when I was here, too," Turkoglu mused. "So it’s normal when I’m not here, I’ll get the boos."
- Turkoglu boos himself | Basketball | Sports | Toronto Sun As it was for most of last season, Turkoglu appears to be out of shape and was sucking wind quite frequently during Sunday’s game, particularly when he hustled back to play defence. It will be interesting to see how long before the fans in Phoenix, and his teammates, turn on him. At one point during the first half, as Turkoglu waited to return to the court, a member of the Raptors stats crew asked him how he was doing. "Better now," he said, tugging at his Suns jersey.
- Feschuk: Fans rip 'Turkaboo,' Turkoglu rips Raptors - thestar.com "People have to realize it’s not always the players," said Turkoglu. "People just got to see what’s really going on and make a judgment after that. I’m not a random guy. Chris (Bosh) was an all-star. Other guys, all-stars, too. You have to ask them what was the reason that they left. Then people will realize . . . instead of just going after the players. (Vince) Carter, Tracy (McGrady), whatever. I know (Bosh), I hope he doesn’t get booed. He gave a lot of good stuff for this organization. I think he deserves to be welcomed in a nice way."
- Tip-In: In Rhythm, Raptors Beat the Suns 121-100 - Raptors HQ In two pre-season games, the Raptors showed that they may have found a fairly good team that they may be able to beat pretty consistently. Our Dinos managed to push around the Suns after they got into a rhythm, and despite having trouble for most of the first half, the Raptors managed to take control in the third and never let go.
Robin is important...in case you weren't sure about that yet
Robin Lopez to make or break the 2010-11 Phoenix Suns | Valley of the Suns With the season right around the corner and zero help up front, Suns fans will find out real soon whether or not Lopez can be that "premier" center he’s expected to be, not only on the offensive end, but defensively and on the glass.