The folks at TNT must be disappointed. The non-Suns fans who witnessed the game must think the Suns suck. And to all of them I say $%^&* you. Good. We don't anymore bandwagon hoppers.
The Suns were out of this one early. They had little hope from the beginning, especially with Mr. Nash on the bench, wearing a nifty outfit with coat and tie. In his place was the Slovenian Sniper. 10/4/4 with 6 TO's in 27 minutes and a -26 to boot. But don't blame Dragon for this loss. A balanced Magic attack destroyed the Suns tonight. The Suns went 3-17 from downtown, Turk was a perfect 0-8 from the field and the Suns starters were a combined -125. The Suns were outclassed from the opening tip and had virtually no chance to win this one.
Don't act like you weren't surprised.
These are throwaway games and the beauty is that the Suns' record vs. Eastern Conference squads doesn't really matter when you are considering the playoff picture. I'd much rather blow these early East Coast trips than lose to our WC foes.
The smart money was on the Magic tonight and the Suns didn't answer the bell from the outset. The Magic had their way inside and there was nothing Hedo, Silo, the Earls or anyone else could do about it. The Suns' second unit totaled a a +35, which is good news. Earl Clark looked like an NBA player with 14 and 6, Dudz went 2-4, and Earl Barron went 2/2/1/1. That's looking at the bright side.
I am not too disturbed. These are throwaway games. Playing without Nash just illustrates what the Suns lose without the 2-time MVP and heart and soul of the squad. Trade him? NOOOOOOOOOOOO, never, nada, nunca, nadie. As I stated in the preview, this was the perfect game to play around, try to get some guys some playing time, and try to get some guys slumping of late to gain some confidence. Other than that, take your lumps and move on. Not unlike last night, there wasn't much hope, and if you live in the realm of reality, you were only hoping to see some productive minutes from guys like Clark, Silo, Barron, and Dudz. Yes, I held out some hope that the Dragon would put in a nice performance, but you can't always get what you want, said Mick and the crew.
Indeed. But this is the NBA, where the travel schedule is brutal and an East coast road trip is like running the gauntlet of death in some strange video game. IT NEEDED TO HAPPEN. And perhaps come crunch time in the Spring, the Suns may look to some of these games and wish they put in a better effort and perhaps picked up a W, because every W matters just like every L matters. But reality is a bitch, and sometimes there is nothing you can do. It's early on, and perhaps if you were asked what the Suns' record would be after 12 games, you would have been reluctant to predict a 6-6 record. It's much better than certain "intelligent" people predicted.
So the rest of the games on this trip are winnable. In fact, the Suns better win against crappy squads like the Bobcats and Rockets. Here's hoping 2 straight wins will even out the road trip and our lads in Purple and Orange can hold their heads high knowing they finished up a tough 4-game road trip 2-2. In the meantime, we can consider:
- The Suns interior D is abhorrent. There has to be a solution somewhere, somehow. They will not make 22 threes a game to save the squad. Guys either need to man up or BobSarv and LBlanks need to get on the horn to find a remedy.
- Did tonight's game prove that Goran isn't ready for prime time? Will he dominate one out of every 4 games? Those calling for him to take over Nash's job should think twice or maybe 3 times. The knee-jerk reaction is the worst. Avoid it, people. It's a long season and none of us can predict what is around the corner.
- Give the Suns 2 nights off and play this game again, I promise a much different result. I continue to harp on the schedule makers. It's not that they may hate the Suns -- every team has to go through difficult games -- but the Suns are not the Suns right now.
- Is Earl Clark ramping up for regular minutes? With RobLo out, it is only natural that Clark gets some minutes as a lock down guy. Yeah, Earl, let's try not to shoot from beyond 10, but this is your time to D it up and show us all that you can hang at least on one side of the ball.
- Is Earl Barron going to help the team? Signed as insurance, Barron probably won't see too much time until he proves he understands the system and his role in it. He played 16 minutes compared to Silo's 10. We cannot compare the two in terms of athleticism, and I'd wager Barron as a higher NBA IQ. Can either of them help the team? Remains to be seen. On tape, Barron looks to be a nice pickup. Siler can play the piano, but the guy has difficulty jumping, running and playing the game of basketball. Do the math there.
More Commentary:
The key to this season for we fans is to never get too high or low. W's versus the Lakes and Nuggets certainly got us high, but we're dealing with a pretty old team. Expect more piddly injuries from Nash, expect Hill to play great in spurts before needing a nap and expect inconsistency from Hedo for 15-20 more games. Way it goes. Jason Richardson is a streaky shooter. Bottom line. And he's hoisting up more shots now than ever before. Some nights he'll feel it, others not so much. Same goes for Channing Frye. Some nights he'll be a hero, other nights you're gonna want to strangle him. Welcome to Planet Orange 2010-11.
Applicable Tweets:
Dudz:
Tough game..It's always hard to play without ur leader.Pray for a speedy recovery for Nash.Off to Charlotte now.Back to where it all started
WarMachine:
Head held high momma raised a winner... On 2 the next...
PHX Seth:
The Magic screen the help man rotating out of the double team to the 3pt line better than any other team. Plenty of practice.
Onto Charlotte for a Winnable Game
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Paul Coro: Suns Stay Cautious With Nash's Groin
Suns vs Magic coverage