We all knew this day would come. And if you were one to look ahead on the schedule, you realized that this and the Chicago game were going to be potential land mines for your Phoenix Suns on this 5 game road trip. But considering the Suns won in Chicago, and everywhere else on this road trip, this loss tonight isn't so hard to take.
There isn't a whole lot to say about the Phoenix Suns 107-98 defeat at the hands of the Bucks. End of the 10 winning streak, end of the road trip. Tired and sore starters. Opening the first 0-8, Amare 4-13 at the half, 33% shooting. The second unit which made it respectable in the 4th.
There was also the Bogut injury. I'm not going to post it here, because I feel it would be sensationalistic (if that's a word). I'm sure you've all seen it, and if you have, you probably don't want to see it again. Unless you were looking for the alleged flagrant on Amare Stoudemire which DID NOT occur. At the most Amare touched Bogut's back. I could hit up thesarus.com for some synonyms, but that was basically it. No ill-intent, in fact Amare was trying to not foul Bogut. And Suns fans, we know how slight Amare's defense can be. It's my opinion that the officials were swayed by the ugliness of the injury coupled with Milwaukee's home town fans. End of story.
That's as passionate as I'm going to get about this game. It's back to Phoenix and back to business as the Suns face some serious Western Conference competition in the final 5 games of the season.
Props:
- LB dropped 21 on 7-13 shooting. He's not finishing like he did when he was healthy, but his shot is coming around. I was encouraged by a couple of drives to the hoop as well. But LB needs to stay under control. Don't force it-too much, Leandrinho.
- Dragon Dragic- I know it isn't possible now, but I want more Dragon. His poise and confidence on the court is a 180 from last season. He's tenacious on both ends, he has range from everywhere, and he never gives up on a play. Once he learns to set up his teammates, and the mental part of the game catches up with the physical, he's going to be a legitimate #1 PG in the NBA.
- Earl Clark- there is a before and after story here. That is, before D-League and after. Earl was aggressive and confident tonight. He even made an outside shot or two. He took the ball to the rim, and he skied for rebounds as if he owned the paint. Now it's time for consistency, and that won't happen until Earl gets regular minutes. It's all good though. It's not his time yet. But it will be soon.
As I insinuated in the preview for this one, sometimes it's good to get your butt kicked. Maybe not good in the standings and all that, but it's difficult to improve when you are winning. It's also difficult to win when you're tired. So rest up and heal up Suns, the next few weeks are going to be intense.
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