"In the end, the lost lead is what probably puts the nail in a lost season."
-Mr. Coro
so true.
The Phoenix Suns fought hard but couldn't close the deal tonight. They had the lead throughout the game. They led in the 4th quarter, and they lost that lead as the New Orleans Hornets went on a 9-4 run to end the game.
The Suns were without the services of Marcin Gortat in the 4th. The Polish Hammer somehow managed to get his faced tangled up with Steve Nash's head and busted his nose. Gortat joined Vince Carter (flu symptoms?), Mickael Pietrus (knee), and Robin Lopez (sucking) on the bench during crunch time.
Paul went for 22/5/7 for the Hornets, but the awful truth is that the Suns were set to get some space at the outset of the 2nd half and failed to do so. The Hornets hung around just long enough to break through on the Suns and hold on for a W as the Suns scored 4 points in the final 4 minutes in the 4th quarter.
The Suns are technically still alive for the postseason, but they once again blew a chance to makeup ground on Memphis who lost to Chicago tonight. This is the bright side people, but not the delusional side. It would take a monumental effort and tremendous amount of luck (which the Suns haven't seemed to maintain this season) for our beloved to make the post-season.
The Good News:
- Aaron Brooks played like Aaron Brooks
- Grant Hill had an insane blocked shot on Jarrett Jack
- Gortat went 18 and 10 in 3 quarters of play
- J-Chill played 15 minutes.
That is all i can think of to be happy about. This game should have been a win en route to a series of wins for the Suns en route to a huge and exciting and fun playoff push. But it wasn't meant to be.
I hate cliches.
More Bad News/Commentary:
Watching Robin Lopez pick up 4 fouls, a T, and 1 (one) rebound in 4 minutes of play is pathetic. If Lopez is healthy as everyone is claiming, how is it that his game has gone to crap? Amare's absence perhaps? The emergence of Gortat? I'm just spitballin' here. What's the major change from last season when Lopez played well and aggressive, and somewhat consistent? I'm at a loss really, if I am missing something, please someone educate me.
It's easy to say that you like Aaron Brooks after watching him tonight. So, I will go ahead and say it. This kid is a player. He's tenacious and fiery and aggressive and a little wild. I like it. It's got style to it. Tonight Brooks hit a couple of 35-footers. That kind of range is insane. Not sure if Brooks could ever become a top flight PG in the NBA. Doubtful. Nevertheless he's fun to watch.
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