Bright Side Of The Sun - Full Coverage: Suns vs BlazersDedicated to Phoenix Suns Basketball since 2006https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47819/bs-fv.png2012-11-21T21:25:31-07:00http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/rss/stream/34412192012-11-21T21:25:31-07:002012-11-21T21:25:31-07:00Suns Drub Trail Blazers, Exorcise Some Demons
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>Alvin Gentry's lineup changes made all the difference tonight for the Suns. Markieff Morris and Shannon Brown played very well as starters, while Jared Dudley made his first big hustle plays of the season as part of the second unit. The Suns shot something like 95% for the game - just as Gentry drew it up.</p> <p>For only the third time all season, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Phoenix Suns</a> won the first quarter. Then they won second, and the third and finally the fourth to finish with a 27 point win over Portland - 114-97.</p>
<p>This was the most complete win of the young season, and boy did the Suns need it. New starters <span>Shannon Brown</span> and <span>Markieff Morris</span> brought energy to the group and the Suns built leads in both the first and third quarters as a result.</p>
<p><span>Luis Scola</span> and <span>Jared Dudley</span> played necessarily scrappy, which was new to one of them this season. The second unit played the whole game with a lead, though they made it a little scary at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Blazers were playing their starters in an attempt to get back into the game, and the second unit struggled to find offense. Then Jermaine O'Neal got the ball on the block a few times, and the Suns ramped up their energy. O'Neal finished with a season high 17 points.</p>
<p><span>Alvin Gentry</span> was a master mixer tonight, finding the right mix between the starters and the bench. It helped that Markieff Morris and Shannon Brown played better than they have played most of the season so far. And it helped that Myers Leonard is bad on defense. Like, really bad. Marcin put him in the spin cycle several times in the first half, clearing out the basket for layups by the time he was done. Marcin finishes the first half with 16 points - all on the inside - to go along with 6 rebounds.</p>
<p>Let me digress a bit on rebounding - the Suns were not very good. In the first half alone, the Suns allowed two missed Portland shots to hit the ground and still allowed Portand to grab the ball and keep possession. Luckily, Portland only scored once.</p>
<p>It also helped that the Suns played very good defense on <span>Damian Lillard</span> all night, with <span>Sebastian Telfair</span> and <span>Goran Dragic</span> hassling him and staying in front of him all night. <span>P.J. Tucker</span> was a hound on Batum or Matthews as well for the entire second quarter, which helped further disrupt the Blazers offense. He was so good that Beasley didn't play in the second quarter at all.</p>
<p>Many times, Portland's only good play was drawing the big man on a drive then dumping to Myers Leonard for the now-open ten-footer. Leonard was surprisingly good at making those - even shot-putting one from the elbow. But he more than lost that value by allowing Gortat to own him on the other end of the court.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, Damian Lillard is a good player, folks. He can hit shots with a hand in his face, even changing the shot in the air to get a better look.</p>
<p>The Suns came out hot in the second half, going on a 10-2 run to open the quarter and take a 21-point lead in the third. Quite the departure from the old starting lineup, indeed. It looks as though the Suns came out ready to prove something to themselves tonight, and they did just that.</p>
<p>Portland ended Phoenix's mini-run by going at Beasley on a drive to the hoop (fouled by Beasley), and then giving it to Aldridge for a drive on Gortat (two points).</p>
<p>The Suns began to lose their focus once they got a 17-point lead while the Blazers ramped up their own focus. <span>Ronnie Price</span> even hit a three-pointer during a slow run to close the gap.</p>
<p>But the Suns tonight were making their shots and that's all that matters when you have the lead. Dragic personally stemmed the tide with nice passes, shotmaking and a fast break steal after the lead had been whittled to 12.</p>
<p>Then Morris had a heck of a sequence fighting for an offensive rebound, then getting the ball back and spinning to the hoop for a nice layup.</p>
<p>Portland kept making shots, and kept the Suns within one long dry spell of a close game. But Dragic wasn't having any of it though. He made nice play after nice play on offense and defense, and the Suns ended the third quarter with an 18-point lead, including 8 free throws by Dragic.</p>
<p>Portland gave up the ghost when Jermaine O'Neal and P.J. Tucker helped the Suns build a 23-point lead against the Portland starters, who began the fourth quarter in an attempt to make one last run.</p>
<p>This was the Suns' best all-around game. Enjoy it, folks. The Blazers had won three straight games while the Suns were mired in the muck of losing 4 of 5. This was a good win.</p>
<p>The Suns were shooting 59.6% through three quarters, and the scrubs of the scrubs (<span>Kendall Marshall</span> and <span>Wesley Johnson</span>) played the final four minutes and combined for a couple nice plays.</p>
<p>And for the record, the Suns are 3-0 when I sit in press row.</p>
https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/11/21/3678396/game-recap-suns-blast-blazers-114-87-exorcise-some-demonsDave King2012-11-21T18:00:30-07:002012-11-21T18:00:30-07:00Suns Try To Cool Blazers - GAME ON!
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<figcaption>Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<div class="pane sports_data_widget events clearfix"><div class="next_game"> <h3>Next Game</h3> <div class="pane-body"> <p class="game-title"><a href="https://www.blazersedge.com/">Portland Trail Blazers</a> <br> <span class="blog_link">@ <a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Phoenix Suns</a> </span></p> <p class="game-info"><span>Wednesday, Nov 21, 2012, 7:00 PM MST</span><br> US Airways Center</p> <div class="coverage"> <div class="entry"> <h5><a href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/11/21/3676274/game-preview-suns-host-trailblazers-7pm-az-time">Game Preview: Suns Host Trailblazers, 7PM AZ Time</a></h5> <p class="byline"><span class="author">posted by <a href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/authors/dave-king">Dave King</a></span> <span class="time">about 3 hours ago</span></p> <p class="byline">21 comments | 0 recs</p> </div> <div class="entry"> <h5><a href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/11/21/3675074/d-day-is-here-for-phoenix-suns-travel-day-is-here-for-the-rest-of-us">D-Day is here for Phoenix Suns, Travel Day is here for the rest of us</a></h5> <p class="byline"><span class="author">posted by <a href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/authors/dave-king">Dave King</a></span> <span class="time">about 7 hours ago</span></p> <p class="byline">18 comments | 0 recs</p> </div> </div> <p class="foot clearfix"><span class="link-more"><span>Complete Coverage ></span></span></p> </div> </div></div>
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https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/11/21/3677142/gamethread-phoenix-suns-host-portland-trail-blazers-7pmDave King2012-11-21T11:50:21-07:002012-11-21T11:50:21-07:00Preview: Suns try to right ship, face Blazers
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>It will be a tough game for the Suns to win, considering how great Portland is playing lately and how poorly the Suns' starters have been playing. Portland has won three straight games, while Phoenix has lost three straight (and four of five).</p> <div style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 5px; margin: 0px;">
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><b>When: </b>Tonight, tipoff at 7:12PM AZ Time (Mountain)</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><b>Where:</b> US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><b>Watch: </b>FSNAZ (locally), NBA League Pass</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;">Tonight, the <a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Phoenix Suns</a> (4-7) try to right the ship against the Portland Trailblazers (5-5) after three free days or workouts and practices.</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><span>Alvin Gentry</span> will introduce a new lineup tonight, already tiring of the quintuplet of <span>Goran Dragic</span>, <span>Jared Dudley</span>, <span>Michael Beasley</span>, <span>Luis Scola</span> and <span>Marcin Gortat</span>. Those guys have generated at least a 10-point deficit at some point in 10 of their first 11 games. Only once this season has the starting unit not been on the floor for a 10+ point deficit, and that was against until-recently-winless Detroit at home. Coincidentally, that was the last time the Suns played effective defense against another team.</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;">On the other hand, the second unit has been dynamite lately. While the starters have dug hole after hole, the second unit has clawed their way out of that hole in all but a couple of games. At least one, if not three of those guys will be rewarded for their efforts with a starting spot tonight.</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;">The Trailblazers, who the Suns beat in the preseason, have exceeded expectations to the tune of a .500 record that includes three-game winning streak against Sacramento, Houston and Chicago. They have also beaten the <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Lakers</a> and a second time over Houston. Their losses have been to OKC, Dallas, <a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Clippers</a>, <a href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Spurs</a> and <a href="https://www.peachtreehoops.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Hawks</a>.</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;">Rookie PG Damian Lillard (taken 6 spots ahead of <span>Kendall Marshall</span>) has been an impressive, scoring 19 points per game and dishing out 6.1 assists. LaMarcus Aldridge leads the team in scoring (21.1) while J.J. Hickson leads the team in rebounds (10.6). Expect to see a lot of Portland's best players. Four Portland starters average at least 37.5 minutes per game, with J.J. Hickson getting 28.5 minutes.</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"> </p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">The History:</span></p>
<ul style="padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 5px;">
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 15px; list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;"><span class="postbody">Suns have won three consecutive games against Portland.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 15px; list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;"><span class="postbody">The two Suns wins in 2011-12 season were by a combined 43 points.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 15px; list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;"><span class="postbody">Suns also won the preseason game over Portland, where Damian Lillard played like a lost rookie. Since then, Lillard has been playing much better.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 15px; list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;">In 2010, the Suns won a heated playoff series 4-2 :)</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.25em;">By the Numbers:</h3>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="postbody"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2012-2013 OVERALL NBA RANKINGS PER GAME</span></span> <br style="line-height: 0.75em;"></span></p>
<h5 style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1em;"><b><span class="postbody">Points:</span></b></h5>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><i><span class="postbody"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Suns: </span></span></i><span class="postbody">98.3 (14th) </span><span class="postbody"><span><i style="font-weight: bold;">Blazers</i>: 100.4</span></span><span class="postbody"> (7th)</span></p>
<h5 style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1em;"><span class="postbody"><b>Points Allowed:</b></span></h5>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><i><span class="postbody"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Suns: </span></span></i><span class="postbody">104.3 (30th)</span><span class="postbody"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i>Blazers:</i> </span><span>101.8</span></span><span class="postbody"> (28th)</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><i><span class="postbody"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></i><span class="postbody"></span></p>
<h5 style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1em;"><span class="postbody"></span></h5>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><span class="postbody"></span></p>
<h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.25em;">Stats:</h3>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"></p>
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<thead class="super-head"><tr>
<th class="td-first"></th> <th colspan="2"></th> <th colspan="3">FG</th> <th colspan="3">3PT</th> <th colspan="3">FT</th> <th colspan="3">Rebounds</th> <th colspan="6">Misc</th>
</tr></thead>
<thead><tr>
<th class="td-first"></th> <th>G</th> <th>M</th> <th>M</th> <th>A</th> <th>Pct</th> <th>M</th> <th>A</th> <th>Pct</th> <th>M</th> <th>A</th> <th>Pct</th> <th>Off</th> <th>Def</th> <th>Tot</th> <th>Ast</th> <th>TO</th> <th>Stl</th> <th>Blk</th> <th>PF</th> <th>PPG</th>
</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>LaMarcus Aldridge</span></td>
<td>10</td>
<td>38.8</td>
<td>8.4</td>
<td>19.3</td>
<td>43.5</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>4.3</td>
<td>5.4</td>
<td>79.6</td>
<td>1.7</td>
<td>5.7</td>
<td>7.4</td>
<td>3.6</td>
<td>2.0</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>1.4</td>
<td>2.7</td>
<td class="td-last">21.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Nicolas Batum</span></td>
<td>10</td>
<td>39.5</td>
<td>7.2</td>
<td>15.0</td>
<td>48.0</td>
<td>3.1</td>
<td>7.6</td>
<td>40.8</td>
<td>3.3</td>
<td>4.2</td>
<td>78.6</td>
<td>1.5</td>
<td>4.6</td>
<td>6.1</td>
<td>3.1</td>
<td>2.7</td>
<td>2.1</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td>1.9</td>
<td class="td-last">20.8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Damian Lillard</span></td>
<td>10</td>
<td>37.5</td>
<td>6.8</td>
<td>15.2</td>
<td>44.7</td>
<td>2.4</td>
<td>6.2</td>
<td>38.7</td>
<td>3.0</td>
<td>3.6</td>
<td>83.3</td>
<td>0.7</td>
<td>2.5</td>
<td>3.2</td>
<td>6.1</td>
<td>3.3</td>
<td>1.5</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>1.9</td>
<td class="td-last">19.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Wesley Matthews</span></td>
<td>10</td>
<td>38.2</td>
<td>5.8</td>
<td>13.2</td>
<td>43.9</td>
<td>2.2</td>
<td>5.4</td>
<td>40.7</td>
<td>2.6</td>
<td>3.9</td>
<td>66.7</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>2.6</td>
<td>3.4</td>
<td>2.4</td>
<td>1.8</td>
<td>1.8</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>2.9</td>
<td class="td-last">16.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>J.J. Hickson</span></td>
<td>10</td>
<td>28.5</td>
<td>4.3</td>
<td>8.8</td>
<td>48.9</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>1.7</td>
<td>2.6</td>
<td>65.4</td>
<td>4.0</td>
<td>6.6</td>
<td>10.6</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>1.8</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>2.0</td>
<td class="td-last">10.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Ronnie Price</span></td>
<td>8</td>
<td>14.6</td>
<td>1.5</td>
<td>3.6</td>
<td>41.4</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>1.3</td>
<td>30.0</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>66.7</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>1.4</td>
<td>1.8</td>
<td>1.5</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>3.0</td>
<td class="td-last">3.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Meyers Leonard</span></td>
<td>10</td>
<td>17.4</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td>2.5</td>
<td>48.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>1.4</td>
<td>1.6</td>
<td>87.5</td>
<td>1.5</td>
<td>2.4</td>
<td>3.9</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>0.7</td>
<td>2.3</td>
<td class="td-last">3.8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Luke Babbitt</span></td>
<td>5</td>
<td>4.0</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>2.0</td>
<td>40.0</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td>1.6</td>
<td>37.5</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td class="td-last">2.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Sasha Pavlovic</span></td>
<td>9</td>
<td>12.8</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>2.0</td>
<td>38.9</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td>36.4</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>1.0</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td>0.7</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>1.0</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>1.1</td>
<td class="td-last">2.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Nolan Smith</span></td>
<td>6</td>
<td>5.8</td>
<td>0.7</td>
<td>1.3</td>
<td>50.0</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>50.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>1.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td class="td-last">1.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Joel Freeland</span></td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6.4</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>2.4</td>
<td>8.3</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>100.0</td>
<td>1.0</td>
<td>1.0</td>
<td>2.0</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td class="td-last">1.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Will Barton</span></td>
<td>7</td>
<td>5.0</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>1.9</td>
<td>23.1</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>33.3</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>0.7</td>
<td>1.1</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td class="td-last">1.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Jared Jeffries</span></td>
<td>9</td>
<td>8.6</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>1.3</td>
<td>25.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>50.0</td>
<td>0.7</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>1.0</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>1.4</td>
<td class="td-last">0.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first"><span>Victor Claver</span></td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4.7</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.7</td>
<td>0.7</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td>0.0</td>
<td class="td-last">0.0</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<hr class="widget_boundry_marker">
<br id="1353522573443"><p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"> </p>
<h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.25em;">Key to a Suns Victory:</h3>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;">Both teams prefer scoring to defending. The key for the Suns is to score more points over the course of the game.</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;">On a more serious note, Goran Dragic and <span>Sebastian Telfair</span> need to outplay Blazers rookie Damian Lillard on both ends of the court. And Michael Beasley/PJ Tucker need to outwork Nicolas Batum at the SF position. If Lillard and Batum both score their season numbers (combining for nearly 40 points) then this will be a tough game to win.</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"> </p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;"><br style="line-height: 0.75em;"></p>
<h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.25em;">The Bottom Line:</h3>
<p style="line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;">With Gentry mixing up the lineups, we have no idea what we are going to get tonight. We can only hope that the Suns will play as hard as possible. And when they do, good things tend to happen.</p>
</div>
https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/11/21/3676274/game-preview-suns-host-trailblazers-7pm-az-timeDave King2012-11-21T07:32:18-07:002012-11-21T07:32:18-07:00New Lineup to debut tonight - A guessing game
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1ec-DP4ODPlFRHsZ0jchR03MRpw=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/3672377/2012114_pjc_as8_338.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Or, should we call it "control your eating" day in anticipation of eating three days' worth of food tomorrow. Whatever we call it today, coach Alvin Gentry is calling out a new starting lineup.</p> <p>Whether big or small, SOME kind of change to the Suns starting lineup is coming tonight against Portland. It could be as benign and obvious as swapping <span>Shannon Brown</span> and <span>Jared Dudley</span>. Or it could be as crazy as swapping out the power forward and center too, though a change that sweeping would certainly be a temporary "message" more than a permanent change.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Phoenix Suns</a> coach <span>Alvin Gentry</span> has not yet named a new starting lineup, but he has dropped a couple of ambiguous statements the last couple of days that could be twisted and loosely interpreted as "clues".</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"[Morris] can get anything he wants," coach Gentry said about second-year power forward <span>Markieff Morris</span> to suns.com either yesterday or Monday, "If it would make him continue to play well and be as aggressive as he is."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Gentry was not talking about playing time. He was referring to his invitation of Morris for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, and whether Gentry should buy an extra turkey just for his extra-large guest.</p>
<p>Yet, you could twist and turn that comment into a huge vote of confidence for Morris, and even conclude that Gentry would gladly give <span>Marcin Gortat's</span> and <span>Luis Scola's</span> servings of turkey to the Philly boy if he plays well in his new starting role on Wednesday.</p>
<p>But no one would make that leap of faith and logic from such an innocent comment about a national holiday, would they?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"He will be in the game when we need stops," Gentry said of <span>P.J. Tucker</span>, when asked if Tucker's spot-minute role will change going forward.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On the surface, the comment implies that any lineup change would exclude Tucker from consideration. Gentry likes what Tucker brings when they need that extra boost of defense and hustle.</p>
<p>However, one could look closer at the lackluster play of the team when Tucker is NOT in the lineup as well as their last-in-the-league defense, and conclude that Gentry needs Tucker the whole forty-eight minutes. In that scenario, Gentry was telling us that Tucker is not only a starter but he's irreplaceable for even a minute a game.</p>
<p>Right?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Gortat's 88-game starting streak could end at tipoff against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blazersedge.com/">Trail Blazers</a>" - Paul Coro on azcentral.com</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Paul doesn't attribute any quotes or inside information to <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fsports%2Fsuns%2Farticles%2F20121120gentrys-lineup-changesremain-under-wraps.html%23protected&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightsideofthesun.com%2F2012%2F11%2F21%2F3675074%2Fd-day-is-here-for-phoenix-suns-travel-day-is-here-for-the-rest-of-us" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">this statement in his article on azcentral.com</a> after practice yesterday, but Paul always has scoops on player moves before they happen. He called the signing and keeping of fourth-PG Diante Garrett and PF longshot <span>Luke Zeller</span> last month, to name two very recent examples. He also called the drafting of <span>Kendall Marshall</span> and just about every Suns draft pick in the last eight years he covered the team.</p>
<p>Would Gentry actually start Jermaine O'Neal ahead of Marcin Gortat? If so, would that be a permanent change or just a "message" to the Polish Gazelle/Hammer/Machine? Most likely, the latter. O'Neal does not have the stamina to play starters' minutes, so he'd most likely play the Lopez role of 2010-11 - taking up the first few minutes of the first and third quarters, with the rest of the game up to the player working the hardest that night.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"__(crickets)__" - Gentry on the small forward and point guard positions</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Neither tongue in cheek nor pointed message have blown in the direction of the small forward (Beasley) or point guard (Dragic) positions in any context since Gentry proclaimed upcoming changes.</p>
<p>One could take that as a sure sign Dragic and Beasley will have their names called tonight.</p>
<p>One could also twist and turn that silence into a sure sign that Gentry can't trust himself to keep a secret, so he's not even mentioning the ACTUAL changes he wants to make tonight.</p>
<p>A few potential starting lineups, then</p>
<p>Dragic/Brown/Beasley/Scola/Gortat</p>
<p>Dragic/Tucker/Beasley/Scola/Gortat</p>
<p>Dragic/Dudley/Tucker/Scola/Gortat</p>
<p>Dragic/Dudley/Johnson/Scola/Gortat</p>
<p>Dragic/Dudley/Beasley/Morris/Gortat</p>
<p>Dragic/Dudley/Beasley/Morris/O'Neal</p>
<p>Dragic/Dudley/Beasley/Scola/O'Neal</p>
<p>Dragic/Brown/Tucker/Morris/Gortat</p>
<p>Dragic/Brown/Tucker/Morris/O'Neal</p>
<p>Telfair/Brown/Tucker/Morris/O'Neal</p>
<p>... (and so on and so on)</p>
<p>We don't know if any of these changes will happen, but SOMETHING will change tonight.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"We'll take one guy or two guys or three guys or four guys out of the lineup, and we'll replace them with other guys who have played and done the same thing," Gentry said. "How many or what we're going to do, I don't know yet, but we're definitely going to do something.</p>
<p>"We've just got to be much more gritty, if you want to use that word, and much more resilient at the start of games."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And then yesterday:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I think we've got a good feel of what we want to try to do and the reasons that we'll do it," coach Alvin Gentry said. "We'll see if that works and if not, we'll try something else."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Can you guess the new lineup?</p>
https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/11/21/3675074/d-day-is-here-for-phoenix-suns-travel-day-is-here-for-the-rest-of-usDave King