Gordan Giricek lead the Suns bench to a win over the Blazers on Wednesday.

And everything else fell nicely into place. They got to rest their starters the last three quarters and still beat Portland, and as for the playoff bracket, it couldn’t have turned out much better for the Suns if they had been allowed to draw it up themselves.

They get San Antonio and a chance to exorcise the post-season demons that have tormented them the last few seasons in the first round, and they don’t have to deal with the Lakers until the third round.

This hardly means the Suns have been given a free pass into the NBA Finals, of course. But given how top heavy the West is this year it’s really the least worst of the possible title paths they could have had to take.

The San Antonio-Phoenix series, which opens Saturday in Texas, offers the most compelling first-round story line in either Conference, what with the Spurs seeking their fourth title in the last eight years and the Suns and their aggrieved fans thirsting for the kind of truth and justice that can only come by beating the Spurs.

This is the kind of high drama you seldom get in a first round, especially in a 3-6 matchup.

The Spurs are looking old and vulnerable, but then they always seem look old and vulnerable going INTO the playoffs, and more often than not like champions coming OUT. So the Suns certainly are not about to fall for that Coach Pop’s con, even if it finally turns out to be true. He’s just cried wolf too many times.

But either way the Suns are more ready for him than they’ve ever been. TV analyst Mark Jackson put their case best when he said, “With the trade for Shaq the Suns have gone from having a shooter’s shot at the title to a legitimate shot.”

Amen! And furthermore, the Suns would be the team in the West I would least like to face. And that includes the Lakers!

The Suns can play big, they can play small, they can play fast, and they can play slow. And unlike in the past, they CAN”T be easily bullied. Think about it. For the first time in their history they are entering the post season with a monster in the middle. In fact, THE monster, albeit a somewhat long in the tooth one.

Further, with all due respect to great youngsters like Chris Paul and Deron Williams, in Steve Nash the Suns still have the point guard I’d most want to have the ball for me in the last two minutes of a game where the winner gets a million dollars and the loser gets electrocuted. And in Amare they have an unstoppable power forward.

The bottom line: It says here that is a franchise whose time has come!
]]>Thu, 17 Apr 08 06:15:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_04140802.aspxThe guest list for the Big Dance, NBA version, is finally complete. But exactly who will dance with whom and where in the West is still as undecided with only two days to go in  the season as it was two months ago.

Shaquille O'Neal grabs a rebound against the Warriors on Monday night. (NBAE Photos)

The Suns’ victory over the Warriors did lock idle Denver into the eighth spot, but NONE of the positions of the other seven are written in stone. Not One!

With the Big Picture so fuzzy, the plan here is to focus on the small picture --- namely last night’s game. Mind you, it’s a little snowy too, but compared to the playoff picture it’s High Definition TV.

Early on in this game the Suns looked very much like a team that was ready for the playoffs, and the Warriors looked like a team that was already on vacation --- showing little interest in passing and none in defense, and about as much emotion as a box of doorknobs.

It’s one thing to mail a game in, but it’s bad form to not even bother to put a stamp on it. And although they were still mathematically alive in the playoff hunt the Warriors played like they knew they were dead men walking.

But the Suns had another one of their patented 12-minute lapses of concentration in the third period and dragged the Warriors back into the game by the seat of their disinterested pants.

With their main man, Baron Davis benched, either because of lack of interest, 2 for 13 shooting in the first half, or fatigue, the Warriors went on a 38-19 run that propelled them into a lead that would grow to 11 points..

Fortunately, they still had nobody who could cover Amare, even a less than 100 percent Amare. The best they could do was foul him and he hit 7 of 9 free throws and scored 11 his 28 points to lead the charge. Leandro Barbosa sealed the deal with a three-point shot and then another basket, plus a key offensive rebound in the last two minutes.

“Well, we won,” said Coach Mike. “And I thought we looked really sharp at the end.”

That about sums up the good news. The potential bad news concerns Grant Hill, who left in the second period with a groin injury. It was not, for now at least, believed to be serious, but Coach Mike indicated Hill might be held out of practice Tuesday and Wednesday’s game here against Portland, adding he expects him to ready for Game One of the playoffs this weekend.

The other area for concern has to be turnovers. The Suns have broken out in a rash of ugly ones in recent games, and that Golden State outburst in the third period was fueled in no small part by seven of them.

But the bottom line: Not to worry. I have no idea who or where the Suns will play in the first round, but I like their chances going in as good as anybody’s. Maybe even just a tiny, tiny bit better. (The operative word there being “maybe”).

One reason for this confidence is that while the midcourse correction that brought Shaq here probably cost them top seed, it without question made them more playoff-worthy. The other reason is there is no 900-pound gorilla out there in the West. Just four or five 400-pound ones.

Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki greet each other before the Suns hosted Dallas on Sunday. (NBAE Photos)

I’m not saying they didn’t try, mind you. But the way they were shooting, they couldn’t have hit the FLOOR, let alone the foot. And of course, anything higher than foot or floor, like the basket, was even further out of the question.

In case you’re not catching my drift, let me put it another way. If the Suns had been shooting darts in that period several spectators in the front rows, and even a couple in the upper level, would have needed treatments for wounds.

And if you prefer numbers to rambling rhetoric, the second highest scoring team in the NBA hit only 3 of 19 shots from the field, went more than seven minutes without a point, and managed only 9 in those final 12 minutes. It also went oh-for-five on threes and had four times as many turnovers as assists.

Thus, even though the Mavs weren’t exactly shooting the lights out themselves, they were able to climb out of a 14-point hole and pull away in the closing minutes, thereby washing three of the most solid periods of basketball the Suns have played all year right down the drain.

One theory for this reversal of fortunes was that the Mavs were simply more desperate for this win -- and maybe they were. But while they may not have been as downright desperate, the Suns were at least sorely in need of it themselves.

Coach Mike wasn’t sure whether the meltdown was due more to Dallas “D” or Suns “O”, and even threw in a “whatever” to cover all the bases. Steve Nash called it an “anomaly”, and Amare Stoudemire said, “We just didn’t score. It’s that simple.”

Amare had another huge game with 31 points, but even he had trouble locating the hoop in that frigid fourth, hitting only 2 of 6 shots. But Nash had even more trouble, going zero for six, and was only 4 of 17 for the game, with only one fewer turnover (5) than the entire Dallas team.

And if that’s not an anomaly then God really didn’t make little green apples and it don’t rain in Indianapolis in the summer time.

And speaking of anomalies, although the Suns lead the league in blocked shots, Jason Kidd had one more (4) than the entire Phoenix team. He also had had as many steals (4) as the Suns, and had 7 assists and only 1 turnover in a brilliant all-around performance.

Dirk Nowitzki had 12 of his 32 points in that fourth period, and also had 12 rebounds, an effort that seemed as gutsy as it was great given that at times he still seemed to be bothered by the ankle injury that sidelined him for some two weeks.

Even as myopic as they were, the Suns might have still managed to somehow survive if they hadn’t put the Mavs in the bonus less than four minutes into the final period, a circumstance that ultimately led to 13 trips to the free throw line and 11 points for them. The Suns also took an 18-7 hammering on the boards in the final period.

How you look at this one depends a lot on which half of the glass you are prone to focus on --- the empty half or the full half.

If the latter, you take considerable comfort in the how good the Suns looked in the first three periods, and shrug off the fourth as indeed just one of those things (i.e. --- a n anomaly).

If the former, you’re so bummed out by the fourth quarter you don’t even remember the first three, and refuse to be cheered up.
]]>Sun, 06 Apr 08 22:30:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_04040802.aspxWhat do you get on a night when a very good home team that can’t do anything wrong meets a very bad road team that can’t do anything?

Very deceiving results. I mean, there’s no way this one was as close as that 117-88 score indicates.

Now I realize that beating the T-Wolves any place beyond the Minneapolis city limits is not exactly like beating a leopard in a tree, but even when you get past that disclaimer you have to be very impressed with how many levels the Suns have raised their game in the last few weeks (or even raised themselves from the dead if you listened to the way some folks were talking during the period of adjustment)..

Offense, defense, rebounding, chemistry, body language, you name it. And bear in mind the Suns weren’t exactly chopped liver BEFORE The Trade transformed this into the strongest playoff-type team in the Mike D’Antoni era.

Even those of us who climbed out on a limb (actually more like a strong branch) and proclaimed the acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal was a great one never dared suggest The Big Difference would make THIS much difference.

It’s not all Shaq by any means, of course. It’s also a matter of Raja Bell getting healthy, Boris Diaw taking fewer naps during games, Amare going from All World to Other Worldly, Steve Nash playing back to his MVP form, and even the overlooked signing of Gordon Giricek giving Coach Mike another useful piece of the puzzle.

But No. 32 has clearly been the catalyst. And you don’t have to look any further than the four games against the T-Wolves this year to pinpoint statistically what a difference a Shaq makes.

In the three games without him the Wolves beat the Suns half to death on the boards, 153-99, with a lot of that damage being done on the offensive end. But last night the Suns had a 52-39 edge that could have been even greater if Coach Mike hadn’t emptied his bench. (And speaking of that, by the way, the seldom seen back of the bench delivered 15 points).

And it wasn’t just a one-night phenomenon. Since The Trade the Suns have clearly corrected what had been one of their most glaring weaknesses, namely frailty off the glass.

And as I mentioned earlier, they have managed to shore up their weakness, including alleged softness and defense, without sacrificing any of their offense.

And where all teams talk about hitting their stride at the right time (i.e., now), the Suns are walking that talk with a vengeance.

The bottom line: There is every indication the next few weeks will be among the most exciting in franchise history.
]]>Sat, 05 Apr 08 05:00:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_04010801.aspx

Steve Nash and Coach D'Antoni discuss their plans to help the Suns storm back from a 22 point deficit on Monday night. (NBAE Photos)

The tried and true shtick where the good guy gets hammered from ring post to ring post, not to mention gouged, kneed, elbowed, and poked in the eye while the ref looks the other way - and then miraculously storms back from near-death to wipe the floor with the bad guy and strike a stirring blow for truth, justice, and the American Way!

This one wasn’t really scripted, of course. It just worked out that way, as the Nuggets built a 22-point lead late in the first half. The Suns looked like an author trying to compose a novel with a key missing in his typewriter (the “D”, of course). Then the Suns did unto the Nuggets in the second half as the Nuggets had done unto them in the first, and then some - climbing back into the game with a 35-point third period and then burying the Nuggets under a 46-point avalanche in the fourth.

And somewhere in the middle of that surge a good guy WAS poked in the eye while a ref looked the other way. Steve Nash was the victim. And it seemed to inspire both he and his teammates, because from that point on the team was unstoppable.

The whisper around the league is that while he is still very good, Nash has slipped a little since his MVP heydays and is now only the third or maybe only the fourth best point guard in his own conference.

And maybe he has lost a quarter of a step here and there, but he’s still number one in this book if for no other reason than his ability to manage a game and his talent of shooting better than any other point guard on the planet.

Last night he hit a personal high eight three pointers, including three in the fourth period - one of which pushed the Suns ahead for good - and also handed out eight assists while ringing up 36 points. And those numbers don’t completely capture his fierce competitive zeal.

As you watched the hapless Nuggets struggle vainly between the rock of Nash’s deadly threes and the hard place of Amare and Shaq’s thunderous twos you had to think this Suns team is better equipped for the playoff wars than any of Coach Mike’s three other teams.

Indeed, while I don’t want to hang a “Suns in Six” noose around these guys’ heads, and this should in no way be considered a prediction, I have to say that if the playoffs started today there is nobody in the West whose chances I would like better.

With the arrival of Shaq, Amare has quite simply gone from one of the 10 best players in the league to one of the four best --- and not necessarily number four either. Especially when you factor in his age.

Last night his line read 41 points and 14 rebounds, but you really had to be there to appreciate how unstoppable he has become.

As for Shaq, he has been a lot more than just Amare’s mentor/liberator from center duties. He had 20 points and 12 rebounds, with almost all (well, actually every one) from within three feet of the hoop.

One of the obvious reasons for last night’s second half resuscitation was better defense. But another one was total domination on the boards. How total was the domination? How about 26-6 in the second half, with Raja Bell helping out the Big Two with 10 to go with his three three-pointers and some excellent second half defense?

Incidentally, while the defense took most of the heat for the dismal first half, the main reason the gap got so wide was that the basket disappeared from the team’s radar, with the Suns shooting only 29 percent in the first period and 32 percent for the half --- this for the team that leads the league in field goal accuracy with a .500 average.

Actually, the lack of defensive energy and offensive accuracy in the first half was not all that surprising. Historically, Western teams coming off long Eastern swings frequently have trouble shaking the travel dust from their bones in their first game back. And to tell truth, the Suns may have been feeling a tad smug after winning the last two games on the trip and feeling they should have gone 3-1 instead of 2-2.

The bottom line: I don’t know about you, but I was a lot more impressed with the second half than dismayed by the first.
]]>Tue, 01 Apr 08 15:45:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_03220801.aspx

Shaquille O'Neal jumps for the ball to begin the Suns victory over the Houston Rockets. (NBAE Photos)

Where the old version got most of its power from one dynamo this one features twin dynamos, Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O’Neal, aka Mr. Inside and Mr. Even Further Inside.

Last night, Amare had 36 points and 13 rebounds and set a franchise record by making all 20 of his free throws. And as the game wound down every time he made a shot the crowd broke into an “MVP…MVP…MVP” chant that had to be sweet music to his ears.

And while I know it’s a shopworn line, his numbers tell only part of the story of how much better he’s gotten in just the last three or four weeks. There just aren’t any stats to describe how he has elevated his game from star to superstar status in every respect and at both ends of the court. He always had the devastating speed to size ratio and raw power, but now he’s using them so much better. And that’s just the good news. The great news is he’s STILL improving

Indeed, when Coach Mike was asked if he was surprised Amare broke the free throw record, he replied, “Nothing he does really surprises me anymore.”

As for Shaq, he continues to post phenomenal numbers, especially when you consider he was pronounced DOA in Phoenix by many “doctors”. Last night he had 23 points and 13 boards and brushed off defenders as easily as one picks a small piece of lint off one’s suit. He also hit the surprising (no, astonishing) number of seven free throws -- a feat of such rarity it inspired his teammates to go 33 for 33.

With Amare and Shaq wreaking havoc inside and Leandro Barbosa shooting like he always does when he is pressed into service as a starter, the Suns scored 74 points on the NBA’s fourth-ranked defense in the first half while shooting 76 percent against the NBA’s second-ranked field goal percentage defense.

But while this trio combined for 82 points on 69 percent shooting, this department’s MCGB (Most Coveted Game Ball) goes to a guy who scored only two points and hit only 25 percent from the field.

That would be Grant Hill, who had 10 assists and zero turnovers at one end, and was the key to harassing Tracy McGrady into 11 for 31 shooting at the other. It’s hard to overstate how much he means night in and night out in so many ways to the Suns, who by the way have now won seven straight and moved up to number the three seed in the West - just two games (counting the tiebreaker factor) behind the number one Lakers.

They pretty much blew Houston away in that first half, building a lead that stretched to 23 points at its widest. And even though the Rockets predictably mounted one or two surges in the second half, they never got any closer than eight points.

And mind you, this is a Houston team that recently ran off 22 straight victories, the second longest such streak in NBA history. Well, okay, it’s not exactly the same Houston team. This Houston team has lost three of its last four games, one by 20, one by 21, and one by very deceiving not-nearly-that close 9.

The main reason this score looked so misleadingly semi-respectable is that while the Suns wound up hitting 57 percent of their shots, they also completed only 57 percent of their passes, finishing with 16 turnovers leading to 24 Houston points.

The bottom line: We’re going to have to add another bandwagon to a parade that was a death march just three weeks ago, because the ones we have now are getting dangerously overcrowded.

]]>Sun, 23 Mar 08 05:45:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_03150804.aspx

Gordan Giricek had a breakout game against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night. (NBAE Photos)

Leandro Barbosa shot 58% and scored 18 points in the Suns' win over the Grizzlies. (NBAE Photos)

Or, to put it another way, when you’re playing a team as poor as the Grizzlies, the book says to jump on them very early, and the Suns went by it - building a 41-22 lead on 68 percent shooting and a 14-6 edge in rebounding in the first quarter.

And although he took no shots, Shaquille O’Neal was the catalyst with four rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in less than 10 minutes. And perhaps as meaningful as those numbers are, what’s even more encouraging is the enthusiasm he has pumped back into the fans with his hustle. In fact, he got one ovation for diving after a loose ball.

The Suns also played some solid defense as long as it mattered for a second straight game, holding the Grizzlies to 41 first half points. True, Memphis scored 70 in the second half, but intensity is the key to “D”, and nothing drains intensity like a 39-point lead in the third period. Also, Coach Mike gave his starters the fourth period off.

And if you want to know just much the mood has changed around here, consider that just two games ago the Suns were fighting misperceptions that they were deader than a broken doorknob, and now Coach Mike is cautioning the faithful against overconfidence.

“We don’t want to get oversold because of what we did tonight,” he warned. “We’re still not there yet, but Shaq is getting better with each game, and I was real happy with our defense. We’ve got a chance to be a real good team.”

Also, while he’s not making any predictions or issuing any guarantees, Coach also thinks that although they are still the sixth seed slot in the West right now, the Suns still have a realistic shot at climbing back to the top in the West, and that the Suns have as good a shot as anybody as winning the NBA title.

And while I don’t want to make any predictions either, I’m with him on both of those points. The Suns haven’t solved all their problems by any means, but the other contenders have problems too, and the thing is there is no 900-pouind gorilla out there in the West, or the East either for that matter.

Another plus in this rout is how well the Suns seemed to mesh offensively, and how much more comfortable they seemed to be with each other in their “new” skin. Granted, it’s easy to mesh when you’re playing Memphis, but even so this is the kind of familiarity that definitely breeds content.

The Suns also had to be pleased with the play of recently acquired Gordan Giricek, who delivered 18 points in 30 minutes, and looked athletic and aggressive at both ends of the court.

The bottom line: Nothing gets a team to smiling as much as a laugher.
]]>Wed, 12 Mar 08 05:07:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_03090801.aspx

Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal willed the Suns to victory on Sunday. (NBAE Photos)

There’s been a trend of late toward declaring them DBFA (dead BEFORE) arrival and gloomily fearing they might not even live long enough to make the playoffs, let alone lay an egg in them.

So if nothing else, this victory over the defending champions should lighten the mood in these parts a bit and alter the silly perception that the Suns have been morphing into the Miami Heat before our very eyes.

Having said that, one does not want to make the mistake of rushing to judgment in the other direction on the basis of one win, however impressive it was. The Suns are still a work in progress, and it’s still too soon to declare their makeup either a success or a failure.

But forget the future for the moment. This was a very satisfying present. It was a second straight game in which Shaq delivered some big time numbers, a game in which the Suns played some surprisingly stout defense, a game in which for a change the Suns made the big shots and stops down the stretch instead of the Spurs.

It was a game in which Grant Hill hit a huge jumper and Tim Duncan missed a lay-up in a tide-turning sequence very late, a game in which the Spurs missed 56 shots and hit only 35 percent from the field, a game in which The Big ICBM (aka Shaq) launched his 7-5, 235-body into the third row of seats in pursuit of a loose ball, and a game that had playoff intensity all over it from start to finish.

It was also, if the truth be told, a game which was won by the most desperate team because, even as the Suns attributed a loss in Denver last week at least partly to the fact the Nuggets need a victory more than they did, this result could be said to be at least in part to the fact the Suns needed it much more than did the Spurs.

Amare Stoudemire and Shaq (aka Mr. Inside and Mr. Even Further Inside) dominated the boards and scored 30 points between the two despite being plagued by foul problems, and Mr. Outside (aka Steve Nash) hit his only two threes at a critical juncture (i.e.—the intersection between win and don’t win), while scoring 19 points and handing out 14 assists.

Still, this department’s MCGB (most coveted game ball) goes to Hill, who had 18 points on 9 for 13 shooting, kept the Suns in touch with 5 for 5 shooting in the second period, and hit the aforementioned huge jumper with 1:15 left on the heels of Duncan’s missed lay-up to give the Suns a three-point lead.

As for defense, while I don’t attribute all of San Antonio’s uncharacteristic shooting woes to it, the Suns were very aggressive and more than met Coach Mike’s goal of at least slowing somebody down.

The bottom line: The sky may still be a bit cloudy, but it most definitely is not falling.
]]>Sun, 09 Mar 08 23:08:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_03070801.aspx
The Suns were like an infielder who plays every hop right except the last one.

Gordon Giricek played his former team, the Utah Jazz, on Friday night. (NBAE Photos)

Amare Stoudemire dunks against the Sixers on Saturday night. (NBAE Photos)

Don’t let those last-second heroics that gave the Suns a prayer fool you. The plain truth is they were outplayed almost wire to wire by the lightly regarded Sixers, sometimes embarrassingly so.

The Sixers scored 119 points on 57 percent shooting, moving Coach Mike to grumble, “At some point we’re going to have to stop SOMEBODY.”

Last night, alas, to put it accurately but ungrammatically, they couldn’t stop NOBODY.

Bear in mind this is the same Sixers team that missed its first 14 shots at Golden State Friday night, and arrived in the Valley averaging 95 points and shooting 45 percent from the field.

The conventional wisdom is the Suns are understandably going through a period of adjustment to incorporate Shaquille O’Neal into their operations, and the players themselves are saying it’s bound to take a little time to get everybody on the same page (or even decide what page that should be).

And I buy most of that. Indeed, one has to bear in mind that Shaq was brought here to fix the Suns’ playoff wagon, not the regular season wagon. And the success or failure of the trade will hinge entirely on how the team plays in postseason.

But while what happens now means next to nothing, how it’s happening can be a tad disturbing. Technical adjustments can and will be made, but what appears to be a lack of fire and confidence may be a taller order.

I still think the Shaq deal had to be made, and that it will eventually make the team more playoff worthy, but no amount of “adjusting” is going to fix the defense. That’s a matter of energy, hard work, and attitude, and these items seem to be in rather short supply in these parts of late.

Of course, one would like to think this is because the team is doing so much thinking and fretting about offensive adjustments caused by Operation Shaq -- that it’s not only sapping some of the defensive energy but exposing it to even more woe than usual. (Translation: Out of whack offenses can give up points too).

The bottom line: There’s absolutely no need to push the panic button. But hey, it wouldn’t hurt to locate exactly where it is, just in case of an emergency.
]]>Sun, 02 Mar 08 05:49:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_02240801.aspx
The good news is they broke out the boos at US Airways Center Sunday. The bad news is that when the home fans break out the boos this is not a signal it’s party time.

The one bright spot of this game was Amare's 31 points. (NBAE Photos)

Less than 48 hours after the Suns had the good fortune to catch the Celtics at their worst, they had the misfortune to catch the Pistons at their best. And the Pistons at their best are arguably the strongest team in the league and indisputably the best team in the East.

They are certainly the most experienced team in the league, with their key players having been together light years longer than anybody else’s. And the kind of togetherness and sure-footedness stood out in sharp contrast to the hesitancy and uncertainty of a Suns team that is less than a week into the brand new look brought about by the Shaq deal.

During this transition period the Suns, whose mantra in the Coach Mike era has been “A shot every seven seconds,” suddenly are hesitating to shoot. And as the team and Shaq work through getting used to each other, the temporary mantra is “A pass every seven seconds” --- and that without whole lot of confidence.

As if this psychological hiccup in what has been the league’s best offense the last several years wasn’t problem enough, the Suns also were suffering from an emotional hangover Sunday. And no, it wasn’t the boos. What it was was an understandable letdown after coming off a weeklong emotional high from the beginning of the Shaq Era.

The addition of The Big Cactus changed the personality of the Suns overnight, and the changes were almost all for the better. But the immediate impact on the offense has been that the Suns are suddenly are having to go through the process of rediscovering who they are (or even exactly who they want to be).

But this rout was by no means all about the adjustments the Suns are having to make on the fly. The fact is the Pistons were virtually flawless in just about every aspect of the game.

They sliced and diced the Suns’ defense down low, were devastating on the perimeter (partly because the slicing and dicing inside created wide open looks), were dominating on the boards, and suffocating defensively. They even outran the Suns.

If you’re looking for a couple of key stats for the team’s offensive woes during this period of adjustment, try these two: The Suns had 19 assists and took only 77 shots (21 of which they more or less heaved up in garbage time (i.e. --- the entire fourth period). Their season averages are 27 and 84.

On the plus side, Amare Stoudemire, who has significantly expanded his offensive range in recent weeks, had 31 points. And if you need a couple of bromides to ease the pain, this was only one game, and there is plenty of time to the Suns and Amare to not only get through the dating phase in their new relationship, but also get engaged, and even married.

The bottom line: Let us give thanks the playoffs don’t start tomorrow.
]]>Sun, 24 Feb 08 23:48:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_02200802.aspx

Shaquille O'Neal made his first points memorable on Wednesday night. (NBAE Photos)

But don’t take my word for it.

Here’s Steve Nash’s take after the game: “You really hate to lose an important game, but once you take a step back you have to believe the possibilities for us are very exciting.”

And here’s Shaq going even further along the same general lines: “When we really get to know each other we’re going to be the most dangerous team ever created.”

I’m not ready to go quite that far, but I will say that Shaq’s performance in his first game as a Sun exceeded all reasonable expectations. Not only were his numbers (15 points, 9 boards, 2 blocks and one highlight-worthy assist) outstanding for a guy who’s been on the shelf for several weeks and only been with his new team five days, but the shape he was in was so good it surprised even himself.

In fact, The Big Cactus (aka Aristotle, aka Diesel), made some key plays at both ends of the court in the fourth period to help keep the Suns in the game.

A pessimist could note gloomily that even though Shaq did everything he was brought here to do - numbers-wise at least - the Suns STILL lost. But the other side of that coin is that if Shaq could do this much serious damage while he and his new team are still trying to get used to each other and he is still getting his game legs under him the possibilities are indeed “very exciting.”

And talk about buzz!

This was late-round playoff buzz. In fact, the excitement almost approached World Series buzz. The press room was sold out, photographers were out en masse, and the word on the street was that choice tickets to see Shaq’ debut were retailing for $500 to $1,000.00.

When he came out to midcourt during pregame drills to lean down and plant a kiss on former teammate Derek Fisher’s head a flock of fotogs surrounded them. And when he and Kobe hugged at along the sideline, a phalanx of photos converged on the embrace (a phalanx is two flocks).

And Shaq got an ovation almost every time he even inhaled or exhaled, drawing especially loud cheers for a couple of blocks. He even delighted fans when he accidentally ran over one of the officials.

As far as the rest of the night is concerned what we had here was two very good basketball teams that are going to be even better down the road a piece--- the Lakers because they figure to have a healthy Andrew Bynum and the Suns because they figure to fully incorporate Shaq into their game plan.

In fact, by the time the playoffs roll around I wouldn’t be surprised if these were the two best teams in the league. And should they meet in any round it would be a series for the ages.

The bottom line: Has to be reserved for Kobe’s 16-25 field goals, 8-10 free throws, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 41 points, and at least 5 highlight reel moves.
]]>Thu, 21 Feb 08 06:15:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_02150801.aspx<

Many of the Suns bench players were required to contribute to Thursday's win against Dallas. (NBAE Photos)

span>The victory over the Mavericks left them only 8 percentage points behind New Orleans for the top spot, a game and a half ahead of the Lakers, two games ahead of both Dallas and San Antonio, and three games ahead of Utah. And this despite the face the Big Punctuation (either exclamation point or question mark, depending on which of the wildly divergent national views you have of the Shaquille O’Neal deal) has yet to make his first appearance.

Under ordinary circumstances the victory over the Mavs would have had much greater significance. But with the depleted Mavs minus ANY point guard, never mind Jason Kidd, who is still a Net, and Devin Harris, who is still a Mavs but is hurt, not to mention Josh Howard and his 20 points and 7 rebounds, it was marked down to just a nice win.

That the Mavs had only eight assists underscored how badly they need a point guard. And that the Mavs had 20 offensive rebounds was yet more proof how much the Suns need a Shaq.

“We’ll both be better the next time we meet,” said Coach Mike. “They’ve got some guys missing and we’re still not where we’re going to be when Shaq is ready, but I was pleased with our energy tonight.

Speaking of point guards, the Mavs were again tortured by the one they let get away, as Steve Nash had 13 assists and 24 points. But the Suns also got 26 points each from Amare and Leandro Barbosa, and some outstanding defensive work from Grant Hill, Boris Diaw, and Raja Bell.

Diaw and Hill were surprising effective rotating against Dirk Nowitzki and Bell did an outstanding job of slowing down Jason Terry in the second half.

“I think this is the best job we’ve ever done on Dirk,’ said Coach Mike. “I’m not saying we stopped him, just that we did a good job.”

And while Nowitzki finished with 36 points and 12 rebounds, he needed 31 shots to get his points, and was pressured into several bad passes.

The bottom line: It should be a fun four days off for Coach Mike.
]]>Sat, 16 Feb 08 07:10:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_02110801.aspx
But fortunately, Shaq sits a great bench, and the Suns do a very decent plod, thank you very much.

Amare Stoudemire has averaged 30 points and 10 rebounds in the three games after the Shaquille O'Neal trade. (NBAE Photos)

Since the deal went down the Suns have lost in overtime to a very good team (New Orleans), squeaked past a very young team (Seattle), and sneaked past a very injured team (Washington).

That’s pretty fair country plodding no matter how you figure it, and the further good news is that although he has yet to put on a sneaker, Shaq seems to have already fulfilled a promise he made on Trade Day.

Among the many things he pledged to do for the Suns was make Amare better. And apparently it went from his lips to Amare’s ear, because in the three games since The Big Guarantee made that promise Amare has averaged 30 points and 16.5 rebounds, and run his consecutive successful free throw streak to 30.

Last night he had 31 points and 13 rebounds, giving him his first back to back 30 point, 10 rebound game since April 2005. And his two free throws with 8.8 seconds left gave the Suns just enough leeway to survive DeShawn Stevenson’s three-pointer at the buzzer at :00.1.

Amare got some major help from Raja Bell in the third period when he scored 12 of his 21 points to keep the Suns ahead, and Brian Skinner, who delivered 9 of his 10 points off the bench in the second period to help the Suns take a five-point lead at intermission. And although he took only six shots and scored only 10 points, Steve Nash had 12 assists and hit a crucial trey down the stretch.

“We played okay,” said Coach Mike, “but we just couldn’t hit the big shots we needed to put them away. But give the Wizards credit. They played extremely well, as often happens when a team is missing two of its stars.” (That would be Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler, who average a combined 43.5 points and 11.2 rebounds between them).

The Suns weren’t at full strength themselves, what with Leandro Barbosa trying to play through an illness that sent him home early in the fourth period and who suffered through a 2-for-12 night and managed only five points.

So what’s it all mean?

Frankly, not very much. We won’t be able to make any kind of definite analysis, or even have much of a clue vis-à-vis the Suns’ championship chances until Shaq suits up and gets into game shape.

“The way we’re playing right now isn’t really great,” said Coach Mike, “but it doesn’t really matter because we’re going to be a totally different team with Shaq, and hopefully a better one. In the meantime we’ll just try to win as many games as we can.”

In case it has escaped your attention, ever since The Trade it’s been pretty much all about Shaq all of the time. And last night he drew a standing ovation as he made his way toward the bench just before the tip-off. (Okay, so technically I’m not sure it qualifies as a “standing” ovation because the fans were already standing as part of the pre-game ritual. But pending a rule from the Committee on Ovations I’m calling it “standing”).

And I have to say that when the TV cameras zeroed in on him, which was early and often, he looked very imposing indeed.

The bottom line: The victory, coupled with a Dallas loss in New Jersey, gave the Suns a game and a half lead in the Western Conference.
]]>Mon, 11 Feb 08 16:25:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_02060803.aspx
After 40 long years of wandering the desert in search of an all powerful center the Suns have FINALLY found one.

Shaq was brought to Phoenix for one reason: a championship trophy. (NBAE Photos)

And while Shaquille O’Neal is in the twilight of one of the ten greatest careers in NBA history, he’s still the most dominating physical presence in the game. And the question for me is not whether the Suns should have dealt Shawn Marion (with Marcus Banks thrown in) for him, but how they could possibly have afforded to turn down the deal.

Granted, the price was high. Marion was the team’s most versatile defender. The guy they most often turned to in crunch time to guard whoever was causing them the most grief, whether it be another small forward, a big forward, or even a center or point guard. And offensively he was a perfect fit for Coach Mike’s high speed offense.

And yes, there are those who see the signing of the lumbering O’Neal as a concession by Coach Mike that his system, while wildly popular and highly entertaining, really can’t go all the way.

Addressing the second point first, I’m not persuaded the Big Diesel is all THAT lumbering, nor do I think his presence is going to slow Coach Mike’s system all THAT much. As long as Steve Nash is at the controls you’re never going to see the Suns turn plodding before your very eyes.

Back to the first point, I fully recognize how much Marion has meant to the Suns, and there aren’t more than a half dozen players in the league I would have traded him for at this stage. But Shaq is one of them.

It’s been several years since he was a truly good defender, but The Diesel’s very presence in the low post (not to mention the locker room) should make the Suns stronger in one of their weakest areas.

And speaking of presence, Shaq’s already created the biggest buzz in these parts since Charles Barkley hit town. The press conference confirming this deal drew what had to be a record regular-season crowd. And his image on the Jumbotron drew a sustained standing ovation from the sellout crowd in the US Airways Center. (Shaq, ever the showman, milked the applause by pointing meaningfully at his ring finger.)

And although he probably didn’t, Coach Mike could have greeted The Diesel with the same speech the late Cotton Fitzsimons greeted The Chuckster:

“Chuck’, said Cotton, “let me explain something to you. You weren’t brought here to fill up the building or win a lot of games. We’re already doing that. You were brought here for one reason and one reason only, to win us a title.”

That’s Shaq’s mission, just as was Chuck’s, the only difference being that at his advanced age Shaq won’t be required to do quite as much heavy lifting. In fact, truth be told, he was probably brought here to help the Suns deal with just two or three teams, and maybe even just ONE team.

There are two other similarities between The Diesel and The Chuckster. Like O’Neal, the Suns paid a high price for Barkley (you remember Jeff Hornacek). And like Barkley, O’Neal is one of the all-time great quote machines.

There are understandable concerns about how much Shaq has left in the tank, but let me say this about those concerns:

If you look closely at his long career you will be struck by two things. One, he hasn’t always been motivated to stay in top shape and bring his A game to the arena. And two, whenever he has been so motivated he’s been one of the most unstoppable forces on the planet.

He’s never going to hit those heights again, of course, but he won’t have to in order to help the Suns. And for what it’s worth, I think he will be motivated to give his new team the best of what he’s got left.

In case you haven’t caught my drift, I think this was a great and gutsy move by rookie general manager Steve Kerr. A move, I further think, that underscored his belief the Suns couldn’t advance beyond their present level without some more muscle.

The bottom line: Coach Mike cut to the heart of the chase when he said, “This gives us an even better chance to win the NBA title than we had before.”

To which I can only add, Amen!

]]>Thu, 07 Feb 08 05:25:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_02040801.aspx

After a rough first half, the Suns played well enough to let the bench, including DJ Strawberry, log some minutes. (NBAE Photos)

Barbosa, as befitting the fastest man in sneakers, got off the mark quickly, hitting his first three-pointer just three seconds after coming off the bench at 4:48 in the first period with the score tied at 14. He went on to hit two more treys and finish with 11 points in the period, and hit eight straight Phoenix points in one stretch before coming out of the game at 5:44 in the second period. That’s 19 points in just a tad less than 12 minutes if you like keeping track of such things.

L.B. finished the night with 30 points on 11 for 15 shooting, including 5 of 9 from Arc City.

Bell, who had only six points at halftime, scored 15 of his 24 points in the third period, hitting four of five threes to finish seven for 12 in that category.

The Bobcats, who have never beaten the Suns, are bogged down at 18-30, and were without leading scorer Gerald Wallace, still managed to stay neck and neck most of the first half of what was a very slow race. In fact, it took a running 30-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Suns into the locker room with a 54-51 lead.

But after halftime it was as advertised -- all Phoenix, all the time.

“We started a little slow and were sleeping a little bit most of the first half,” said Coach Mike, “but we finally got warmed up, and while this wasn’t one of our better defensive efforts, we played good defense when he had to.”

Given the combination of three days off, the distractions of Super Bowl week, and the fact that the opponent was Charlotte, Coach Mike wasn’t too upset that his troops didn’t exactly charge out of the gate with fire in their eyes.

Actually, they seemed a bit confused by the Bobcats’ defensive scheme in the first half. The biggest surprise probably being that the Bobcats, who rank in the bottom portion of the league and have now given up 127, 117, and 118 points in their last three games, had a defensive scheme.

But once the Suns figured out that the kind of zone the Bobcats were playing was so named because it basically created a free shot zone at the three-point-line, it was open season on the hoop.

Steve Nash had a some uncharacteristic problems finding the basket (missing seven of his 10 shots), but he very characteristically had no trouble at all finding his teammates, as he handed out 11 assists in just 29 minutes.

This was the Suns’ 15th win in the 20 games since they lost to the Lakers in Los Angeles and fell briefly out of the lead in the Pacific Division and improved the team’s record against the NBA Least to 20-2.

The bottom line: With apologies to Hallmark, sometimes you don’t have to care enough to give your very best to get the job done. And this was one of those nights.

After all, when you have the best record in the West and are playing a team which has won only five games all year and is 1-18 on the road, you don't need any excitement, suspense or things like that. Au contraire, a ho-hummer is exactly what you are looking for.

There was some concern the Suns might suffer a letdown coming off a big win against the Lakers in Los Angeles Thursday night. That and the team's tendency to play down to the level of its opposition.

But not to worry!

For one thing, it's hard to get down to the level of the post Garnett era T-Wolves. And for another, while the Suns did not exactly leap out of the starting gate, once they did get out they pretty much clicked on all cylinders offensively and stayed awake defensively, building a lead that stretched to 28 points before Coach Mike cleared the bench.

Just about everybody had a good line for the Suns, but I thought Steve Nash's was better than good. Almost perfect, in fact. Reading from left to right it went: 6-6 from the field, 1-1 on 3pters, 4-4 on free throws, 13-1 assists and turnovers, 28.5 minutes. And the turnover, by the way, was more a technicality than a mistake.

Even as great artists paint masterpieces on canvas, he does likewise on a court. And he does it while large people are trying to treat him like the centerpiece in a piñata festival. Even in lopsided games it is a treat to watch the subtleties of his artistry (not to mention the deadliness of his shot.

But enough about Nash (although personally I can never get enough).

In watching this kind of game one's mind tends to stray a bit and ponder things like the fact that starting the night in there was a five-way tie for first place in the loss column in the Western Conference, with Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, the Lakers, and New Orleans each having 12. So tightly bunched is the field that the win over the Lakers propelled the Suns from fifth to first in the seeding order.

Given the loss of Andrew Bynum and an upcoming stretch of schedule that includes a nine-game road trip, the Lakers figure to drop back, but the other four should stay close enough to at least put a modicum of meaning (modicum is Italian for tad) into the regular season for the front runners.

And if I had to narrow it down, I would say what we’re looking at is a photo finish between the Suns and Mavericks for top see

The bottom line: Yawn. (But I mean that in a nice way).

Marcus Banks helped lead the Suns to victory against the Denver Nuggets. (NBAE Photos)

And what could put more spring back in your step, more zing back in your strings, more gleam back in your eye, and more swash back in your buckle than burying a very good team under a near-record barrage of threes in a wire-to-wire walloping that made you look like your old selves instead of just old?

Like I said, the Suns needed that.

And when you hit 20 threes (in just 31 tries), shoot 54 per cent from the field, and spread the wealth around enough to keep everyone happy while not only out-gunning but out-hustling the Northwest Division leading Nuggets, questions about chemistry and heart tend to seem irrelevant and immaterial, at least for the moment.

Did this one game cure all of the team’s ills, real, alleged, and/or imagined? Of course not. But it should go at least a little ways toward soothing the team’s jangled nerves. The view here has always been that success causes chemistry rather than vice versa, and there was enough success last night to soothe the most ruffled feelings.

You definitely don’t want the grumbling in the locker room about who’s getting what shots and who’s getting what minutes to gather any momentum. Same goes for confidence-sapping, self-admitted under-achieving.

Confidence, high energy, and devastating long-range shooting have been the cornerstones of this team’s success the last few years, and all three have been in somewhat short supply much of this season despite a 24-10 record, a game and a half lead in the Pacific Division, and at least as many wins as any other team in the loaded Western Conference. But all three were very much in evidence last night.

Granted the Nuggets do not represent the ultimate challenge to any offense. In fact, I found myself wondering at times if my old friend Doug Moe has added defensive coordinator to his bench duties as a Nugget assistant. (When people would complain his high-scoring Denver teams had the worst defense in the league he would say, “Not so. Our opponents do”).

But still, it’s doubtful if any team could have stopped the Suns this night.

Ironically, the three-point onslaught (one shy of Toronto’s league record for the season) was fueled largely by perhaps the two unlikeliest players on the Suns’ roster --- Shawn Marion, who has been struggling with his three-point shot much of the year, and Marcus Banks, who seldom gets to play long enough to break anything but a sweat.

But Shawn hit five of his first six from arc city and Banks hit seven of his eight tries. In fact, Marcus didn’t even bother to try a measly two-point shot.

“The Suns got happy and then they got cocky and rubbed our faces in it a little bit,” said George Karl. And then the Denver coach added pointedly, “It will be fun the next time we play them.” (Karl apparently was less than ecstatic with the four treys the Suns dropped on him in the last four minutes, including two in the last 40 seconds).

Banks’ contribution was particularly significant because it may lead to more playing time. Where Coach Mike has been reluctant to use him the last couple of years, he now allows that he’s “beginning to trust” the physically gifted but inconsistent guard.

Bottom line: The MCGB (Most Coveted Game Ball) is for the first time ever being given to an anonymous player (because I’m not sure who made the best motivational speech in the above mentioned meetings).
]]>Tue, 08 Jan 08 05:33:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_01050802.aspx

Leandro Barbosa came off the bench to try and spark the Suns to victory. (NBAE Photos)

It’s not terrible, you understand. Losing to a very good New Orleans team is not even necessarily bad. I mean, you knew going in the team from the Big Easy was going to be anything but easy.

But whereas when the Suns lose it is often because they played poorly for long stretches, this night they played very well for long stretches, and still lost. And this is not good for a team’s machismo.

The tendency is to say this one was lost when New Orleans made all the big plays at both ends of the court in the final three minutes to close out the game with an 11-6 run, but I put it to you that it actually went down the tubes in the third period when the Suns not only failed to build on an 11-point halftime lead but lost all but three points of it.

The team’s well-documented (ad nauseam, in fact) defensive deficiencies were at the root of the third period flame out, but it also didn’t help that the team’s even more well-documented high octane offense sputtered down the stretch.

But enough nitpicking. The fact is this was a fun game to watch if you didn’t care who won (or if you were a Hornets fan), what with two of the game’s best point guards putting on quite a show, and the league’s hardest-to-guard guard doing likewise and then some.

Reading from left to right, that would be Chris Paul of the Hornets (28 points, 10 assists), You-Know-Who of the Suns (23 and 11), and Leandro Barbosa of the Suns (4 of 6 threes and 28 points).

The Suns lost Raja Bell, who was sent home with the flu less than three minutes into the game, and early on it seemed like the Hornets were going to catch pneumonia from his bug because this brought Barbosa off the bench earlier than usual and also forced Coach Mike to use Marcus Banks earlier and longer than usual.

Barbosa scored 14 of his points in that first quarter and Banks went three for three on 3-point shots in the first half and finished with 11 points. But in the end the Suns did miss Bell, of course, just as the Hornets missed David West (bruised hip), arguably their best player.

The Suns are also faulted for not having depth, but on this night their bench outscored the Hornets’ bench 50-7. (Okay, so those numbers were skewed a bit by the Bell illness, but even so …). Incidentally, in case you’re wondering how the Hornets offset this lopsided balance, they did it with every one of their starters scoring at least 19 points.

Good as Steve Nash and Barbosa were for the home side, I am breaking precedent by giving MCGB (Most Coveted Game Ball) award to one of the guys on the other side for the first time ever, namely the aforementioned Chris Paul, who not only put up big numbers but went the full 48 minutes.

The bottom line: Although I continue to insist the Suns are still very much in the title hunt, I will admit they are missing a certain je ne cest quoi, and I don’t know exactly what it is. (In fact, I’m not even sure I can even spell it).

]]>Sun, 06 Jan 08 05:59:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_01040801.aspx

Robert Sarver and The Gorilla participated in Retro Night at Thursday's game. (NBAE Photos)

It was also Retro Night, and that may have been part of the cause of the schizophrenia.

The idea was to sort of celebrate the team’s 40th birthday with fans wearing clothing from the late 60s, the players wearing 1968-9 uniforms, and the first period being televised in grainy black and white.

The Suns went a step further in paying respects to their forbears by playing like them. But while this was a nice touch, the problem is those first Suns are now in their 60s, so it wasn’t surprising that the score at the end of the first period was 33-13 in favor of the promising but by no means ready for prime time Sonics.

The Suns managed only four field goals in the period, three of them by Steve Nash, whose teammates went 1-for-15 from the field and tied a 22-year-old franchise record with zero assists.

These guys didn’t just miss shots they normally make. That would have been bad enough. But they also missed shots The Gorilla normally makes.

But not to worry.

They righted the ship, especially defensively, by holding the Sonics to 12 points in the second period, and went on to do what 22-9 teams are supposed to do to 9-22 teams, going from 20 down at the end of that first period to 15 up early in the fourth period and coming up with big defensive plays to seal the deal after the Sonics had crept back within 4 and had the ball with 1:25 to play.

Amare Stoudemire, plagued by foul problems early, scored 14 of his 34 points in the final 12 minutes, and Leandro Barbosa scored 8 of his 16, but the defense gets this department’s CVG (Coveted Game Ball) and Shawn Marion gets to accept it.

“I don’t know whether it was the orange head bands, or the black and white TV, or too much New Year’s Eve, or what,” sighed Coach Mike in trying to pinpoint the cause of what started as malfunction and fell off to total non function.

I opt for “or what”, with the further note that the Suns seldom look their best, or even their pretty good against bad teams until they absolutely have to. And frankly, not always even then.

Although squeezing past the Sonics at home is hardly calculated to send shivers down the spines of folks in the NBA’s version of the Bermuda Triangle (i.e., Texas), Coach Mike saw some positive things out there - most notably the energy and defense after the team emerged from its retro funk.

And while this and a dime will get you two nickels, come May and June the victory was the fourth straight for the Suns and moved them past the Spurs atop the Western Conference.

The bottom line: Let’s start the New Year off with another rousing chorus of “A Win Is A Win Is A Win.”
]]>Sat, 05 Jan 08 07:15:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_12290701.aspxGranted, nothing that transpired last night is apt to change their gloomy view. Indeed very much au contraire. After all, if the above named pundits could drop the Suns below the Lakers on the talent chart after watching them lose to them on the road, one shudders to think what they might make of watching them barely survive against the lowly, injury riddled, near-sighted Clippers at home.

But here’s the thing. The Suns did what they had to do when it had to be done and when the night was over they had passed San Antonio as the winningest team in the West, run their latest winning streak (actually their only one in the last three weeks) to two games, and put themselves in excellent position to cash in on a relatively soft patch in the schedule the next couple of weeks.

“We basically gutted it out,” said Coach Mike. And while Coach leaves himself open to a charge of misdemeanor inelegance, that’s pretty much what they did. And for once, the much-maligned second group and the even “muchier” maligned Boris Diaw were a positive force.

You hear and read enough about how the Suns come unglued when Nash has to be rested, but Nash was on the bench when the Diaw-led second group put on a 10-2 spurt at the start of the fourth period to open up a 9-point lead that gave the Suns just enough of a cushion to hang on for the “W”.

And Diaw triggered the burst by blocking an Al Thornton shot to set up a three-point fast break by Grant Hill. Moments later he hit a 17-foot jumper.

However, as major as Diaw’s contribution was, he doesn’t get the MCGB (Most Coveted Game Ball). That goes to Amare Stoudemire, who rained dunks on the Clippers much of the night, and then all but finished them off with a 19-foot jumper with the shot clock down to 0:01 and 39.6 seconds left in the game to push an ever-shrinking lead back up to five points.

Amare finished the night with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 of his team’s 16 blocked shots in just 32 minutes. And the Suns needed all of those numbers to offset a monster game by Clipper center Chris Kaman, who finished with 22 points and 20 rebounds, and also had three blocks.

And Grant Hill (is there a more quietly efficient player in the NBA?) was his usual self with 22 points on 8 for 13 shooting.

Although the Suns deserve high marks for the 16 blocks, one wonders why they bothered. The way the Clippers shoot the chances are 12 of those wouldn’t have gone in anyway. Only the Bulls have a poorer field goal percentage, and in missing 62 shots last night the Clips may have overtaken Chicago.

The two starting forwards, Corey Maggette and Thornton, were a combined 4 for 24.

This game included several “firsts”. It was the first time this season the Suns have won without scoring 100 points, the first time Steve Nash missed three free throws in a game (or even a month), and the first time a Suns player (Raja Bell) fouled out of a game.

The bottom line: “W” is the only letter in the alphabet that never looks bad no matter how shakily it’s drawn.

PS--- This being the final order of home business in 2007, one would be remiss in not wishing you all a Happy New Year.
]]>Sat, 29 Dec 07 16:04:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_12230701.aspxBarbosa, starting in place of the injured Raja Bell, hit on 7 of 10 threes and finished with 31 points. More importantly, he did much of his damage in the first half when the Raptors were still hot.

The Suns are now 6-0 in Barbosa’s half dozen starts, and are averaging 35 points in the first period of those games.

Although he gets our coveted Game Ball, he was by no means a slam dunk for it. Not on a night when the Suns were at their most explosive and most watchable. They completed their passes, they made their shots, they made their cuts, and… well, in short they looked very much like the team that came within a whisker (or maybe a whistle or two) of winning it all last year.

The Raptors are struggling to stay above .500, but they are one of only eight teams in the league holding their opponents under 100 points a game, lead the league in three-point accuracy, and in Chris Bosh boast one of the toughest forwards to guard on the planet, as witness his 42 points and NBA season-high 24 free throw attempts. So this is not exactly chopped liver the Suns feasted on last night.

Amaré Stoudemire had one of his most consistently dominating nights in recent games with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Grant Hill, aka this year’s Deal of The Century in the NBA,

And oh yes, Steve Nash had a pretty good night too.

One of the payers most NBA coaches say before going to sleep every night is, “Lord, please give me a point guard who can shoot and pass and has the wisdom to know when to do which.”

Nash, of course, is the answer to that prayer.

Nash took only three shots in the first half, but doubled the entire Toronto team’s assist total with 8, and he would go on to pile of 16 while taking only 7 shots. My personal favorite came in the third quarter when he drew a loud cheer for dragging down an offensive rebound, dribbled out of trouble and casually flipped a behind the back pass to Barbosa, who was standing all by his lonesome behind the three-point line.

The victory tied the Suns for the most wins in the Western Conference with 19 and improved their record against plus .500 teams to a spiffy 12-3. Not to shabby for a team that has played the fewest home games in the league and has been poked and prodded for signs of slippage, not to mention analyzed half to death.

There are nights, of course, when people who have been wondering what’s wrong with the Suns must be muttering to themselves, “What’s wrong with us?”

This was one of those nights.

The bottom line: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.



]]>Sun, 23 Dec 07 08:04:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_12130701.aspx

Boris Diaw helped turn the tide for the Suns in the 4th quarter against the Jazz. (NBAE Photos)

“Character” in hoops is supposed to be defined by defense and the Suns showed plenty of it last night to snap a two-game skid (trust me, for Suns fans even one loss qualifies as a “skid”.)

With the offense still struggling to find its rhythm and the team’s deadly three-point shooting looking more sickly than deadly (4-for-17), the Suns delivered one of their finer defensive efforts in recent memory --- holding the league’s fifth highest scoring team to 98 points.

Although the Suns didn’t always defend the floor that well they defended the basket fiercely. Led by their two-man “Swat Squad” of Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, the Suns - who rank second only to Denver in this category - blocked 13 shots and their hustling defense set up 25 points off turnovers.

Amare had six of those blocks and Marion added another 5. Marion also had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and in Coach Mike’s words, defended Jazz star Carlos Boozer “about as well as he can be defended.”

And while Steve Nash lost a tooth via an inadvertent elbow from Boozer, he found his shooting touch, going 10 for 12 from the field and hitting three of his four 3-point attempts. In fact, take Nash out of the mix, and the Suns were 1-for-13 from downtown.

“We’re not flowing yet offensively,” said Coach Mike, “but we’re playing well enough to win.”

Well enough, indeed! The Suns are tied for the league lead in wins with 17, lead the league in scoring, and are a league-best 10-1 against teams with winning records.

Although the Big Three accounted for 73 of the team’s 103 points, the Suns also got significant contributions from several other players, most notably (and perhaps most encouragingly) from Boris Diaw.

Diaw, who has been semi-maligned for not living up to his promise he showed in a spectacular first year with the Suns, came through with a pair of tide-turning three-point plays in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, the first of which he set up with a couple of fierce offensive rebounds. And Grant Hill, who was only 2-for-10 from the field through the first three periods, also had a three-point play early in the last period and hit a jump shot with 1:36 to play to give the Suns a three-point lead.

This was the fifth straight loss for the Jazz, but don’t let that fool you. This is a much better team than that skid indicates and they just happen to have fallen into one of those funks that even the very best NBA teams fall into at least once during the long, long season. (Suns fans please note the previous sentence.) It also didn’t help that this was a back-to-back game for them and they were without 6-11 center Mehmet Okur, who had a strained a left trapezius (I don’t know what it is either, but it must smart).

This game kicked off a stretch in which the Suns visit New Orleans, San Antonio, and Dallas, play Toronto at home, and the Lakers in Los Angeles - but not to worry.

Off this outing against the Jazz, the Suns’ defense, energy, and work ethic are ready for the test.

The bottom line: I’ve never been among those who thought the sky was falling, or even thought it was cloudy for that matter. Although there have been a few funky moments here and there, this is, and has been from Day One, a very good team with a decent chance to win it all.
]]>Fri, 14 Dec 07 07:49:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_11300703.aspx

Barbosa broke out of his slump to help the Suns win against Orlando.

As in Bell and Barbosa.

These two key cogs in the team’s octane machine have been struggling with various nagging injuries lately, most notably in the loss to Houston Wednesday when they went a combined 5 for 18 from the field and 0-4 from Arc City while managing only 11 points.

But Friday night they combined for 15 of 30 from the field and 6 of 11 from three-point land and totaled 37 points. Raja was particularly impressive in a 35 minute tour, hitting his first four threes to help the Suns build a lead and went on to score 20 points. What’s even more encouraging was how well he moved, although he understandably appeared to tire a tad at the end.

“Raja’s a heckuva player,” said Coach Mike. “He makes a world of difference to our team, and he’ll just keep getting better.”

Leandro, who had cooled off and slowed down (for him) with an ankle problem, got back at least partly into his old groove with 7 for 14 shooting and 17 points.

Overall, this night was something of a mixed bag for the Suns.

They did a lot of things very well early, executing well at the offensive end and playing some solid defense at the other, and really seemed to be in control of the game most of the way.

But they seemed to hit a wall about halfway through the third period, and actually needed plenty of pluck and a bit of luck at the finish to escape with an important victory over a team that came in to town leading the NBA in victories, and that boasts one of the most impressive young players in the game in 6-10 Dwight Howard.

For Howard, “impressive” doesn’t even come close to getting describing his talents. “Awesome” is a lot closer. Friday night he made scoring 30 points and grabbing 23 rebounds as easy as peeling off his warm-ups. True, he also had 8 turnovers and missed 6 free throws, but trust me, those are minor flaws that experience will doubtless smooth out.

The Suns offset his effort with double figure scoring from all five starters plus Barbosa, and got 14 assists from Steve Nash, who took only eight shots and missed six of them, and missed his first free throw on the year after making his first 33.

As luck would have it, that miss was a significant one that left the door ajar for the Magic. But not to worry. He broke out of his slump a few seconds later by making two free throws to slam that door shut.

Coach Mike was half pleased with his team’s night work. Well, maybe three quarters.

“Obviously we won, but we’re still not totally sharp yet. We just don’t seem to have that killer instinct that puts people away. But there was some really good stuff for us out there, especially in the first half.”

The bottom line: The Suns showed enough early to indicate just how good they can be at something still only beginning to approach 100 percent in either the sync or game shape departments. And 12-4 is a fabulous record for the shape they are in.

]]>Sat, 01 Dec 07 05:49:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_11290701.aspx

Despite Nash's efforts on Wednesday, the Suns couldn't overcome Yao Ming's Rockets. (NBAE Photos)

But the fact of this matter is that figuring out why the Suns lost this one is your basic slam dunk. What’s really baffling is how they actually had a chance to win.

The Suns, who hang their hats on their offense (and usually lose their shirts when it’s not there), went some seven minutes without a field goal in the third period and shot 27 percent in the fourth period., Two of their top guns, Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell, were a combined 5 for 19, and Coach Mike’s Gang that normally shoots better than anybody else in the league, hit a dismal 42 per cent as a team..

Yet with 51 seconds to go the Suns were down two!

So how come?

Well, the short answer would be Steve Nash, who scored 11 of his 29 points and four of his team’s six field goals in the fourth period. A slightly longer answer would include an uncharacteristically stout defense led by Shawn Marion (5 steals, 4 blocks) and Amare’s 25 didn’t hurt (although he did struggle a bit from the field.

As for why the Suns ultimately did lose the tall answer would have to be Yao Ming. The 7-6 Rocket center scored 31 points, including 10 in the fourth period. Yao, who has to be the best free throwing 7-6 Chinese Center in NBA history, hit all seven of his tries from the line, and his feather-soft little hook shot at 1:08 gave the Rockets an urgently needed bit of breathing room at 96-92. If the guy plays this well all the time he’s liable to carry the USA as well as China in the All Star Game balloting.

Yao is not always this tough against the Suns, usually because they set a pace that he finds hard to keep up with. Not that this is a knock against him. After all, many much shorter Americans have the same problem.

But this game was played not on Phoenix Faster Than Daylight Time but on Yao Standard Time. And in fact, Yao actually managed to actually beat Amare down the court a few times.

To put some numbers to this revoltin’ development, when the teams met in Houston earlier this month the Suns had 31 fast break points and shot 63 percent from the field while cruising to a convincing victory. Last night they had 10 fast break points.

“We’re just not in sync”, sighed Coach Mike, not for the first time this year. “But,” he added, also not for the first time, “we will be.”

One thing that will “unclog the sync” faster than Liquid Plummer is getting Barbosa healthy. I haven’t heard him complain much, but my suspicion is he’s been bothered by an ankle problem for the last several games. And I think it has affected both his shot (2-for-11) and his explosive finishing drive to the hoop.

It should also be noted Bell’s back isn’t 100 percent and, as good as his numbers are, Amare still hasn’t worked his way all the way back into top game shape.

I offer these caveats neither as excuses nor to detract from Houston’s victory, but merely to point out they are solid reason for believing Coach Mike isn’t just whistling past the graveyard when he offers assurances the team will hit its stride.

The bottom line: At least the Suns are not making the always fatal in the NBA mistake of peaking too soon.
]]>Thu, 29 Nov 07 16:04:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_11230701.aspx

Amare Stoudemire scored a game high 29 points in the Suns' 8th consecutive win. (NBAE Photos)

And although they let the Clippers hang around perhaps a bit longer than necessary that was only because one of their best weapons, the three ball, was misfiring. Other than shooting 24 per cent (4 of 17) from Arc City, the rest of their game was actually in pretty good working order.

All except for Shawn Marion’s that is.

“Pretty good” just doesn’t get it for Shawn, who was a force on the boards with 17 rebounds and a demon on defense (5 steals, 2 blocked shots). In fact, he had his hands on so many Clipper passes and dribble you wonder if maybe his nickname shouldn’t be changed from The Matrix to The Octopus. Oh, and he also scored 21 points.

He gets my game ball by unanimous vote (1-0), but knowing how he loves to play the disrespect card he’ll probable grumble that the Associated Press story didn’t mention him until the second paragraph. (Just kidding, Shawn. Just kidding)

Although the Clippers are minus three starters, including their two best players, they were coming off a victory Wednesday night, and with 38-year-old Sam Cassell leading the charge actually led the Suns by one at the half.

Cassell, who looks like a tall E.T., scored 18 of his 26 points before intermission, and tacked on the other 8 in the third period, sat out the fourth.

Among the most encouraging aspects for the Suns was the aggressiveness of Amare Stoudemire, who gradually seems to be getting his full pop back. Even though foul trouble cut his time to 30 minutes he still managed 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

It was also encouraging to see Boris Diaw come alive with 11 rebounds and 4 assists, and good to see Raja Bell back in action. Of course, that meant shuffling the lineup and bringing Leandro Barbosa off the bench after a spectacular run as a starter, but as usual, the Suns adjusted pretty well on the fly.

True, Barbosa was only 2 for 10 from the field and missed all five of his threes, but that was probably due more to the fact that as hot as he’s been the guy was bound to miss a shot or two sooner or later.

The bottom line: The Suns weren’t perfect last night, but they were better than they had to be, and did the thing they do best (and most) --- win.

Bonus bottom line: This is not only a better team than last year’s but the best of Coach Mike’s yet.]]>Sat, 24 Nov 07 05:54:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_11220701.aspxWhen you hit right at 50 percent from the field and put 63 points on the board in the first half, you’d like to think you’d be in the lead going to the locker room, or at least in the GAME, but the Sacramento Kings did both, and yet were neither. In fact, they were trailing by 17 points!

That’s what happens when your opposition hits 11 of its first 12 shots and 18 of its first 21, and goes on to shoot 75 percent for the first 12 minutes. You’d think with that kind of start the law of averages alone would cool the Suns down in the second period, and sure enough the Suns did cool off, hitting only 60 percent.

Coach Mike D'Antoni admitted his team played “pretty good” in the first half, and that the first period was “unbelievable.”

It wasn’t just the hot shooting either. The Suns had it all going, moving the ball as well as they have all year, running the break like they invented it (when actually they only reinvented it), and all the while taking better care of the basketball than is their wont, what with only seven turnovers.

All in all, it was an impressive reminder of just how good this top-of-the-line point machine can be when it is hitting on all cylinders. And don’t let that relatively modest final total of 127 fool you. If Coach Mike hadn’t opted to keep all of his starters on the bench the entire fourth period it could easily have been 157.

Granted, as my colleague Jerry Brown of The Tribune suggested, this was a mismatch of such magnitude that even the Nevada Boxing Commision might have refused to sanction it, what with the Suns having the best point guard on the planet and the short-handed Kings not even having a bona fide point guard available. As if this weren’t bad enough, they were also minus main man Ron Artest, who was back in Sacramento dealing with a family problem.

And it was Steve Nash (surprise, surprise) who triggered the avalanche, hitting his first five shots, and kept it rolling with 15 assists in just 27 minutes --- which is three more than the entire Kings team had in 48.

All five Suns starters were in double figures, and could easily have been named Player of the Game en masse, but this night I think my game balls will go to the entire bench brigade, led by Marcus Banks, who not only had eight points but also six, count ‘em six, assists. And how about the trio of Brian Skinner, D.J. Strawberry and Alando Tucker combining for 24 points?

I know the case for the starters is more compelling, but those guys have closets full of game ball already and the subs don’t often get the opportunity to show what they can do. Besides, they’re my game balls, and I can give ‘em to who I want to.

The bottom line: How about a 10-2 record and 7 straight wins? Its' a happy Thanksgiving, indeed!
]]>Thu, 22 Nov 07 17:18:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_11160701.aspx

Shawn Marion led the Suns' charge against the Bulls in the second half. (NBAE Photos)

Granted, there were a few times in between when they played nobody’s game, but even considering those few lapses you’d have to say both the team and the crowd responded to Coach Mike’s scolding after the win over the Knicks.

Nash, a little bit like a maestro who had misplaced his favorite baton early on, more than made up for it with seven fourth-period assists and some other great floor play that didn’t find its way into the assist column but set up some easy hoops nonetheless.

And beating the Bulls any way you can is nothing to sniff at. Granted they are only 1-6, but they are the best 1-6 aggregation I’ve seen in these parts in quite a while. This is a tough, tenacious, talented team that seems to have temporarily lost its way. (At least I think it’s temporary.)

Nash didn’t do it alone in the fourth period. Shawn Marion scored 11 of his 21 points in those final 12 minutes, and Boris Diaw, who really struggled in the first three periods, had 7 of his 10 points, including some of the most pivotal ones, plus two assists. And isn’t it amazing how when Nash cranks up his A game players around him starts looking great?

The Suns hit 71 percent from the field in that fourth period and in the process improvedto 7-2, which put them in a four-way tie for the best record in the West.

While they hang their hat on their scorched net offense, their notorious M-M (as in much-maligned) defense deserves a goodly portion of the credit this night. And Amare Stoudemire, who many believe his helping “D” may be the key to the team’s title hopes, led the way with 6 of the Suns’ 10 blocks in just 26 minutes.

Coach Mike, who grudgingly allowed his team played “okay” against the Knicks, and said the crowd wasn’t even that good, upgraded the team’s play to “pretty well”, and the crowd’s effort to “really great”.

But he also kept the pedal to the metal on the fans. “This is a community effort,” he said. “If we’re going to win the title it’s not just going to be the 12 guys on the team. It’s going to be everybody.”

In other words, if title aspirations fall short, it’s going to be on your head too.

]]>Sat, 17 Nov 07 07:27:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_11140701.aspx

Grant Hill is excited about where this team is headed. (NBAE Photos)

But don’t let any of that fool you.

Despite the impressive record, the Suns have to get better. Coach Mike says so, the players say so, and fans are fretting that they jolly well better improve...or else.

I will grant you that beating the Knicks (even at full strength) is nothing to blog home about. This night they were without Stephon Marbury, Zach Randolph, defense, and with Isiah Thomas. However, there is too much angst in the local basketball-speaking community - especially this early in the season.

Some of it is probably a hangover from that shellacking they took from the Lakers in the home opener. And while the team is winning, they are not dominating quite as awesomely as many had expected. Even Coach Mike said that last night’s romp was just “okay”.

In response I offer one word: “Chill.”

The Suns are exactly who you thought they were back in training camp when visions of 72 wins were dancing in your heads. They are still a top contender for the NBA championship.

In fact, when you consider Amare Stoudemire missed most of training camp with a knee problem and several other players have been nicked up here and there, plus the fact it takes time to work new players into the system, your Phoenix Suns are actually overachieving.

Make no mistake. They will get better...much better!

They still have all the weapons that have made them the most feared scoring machine in the NBA... PLUS Grant Hill and a better bench... PLUS the extra motivation of feeling they were robbed of the title last year.
While they do need to getter better, isn't it nice that they’re not all that bad right now? Think about how good they’re going to be when Amare gets into game shape and the new players are fully absorbed into the system. In fact, just think about Amare. While rounding into game shape he had 22 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes last night. Oh, and he also blocked four shots. Steve Nash is the driver of this team, but Amare is the engine.

No matter how well they do in the next few months, they still can’t prove anything or convince skeptics until the playoffs. Even going 72-10 wouldn’t do it. So it's understandable if they aren’t trying to change minds every night between now and “proving” time.

Trust me, when that time comes around, they will be pumped.

And while last night’s performance was “okay,” it was nice to witness Grant Hill make progress adding the three-point shot to his repertoire. He was reluctant and struggling early on, but hit three of four from Arc City last night.

The bottom line: You should be feeling very good about this team. There is indeed a lot of work to be done, but the tools are there to do it.
]]>Wed, 14 Nov 07 15:23:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_11040702.aspx

Jerry Colangelo was inducted into the Suns Ring of Honor on November 4. (NBAE Photos)

Talk about giving back to the community!

If it was a good day for Jerry when he arrived in Phoenix in 1968, it was an even better day for the Valley. Not just for basketball and baseball, but for just about every aspect of Valley life.

As the all-purpose go-to guy here for most of the last four decades Jerry not only was the driving force for in building the Suns from the ground up, but was also the driving force behind the new arena that kept the franchise here. And along the way he built such a reputation for getting things done that Major League Baseball agreed to put a franchise here only if he would agree to get involved.

And as impressive as his sports legacy is, he is about a lot more than sports. He was also the driving force in civic and charitable activities and, as the song they played during the moving halftime Ring of Honor ceremonies said, he did it all his way --- which is to say with class.

Most people who become such powerful forces in a community usually are heads of big corporations or wealthy philanthropists, or holders of powerful public office, or the like.

But when Colangelo came here it was to head an organization in a sport that was little more than a cult sport. And while he had nothing to do with an NBA franchise being located here, he had everything to do with building it into one of the most respected and admired organizations in all of pro sports.

In fact, he is to my knowledge the only man ever to build pro franchises in two different sports from the ground up. He was (and still is, for that matter) a unique combination of first class basketball and business skills, not to mention a blend of compassion and competitiveness.

If his success at so many different levels could be reduced to one word, it would probably be trust.

People instinctively trust him. Players trust him, political leaders trust him, his employees trust him, and people with lots of money trusted him enough to invest in the big dreams he brought with him from Chicago.

Admission to the Ring of Honor was of course a foregone conclusion, and putting him in the center position was also a nice and fitting touch. But the Ring is only a basketball honor. At some time it would be appropriate for the community at large to recognize all of his contributions to our quality of life with a statue in some public place.

As the participants filed out after the Ring ceremony Cotton Fitzsimmons widow, JoAnn, leaned over and said, “This is the end of an era.”

Fortunately, it’s not the end of Colangelo, who is still very active, most notably in his capacity as director of USA Olympic basketball fortunes. But in a sense she was absolutely correct. The ceremony indeed marked the formal end of The Colangelo Era.

And if an “epitaph’ is needed for that era, it could well be, “He made a difference --- and we are not likely to see his like pass our way again any time soon.”
]]>Mon, 05 Nov 07 05:11:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_11020704.aspx

The Suns were on their heels most of the night but Joe Giilmartin says this is an aberration. (NBAE Photos)

How else can you explain a team some don’t even expect to make the playoffs running up a 33-point lead on a team many expect to win it all? Or how Kobe Bryant winds up with 10 more rebounds than Amare Stoudemire and one more assist than Steve Nash?

One thing about being a fan of a mercurial team like the Suns is that you have to be able to take a joke now and then. And with the exception of a tiny smattering of boos in the second period the crowd took this one with remarkably good grace. I suspect there were two reasons for this good humor. One, this isn’t Philadelphia. And two, the fans recognized this exactly for what it was.

The game was so far out of hand by the end of the third period that Laker coach Phil Jackson basically sat all of his starters the entire fourth period and Coach Mike sat three of his, including Nash.

It doesn’t figure to happen again this millennium, but for this night at least the Lakers were poetry in motion and the Suns were still life. The lightly regarded visitors shot the lights out, moved the ball well, and totally dominated the boards. Of course, the Suns didn’t take all this sitting down. They took a lot of it standing still. And once the Lakers realized they weren’t being guarded they all turned into sharpshooters, most notably Derek Fisher, who hit seven of nine from mid-range.

Kobe scored only 16 points, 29 down from his last outing, but was a model team man who helped run the offense and launched only 15 shots.

If you’re looking for a mitigating circumstance, the Suns didn’t get back from Seattle until three a.m., and at times it looked as though they had walked most of the way. And indeed, Jackson himself suggested the Suns had fallen victim to what he called “attrition in scheduling at the beginning of every season”.

In any case, the two active ingredients in defense are energy and heart, and alas, as Coach Mike noted succinctly, the Suns, for whatever reason, had neither of the above.

Speaking of attrition, Jackson probably set himself up for a little himself down the road by calling a time out on top of a Suns’ timeout late in the game. “He took eight minutes over there to explain one play he probably didn’t even run,” said Coach D’Antoni. “Yes I was pretty upset. I though he disrespected our players, but he likes to play mind games, and that’s fine. He might want to try it in the playoffs when we bust them every time.”

The bottom line: Don’t worry. Just as lightning never strikes twice in the same place, aberrations never strike twice in the same season. And I’m with Coach Mike when he says the Suns are still a great team and will be just fine.

]]>Sat, 03 Nov 07 06:25:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_10290702.aspxThe reason I bring up this personal note is that my first order of business is to thank the hundreds of very thoughtful people around the country, and even the world, who took the time to e-mail condolences on the loss of my wife and wish me a speedy recovery. Those messages meant a lot to me, and I was especially moved by the many touching tributes to Ginger, whose columns in The Republic over the years touched literally thousands of lives. Indeed, some of her columns are still posted on refrigerator doors. I can’t begin to thank you all enough.

But enough about me. You want to know about the Suns. And by way of setting the stage for what about them, I’ll start with a parable. Well, actually more of a goofy story:

Once upon a time a simple soul went to the movies. In fact he sat through four sittings of the same movie day after day, and was particularly absorbed by a scene in which a speeding car almost but not quite makes it through a railroad crossing. When asked why he kept coming back he explained, “One of these times I know the car’s going to beat that train.”

Hey, I said it was a goofy story. But substitute Phoenix fans for the simple soul, the Suns for the speeding car, and the San Antonio Express for just plain train and it’s more painful than goofy.

Think about it!

Suns fans have been sitting through the same playoff “movie” for three years now, and they’re sure that one of these years the “car’s” going to beat that “train”. This year they are more sure than ever, and, for reasons I will explain anon, I’m with them.

But first, a mini-review of past crashes.

In 2004-5, which by no coincidence whatsoever was Steve Nash’s first year, the Suns won 62 games, swept through the first round of the playoffs, and took out Dallas in six games. But they also lost Joe Johnson (orbital bone fracture) and fell to the Spurs in five games.

In Year II of the Nash era Amare Stoudemire was lost for he season (knee) but the Suns still won 54 games and came back from 1-3 to beat Kobe and his non supporting cast in the first round of the playoffs, take out the Clippers in round two, and open the conference finals with a victory over the favored Mavericks in Dallas. But Raja Ball, the team’s stopper and one of its main snipers, went down with a calf injury, and the Suns fell in six.

In Year III (otherwise known in these parts as a year that will live in infamy) the Suns won 61 games and the playoffs opened on a promising note with the Suns beating Kobe and his even less supporting cast in five games, and seized the home court advantage the rest of the way when top-seeded Dallas was upset by the barely seeded Warriors. The Suns split the first four games with the Spurs, but Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for Game Five for leaving the bench after Roberto Horry folded, spindled, and attempted to mutilate Nash. The seriously depleted Suns still led the Spurs most of the way in Game Five in Phoenix before simply running out of gas, and San Antonio took care of business in Game Six en route to another NBA Championship.

So why do I agree with most local fans that Year IV at long last is the Suns’ year?

Well, to give you the short version first, the Suns are significantly better this year, and the Spurs and Mavericks are merely just as scary as ever. And given that there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the three NBA super powers, strengthwise (more like four cents) “significantly improved” rates a slight edge over “just as scary”.

How are the Suns better? Let us count the ways.

Last year at this time there were still some unanswered questions about Amare, Boris Diaw was either over stuffed or under interested, and none of the off season moves were working out. All of the above plus a tad too much la dolce vita during training camp in Italy, and, not surprisingly, the team got off to your basic flying standstill.

This year at this time Amare looked like he’s ready for a breakout year (which considering his other years weren’t too shabby) is reason enough in itself to like the team’s title chances. But there’s more, lots more, most notably the addition of Grant Hill. True, it could be argued he gives the Suns more of what they already had, but he does a lot more than that. For one thing, he raises the talent and savvy levels considerably and makes the league’s most versatile team even more versatile. This is a class and competitive act on the Nash level. Put it this way: If a healthy Hill had been on the team last year the question being asked around the NBA now would be, “Can they repeat?”

Also, Diaw looks a lot more like the player who played so brilliantly his first year with the Suns, and that is a huge plus. How huge? Put it this way: If Diaw had played last year like he did his first in Phoenix that same question wouldn't be being asked.

As for Nash, he not only looks better than ever, but if anything seems even more determined. The two suspensions in last year’s playoffs threw some gasoline on the competitive fire in him that was already hot enough to melt titanium.

In fact, overall, going in to the season this may well be the most motivated, single minded Suns’ team ever. These guys are mad as heck and are going to take it --- the title that is.

Moving right along, you have to figure Bell will be as good as ever, and Barbosa should be even better, the depth is better, and the back end of the bench shows more promise and seems happier.

And unlike last year, when they were locked into their playoff position very early and thus tended to lose focus at times, they figure to be in the hunt fro the top seed from Day one, and that should more than hold their attention.

The biggest hurdle for them is health, but all teams are in that boat.

There will be times the loss of Kurt Thomas’s rebounding and defense will be lamented on talk shows (probably every time the Suns lose a game), but in some ways Thomas was not really a good fit for Coach Mike’s system. And while there will be the usual grumbling around the league about lack of defense the bottom line is the Suns play better defense against the rest of the league than the rest of the league does against the Suns.

Some of the annual carping about the system has already started. An unidentified scout was speaking for many of the cognoscenti recently when he said, “I love Mike’s system, but it’s not really built for the playoffs.”

To which I have only two words, namely, hog and wash.

Anybody who really pays attention to the NBA knows it wasn’t Coach Mike’s system that did the Suns in the playoffs last year, it was the $%$#$ NBA system.

But seriously, you don’t win 60 games and come within a whisker/suspension of an NBA title without playing decent defense. The key stat in pro hoops is not points allowed, but point differential. Check the leaders in points allowed and you’ll find that most of them don’t score a whole lot of points themselves.

All in all, I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait to go see that “movie” again. In fact, while the title of my first book about the Suns was, “The Little Team That Could …And Darn Near Did”, the title for the next one will be, “The Year The Car Finally Beat The Train Across The Tracks.”

]]>Mon, 29 Oct 07 15:33:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_05170701.aspxThey said it couldn't be done, and in the end the Suns couldn't do it. But if they gave medals for trying this would be the most decorated team in the entire sports pantheon today.

Head Coach Mike D'Antoni and the Suns will be ready for Game 6 on Friday. (Barry Gossage/NBAE Photos)

What it lacked in offensive manpower, it made up for in heart and defense. But alas, while it never ran out of those two items, it did run out of gas late last night.

The Game 5 loss left them down 2-3 heading back to San Antonio, but they are in better shape than most teams in such a predicament.

This wasn’t a must win. Friday is a must win, and Sunday is a WILL win! (Trust me on this one. There is no way the Spurs win a Game 7 in Phoenix against a full strength Suns team. No way!)

“We know we can beat these guys,” said a far from dispirited Coach Mike. “We’ve shown it and we’ve done it.”

And I’m most definitely with him.

Although they came up short, the Suns demonstrated that even without Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw they can defend the daylights out of the Spurs, and that’s the main reason I still very much believe Phoenix will advance to the next round.

That “D” was almost enough to get the job done, even with a huge chunk of the NBA’s best offense on suspension. And I’m expecting Amare to come out smokin’ hot Friday.

There’s something else, too.

It has seemed to me almost from the start that much of the national media seemed to frame this as a case of the Suns trying to upset the Spurs, something I think both teams sort of bought into early.

That, of course, was an upside down view. The right side up, of course, is that the Spurs are trying to upset the Suns, who have a better record, are higher seeded, have a decent defense of their own, and a much, much better offense.

Part of the reason for the upside down view, of course, was rooted in the last few years, when the Spurs were indeed the gold standard in the NBA. They’re still very good, of course, but not THAT good.

The bottom line: See you Sunday.

But there was no denying him in this “must” win.

Although Amaré Stoudemire had 27 points and Steve Nash had 16 assists, while Marion had only five points and one assist, the superb shackle job he did on Tony Parker was the key to the Suns’ defense. And on a night when it took the Suns’ vaunted offensive almost three periods to even warm (it never got really hot), the defense was definitely the key to squaring the series.

Kurt Thomas also deserves high marks for his yeoman work on Tim Duncan (good call, Coach Mike), but just as it was inability to control Parker that cost the Suns Game 1, it was Marion’s ability to do so that got them Game 2.

Parker scored 32 points and had eights assists in Game 1 on Sunday, and even more importantly, his ability to pretty much go wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted to seemed to take a lot of energy out of the Suns.

But Marion, the most versatile defender in the NBA no matter how the coaches and writers voted, was able to keep Parker from slashing to the basket, and also bother him enough outside to cool off his hot shooting hand. As a result, Tony P. managed only 13 points and three assists on Tuesday night, and never really was that much of a factor.

All in all, with Raja Bell helping throttle frequent Suns’ tormentor Manu Ginobili, and indeed just about everybody pitching in, this may have been one of the best defensive efforts in a playoff game ever by a team that’s not even supposed to be able to spell defense, let alone play it.

That’s never been true, of course. And if it had been last night the Suns would be heading to Texas down 0-2. When you only hit 26 percent of your shots in the first period and still are down only six you’ve got to be doing a lot right at the other end. (Actually, the Suns came within one 10th of a second of being down only four, but after a replay check officials ruled Parker had been fouled with .1 tick still on the clock, and Tony converted two free throws).

“I thought WE were supposed to be the defensive team,” lamented San Antonio coach Greg Popovich, “but they made us look like novices in that regard.”

Just so! And just as ironical as the best offensive team in the league beating the best defense team in the league with defense was the fact the Suns actually outworked and wore down the Spurs.

“We can play better on offense,” said D’Antoni. “Much better. But we were really good defensively, and it all started with Shawn and Kurt.”

When you get right down to it, this was precisely the kind of game (and against precisely the kind of team) the Suns weren’t supposed to be able to win (beat) because their highly entertaining style just wouldn’t work on the postseason stage.

While the standard spin at this point is that this is only one game, the margin of defeat is irrelevant, the Spurs got what they came for, etc, and thus the series now stands 1-to-1 in their favor. But I’m not buying it.

Oh, I buy the margin of defeat part. But I think the fact the Suns proved just how well they can play defense, and how well they adjusted at both ends of the court is very significant.

That’s why I like them even more to win the series now than I did before it started.

Amaré Stoudemire is the key to the Suns advancing to the Western Conference Finals for a third straight year. (NBAE Photos)

“Okay,” he pressed on. “Now give me three reasons why they won’t”

“Amaré Stoudemire, Amaré Stoudemire, Amaré Stoudemire,” I replied.

If you’re reading between the lines here you’ve probably guessed the view here is that Amaré is the key to the series.

Don’t misunderstand. Steve Nash is still The Straw (i.e. ---the one that stirs the drink) and an MVP for the ages, if apparently not this year.

But for me, given who the Spurs are and what they hang their hat on, Amaré will be The Difference. The one Sun, if you will, for whom the Spurs really have no physical answer for. They didn’t in 2005 playoffs, when he averaged 37 points a game against them in the playoffs and they still don’t.

If he stays out of foul trouble and the Suns don’t forget about him on offense (as they were prone to do at times during the regular season) the Suns figure to clear the biggest remaining hurdle between them and The Prize.

If he doesn’t . . .

And it’s not just his offense. Indeed, his emergence as a force on the boards and a looming inside presence as a help defender are the two biggest reasons this Suns team better than the first two in the Nash era (besides better health and Leandro Barbosa, of course).

Many of the cognoscenti favor the Spurs in this classic match-up between a great defense and a great offense, noting, among other things, San Antonio’s 17-4 edge in the last 21 meetings between the teams. They also point out that, even with Amaré scoring 37 points a game in that 2005 series the Spurs took the Suns out in five games.

But those Spurs are not quite as good as these Spurs, whereas these Suns, as noted, are significantly a bit better than those Suns.

And the very fact so many do favor the Spurs is an intangible plus for a franchise which has always done better as an underdog than a favorite. Flying under the national radar has long been the Suns’ best altitude.

The one thing I do see eye to eye with the cognoscenti is that the team that wins this series will go on to win the title. Well, almost eye to eye. I think the Suns would be a bit more a lock to do so than the Spurs.

The bottom line: Suns in more than five but less than seven.

]]>Fri, 04 May 07 23:18:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_05030701.aspxOne thing everybody agrees on about the Suns is that they are different. And most of the time almost everybody says Vive la Difference! But there's one "difference" that's really not all that much to "vive" about.

Shawn Marion registered a double double with 26 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday night's series-clinching win over the Lakers. (Barry Gossage/NBAE Photos)

I refer, of course, to the fact that unlike almost any other team in any other sport, these guys seem to have the darndest time coming from way AHEAD to win. They usually manage to, of course, as witness their 61 regular-season victories, their 4-1 disposal of the Lakers in the first round, and the growing consensus that, while the way to The Prize still runs through the Southwest, it’s through Arizona, not Texas.

Last night offered a perfect illustration of this maddening “la Difference.” At 10:25 in the third period the Suns had opened a 15-point lead and seemed well on the way to the blowout a lot of people expected and, no matter what they say publicly, the Suns really wanted.

But at 1:30 in the third period the lead was cut all the way down to two, and the palpable perspiration in the stands wasn’t due to a sudden breakdown in the US Airways air conditioning system.

But not to worry!

Remember, it’s only when they are way AHEAD that the basketball version of the Ferrari that is their high-speed offense suddenly starts sounding like a 1946 Hudson and their defense starts leaking points. So thus it was no surprise that by 5:52 in the fourth period the lead was all the way back to 16.

Worry!

With three minutes to play that lead was back down to five, Kobe Bryant had finally located the basket, and the Suns suddenly found themselves fighting a guerrilla war on the boards to survive. Fortunately, they were winning that war, thanks to some great inside work by Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, and finally managed to put the Lakers in their rear view mirror for good.

Incidentally, in their lone loss in the series, the Suns got off to an 11-0 start and eventually built a 17-point lead, and then pfft!

Leading hoopologists are unsure what causes this strange quirk, but suspect it may be built into the very pedal-to-the-metal, fire when ready (or not) modus operandi that makes them the most entertaining team in the NBA, not to mention one of the most successful.

“La Difference” aside, usually the Suns win in style, but in the end this win was as much or maybe more about hustle and muscle than run and fun. The Suns won partly because Amare was able to foul out two thirds of the Lakers’ starting front line while scoring 26 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, and Shawn Marion had a brilliant all-around game at both ends of the court. In fact, Marion, who finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, gets our coveted game ball for this one. And you have to believe that if the Suns can somehow find ways to get NBA voters and/or the league office to snub him two or three more times there will be no stopping them.

Shawn, easily the most versatile defender in the league, was dumped on by both the coaches and the media in Defensive Player and All-Defensive balloting. And as he often does when he feels slighted, he takes his frustrations out on the opposition.

While the Suns were clearly pleased to be moving into the second round, they had really hoped to finish off the series with a bit more of a flourish. After all, they not only are much better than the Lakers but also much healthier.

In the pre-game notes they have a listing of injuries for both teams. For the Suns it was, “INJURIES: None.” For the Lakers it was, “INJURIES: Kobe Bryant (sprained left ankle) will play. Kwame Brown (sprained left ankle), Lamar Odom (torn labrum, left shoulder; hyper-extended left elbow) and Luke Walton (sprained right ankle; dislocated right pinky finger) are probable. Chris Mihn (right ankle surgery) out for season.”

The main reason I cite this is not to try to drum up a little sympathy for the Lakers, but rather to underscore the biggest reason I like the Suns chances of finally winning their first championship much better than in any of the previous Nash Years, namely, health.

The early bottom line on Round Two: I like the Suns because of their home-court advantage vs. the Spurs, and because of Amare (though, not necessarily in that order). Remember, that’s my EARLY line.

Amaré Stoudemire's defense sparked the Suns' open-court game. (NBAE Photos)

Okay, maybe the surreal Suns. I’ve seen them play this well in spurts during the Nash Era, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them sustain such excellence at both ends of the court for such a prolonged period. Four periods, actually.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many Suns at the top of their game at both ends of the court at the same time either.

Steve Nash had only two fewer assists in 25 minutes than the entire Lakers team had in 48, Leandro Barbosa had another 26-point microburst, Shawn Marion had another double double, and Amare – well, Amare not only scored 20 points but also was the backbone of a superb defense that helped turn this into an open-court game.

“Amare’s not known as a great one-on-one defender,” said Kobe Bryant in the post-game press conference, “but he’s an excellent help defender.”

Exactly!

Amare’s spectacular blocks (four in all) and hovering presence not only short circuited the only strength the Lakers have other than Kobe (i.e. -- the power game), but keyed a running game that netted 39 fast-break points.

Barbosa continues to be a revelation. Talk about the rich getting richer. The Suns already had a roster that included a two-time MVP plus two other All Stars, and now Barbosa is emerging as a full-fledged star in his own right.

Once known mostly as The Fastest Sun, he has morphed into The Unstoppable Sun, a point Lakers coach Phil Jackson underscored when he called him “the difference in the series to this point.”

In the process of running circles (and even a few squares and rectangles) around the befuddled Lakers, Barbosa also made the voters who made him the runaway choice for Sixth Man of the Year look good.

This 26-point performance was even more impressive than the one in Game 1 of the series because of the potential additional pressure put on him by the pre-game ceremonies in which he received the award and highlights of his season were played on the arena screens, while the Lakers stood around watching.

Sometimes in those circumstances the honoree experiences a letdown, and when Barbosa missed his first three shots it appeared as though this might be one of those times. But not to worry. He hit seven of his next eight, and was the driving force behind a 37-22 second period that blew the game wide open.

And while not to put to fine a point on it, on several occasions he seemed to be wearing sneakers while all the Lakers were wearing ski boots (and on a couple of occasions, skis).

So far in this series I’ve been mildly surprised twice. Game 1 was a little harder to win than I expected, and Game 2 was a little easier. But ONLY a little.

The Larkers are trying to shrug this off as something of an aberration and shrugging that a 30-point loss in the playoffs is no more significant than a one-point loss, and in fact, actually is less painful.

Ordinarily I might agree with them.

In fact, the last time I remember the Lakers falling more than 30 points behind in a playoff game was in Game 1 of the 1985 Finals in Boston. I was in the Gah-den that night and saw the Lakers lose to the Celtics, 148-114. But they went on to square the series in Game 2 and eventually close out the Celts in Game 6.

But there was no noticeable talent gap between those Lakers and those Celtics, whereas there is a huge one between these Lakers and these Suns. I’ll grant you it’s not 28 points wide, but it’s in the 15-20 range

Which basically means that in order to salvage even one game in this series the Lakers will have to somehow let all the air out of the ball, put some glue on the soles of Barbosa’s sneakers, and hope an exhausted Kobe (hey, if you’d been carrying a whole NBA team on your back for the last six months you’d be tired too) locates his suddenly gone-missing touch.

The only thing that worries me is that the Suns might have blown their cover. They came into the series as a team allegedly bogged down with chemistry and focus problems, and did nothing to dispel that misread in Game 1.

But Game 2, alas, unmasked them as the explosive force they really are, and in fact have been all along.

Shawn Marion and the Suns pulled out a 96-87 win in Game 1 vs. the Lakers. (Barry Gossage/NBAE Photos)

Before the series started I thought the Suns had too much talent, speed and firepower for the Lakers to handle, and that it would be a short series. And I saw nothing Sunday to change my mind.

I know the Suns trailed most of the way, but even when they were down by 12 I never really felt they were in danger of losing the game or certainly the series -- although I’ll admit there were stretches in the first half when I felt they might have to limp into the second round still suffering from all those self-inflicted bullet wounds in their feet.

Those first two periods had an upside down feel. So upside down that a fan who just returned from a vacation on Mars, and thus was not au courant, as they say, would have thought he was watching the scrappy, undermanned Suns making a game bid to upset the powerful Lakers instead of vice versa.

Still, even with the Suns shooting as poorly as they have all year, and Kobe going off for 28 first-half points, the Suns were only down nine at intermission. And even though that deficit would grow a tad before starting to shrink, I never had a sense of impending doom. I never sensed that in the stands either (although there is a tendency in these point-happy parts to think that any time the shots aren’t falling the sky must be).

Once you get past the almost shockingly bad shooting and early jitters, there were a lot of things that in some ways made this win almost as impressive as the blowouts sure to come in the series. Things like rebounding, defense, grit and the ability to make outside-in adjustments on the fly when their offense sputters, not to mention taking Kobe’s best shot.

Maybe the Lakers walked off the court thinking, “Hey, we can definitely play with these guys.” In fact, Coach Phil Jackson said as much in his post-game press conference. But that’s them.

If I’M the Lakers, I’m walking off the court saying to myself, “Man, if we couldn’t beat these dudes today we’ll NEVER beat them,” and I’m thinking the Lakers' stock went DOWN, not up. But that’s me.

I’m further thinking, “We might be able to do SOMETHING with Nash and Amare and Marion. I mean we can at least catch them. But we can hardly SEE Leandro Barbosa, let alone catch the guy.”

Barbosa, easily the fastest thing on two sneakers, not only blew past the Lakers for lay-ups but hit a momentum-building 31-foot three as time ran out in the third period. And he scored 15 straight Suns points in a blistering 4:33 span at the end of the third period and beginning of the fourth en route to 26 points.

We’ve all been saying for the last two years he’s probably the fastest player in the NBA, but he’s a blur beyond fast. “He’s so much faster than anybody else it’s unbelievable,” said Coach Mike. Combine that sped with three-point range outside and an uncanny ability to bank in soft shots high off the glass from improbable angles while on the fly and you’ve got an unguardable package.

Oh, and did I mention he’s only now beginning to fully understand how to exploit those skills. Once he really gets the hang of it…

He was the best story Sunday, but certainly not the whole one. Steve Nash was his MVP self, both by the numbers and through his ability to subtly shift gears as the game situations change, and Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire were dominating on the boards.

As for the Lakers, once Kobe’s shot went missing (he was 1 for his last 11) the Lakers went losing. But give them credit for some solid defense and all-out effort.

The bottom line: In addition to the talent gap between the teams there is also an energy gap, which is one reason the Lakers wore down in the fourth period, and will wear down even more in the next three games (four if necessary).

Amaré Stoudemire meets with the media after Thursday afternoon's practice. (Barry Gossage/NBAE Photos)

And in fact, the same thought must have struck him almost before he finished saying it because he almost immediately tried to sort of unsay it. 

Dennis Johnson (1954-2007)

Not only was he a great player to watch, but great to be around. During his three years with the Suns he was a go-to guy for quotes as well as points.

He arrived here in a controversial trade that sent Paul Westphal to Seattle, and departed in an even more controversial trade that sent him to Boston along with first and third round picks in exchange for Rick Robey and two second round picks.

He missed only five regular season games in his three years as a Sun, while averaging 17.5 points a game, and totaled 204 points in 17 playoff games.

Before coming here he guided the Sonics to their only NBA title in 1979. And after leaving here he helped the Celtics win their last two.

He was a tremendous defensive player and demon rebounder. And beyond that he had to be the best 6-4 shot blocker in the history of professional basketball.

In the Sonics’ title run he blocked an astonishing 26 shots in 17 games and had 28 steals while averaging 20.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. And while he was no more than a so-so shooter in the first three periods, he was an outstanding one in the fourth period, and a deadly one in the last two minutes. He was one of those rare players (and trust me, they are a lot rarer than you think) who really wanted to take that you make you win you miss you lose last shot.

So basically what you had in D.J. was a player whose combination of skills made him unique in the literal sense of the word.

That’s why as a member of the panel that selected the top 50 players of all time I had him among my 50. He didn’t quite make it, but I still think he should have.

Mind you, I didn’t say he was a perfect player. Just unique. In truth, he was an engaging eccentric whose eccentricities didn’t always endear him to teammates, and endeared him even less to his coaches, especially in practices.

In fact, in a crucial early round game in ’79 that the Sonics seemed on the verge of losing teammate Paul Silas found it necessary to refocus Dennis’s attention with a sharp verbal elbow to the ribs. But once refocused, Dennis calmly proceeded to drill home the winning shot.

The bottom line on Dennis Johnson: If you could somehow add him in his prime to this year’s Suns you could start engraving the trophy and designing the rings right now.

That’s how good he was. And how much he will be missed.
]]>Fri, 23 Feb 07 01:48:00 UThttp://suns.marqui.com/blog/suns01_02170702.aspxLAS VEGAS -- Memories, memories. This town’s NBA roots don’t run very deep, but they have sprouted some noteworthy branches.

Paul Westphal’s 19.4 average in five All Star games ranks seventh all time. (NBAE Photos)

In fact, my last visit here in my professional capacity it was to cover one of the signature moments in the annals of professional basketball.

It was back in 1984, when, for reasons I don’t remember (unlike most people my age my problem is that my memory IS what it used to be) the Jazz scheduled 10 of their home games for this desert gambling oasis. And as it happens, one of 10 was against the Lakers.

And what made this moment so “signature” was a play that in itself was as routine as they come. How mean, how many times had we seen Magic feed the ball to Kareem on the right side of the lane and watched Kareem methodically score on one of his patented sky hooks?

But this particular sky hook broke Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time career scoring record of 31,419 points. And what followed was one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever seen as the floor was suddenly filled with photographers, press people, and just plain people. And mind you, this was with the game still technically in progress.

Order was eventually restored, of course. And for the record the Lakers went on to win, 129-115.

Memories, memories.

One that sky hook brought back for me was one Kareem made in his very first NBA game after Magic joined the Lakers. It was a buzzer-beater in San Diego that won the game. And what I’ll never forget is Magic leaping into an astonished Kareem’s arms and hugging him.

Right now you’re probably thinking this isn’t all THAT memorable. But you have to remember that making sky hooks was almost as routine for Kareem as brushing his teeth, and just about as exciting. And this was just the FIRST game of the season for crying out loud.

But of course, Magic was all about exuberance, and eventually some of that, okay, a tiny tad of it, would rub off on The Big Fella.

Memories, memories.

Earlier that year in a game here Adrian Dantley tied Wilt’s record for most free throws made by sinking 28 in only 29 attempts.

Moving right along down memory lane, the Blazers beat the Lakers 102-76 in Game Four of the first round of a playoff series in 1992, the game having been moved out of Los Angeles because of the Watts riots.

Memories, memories. This time strictly All Star.

You probably remember the 1975 All Star Game was played in the Madhouse on McDowell in Phoenix (assuming you are old enough to remember either 1975 or the Madhouse). The East beat the West, Walt Frazier was the MVP, and Kareem had 22 points and 15 rebounds.

And I KNOW you haven’t forgotten the 1995 game at America West Arena (surely you remember America West Arena). Paul Westphal of the Suns was the coach of the winning West team, and Mitch Richmond was the MVP.

There was also sort of a Phoenix angle in the 1987 game in Seattle. Tom Chambers, who would go on to fame and fortune as a Sun, was a Sonic back then, and was supposed to be a spectator at the game. But Chambers was added to the team after Houston’s Ralph Sampson suffered a knee injury and went on to score 34 points and win MVP honors in the West’s overtime victory.

More Phoenix stuff:

Westphal’s 19.4 average in five All Star games ranks seventh all time, and Chambers’ 19.3 in four ranks eighths. FYI, the all time leader is Oscar Robertson at 20.5 over 12 games. Michael Jordan? He’s number three at 20.2 over 13 games.

And on another Phoenix note, former Sun’s favorite Larry Nance is tied with Randy Smith for the best all-time shooting percentage at .714.

On a final Suns note, it was at the 1976 game in Philadelphia that Jerry Colangelo engineered the trade that brought Garfield Heard to Phoenix and propelled the team from the depths of their division all the way to the NBA Finals and that unforgettable Game Five in Boston.

So okay. So these weren’t ALL exactly memories. Some of the stuff I admit I had to look up.

But one thing I DO remember is that, from a strictly basketball viewpoint All Star games used to be more fun. Of course this was probably because way back when that’s all there was to an All Star Game was basketball, basketball, and more basketball. Basketball people, basketball talk, basketball trades. It was all hoop and nothing but the hoop.

Owners, players, coaches, general managers, and writers (We weren’t called media back then, or even press. Just writers) all stayed in the same hotel and mingled at the same functions.

Of curse, I must admit that only basketball people watched the game. Now it’s an MTV-type extravaganza which draws as much coverage from Entertainment Weekly as ESPN. And while basketball talk is not strictly prohibited it’s hard to get a hoop word in edgewise amidst all the corporate sponsors and glitterati.

I’m not saying this is all bad. Heck, maybe it’s even good. I’m just saying All Star games are not as much fun as it used to be for the basketball junkie.

That’s all I’m saying.
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