Bright Side Of The Sun

Steve Nash, that’s all it is. If you look at this team (now) and go back to when they had the best ...

2009-11-20T21:38:08Z

Steve Nash, that’s all it is. If you look at this team (now) and go back to when they had the best record in the West (Conference) when Mike D’Antoni was there, the only constant has been Steve Nash. This is the perfect situation for him. It’s an honor and pleasure for me, living in Phoenix, to watch this team every team. This guy has the heart of a lion, he is unbelievable.

Barkley on Steve Nash being a constant presence on the Suns

Hornets sting Suns 110-103

2009-11-20T06:59:36Z

More photos » by Layne Murdoch - NBAE/Getty Images

Peja showed that he can still shoot the three.

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During this game, The Phoenix Suns were victims of a severe case of Amnesia. They forgot to not underestimate an opponent. They forgot that they need to earn every win. They forgot to do the little things that have led them to have a good record to start the season. They forgot that they still have a lot to prove.

The Suns went to New Orleans with a 10-2 record, tied for the best record in the NBA with The Atlanta Hawks and had a chance to improve to 11-2 facing a young team without their best player. Most of us thought this game was going to be easy for The Suns. There's nothing wrong with that. We are fans and after comparing their team to ours you can say it was a logical and educated guess. But Basketball is a crazy game and unlike fans...professional players can't afford to think like that. You actually have to play and earn it, because regardless of who you're facing, this is the NBA and any team can beat you. Any team.

Back when I was in High school, we were playing in a Tournament Finals against a team who was clearly inferior to ours. So we showed up to the game feeling good about ourselves and thinking that it was going to be piece of cake. We were relaxed and some might even say that we were cocky at times.

And so the game started and everything was going their way. Shots were raining, three point plays, fast breaks, steals. We couldn't by a bucket to save our lives but even under those circumstances we were thinking: "they can't stay this hot for a long time" or "our defense will get better" but none of those things happened and we ended up losing the game. We argued every single whistle that was called against us, our coach was thrown out of the gym and I fouled out of the game with still 10 minutes to play. My dad, who was watching from the bleachers, had to listen to me bitch about the refs on the way back home until he said the following:

"Jose, the refs didn't make you lose that game. You guys lost it. You didn't hustle, you didn't execute, and you didn't rebound the ball. It's like you were expecting them to suck at some point but it never happened. The fact that all of you, including your incompetent coach, were arguing calls throughout the whole game and blaming them for your misery just proves the fact that you are so arrogant that you can't even tell that you were beaten by the better team tonight and that it had nothing to do with the refs taking it away from you. Suck it up and learn from it"

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the Suns were cocky tonight but it certainly looked like they were thinking (just like we did back then) "They can't stay this hot all night"

But they were wrong and just like me...they need to suck it up and learn from it.

That's enough of my stories. Let's talk hoops now.

First Half

The Hornets came out firing, hitting shots on 8 consecutive possessions. In the mean time the Suns were ice cold and missing from every corner on the floor. A 15-0 run by the Hornets extended the lead to 13 points and it was clear that the Suns weren't expecting the Hornets to play aggressively. They were caught off guard and didn't even seem to care.

Our shots started falling and they cooled down, we ended up the first quarter only down by 4. But for some reason it felt like more. I felt uneasy. The Suns were being out hustled and were getting beaten on the boards. The classic formula for basketball failure.

New Phoenix favorite, Jared Dudley, came into the game and you can tell that he's able to jump start the team as soon as he steps on the floor. As soon as he came in he had a steal, made a three point shot and suddenly the Suns had taken the lead. The bad news is that we were still getting beat on the boards and The Hornets were taking advantage of those second opportunities. As a result New Orleans took control of the game once again and the score at half time was 52-49. Suns down by 3.

Second Half

It was clear that Nash wanted to get involved so he started shooting early in the third quarter. He went on a tear for a couple of minutes but once again his great plays and shots were overshadowed by the team's horrible perimeter defense. It was like every time The Suns were leading or getting close...Bam! The Hornets would hit a three point shot. They shot 52% from behind the arc (13-25) and two of those thirteen sank The Suns for good.

It was a close game in the final minutes of the 4^th Quarter and unlike other games our super fourth quarter clutch defense was nowhere to be found. The Suns had an opportunity to close this one out but missed easy shots like Hill blowing a bunny under the basket.

Reasons why The Suns lost:

Horrible Perimeter Defense: The Hornets had a very good shooting game, especially from behind the arc. Phoenix did not make an adjustment all night, always just a second late to guard the three point shooter.

Hornets had good transition defense: The Suns attempted to run several times, only to find themselves stopping to wait for more purple jerseys. The Hornets did a great job all night staying in front of Nash.

Free throw shooting continues to be an issue: They need to clean this up. It's unacceptable. They shot 73% as a team (16-22) which is not that bad on paper but take a look at when they missed these free throws.

Channing Frye: He went 4-15 from the field and 1-7 from three point land. I believe this is his worst shooting night as a Sun. I understand he has been great for us but at some point you have to realize that this is not your night. Nash should have noticed also. There were several plays where Nash decided to go to Frye instead of someone else. We were getting killed on the boards and this was the perfect opportunity for Gentry to put a guy like Lou on the game so he could get you more rebounds. But that's just my opinion.

Slow Start: It's getting to a point where it has become annoying. The Suns can't afford to grind it out every game. They can't afford to come from behind every game. It requires a lot of energy to do that. Save that for the playoffs. They need to try to start the games on top and play with intensity since the tip off.

Peja Stojakovic: He was on fire all night, hitting 7 three pointers including one that was big for them in the clutch. He scored 25 points and had 13 rebounds.

It's Thursday and the game was on TNT: is it Charles Barkley? Is it me? I usually recap TNT games so who knows? Truth is that The Suns have lost their last 15 games that have been broadcasted in this TV network. I guess we can say that there is a curse.

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. This type of games are necessary so we can improve. So we move on and live to play another day.

Maybe having Amnesia is not such a bad thing after all...

Game Links:

At The Hive
Suns vs Hornets boxscore
azcentral.com - members
The Suns were due a stinker and this one was not even rancid. Losing to New Orleans without Chris Paul is no bouquet but it was on the road and they had gone 12 games without a bad loss during a road-heavy schedule.
SUNS: Postgame Quotes: Suns vs Hornets, 09/11/19
They played great. They did what they had to do. They scrapped and they got their confidence going early and got the crowd into it. Give them credit. We knew they were going to be a tough team tonight without (Chris) Paul, without Hilton (Armstrong) and West was struggling, but they made plays for each other. We just didn’t play good. We weren’t focused. Shots aren’t going to fall all the time. We just have to keep them off the glass.
The Official Phoenix Suns Blog » Blog Archive » Newsroom Notes: Suns @ Hornets
The Streak Continues The Suns loss to New Orleans on Thursday night was the 16th straight time they’ve lost a game on TNT. Concerned fans around Phoenix are offering up theories ranging from Charles Barkley to painted goats but the Suns have yet to break the spell. They have four more TNT games this season with their next chance at a win coming December 17th in Portland.
New Orleans Hornets have top showing of season vs. Phoenix Suns | New Orleans and Louisiana Sports - - NOLA.com
I'm not exactly sure who were those guys wearing Hornets uniforms Thursday night or where they came from, but they're welcome to play inside the New Orleans Arena any time.
Bickley: Gentry winning games and hearts
All the Suns wanted from D'Antoni was a deeper bench and a more forceful approach to practice. Gentry has delivered where the former coach could not, and now D'Antoni is struggling with the Knicks, having won twice this season and just once in the past 18 days.... "I don't know anybody that doesn't like Alvin," NBA analyst Doug Collins said. "But he has a quiet toughness about him that people don't see because he doesn't wear it on his sleeve. But when it's time to get tough, he gets tough. And this year, the Suns have been tough in the fourth quarter, when it really matters. That doesn't happen by accident."

Game Thread: Suns vs Hornets

2009-11-20T00:00:15Z

Final - 11.19.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Phoenix Suns	22	27	27	27	103
New Orleans Hornets	26	26	26	32	110

Complete Coverage >

Suns vs Hornets coverage
Suns vs Hornets preview
Suns vs Rockets boxscore
Jeff Bower Gets First Victory; Hornets Beat Clippers - At The Hive
The Hornets beat the Clippers, but it wasn't pretty.

Predicted Player of the Game

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2009 - Chris Paul	10	33.9	8.5	14.3	59.4	1.9	2.9	65.5	4.9	5.8	84.5	0.3	3.1	3.4	9.2	2.1	1.7	0.0	2.8	23.8

Miss you, CP3! but with you on the bench resting your f-k'd up ankle we are going to see a lot of Darren Collison and Bobby Brown..

Your loss. Our gain.

While Collison is speedy and athletic and Bobby Brown has a cool name I don't see this combo having any impact on Nash's ability to get all Nashty on National TV.

Coming off a 2 for 10 game in Houston I don't think I am going out on a thin limb by calling Steve Nash the PPOG.

GAME PREVIEW: SUNS VS. HORNETS (less Chris Paul and Byron Scott)

2009-11-19T20:26:56Z

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

See, Sean Marks everyone! (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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My how the mighty have fallen. The New Orleans Hornets plight is one that every Suns fan can relate to. Sucking, then becoming a contender, and then sucking again. Going through a coaching change, etc. Of course the Hornets descent from up-and-comers to down-and-outers was much shorter than the Suns. What in God's name happened to these guys? In 2008 the Hornets picked up 56 wins, and barely lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the dreaded San Antonio Spurs. That team was 5th in the league in offense and 6th in the league in defense. That lineup included the youngster CP3, the up and comer David West, the tenacious Tyson Chandler, and Peja Stojakovic. On the bench was Pargo and Bonzi. That year they owned the Suns, taking all 4 of the match-ups.

But last year the Hornets were one and out in the playoffs. Tyson Chandler fought the injury bug. CP3's main target for assists was gone, leaving David West to shoulder the scoring burden, while the gimpy Peja Stojakovic and James Posey attempted to carry the offensive and defensive load.

Of course all that is ancient history, which leaves the Hornets in the here and now. The Suns destroyed New Orleans nearly a week ago, which may or may not have slammed the last nail in the coaching coffin of Byron Scott the following day. HMM. I suppose the Suns alone cannot take credit for the Hornets debacle of a season thus far, we didn't injure CP3, and the internal problems existed beforehand.

Now, the Hornets are led by Jeff Bowers, who recently picked up his first victory against the Clippers. The win was ugly, but as we all know a W works much better than an L. One a one game winning streak, these Hornets could be dangerous. Yet after looking at the remains of their roster, I gotta admit, I'm not too scared, and I hope I don't have to eat my words (of course it wouldn't be the first time).

Match-Ups

Guards

Devin Brown and Darren Collison do not strike fear into my heart. Collison is the CP3 replacement, a rookie from UCLA who may end up being a nice player, but I see Steve Nash taking him to school tonight. Devin Brown picked up 16 points, dopwning three of six from three point range in the Clipper win, but Jason Richardson is far superior. I predict Rich posting up Brown whenever he can and raining three pointers once Brown begins to anticipate Richardson's intentions. On the bench is Bobby Brown, who evidently has put down the microphone for good, recovered from his ugly divorce with Whitney, lost some serious weight, and has now embarked on an NBA career. Kudos to him, although I really enjoyed his reality show. Another youngster on the Hornets roster is Marcus Thornton, a 2nd round pick from LSU. He has played in 7 games and hasn't done too much exciting stuff. Still, atthehive.com reports that he can "fill it up." So perhaps we'll have to watch for that.

Forwards/Center

David West and Peja Stojakovic are the only real offensive threats on this Hornet squad right now. With Chris Paul out, the onus of scoring falls on these two players. While West is capable of going for 30 on any given night, there's much less of a chance without Paul around.

Peja is averaging way below his career mark of 17.6 points per game. He's shooting 37% from the field and 33% from three point range. The injuries have taken their toll on him. Still, he has a career mark of 17.8 PPG against the Suns. While he certainly isn't having close to an All-Star season, he is always capable of getting hot and doing damage to the opposition.

James Posey is also a capable Forward/Guard who can shoot from long range, but like most of the Hornets, is struggling. At 3.9 points per game, I cannot say I'm real worried about him all of a sudden pouring in 40 to make the difference in this one. Emeka Ofafor is a quality player. He battles on the boards and is an opposing figure in the lane. But he is a waste in New Orleans. He is averaging a career low in points and rebounds per game. It's fairly clear he hasn't assimilated in New Orleans and it's too bad. At the Hive is speculating he could be dealt. I'd love to have him on the Suns.

How many of you knew Sean Marks was still playing in the NBA? Gotta admit I had no clue. He's a Hornet as is Ike Diogu. Will either make any difference? Will either see any playing time. Doubt it. Diogu though makes me wonder. He's now on his fourth team in four seasons. The former Arizona State product was the 9th pick by the Warriors in the 2005 draft. What's the deal? Are the Warriors that awful at scouting college talent, or is Diogu just not NBA caliber. I know he's struggled through some injuries, but to be picked 9 and amount to nothing is kind of odd in this day and age. I realize it happens....Oh well, best of luck Ike...

Predictions

Unless the whole Suns team suffers food poisoning, I don't see us losing this one. In fact I'm predicting a blow out. I don't like to make such predictions, so I'm knocking on wood, but really, the Hornets are down and out. CP3 is the engine that makes the Hornets go, and he's gone. At this point they have no suitable replacement for him. And while Peja, West, and Posey are capable scorers, someone has to consistently get them ball. While opponents had to worry about CP3 taking the ball to the rim and shooting from the outside, they also had to concern themselves with him feeding the scorers. Forget about all that, there's no way we should lose this game.

Pregame Links

Daily Links: MVP Steve Times 3 ?

2009-11-19T15:39:03Z

Ouch....(Photo by Max Simbron)

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Basketball-Reference.com Blog " Blog Archive " Nash Gunning For a Third MVP?
The Suns' performance so far has been both surprising and commendable, but the jury is still out on whether they can maintain it, because the best predictor of future results says they're not quite as good as their record says they are.

I have to agree with this....The Suns have played great but in many ways it's been done with hustle and grit and a bit of smoke and mirrors. I am no where near ready to say that the Suns can beat the Lakers, Spurs or Nuggets in a playoff series. And as GREAT as Nash has been he has tendency to slow down as the season wears on.

Enjoy the early season success but this ride will still be more roller coaster than rocket ship....

Now go prove me wrong, Phoenix Suns and keep winning!

More Linkers

Lakers already playing catch-up to Suns - Lakers blog : The Orange County Register
DON'T CLICK THIS LINK. JUST ENJOY THE HEADLINE!
Be wary of betting the Phoenix Suns
Sell the Phoenix Suns – The Suns are off to a scintillating 10-2 start, but don’t expect the good times to continue for 82 games. HATER!
Hardwood Paroxysm " Blog Archive " SUPER!BASKETBALL!FIGHTING!EXCITEMENT!BATTLE!
Check out Steve Nash's Fighting Trading Whatever Card
Hardwood Paroxysm " Blog Archive " Nichols and Dime: How Accurate are some of the Advanced Stats That We Use?
Using advanced stats to attack advance stats....but forget all that. There's pretty pictures!
Rookies Proving the \'09 Draft Class Can Play - Sean Deveney - The Baseline - Sporting News
No Earl Clark? I kid!

Suns doing job with less running
NBA fans are falling for Phoenix's high-scoring ways all over again. The system that made the Suns everyone's second-favorite team has returned and shocked the shoelaces off the NBA, leading to a tie with Atlanta for the league's best record at 10-2. But the story line has a new twist. The Suns actually do not run like they once did. In fact, they are an ordinary running team.
KTAR.com - Suns biggest surprise to Kerr is the rebounding
azcentral.com Coro blog
The Suns signed Jarron Collins and he has played 59 minutes, a mix of spot rotation duty and mop-up minutes. But even if he has not been what the Suns billed they were adding, he has been exactly what they needed.
Forget Shane Battier, the Phoenix Suns have their own "No-Stats All-Star"
More love for Dudley
SBN NBA Power Rankings, Week 3: Lakers No. 1 By Default; Bucks, Blazers Make Moves - SB Nation Clearly I need to vote next time...

Steve Kerr Weekly Check-in

2009-11-18T19:09:44Z

Steve Kerr Weekly Check-in

Steve Kerr checks in with Sports 620 KTAR to talk about his 10-2 team

The 10-2 Phoenix Suns Are Tough

2009-11-18T18:16:06Z

The 2009/10 Phoenix Suns have shown tremendous resiliency and mental toughness in their 10-2 start to the season. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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Gone are the days when the Suns ran teams off the court with high-paced fun and gun basketball. This version of the Phoenix Suns has already proven to be more versatile, mentally tough and resilient than any of the earlier Nash-era teams.

Asked before Sunday's game against the Raptors what his favorite part of this year's team is, Suns head coach Alvin Gentry quickly mentioned the teams resiliency. His favorite win up to that point wasn't the big upset over the Celtics at the Garden. He was impressed with his team coming from behind in Philadelphia on the last night of a long road trip. It was a game the team easily could have let go but they battled back and got the win.

Five times in ten wins the Suns have been trailing going into the fourth quarter and five times now the Suns have overcome double digit deficits to get the win. Obviously the Suns don't want to have to come from behind but what it shows about this team are a few things that have been missing in Phoenix for the past 5 years.

Versatility

A few years back when the Spurs were at the peak of their greatness they played inside-out defensive basketball and liked to keep the score in the 80's. But on numerous occasions they would get down to the fast-paced Suns early in the game only to adjust on the fly and out -run and out-score Phoenix beating us at our own fast paced game.

Great teams have a style of play that suits their personnel and their coach. Plan A. They also have the depth and willingness to adjust when Plan A isn't working.

This Suns team has shown that it can win when the long ball isn't falling. After averaging 47% from three to start the season the Suns are 22 for 68 (32.4%) from behind the arc over the past three games.

After getting blown out in the first poor shooting night in LA, the Suns in the past two contests were able to adjust to a more defensive approach holding Toronto and Houston to a combined 35.3 field goal percentage in the 4th quarter.

In Sunday's game it was Jared Dudley closing out the game in place of Grant Hill and Tuesday it was Jarron Collins who pitched in with 5 rebounds and 6 points in 9:25 of play in the fourth.

Maybe even most impressive is that despite the focus on rebounding and defense and without the long ball the Suns still shot 50% in the fourth periods of both games and continued their streak of breaking the 100 point mark in every game this season.

Mental Toughness

Say what you want about the Spurs and I love beating them as much as any Suns fan, but you have to respect the way they approach the game. They have proven over the the years to be extremely tough to beat in close games because they have the mental toughness that leads to late game execution.

The Suns are now 3-0 in games decided by less than 4 points.

This is a team that not only believes they can win but they trust and support each other. Amare's 7.8 rebounds per game isn't all that impressive but his activity is leading to extra possessions and he and Channing Frye are boxing out so the wings can grab the loose ball.

This is a sign they are willing to do whatever it takes to win and display of maturity and grit that we've not seen before. It is almost as if the team's stars and starters are being pushed by the example set by hustling role players like Amundson and Dudley.

Doing what needs to be done. Late game execution. Hard work. Those have been hallmarks of Spurs basketball and now for the first time the Suns are singing from that song book.

People criticized Steve Kerr for wanting to turn the Suns into San Antonio-West. Maybe those fans are seeing now that while the style of play on the floor doesn't have to be the same the mentality of winning teams is important.

Whatever it is this season, the Suns are clearly on the right track. They are winning games in ways they couldn't have back in the "glory days" of the run and gun and they are winning fans over not with their high-flying scoring antics but with toughness, determination, execution and grit.

The true test will come when the team has to overcome a losing streak and suffers the inevitable injuries but for now this is a Suns team we've waited a long time to see.

Suns Tighten Defense, Come Back to Down Rockets 111-105

2009-11-18T05:16:00Z

More photos » by Bob Levey - AP

BACK WITH A BEARD AND A VENGEANCE! (AP Photo/Bob Levey)

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Be honest, did you think the Suns were going to pull this one out? Of course you did, because this team never quits. Tonight the Suns overcame a very slow start by outscoring the Houston Rockets 33-23 in the fourth quarter to win 111-105.

Tonight encapsulated the Suns season of a new hero every night. We could credit any of a number of players with the hero tag:

Steve Nash with 16 assists
Amare Stoudemire with 23 points
Jason Richardson with 20 points
Leandro Barbosa with a key block on an almost certain Chase "Air Bud" Budinger layup
Jarron Collins with 6 big points and 6 big rebounds in place of the foul plagued Channing Frye
Channing Frye with a huge 3 pointer before he fouled out to give the Suns a 5 point lead.

Or why not credit the whole Suns team? 10 players took the floor tonight, and 9 Suns had at least one rebound, and 7 players had at least 3 rebounds. The Suns tightened up the defense when it mattered, as usual this season, forcing the Rockets into jump shots down the stretch in the 4th quarter while containing Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry for their 10th win of the season.

Tonight, the Rockets began the game on fire, quickly taking a 19-9 lead. They slashed to the hoop, they dropped threes, they picked up every rebound, they hustled. The Suns looked like a team that had just woken up from a late afternoon nap. Yet the Suns woke up halfway through the second quarter, using an 12-0 run to close within 2 points as the starters returned to the floor.

Led By Amare Stoudemire's 15 points, the Suns were able to keep it close at the half, 55-52. The rebounding margin was closed to 20-26, and the Suns were shooting 48% to the Rockets 45%. The Suns were shooting 3-11 from three point range.

The Suns were ready for Nash to break out and Stoudemire to complete his aggressive first half with a destructive second half to complete another double digit comeback. Unfortunately it didn't really work that way. Nash continued with his tough shooting night and Stoudemire suffered through foul difficulty. It was time for everyone else to step up.

A J-Rich three brought the Suns ahead 61-60. Steve Nash scored his first points on a short jumper. The Suns defense converged, causing 3 quick Rocket turnovers.

But both Stoudemire and Channing Frye picked up their 4th fouls in the third necessitating the use of Jarron Collins. Collins came up big on both ends of the floor and Jason Richardson kept the Suns close with 12 third quarter points.

Other notables:

Richardson battled for rebounds, dunked, shot the three and the mid range in the third quarter. Unfortunately Trevor Ariza and Aaron Brooks turned Rich's effort into a dual of sorts, as the Suns trailed at the end of 3, 82-78.
The Suns iced the game on a Stoudemire drive. Stoudemire took the ball to the hoop on Carl Landry, found himself blocked off and slipped the ball to Jarron Collins who converted a two while drawing a foul.
Barbosa plays much better with Steve Nash on the floor. The two have an unspoken game going on, with Barbosa slashing and Nash blindly knowing where he'll be.
The Suns have come back in 5 of 7 game when facing double digit deficits this season to win.
After a timeout with 2 minutes left and the Suns leading by two, Channing Frye ripped a three to bring the lead to 5. It was a fitting climax for Frye as the next play he was called for a very questionable sixth foul.
The Suns overcame a dismal three point shooting night, (6-21, 28%%)
Phoenix had 9 blocked shots tonight, compared to the Rockets 1.

FINAL - 11.17.2009	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Phoenix Suns	22	30	26	33	111
Houston Rockets	34	21	27	23	105

Suns vs Rockets coverage

Suns vs Rockets preview

Game 11 Recap: Fourth quarter defense propels Suns to 111-105 victory over Rockets - The Dream Shake
Rockets give up lead, lose to red-hot Suns

Suns edge Rockets, move to 10-2
The Suns are playing fourth-quarter defense like they dreamed of doing the past five years. The Suns slowed Houston's speedsters to 9-of-28 shooting in the fourth, putting their opponent fourth-quarter shooting at 40.4 percent in the 10 wins. Phoenix forced the Rockets into jumpers and challenged them inside, thanks in large part to the surprise crunch-time play by center Jarron Collins .

Justice: When Hayes out, problems arise for Rockets | NBA Basketball | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
But on nights when he gets into foul trouble, the Rockets have no place to turn. That lack of size and some stumbling and bumbling down the stretch were the biggest factors in a 111-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night at Toyota Center.

Highlights via NBA.com

The Jared Mile Zone - From the Suns Locker Room

2009-11-18T05:17:14Z

JMZ bringing to you live from the Suns locker room...When getting done on the floor isn't enough, JD continues to hustle through the post-game interview session.

Game Thread: Suns vs Rockets

2009-11-18T01:00:14Z

Final - 11.17.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Phoenix Suns	22	30	26	33	111
Houston Rockets	34	21	27	23	105

Complete Coverage >

Predicted Player of the Game (PPOG)

In a new feature that we will try and remember to do before every game, we will predict who the POG will be. Anyone can name the POG after the game but only here at Bright Side of the Suns will we tell you who it is before the game.

Our first ever PPOG is...

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2009 - Channing Frye	11	30.1	4.9	10.5	47.0	2.9	6.2	47.1	0.8	1.2	69.2	0.5	4.8	5.4	1.5	1.2	1.1	0.7	3.4	13.5

This isn't a very hard choice given that the 6' 11.5" Channing will be "checked" by the 6'6" Chuck Hayes. In addition to Frye's size advantage in the paint, the pace of the game should allow for plenty of open three's.

Exclusive Game Photos: Suns vs Raptors

2009-11-18T00:44:14Z

(Photo by Max Simbron)

View full size photo »

Note from Max: Sorry bout the delay guys, but I've been on a 5 day 9 game tear (plus my day gig). On a good note, I have shots of Gentry and some of the other coaches. I could probably do a Gentry only slideshow, there's happy, sad, angry, the whole 7 dwarves in there.

NBA: Toronto Raptors at Phoenix Suns 1111509 - Images by Max Simbron

Random Poll: Where is the Suns Roster the Weakest?

2009-11-17T23:13:58Z

Consider this your totally random question of the day.

After reading some comments about wanting Raja Bell back or not being able to get an early 2nd round draft pick that could have been used on Blair or Budinger, it got me thinking - just what are the biggest holes on the Suns roster?

Is it the back up point guard where the Dragic / Barbosa combination still leaves questions?

Is it the power forward depth where Lou is good but still....?

Or obviously is it at center where Robin Lopez has yet to play a game and is still a big "?"

In fact it is so obviously at back up Center that we will run this poll without that option.

Poll

Other than backup Center, what roster position are the Suns most weak?

Suns Starters Play Limited Minutes Thanks To Bench

2009-11-17T20:57:37Z

The Suns bench has done more than cheer this season. Their play has allowed Phoenix to go 9 or 10 deep and has limited the minutes played by the starters leaving them fresh to close out games. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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The wonderful play of the Suns bench has been well documented and has lead to the Suns regularly playing 4 reserves (Barbosa, Dudley, Amundson and Dragic). With the pending return of Robin Lopez and the continued development of Earl Clark Gentry will easily be able to go 11 deep.

We've marveled at Jared's "athletic hands" and Lou's volleyball rejections but it is interesting to note how the depth of the Suns has impacted the minutes of the Suns starters.

Through 11 games the Sun with the most minutes per game is Amare Stoudemire at 34.5mpg which ranks 43rd in the NBA.The "aging" vets are even lower with 32.7 for Steve Nash and 30 for Grant Hill. This is the first time since the 1999/00 season that Nash is averaging under 33 minutes.

All this for a team that is 9-2 that has only played four times at home and has only had one two-day break between games so far.

While the Suns have looked flat on the second game of their three back-to-backs they've also managed to overcome double digit deficits four times and are holding teams to 41.6% shooting in the fourth quarter of their nine wins.

As further evidence for the benefit of being fresh there's this little fun fact from Paul Coro,

When trailing after three quarters, the Suns went 4-30 last year. They are 4-2 in that situation this season. And this is a team already on its eighth road game tonight.

Those are all signs of a rested team. Not once has Steve Nash had to play an entire fourth quarter and I can't even recall him entering the game with more than 8 minutes to go. Compare that to last season when the Suns often were forced to play Steve for the entire final period leaving him too gassed to perform late game heroics.

The depth is no surprise to Suns fans who understood that the bench was a strength of the team going into the season but the numbers are a bit startling when your top guy in minutes is only 43rd in the league.

Preview: Suns vs Rockets

2009-11-17T15:36:15Z

More photos » by Karen Warren - AP

Houston Rockets rookie Chase Budinger is having a pretty decent rookie season...outside of the classroom.

Browse more photos »

According to 82game.com the Rockets most frequently used line-up is Brooks-Ariza-Battier-Scola-Hayes. They are +24 and account for bulk of the team's minutes. Five solid role players and no all-stars is generally not a winning combination in the NBA and yet the Rockets are 6-4 having beat the Lakers, Trail Blazers and Jazz. Of course they also lost to the Lakers, Trail Blazers and Kings so it's not as if this team can't be beat.

With no Yao and no T-Mac they are said to be getting it done with heart and hustle but I recently heard Rockets GM Daryl Morey explain that just maybe those nobodies everyone is discounting are actually better players then people give them credit for. I buy that.

In what is starting to become the most surprising trend of the season, the Suns enter this game as the better rebounding team. The Rockets are a -3.77 while the Suns at +2.10 has the 10th best rebounding differential in the league. That tells you our team might just have a little heart and hustle as well.

If both teams bring it tonight it should be a fun match-up but one the Suns should win.

Match-ups

Guards

Aaron Brooks gave the Suns fits last season putting up 19.3 ppg which was his highest against any team in 08/09. Who can forget his 30 point, 55% FG effort against a lethargic Suns team in early March. While Aaron is a nice player who is certainly one of the quickest guys in the game with the ball he's also streaky over the past 5 games with 33 points against the Lakers coming on the heals of a combined 18 points against the Kings and Grizzlies.

Brooks might be able to beat Nash around screens and get himself open shots or into the lane but the Suns bigs have done a much better job this season helping and Steve Nash is quietly having himself a better defensive season holding opponents to an eFG% of .477 compared to .485 for last season. And since this is the Suns it's worth pointing out that his best defense remains his offense where his own eFG% is a whooping .626 (up from .566 last season).

Brooks is a nice young player but I think we can all agree that the Suns have the edge here.

Some people might be surprised that Trevor Ariza is leading the Rockets in scoring with 18.4 points per game but having watched him in LA the last couple of years the talent was always there. As Channing Frye shows, this league is all about opportunity which is why you can't only look at a guy's past numbers to predict his future value. Trevor had shown the ability to both put the ball on the floor and finish and to hit the three but in the Kobe offense he was never going to get enough touches to put up decent point totals.

Of course, he's not exactly the most efficient scorer either which has to be a concern for the Rockets. When your team's point leader is shooting 40% and taking 16 FGA's to score 18 points....not good.

Where Trevor really excels is on the defensive end which is a shame because Jason Richardson needs to have a good game coming off his sub-par shooting night against the Raptors.

The only other guard on the roster is the bowling ball shaped Kyle Lowry. I'm a fan of Lowry's game but if Barbosa has got anything going at all (his wrist was still sore after Sunday's game) he will struggle keeping up. Goran had probably the worst game of his season facing Jarret Jack's intense ball pressure. Dragic needs to be aggressive when guys get right up on him and make them pay with his size and speed.

Forwards / Centers

Lets face it. Neither of these two teams have a true Center right now but at least the Suns two bigs are much bigger than the Rockets front court.

The Scola - Amare match-up is the most interesting.

Scola is a very skilled player who defends well, leads his team in rebounding and can score the ball in multiple ways. It will be up to Amare to pay attention on both ends of the floor and try and get Scola into foul trouble. The Rockets have very little depth at any position so taking Louis out of the game would spell instant trouble.

We might also see Amare try and get into the low post against the ~~Spaniard~~ Argentinian which should draw double teams. Amare has a lot of work to do on his passing out of those traps.

Against the Raptors he didn't do a good job handling the constant doubles that came when he caught the ball after Calderon switched on him. While Frye would calmly turn and hold the ball high and find the open man, Amare danced around and ended up trying to work against two players only to fire out a sloppy pace which gave the defense time to recover. I hope he watches film on this.

I am very curious if the Suns will try and post up Frye against Chuck Hayes. Hayes is a great post defender but at only 6'6" is the smallest Center in the league by a ~~long~~ short shot. Frye does have a post game and we might see it tonight but at the same time when the Suns get out of their normal offense to take advantage of these kinds of mismatches they can get stagnant. I would rather see Phoenix run their normal pick and roll sets with Nash and then try and post up Frye with the second unit. It's not as if Frye can shoot over him from behind the arc on the pick and pop.

Amundson can handle his own in this game against Hayes or Landry so perhaps have him sub in early for Frye and then bring back Channing when Nash rests.

We can't overlook Grant Hill and Shane Battier. Two great players who really understand the game and do what their teams need. Hill after a smoking start to the season hasn't been shooting the ball all that well but he's still grabbing rebounds and facilitating. In this game these two basically cancel each other out.

And Jared Dudley...that's all that needs to be said.

Unless the Suns come out flat, this is a very winnable game given the match-ups. I do worry about the Suns getting a bit complacent with their record which I think we saw in the middle quarters of the Raptors game on Sunday. Hopefully, they will have that edge and passion that has been the hallmark of the team so far and they can get a comfortable win on the road and be the first team in the L with 10 W's.

Game Links

Suns vs Rockets coverage
The Dream Shake - SBN Blog
TSN Suns vs Rockets preview
Suns wings hauling in rebounds
Suns swingmen Grant Hill and Jason Richardson lead NBA wing tandems in total rebounds. (Great article from Coro. Anyone else notice his game stepping up this year?)
azcentral.com - Coro preview
Just like we all predicted, Atlanta and Phoenix are sitting atop the NBA. The Suns can reclaim the best record in the NBA tonight if they win and go to 10-2. If they do so, they would be the third Suns team to have a 10-2 start since Steve Nash returned in 2004.

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 11/17/09 12:29 PM MST ]

If you are feeling in anyway bitter towards Sarver and Kerr read these two articles to remind yourself how much worse it can get...

Iverson, Jackson followed path to freedom - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Stephen Jackson and Allen Iverson never acted out of character. Blame their teams for enabling their behavior. - National Basketball Association news
RUMOR: Monta Ellis wants out of Golden State and Warriors looking to trade him - Golden State Of Mind
Monta Ellis wants out of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors want to trade Monta Ellis. Ellis, his agent, Jeff Fried, president Robert Rowell, and GM Larry Riley will be meeting on Thursday. More dysfunction for Chris Cohan's operation.

Daily Links: You Thought 8-2 Was Nice? Try This...

2009-11-16T15:19:49Z

Bargnani tries to avoid the poster but he's just a bit too slow getting out of frame...(Photo by Max Simbron)

View full size photo »

SUNS: Postgame Quotes: Suns 101, Raptors 100
The defense picked up on both sides I think and both teams did a really good job. The switching bothered us a little bit, because we got a little bit stagnant, but we’ll take care of that. I think we’ve got to continue to pace and continue to push the basketball. That slowed us down a little bit. - Coach Gentry
The Official Phoenix Suns Blog " Blog Archive " Several Players Get Credit For Win Against Raptors
Suns escape with win vs. Raptors
The Suns were more sloppy than slick. They missed more shots than they made. And in the end, they had to count on one of the game's clutch shooters to miss two shots in the final seconds.
Turkoglu almost joined Suns in 2004 (wow - never heard this story before!)
In July 2004, Turkoglu was a 25-year-old free agent who had been a part-time starter in San Antonio. The Suns, after deciding Kobe Bryant could not be wooed, struck fast in free agency by landing Nash. They wanted to pair him with Mehmet Okur. When Okur received a $50 million deal from Utah, Phoenix turned its focus to Turkoglu.
Suns 101, Raptors 100 -- Thaaat close| Valley of the Suns
The Phoenix Suns prevailed 101-100 over the Toronto Raptors when Hedo Turkoglu's potential game-winning shot rimmed out.
Tip-In, Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - Mired in Amare - Raptors HQ
It was a fight to the finish but the Dinos came up short...
NBA Broadband League Pass – Where "WTF!" Happens aka Thoughts on Rockets 101 Lakers 91 (Game 10) - The Dream Shake
Thoughts on Houston Rockets 101 Los Angeles Lakers 91. The LA Excuse Factory ramps up production.
Kobe Bryant: strained right groin muscle - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN
By J.A. Adande After Kobe Bryant missed 15 of 20 shots and came out with two minutes remaining in the Los Angeles Lakers' 101-91 loss to the Houston

Note by Phoenix Stan, 11/16/09 9:02 AM MST ]

Ball back in Nash's hands - The Globe and Mail
His teammate Amar'e Stoudemire may have Black Jesus tattooed on his neck, but Steve Nash has inspired a Phoenix Suns resurrection, with the Toronto Raptors as the latest to give witness.
Turk comes up short in thriller – Raptors Republic -

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 11/16/09 9:47 AM MST ]

Poor Raja...this can't end well

BREAKING NEWS: Golden State Warriors trade Stephen Jackson + Acie Law to Charlotte Bobcats for Raja Bell + Vladimir Radmanovic - Golden State Of Mind
Golden State Warriors trade Stephen Jackson and Acie Law to the Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic
Earl Barron Profile, Blog Posts, Stats, Photos - New Orleans Hornets - NBA - SB Nation Barron put up big numbers in the preseason and is now with the Iowa Energy. It will be worth keeping an eye on him...He's a 7ft center

Post Game Interviews via Michael Schwartz - Valley of the Suns

Game Highlights via NBA.com

Housekeeping: Growth, Stan Love, and Guidelines

2009-11-16T13:00:24Z

We're 10 games deep into this loveliest of seasons (so far) and it's time for a wee bit o' the housekeeping.

First of all, thank you for making Bright Side of the Sun your Phoenix Suns destination of choice. Two weeks into the season and traffic here is over twice what it was last year! Our year-to-date numbers are even better having grown by almost three times what they were for 2008. In other words, we blowin' up.

A lot of the credit for that goes to you in our community who keep our comment threads and Fan Post sections active, entertaining and insightful. Without your participation, BSOTS would be a lonely and oddly-colored place. But let's take a second to thank the guy who is the reason everyone comes here in the first place: Phoenix Stan.

For those of you who don't know, Phoenix Stan is the Steve Nash of BSOTS. He generates the bulk of the original content on the site. That includes practice reports, game reports, Summer League coverage and most of the original commentary. He also is responsible for securing the site's partnership with KTAR in Phoenix and bringing in Max Simbron and his amazing photos as exclusive BSOTS content. Without his hard work and dedication to Suns fandom, we'd be sports fans writing in our mom's basement instead of this rad Suns-cave. And he manages to do all this while holding down a full-time job and raising a family. So, big ups to yourselves and please give some props to Mr. Stan.

As I was saying before I got lost in my Phoenix Stan reverie, more and more folks are joining our community here at BSOTS. As such, I think it's time for a little refresher on the Community Guidelines. If you haven't done so, please read through them. Consider it your Bright Side of the Sun civic duty to know and memorize them. (What? You don't know the Constitution by heart? Or the Patriot Act? Traitor!) But seriously, they're there to make everyone feel comfortable in our corner of the interwebs and you'd do well to familiarize yourself with them. Beyond that, here are a couple of notes on some stuff we've been seeing the comments:

The REC button: Use it! Seriously, there's nothing cooler than seeing that your fellow Bright Siders have given you their seal of approval than by having your comment, Fan Post, Story or Fanshot REC'd enough to make it turn green or bumped up to the top of the right side of the page. +1s are cool, but RECs have effects!
Profanity: Just try and keep it PGish. We don't want to have to be the language police. This is pretty much spelled out in the guidelines, but it's come up a couple of times.
Fans of other teams: Just because someone is a Spurs fan or Lakers fan does NOT necessarily make them a troll or an intruder on our site. SBNation is a community for fans of all stripes. Mutual appreciation of the game from opposite sides of the court makes our sports community that much richer. A couple of years ago, we had a great back and forth with the guys over at Pounding The Rock and as a result, I think it made those losses that much more of a learning experience as basketball fans. Please make fans of other teams welcome here at Bright Side of the Sun.
The FLAG button: If someone is, in fact, trolling, it is not on you to be a BSOTS Suns Pride enforcer. Generally, Phoenix Stan or one of the other active contributors are vigilant enough to catch trolling fairly quickly. However, if that doesn't seem to be the case, please FLAG the offending comments and drop Phoenix Stan a line. At the bottom of the main page there's an e-mail link for Phoenix Stan and all the BSOTS contributing writers.

Now back to your regularly scheduled boosterism and Laker-hatin'. Go, Suns!

Suns Survive Raptor Attack, 101-100

2009-11-16T06:28:07Z

More photos »

Grant Hill & Steve Nash celebrate after beating the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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On a night where both the home team and the home crowd appeared lethargic, it appeared as though the Suns were about to begin their first losing streak of the young 2009-2010 NBA season.

Appearances can be deceiving, however, and Phoenix was able to rally behind solid performances by Amare Stoudemire and Channing Frye to notch their 9th win of the season, a 101-100 victory over the Toronto Raptors (5-5).

Down 84-77 with 10:52 left in the fourth quarter, the Suns finally woke up from their prolonged slumber and began attacking the Raptors where it hurt: Andrea Bargnani.

After the young Italian sharpshooter was removed from the game due to foul trouble, Phoenix went on a 14-2 run and took a 91-86 lead with 6:03 left.

This display of offensive prowess was keyed by several things. First, Toronto began rushing their shots and were unable to find open looks, thanks to the new and improved Phoenix defense. Second, Amare began to attack the basket and picked up a three point play.

Finally, the hustle of Jason Richardson allowed him to score on consecutive fast break layups that brought the crowd to their feet and forced the Raptors to take a timeout.

Throughout the final quarter, the Suns began aggressively switching their men on screens, playing hard defense to disrupt the Raptors offense and force Hedo Turkoglu, Jose Calderon, and Marco Belinelli to take contested shots.

The game came down to one final play. With 12 seconds remaining, the Raptors had the ball at half court, down only one. The atmosphere in US Airways Center was tense, and the scene was set for a heartbreaking Suns loss.

Turkoglu set up at the top of the key, and Bargnani came over to set a screen. Channing Frye and Grant Hill knew it was coming, and were able to work together to limit the screen's effectiveness by switching.

Hedo was able to get a clean look at the right elbow, but his shot just missed, and the Suns were able to escape with a victory.

"I tried to cross [Frye] over and I almost lost it," Turkoglu said. "That's a shot I'll always take, every time."

After the game, Suns coach Alvin Gentry called tonight's game a "really good win for [the Suns] against a real quality team."

"It's the third game where we won with our defense," Gentry continued. "We needed stops and we came up with [them] at the end, and I think that's really encouraging... on a night where we didn't shoot the ball well."

With the victory, the Suns now hold the best record in the NBA, and are the first team to reach nine wins this season. This was their 11th consecutive victory over Toronto, and their 13th consecutive victory at home, a streak that dates back to last season.

Amare Stoudemire scored 30 points and made 10 out of 11 free throws attempted. His counterpart, Chris Bosh, was equally impressive tonight, scoring 25 and grabbing 10 rebounds. Both players will be free agents this upcoming offseason, and will look to cash in on their excellent careers to date.

As for Frye, he scored 20 points on 6-8 shooting from beyond the arc, only further validating coach Alvin Gentry's faith in his shooting abilities. After this performance, expect to see more from the 26-year old center out of the University of Arizona.

Phoenix leaves tomorrow for their Tuesday evening matchup in Houston against the Rockets, beginning yet another road trip for the weary Suns. They then touch down in New Orleans for a Thursday match-up before returning home again.

The new Suns bring this thousands-miles-away fan back to the good ol' days

2009-11-16T01:54:55Z

Even though I consider myself a great Suns fan, so much that I'm pretty sure I bleed purple and orange (seriously, I just cut myself and that surely doesn't look red to me. Well, at least it's not purple and gold. That much I'm sure about), my first really vivid memory of the Suns is a highlight reel of a Phoenix-Memphis game of the 2005 NBA playoffs. The upbeat notes of "Winter in the Hamptons" by Josh Rouse were blaring in the background, as Steve Nash was sending a perfect pass down court for an easy Shawn Marion dunk in transition.

You might be asking yourself why a 23 year old self-defined "great" Suns fan, has such a recent event has his first big memory as a Phoenix basketball aficionado. Why? Well, the answer is simple. I'm a "thousands-miles-away" fan, that's why. I'm an "Italian-currently-living-in-Spain" fan. I grew up being able to watch only the NBA finals when I was a kid, since the Italian TV bothered to broadcast only the final act of the long hoops season (you gotta love how much we, the Europeans, are obsessed with soccer: TV stations show more Russian soccer league games than NBA games). There was no Internet back then, no NBA.com or ESPN.com highlights, no web streams, no International League Pass. Only when Nash got back to the desert I really started following the Suns on a daily basis. It also happened to be the perfect time technology-wise (the Internet was an established thing and web streams started being very popular). Beware though, I was already a fan. I've always been a fan ever since my mom bought me a Suns orange cap (proudly displayed on a shelter in my bedroom) when I was 6. A silly purple hat is the reason I became a Suns fan. Funny, right?

Fun is exactly the best word to define that memorable 2005 Suns season. And that's why they really got me hooked up. I have to admit that my initial interest was rather slim. Then, when the playoff rolled around and I was able to watch every game, I was completely riveted and from then on I never looked back. That '05 spring was certainly unforgettable for me. I witnessed a thrilling playoff run that made me waste nights after nights and I got my first taste of disappointment, which, begrudgingly, is a long-time Suns constant: the first of a seemingly endless series of playoffs defeats against the Spurs.

I didn't let the first disenchantment water down my love for the team. Actually, it made me care even more. I decided that I'd watch every possible game the following season. Mind you, that was no easy task. Yeah my satellite provider was broadcasting an NBA game every night, but certainly not every Suns game! So I had to resort to some shaky Chinese webcasts, with Cantonese commentary, no less. That was the best I could find at the time and you know what? It was great. I couldn't care less that I didn't understand a word or that the picture quality was so bad that sometimes I was left wondering if the latest basket had been scored by Steve Nash or Teen Wolf. All that mattered was that I could watch my beloved Phoenix Suns.

Internet streams allowed me to witness some of the best moments in the Suns recent history. I remember Nash's three to send the game in overtime against Dallas, after a timely Marion's rebound (a game in which the two-time MVP went totally nuts scoring 32 along with 16 assists and 8 rebounds). That night I was so psyched that I started jumping in front of my computer trying not to scream in delight to avoid waking up my parents (remember the time difference: it was probably 5 am here, when this bizarre scene took place). The same thing happened when Raja Bell nailed that three from the corner against the Clippers, or when Tim Thomas saved our orange asses against the Lakers. Again, I was jumping all over my room fist pumping and high-fiving myself like an idiot, hell, if I had two chests I would have chest-bumped myself too!

I still remember when Nash rallied the team back in an amazing come-from-behind victory in San Antonio to tie the series and give us all a real hope that, maybe, this time we could overcome the big black hurdle: the much-hated Spurs (or like Bill Simmons refers to those 2007 Spurs: The San Antonio Donaghys. Personally, I think The San Antonio Stu Jackson's would've worked just as well). It was the best game I ever witnessed, well, until the infamous Horry hip check that sent my favorite Canadian (alright Jim Carrey, let's say "co-favorite") flying to the scorer's table. That sequence made me scream at the TV and drop F-bombs on Horry for five minutes (this time I couldn't care less if I woke up my parents). Then we won and my veins were still so overloaded with adrenaline, that I watched the TNT post game show, even though it was 6 am and I slept only 4 hours on the night before an ordinary day of college classes. In the studio nobody was talking about the big win, everybody was worried that Stoudemire and Diaw might be suspended for the pivotal game 5 because they left the bench during the altercation that took place after the shameful Horry's cheap shot. Talk about bittersweet. I couldn't sleep very well that night, and I definitely couldn't sleep well when the Spurs sent us and our title dreams back to the desert after a tough game 5 loss capped by a killer Bowen trey.

After that, as you all know, everything started to go wrong. And when I say wrong I mean awfully, terribly, painfully wrong. I definitely don't want to delve into the details here, really, it's just something I'd rather forget. The last D'Antoni year, the early wins, the dumb Shaq trade, the fluky Duncan three-pointer (I mean, are you kidding me!? Duncan hitting a three?? How is that even freaking possible?!?) that led to yet another playoff exit and the incredibly dumb Porter hiring. Seriously, nobody knew at the time but choosing Porter as the Suns coach because the front office wanted to "play more defense" and "slow things down" would have been just like McCain picking a young, unexperienced and completely ignorant Alaska governor as his running mate in the 2008 elections (oh, wait. That really happened. You get the idea though, you saw how that turned out).

The Porter Era was just a really bad time for us fans, actually "bad" doesn't describe it appropriately, I'd go with "atrocious" or "anguishing". Watching Nash walk (walk! Not run!) up the court and half-heartedly throw a lob pass to Shaq in the post was so harrowing that I regularly threw up during those games. Last year was just a season to forget. Even the promising Gentry era was immediately marred by an untimely Stoudemire injury.

You know the rest of the story, we barely missed the playoffs and got into the lottery, dumped the Fat Cactus and re-signed Nash and Hill, as both players turned down the opportunity of jumping the sinking ship at the right time because they wanted to stay with "their team". I think that was the early turning point of this year's Suns. When Grant and Steve showed everybody how much they cared about the team everything started to click. Players came to Phoenix early in August to start practicing with each other, they were routinely cracking jokes during the workouts (watch the video when Dudley dunks in a pick-up game), having fun with each other and, you might not believe this, but nobody was stealing his teammate's ideas for a TV show.

To be honest, nobody saw this coming. Yeah, the chemistry was great. We knew that and everybody from within the organization kept reminding us. But really, how much can the chemistry count when you have Channing Frye as your starting center? Or Lou Amundson as your backup PF? (No disrespect for Lou, I love him, but he's doesn't exactly posses Tim Duncan skills).

Yet, the ball started rolling and the Suns started running, shooting, having fun and, most of all, winning.

How much will it last? The latest loss against the Lakers might have been a reality check, although you have to consider the fact that it was the second game of a back-to-back set and that the Suns have been in 7 different cities in the last 10 days (seriously, thank you, jerk-who-makes-the-nba-schedule). Still, it always hurts to be beaten up by those guys in gold and purple. However, and 8-2 start is simply amazing. Raise your hand if you would've believed it if anybody told you 1 week before the start of the regular season.

I guess the bottom line is that we should already be grateful that these new Suns are making us have fun and enjoy their games again. I don't know about you but they're certainly bringing me back to the good ol' days. And ultimately, after all we've been through last year, this is all it matters now.

Preview and Game Thread: Suns vs Raptors

2009-11-15T18:00:38Z

Final - 11.15.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Toronto Raptors	33	20	26	21	100
Phoenix Suns	31	19	27	24	101

Complete Coverage >

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 11/15/09 5:18 PM MST ]

Coach Gentry Pre-game Notes

Coach had the Cards game on the TV in his office
The Raptors are great scoring team - you have to put up a lot of points to beat them
Talking about the key to running, Gentry said the 1st three steps are key as is the spacing. The Suns don't track fast break points internally the same way. If they move the ball a couple of times and get an open look that counts as an FB
Asked if he was worried about the Raptors front court size, Gentry said they are no Bynum and Odom. He didn't use the "Euro long" phrase that he used in practice yesterday but that's what he meant
Gentry said once again that the best defensive team is the one with the most points at the end of the game
Most impressive thing about the Suns so far is the resiliency. Gentry was very impressed with the come-back win in Philly at the end of the road trip
The togetherness and chemistry is also a plus
Channing Frye is still adjusting to taking so many shots
Gentry called Jared the "glue guy" and said that when he plays the 4 the Suns are small but can switch things more
Asked (by me) about Brandon Jennings 55 point game, Gentry said that he had a good game and that he's a talented guy. He called it interesting

If you like scoring this game is for you. And if you like scoring by two teams that do it the "right way" with point guards who distribute the ball, big men that are versatile and skilled, wings that can both slash and shoot and role players that scrap and fight then this game is REALLY for you.

Coach Gentry at practice yesterday called the Toronto a "mirror image" of the Suns which their ability to spread the floor, move the ball and also attack the rim. The difference between the two teams and the advantage statistically for the Suns is on the defensive end.

The Raptors (113.7) and Suns (110.8) are #1 and #3 in the league in offensive efficiency.

Whereas Toronto is playing like a team still getting used to the accelerator the Suns are focused on the lessons learned over the years of fast paced driving. In Phoenix, the high-efficiency offense is a given which is a luxury the Raptors haven't yet earned and this allows Gentry's team to spend more emphasis on defense and rebounding.

The Suns still have work to do but at 107 points per 100 possessions are far ahead of the NBA's worst 112 defensive efficiency rating of the Raptors.

For a more in-depth look at the Raptors season so far let's check in with Adam from SBN sister site Raptors HQ:

So currently the Raptors sit a game above .500 at 5 and 4. To some, this might look like an underperforming record, especially based on losses to Memphis and San Antonio that should in all probability have been W's.

However taking into account a new coaching group and system, nine new players, injuries to key players in pre-season, and an extremely tough schedule to kick off the year, I'd have to say that all things considered, 5-4 looks pretty good. I actually picked the team to start at 5 and 13 so they're way ahead of schedule.

Part of the reason they're ahead of my prediction is their offense. Chris Bosh is putting up MVP-esque numbers after a summer of dedicating himself to becoming more of a low-post presence, and the additions of players like Hedo Turkoglu, and Marco Belinelli off the bench, has given this team's offense a serious shot in the arm. Add on some improved play from Andrea Bargnani and when this team's offense is on, they are just deadly because they can hurt an opponent in so many ways; from using the 3 ball to stretch out a defense, to feeding Bosh for isolations on the blocks.

However there's a flip side to this coin.

While the offense has taken a step forward, the defense has taken at least two back. This in itself is incredible considering how poor the Raptors were defensively the past two seasons but it's true, outside of the past two games, Toronto was giving up an obscene amount of points to opponents. Even in the past two wins, where the Dinos managed to keep the Bulls and Clips under 100 points, Toronto got themselves into huge holes early thanks to exactly 0 defensive intensity. It's this flip-side that has done them in in winnable games at times and has prevented comebacks in others.

So as it stands, offensively the Raptors have a chance to be one of the best in the league, however until they at least play some modicum of defense, I think this is going to be at best a .500 team; beating a Cleveland one night thanks to hot shooting, losing to a Minny the next, unable to get stops.

Other Links

Raptors vs Suns preview
Raptors vs Suns coverage
Raptors HQ
azcentral.com - Game Preview
What's Working for the Raptors - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN
A nice look at the Raptors offense the Suns are going to face...
Stoudemire looks past dismal night
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The Evolution of Jared Dudley

2009-11-15T15:43:59Z

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Jared Dudley is only getting better. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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Of all the Suns I met at Media Day, Jared Dudley was the easiest one for me to talk to. Nash wasn't really available, Amare had been asked the same questions over and over again, Robin Lopez actually intimidated me, Earl Clark was too soft spoken for me to understand (and his words came from what seemed to be the ceiling of US Airways), Channing Frye was surrounded by everyone, and was talking about his honeymoon, and talking to Dan Dickau was clearly pointless.

Jared Dudley has a very engaging personality. As a young pseudo journalist, it's oftentimes difficult to think of an original question to ask a professional athlete. Of course there was much to ask Dudley. He was really trying to tweet his way to, um, something, and he had shown some serious promise last year in limited minutes for the Suns after he was tossed into the Bobcat deal that sent Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to Charlotte for Jason Richardson.

Last year in limited minutes Dudley proved to be a bench player the Suns had needed for some time. He was a guy who went to the floor for loose balls, played defense, and took pride in everything he did on the floor with the precious minutes he was allotted. The guy had heart, and all of us Suns faithful that endured a season of pain and confusion last year got a glimpse of the Junkyard Dog. We liked what we saw.

Dudley was intriguing to me, but I didn't have to ask him much, he was willing to talk and talk and talk. By the end of our two minute or so interview, I was struck by one thing he said. The Q &A went something like this:

Me: "So have you been working on your three point shot this off season? You really seemed to thrive in the Suns run and gun system late last season."

Dudley: "Hey, anything to stay in this league. I'm working on everything."

And it struck me at that point that this guy wasn't taking anything for granted. He wasn't satisfied to sit at the end of the pine just picking up an NBA paycheck, he wouldn't be satisfied to play a few years in the NBA and then move in. Jared Dudley wanted to play, make his mark, and stay in the NBA. He knew what he could bring to the table. He knew what it took to get on the floor, and he wasn't intimidated by anyone in the NBA, anyone.

The interesting thing about Jared Dudley when we look at the numbers and what the "experts" have said about him, is that it could be possible that no one, including Dudley knows how good he can be in the NBA. No, he won't be LeBron nor will he be Kobe, but what the numbers suggest is pretty interesting.

Jared Dudley played is college ball in the ACC for Boston College. Recruited from Horizon high school in San Diego, Dudley wasn't considered a blue chip recruit. He was a guy who didn't fit into one category. He wasn't considered a huge scorer or a defensive specialist. Instead, he was chunky-bodied guy with the tools to do a number of things fairly well. He led his high school teams to state championships in the final two years of his high school career. Most importantly, he was soulful winner, he was a team player, a guy you could count on to bring 110% every night. Dudley did the little things his team needed in order for them to win.

What Dudley also brought with him to Boston College was a desire to improve his game and leads his team to victory. He played in every game his freshman year at Boston College, averaging 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds. Playing behind Craig Smith who was 6th in the ACC in scoring, Dudley helped Boston College to a tournament appearance, while finishing 19th in the ACC with 11.9 points per game. While his total body of work in 2003 wasn't incredibly impressive, what is impressive is that as a freshman, Dudley played in ever game, averaging double figures in points per game.

2003-4	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	34	34	11.9	46.5	6.6	1.3	2.8	2.8	31.6

Again in 2004-5, Dudley played in every game. He increased his averages in nearly every important statistical category, finishing 7th in ACC scoring. He lead his team to yet another tournament birth, defeating Pennsylvania before getting knocked out by Milwaukee-Wisconsin in the second round.

2004-5	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	30	36	16.5	48.8	7.5	1.6	.2	3.2	33.3

It was no surprise that Dudley played in every game in the 2005-6 season, once again leading his squad to a tournament birth. His season averages only show slight improvement, nonetheless, improvement. Dudley finished 9th in ACC average points per game.

2005-6	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	36	37.2	16.7	49.4	6.6	1.1	.3	3.2	35.1

Before Jared Dudley's senior season, he was projected as a certain NBA draft pick. He had come far from his freshman season. Every year he had improved at least 2 to 3 facets of his game. On paper this is evident, however what cannot be captured on paper may have been his best qualities. The draft analysts spoke of Dudley's intangibles, all that could not be captured in a box score:
Excellent Competitor
Tremendous heart
High basketball IQ
Intense and emotional, does whatever it takes for his team to win
Fearlessly attacks basket
Excellent court vision and awareness
Work ethic is among the best in the country

That was all well and good, but Dudley wasn't blessed with LeBron like athleticism or Kobe Bryant explosiveness. He didn't really even have an NBA position. He was too small to handle the beasts at power forward, and not quick enough to defend the small forwards. He overpowered his stronger and more athletic foes in college, but that didn't seem possible for him at the NBA level. The best reviews predicted Dudley may make it as a role player in the NBA, and others recommend he try to play in Europe.

In his senior season, Dudley established himself as an NBA 1st round pick. Here we can see the most dramatic increase in his numbers, especially, in points (19.0, 2nd in ACC), field goal percentage, rebounds, and most significantly, three point percentage. I don't know at what point in his college career he picked up the nickname, Junkyard Dog, but if that wasn't his moniker by 2006, he certainly earned it during his final season at BC. He was voted ACC Player of the Year and second team All-American.

2006-7	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	30	38.4	19.0	56.2	8.3	1.4	.3	3.0	44.3

The unheralded, soft-bodied freshman who entered Boston College in 2003 had proven vital to the success of the team. Dudley started over 100 consecutive games for Boston College. During that time he had improved his game in nearly every facet over four years. His teams at Boston College were good, they went to the NCAA Tournament every year he was there, and he had established himself as an excellent player with a high basketball IQ who possessed the intangibles that many other players with natural talent and raw athleticism do not have-heart, pride, and a gritty selflessness that would be a welcomed addition to any NBA squad.

"If you looked at him in high school, you would have never imagined that he would have risen to this level,but no one could measure the size of his heart and his desire, along with his intelligence that allowed him to play."

-Al Skinner, Jared Dudley's coach at Boston College

In 2007, the Charlotte Bobcats used their 22nd pick in the first round to draft Jared Dudley. By draft day, the experts were on to Dudley. They recognized his improvement throughout his college career. Combined with all of his qualities from the years before were some new qualities that shaped Dudley into a player ready to immediately contribute at the NBA level:
Improved perimeter shooting, with legitimate 3-point range
Basketball IQ could be the best of any player in the draft
Reads the ball very well to enable box out of his man on the boards
Body strength enables him to absorb contact and finish at the rim
Uses intensity and aggressiveness to intimidate on defensive end

Jared Dudley played in the first game of the 2007-8 season for the lowly Charlotte Bobcats, coached by Sam Vincent. But by the last game of the season, the rookie had worked hard enough and impressed his coach with his work ethic and results on the floor to become a starter.

Charlotte Bobcats

2007-8	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARE DUDLEY	73	19.0	5.8	47	2.3	.8	.1	1.1	22.0

In that last game of the season, the Bobcats beat another lowly team, the Indiana Pacers, 107-103. Dudley played 42 minutes, dropping in 19 points and 8 rebounds. Just when it appeared that Dudley was ready to establish himself as an NBA regular, Vincent was fired and Larry Brown took over as coach of the Bobcats. Dudley didn't begin the season as a starter and was shuffled in and out of the lineup, as Brown attempted to figure out what combination of players would lead to victories. On December 10, 2008, Dudley was packaged with Jason Richardson and sent to the Phoenix Sunsfor Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, and Sean Singletary.
Dudley saw little court time during the Terry Porter regime, however, once Porter was jettisoned in favor of Alvin Gentry, that changed. We shell shocked Suns fans saw in Dudley what the team lacked for many years under the D'Antoni era: a relentless player capable of asserting his will on his opponent on the defensive end, a new and surprising threat from three point range, and a gutsy team player who always brought energy off the bench, consistently, night after night.

Suns/Bobcats

2008-9	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	68	17	5.5	47	3.0	.8	.1	.8	39.2

"He's a coach's dream. He plays so hard and he really is the inspiration for our second team."

-Alvin Gentry on Jared Dudley

So, what's my point? Yeah Dudley's good for the Suns. A solid NBA defender, he always comes to play, he scraps, he claws, he grinds, he grits, he barks like a dog. Thing is, Jared Dudley has improved every year at every level he's played at. If history is any indication of the 25 year-old Jared Dudley's future career path, he's only going to get better. With Grant Hill most likely retiring at the end of the season, Dudley is his likely replacement. It may just be that Dudley will be wearing a Suns uniform for years to come.

Suns

2009-10	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	10	22.4	9.7	47.3	3.8	1.3	.2	1.3	47.2