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Suns try to knock off unbeaten Celts

Vince Marotta — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:40:14 +0000

The Suns play Boston tonight. Hopefully Steve Nash doesn't get kidnapped by these guys before tipoff.

The Phoenix Suns continue their rugged 5-game Eastern Conference road trip Friday night with a visit to Boston to take on the NBA’s best team to this point in the season, the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics are off to a 6-0 start and are one of two undefeated teams left in the league. Boston isn’t just beating teams, they’re blowing teams out, outscoring them by an average of 18.3 points per game, and holding opponents to a measly 81.5 points per game.

The Celts have Kevin Garnett back, and even though he hasn’t posted huge numbers (11.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game), his presence is a big key. Free agent signing Rasheed Wallace has blended in nicely, pumping in 11.2 points per game and leading a bench that averages 35.5 points per game.

The Suns, meanwhile, are coming off a 22-point loss to Orlando (maybe they were frightened Dwight Howard would pull them into a bathroom?), and are looking to get back into the win column against an imposing Boston squad.

Here are tonight’s probable starting lineups…

Phoenix Suns (4-1)

F - 1 Amare Stoudemire - 6-10 - Cyp.Creek HS
F - 33 Grant Hill - 6-8 - Duke
C - 8 Channing Frye - 6-11 - Arizona
G - 23 Jason Richardson - 6-6 - Michigan State
G - 13 Steve Nash - 6-3 - Santa Clara

Boston Celtics (6-0)

F - 5 Kevin Garnett - 6-11 - Farragut Acad.
F - 34 Paul Pierce - 6-7 - Kansas
C - 43 Kendrick Perkins - 6-10 - Ozen HS
G - 20 Ray Allen - 6-5 - UCONN
G - 9 Rajon Rondo - 6-1 - Kentucky

The Suns will be without reserve guard Leandro Barbosa, who is still bothered by a right wrist injury. Boston’s Bill Walker, Glen Davis and Tony Allen are all out with injuries.

By the Numbers

3
The number of times in a row that the Celtics have beaten the Suns.

19.0
Boston’s average margin of victory in their last three wins over the Suns.

8 and 17
The number of points and minutes, respectively for Orlando center Dwight Howard in last night’s loss to Detroit.

0
The combined number of points scored by Suns’ starters Grant Hill and Jason Richardson against Orlando on Wednesday.

0%
The chances that the Suns will beat Boston if Hill and Richardson don’t score against Boston on Friday.

17
Every member of the Suns starting lineup is averaging at least this number of points per game in 2009-10.

68.8%
The Suns team free throw percentage this season…they shot 74.4% last season with Shaquille O’Neal on the team!

89.2%
The combined free throw percentage for Grant Hill (18 for 21), Steve Nash (12 for 13) and Alando Tucker (3 for 3) this season.

61.4%
The combined free throw percentage for everyone else on the team (62 for 101).

3
The number of players on Boston’s roster who have scored 40 or more points in a single game against the Suns.

199
The number of coaching victories in the career of Suns head coach Alvin Gentry.

6-1
Gentry’s record as Suns head coach in games that Amare Stoudemire has actually played.

Charles Barkley Can’t Count

Greg Esposito — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:15:46 +0000

Former Sun Charles Barkley proves once again that he may not be the smartest guy in the room but he’s sure the most entertaining.

Friday links

Mark McLane — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:23:21 +0000

I don’t know what it is about these goofball pictures of Channing Frye and Steve Nash that make me laugh, but it never fails. Maybe it’s the s*#t-eating grins. Never not funny.

It’s been a pretty interesting season for the Suns thus far. We know they’re capable of running bad teams off the court, fighting to the bitter end with middle of the pack teams, and laying an egg against elite teams. Or at least teams with far more size.

Which is pretty much everyone.

Going into tonight’s game in Boston, the Suns are 4-1. It’s a solid and impressive start, and I say that knowing full well of the bloodbath that awaits in the Garden this evening. Now despite their obvious faults and issues, I’m sticking to my guns and saying this team wins 50 games. It’s the same old story, nothing changes.

Beat the teams you’re supposed to. Bring the effort every night. Stay far away from the groupies.

Onto the links, the first set in a very young, and very long season.

-something tells me this is the highest the Suns will be in any set of power rankings at any point in the season. It’s a damn shame the season can’t end right now so the Suns can go out on a high note.

-Arnovitz at TrueHoop weighs in on Nash’s “old white guy at the YMCA” shot. It’s a great quote from an always quotable player but I’ve never seen an old white guy at the YMCA do anything on the court remotely resembling Nash’s layup in traffic.

-a nice scouting report on the Suns from Charley Rosen after their beatdown of the hapless and dysfunctional Warriors. I’ve always enjoyed Rosen’s knack for mixing praise with criticism. You won’t find many glowing compliments in his writing, unless he’s waxing poetic on his good buddy Phil Jackson, or in the case of this article, Lou Amundson:

“His job is to rebound, defend, block shots and energize the team. And he does everything with a workmanlike diligence that’s easily as effective as the over-hyped antics of Chris Andersen. Indeed, his man-to-man defense is much better than the Birdman’s rather flighty efforts in this department.”

-I can’t have been the only one who had no idea the NBA updated their rims, right? Am I slipping in my old age?

Two quick observations regarding the rims. First, Jason Terry’s sour grapes taste pretty sweet. Next, of course Nash doesn’t see the difference. His shot is pure and he’s shooting 53% overall and 55% from downtown.

-video of Amare’s nasty dunk against the Heat, but as Skeets notes, it wasn’t his play of the night. His assist in traffic after rolling off the pick was a thing of beauty and made me jump off the couch in excitement. I realize Stoudemire has been around for quite a while now, but it’s fun to think back to when he had almost no control over his body.

-our old buddy Michael Schwartz at Valley of the Suns takes a quick look at one the Suns’ strengths: their bench.

“Granted Phoenix’s second unit found success against the opposing teams’ second units, but isn’t that what they’re supposed to do?”

Darn right, and thus far they’ve been up to the challenge. As noted above by Charley Rosen, Amundson does his job every night. Jared Dudley frequently makes it hard for Alvin Gentry to take him off the floor. Last but not least, Goran Dragic is showing glimpses into what could be a solid future. If there’s one thing Kerr has done well in his tenure it’s putting together a solid second unit.

-we’ve all heard Bill Walton will no longer be imploring big men across the league to throw it down, and it’s a damn shame. Basketball Reference has a great clip of him previewing the Suns/Clipper playoffs series from a couple years back.

-I completely forgot about Paul Coro’s live chat yesterday, but it’s worth the read. The sharp dressed man is the best.

-I always forget about Paul Shirley and that he’s still writing for ESPN. I caught his latest and it doesn’t disappoint. Good as always. I doubt anyone cares, but here’s a video from Dinosaur Jr, highlighting J. Mascis’ face rocking guitar work.

Speaking of getting your face rocked off, I almost forgot the video of the week that people will complain to me about. I saw The Lawrence Arms, Teenage Bottlerocket, Cobra Skulls, and Andrew Jackson Jihad last night. It was a whole lot of goodness for $12. Here’s Teenage Bottlerocket doing what they do:

I’ve forgotten how to embed a video. Ugh.

Well, that about does it, wraps her all up. Everyone have a fantastic weekend and be sure in tune in for the Suns annual beatdown at the Garden this evening. If you’re drinking, don’t drive. And if you’re driving don’t drink.

Grading Game: Magic 122, Suns 100

Greg Esposito — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:18:23 +0000

Offense:

The Suns night offensively can be summed up by this, two of the Suns five starters didn’t score (Grant Hill and Jason Richardson) and Channing Frye chipped in a total of 5 points. The three combined to shoot 2-for-15 (Although Hill’s performance didn’t surprise Magic fans, it’s about what they got from him as a player). Even Steve Nash struggled, based on Steve Nash standards, he only scored 12 points and shot 5-for-11.

The lone bright spots were Amare Stoudemire who finished with 25 points, although he had only 6 in the second half, Jared Dudley who scored 17 and Goran Dragic who chipped in 15.

Although the bench showed some life it was too little too late as it came after the game got out of hand.

Overall the offense was abysmal, even though they scored a hundred points.

Grade:

D-

Defense:

Ryan Anderson looked like his superstar self for most of the game versus the Suns…wait, Ryan Anderson isn’t a superstar? He’s some young guy who was a throw in in the trade that sent Vince Carter to Orlando? Well I guess that changes everything.

The Suns let Ryan Anderson light them up for a majority of the game and let an upset Dwight Howard finish them off. Although the they were able to keep things close in the first half, the second half looked like the Magic were running drills rather than playing against an NBA caliber defense.

For the first time in the young season the Suns defense was exposed and were talking the “full monty”. Everything Suns fans and NBA experts thought would go wrong did. They didn’t have the size to compete with Dwight Howard, a fact even coach Gentry conceded after the game, and they didn’t have an answer to Magic point guard Jameer Nelson either.

If the offense was abysmal you’d have to describe it as whatever is worse then abysmal. There isn’t anything? Well then we’ll just refer to it as “the tail end of a back to back” because we’ll probably see it happen again this season.

Grade:

Rebounding:

Surprisingly this may have been the best thing the Suns did all evening. Even with rebounding beast Dwight Howard in the middle for Orlando the Suns managed to only get outrebounded by three (they held Howard to a paltry 6 boards). Amare Stoudemire, especially in the first half, showed a dedication to rebounding that makes everyone believe he can be among the leagues elite. He had eleven in the first half and finished with fourteen in thrity-four minutes of play. Lou Amundson chipped in five and backup point guard Goran Dragic even have four of his own.

Their performance may not have been great but on a night like last night it looks pretty good.

Grade:

C+

Ball handling:

If the Suns handled the ball a little better the second half of the game may have been a little different (like only a ten point loss). They had eighteen turnovers on the night and only twenty-one assists. You know it’s a bad night when Steve Nash only has four assists and three turnovers.

Grade:

Overall Game GPA: 1.00 GPA

Pick and Roll: worst case scenario

Mark McLane — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:07:27 +0000

In our first pick and roll of the regular season, Steve Fan and I take a look at the worst case scenario for the Suns this season, and wonder if it would still be better than rooting for say, the Grizzlies or Clippers.

Take it away Steve Fan:

The Suns season is ready to implode anytime now. Steve Nash, now that he has proved he can play MVP-type of basketball again, will retire to concentrate on his real passion: soccer. He will eventually make the Vancouver MLS roster and then be offered a one year loan deal to join AC Milan to play alongside David Beckham (in what will become known as the Nash and Becks experiment).

Losing their PG the Suns will more or less fall apart in a few weeks.

Amare’s stats will go south in a hurry and this being a contract year, he will go nuts and try to kill Dragic after the young Slovenian fails to dish him a single assist for the third consecutive game. Stoudemire will soon play with black sunglasses to avoid eye contact with his teammates.
Sadness will hit the team. Barbosa will not find the game fun anymore and move back to Copacabana. Grant Hill will see himself in the mirror and realize he’s become an old man who needs to spend more time at home with his family.

Steve Kerr will trade for a PG to sort things out, shipping J-Rich, Clark and a future first round pick to the Grizzlies for A. Iverson. In a related move, Memphis will trade Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol to the Lakers for a second round pick in 2014.

The Suns will end the season 20-62, but finish at least 20 million dollar under the luxury tax making Mr. Sarver a very happy owner.

Coach Gentry will sport a big smile at his season-ending press conference and tell the world the Suns might have had a tough year, but hey, at least they aren’t the Clippers.

Last week, as the Suns beat the Clippers in the opener I was wondering if there’s a worse team to root for in the sports. They of course, lost that game on a last second shot by Nash, the night after they lost to their cross town rivals who were getting their championship rings. To add insult to injury earlier in the week they had lost their hope for the immediate future, rookie Blake Griffin, for a couple of months. Blake was lost to a stress fracture, before playing a real game in the league.

It seems like they can’t get it right…they can’t hire a decent coach, they keep making mistakes in signing free agents, losing the talented players to injury…a mess. They’re such a mess, I think I love them.

Seriously, let’s just hope Steve Nash stays happy and healthy. If that doesn’t happen the chain reaction will start and the Suns really could implode. The key to the Suns system is Nash and only Nash. The Suns had proved in the past they could live without Stoudemire, they could replace shooting guards, they could live without decent rebounding, but without our QB it just doesn’t work.

Mark McLane:

“This just in…Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan are lost at sea…” Er, worst case scenario for the Suns? Right. My mistake.

I look at the worst case scenario as being out of the playoff race by the All-Star break. Maybe it’s an injury to Nash, perhaps LB’s wrist never heals and J-Rich goes down as well, or Nash and Hill suddenly get very old, very quickly.

Whatever the reason, if the Suns aren’t sniffing the playoffs come February, things will move to DEFCON 5 rather quickly in the desert, and Kerr will have an itchy doomsday trigger finger. Kiss Nash, Amar’e, and Hill goodbye, and say hello to an honest to goodness rebuilding effort, something I’m not so sure I’m ready for.

Let’s face it, Kerr’s track record and Sarver’s meddling do not instill confidence. Starting from scratch may very well have been the best idea for even this season, but the contractors in charge of building from the ground up sure look to be carrying faulty permits.

The last thing we want is to become the Memphis of the west. Forget worst case scenario, that would be more of a nightmare come true.

If you’re going to lose, it may as well be big

Vince Marotta — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:49:06 +0000

The Suns couldn't stop Dwight Howard, who had 25 points despite battling foul trouble in Orlando's 122-100 win on Wednesday. (Photo: John Raoux/AP)

The Phoenix Suns got their first taste of defeat on Wednesday night in Orlando, falling to the defending Eastern Conference Champion Magic 122-100 at Amway Arena. OK, it was more than a taste. It was a heaping portion.

The Suns trailed by only 6 at halftime, but Orlando started the third quarter on a 20-5 run that featured 10 points by Dwight Howard and 6 points by Ryan Anderson. The Suns never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way, and trailed by as many as 28 points.

Howard was again saddled with foul trouble for much of the game, but still led Orlando with 25 points in just 23 minutes. Anderson chipped in with 20. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 25 points and 14 rebounds, both season highs for the All-Star, who is still recovering from three eye surgeries.

Two of the Suns’ starting five, Grant Hill and Jason Richardson didn’t score in the game. The duo combined to go 0 for 9 from the field.

With the win, the Magic push their record to 4-1, while the Suns fall to 4-1, and now head to Boston to take on the undefeated Celtics at the TD Banknorth Garden on Friday.

Highlights from NBA.com/

Undefeated Suns visit Magic Kingdom

Vince Marotta — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:03:37 +0000

Sure, they’re only 4-0, but being one of three remaining undefeated teams in the NBA is something to crow about, right?

The Suns continue their brutal, early-season 5-game eastern swing with a trip to everyone’s favorite arena named after a multi-level marketing operation in Orlando.

Phoenix started their road trip last night in Miami by overcoming a 13-point lead with a 104-96 win over the Heat in which Steve Nash simply took over again. The two-time MVP had 30 points, including 17 in the 3rd quarter for Phoenix, who is 4-0 for just the fourth time in their history.

Orlando tasted their own blood for the first time last night, falling to Detroit 85-80. The defending Eastern Conference Champs are 3-1 on the season.

Here are tonight’s probable starting lineups…

Phoenix Suns (4-0)

F - 1 Amare Stoudemire - 6′10″ | 249 lbs | CC HS
F - 33 Grant Hill - 6′8″ | 225 lbs | Duke
C - 8 Channing Frye - 6′11″ | 245 lbs | Arizona
G - 23 Jason Richardson - 6′6″ | 225 lbs | Michigan State
G - 13 Steve Nash - 6′3″ | 178 lbs | Santa Clara

Orlando Magic (3-1)

F - 15 Vince Carter - 6′6″ | 220 lbs | North Carolina
F - 33 Ryan Anderson - 6′10″ | 240 lbs | California
C - 12 Dwight Howard - 6′11″ | 275 lbs | Krypton
G - 7 J.J. Redick - 6′4″ | 190 lbs | Duke
G - 14 Jameer Nelson - 6′0″ | 190 lbs | St. Joseph’s

The Suns will be without reserve guard Leandro Barbosa, who is bothered by a right wrist injury. Orlando won’t have Mickael Pietrus, who is out with the flu, center Adonal Foyle (is he still playing?) who is recovering from knee surgery, and forward Rashard Lewis who is serving a 10-game suspension for well, being a bad boy.

By the Numbers

2004-2005
The last time the Suns started a season 4-0.

62-20
The Suns record in 2004-2005, when they started the season 4-0.

8 and 17
The number of points and minutes, respectively for Orlando center Dwight Howard in last night’s loss to Detroit.

6
The number of fouls Howard picked up in his 17 minutes last night.

100%
The chances that the Suns will try to get Howard in early foul trouble.

17
Every member of the Suns starting lineup is averaging at least this number of points per game in 2009-10.

3
The number of double-doubles ageless Suns forward Grant Hill has so far this season.

4
The number of double-doubles Hill had last season for the Suns.

1
The number of arenas in the NBA where Hill gets booed (Amway Arena in Orlando).

65.2%
The percentage of games missed by Hill during his 7 years in Orlando (thus, the booing).

7.1%
The percentage of games missed by Hill during his 2+ years in Phoenix.

$92.7 million
The amount Hill was paid during his time in Orlando. It came out to $463,500 per appearance.

Amare Stoudemire is Arthur Spooner

Ben York — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:30:27 +0000

What?

Yep, you heard me right. Amare Stoudemire is to me what Arthur Spooner was to Doug Heffernen.

He’s annoying and irritating at times, he thinks he’s probably better than he is, he’s a bit senile, doesn’t quite do what you want him to do, and seemingly will be around forever.

But, dammit I like the man. And I’m not afraid to admit it.

Amare is absolutely like Arthur (Jerry Stiller) - stubborn, won’t do what you want, and always thinks he’s right. But after years of trying to find reasons to dismiss him and making excuses for disliking his attitude, I continually find it exceptionally hard not to like him; just as Doug (Kevin James) did in the fantastic TV sitcom ‘King of Queens’.

I don’t know what it is about Amare that won’t allow me to completely write him off or allow me to stay mad at the guy. However, I’ve come to accept that, apparently, I’ve somehow become an apologist for him.

Maybe I just feel sorry for him not fulfilling an inhuman amount of expectations. Maybe it’s that he’ll do something so nice, so amazing, and so heartfelt at a time you don’t expect it (like his trip to Sierra Leone) that keeps you hanging on. Or that he had to lie face down for 20 hours for multiple days to continue his retinal healing process. Maybe it’s that we’d truly miss him if he were gone, and we’ve undoubtedly take him for granted while he’s still here.

I don’t know. But, I like the guy.

That’s why I’ll forgive his comments about he and Channing Frye boxing out so the guards can get rebounds. Or that the screens he sets for Steve ultimately allow Nash to go for 30 points any given game. Or that he isn’t a captain so pertinent questions about the state of the team shouldn’t be answered by him.

Hell, maybe he’s right.

But I recant all my statements about being frustrated with Amare. Every single time I ever get mad or wish he would go away, I feel incredibly guilty; almost as if I just shot a puppy who accidentally bit me.

I give up. I love Amare Stoudemire. And I hereby forgive all future mistakes and mishaps he makes.

After all, I know that no matter how frustrated he makes me, I’ll miss him when he’s gone.

Awakenings: The Suns have come back to life

Greg Esposito — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:12:51 +0000

Have you ever seen the movie Awakenings starring Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro? It’s a film from the early 1990’s about a doctor, played by Williams, that discovers a drug that makes catatonic patients in his hospital, including DeNiro, come back to life.

If you haven’t seen the original, that’s OK, the remake is being filmed in Phoenix as we speak.

Following the latest Hollywood trend, Robert Sarver, in an attempt to make additional revenue, has funded the new version and Steve Kerr has signed on to direct.

After a failed attempt to have Terry Porter play the character Robin Williams originally portrayed, Kerr quickly replaced him with Alvin Gentry. In supporting roles Kerr cast Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Channing Frye and Leandro Barbosa as the main catatonic patients brought back to life.

Filming began last Wednesday and by all accounts, things are going well. Gentry seems to be reveling in the lead role. Nash, Hill, Frye and Barbosa, all coming off poor performances in their last film, seem to not only be playing characters who come back to life, but have brought their careers back to life as well.

Although things are going smoothly in the early stages, there is one dilemma. Sarver and Kerr want to rewrite the ending. In the original film, the drug prescribed by Williams’ character loses its effectiveness over time and the patients return to their original catatonic state. Sarver and Kerr want Gentry’s drug in the remake to permanently cure everyone and restore them to their former glory. The two feel the new ending is more uplifting and that people will enjoy watching it more.

It is unclear whether Gentry and the rest of the films “players” will agree to the re-write or stick to the original script. Production is scheduled through the middle of April. If the changes are made Sarver and Kerr think things could continue possibly into June.

Amare Stoudemire earns “Dunk of the Night” honors

Greg Esposito — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:11:27 +0000

]]>

Grading the Game: Suns 104, Heat 96

Greg Esposito — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:01:28 +0000

Offense:

For the forth straight game the Suns shot at least fifty-percent from the field. The Suns shot 50.6% last night in Miami thanks in part to the second half heroics that the “ageless wonder” Steve Nash (really, who thought he’d be this good?). Nash had 25 of his 30 points in the second half and made an impressively efficient 11-of-15 shots attempted.

Along with Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Jason Richardson’s shooting helped the Suns keep their shooting above the fifty percent mark. Stoudemire had 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Richardson added in 14 points making 6 of his 13 shots.

The three combined for a 22-for-37, 60%, from the field and scored a combined 60 points. The rest of the team shot 17-for-40, 43%, and combined for 44 points.

While it was a tale of two squads when it came to shooting, free throws were an overall team concern (as always Steve Nash you can be excused from this conversation). If you remove Nash’s four makes on four attempts, the Suns shot an abysmal 13-for-23 from the charity stripe. Not acceptable in rec league basketball–believe me I’ve experienced it– let alone in the NBA.

Grade:

Defense:

I can’t believe I’m typing this but, I was thoroughly impressed with the Suns’ defense. No one will confuse them for the San Antonio Spurs and they are still flawed when it comes to individual defense but the team effort was impressive against the Heat.

The Suns held the Heat to 40% from the field and kept Dwayne Wade to a season low 23 points. They played their toughest defense in the forth quarter holding Miami to 15 points and forcing them to miss ten of their fifteen shots.

The Suns rotated to the spots they needed too, played great help defense and fought for lose balls all night. Even the newest Sun Jarron Collins contributed down low against the Heat’s Jermaine O’Neal.

Grade:

B+

Rebounding:

Before Monday the Suns had out rebounded their opponents in two of their first three games, Minnesota being the lone exception. They made it three out of four games in Miami.

The team looked solid on the boards as Grant Hill continued his torrid rebounding pace grabbing a team high twelve boards, upping his season average to over ten a game. Amare Stoudemire also strong on the boards finishing with eleven for the night.

Jarron Collins may have only had 2 rebounds but his impact was felt in the second half. His great boxing out of Miami’s bigs allowed Stoudemire, Hill and others to get to rebounds that easliy could have been second chance possessions for the Heat.

Grade:

Ball handling:

It’s becoming a pattern. The Suns are scoring a lot of points, racking up a lot of assists but turning over the ball a lot as well. They had twenty-one assists and fourteen turnovers last night. Everyone expects Steve Nash to commit a few turnovers being the primary ball handler. It’s the Suns big men who need to protect the ball better. They accounted for half of the lost possessions on the night (Stoudemire 3, Frye 3, Amundson 1).

Grade:

Overall Game GPA: 2.88 GPA

Suns off to a 4-0 start after beating Miami

Vince Marotta — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:41:25 +0000

Jared Dudley celebrates a basket during the Suns' 104-96 win over Miami Tuesday night. (Photo: J Pat Carter/AP)

Four games is 4.9% of an NBA season.

So you’d think that a team that’s been around as long and been as successful as the Phoenix Suns would have had a bunch of 4-0 starts in their history.

Think again.

The Suns are off to only their 3rd 4-0 start in 42 seasons after beating the Miami Heat 104-96 last night in the first game of a rugged 5-game trip in which the Suns’ opponents had compiled a 14-2 combined record heading into Monday night.

Steve Nash again took the game over in the 2nd half, scoring 25 of his 30 points after halftime. Nash also hit 4 three-pointers on the night, surpassing Dan Majerle, and making him the Suns’ all-time leader with 707 made treys and counting.

Amare Stoudemire added 16 and Jason Richardson 14 for the Suns, who played without guard Leandro Barbosa, who was sidelined with a wrist injury.

And surprisingly, the key to this Suns’ victory was defense. The Suns held Miami to 40% shooting from the field and only 15 points in the 4th quarter. Phoenix came up with 11 blocked shots and 5 steals in the ball game.

Phoenix continues their road trip tonight against the Orlando Magic at Amway Arena.

By the way, the other two 4-0 starts in Suns’ history came in 2004-05, when the Suns finished 62-20 and lost to San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals. The other was back in 1985-85, when the Suns finished 36-46 and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Highlights from NBA.com/KUTP

Cautious, But Justifiable Optimism

Ben York — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:01:36 +0000

Happiness. (photo by Getty)

Your 2009/2010 Phoenix Suns are 3-0. Yes, that’s right - they are one of only two teams in the West with an undefeated record.

To some, it’s not a big deal. However, I think it is. It’s not necessarily about the type of teams they beat, it’s how they beat them - and it’s the type of basketball that we’ve become familiar and comfortable with.

They are #1 in the league in points per game and 3pt %. They have the league leader in assists. Grant Hill is averaging 20 and 10. They have freaking Channing Frye hitting almost 6 three’s per game.

What just happened? Is there excitement in the Suns again? Could they surprise people in the West this season? I know it’s only 3 games into the season, but my goodness, there is a justifiable case for optimism in the Valley of the Sun.

For one, they aren’t allowing an insane amount of points defensively. In fact, they are in the middle of the pack when it comes to many defensive categories. True, they haven’t faced an offensive juggernaut yet but still, that didn’t much matter last season when it seemed any team could put up 110 against the Suns.

This mix of old and young players is finding a way to put it together when no one truly thought they could.

Now, they have a true test tonight when they face the Heat then head to Orlando tomorrow before playing Boston and Washington later this week. Still, a 3-0 start is exactly what Suns fans have needed.

They needed that bad taste of Shaq to be removed. They needed some sign of optimism to rally around. We needed evidence to see the potential this group of athletic, long players has.

So far, they have a LOT of potential - especially since there are few other teams in the West that have impressed anyone. The Hornets are off to a terrible start along with Utah. The Lakers, Spurs, and Mavericks don’t appear invincible or unstoppable. The Blazers haven’t shown us anything and neither have the majority of teams in the West.

I know it’s only 3 games, but it’s the best possible start the Suns could’ve asked for. Can you imagine going into this upcoming road trip with an 0-3 record? 1-2?

Hey, I admit I’m a bit cautious…but I’m also excited in this team again.

Things week one taught us about the Phoenix Suns

Greg Esposito — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:04:55 +0000

The first week is in the books for the Phoenix Suns and some of the picture that is the 2009-10 edition of the team is coming into focus. Here are a few things week one taught us about the Suns.

Amare is rusty:
We all knew that it would take some time for Amare to return to form but I’m not sure anyone expected him to look this rusty.

Sure, he’s continued to fill the scoring column but it’s the way he’s done it that’s been surprising. Stoudemire has scored 55 points in the first three games this season, an 18.3 points/game average, a little low but nothing earth shattering. The surprising part is that 21 of those 55 points have come at the free throw line. That’s 38% of his output attributed to his free throw shooting. It is just three games, but all of last season Stoudemire’s free throw shooting accounted for 28% of his scoring.

He’s seemed to lack explosiveness at times and he’s yet to power through the lane with the reckless abandon that we’ve come to know and love.

On top of that he’s turned over the ball at an high rate. He has one assist to eleven turnovers in 108 minutes of play.

Lesson: Amare will get better as he plays himself into game shape but it seems like the eye injury may have made him a little tentative.
Steve Nash can still pass the rock:
The beginning of last season had Suns fans concerned about their point guard and face of the franchise, Steve Nash. They had grown accustom to seeing Nash dish out assists in bunches under Mike D’Antoni but under Terry Porter saw those numbers wither.

Nash didn’t have 14 or more assists in a game until November 25th against the Oklahoma City Thunder and didn’t accomplish that a second time until January 15th at Denver. In contrast, Nash dissed out at least 14 dimes five times in the first month of Mike D’Antoni’s final season.

The “old” Steve Nash is back (and that’s not a dig at his 35 years on this planet). In the Suns’ first three games of the 2009-10 season he has returned to form averaging 14 assists a game. What took him almost two months to accomplish last season, Nash did in three games tallying 20 assists in the Suns home opener against Golden State and adding in 14 assists in Sunday’s home win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Along with passing, Nash proved he can still make clutch shots. He scored 15 of his season opening 24 points in the fourth quarter against the Clippers. He capped off his amazing final quarter with a circus layup to win the game (I’m still not sure how he made it).

Lesson: A happy Nash is a productive Nash.
Channing Frye is a shooting guard in a center’s body:
When Shaq left the Valley for his new “kingdom”, he left a giant void in the Suns roster. The Suns turned to Valley Native —how many times have you heard that already? — Channing Frye to take over.

Frye was an enigma in his first few seasons in the league. At 6′ 11″ both the Knicks and the Portland Trailblazers expected him to do the things a normal forward/center would do, grab rebounds, contest shots and score in the low post. The Suns’ front office had different expectations for the “big man” when they signed him this summer and it’s paid off through the first week.

The Suns saw Frye’s ability to shoot from the outside as the strongest skill he posses. Rather than relegate him to the post, Alvin Gentry has let his center spend a vast majority of his time on offense at the three point line.

Instead of banging against opponent’s bigs, Frye has helped spread the floor for Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire and has already hit a career high for threes in a season, thirteen. While Shaq clogged the lane and slowed the offense, Frye has provided an additional scoring threat while opening up the lane for Steve Nash to create (refer back to the second thing we learned this week).

Frye is shooting 65% from three point range, 13-of-20 and is averaging almost 20 points a game.

Lesson: Frye isn’t a conventional center but both he and the Suns will benefit by his presence in the lineup (at least on the offensive side of the ball).
The Suns are back to the running but the fun is yet to come:
The Suns have sped their offense back up and let shots fly like it’s 2004. The problem is the Suns have been missing the “fun” in their “run and fun” offense thus far. Don’t worry though, the high flying dunks and exciting baskets are sure to return soon. On top of getting used to Channing Frye, getting Amare into game shape and not having some of the high flyers of previous editions, the Suns were missing Jason Richardson for the first two games.

Richardson will provide the “highlight reel” material that was missing early on. He’s good for at least one spectacular dunk a game and can score at will. In addition his return will help the team’s second unit by letting the energetic Leandro Barbosa come off the bench.

Lesson: The best is yet to come.

Will LeBron join Amar’e and Nash in Phoenix?

Mark McLane — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:56:23 +0000

Well, I’m darn near positive as to where LeBron James will be playing next season.

Phoenix, with the Suns.

No, no, I’m not overreacting to the horrid start the Cavaliers are off to or paying too much attention to the giant Shaq-shaped anchor the Cavs have wrapped around their team.

Going to the desert to suit up for the Suns makes all the sense in the world for LeBron James.

I’ve heard this scenario from some NBA people, though I’ve heard numerous others as well: staying in Cleveland, moving to New York to a deluxe apartment in the sky, breaking legs for Vinnie in Newark, and running Berkshire Hathaway into the ground for his buddy Warren Buffett.

The truth is, word around the campfire has LeBron in Cleveland next season and beyond. He can still make a boatload of money and build his global empire by the fire of the Cuyahoga. Cleveland makes sense. Plenty of sense. Too much sense, in fact.

Think about Phoenix with Nash running the point, Amar’e Stoudemire finishing in the lane, and LeBron James taking care of everything in between and then some? It’s the perfect scenario for the Phoenix Suns, a team in transition, and LeBron James, a superstar in transition.

Now, the Suns have no chance of signing LeBron James to any kind of contract, they’re dealing with cap and financial issues. A max contract simply isn’t feasible, but that doesn’t mean it still can’t work. Don’t think for a second these facts diminish the chances of LeBron James suiting up in Phoenix purple and orange next season.

Two words: sign and trade. Package Richardson and Barbosa, maybe even throw in the old-timer Grant Hill if the numbers still don’t quite work. Include Aaron Nelson as a cherry on top and the Cavs would be certifiable to turn down such a deal (Nelson would have a trainer’s dream: Hill and his various ailments, O’Neal and his gluteus maximus, Ilgauskaus and his feet.) Cleveland would have more than enough to contend for a six or seven seed in the Eastern Conference, and quite the mismatched haul to show for their exiled superstar.

I don’t really think LeBron James has any idea as to what he will do next summer, but this can, should, and will work, folks. LeBron James wants to share the ball, he wants to share the glory, he wants to share the fame, he wants to check his massive ego, and most of all, he wants to share an NBA championship with the Valley of the Sun. He knows Suns fans are anxious, and he knows that with his help, Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire can bring the elusive Larry O’Brien trophy to downtown Phoenix.

H/T

A great tribute to former Sun Wayman Tisdale

Greg Esposito — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:25:13 +0000

Country music artist Toby Keith released a tribute song to his late friend and former Sun Wayman Tisdale today entitled “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)”. Keith and Tisdale, both Oklahoma natives, were long time friends and shared a passion for music. Their professional paths crossed in 2008 when they recorded Never Gonna Give You Up together.

Keith, known for his country music, and Tisdale, known for his basketball skills and his amazing talent as a jazz bass player, were an unlikely pair but their work together and their friendship proved to have a lasting affect.

Tisdale passed away after a two year battle with cancer back in May of this year. Keith performed at his funeral.

Admittedly I’m not the biggest country music fan, but I couldn’t help but find myself moved by the song in remembrance of the former Suns forward. Tisdales passion for life, music, basketball and helping the community is something that touched many Suns and basketball fans over the years and Keith captured all of those things in his powerful tribute.

It’s obvious that those that got to know him on a personal level were even more impressed with the man. Keith’s tribute is a beautiful “goodbye” to his friend.

See it: Toby Keith’s tribute to sport and music legend Wayman Tisdale [TulsaWorld.com]

Wayman Tisdale Tribute Video Released [IndyCornRows.com]

Grading the Game: Suns 120, Timberwolves 112

Greg Esposito — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:54:15 +0000

Offense:

The Suns had one of those offensive nights that reminded fans of “good ‘ol days”. Eighty-two shots taken, forty-one made and thirty trips to the free throw line, all culminating in hundred and twenty points. The team shot lights out from three point land making hitting 53% from behind the arch, 14-of-26. Channing Frye lead the way, hitting six three pointers for the second straight game. Frye finished the night with a team high 25 points.

In his first game back from a suspension that cost him the opening two games of the season, Jason Richardson picked up where he left off last year. Richardson added in 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

The bench was the lone disappointment offensively. The unit combined to miss eleven of their seventeen shot attempts (take away Barbosa’s 3-for-3 shooting and it looks even worse).

Grade:

A-

Defense:

It’s a broken record when it comes to the Suns. Solid offensive performance and questionable defense.

The team gave up 112 points to the Timberwolves, a team who hadn’t broken the 100 point mark in their first two games. They also allowed the first two 20+ point scorers of the season for Minnesota, Ryan Gomes (23) and Al Jefferson (21).

The Suns once again got stops when it counted holding off a late surge by the Timberwolves to preserve the eight point victory.

Grade:

C-

Rebounding:

The Suns were out rebounded by four, 46 to 42, but the starting lineup crashed the boards more effectively than the season’s first two games (which isn’t saying much). Grant Hill continued his rebounding renaissance leading the team in rebounds for the second time in their first three games. Hill had 10 boards to go along with Stoudemire and Amundson’s 8 a piece. Channing Frye everybody’s favorite high post, three point shooting center grabbed 5 boards of his own.

Grade:

C-

Ball handling:

For the third straight game the Suns turnover to assist ratio was cause for concern. While Steve Nash racked up a game high 14 assists, he also had a game high 7 turnovers. Overall the Suns compiled 22 assists to 16 turnovers.

A bright spot was the fact that Amare Stoudemire didn’t commit a turnover and recorded his first assist of the season. After three games, Amare has an 1 to 11 assist to turnover ratio on the season.

Grade:

C-

Overall Game GPA: 2.2 GPA

Suns welcome Golden State to USAC

Vince Marotta — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:14:02 +0000

For a few days last summer, it looked like Stephen Curry would be a Phoenix Sun. He'll make his Valley debut for the Golden State Warriors tonight. (Photo: Jim McIsaac/NBAE via Getty Images)

Remember back in June, when the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted point guard Jonny Flynn out of Syracuse with the #6 overall pick, leaving Stephen Curry out of Davidson on the board for Golden State to nab at #7?

When this sequence of events took place, the “War Room” at Phoenix Suns draft headquarters erupted in applause. The thinking behind the applause was that Golden State had drafted Curry, whom the Suns coveted, to include him in a trade involving Amare Stoudemire heading to Oakland.

That was the thinking for a few days until Warriors’ head coach Don Nelson made it known that Curry wasn’t going anywhere.

Well, Suns fans who were excited to get Curry (and unload Amare) get their first look at the rookie guard tonight as the Warriors visit the Suns at the U.S. Airways Center.

The Warriors come in 0-1 after their season-opening 108-107 loss to Houston, while the Suns escaped Los Angeles on Wednesday with a 2-point win over the Clippers.

Here are tonight’s probable starting lineups…

Phoenix Suns (1-0)

F - 1 Amare Stoudemire - 6′10″ | 249 lbs | CC HS
F - 33 Grant Hill - 6′8″ | 225 lbs | Duke
C - 8 Channing Frye - 6′11″ | 245 lbs | Arizona
G - 10 Leandro Barbosa - 6′3″ | 202 lbs | Brazil
G - 13 Steve Nash - 6′3″ | 178 lbs | Santa Clara

Golden State Warriors (0-1)

F - 21 Ronny Turiaf - 6′10″ | 247 lbs | Gonzaga
F - 1 Stephen Jackson - 6′8″ | 235 lbs | Oak Hill Academy
C - 15 Andris Biedrins - 7′0″ | 240 lbs | Latvia
G - 30 Stephen Curry - 6′3″ | 185 lbs | Davidson
G - 8 Monta Ellis - 6′3″ | 180 lbs | Lanier HS

The Suns will be without guard Jason Richardson, who is serving a two-game suspension after pleading guilty to DUI last December. The Warriors are without forward Brandan Wright (left shoulder) and forward Devean George (left knee) while guard Acie Law IV (ill) is doubtful for tonight’s game.

By the Numbers

6
The number of playoff wins the Warriors had in 2007, including an improbable first round upset of top-seeded Dallas in the first round.

4
The number of players left on Golden State’s roster from that team (Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Andris Biedrins, Kelenna Azubuike).

0
The number of playoff games that the Warriors have played in since 2007.

55.8
The Clippers’ field goal percentage in the Suns’ season-opening win over L.A. on Wednesday night.

100%
The chances that Suns’ coach Alvin Gentry is stressing that number headed into tonight’s game against the Warriors.

1 and 2
Where the Suns and Warriors ranked on the NBA’s list of highest-scoring teams in 2008-09.

232
The over/under on tonight’s matchup.

24
The number of wins Golden State head coach Don Nelson needs to become the all-time winningest coach in NBA history.

50/50
The chances the Warriors will win 24 games this season.

2004-05
The last time the Suns started a season 2-0.

30-11
The Suns record in all-time home openers.

Halloween costumes we’d love to see the Suns in

Greg Esposito — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:42:13 +0000

As everyone knows tomorrow is Halloween. While the kids get all dressed up to round up as much candy as possible and college girls dress as questionable as possible in homes of rounding up god knows what, we here at Deep Purple wanted to submit our list of costumes the Phoenix Suns should wear.

Steve Nash: J.E. Skeets or James Blunt

Some of you may not know who Mr. Skeets is but when you see a picture of he and Nash side by side you think they’d be separated shortly after exiting the womb. Skeets hosts the best basketball show on the internets, the Basketball Jones. We’d love to see Steve go as Mr. Skeets and host a “very special episode” of the Jones on Saturday.

If that doesn’t float your boat how about Nash going as James Blunt from the “You’re Beautiful” music video and walk backwards all evening?

Jarron Collins, Robin Lopez and Taylor Griffin: Jason Collins, Brooke Lopez and Blake Griffin

They might as well capitalize on the fact that they look like their more successful brothers for an evening. Who knows, maybe they’ll luck into an endorsement deal or contract extension.

Channing Frye: Tahj Mowry

If you are a child of the 1990’s you remember ABC’s TGIF Friday night lineup. Part of that lineup was Tahj Mowry. He was brother of Tia and Tamara Mowry stars of Sister, Sister, a show he appeared on. Later on Tahj also got his own show Smart Guy.

Channing could pull off being this child star with his baby face, although his 6′ 11″ frame might pose a little bit of an issue.

Amare: Amare from 2004

Amare could go as himself from 2004. He could wear number 32 tonight, it’s not like Taylor Griffin is going to use it, score 50 points and have 15 dunks. Sounds like everyone wins with that.

Alvin Gentry: Mike D’Antoni

Slap a mustache on, pace around the sidelines, yell at the refs and never mention defense once to the team. Yeah, we think Coach Gentry could pull this one off.

Leandro Barbosa: The Roadrunner

Sure, it’s not overly creative but it’s easy. We’re sure that the US Airways Center has the old Rocky the Roadrunner costume from the now defunct Phoenix Roadrunner hockey club laying around somewhere.

Robert Sarver and Steve Kerr: Jerry and Bryan Colangelo

Everybody seems to want Robert Sarver and Steve Kerr to be Jerry and Bryan Colangelo anyways so why not dress like them for an evening.

Jared Dudley’s Big Day

Greg Esposito — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:13:01 +0000

Jared Dudley had a decent game last night against the Clippers. He had the second most rebounds on the team, 7, and added in 6 points. Although his evening was good today has been even better.

Dudley started his morning with the news that the Phoenix Suns would be picking up the option on his contract for the 2010-11 season. It wasn’t a huge surprise but it gives him job security for another season.

What did Dudley do to celebrate his strong first game and contract extension? He skipped practice of course.

Before you put him into the “bad athlete” category, he missed practice for a good reason. Dudley traded in his practice uniform for scrubs as he attended the birth of his daughte, Jaylin Aaliyah.

Congrats on both the contract and your new daughter J-Dud. We’re happy for you.

Send your own good wishes to Jared on twitter @jareddudley619.