Archive for the 'Suns' Category

Amare Stoudemire heard you, Pistons fans

Published by Matt Watson on February 9, 2009 in Rumors, Shameless Plugging and Suns. 32 Comments

I spoke with Amare Stoudemire after last night’s game, and he admitted to getting a kick out of all the Pistons fans doing their best to “recruit” him:

“The fans definitely didn’t let me forget about it,” he said. “They were cheering all night, ‘Stoudemire, you’re coming to Detroit, we want you in Detroit, we got to have you in Detroit! We’ll trade Allen and Rasheed for you!’

“I’m hearing all the rumors and all the chants, which is fun; it’s good the fans are on the ball. But I’m a Phoenix Sun right now and we’ll see how it plays out.”

Just how will it play out? Only Steve Kerr knows at this point, but Stoudemire certainly gives the impression that he thinks he’s on the move.

“It kind of reminds me of draft day when you never know what team you’re going to go to and you got all the fans inside that draft [room] cheering, ‘We want you in New York,’ or ‘We want you here,’ ‘We want you there!’”

If you heard Stoudemire’s comments to WXYZ’s Don Shane before the game, the love-fest with the fans goes both ways:

Don Shane: All the rumors going around, one of them has you coming here to Detroit. Would you want to come here and play in Detroit?

Amare Stoudemire: I love Detroit. It’s a beautiful city, the fans are phenomenal, but you never know what’s gonna happen. You know, it’s really out of my hands right now and what I’m focused on is the game tonight.

[…] Don Shane: How much would you enjoy coming to play for Joe Dumars and an organization that has such a good reputation?

Amare Stoudemire: It would be phenomenal. I think the fans here have been probably the top fans in the world since I’ve been in the NBA. They’re always cheering their team on and every time we come here, their always loud and rowdy, so it would be fun to play here.

I’m guessing Stoudemire will say all the right things at every stop on his farewell tour Phoenix’s road trip, but still, it’s refreshing to hear an athlete discuss trade rumors so openly instead of pretending he doesn’t pay attention to all the speculation. As Amare said, “I know about the rumors. I know what teams are looking. I know what teams want me.”

Just about everyone’s weighed in with their thoughts on a potential trade, but here’s my two cents: you do it in a heartbeat. In fact, the only player I’d be reluctant to include in a package to get Stoudemire is Rodney Stuckey. Forget about future cap space — the reason why you hoard expiring contracts is to have a shot at signing a guy like Stoudemire. If you trade for him now, you have the leg up on re-signing him later.

He’s a bit of a polarizing talent, but I think alleged locker room issues are overblown (he addresses that in my article, as well) and there are few players in the league who can score in the low post like he can. Imagine, a starting center who actually enjoys scoring in the paint and getting to the free throw line. Would I rather have Chris Bosh? Perhaps, but in my book they’re close enough that you jump on the first one who becomes available — if you wait, there are no guarantee it’ll pay off.

Pistons-Suns Game Thread

Published by Kevin Sawyer on February 8, 2009 in Games and Suns. 407 Comments

Coverage Begins: 8:00 PM ET on ESPN 

Phoenix: 27-21 (13-11 road)
Margin: +1.5 ppg (+0.3 last 25%)
Last 10:4-6

Pistons: 27-21 (14-11 home)
Margin: Even (-1.5 last 25%)
Last 10:5-5

Oppo research:

Who thought Shaquille O’Neal would emerge as the Suns’ most productive player? Alas, the run and gun Suns are no more.  So, too, are the Suns who perennial threaten to emerge from the Western Conference.  Little wonder, then, that the Suns have emerged as the team most likely to make a deal at the trade deadline.

The most startling aspect of the Suns mediocre (for them) season has been the decline of Steve Nash.  Nash, who thrived under coach Mike D’Antoni, has reverted to his Dallas Mavericks form.  Further, Amare Stoudemire has famously struggled to find a role in a slow offense alongside a lumbering center.

On a positive note, Jason Richardson seems to be finding his groove, averaging 24 per game over his last three.  In fact, the team still ranks among the top five in offensive efficiency, so going through Shaq has its advantages.

The real problem is on the defensive end, where the aging Suns have trouble matching up.  Making matters worse, the Suns traded their best defensive player for Richardson.  As such, you have a middling team that can either score or allow 120 points on any given night.  Of course, if tonight is like last night, both may occur.

The Drama:

Detroit and Phoenix are being mentioned in trade talks, so you can bet both GMs will be watching the game closely.

Keys for Detroit:

Get Maxiell and Johnson involved: The two big men combined for 24 minutes last night, and fresh legs will be in short supply.  Each has six fouls to give on Shaq, who cannot be allowed to dominate the way he did in the team’s previous matchup.

Up the tempo: Playing at the league’s second slowest pace doesn’t make any sense with this roster under normal circumstances.  Against the Suns, doing so is tantamount to a forfeit.   

And, since it’s Sunday…

Shoot the ball at your own basket:  Shots scored on the opponents basket count for the other team.  While it might be tempting to simply take the available open shot, it is highly recommended that teams go to the other side of the floor on offense, attempting to score on their own basket.  NOTE: At halftime, teams “switch sides” meaning that the opponents basket now becomes your team’s basket.  For clarification as to which basket you should aim the ball, ask the referee or check with the scorers table.

Question of the game:

What happened to Rodney Stuckey? He was our best player for a considerable stretch, but seems to have wilted under the pressure.

The view from Phoenix

Published by Matt Watson on November 17, 2008 in Games and Suns. 49 Comments

As you may have noticed, I didn’t have a chance to post a recap to last night’s debacle. Fortunately, DBB reader DJ was at the game and posted the following account in the game thread comments this morning. It was so interesting, I decided to re-post it here so it wouldn’t be missed:

I was at the game last night. Seats were not that great, but in all honesty, there really isn’t a “bad” seat in the house.

The flagrant 2 on Shaq may very well be overturned, I am no expert, by after watching it over and over and over on my DVR, it appears that Shaq was trying to block a potential layup and Stuckey was quicker than Shaq realized, just my opinion.

Detroit seemed to have forgotten to pack up there defense when they left LA, 52 points in the paint, I don’t think any “defensive” team wins by allowing about 50% of an opponents points to come from the painted area.

There were a lot of Pistons fans in attendance as was mentioned. Most were “good” fans, several were extremely drunk and rather obnoxious. There was at least one other DBB fan there as he kept screaming “Free Amir”, the only Pistons fans I know that use that phrase have frequented this site, although most tell me they don’t like to post (why is beyond me).

Stuckey. This young man is a lot quicker in person than he appears on TV.

Bynum. Makes Stuckey look slow.

Rip. Looks like he finally found his shot, this is a good thing. A backcourt with Rip and AI running around is going to be difficult for any team to contend with

AI. The answer looked bored, perhaps all the moving, relocating and everything that goes along with a trade finally got to him, although 7 dimes isn’t a bad number.

Brown. Played excellent against Shaq, not so excellent against Lopez. Slow fat guys (read Perkins) should get owned by Kwame.

Wallace. I thought Rasheed would have been better off in the low post, when he did go down there, he looked like he could get whatever he wanted all night. However, with the game he had from outside against LA, I figured he would camp out and that hurt us. Several Piston fans around me made very similar comments. Everytime he had the ball, SHEEEED was screamed throughout the center.

Prince. If he plays the remainder of the year at 60% of this level, he will be an All-star and probably first team all defense, even the Suns faithful were giving Tay props, it was nice to hear.

As my wife and I were heading to the game, a Suns fan asked me if I thought Detroit could beat Phoenix, I naturally told him yes, but we were hear to get a look at our 2011 staring PF, this drew a small crowd, and shockingly, most felt that Amare would fit in well with Detroits offense, but that his defense would hurt us, after watching the game, I think Coach Porter has figured out how to unlock Amare’s defense, he wasn’t half bad.

All in all, had Detroit played defense this game could have been won. Hell, take away a quarter of the points in the paint, and this was a close game. AI didn’t seem like a liability defensively, even on the ball. Our man defense was ok, but our help defense was really lacking.

Pistons look for perfection in Phoenix

Published by Matt Watson on November 16, 2008 in Previews and Suns. 225 Comments

The Pistons have a chance to go 4-0 on their western road trip, which is pretty amazing considering how rough around the edges they looked before leaving. Things haven’t completely come together (Rip Hamilton won’t shot 37% on the season … right?) but there have still been long stretches lately that they’ve played as well as any time of the last several years.

Here’s to hoping they finish strong and take care of business against all the familiar faces (Terry Porter, Grant Hill) in Phoenix. The ball tips in just a few minutes on FSN as well as NBA TV — leave your thoughts in the comments.

Pistons host Suns

Published by Matt Watson on March 24, 2008 in Previews and Suns. 51 Comments

The last time the Pistons played the Suns, the Boys in Blue pulled out a 30-point whooping despite Shaq’s best efforts to maim Amir Johnson. Can they put together a similar effort tonight? It sure would be timely. The Pistons are in the midst of a two-game losing streak, and only once have they lost three in a row this year.

I’ll be at the game filing pre-game, halftime and post-game reports for HOOPSWORLD — feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.

The national media meets the Zoo Crew

Published by Matt Watson on February 25, 2008 in From the news, Games, Suns and Videos. 2 Comments

Yahoo’s Johnny Ludden has the play by play:

Johnson exploded off the court. O’Neal met him in mid-flight, extended his right arm into Johnson’s chest and sent the Detroit Pistons forward back from where he came. As he hit the floor with a thud, Johnson felt the wind suck out of his chest.

“Sorry young fella,” O’Neal said.

“I figure I might as well get it,” Johnson would later say, “while I’m young.”

That’s the highlight everyone seems to be talking about, but obviously the Zoo Crew had plenty of other plays where, you know, the ball actually went through the hoop:

Jarvis Hayes, a 26-year-old free-agent pickup from Washington, scored a season-high 18 points while the 20-year-old Johnson and 25-year-old fellow forward Jason Maxiell combined for 11 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Rookie guards Rodney Stuckey, 21, and Arron Afflalo, 22, helped hold down the backcourt.
[…]
“We learned some things the last couple of years,” Saunders said. “Two years ago, we played at such a high level and it took an emotional toll to keep it going. Last year, again, I thought we got fatigued.”

By expanding their rotation, the Pistons have significantly reduced their starters’ workload. None are averaging even 35 minutes. Prince and Billups have each seen their minutes drop by an average of three a game. Over the course of a season, that’s a savings of at least six games. The decrease has been even more pronounced of late with Stuckey, who missed the first 1½ months with a broken hand, now entrenched as the backup point guard.

We’ve obviously read similar accounts all season long in the Detroit papers, but it’s nice to see the national media catching on with what’s easily been Detroit’s biggest storyline of the year: the stereotype of the Pistons as aging and slow no longer applies, as there’s a group of young and talented reserves making their mark in just about every game.

Young guns power Pistons / Yahoo (via JackDutch)

Pistons take on Shaq, Suns

Published by Matt Watson on February 24, 2008 in Previews and Suns. 101 Comments

The Pistons kick off their four-game swing out West with a nationally-televised game against the new-look Suns. Does Shaq have enough left in the tank to take the Suns to the Finals? Right now I’m less concerned about that as I am wondering if the Pistons have enough big men left on the roster to contain both him and Amare Stoudemire.

You know how Amir Johnson’s emergence has been a nice little bonus the last few weeks? This afternoon his play will be critical, as will that of Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess and Jason Maxiell. This might be one of those nights where all four need to show up for the Pistons to have a chance. Same goes for the backcourt, although Chauncey Billups usually does a good job against Steve Nash. The ball tips in a few minutes — leave your thoughts in the comments.

To Flip Murray: Thank you, and I’m sorry

Published by Matt Watson on March 17, 2007 in Games and Suns. 7 Comments

All I have time for in terms of a recap is this: “OMG, WTF just happened?!?” Since you didn’t come here looking for that, I’m going to point you in the direction of some people with more intelligent things to say:

Need 4 Sheed: Pistons stay hot in Phoenix to burn the Suns 105-83
Detroit Free Press: Murray shines as Pistons beat Suns, 105-83
Detroit News: Pistons complete perfect trip

I’ve read them all, but my favorite was from DBB reader Tim from the game thread comments in the preview post below:

They told us there would be three signs:

1. We would beat the phoenix suns and go 5-0 on the road trip
2. We would beat them by 22 points and hold them under 85
3. Flip Murray would score like crazy AND PLAY DEFENSE!

The apocalypse is upon us!

I temporarily take back all the horrible things I’ve said over the past couple of months in regards to Flip Murray’s game. He played out of his mind.

I’ve enjoyed these last five games of the season sooo much. It’s not just because we have won, but the way we’ve won that has been so great.

Inside out basketball. Careful execution. We have transformed from a jump shot team to a low post team…. I love it! It allows us to set our defense and really shut people down. Somewhere LB is smiling.

Flip was great tonight but how well has CWebb played? It’s time to give in and label it the Rasheed type acquisition that it is. These playoffs are going to be fun.

Good God was that an awesome game.

I’m more than a little worried about Chauncey Billups with the Mavericks coming to town on Sunday (though don’t forget, Detroit won handedly in Dallas earlier in the year), but let’s just let this Phoenix game soak in a little bit before we get ahead of ourselves.

Pistons 105, Suns 83 box score [NBA.com]

In Arizona, it’s not the humidity that gets you, it’s Nash

Published by Matt Watson on March 16, 2007 in Previews, Suns and Videos. 21 Comments

The Pistons are in Phoenix tonight, though I have no idea if the Suns personally welcomed them when they arrived to the airport. Winning the first four games of the road trip was nice, but a win tonight will get noticed around the entire league.

As you may remember, the Suns burnt the Chauncey-less Pistons in January, but last year the Pistons swept the season series by winning in Phoenix and at the Palace, so the Suns are hardly invincible.

Ball tips at 10 pm (ET) on TV 20, and as usual feel free to leave your thoughts on the game (or your bracket, or more discussion about what current college players you want to see wearing blue next year) in the comments.

Suns burn struggling Pistons

Published by Matt Watson on January 2, 2007 in Games and Suns. 6 Comments

Without Chauncey Billups, I never gave the Pistons much of a chance on Sunday against the Suns, one of the league’s truly elite teams. Detroit managed to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but once Rip Hamilton lost his touch the game fell out of reach. Tayshaun Prince underwhelmed and Rasheed Wallace was a complete liability on both ends of the court for the second game in a row.Is it the flu? Is it lingering ankle soreness? Rasheed says “no.” I say, “quit jacking three’s (0-7) like there’s no tomorrow.”

Flip Murray took advantage of Billups’ absence to play 38 minutes, but his actual game performance was far less impressive than his box score (18 points, 9-14 shooting, seven assists, two turnovers) might suggest. On offense, he dominated the ball and passed as an afterthought, and on defense he’s an absolutely sieve, and a big reason why Steve Nash racked up 35 points.

I have to give Nash sole credit for his 12 assists, though — he sees the court like no other and routinely makes at least 5-6 outstanding passes that even an elite point guard like Chauncey does maybe once a game. That’s not a slam on Chauncey, who I feel is the second-best point guard in the entire league, but Nash is quite clearly head and shoulders above the competition.

I wish the Pistons did more to slow the game down. That’s easier said than done against a team like the Suns, but playing some of the bigs for longer minutes might have helped out. Case in point: Antonio McDyess rebounded well (six in 17 minutes), as did Nazr Mohammad (six in 17 minutes). Jason Maxiell grabbed only three boards in 18 minutes but also blocked a pair of shots.

Why not at least play those guys their season average minutes? And why give Dale Davis his first DNP in nearly a month? All of those guys did (or could have done) a good job exposing Phoenix’s soft middle. But sadly, Flip Saunders fell into his early-season habit of letting the opposition dictate the match ups.

Carlos Delfino once again played very well: 11 points (5-9 shooting) with a team-high seven boards. He pitched in a steal and an assist. I hate to say, “I told you so” about The Dolphin, but … wait, I don’t mind saying that at all. The guy has skills, and better yet, a knack for showing up at the right place at the right time. The ending of the Pacers game will haunt him a bit longer and he still needs to work on his consistency from quarter to quarter, but it looks like he’s playing with real confidence for quite possibly the first time in his entire tenure with the Pistons.

In any event, it seems like the general reaction to this loss is “have patience” — and I completely agree. The Pistons aren’t in a good spot right now, but this may turn out for the best in the long run. It sounds cheesy, but a little adversity now will help the team figure out where they stand in achieving their long-term goals in the playoffs.

Phoenix 108, Pistons 101 box score [NBA.com]

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