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Friday, Dec 26
Magic, Spurs, Cavs and Mavs Each Post Christmas Day Victories
Phoenix opened the game with an 11-0 run, led most of the way, perfectly executed an out of bounds play late in the game to score the go ahead layup--and still found a way to lose to their nemesis, the San Antonio Spurs. This time the dagger came in the form of a Roger Mason three pointer at the buzzer, delivering a 91-90 win for the Spurs. Tony Parker scored a game-high 27 points and tied Steve Nash for game-high honors with eight assists. Tim Duncan added 25 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 25 points and 13 rebounds, while Shaquille O'Neal powered his way to 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. O'Neal looked better than he has in quite some time; he opened the game with a spin move leading to a powerful dunk...
Thursday, Dec 11
NBA Potpourri: Phoenix' Big Trade, Melo's Big Night, Big Ben's Impact, Agent Zero's Lament, New York's Addition by Subtraction
The acquisition of O'Neal last year cured the Suns' size problems in the paint and gave them at least the theoretical possibility of beating the Spurs in a playoff series. I don't really expect the Suns to win the West but if their players stop whining and start playing defense then they could be a tough out come playoff time. They certainly have enough talent on their roster to make some noise but Amare Stoudemire needs to stop talking about being the man and start grabbing more rebounds and playing defense, while Steve Nash needs to stop talking wistfully about the good old days with Mike D'Antoni (when the Suns never once made it to the NBA Finals) and he needs to show that he really can, in fact, make players better by finding ways to bring out t...
Friday, Dec 5
Watch Out for the Denver Nuggets...as They Slide Down in the Standings
At full strength, the Lakers, Hornets, Spurs, Jazz, Rockets, Blazers and Mavericks are better than the Nuggets. The Suns look a bit shaky but I expect them to pull things together eventually. Denver will not win too many games against those teams this year. The Nuggets may very well pad their record in their next three games (at Sacramento, followed by home games versus Minnesota and Golden State) but then they visit Dallas and Houston in a killer back to back before playing Cleveland in Denver, traveling to Phoenix and battling Portland in a home and home series. Let's just say that Denver will most likely not be in third place in the West after those nine games.
Wherever Shaq Goes, Controversy Follows
Steve Nash has openly questioned whether new Coach Terry Porter's slow down game plan will work; as an aside, with the Suns currently 11-9 and Mike D'Antoni's undermanned New York Knicks contending for a playoff spot in the East at 8-10, we may now know the answer to the question about whether Phoenix' success in previous years was due more to Steve Nash or to D'Antoni's system, a system which this season has vaulted journeyman point guard Chris Duhon to a place among the league leaders in assists. Meanwhile, Amare Stoudemire is griping that he should be "that guy," the focal point of the Suns the way that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are the focal points of their franchises.
Thursday, Oct 30
New-Look Suns Defeat Short-Handed Spurs, 103-98
The Phoenix Suns successfully opened the Terry Porter era with a 103-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, their main nemesis for the past several seasons. Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points on 8-11 shooting and added eight rebounds, Leandro Barbosa added 18 points off of the bench and Shaquille O'Neal controlled the paint with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Steve Nash had 13 points and 13 assists. The Spurs--playing without injured starters Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto--were led by Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, each of whom scored 32 points. Roger Mason (12 points) was the only other Spur who scored in double figures.
Saturday, Oct 11
TNT Broadcasters Steal Show During NBA's First Outdoor Game in 36 Years
Basketball calls us outside to play because outside is where basketball lives"--David Aldridge during TNT's introduction to the AutoTrader.com Open<br /><br />The Indian Wells Tennis Garden hosted the NBA's second outdoor game ever, a 77-72 Denver victory over Phoenix. Denver All-Stars Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony sat out due to minor injuries, as did Phoenix All-Star Amare Stoudemire. J.R. Smith and Mateen Cleaves led the Nuggets with 12 points each, while Steve Nash paced Phoenix with 16 points. Denver shot 29-80 from the field (.362), including 1-11 (.091) from three point range, while Phoenix shot 25-79 from the field (.316), including 2-16 (.125) from three point range.<br /><br />Considering the l...
Monday, Sep 15
Michael Jordan and Tex Winter Discuss the MJ-Kobe Comparisons
Lindy's Pro Basketball 2008-09 is on the market now. If it is not sold in a bookstore near you, you can order a copy online--choosing from among nine different regional covers--at the Lindy's website. For this year's edition, I wrote the Sacramento Kings preview for the third year in a row, the Phoenix Suns preview for the second year in a row and I wrote the Cleveland Cavaliers preview for the first time, ending my run of writing three straight previews about the Denver Nuggets. For the sidebar stories that accompany each preview, I wrote about Ron Artest, Shaquille O'Neal and the Cavaliers' underrated defense respectively.
Thursday, Jun 19
Opinion: The 2008 Playoffs: Where the Revival of the NBA's Two Flagship Franchises Happened
The Celtics finished with the best record in the NBA (66-16), while the Lakers had the best record in perhaps the most competitive Western Conference race ever (57-25). The top two seeds have generally not both made it to the Finals in recent seasons but the Celtics and Lakers each vanquished tough foes to advance to the championship round, where Boston earned the right to hoist a 17th championship banner, denying Phil Jackson his 10th coaching title and Bryant his fourth ring as a player and in the process completing the one blank space on the Hall of Fame resumes of Garnett, Allen and 2008 Finals MVP Paul Pierce.
Wednesday, May 7
Garnett Carries Celtics as James Struggles
1) The Celtics employed essentially the same defense that the San Antonio Spurs used against Cleveland in the 2007 NBA Finals: they built a wall around the paint by trapping James aggressively after every pick and roll that involved him and they sent waves of defenders in his direction an...
Tuesday, May 6
Hornets Rout Spurs Again to Take 2-0 Series Lead
Don't interpret this post to be some kind of eulogy for the Spurs. This is not the time for that--yet. Although history shows that teams that win the first two games of a playoff series at home virtually always win the series, the veteran-laden defending champions should not be counted out. Th...
Sunday, May 4
David West Dominates as Hornets Throttle Spurs, 101-82
West scored 11 points in the third quarter as the Hornets took a 74-66 lead. Michael Finley opened the fourth quarter with a three pointer to make the score 74-69 but New Orleans steadily pulled away after that. The Spurs' quarter by quarter scoring went 27-22-17-16 while the Hornets scored...
Wednesday, Apr 30
Sloppy Suns Fall Apart in the Clutch, are Eliminated by the Spurs
The stat "gurus" need to answer two questions: (1) When is the last time Bryant had eight points in a playoff game? (2) Does Bryant have enough talent around him for his team to win a playoff game if he plays that badly? In case you are wondering, the answer to the first question is June 16, 2000 in the NBA Finals; Bryant's Lakers lost to the Indiana Pacers in that game five before clinching their first championship in game six (when Bryant had 26 points, 10 rebounds and four assists). Bryant sprained his ankle in game two of that series, sat out the Lakers' game three loss, saved the Lakers with his great play in a game four overtime win after Shaquille O'Neal fouled out and then had the subpar game five before bouncing back in game six.
Monday, Apr 28
Suns Avoid Sweep but Still Face Uphill Climb
The Phoenix Suns raced out to a 34-13 first quarter lead and never looked back, beating the San Antonio Spurs 105-86 in game four of their first round playoff series. The Spurs still enjoy a 3-1 lead and can close out the Suns with a victory in San Antonio on Tuesday night. Despite the large margin of victory, history suggests that this was almost certainly too little, too late for the Suns: no NBA team has ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win a best of seven series and, barring injury to a key player, the defending champion Spurs do not seem likely to be the first team to squander such a lead. The box score numbers from this game are more than a little peculiar: both teams shot worse than .430 from the field, Amare Stoudemire only scored seven points...
Saturday, Apr 19
Duncan's Dominance, Ginobili's Clutch Shot Carry Spurs to Victory
ESPN Classic should be showing the Spurs-Suns game on 24 hour rotation for about the next week. If those teams can serve up six more games that are even half as exciting as that one then basketball fans are in for a real treat. In case you missed it--and shame on you if you did--San Antonio beat Phoenix 117-115 in double overtime. Tim Duncan strengthened his case for being considered not only the greatest power forward of all-time but also the dominant NBA player of the post-Michael Jordan era. He finished with 40 points and 15 rebounds, the fourth time he has had a 40-15 game in his playoff career; he is tied for fifth-seventh (with Hakeem Olajuwon and Bob Pettit) on the all-time list. Naturally, Wilt Chamberlain (13) is the leader, followed by Elg...
Friday, Apr 18
2007-08 Playoff Preview
Western Conference First Round 1 L.A Lakers (57-25) vs. #8 Denver (50-32) Denver can win if...Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony both get hot in the same game and/or the Lakers suffer an injury to Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol. 2 New Orleans (56-26) vs. #7 Dallas Mavericks (51-31) Dallas will win because...the Mavericks are loaded with playoff veterans who keenly understand the difference between the regular season and the playoffs. 3 San Antonio (56-26) vs. #6 Phoenix (55-27) Season series: Phoenix, 3-1 San Antonio will win if...the Spurs get Shaquille O'Neal and/or Amare Stoudemire in foul trouble, thus weakening the Suns inside. Tim Duncan must have a huge series in the paint and not settle for jumpers. 4 Utah (54-28) vs. #5 Houston (55-27)
Thursday, Apr 10
The Spurs Can't Push the Suns Around Anymore
Regardless of what the standings say or what certain "experts" declare, the two strongest and most well rounded teams in the West are the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns--and on Wednesday the Suns demolished the Spurs 96-79 in San Antonio. This is the Suns' second win in a row versus the Spurs since acquiring Shaquille O'Neal and just their third win in San Antonio in their last 15 tries. Amare Stoudemire finished with 21 points and four rebounds, leading a parade of six Phoenix players who scored in double figures, including Shaquille O'Neal (16 points on 7-9 shooting plus nine rebounds in just 24 minutes), Leandro Barbosa (14 points) and Steve Nash (12 points, 10 assists, five rebounds). Tim Duncan (23 points, 10 rebounds), Tony Pa...
Wednesday, Apr 2
Late 8-0 Run Lifts Nuggets Over Suns
An 8-0 run in the last 1:25 enabled the Denver Nuggets to beat the Phoenix Suns 126-120, earning a split in their back to back meetings and moving them past Golden State into the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Allen Iverson scored a game-high 31 points on 9-18 shooting from the field and 11-11 free throw shooting. He also had three assists and two steals. Carmelo Anthony had 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists but he also committed eight turnovers. J.R. Smith again provided scoring punch off of the bench (17 points in 28 minutes). Leandro Barbosa, who has moved into the starting lineup recently due to Grant Hill's groin injury, led Phoenix with 27 points. Amare Stoudemire contributed 25 points and 10 rebounds, though he also had six t...
Tuesday, Apr 1
Suns Spot Nuggets 22 Point Lead Before Winning by 15
The Phoenix Suns pulled off the third biggest comeback in franchise history, rallying from a 22 point deficit to defeat the Denver Nuggets, 132-117. Amare Stoudemire posted game-high totals in scoring (41 points) and rebounds (14), shooting 12-22 from the field and 17-19 from the free throw line. Steve Nash added 36 points and eight assists, shooting 11-18 from the field, including 8-12 from three point range. Nash scored 21 points in the second half. Shaquille O'Neal contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 8-13 from the field. Any notion that he would slow down the Suns' running game has been completely refuted; his defensive rebounds and outlet passes are fueling the break and he even scored the Suns' first points of the night by...
Thursday, Mar 27
Opinion: Celtics Dominate Suns, 117-97
The Boston Celtics quickly patched up any chinks that may have been appearing in their armor. After looking sluggish in back to back losses to New Orleans and Philadelphia, the Celtics took a quick lead against the Phoenix Suns, withstood a strong second quarter rally and completely dominated the second half en route to a 117-97 victory. Kevin Garnett scored 30 points and he also had six assists, though his board work was subpar (just three rebounds). Paul Pierce repeatedly exploited mismatches to score 27 points on 9-16 shooting, posting a glittering, game-high +29 plus/minus rating. All five Boston starters scored in double figures and the Celtics enjoyed a 41-27 rebounding advantage. Center Kendrick Perkins had a game-high 10 rebou...
Sunday, Mar 23
Suns Shoot Down Rockets
The Suns literally shot down the Rockets on Saturday night, connecting on 76% of their first half field goal attempts as they built a 74-57 halftime lead and cruised to a 122-113 win. Amare Stoudemire had 38 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots. He set a franchise single-game record for free throws made without a miss (20), tying Richard Hamilton for the second best such performance in NBA history (Dominique Wilkins holds the NBA record--23). Shaquille O'Neal had his highest scoring output as a Sun--23 points--and he also had 13 rebounds. O'Neal shot 8-10 from the field and 7-9 from the free throw line in just under 36 minutes. Steve Nash had a relatively quiet game (15 points, five assists, four rebounds), but he made some timely basket...
Sunday, Mar 16
Rising Suns
The new-look Phoenix Suns are riding a four game winning streak that began with their impressive 94-87 win over the San Antonio Spurs last Sunday. Two of the other victories were against sub-.500 teams (Memphis, Sacramento) but on Thursday the Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, a team that had defeated them in both of their previous encounters this season. Prior to Thursday's game, TNT's Charles Barkley said that Shaquille O'Neal would likely not have much impact on the result because Golden State would force the Suns to play small-ball. The two teams that made it to the Western Conference Finals last year--San Antonio and Utah--are often thought of as half court teams but they both showed the ability to successfully play at different s...
Monday, Mar 10
Opinion: The Big Payback: Suns Outmuscle Spurs
No, it does not make up for years of playoff defeats and yes, it was just one game, but the Suns' 94-87 victory over the Spurs demonstrated why it is premature to dismiss Phoenix' chances in the playoffs. The missing ingredients for the Suns in recent seasons were defense, rebounding and paint presence. Shaquille O'Neal provided all of those things in abundance versus the Spurs, finishing with 14 points, a game-high 16 rebounds and two blocked shots. He shot 6-11 from the field and tied Steve Nash for game-high plus/minus honors (+21). Nash led the Suns in scoring with 19 points and he had a game-high 14 assists. Grant Hill added 18 points and six rebounds as the top six players in the Suns' rotation all scored at least 10 points. Manu Ginobili led t...
Friday, Feb 8
The Real Deal About Shaq and the Suns
In order to objectively evaluate the deal in which the Phoenix Suns sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal, it is first essential to understand one thing: the Suns were not going to win an NBA title the way that their roster was constructed prior to this trade. Over the past few years, a lot of myths have developed around this team; one of the most popular ones is that were it not for the one game suspensions of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw during last year's playoffs the Suns would have rolled to the championship. To use legal terminology, that assumes several facts that are not in evidence, namely that the Suns would not only have won game five versus the Spurs if those players had played but that t...
Wednesday, Feb 6
Dawn of the Shaq Era in the Valley of the Sun
This game was actually a quintessential game for the pre-Shaq Suns: they shot the ball well, scored a lot of points and lost to a good team that made more plays down the stretch. It was just like watching Phoenix in the playoffs the past few years and that should not surprise anyone--the Suns are 5-10 this year against Western Conference teams that have winning records. Since the Suns have the best record in the West, you can do the math and figure out that they are very good at pulverizing weak teams on a consistent basis; that is how they roll up such great regular season records year after year. Most NBA teams are not equipped to deal with the Suns' talent and with the fast pace that they play at--but the league's top teams beat Phoenix more often th...
Gasol Pau-ers Lakers to Victory Over New Jersey
One victory against a mediocre Nets team is not enough to convince me that the Lakers are the favorites to win the Western Conference--but considering how dangerous the Lakers could be at times even when they consisted of little more than Bryant and four bystanders, it is obvious that this upgraded squad has the potential to do a lot of damage once the key players have an opportunity to jell as a unit. Maybe that will happen this season, maybe it will take an offseason and a full training camp to enable this team to reach its full potential but the days of Bryant trying to go big game hunting with butter knives are over--and that is not a pleasant thought for the other teams in the Western Conference.
Tuesday, Jan 29
NBA Coast to Coast Crew Hands Out First Half Awards
Anthony, Legler, Rose and the rest of the basketball fans in America could all agree on one thing: the Miami Heat have authored the worst performance. Anthony minced no words on this subject, calling the Heat "the most embarrassing team in professional sports in America." That about sums it up. The only thing that I can add is that we need about a five year moratorium on anyone trying to even suggest that Dwyane Wade is as good as Kobe Bryant. I understand that Wade is battling some injuries but so is Bryant and every other top player in the league; Wade is healthy enough to play over 38 mpg and score 25 ppg, so his physical condition is not the primary problem in Miami. Last year, some people questioned the significance of Kobe Bryant's string of 40 an...
Wednesday, Dec 26
New and Improved Lakers Beat Suns for the Second Time This Season
Kobe Bryant had 38 points, seven assists and five rebounds as the L.A. Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns 122-115, the Lakers' second victory this season over the team that has knocked them out of the playoffs the past two seasons. Bryant shot 12-20 from the field and 13-14 from the free throw line. Unlike the previous game between the teams, a blowout win in Phoenix, this victory is not a complete surprise because the Lakers have emerged as one of the most improved teams this season. Andrew Bynum scored a career-high 28 points on 11-13 shooting and he also had 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Derek Fisher contributed 19 points and six assists and Lamar Odom had 15 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Lakers to enjoy a 47-38 rebounding adva...
Wednesday, Dec 19
Is This a Make or Break Year for the Suns?
The Dallas Mavericks raced to a 37-20 first quarter lead and survived a furious late rally by the Phoenix Suns to win 108-105 in the first showdown this season between these perennial Western Conference contenders. Perhaps for the first time this season, Dallas looked like the team that won 67 games last year. Not coincidentally, Dirk Nowitzki performed like he did when he won the 2007 MVP, finishing with a game-high 31 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter and eight in the final 2:32. Nowitzki also had nine rebounds. Josh Howard contributed 23 points and seven rebounds and Devin Harris added 21 points, six assists and three steals. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 25 points and he also had eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Shawn Ma...
Monday, Dec 17
NBA Leaderboard, Part VI
Kevin Garnett's minutes and production have dipped but his Celtics keep right on rolling, maintaining a 70-win pace. Kobe Bryant moved a little bit closer to LeBron James in the race for the scoring title--or, more precisely, James slipped back toward Bryant, whose average has stayed around the 27 ppg mark for most of the season. Dwight Howard continues to put up Moses Malone-sized double doubles, while Steve Nash is on track to join Bob Cousy and John Stockton as winners of four straight assists titles. 1) Boston Celtics, 20-2 2) San Antonio Spurs, 18-5 3-4) Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, 17-7 5) Orlando Magic, 17-8 23) Jason Kidd, NJN 8.7 rpg 35) Shaquille O'Neal, MIA 7.7 rpg 50) Kobe Bryant, LAL 6.1 rpg
Thursday, Dec 13
Is Steve Nash the Best Athlete in the NBA?
Last week, while covering Phoenix' 121-117 win over Indiana, I discussed the subject of how to best define athletic ability in a basketball context with Phoenix Coach Mike D'Antoni, former player/current broadcaster Dan Majerle, Suns President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Steve Kerr and Steve Nash (Indiana Coach Jim O'Brien's thoughts about this can be found by clicking on the above link). Here are those interviews, interwoven with some additional thoughts and observations of my own: Next I spoke with Majerle. Kerr: "Yeah." Kerr: "Yeah. Trust me, I was always known as one of the least athletic players in the NBA." Kerr: "Mental."
Monday, Dec 10
NBA Leaderboard, Part V
31) Shaquille O'Neal, MIA 7.8 rpg In last week's Leaderboard, I wrote, "Maybe Jason Kidd will actually push Steve Nash for the assists title after all, though I suspect that Nash will get some separation by putting up some 18 or 20 assist games, particularly when some weaker Eastern Conference teams venture west and arrive in Phoenix to play their fourth game in five days." Nash did not hit the 20 mark last week, but he set a new season-high in assists for three straight games (17, 18, 19--all against Eastern Conference teams, though Phoenix was the road team in each case), the first of which I covered in Indiana. James qualifies for this leaderboard and the scoring leaderboard but not the rebounding one, where he would still be in the top 50.
Tuesday, Dec 4
That's Amare: Stoudemire Scores 42, Suns Outlast Pacers
Amare Stoudemire scored 42 points and Steve Nash dished out 17 assists as the Phoenix Suns built a 15 point lead, fell behind by five points in the fourth quarter and then rallied to pull out a 121-117 road win against the Pacers. "We had two or three games out there," Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni said with a chuckle after the game. "We played well, they played well and we played well. It ended on a good note." Stoudemire's points and Nash's assists are both season-highs for any Suns player in those categories. Stoudemire shot 15-24 from the field and 12-13 from the free throw line. He also had 13 rebounds and four assists and managed to play the last 6:14 of the game despite having five fouls. Nash scored 17 points on 6-9 shooting, though he surprisingly mis...
Monday, Dec 3
NBA Leaderboard, Part IV
1) Boston Celtics, 14-2 2) San Antonio Spurs, 15-3 3) Orlando Magic, 15-4 4) Phoenix Suns, 13-4 5) Utah Jazz, 13-5 Maybe Jason Kidd will actually push Steve Nash for the assists title after all, though I suspect that Nash will get some separation by putting up some 18 or 20 assist games, particularly when some weaker Eastern Conference teams venture west and arrive in Phoenix to play their fourth game in five days. Paul and Williams will always be linked together and not too long from now they may very well be annually fighting for the top two spots. How about that point guard rotation in Toronto, with both players ranking in the top ten in the league in assists? Calderon and Ford are playing virtually the same number of minutes.
