Suns fighting themselves more than opponents
November 13th, 2008, 9:14 am · Post a Comment · posted by jerrybrown
Other notes that might have been lost in the scuffle after Wednesday’s unsightly loss to Houston:
*Amare Stoudemire was frustrated with the fact that he only had four shots in the first half, despite having what he considered an obvious matchup advantage against Luis Scola and backups Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry. He pointed to the gameplan board in the Suns locker room intimating that he was supposed to be the focal point of the attack.
“Scola, it’s his second year in the league. Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry, they’re OK players but I definitely need to dominate those guys early – anytime,” Stoudemire said. “Nothing against them, they played well tonight. But just from a fact of wanting to dominate and wanting to take over the ball game, that’s what I wanted to do. Wasn’t quite able to do it tonight … We are a team, we have to stick together. Hopefully, we can figure out a way to get wins.”
Stoudemire hasn’t been among the voices questioning the Suns’ offensive tempo over the first eight games, because the offense is now centered on he and Shaquille O’Neal down low. But after taking only two free throws against the Rockets – only one game removed from a three-game run where he went to the line 53 times — he was obviously frustrated.
“We definitely have to think about where we’re headed and what kind of team we are. We have to go to the drawing board and try to figure out how to take advantage of the mismatches out there. I was so ready to go … It happens some time. But if you look at the pregame routine and see guys like (Scola, Hayes and Landry), you definitely want to dominate and take over. We’ll see how we want to correct those mistakes.”
It should be pointed out, however, that all three Rockets did a good job defensively of beating Stoudemire to his spots and got aggressive double-team help from teammates, especially in the first half. Houston coach Rick Adleman saw that the Suns have so many struggles elsewhere in the offense that taking away what’s been humming along (Stoudemire) could really gum up the works. And a 72-point night is the proof.
*It looked like Steve Nash might have hurt his shoulder running into a stiff pick from Tracy McGrady in the third period. But Nash said he aggravated a pinched nerve in his neck that had been bothering him for the last week and the sudden jerk of his neck when he ran into the pick was the source of the trouble.
That may have made the pick look worse than it was. Matt Barnes got a good look at it and said he was taking notes before he lowered a shoulder through a Rafer Alston pick, which set off the wild skirmish in the final minute of the third period.
“You’ve always got to watch out for your team, especially for your star point guard,” Barnes said. “I don’t really know what (Alston) was thinking. He thinks he’s tough so he ran up on me. It was just a bunch of pushing.”
*For the most part, coach Terry Porter didn’t seem as concerned with the offensive execution as others. He saw more of a lack of energy and the fact that the Suns didn’t finish around the rim (at least eight missed layups, and several other close shots) as culprits, along with an inspired effort from a Houston team that had lost three of its last four games and held a player’s only meeting after being blown out by the Lakers on Sunday.
*Two brutal games back-to-back for Grant Hill, who was scoreless on the two-game homestand and is a big reason why the second unit continues to struggle. When Hill and Boris Diaw score two points in a game, as they did Wednesday, that group doesn’t have a lot of offensive options. Leandro Barbosa needed 15 shots to get 18 points. Robin Lopez missed a slam dunk that bounced so high it nearly skimmed the US Airways Center roof. Goran Dragic looked OK, popping down a few jumpers and getting to the rim for another bucket, but the rest of the group struggled.
*Speaking of the Lakers – wow. They are now 7-0 and two games up on the Suns after beating the Hornets 93-86 in New Orleans Wednesday and are the NBA’s only unbeaten team after the Hawks lost in Boston at the buzzer. Even a 30-point, 13-assist night from Chris Paul wasn’t enough to derail them. If the Lakers can beat Detroit and Chicago at home, where they have been winning by double-digits with ease, they will be 9-0 when they come to Phoenix a week from tonight.
*Wonder how the other half is living? While the Suns had a 37-point first half on Wednesday, Mike D’Antoni’s New York Knicks had two 37-point quarters and put 132 points up in Memphis on Wednesday – the same Memphis team the Suns struggled to put away Monday. The Knicks put down 19 3-pointers in the game to set a franchise record.
