Solid D
11-19-2005, 10:04 AM
The Spurs will have to defend small-ball PHX tonight. One of their new additions off the bench, Eddie House, will have to be defended on the perimeter. Here's an article on the Sun of the Rising House (I think I just made that up :) )
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http://www.nba.com/suns/news/gilmartin_051118.html
By Joe Gilmartin, Suns.com
Posted: Nov. 18, 2005
This one was on the House.
Eddie House, that is. And it wasn’t just that his sensational long-range sniping was the catalyst for Friday's victory over the Jazz, although that was certainly worthy of a game ball on its own merits. But at this stage of the season, the Suns needed more than just a ho-hum “W” over an injury-depleted Utah team to wash out some of the bad taste out of a disappointing home stand.
What they needed, in short, was something with pizzazz to put at least a touch of the swagger back in the Purple Palace, and House’s 7-for-ll long range bombing sent the crowd home buzzing instead of grumbling for perhaps the first time all year.
The former Arizona State star was already a somewhat surprising crowd favorite BEFORE this particular scoring outburst, with fans breaking into sporadic “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!" chants in limited opportunities. And by the end of Friday night's game they were chanting it every time he touched the ball, even on free throws.
He scored 17 of his 31 points in the first half, and his seven treys were also a career-high. None was more important, though, than the one he drained with 1:48 to play in the third period after the Jazz had pulled within one point.
Nights like this are exactly what the Suns expected when they signed him, of course. Well, not QUITE this kind. But they did think he had the potential to provide instant offense off the bench. Oh, and by the way, while shooting has always been the biggest part of his game, the rest of it wasn’t too shabby Friday night either, what with four assists and two steels.
He even provided a bit of intermission drama as word was anxiously awaited on how serious the ankle sprain was he suffered in the closing seconds of the first half. Fortunately, the answer turned out to be “not very.”
Although House was clearly the name above the win, so to speak, Leandro Barbosa had another good night, as well. Boris Diaw also made a major contribution off the bench, and even little-used Pat Burke made a significant contribution in his first significant minutes this young season.
But perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the evening was that through much of the second half, the Suns flashed signs of the ball movement and execution that were their trademarks in last year’s 62-20 run. And as a result the rest of the Suns almost matched Eddie’s seven treys with six.
The bottom line: I usually furnish it myself, but House clearly deserves the last word this time: “We need to win bad at home," he said, "and especially the way we did it.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/gilmartin_051118.html
By Joe Gilmartin, Suns.com
Posted: Nov. 18, 2005
This one was on the House.
Eddie House, that is. And it wasn’t just that his sensational long-range sniping was the catalyst for Friday's victory over the Jazz, although that was certainly worthy of a game ball on its own merits. But at this stage of the season, the Suns needed more than just a ho-hum “W” over an injury-depleted Utah team to wash out some of the bad taste out of a disappointing home stand.
What they needed, in short, was something with pizzazz to put at least a touch of the swagger back in the Purple Palace, and House’s 7-for-ll long range bombing sent the crowd home buzzing instead of grumbling for perhaps the first time all year.
The former Arizona State star was already a somewhat surprising crowd favorite BEFORE this particular scoring outburst, with fans breaking into sporadic “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!" chants in limited opportunities. And by the end of Friday night's game they were chanting it every time he touched the ball, even on free throws.
He scored 17 of his 31 points in the first half, and his seven treys were also a career-high. None was more important, though, than the one he drained with 1:48 to play in the third period after the Jazz had pulled within one point.
Nights like this are exactly what the Suns expected when they signed him, of course. Well, not QUITE this kind. But they did think he had the potential to provide instant offense off the bench. Oh, and by the way, while shooting has always been the biggest part of his game, the rest of it wasn’t too shabby Friday night either, what with four assists and two steels.
He even provided a bit of intermission drama as word was anxiously awaited on how serious the ankle sprain was he suffered in the closing seconds of the first half. Fortunately, the answer turned out to be “not very.”
Although House was clearly the name above the win, so to speak, Leandro Barbosa had another good night, as well. Boris Diaw also made a major contribution off the bench, and even little-used Pat Burke made a significant contribution in his first significant minutes this young season.
But perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the evening was that through much of the second half, the Suns flashed signs of the ball movement and execution that were their trademarks in last year’s 62-20 run. And as a result the rest of the Suns almost matched Eddie’s seven treys with six.
The bottom line: I usually furnish it myself, but House clearly deserves the last word this time: “We need to win bad at home," he said, "and especially the way we did it.”