dogfight in arizona (PHOENIX/WARRIORS)

[ponky]

anyone watching this?

[jacobdrj]

Is 'dogfight' just code for crappy basketball?

[v2freak]

No, what happened?

[ponky]

eh, it was pretty much tied down to 2 minutes and now golden state is choking

[ponky]

holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck, stupid ass golden state...it was 103-101 suns and golden state didn't foul they allowed a clear pass from nash to marion who was right under the basket, game over pretty much

[v2freak]

Huh, I thought you were talking about an altercation!

[ponky]

Huh, I thought you were talking about an altercation!


haha, i wish, i need some entertainment tonight...mavs blew out the sixers, rockets and lakers turning into a bust because rockets are up 36-16, no good games....maybe, maybe the kings/jazz game but i doubt it

[Xylus]

13 straight wins, very nice.

Boris Diaw: 21 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists

[ponky]

13 straight wins, very nice.

Boris Diaw: 21 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists


yes very nice, did jason richardson play?

[JMarkJohns]

A wins a win, but that was the ugliest win I've seen in a while. Suns built a 25-point lead early in the second quarter, fell asleep for a solid two periods of play before finally waking up in enough time to pull things out.

Diaw and Amare looked impressive. Nash hit some big threes and had two big passes and some quality defensive play for a change, but from mid-second on, just about every player was on cruise control and it's only a(nother) blessing the streak continues on.

Bell and Barbosa really need to find their shot.

And D'Antoni needs to not go to zone defense when man-to-man has built them a 25-point lead.

[JMarkJohns]

...did jason richardson play?

No. Neither did Murphy. Like I said, a win's a win, but it all ends there.

[RonMexico]

A wins a win, but that was the ugliest win I've seen in a while. Suns built a 25-point lead early in the second quarter, fell asleep for a solid two periods of play before finally waking up in enough time to pull things out.

Diaw and Amare looked impressive. Nash hit some big threes and had two big passes and some quality defensive play for a change, but from mid-second on, just about every player was on cruise control and it's only a(nother) blessing the streak continues on.

Bell and Barbosa really need to find their shot.

And D'Antoni needs to not go to zone defense when man-to-man has built them a 25-point lead.

And the Suns gotta find a way to bust the zone - they probably could have tonight if they weren't shooting 30% from the field for a long stretch and allowing them to get back into it. Still, there were way too many turnovers and terrible movement without the ball. There was a complete lack of intensity on defense and on the boards from the 2nd quarter on, and that could have bit them in the ass if Jason Richardson played.

[ponky]

No. Neither did Murphy. Like I said, a win's a win, but it all ends there.

nah, i wasn't bashing you because of the warriors who were out, i was just wondering because nba.com can't get their shit together and have stats, scores updated properly so i couldn't tell who was playing and i tuned in late

[JMarkJohns]

It's funny how they literally had a "how-to" guide to busting a zone playing on the opposite side of them during that same stretch, but rather than even trying to attack the basket, the simply launched contested three after contested three.

Ellis is going to be a great player. Can't say enough about him. He's a fantastic talent that can carry a team from all over the floor on offense, whether it's scoring off the dribble, spot up or in the lane or creating shots for others. He takes and makes big shots. Every run the Warriors had was Ellis-led.

[JMarkJohns]

nah, i wasn't bashing you because of the warriors who were out, i was just wondering because nba.com can't get their shit together and have stats, scores updated properly so i couldn't tell who was playing and i tuned in late

Suns struggled to compete with the three-guard lineups the Warriors were throwing at them. I know Barnes is a SF, but he's a wing-forward. Twixt Davis, Ellis, Roberson, Barnes, Pietrus and McLeod, every tandom got whereever they wished against the Suns zone and by time the Suns went back to man-to-man, the Warriors were confident again and unlike the Suns, they were playing hard.

Perhaps Richardson has the same impact. Perhaps not. No telling. All I know is that Phoenix cared less for way too long in this game for me to be impressed by them coming together and pulling out a close win. This should have been a rout, but (a)pathetically wasn't.

[RonMexico]

It's funny how they literally had a "how-to" guide to busting a zone playing on the opposite side of them during that same stretch, but rather than even trying to attack the basket, the simply launched contested three after contested three.

Ellis is going to be a great player. Can't say enough about him. He's a fantastic talent that can carry a team from all over the floor on offense, whether it's scoring off the dribble, spot up or in the lane or creating shots for others. He takes and makes big shots. Every run the Warriors had was Ellis-led.

Yeah, I saw 3 of Monta Ellis's high school games and I could just tell that he was going to be a really special player. He got along great with his teammates, he played through pain, and was an absolute monster down the stretch. Of course, that's high school, but I've changed my opinion since I predicted LeBron wouldn't live up to the hype in his first season and he proved me wrong in the first game of his career (with 25 pts, I think?). Ellis played head-to-head against someone else who was thinking of jumping pro straight from HS in one game I watched, and Ellis's maturity was just incredibly evident.

I said last year to my dad that Suns needed to trade Barbosa for him straight up because Chris Mullin would probably take that deal (before they signed LB to an extension). He called me retarded, but definitely changed his tune after that 4th quarter Ellis had in Golden State at the beginning of this streak. The fact is he's a really humble and hard-working kid and if Andre Barrett could provide quality minutes coming up from the NBDL last season, Ellis could have been molded by D'Antoni and staff into a really exciting player.

I still think the Suns might pick up Gerry McNamara depending on how well Gerry does in the NBDL. I think the problem they have with Barbosa and Banks so far this year is that they both feel they have to be like Nash when they go in the game, and that is nearly impossible. I think someone like McNamara wouldn't feel that kind of pressure and he could play his game and knock down the open shot. The better Amare gets and the more they can go to him in the post when Nash is out, the more pressure it will relieve from the PG to make plays. Hell, even Travis Deiner would be great...

[JMarkJohns]

...Hell, even Travis Deiner would be great...

Word. Sweet-shooting, smart, pass-first PG. Or Blake, even.

Blake/Gadzuric for Banks/Jumaine Jones and a future 1st?

Works for me.

[Xylus]

I figured the Suns would lose this one after that 5-game road trip. Yes, they played like robots in the 2nd and 3rd quarters--no passion, seemed like they were in autopilot--but I see it as a good sign that the Suns won even though they played poorly. They still held the Warriors to 40% shooting from the field, outrebounded them by 8, and bounced back from an 8-point deficit. I see it as another positive that we have a 2nd superior playmaker in Diaw to help out when Nash can't seem to pass as brilliantly as he usually does.

Still, losing a 25-point lead in what seemed like 3 minutes is a very, very bad sign. Giving up big leads has been their biggest weakness this season, even moreso than consistently lackadaisical defense.