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manu struggles against raja ing bell???? okay well if manu sucks that bad then he deserves to whine
but i doubt it
kurt thomas is not going to help the suns, this is like the sixers getting big dog
Looks like the Suns surely recognize their shortcomings and are trying desparately to keep pace.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/s....527258b7.html
LAS VEGAS — Money talks in July, and it is about to scream at the Phoenix Suns.
Unless they have a change of heart because they believe the Suns are bluffing about matching any offer that is made to swingman Joe Johnson, the Atlanta Hawks are going to offer Johnson a maximum contract.
Don't expect the Suns to blink unless owner Robert Sarver, the guy Spurs coach Gregg Popovich joked had been the man inside the San Diego Chicken outfit, really is afraid to cut a big-time check.
The reason Sarver will swallow hard and then go ahead and pay Johnson? If he does, the Suns are going to have a much better chance at getting past the Spurs in the 2006 Western Conference playoffs.
Everything the Suns have done this summer — trading Quentin Richardson and the rights to first-round draft pick Nate Robinson to the Knicks for center Kurt Thomas and signing free-agent shooting guard Raja Bell — has been predicated on matching up better against the Spurs.
"The Spurs are our mountain to climb," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said Saturday afternoon before watching Leandro Barbosa work on the holes in his game by playing 32 minutes in a Las Vegas Summer League game against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Everything we've done has been predicated on trying to get over that mountain."
By trading Richardson, whose shooting in the Western Conference finals was shaky, at best, and getting Thomas, the hard-nosed center the Spurs nearly traded for on deadline day in 2004, the Suns got a lot more versatile up front.
"We feel like now we've got two gears, instead of one," D'Antoni said.
In other words, when the Suns need to get a little more physical and play some interior defense against the Spurs, they don't have to ask Amare Stoudemire to try to do something he clearly hasn't yet made a priority.
Stoudemire became an All-Star and MVP candidate last season because D'Antoni made him an undersized center in the NBA's fastest offense. Stoudemire insisted he wanted to go back to playing power forward next season, but D'Antoni said a post-playoff meeting with Stoudemire produced a commitment from his star big man to continue playing whatever role optimizes the Suns' chances to keep winning.
"Now we can go a couple of different ways," D'Antoni said. "We can go half a game with Kurt at the five and Amare at the four, and we can change up, game to game."
Bell will drop right into Richardson's starting spot at big guard. He is not as good a shooter from distance, but he is a much tougher defender, and if you are beginning to get the idea the Suns understand they have to be able to stop the Spurs, in addition to scoring in the 100s against them, you may have a future as an NBA personnel director.
How tough a defender?
Word on the street is that when agent Herb Rudoy disclosed that Bell had agreed to sign with the Suns, one of his more prominent clients, Manu Ginobili, called him to protest that he had just given the Suns the defender he least likes to play against.
Last edited by SenorSpur; 07-11-2005 at 01:05 PM.
manu struggles against raja ing bell???? okay well if manu sucks that bad then he deserves to whine
but i doubt it
kurt thomas is not going to help the suns, this is like the sixers getting big dog
Bell: 40% from range, 45% from the fieldBell ... is not as good a shooter from distance (as Richardson) ...
Quentin: 36% from range, 39% from the field
In fact, over the last three years, Bell's worst is better than Richardson's best.
I did like hearing about the Manu phone call, though :p
is manu calling his agent and forcing his agent to not have one of his other clients go to a specfic team , tampering? or since it is free agency they are allowed to do that
example say tim duncan demands his agent deal some other person to alanta insted of dallas is this againt the NBA rules, any anti competive US law breaking?
could MANu be supoended, deported, killed?
the suns arent going to beat spurs with these minor useless moves.
i believe suns might get a championship, but not in the next 3-4 seasons, cuz
this is spurs time
I gotta call bull on that.Word on the street is that when agent Herb Rudoy disclosed that Bell had agreed to sign with the Suns, one of his more prominent clients, Manu Ginobili, called him to protest that he had just given the Suns the defender he least likes to play against.
A cursory glance at Manu's stats says that he averaged roughly 22 points per game against Utah, on north of 50% shooting.
Nice hometown team hypberbole there from a beaten Suns beat writer.
quention richardson totals
fgs
232-525
400-926
203-546
425-1068
407-1045
3pts
50-151
133-349
61-198
120-341
226-631
bell
fgs
2-7
103-240
93-211
329-805
303-667
3pts
1-3
12-44
21-51
62-166
54-164
oo0o0o0o0oo0o0o you realize you have to beat OTHER teams to get to us right suns fan?
how many times did we hear those suns homers (who were so certain they could beat us...) say how quentin won them games with his shooting and scoring....
lol!
Yeah, that stood out to me too... Quentin isn't a good shooter at all. Just a frequent one.Bell: 40% from range, 45% from the field
Quentin: 36% from range, 39% from the field
Someone please say why with the opinion.
I understand I'm on your terf and all, but if the Spurs trade their weakest player, aquiring a guy who averaged 14-17 vs. their style of play and then sign a wing who averaged 12+ per game and is a tough defender, I doubt you think so little of the signing/moves.
Even if the Suns do make a "lame attempt" to play D next season, I personally don't see how they will be able to get Bell, Johnson & Thomas on the floor at the same time.
Kurt is natural power forward. Sure he can play center in the East, but doesn't have bulk to challenge the likes of Duncan, Nazr, KG, Yao, Camby, Nene and other WC post players.
Why?
Manu GInobili averaged 12 free throws per game against Utah this year with your boy Raja guarding him.
Somehow I don't think a guy who has dunked on Amare and Shawn Marion at the same time is going to be phased by a foul-happy perimeter scrub.
Kurt makes y'all better, but he's historically had problems matching up with TD defensively.
first off, gettin 1 (thomas) to shore up ur defense does not always work, considering
that a few quick fouls and he is on the bench and ur back to no defense.
second, i wouldnt take bell over richardson, especially considering this was his
first playoff appearance and he ran into a good defensive team in spurs.
3rd off, u Suns fans are puttin too much faith into JJ, he will not help u overcome
spurs like the media makes u believe
whatever helps the suns sleep at night.
I doubt Manu would call up his agent and say something like that.
i know guys its like lets break it down
kurt thomas to stop who? Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan can rape KT.....
Bell to guard Ginobili. Ok lets say he can...lol...
so you're sporting a lineup of nash, bell, marion, amare, thomas?
i dont get it
wheres johnson
it doesnt work man, kurt thomas is an undersized center in the east, he'll get dominated in the west, and putting serious minutes to raja bell and kurt thomas will affect your offense more than you think
you do realize nash got like ridiculous assists by hooking up amare for dunks right?
and standing on the floor with amare was quentin, a 3 pt threat
with raja on the floor they can crowd amare easier...
Considering I posted here everyday during the series and never saw more than a half-dozen Suns fans, I call BS on your statement. Louis, Catharsis, SirChaz and myself were even thanked for what we brought here.
As far as I know, none of us picked the Suns to defeat the Spurs, nor talked up Richardson as the Suns Savior.
And Last I checked, the Spurs still have to do everything the Suns will have to to get the Western Conference Finals as well.
Fact is, the Suns will be much improved. They were a team that held fourth-quarter leads this year, but couldn't quite hang on. They now have experience and added depth. They've addressed their two biggest needs while getting rid of their weakest link.
No one is asking you to concede, rather acknowledge that it likely won't be as easy as it was this past year.
lol tru, instead of 4-1 we shall take u out 4-2
another thing you fail to realize is that if Steve Nash has an equal year to last year or better, he will be one of the greatest pg's of all time
not saying its impossible, but it happens rarely, especially with older players
Look at sam cassell after he had his bad ass season in 2004...
do you expect nash to repeat his mvp performance another year? He'll probalby be a gear slower...or two if youre not lucky...
amare will improve and basically thats all yall got
shawn marion has a history of being owned by the spurs
and face it man, so does steve nash....you forget this is the man who ran AWAY from his defensive assignment in Steve Kerr in the WCF 2003, and this is AFTER kerr had already sunk 3 threes!!
Steve Nash hit some amazing shots in game 4, god i was totally shocked. but then they all blew it in game 5...
Raja Bell can guard Manu Ginobili about as well as Shawn Bradley can Shaq.....
The Suns and their used-car salesman coach make me laugh. They get hammered in the WCF and they think Kurt ing Thomas and Raja Bell are going to make a difference? That's like us picking up Rasho Nesterovic and Hedo Turkoglu in an attempt to get better...on wait we did that.
ye steve nash must hate lookin at duncan, cuz the closest he has come to a ring
is WCF twice, and lost both times to him.
can anyone tell me if the NBA will fine Manu for tampering?
i've said it all year and i'll say it again
the suns this season were trying to be the mavs of 2003....but instead of a Dirk they had an Amare. Well....that mavs team took us to 6 games using walt williams........
Most of us thought you were joking. You should probably just pretend you were.
Johnson is fully capable of playing at the SF position.
As for Bell being a scrub
I fail to see how 12ppg on 45% and 40% from range qualifies as a scrub
Obviously no one really knows until the games are played, but while I might be expecting a bit too much, lots here are just being silly/petty.
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