| 05 December 2008
Phoenix Suns have some serious issues
By Zach Harper
For a team that is leading the league in shooting, it sure seems odd that they seem so disjointed and confounded on offense. The Phoenix Suns are a dangerous team right now but it isn't the rest of the league that has to be worried -- it's the Suns. They are their own worst enemy right now and it's because they're stuck in limbo in regards to finding a team identity. After getting manhandled by the Mavericks last night, they're now losers of four straight games with all of the four losses coming by eight points or more. So what's wrong with this team?
They don't know what to do with Shaq and Terry Porter can't seem to make the right decision for this team to be successful. Terry Porter is trying to get a handle on the situation and find a combination that gives them good flow in their offense but he hasn't been able to do so to this point in the season. Shaq is a weapon that they can absolutely exploit on most nights because he still commands a double team and he can still get the frontline of the opposing team in foul trouble. But he is bogging down the speed of the game for the Suns and Porter isn't utilizing his weapons properly.
The reason that the Utah Jazz are successful right now is because Jerry Sloan was able to adapt to his personnel instead of forcing his team to play a slow and precise style of ball. He decided to run with his weapons and form a system that fit the players. Terry Porter could learn a lot from Jerry Sloan right now. The Suns need to run more and rely on Shaq to defend and rebound. If they get stopped on the break then they can pull the ball back out and either run a pick and roll or dump into Shaq. Guys like Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa are suffering with this slower style and are completely ineffective. Amare Stoudemire is unhappy and feels awkward on offense. Something has to change.
If the Suns can't figure out that Nash in the open court trying to drill the ball down the opponents' throats is the best way for success right now then they're probably going to just make the playoffs and never see the light of the second round. If they can run the ball more, speed up the game, and rely on Shaq when they get stopped then they might have a better chance at contending. Either way, they have to figure out how to fix these issues.
In case you don't believe me, here are Shaq's twitters after the loss to Dallas:
"Whatthe hell is wrong wit da suns"
"If you cant command then u must learn to follow, but what if u aint winning when u listen, then what????????"
San Antonio Spurs 108, Denver Nuggets 91 in Denver
By Zach Harper
Warning to the rest of the league -- the Spurs are still really good and now that they're healthy, they're going to show you.
The San Antonio Spurs dominated one of the hottest teams in the NBA last night by shooting lights out from the floor and controlling the glass. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 blocks. With Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker also scoring over 20 points, the Spurs three best players combined for 64 of San Antonio's scoring and the Spurs improved to 10-8 on the season. Six Spurs players in all hit double digits in scoring on the night and the team shot 50% from the field. They moved the ball nicely throughout the night against the Nuggets defense and finished with 27 assists on their 41 field goal makes. They also controlled the rebounding department with a 47-33 advantage over Denver.
The Spurs utilized a dominating performance in the first half of the game to take control. They finished the first half with 61 points and held a 20-point lead that was fairly easy for them to maintain. San Antonio's suffocating, signature defense held Chauncey Billups to just three points in the first half and allowed him to dish out only one assist in the first 24 minutes of the game.
For Denver, they were completely outplayed by a better team last night and perhaps were thinking too highly of themselves after they destroyed the Raptors by 39 earlier in the week. Carmelo Anthony led the team with 16 points but Nuggets never really got into a rhythm on either side of the ball. They missed nine of their 23 free throw attempts and could only muster up 19 team assists in the entire ball game. Carmelo and Nene were both in foul trouble during the game and the Nuggets were brought back to Earth by what George Karl called, "a very angry team."
Portland Trail Blazers (14-6) at Boston Celtics (18-2), 5pm PST on ESPN
By Zach Harper
The Blazers take their iffy road record of 7-6 to Boston to see how legitimate they are in this early NBA season. It will be the first time that Greg Oden has faced a truly suffocating and pestering defense in his young career. The Blazers are one of the hottest teams in the league right now with wins in six straight games and eight of their last nine contests.
The Blazers have been a great defensive team since Oden returned to the lineup and have only allowed two opponents (Phoenix and Golden State) to score over 100 points in a game during the past three weeks. Not counting the thirteen minute debacle that was Greg Oden's debut in October, the Blazers are giving up just 88 points per game with him in the lineup. Brandon Roy is leading the team with 21.1 points per game and they're getting stellar play from their bench. Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, and Joel Pryzbilla have formed one of the top bench trios in the game and Sergio Rodriguez has been a game changer as the backup point guard.
The Celtics have regained their place as the top team in the NBA since the Pacers knocked off the Lakers. Boston has won 10 straight and are being fueled by Rajon Rondo's transformation into the next Tony Parker. In his last five games, Rondo has averaged 12 points and 11 assists with 2 steals. He's shot 50% or higher in six straight games. Alert the ESPN.com crew, they're on pace for 73.8 wins!
Key Match-up - Greg Oden vs. Boston Frontline
Greg Oden most nights is going to be the biggest man on the court. In fact, his size helps him be so intimidating on offense because he has the innate ability to change shots and control the glass. But he'll be facing two really good and swarming post defenders in Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett. Oden isn't nearly comfortable enough to handle that kind of defensive pressure when he has the ball in the post and will have to get his scoring opportunities on drive-and-dishes along with offensive put backs. I think Oden will still get double digit rebounds if he can avoid foul trouble but the Celtics defense will make him look more like Kwame Brown on offense than Patrick Ewing.
Prediction - Celtics should be able to handle the young Blazers
How about you get caught up in some Blake Griffin Hyperbole?
By Eddie Maisonet
Wayman Tisdale v2.0...
That's what the locals say about him.
Strikes fear onto players on the football team...
That's what players on the Oklahoma Sooner football team say about him.
He's the rawest light-skinned dude to ever come out of Oklahoma since me...
That's what I said about him.
Okay, lets calm down a bit. My point is, Blake Griffin is the best player in college basketball today. At 6'10", 251 pounds, dude is rock solid, fundamentally sound, and has a mean disposition. It must be something in the water in the Big 12 conference, because it looks like the best player in the nation will again come from the Big 12. Kevin Durant 2 years ago, and Michael Beasley last year (no, not you Tyler Hansborough), Blake Griffin has all the physical parts of the game that Durant and Beasley never possessed.
A post game. A mean post game, plus a rebounding abilitiy that is second to none at this point in the season. Griffin is currently averaging 25.7 ppg and 19.2 rpg. What??!? Dude's essentially putting up 26 & 20 per night, and propelling the Sooner Nation to a potential Final Four selection. Look around college basketball today, who matches up with him? Hansborough? I doubt it. Luke Harangody? Ehhh... Haseem Thabeet? He might get his limbs broken.
Lets not forget that Griffin could've been a top 5 pick LAST YEAR, but chose to play out another year in Norman, to play with his brother Taylor. He's a hometown kid, grew up in Oklahoma City and he loves it there. Wouldn't be ideal, for the Oklahoma City Thunder to get the #1 lottery pick and give Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook the postman they might have for the next 10-15 years? Yes potentially...
However, I don't want to place Griffin up on the pantheon just yet. His free throw shooting could be a lot better, only at 60% in his Oklahoma career, plus his defense is like Mr. Michael Beasley's. Great on the weakside, not that impressive one-on-one. I'd like to think he tries to get out the way so he doesn't accumulate fouls, but I'd be lying, he needs to work on his defense, ASAP. His jumper is suspect too, but he's got good form, and with more work he could be deadly from 15-17 feet.
So what are we really saying here? I can say that Oklahoma is a LOCK for the Sweet 16 this year, and with the right matchups could be in the Final Four. I can say that Blake Griffin is a LOCK to be a top 2 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Between Blake Griffin, Obama, and myself...we bringing back light-skinned dudes. Just how I like it.
Who are the other player of the year candidates? Leave your comments or e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , get at me!
By Zach Harper
"My assistant coaches said that if I don't stop complimenting Chauncey in the papers, people are going to think I'm having a romantic affair with him." -- George Karl on PTI about is mancrush on his new point guard.
Say what you want about George Karl's coaching ability but he's one of the best guys in all of sports for soundbytes and candor. It seems like he has the opposite viewpoint of Chauncey as he does J.R. Smith. Acquiring Chauncey Billups may be his happiest coaching moment since his cage fighting experience.
Top 3 of the Night
1. Dirk Nowitzki - 39 pts, 9 rebs, 17-25 fg
If there was ever evidence that Amare Stoudemire is a terrible defender, it was tonight. Dirk just abused him all night and made 68% of his shots tonight. Separated the Mavs from the Suns early last night.
2. Tim Duncan - 21 pts, 12 rebs, 7 asts, 5 blks
TD had one of his most efficient games in a long time and picked the Nuggets apart all night. If Duncan can play like this most nights and the team stays healthy, then they're as likely to win the title as anybody.
3. Matt Bonner - 14 pts, 8 rebs, 6-8 fg, 2-2 3fg
It's rare that Matt Bonner would ever qualify for something like this so when I saw his numbers early on, I decided he was going to get some love. Seriously though, the Spurs will take 14 and 8 from him ANY night.
Bottom 3 of the Night
1. Shaquille O'Neal - 4 pts, 5 rebs, 1-6 fg, 26 mins
He was outplayed by Erick Dampier last night and it wasn't even close. Whenever you get outplayed by Erick Dampier, you earn the top spot in the Bottom 3 of the Night.
2. Chauncey Billups - 12 pts, 4 asts, 5-13 fg
It was night and day between Chauncey's performance against the Raptors this week and his performance against the Spurs last night. He had a tough time with Tony Parker, yet again.
3. Grant Hill - 4 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast, 2-8 fg
Grant Hill is the most important guy off the bench for Phoenix because he's the best playmaker. He didn't do much of anything against the Mavs bench and was never able to get anything going for the Suns.
Here are the Top Blog Posts from yesterday.
1. From Ballerblogger-
A Breakdown of the Business of Basketball
2. From A Stern Warning-
Mookie wants NBA Coaches to watch their backs
3. From Ball Don't Lie-
Ron Artest is getting a web reality show.
To check out today's media fun, click this link and scroll down to Section 8.
Thanks for reading today's Eight-Second Violation. Send your comments, criticism and words of praise to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Support the Habit
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
