Posts for category ‘phoenix suns’

From the Wizards’ perspective, you’ll hear sentiment such as, “We just turned into our old selves in the third quarter,” courtesy of Andray Blatche in the quote mix video above. He also said that too many players were trying to put things on their own shoulders and that there were no Kobe Bryants or Dwyane Wades in the locker room.

Regarding the offense, Rashard Lewis said in the first quarter the Wizards moved the ball side to side, but later in the game, they often utilized only half of the baseline to halfcourt plane.

John Wall cited lack of heart and fight … hero ball.

Nick Young said that they have to find ways to get people open, saying Grant Hill was talking to him during the game, telling him that the Suns were reading every play the Wizards called.

JaVale McGee walked out of the training room with just compression shorts and headphones on after the game, jamming to some tunes and asking a member of the media he knew for a box score.

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{Steve Nash all alone. - K. Weidie}

The last game was played in Milwaukee, and this one was played in the friendly confines of the Verizon Center.  The Bucks were missing three starters, and the Suns had a healthy roster at their disposal.  The Wizards are a putrid 0-20 on the road, and they went into last night’s contest with 12-8 home record–including four straight wins at home.  You get the point here, there were plenty of differences between last night’s game against Phoenix and Wednesday night’s game against Milwaukee.  Still, it played out exactly the same.

In both games, the Wizards played flawless first quarter basketball, only to see their hard work come unraveled in each quarter after that, leading to a double digit loss.

The Wizards shot 53-percent in the first quarter, and they were mainly led by Nick Young (11 points) and Andray Blatche (10 points).  John Wall did not do much damage scoring-wise (two points), but he managed to dish out a whopping nine assists, before he was subbed out for Kirk Hinrich with 3:49 left in the period.

Meanwhile the Suns only shot 34-percent in the first, they committed nine turnovers, and they lacked any sort of energy and rhythm.  During one stretch, when the scored was tied at 14, the Suns turned the ball over twice, and had a shot blocked by JaVale McGee the next time down the floor. The Wizards turned that into into 11 consecutive points (and five assists by Wall).  The score after one in Washington was 33-22.  The score after one quarter in Milwaukee was 27-19.

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[As it turns out, Hakim Warrick's monster jam on Yi Jianlian at the end of the first half was a sign for things to come for Washington in the second half.]

There was a battle for momentum toward the end of the second quarter during Sunday night’s Wizards-Suns game. Steve Nash had just penetrated the lane (as he did with ease all night), and dished off to Hakim Warrick (again, as he did all night) for a thunderous slam, and there were just four seconds left on the clock.  John Wall then took the ball, ran down the court and launched a shot from just inside the three-point line.

After Wall’s attempt went in off the glass just before the buzzer, Channing Frye looked in disbelief and then ran towards the locker room.  Wall briefly looked at the crowd, tapped his chest twice, and then he too ran off the court.  His shot had cut the Suns lead to three points, and momentum seemed to be firmly on the Wizards’ side.

In the first 90 seconds or so of the third quarter, it seemed like the Wizards were up to matching the Suns’ intensity.  Jason Richardson and Channing Frye both scored off passes from Nash, but the Wizards countered with scores of their own courtesy of two free throws from Wall and a dunk from Alonzo Gee.  At that point, the Wizards were still within three points.

But then the Steve Nash show really started to kick into full gear. The Wizards could not keep pace and things began to get out of hand. Nash was either scoring or dishing on every basket, and each of Phoenix’s other four starters (Grant Hill, Channing Frye, Richardson and even Earl-freaking-Barron) scored within the first six minutes.

The Wizards weren’t nearly as fluid.  Gee took and missed two three-pointers, which really isn’t his shot, while JaVale McGee and Wall took turns turning the ball over.  Andray Blatche, who started quickly with 12 first quarter points, went almost half of the third quarter before he scored a basket, but at that point, the Wizards were already down 85-73.

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[Steve Nash lures John Wall with a back dribble, then changes pace to attack the open lane while keeping the ball away from JaVale McGee with two hands before sliding in for a layup.]

This Wizards team is hard to dissect, and I don’t mean “take apart,” as Steve Nash did on Sunday evening on his way to captaining his Suns to a 125-108 victory.

The Wizards are hard to dissect in the sense of separating individual parts to determine why the team continues to lose in the worst of ways (and win by the skin of their teeth). Anything and everything could go wrong on a given night.

On offense, in general, the team wastes too many possessions with bad shots. Pretty simple to conclude that they could use a lot more discipline in this regard. On defense, it comes down to focus and will, something several Wizards have major issues with. When you combine the overall effect that has on the team with the stylings of the two-time MVP in Nash, you have a recipe for the Suns to have their way with the Wizards.

Nash was often seen casually strolling through the paint, slicing through defenders as shown in the above GIF on Sunday night. But really, there was nothing casual about it. Well, unless you’re talking about the Wizards’ defense.

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Flip Saunders and I may have different perceptions of the Wizards. And for good reason, we are different people. He’s a professional, experienced coach. He sees countless things  I don’t see when observing his team. But I’m stubborn in my opinion that derives from the things I see. Agree to disagree if you will. For instance, let’s look at the quote below from Michael Lee’s story in Monday’s Washington Post:

Despite their 1-3 record, the Wizards (8-17) still believe they made progress on the trip, with Coach Flip Saunders and several of his players commenting on how the team could’ve easily won two more games if a few more breaks had gone their way.

The Wizards have recently patted themselves on the back for not quitting and being in close contests. “Breaks” … sure, Michael Lee’s words, but the franchise has conveyed the ‘if only a couple of plays’ argument, as if some fate has intervened.

I’m under the impression that if the Wizards wanted it a little bit more, especially on defense, if they had just a bit more focus, determination, hustle, you know, all of those intangible sports clichés, then they could have notched a couple more wins.

The perception of the “breaks” not going the Wizards’ way seems odd to me. It’s like saying they lost due to reasons beyond their control … interference from the basketball gods I suppose.

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Why is Gilbert Arenas always so ready to give up a foul after he or his team commits a turnover?

Why is Caron Butler always shuffling/switching his pivot foot when he catches the ball, leading to a travel?

Why are the Wizards entrenched in bad communication, often running into each other on pick and roll defense?

This team is surrounded by a lot of questions, these are just some examples. The quandary of this bad Washington Wizards team won’t simply be resolved by ‘when Mike Miller becomes healthy’, ‘when Gilbert Arenas gets his mentality back’ or ‘when Flip Saunders is able to reign in his players to properly run his offense’.

Running the offense is one glaring problem because this team was supposed to be able to score. Screw the offense for this post, let’s talk defense.

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I seriously contemplated whether I should ever watch the Wizards-Suns game. It’s not like I didn’t know the 121-95 outcome or was unable to witness the Wizards constructing a Brick City that would make Redman proud. Instead of dedicating my Saturday night life to the Wizards at home, I ventured out in the D.C. snow to meet some friends at a bar for drinks, darts, and sports on TVs. Between the activities, I couldn’t concentrate on watching the Wizards much, but the futility was made crystal clear in the glances I was able to get.

This team has no moxie. With the persistent problem back-to-back games pose, there’s ever-increasing skepticism and little hope that they will ever change course for the better. There are a ton of excuses for why this team is falling way short of expectations, a lot of them seem to stem on more time and patience. But how do you get a team to play with energy and focus like they care?

So, I put my blues collection on shuffle and spent the better part of my Sunday watching the Wizards-Suns with focus … and boy did I learn a lot about this team. I was able to capture the essence of the game in the nine frames below, but I’ll have much more to come in the future about the less desirable aspects of the Flip Saunders’ team.

{flickr/Keith Allison}

One thing I didn’t to mention in my post-game write-up … and I’m not sure if it had a proper place there anyway … was the “mood” of Gilbert Arenas after the Suns game.

I’ve only been around the new, media unfriendly Arenas at media day, practices, and home games. And he’s only talked once after a practice (to my knowledge), the first one after he got fined. I also haven’t been to every practice, but his routine usually has been to say, “They said I don’t have to talk to you guys today … only on game nights.”

Most are still getting acclimated to the melancholy, aloof Gilbert Arenas … the one who has become so jaded by the media that he started putting on a rendition of himself that’s a far cry from the entertaining Arenas of old. A seemingly 180-degree turn, but still 100% quirky.

If you ask his teammates, he’s still the same Gilbert. Maybe he’s not pulling the pranks he has in the past, but he’s certainly not putting on a terse facade with them. The media has witnessed Arenas joking around with others, only to see his alter ego take effect when “official” media time commences. I’ve found myself wondering if Arenas’ “act” causes him internal strife, in the sense that it takes energy to suppress part of his being. Or, is the whole charade something he enjoys?

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Well, the Wizards certainly played better against the Suns than they did against Indiana last Friday. But this time, they simply lost to a better team. It’s another day, another loss … the Wizards’ fourth in a row with their record now standing at 2-5. One would hope that this doesn’t become routine, but that didn’t keep members of the media from groaning “feels like last year” as they made their way to the media room to wait for Flip Saunders’ press conference.

Of course, I wasn’t operating under an “official” media capacity last season, but I can imagine letting out a sigh, shrugging my shoulders, and wondering what to ask Saunders as I did on Sunday. But this isn’t like last year. There isn’t a sense that losing is inevitable. This team conveys a strong belief that everything will come together with time, health … and more trust on offense.

The Wizards started against Phoenix not necessarily lacking energy, but were plagued by defensive mismatch problems  … a theme that’s not unique to this one game. While Fabricio Oberto concentrated on Amar’e Stoudemire, Brendan Haywood had to worry about Channing Frye and his three-point shooting, spreading the court ways. Frye finished 4-8 from deep.

Haywood seemed to have trouble moving his feet fast enough to cover all the offensive looks from the Suns. At times, the spinning and turning Haywood was doing on defense looked to be some sort of interpretive dance in the paint. The Wizards center was curiously limited to 11 and a half minutes in the first half, but finished the game as a rebounding (10) and shot blocking (5) presence in his 32 total minutes.

Many of the issues can also be attributed how tough it is to guard Steve Nash. Often, it wasn’t the guy setting the screen and rolling who caused trouble for the Wizards. Rather, it was the secondary cutter who broke free as the Washington help defense became focused on Nash and the screener. Nash finished with 17 assists, two more than the Wizards’ team total … which became a primary topic of discussion after the game.

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Reporting today from the Verizon Center for a 1 pm start between the Wizards and the Suns. So … I’ll be missing out on the Redskins-Falcons game … not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Considering I’m a Wizards fan first and foremost (and the Redskins are likely to lose), it’s probably a good thing. However, confidence in this Wizards team is a bit waning right now. How they respond after a horrid, horrid effort in Indiana will be extremely key.

Things you need to know:

• The last time the Wizards beat the Suns was on December 22, 2006 in Phoenix — the night that Gilbert Arenas put up 54 points.
• Randy Foye and Fabrico Oberto will start today … along with Arenas, Butler and Haywood.
• In reference to Foye, Saunders said he was looking for “offensive consistency”, i.e., what Nick Young does not provide.
• Before the game Saunders said Oberto is an excellent pick-and-roll defender — so, it will be interesting to see if Fab matches up against Amar’e Stoudemire while Haywood chases the 3-point shooting Channing Frye around the perimeter.
• ENERGY! – The Wizards need a heavy dose of it. When I asked Flip how, aside from Antawn Jamison speeches/tirades, this team gets themselves going today, he essentially said, “We’ll have to wait and see.” He went on to express concern about this being an afternoon game saying that NBA players always have trouble with day games where they have to wake up and play without the normal routine.
• Gilbert Arenas surpassed 10,000 career points against the Pacers — Today, DeShawn Stevenson needs two points to surpass 5,000 career points.
• In terms of Caron Butler’s game against Indy (24 points, 8-21 FGs) where he seemed more aggressive, but not particularly effective, Saunders was asked if that was the “balance” he was looking for out of Tuff Juice. Flip simply answered, “I didn’t like anything I saw on Friday night.”
• The Suns are 5-1, beating the T-Wolves and Warriors at home and the Clippers, Heat, and Celtics on the road. Their one loss was at the hands of the Magic in Orlando.
• Final Quote, Flip on Friday’s Pacers game: “I was searching, I was searching for a lot of things. Couldn’t find anything, but I was searching.”

That’s about all I got … I’m going to go to the media room and refill my soda and then get ready to watch the Gilbert Arenas and Steve Nash show.

There have been Kiss Cam zingers and incidents that have gotten carried away. But the Kiss Cam is usually like buying a hooker in Vegas……what happens in the Verizon Center stays in the Verizon Center.

Getting caught in an awkward moment, say…cheating with a coworker, is bad enough in an arena filled with 18,000 (well this year in DC, 10,000 or less) — no need to broadcast to a much wider audience on TV.

But the game changes when the Big Aristotle comes to town. Late in the first quarter, Shaq tied up Caron Butler for a jump ball and the cameras were there.

It could have been a tension filled moment between the two players who were once traded for each other. But the Big Diffuser stepped in to give Butler a smooch on his head, letting him know that all was copacetic.

Just look at that elation on Butler’s face. Tell me he’s not enjoying what’s going down. Read more »

Jeff from CelticsBlog.com did the grunt work to put together a comprehensive NBA preview from bloggers ’round the ‘sphere. The order of appearance: Atlantic Division, the Southwest Division , the Central Division, the Northwest Division, the Southeast Division, and finally, the Pacific Division is out. Here are the highlights from the participating bloggers for each team, click on the blog links to see the full team preview:

picture from flickr/gamescoreblog

Golden State Warriors

[Upside and Motor] (check the great picture too)
The Warriors jumped the shark. Two seasons ago they were a darling, last season they took a slight step back (but enough of a step to fall just short of the postseason), and now they’ll find themselves struggling to reach 11th place in the West. Welcome back, lottery balls; the Bay’s missed you. Predicted Record: 30-52

Los Angeles Clippers

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Pre-Wizards-Suns Game, UNC vs. Clemson
The end of the 1st overtime in the Clemson-North Carolina game: With about 1.2 seconds left, game tied, the TarHeels tried to float a pass from a side-out on the opponent’s side of the half-court line. Clemson got a steal under the UNC basket and the Tiger player threw the ball to the other end, a shot attempt. Now, I’m not sure if he got the shot off on time…..they didn’t show a replay. But the referee, upon seeing that the ball was falling short of the basket, snatched it off the first bounce.

I know this about the game of basketball: If a shot, or rebound, goes off someone from the defending team and into the basket, it counts. I’ll go on to assume that if the ball bounces off the floor hard enough and by chance goes into a basket, that counts for points as well. So, what’s to keep me from thinking that a shot taken from the opposite basket, which leaves a player’s hand before the buzzer, and is not touched by any other player on the court, should count if it bounces off the floor and through the net?

Basically, should the referee have caught that ball?
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On to the Wizards game….if you want a preview, head to Bullets Forever, or check out my Wizards Rundown.

1st Quarter

• No Gilbert of course, no Caron, no Antonio.
• DeShawn Stevenson’s left knee is swollen, but he’s still playing.
• 11:38 – Jamison nails the first points for the Wizards, a long 2 from the right wing. I’m thinking potential 40+ point game for him.
• 10:59 – Andray Blatche makes a confident baseline drive against the porous Phoenix D. The result is an assist for AB to Brendan Haywood.
• 10:05 – Haywood needs to step up or Jamison needs get through the screen. Either way, the Wizards can’t just give Grant Hill open jumpers. 4-4 game.
• Suns get a couple easies, Eddie calls timeout down 8-4, under 9:00.
• 10:21 – I guess we’re living with the outside jumpers from Amare Stoudamire?
• 7:38- Comcast is struggling with their coverage…missed a Suns fast-break point earlier and randomly threw the Wizards logo on the screen during a made Haywood jumper.
• The game is getting sloppy for the Wizards, a couple turnovers, a foul on a Suns fast-break….17-8 Phoenix lead. Amare Stoudamire set a pick that clocked Roger Mason coming down the court one time…..the Wizards need to raise their defensive awareness.
• Andray Blatche has been active in multiple areas: deflecting passes, hitting the offensive boards, looking for teammates.
• The Wizards are doing a fair job on defense as the Suns go a stretch of over 3 minutes without scoring, 4 minutes between FGs, both by Amare Stoudamire. 3:33 left, Suns up 17-14.
• But the spacing and patience for Washington on offense looks off on a couple possessions.
• 2:56 – Jamison rebound put-back…..he also has the potential to make Phoenix pay with his effort on the boards. 2 offensive, 4 total rebounds already. 19-16 Suns.
• The Wizards are scraping and keeping the packed house quiet. Game tied at 21 after a long Nick Young jumper, 1:40 left – 13-4 Washington run in last 5 minutes
• Phoenix scores the next 6 points to finish off the first 12 minutes, 27-21 Suns.
• DeShawn Stevenson limps to the bench. I mean really….what’s next?
• The Suns are shooting 57.1% while the Wizards are at 34.6%.
• Phoenix has only taken 3 three-pointers, making 1.
• The Wizards need to keep hitting the boards hard, 5 offensive rebounds so far.
• Eddie Jordan tells ESPN he wants Nick Young to be aggressive in the open floor. Let’s see if he complies.
• It would help if Brendan Haywood guarded Amare Stoudamire, he’s 6-6 with 13 points.

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Well, the Wizards are in the midst of a brutal February where they’ve lost their first 5 games of the month, 6 losses in a row overall, as well as in 8 of the last 10 games. And while their early season play without Gilbert Arenas has surprised everyone, for some to the point of questioning the value of Arenas, this latest futility is no surprise. What has become evident is that no squad can overcome the level of injuries felt by the Wizards, and that dangerous NBA teams need a guy who is able to command points in the hoop.

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About That Nuggets Game [live blog]

With 5:41 left in the 4th quarter, as Linas Kleiza was hitting two FTs to push the Denver lead to 12 at 96-84, Carmelo Anthony, who at the time had 40 points, checked back into the game.

Normally, I would not blame a team for bringing their superstar back to the court with a 12 point lead. Five minutes and forty-one seconds is a lot of time….we know this is the NBA. But, it’s the manner in which the Nuggets carried out the remainder of the game that makes me object. Denver’s intent was not so much to put away the game as a team, rather so ‘Melo My Man could put on an individual show and go for an individual achievement.

Eddie Jordan has his opinion on the subject: “The end part of that game I felt was a little bit on the classless side,” Coach Eddie Jordan said after his team’s sixth straight defeat. “But we all have our ways and when you get your butt kicked, the other team can do whatever it wants to do. But I thought it was very classless to close a game out like that. I have my opinion; I can say what I want to say. That’s what I thought it was.”

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Stepped up in the Verizon last night with my pops. Knew we were in for a tough one, not so much because Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns were in town, but because pops had himself a bad back.

But I took some notes, and got them organized for the blog. Now Let’s start the show.

First of all….
Big Tigger is out? Not a die-hard I guess. MC Styles looks lost.
Little known fact: MC Chris Styles used to throw some kickin’ middle school parties.

1st Quarter

A minute forty into the game and the Suns jump out with a 7-0 lead. It’s all a set up, amazing to watch. You don’t know what is going to unfold until it happens. Some plays you see comin’….but not this Steve Nash pass to a cutting Shawn Marion for the dunk.

10:00 – 2nd personal foul on Brendan Haywood. He picked up the first with a silly charge a minute into game. Wiz were trying to go to him early, and that’s good…but not if Haywood tries to force it. Looks like Eddie Jordan is going to leave BTH in the game with 2.

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