tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18117322675119003022024-03-19T04:05:33.139-07:00A Clockwork Orange (and Purple)All things essential - life, philosophy, dreams...the Phoenix Suns.
It's OUR Time.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-61859424222846955832010-11-02T00:02:00.000-07:002010-11-02T00:26:09.973-07:00THANK GOD, ALMIGHTY!!!<a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2010/11/01/20101101phoenix-suns-jared-dudley-signs-extension.html"><span style="color:#333333;"><strong>THERE IS A GOD!!! </strong></span><br /></a><strong><br /></strong><blockquote><p>How much do the Suns value Jared Dudley?<br /><br />Kevin Durant, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Joakim</span> Noah, Al <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Horford</span> and Mike Conley were the only other 2007 first-round draft picks who were as valued by their teams and signed contract extensions Monday night.<br /><br />In a deal equivalent of a game-winning shot at the buzzer, Dudley signed<br />a five-year, $22.5 million contract extension 10 minutes before the deadline<br />that would have made him a free agent next summer. </p></blockquote>Way to lock up the ultimate no-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">brainer</span>, Bob. Congratulations. You did something right this season. Now about that <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Turkoglu</span> trade...<br /><br />Anyway, it's tough not being able to keep up with our Purple Passion. I get to read <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">azcentral</span> at work, but I rarely get a chance to comment at length, mostly because I don't get to see any games! I saw the home opener, though, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Suns kept it close all game long.<br /><br />The only real negative I saw was the huge, gaping hole on the left side of the half-court. It's hard not to feel bad for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">FroLo</span> left on that island all alone to contend with Lamar Odom and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Pau</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Gasol</span>. (Captain Hindsight says, The Suns should have resigned <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Amar'e</span> and picked up a player to match up with Odom.)<br /><br />Hakim <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Warrick</span> looked half way decent on a couple of pick-and-rolls, but we all thought <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Amar'e</span> was skinny. Holy crap that guy has no chance against big front lines unless he sprouts wings or springs. Doodlebug's favorite, Go Run, tore it up for a while there, but what happened to him down the stretch? Gentry's gotta use him alongside Nash more - maybe with Richardson for a nasty little dose of small ball. I've been telling you for two years now, that kid's gonna be something special. That's why my baby girl picked him as her favorite player.<br /><br />Speaking of life outside the Suns...don't ask.<br /><br /><strong>The Earl Clark Question</strong><br /><br />I've seen arguments from both sides about this. Earl's a bust. He just hasn't been given a chance, yet. I said before his first summer league that I didn't think the kid was all there. he had that Joe Johnson interview quality where every word sounds like it was made from fresh dough as he speaks.<br /><br />(Oh, look. The Giants won the World Series. Damn. Well, at least Bonds didn't win it.)<br /><br />But he's got amazing raw talent and athleticism that would make a grown man puke out his own testicles if he ever used it. This season is a loss, even if we make the playoffs, so we may as well give him a shot the same way we gave Goran and Robin their shots.<br /><br />Come on, Bobby. You already did one right thing today. Call off the playoff chase and prepare for future seasons.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-59456665631675475882010-10-22T22:36:00.000-07:002010-10-22T23:31:47.635-07:00Notes<strong><span style="font-family:arial;">The Lon Chain E-mail</span></strong><br /><blockquote><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>ClubTurk85</em></span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Yo, Babs, I can't take this Toronto bullshit anymore.</span><br /></p><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;">BabsLuvr69</span><br /></em></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Don't worry, I just got a gig with the Suns. The owner's an idiot. I can bring you aboard.</span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>ClubTurk85</em></span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Sweet. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>BabsLuvr69</em></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">There's just one thing. You'll have to give up your trade kicker and 10% of your salary. But on the brightside, there's Scottsdale!</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>ClubTurk85</em></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Make it happen!</span></p></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">You folks do realize that Turkoglu is untradable, not just because of his contract, but his relationship with Babby. He won't be traded unless Boston or Miami come calling.<br /><br /><strong>Auld Lang Syne</strong><br /><br />Love him or hate him, deride his defense or celebrate his progress, we should all be happy for Amar'e Stoudemire. He got his wish to be the leader of a young team in the style that made him famous. Also there's this... </span><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qeDwMxwAOzo?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qeDwMxwAOzo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /></p><blockquote></blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Our little spoiled immature boy is growing into a man. *tear*</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">He's finally the man on the NBA's biggest stage, he's going to tear up the league, and I'm happy for him. You should be, too.</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">The 4 Hole</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Has an internet meme ever been so appropriate in sports as it is now?</span><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJKDbk3jv2veZmOmRml4yFFGF-yZNGlcPzboXiF-RmDfk58NfEEWIg46xog9Ec_lOKQSWSXpYbbUZGJUl59_62ll2FsVzfVO6h_BRtMlIDWfSB4-s4sTUTYprU676_op2VyG3S7rbIewU/s400/WTF.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 360px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 326px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJKDbk3jv2veZmOmRml4yFFGF-yZNGlcPzboXiF-RmDfk58NfEEWIg46xog9Ec_lOKQSWSXpYbbUZGJUl59_62ll2FsVzfVO6h_BRtMlIDWfSB4-s4sTUTYprU676_op2VyG3S7rbIewU/s400/WTF.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Seriously. WTF? There's a black hole where the power forward should be, all because the basketball retard hired an agent to run his basketball operations. Nothing like hiring a built in conflict of interests to manage your personnel moves. Before picking a GM to oversee basketball moves, Babs picked a former client to play the 4. Slick move, suckering a basketball baboon. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Even more mind-altering in its power to baffle was the move to grab Hakim Warrick off the hot stove before anyone else got him. The Suns have liked Warrick for years, we know, and they finally landed him. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Yup. We finally got the guy to back up Amar'e Stoudemire. Only one problem.</span><br /></p><p><a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/sfb111/story_xlimage_2010_07_R9289_Stoudemire_Signs_07052010.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 640px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 480px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/sfb111/story_xlimage_2010_07_R9289_Stoudemire_Signs_07052010.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">At least we nabbed Josh Childress. That dude should have been here four years ago backing Shawn Marion. Not too little, not too late on that one, though.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial;">The sad thing is, we have all these trade chips, but nothing to trade for. Their costs are more than their values, and we'd be lucky to get a Dwayne Jones for them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Trade Talk</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Someone will be traded by January. Will it be...</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Frye? Only if there is a god.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Hill, who deserves a shot at a title?</span></p><p>Richardson to a playoff hopeful?</p><p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Nash, who could undercut Chris Paul for D'Antoni's open<br />point guard position?</span></p></blockquote><p>We can only hope some desperate GM comes calling for Turkoglu to replace his injured small forward while looking to make some noise in the playoffs. </p><p><strong>My Opinion</strong></p><p>We're looking at a 48-win season here. Don't count on the playoffs, and don't count on a good bounce in the lottery. To be perfectly candid - our team has been fucked up beyond all recognition. Let's send Nash to New York. Send Hill to Boston. Unload Frye on Miami. Wait for Turkoglu to whine and dine his way out of town.</p><p>We haven't seen such a dire need for a rebuild since Michael Jackson's fourth nose.</span></p>Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-73233974543013881882009-11-12T19:12:00.000-08:002009-11-12T19:40:33.605-08:00Some Pregame ThoughtsIt's the tenth game of the season, and it's a real doozy. Suns in a nationally televised game. I admit that I'm pretty nervous as a fan going into this game. I can't say the same about my mood before the game in Boston, since this one is against the reigning NBA champion and long time Pacific Division arch-nemesis Los Angeles Lakers.<br /><br />It's still a young season. Coach Gentry is doing his best to temper his team's and its fans' enthusiasm, but we haven't been this elated since the Suns led the hated San Antonio Spurs with 18.5 seconds to go in a justice-infused game four of the Western Cofnerence Semi-finals. A tenth of a second later, two years of misery ensued. Forgive us, Coach, if those of us not in uniform tonight are all a little excited. <br /><br />This game has to be nerve racking for the most die hard Suns fan with a memory. In an 82-game season, 1 game has little meaning (forget the implications for potential playoff seeding - our job is to live in the moment). But each game so far has given us more insight into the Gentry-Nash era of Suns basketball, and we have plenty of reason for optimism regarding the current <span style="font-style: italic;">regular</span> season.<br /><br />What have the Suns shown us so far this season?<br /><br />Opening night taught us that the Suns can fight against a bigger team, as well as the significance of coaching and team identity.<br /><br />We learned against the Warriors that the Suns are still the premiere offensive team in the league.<br /><br />Against the Timberwolves, we learned that the Suns are no longer the fluke whipping boy of bottom feeders. They will win the games that they are supposed to win.<br /><br />Collectively, the next five games showed that the Suns are a durable road team with a heart to be reckoned with.<br /><br />The Suns book-ended the trip by fighting back in the fourth quarter against the Heat and Sixers, the former telling is that even superstars aren't immune to the Suns tenacity, the latter showing that there is no Q-U-I-T in S-U-N-S. That Philadelphia game also cemented Alvin Gentry as a man who can make adjustments and inspire a road-weary team to victory.<br /><br />Orlando demonstrated that the Suns are not in elite company, yet. <br /><br />Boston suggested otherwise. Also, we learned that our Suns can play the front runner against a championship caliber team for 48 minutes. There is a lot of pride in that.<br /><br />We learned in Washington that the Suns can overcome a shaky start and impose their will at the drop of a hat.<br /><br />Comeing home, The Suns proved that, not only can they play the front runner, they have the wherewithall to put their collective foot down and build upon a first half blowout to cruise to easy victory.<br /><br />What will tonight's game show us?<br /><br />Well, if the Suns win, we can accept the mantle of dragon slayer and solidify our place among the top teams in the NBA...at least until the team makes its second trip around the league. Then we would see if the Suns can overcome in-season adjustments from their opponents.<br /><br />If they lose, then it will validate Nash's and Gentry's tempered enthusiasm, as well as remind us that our team still has a long way to go with plenty to learn.<br /><br />Either way, this meaningless early season Divisional match up will tell us something new about our favorite team - OUR Phoenix Suns.<br /><br />BEAT LA!!!Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-58337938382241696202009-11-12T16:56:00.000-08:002009-11-12T18:56:39.356-08:00Dear Amar'eI am not sorry. I've never really considered myself a fan of yours. You spent your career talking your game without walking it, except on the offensive end when you were rattling the rim. <br /><br />How many times did you fail to get back defensively for arguing no-calls with the officials? How many times did you sit sulking on the bench when other team mates received the fourth quarter touches you felt were rightfully yours? How often did you stand flat-footed as your man spun around you or shot a 15-foot jumper in your grill? Where were you during the mystical 2005-06 season when your Suns brethren, decimated by injuries and deficient in size, fought their way to the sixth game of the Conference Finals?<br /><br />Every summer you told us that you were coming back the next season meaner, tougher, and committed to defense - that you had been working hard and watching film to come into the season better prepared, only to morph slowly from the Duncan-killing Conference Finals beast into the league's biggest and leanest small forward. Every season you regressed further from your true form and further from the basket.<br /><br />Sure, you had a month-long stretch between December 2006 and January 2007 when you averaged three blocked shots per game, but that quickly faded as tensions between you and Shawn Marion began to rip apart the chemistry of the team (for this, I lay blame on both of you equally, since neither of you put the team before yourself).<br /><br />Last December, you averaged more than twelve rebounds over ten games. You showed us pieces of the complete player puzzle that you proclaimed yourself to be, but you left them scattered on the table as you found your role less glamorous than it was your first season under Mike D'Antoni. You said the right things, but you never fulfilled your promises. The incongruity between your words and your actions over the years was a legitimate cause for criticism.<br /><br />So you'll forgive me if I showed no mercy during the twenty seven months after the League suspended you for leaving the bench with only eighteen seconds to play. I believe in my heart that I was justified in starting the Trade Amare Express two years ago. I only abandoned that train after Steve Kerr's arrogance exiled Boris Diaw to the Siberian Bobcats, where he flourished as that team's sole high post player. I insisted that we traded the wrong forward, and I was right, given the circumstances. Our only hope was that you would finally keep your perpetual promise to improve yourself.<br /><br />Why should I ever have believed you when, once again, the Stoudemire record skipped? How could I ever again take seriously a man-child more concerned with nicknames and apostrophes than team chemistry?<br /><br /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep" width="388" height="394"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=nba&videoId=channels/nba_tv/2009/11/09/20091109_phx_stoudemire_alink.nba"><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=nba&videoId=channels/nba_tv/2009/11/09/20091109_phx_stoudemire_alink.nba" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" width="388" height="394"></embed></object><br /><br />That's why.<br /><br />I wasn't skeptical that you had finally changed. I simply did not believe you. I had no reason to, just as I have no reason to apologize for being the one to lead the charge to get you the hell out of Phoenix. But I will say this...<br /><br />I am so damned proud of you, Amar'e. Some people will attribute your play to your contract, but, though yours may be the words of a man looking to impress another club, the demeanor with which you speak and your genuine tone express more than any word you've uttered thus far this season.<br /><br />I'll be honest...your performance that first game against the Clippers had me doubting once again, but I sucked it up when I saw that you made ten trips to the free throw line. I decided to give you until Christmas to show me something. Since that game, all you've done is hustle your ass off, encourage your team mates, and attack the glass. The rebounding may not be double-digits, but the effect of your presence is noteworthy as your fellow starters are averaging a combined 21.5 rebounds per game. (For perspective - that's three more than Kevin Garnett's team mates and nearly ten more than Tim Duncan's.)<br /><br />The one thing that has impressed me the most, though - the image that sticks in my mind when I think of Amar'e Stoudemire this season - is your growth into the roll of team captain. Not to rehash old criticisms, but your last appointment to captainship was both puzzling and ill-conceived. You complained like a diva at every call that went against you, and every call you simply didn't get. You had alienated your team mates and coach, as you did your fans and me. You were exactly opposite of what you are now.<br /><br />You no longer bark and sneer at the refs for missing calls. You talk to them professional to professional - man to man - and you state your case without pleading. You acknowledge their feedback and show your understanding to the demands of their jobs.<br /><br />You encourage and congratulate your team mates. You salute the veterans in the stands. You show humility commensurate with your talent, which is a rarity in a league dominated by star players and multi-million dollar egos. And I can't praise you enough for the maturity and focus you have displayed for Suns fans during these first two weeks of the season. You're having fun again, and the enthusiasm bleeds through the screen and into my heart as I pump my fists with every rebound, every dunk, and every defensive stand you make.<br /><br />I won't apologize for my beliefs. I will, however, admit that I was wrong. You <span style="font-style: italic;">did</span> have it in you, and now you have let it out for the entire basketball-loving world to see. I've been wanting to say this for so many years now - I am <span style="font-style: italic;">so</span> proud of Amar'e Stoudemire.<br /><br />The step is back.<br /><br />The dunks are back.<br /><br />The system is back.<br /><br />I am back.<br /><br />Great job, Amar'e. I believe in you.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Your new fan, Jey.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">(Somewhere in Chandler, Adam is smiling.)</span>Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-50473502508835856442009-11-01T23:05:00.000-08:002009-11-01T23:34:06.868-08:00Three Down, Ninety Five to Go<a href="http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n123/Kumbucha/?action=view&current=sunschemistry.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n123/Kumbucha/sunschemistry.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Photo by Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic</span><br /><br />1. The team chemistry is amazing from top to bottom.<br /><br />2. Hill and Nash are showing great leadership with their play.<br /><br />3. I'm impressed with Amare's play on both ends of the floor and his effort on the boards. He's not getting them all, but he's going after them. Also happy to see him attacking the lane again. Once his legs get back, he's going to be a holy terror again.<br /><br />4. Lou needs to start making those offensive rebound tip-ins, but I'll never complain if he misses them. He looks comfortable and in control out there.<br /><br />5. Dudley. Excellent move by Kerr in demanding he be involved in the trade.<br /><br />6. Did I mention the team chemistry? Holy shit, it's the best I've ever seen. It's even better than 05-06 when Amare was out.<br /><br />7. Amare is not only saying the right things (as usual), he's backing up his words with his play and body language. He and Frye need to start hanging out more to get their mojos in sync, but they're a perfect match.<br /><br />8. Lou and Dudley seem to have had a positive impact in Amare. They all are challenging the inbounds pass in the back court, and they're dogging their man the whole way. I mentioned chemistry, right?<br /><br />9. Goran keeps having Nash moments in the lane. If he keeps it up, no team is going to get a breather when Nash sits.<br /><br />10. Richardson looks comfortable finally. It's only one game, but it's a huge step in the right direction for him. He's the team's offensive wild card right now. If he keeps his nose clean and his head on straight, he'll make the Suns offense unstoppable.<br /><br />11. Frye. I'll just reference coach Gentry in <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2009/11/01/20091101sunsgamer-CR.html">the post-game article</a> written by Bob Young:<br /><blockquote>He got up 10 3s, and he probably should have gotten up 15, to be honest with you. It's an adjustment for him. It's hard for a guy to keep firing away. If he goes six for 10, I'll let him take five more, I'll tell you that. One thing I try to emphasize to him is that we did not bring him here to be a passer.</blockquote>I said Friday that the team just needs to get its three-point shooters rolling, and they'll be badass. He's got them on the right track.<br /><br />12. The defensive effort is there from everybody. This is new territory for this team, so I'll forgive them if their effort doesn't always pay off. What they're doing is all I've ever asked of them, and it's going to get there.<br /><br />13. Caveat: Clippers, Warriors, T-Wolves. I don't care. The only game that could have gone the other way was against LA, and they're a huge team. Still, they've handled the teams they are supposed to, which was always a question mark last season. This is not midseason, so we can't know for sure exactly what the Suns are capable of accomplishing. These things are for certain, though - the chemistry is there, the effort is there, and the right personnel are in place. I'm loving what I'm seing so far.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-88522816344399397652009-01-22T07:49:00.000-08:002009-10-20T19:26:22.497-07:00(Clever Play on Words)GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, PHOENIX FAAAAAAAANS!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.art.com/images/-/Robin-Williams---Good-Morning-Vietnam--C10101677.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 383px; height: 479px;" src="http://images.art.com/images/-/Robin-Williams---Good-Morning-Vietnam--C10101677.jpeg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'm Jey again. My apologies for the ego indulgence, but I needed a vacation from myself for a while. I hadn't been myself the previous 17 months or so due to my very first kidney stone I received for my birthday in 2007 and the complications that followed. I was on prescription narcotics for a very long time, and it took even longer to rid myself of its effects. I had a very odd year (+).<br /><br />The Percocet seriously exacerbated my attention deficit disorder, and finally led me to get treatment for it. I'm excited. I get free prescription amphetamines. This could be fun. Not only was I forced to deal with my ADD, I also learned of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome">another neat condition that explains me entirely</a>. I had heard about Asperger's syndrome before, and someone actually suggested that it might be my personal Grail, but I never found enough information about it online until last spring, for some reason. All the tests I've taken to evaluate my mental state strongly suggest it, so I'm going with it. (Believe me...it explains EVUHRYTHING.)<br /><br />I awaken from my 17 month haze to find the Suns looking like a team I should hate. Well...it is, and I do. After going over some <a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/04/say-it-aint-so-bj.html">old</a> <a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/04/stoudemires-bff.html">entries</a>, I realise that it's time I make an effort to come back because, well...when you're right, you're right. And goddam it, I was RIGHT! This team has fallen apart, and it started with 'A'm'a'r'e' (seriously...what will be his next excuse to draw attention to himself? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert_piercing">A Prince Albert</a>? <span style="font-size:78%;">*graphic image alert*</span>) eroding team chemistry with an unsubstantiated ego worthy of <a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/benjabe01.html">Benoit Benjamin</a>, complete with the oblivious stupidity and laziness that made BB the most frustrating talent in NBA history...until now.<br /><br />Anyone who's been following azacentral and planetorange is well aware of my stance on 'A'm'a'r'e' these days. Trade his stupid ass or put him on Adderall. At first, my opinion was met with much resistance, but it seems that the Trade Amare Express is gathering a full head of steam, and people around the league and in the front office are beginning to take notice.<br /><br />It's about damn time. (It's not like I sent David Griffin a long ass e-mail regarding the team's and fans' chemistry and the perception shift amongst fans as to the direction of the franchise a year and a half ago. Thanks for the forward, Jeramie.)<br /><br />Anyway...I'm not here to bitch about that. I'm here to make my presence known in the basketblog world again. I've gotten over the whole first round debacle of last year, and I'm ready to move on. Unfortunately for the organisation, though, my mission has changed. I may still be Jey, but my message is no longer, "It's OUR time!" It's now, "Your time is up."<br /><br />Let's just hope I can manage my ADD enough to stick with it.<br /><br />*fingers crossed, subversively flipping off Sarver, Kerr, and Griffin*<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Edit (10-20-09):</span> And wouldn't ya know it...as soon as I post this, I lose my internet. Gotta love the cosmos. Here's hoping that things work out.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-60659876190907444322008-08-27T16:47:00.000-07:002009-01-22T07:41:43.995-08:00Changing Times<span style="font-weight: bold;">Update: 1-22-09</span><br /><br />Fuck you. It's Jey again. My bout with temporary sanity is over.<br /><br /><br />I was born Tuesday, August 28, 1973.<br /><br />I only know it was a Tuesday because I looked it up, and I only know the date because I have an aged-yellow, torn and taped piece of paper in my possession with that exact date printed on it - August 28, 1973. It has mine and my parent's names on it, too, but I don't really need the birth certificate for that information. The names have been repeated hundreds of thousands of countless times, so they're pretty much seared into my memory, thus somehow becoming the simplest definition of my identity. I've never liked the name that much, so I informally change it every so often to something that more closely matches the correct definition of my identity. Today, it's "Jey." Tomorrow . . .<br /><br />It's Wednesday, August 27, 2008.<br /><br />Today I am 34, and tomorrow I will be 35. I'm aware that it's just one more second in a succession of seconds that culminate into hours and days and months, but the revolution of the odometer ticks alarmingly loudly when the smaller year gives way to the larger year. (This effect is well-represented in American cinema, as we often hear the cocking of a pistol behind the bad guy's head as he is about to commit an act that is mostly out of the audience's favor, or when the good guy is about to save the damsel in distress just before the showdown scene.)<br /><br />It's loud, and it tells us that the situation as we know it has just changed, whether we're 20 going on 21 or 59 going on 60, we hear that tick get louder and louder as we go.<br /><br />I noticed that succeeding generations redefine adulthood based on this uptick in age, usually due to the loss of some kind of innocence everyone seemed to share at the time, and the misguided attempt at preserving that innocence for future generations.<br /><br />World War II defined adulthood absolutely for Western civilization, as wars often do. Young people, who had survived the Great Depression, wanted to help the cause. After all, they were old enough to find work when their parents couldn't, so they were old enough to fight for their countries. But the previous generation declared them too young, and 18 became the age of adulthood. Still, a young soldier sees death first hand, and he loses his innocence. A boy off to war, and man home from war. The age of 18 was it.<br /><br />That attitude lasted for about twenty years before these kids figured that going to school and learning something might be a more palatable option to certain, agonizing death. Many of these 18 year old men and women with the financial means began saying "Fuck this!" and headed to college. They decided that the only way to preserve their innocence was to abandon it maturely and responsibly, using their brains rather than blood to shed the illusions of childhood, and ease their way into adulthood. To the previous generation, this act of rebellion was typical of children, and they redefined adulthood at 21.<br /><br />When these kids got to the "real world," many of them realized that everything they learned wasn't going to do them a damn bit of good, and that piece of sheepskin would be better served as contraception (which actually happened, and the Baby Boom's first contribution to the grand sociological structure was the infamous "baby bust" generation of the late 60s and early 70s). The illusion of life shattered, innocence lost. Again.<br /><br />I was born Tuesday, August 28, 1973.<br /><br />Generation X. Stuck between a generation of thinkers who found no answers and a generation of non-thinkers who have all the answers. A generation with no inherent identity - no defining moment of change that separates who we were and who we will be. I grew up on <em>M*A*S*H</em>, so I know that war is bad. I grew up on <em>Happy Days</em>, so I know that family is good. I grew up on Saturday morning cartoons, so I know that anything is possible.<br /><br />My generation's identity is a by-product of being the first generation to grow up in broken homes with television babysitters in a constant state of fear of attack by an unknown enemy. We had a choice. Don't go to war or don't go to school. (For the record, many of us did both anyway, and returned with the same information that our parents and grandparents had already found.) We sat in front of the tube our whole lives, and it became our substitute for school, play, parenting, critical thinking . . .<br /><br />We grew up more slowly, yet retained the youthful spirit of independence. We had no focus, no identity, and that is seen as child-like. So somewhere between MTV and Thirtysomething, someone somehow decided for us that adulthood begins at 30.<br /><br />Notice the pattern here. Old says, "too young," young says, "old enough," and the whole process becomes progressively slower. Then some brown people flew some planes into some buildings, and the next generation got its defining moment. World War II, Vietnam, World Trade Center -- mine is the only generation of the last century not to have been forced into adulthood. Society, for us, skipped a beat. It's gotten to the point where 12 year-olds are left to make adult decisions, even though they have no fucking clue what to do (at least my generation can claim self-awareness to this cluelessness).<br /><br />It's Wednesday, August 27, 2008.<br /><br />By any definition, 35 years is plenty of time to reach a point of understanding of the world (sophistication) as yet unmatched by younger generations. I could even become president now. (Me!) Today I'm too young, but tomorrow I'll be old enough. Whatever defines me today surely can't define me tomorrow. So today it's "Jey." Tomorrow . . .<br /><br /><strong>Update: 8-29-08</strong><br /><br />. . . it's Joe.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-33539036057733339182007-12-27T12:18:00.000-08:002008-04-23T14:25:38.831-07:00Kozmic BluesThere is so much angst and misunderstanding going on, people seem to be overlooking some basic, yet very important points about the Suns. There seems to be a divide amongst fans and within the team itself, <a href="http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/105311">as Jerry Brown points out</a> - "There appears to be at least a peripheral disconnect between Kerr — a staunch believer in defense and depth — and D’Antoni’s high-octane offense/tight rotation mantra that will also play a role in the decision-making."<br /><br />Personally, I don't see what all the fuss is about. I still insist that people aren't panicking. It's just a wide scale miscommunication amongst the ranks of Sunsland. It's true that a lot of fans don't want to hear that Amare Stoudemire is a glaring issue, but it's not like I'm insisting on anything. I'm just making an observation when I say things like...<br /><br />"People are getting louder about their discontent with Amare, while more people are jumping back on the DEE-WOW wagon. Boris is playing like a madman [compared to Amare], even when he's not getting stats. Amare's just been sloughing up and down the court. Whatever the reasons, be it laziness or the knees, he's starting to wear thin on the fans, the media, and his own f-in team. He [could be] on his way out, if the Suns can get 75 cents on the dollar in return. The team proved when he was out that they didn't need him to get to the WCF. Injuries and inconsistent play derailed them, and the team has upgraded in both areas with SKYNYR and ULYSSES."<br /><br />The brackets are edits I've made, since hearing from Paul Coro in his weekly <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/13411">Blogback</a>, where he responds to fans e-mails. Apparently, he's gotten a lot of them about the same thing. But he did reference some of my comments, so I felt it appropriate to correct myself based on his reply. The original response is <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1225suns.html#comments">on page 17 here</a>.<br /><br />The criticism is valid, as he points out, "You absolutely nailed it as far as Stoudemire's defense, or lack there of it." But he disagrees with the idea that the perimeter defense has been solid, and that Diaw is "playing like a madman." So I will have to look closer at those areas tonight and perhaps reevaluate my stance on that. It could just all be relative to Amare's no-show that they've looked good to me. We shall see.<br /><br />So you see, it is OK to look for faults because everyone is. You don't look to improve by addressing strengths. You learn by focusing on the weaknesses, and there is never a presumption that things need to change. It's like searching for the perfect woman.<br /><br />You start off like everyone else, going for style over substance, the hot dingus over the homely love slave, and you eventually start to find a balance. You start meeting good, attractive women that are more like you in most ways, but with just a few minor differences that can't be overcome.<br /><br />There's the beautiful exotic student of life who lives to serve her man. She loves to cook and clean and be an extraordinary lover. She is everything you ever dreamed of, and you start thinking that you're on the right track. This one's a keeper, until one day you find out how important your friends are. You take her to meet your friends, the first stop at the lunatic reading porn when you stop by unannounced with a new lady. You ask him politely to put it away, but you understand that he has every right to be doing so, considering the circumstances. No big deal. You're a guy.<br /><br />Then you go to another friend's house, where a party is under way. It's a normal adult gathering with alcohol and disillusioned twenty-somethings, with a few partiers hanging out before they go off to participate in a midnight showing of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/">The Rocky Horror Picture Show</a>. And <a href="http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1077/Mptv/1077/5376_0048.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0073629">they're already in full costume</a>.<br /><br />On the way home, she informs you that she does not like your friends, and you need to get new ones. How she doesn't make it home on foot is a miracle of Cosmic proportions. But you drop her off at her car, and a week later you drop her off at the curb. You learn that you can't and won't change who you are for anybody. You recognize the importance of your friends, and that they are a reflection of you. You are who you are, and she didn't like that.<br /><br />A few years later, you meet Miss Right. She's young, beautiful, intelligent - a ballet dancer, we'll say. Long dark, shiny brown hair, pink cheeks, and eyes that light up the universe. She's perfect, and she comes from a similar background. You two are so similar in make up, people sooner think you're siblings than a couple with big plans. But she's young. Everything that you went through growing up, she went through. If you're just barely getting over those traumas, what makes you think she has? Well, Miss Right turns out to be Miss Holy Jesus She Needs Therapy when she goes nuts when she finds pictures of ex-girlfriends on a computer disk that you thought was long gone. This girl is going to drive you insane.<br /><br />At the same time, though, she's a lot like you, so you hold on. You try to make it work, but it's just not meant to be. You never really get over it, but moving on is the only option when you feel that your sanity is too important, and it's not fair to her to play doctor when you're just as messed up as she is. The whole thing ends in a spectacular flameout, and you realize how lucky you are that the meteor never hit the ground when, right away, you find The One.<br /><br />She is everything. She is young, exotic, beautiful, intelligent, and well-adjusted. She loves you for you, she doesn't care about your past because it was before she came around. She's supportive and understanding, and you love her for it. It works. You're happy, you're on the right track, and everything is meant to be except one fundamental difference in culture. You realize that, as much as you love this girl, you can't change who you are, even though you really want to this time. That's what love does, after all. It compels us to be the best person we can be for the right woman, but we forget that we're not as good as we think we are. We are not supposed to look for perfection of the highest order. In order to do that, we'd have to become what he hate. There is an expectation of change that needs to occur, and you realize that it is you that is expecting it.<br /><br />This is when you realize where everything went wrong. This is where you figure out for the first time that you've been looking at the wrong things. Every step of the way, you learned what was right for you. You got better and better at finding the girls that you felt best matched you, your standards. This is the epiphany. You were looking for change from the outside, when you really needed to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/">look deep inside Your Self</a>. You find out that the right woman has been right in front of you the whole time, even if you've never seen her. She's not Miss Right, she's not Miss Perfect, she's Miss You.<br /><br />Of course, I'm talking about the Suns here.<br /><br />This whole time we've been looking at what has been going wrong the last three years. There has always been a great collection of our strengths improving with each rendition of the team, and there have always been outside factors that derailed the whole steam engine. Now it's the regular season of the fourth swipe at the ring, and the team is starting to look at its weaknesses. They are looking in the right direction, within, to find ways to improve. It takes time for that realization to hit, but once it does, it will seem as if the entire cosmos has fallen into place.<br /><br />All things essential. Life, philosophy, dreams...the Phoenix Suns. When they all come together like this, know you've found perfection. You've met the girl of your dreams.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-27807215483241515962007-12-17T16:21:00.000-08:002007-12-17T21:45:07.748-08:00Suns at Spurs<strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Introduction</span></strong><br /><br />OK, folks. This is the first one of these neat-o mosquito in game play-by-play blogs of the season, and I can only hope that it's as enlightening and fun as the playoff entries I did. I doubt it, though, since no one really cares about the game (except the media, of course, with its general tendency to overhype every match up throughout the season). Yes, contrary to what they say, I have it on good authority that not a single fan in the entire Clockwork universe gives a rat's ass about a December game against the Spurs without Tony Parker. All we really care about is some energy, some offense, and a good, clean game, right? RIGHT?!<br /><br />For those of you new to this format, I basically write down every significant play in as trite and succinct way as possible (there will be TONS of spelling errors, accidental homonyms, and other such grammatical inconsistencies, as I type as I watch and listen and have no time to go back and edit), hopefully adding a spot of humour and cynicism along the way. I log every minute of action, posting updates during every commercial break. This includes, but is not limited to pregame commentary, commentary on the game action, commentary, refereeing, coaching, commercials, and whatever odd thoughts may cross my mind during the game. If you're not a fan of questionable language and adult themes, I suggest you set your V-Chip to its Disneyland setting and let the adults have the room. Comments are welcome and encouraged, but I tend not to keep up with them, as this is not an easy task. The fun begins when Kevin Ray and Tom Chambers take the stage. Stay tuned...<br /><br />For anyone having as much difficulty as I am getting a little psyched for this, here's something to consider...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/story/2007/12/16/12177/018#20">Look at this video</a>, then see if it jives with <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1216suns1217.html">this quote</a>...<br /><br />"I'm from the old school. When I came in the league, during the playoffs, foul hard; no blood, no flagrant foul. It was just a hard foul. <strong>My intention was to take a charge, but I got there too late.</strong> Of course, when you've got 150 (pounds) meets 250, 150 is going to go flying. It's all good. You learn from it and move on"<br /><br />Anyone who knows me knows my disdain for people who lie. It is with this in mind that I say, Robert Horry better not run into me on the streets of Phoenix. He will have no use for an athletic supporter after such an encounter. The discrepency between his words and his actions should offend anyone with an ounce of intelligence. More to come....<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Pregame</span></strong><br /><br />OK, I love listening to TC. It sounds like he's bucking for a coaching gig with the Suns. HE GETS IT!!! Yes, Coach. Listen to the Gas Chambers' words! Get rough, get tough, and slap them lazy boys around when they're not performing!<br /><br />Blah blah blah Leander talks and no one listens. TC keeps pushing the point, and hopefully D'Antoni is listening. No TP, but we got TD, and TC is always here for us. Oh, yay. Manu Ginobili gets the spotlight. I liked him a lot better when he was on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090501/">"Perfect Strangers."</a> Who knew Balki Bartokomous would grow up to be a key player on an NBA championship team? IMMIGRANTS RULE!!!<br /><br />Great. The Gorilla reminds me of a nasty, filthy, disgusting habit that I just so happen to have. More after this break. Good...I don't want to listen to them talk about that rag. Farkin lying piece of shit on a stick.<br /><br />I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome our old friends from <a href="http://www.runboard.com/baclockworkorange.f8.t317%7Coffset=3670#post10465">The Official Clockwork Orange (and Purple) message board</a>, as well as new friends from <a href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/story/2007/12/16/12177/018#24">Bright Side</a> and <a href="http://suns.planetorange.net/kickapps/service/displayDiscussionThreads.kickAction?as=9952&w=57672&d=11099">Planet Orange</a>. Yes, we are all-inclusive on the ACOP game blog. The more the merrier, I always say when I need an audience.<br /><br />My apologies to Dallin, I am NOT tobacco free at this moment, but it will happen some day.....yes, someday. For now, though, I am a slave to RJ Reynolds.<br /><br />KIDS!!! DO NOT SMOKE!!! IT IS A TERRIBLE ADDICTION THAT YOU WILL REGRET YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!!! LISTEN TO THE GORILLA AND HIS GHETTO RAP!!!<br /><br />The best thing about these games against the Anti-Alamo is that we get to relive the heartbreak and anger of that lame series that redefined "injustice" for everyone outside of San Antonio and Los Angeles. Nothing like a little sado-masochism to make a game worthwhile.<br /><br />How does TC get sunburned in the middle of December? Or maybe he's just as ticked off watching those replays as we are? Whatever the case, the makeup department really dropped the ball here. At least he bringeth the wise words of a man who himself felt the heartbreak of coming oh so close.<br /><br />TC's buzzer beaters: He speaks what all Suns fans feel -- BRING IT BORIS AND AMARE!!!<br /><br />This Peter Piper Pizza commercial still smacks of edible erotica. Seriously...TEASE ME, CHEESE ME, WITH TOPPINGS THAT'LL PLEASE ME?!?!?! Is that how we want our kids to think of food? Interesting...I wonder what the relationship between fast food and cheap sex really is. Lord knows, I like a good spicy beef burrito after plantin' the ol' pipe as much as the next guy, but there are kids in that commercial.<br /><br />LMMFAO!!! How perfect a choice is "Basketcase" here?<br /><br />No, I don't have the time to listen to you whine, TD.<br /><br />See what I mean about Leander? He doesn't even know that the Evil Empire resides in the Bronx. This is the Anti-Alamo, dontcha know?! Did Majerle just say Robert Whorey?<br /><br />Paul Coro <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/12809">asked us today</a> for our score predictions. I say 115-108 Suns. I can't even stand by that, really. Who knows what to expect with a missing player and an inconsistent team so far?<br /><br />Oh, yay. Another lame "Where Amazing Happens" commercial. You know what's amazing? A game where you don't notice the referees. I'd pillow-smother a small child to see a game where the officials actually did a good job and didn't allow flopping.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">1st Quarter</span></strong><br /><br />(10:23) Jump ball goes to Oberto. Finley can't handle Bell's smothering defense, and TD hits a hook. Hill fakes a three then drives half way for the long jumper. THE SHOTS MUST FALL!! Bowen misses badly, but somehow Duncan gets the put back. Hill lobs to Trix, and Vaughn forgets that you're not allowed to hold a guy to the ground. A miss by Hill, and the reboudning looks shabby so far. Duncan puts a great move to spin between Stat and Trix, but Marion taps the miss (HA!) to Nash who rewards his lightning quick wing with the Oop on the other end. Pop doesn't like it too much, and he scolds the kids in white.<br /><br />(7:09) Back to TD in the post again, and the double comes quickly. Too bad their ball movement is spot on, as is Vaughn's three. Shawn misses, but Duncan doesn't. FINALLY a rebound. And another! Two offensive rebounds in a row, now if we just didn't need those. And Stat hits the inside shot. Nice. Oh look. TD in the post again. Why do they keep leaving Vaughn open? Hill misses again, and the shooting looks like crap. For us anyway, as Duncan hits again. BELL FOR THREE!!!! Finally the Spurs miss, and Stat and Trix fight for it. TD rebounds, but Trix swipes it. Ugh. Pass for Marion goes through his hands and into Vaughn's. GET THAT SHIT OUTTA HERE!!! Bell blows the fast break layup. At least the ref has a functioning whistle.<br /><br />(6:25) Raja gets the free throws, and it's only a one point game. That's good, but it needs to be more. Tim takes a breather, and here comes the punk bitch. G-Knob slips but still hits it. Hill's midrange game might prove useful with SA's three point defense. These guys run out so much, all it takes is a three step dribble to get a clean shot. I hope LB is taking notes. Unlike Mike, Pop doesn't seem to like this development and asks his guys to step into a circle for a bit of a chat. A clipboard and high pitched voice seems to be involved. 14-13 Bad guys.<br /><br />(2:58) Diaw and LB step onto the court, and Ginobili can't take advantage. Boris is true blue from the top of the key! Good to see him take the open look. Oberto gets an open look, but misses badly. There goes Diaw again! COME ON, FREN-JE!!! Manu pushes himself into Bell, and the ref doesn't like Bell's physical abuse. Oberto forgets that Marion is a good defender and loses it out of bounds. Suns offense looks fluid with LB and Diaw, but shots still aren't falling. The rebounding has GOT to change. Oh good, Oberto saves the Suns the trouble by hitting his shot. Bell misses from three. OLE! Says Vaughn as he blows by Leandro. Oh, great. Punk Boy blocks LB's ill advised lay up attempt. USE THE RIM, LITTLE MAN!!! NO SOUP FOR MANU!!! Boris breaks down Oberto, and Marion's three rocks the net. Jacque Cousteau gets his second foul pushing Bell out of bounds on the baseline. A turnover is a turnover. Bell back to the line as he goes for the lane shot. The TV wants to sell us something, so we look for a new beer. Suns up 20-18.<br /><br />I don't know what to think about htree aging Cindy Crawfords struttin' to Kylie Minogue. Forget keeping her out of my mind. I can't even get her in there. I likes 'em young, I does. More pie. There's that food and sex link again.<br /><br />HI ROBBY!!!<br /><br />Yes, Tom. We're well aware of the similarities between Punk Boy and the Fresh Prince. We hadn't heard it in 14 years, so thanks for reminding us. Bell hits the first, and then the second. Four points is the lead.<br /><br />TD 's back and misses his patented glass hook thing, and somehow gets it back and a foul for good measure. Good thing he sucks at the line. Bad thing the Suns keep missing. Amare plays good defense for all but two steps, and Duncan hits with two minutes to go. Amare misses the key jumper. He needs to drive on Duncan. Oh, shock. Another O rebound. Not that time. Hill streaks on the break and makes the lay in on the change of direction. Thanks, Dan, for your wonderful analysis. It helps me keep up as I stare at the keyboard when I type. Hill hits another one, and we have a six point lead. LB fouls Barry for some odd reason. That was a beautiful move by Hill, I must say. OHHHH!!! Stat says GET THAT SHIZZLE OUTA HIZZLE!!! Another missed three, and SA gets the last shot. 26-20 Suns Side of the Phorce.<br /><br />HAHAHAHAHA!!! Horry forgets that there's a clock running, and launches a shot about a minute too late, to the dismay of Spurs fans who STILL believe that rules do not apply to them.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">2nd Quarter</span></strong><br /><br />(11:05) Back to the action, and Grant stays aggressive. Gee...I wonder if D'Antoni's testing his theory that Hill's game would have put us over the top last season. He makes both. OMG DUNCAN GETS CALLED FOR THE TRAVEL!!! THEY'RE RIGHT!!! AMAZING HAPPENED!!! Diaw finds Hill, and he's on a personal 10 point run. Stat holding firm against TD, but Trix a little late and gets the whistle. Duncan to the line for two. 30-20 Us.<br /><br />(8:42) He actually made them. Darn. YES!!! DEEWOW!!! Spin move and reversal!!! Oops. Marion doesn't bite the first fake, but he does the second. Finley scores. Suns miss, and Leander informs us that Finley has WAY more money than all of us combined. Diaw sets up LB just inside the arc. Bad angle, bad shot. Stat blocks Duncan, but then no one helps by grabbing the damn ball. LB hits the long range, and all's right in Brazil. Here we go. Things really have settled down with LB and Diaw, but LB misses again. Took them long enough to call that travel on Finley. Never mind. It was an O-foul on O-berto. Even better. Here comes the beer, pie, and sex again. 35-28 Clockwork.<br /><br />Interesting note...the Suns are holding SA to less than 43% from the field while shooting better than 48%. Keep that up, and this will be a blowout. No horny trio, but we got the Room Store with a Harlem Globetrotter. Nice change of pace.<br /><br />(6:56) Never mind. Slow box score. Suns are over 46%, and Spurs under 42%. Still good. Stat gets his second, and Leander is excited as all hell. Someone REALLY needs to tell the Spurs what a Red Rocket is. Now the dog wiener hits a three. TD rejects BJ. Red Rocket (Matt Boner?) misses, but Marion tips it out of bounds. Finley travels and hits. Whistle? Better not call it on Marion. SKYNYR!!!! A nice surprise he's been. Somehow TD scores on Nash. Stat gets a dunk finally, and one. Good head fake for our Saviour. 41-35 Suns.<br /><br />(6:22) Stat makes it an old fashioned three ball, and it's back to seven. Skynyr guards Duncan well, but somehow the Suns get called for a D-3? I didn't see who was in there, but someone better be aware of those little white lines. YES!!! SKYNTASTIC WITH THE BLOCK ON DUNCAN!!! Hill tries to go through Vaughn instead of around or over him. Time out for some odd reason. 42-36 Suns.<br /><br />How did Wile E. Coyote get a job in San Antonio? Don't they know his work history?<br /><br />Bonner schools Amare from the corner, and Hill tries a little too hard to help. marion's defense wasted on Finley, and Duncan scores over Amare. BJ did his job, though. Nash lets it go out of bounds. Weird sequence. Amare covers Bowen on the wing, and Skynyr comes to double? It goes around the horn, and another three. Diaw and LB coming back in. That's a good idea, since they got us the lead to begin with. Skynyr hits again. KT who? Good job Nash! Bonner pushed his arm out, and Nash went the other way. But Diaw wastes the effort with a good miss. SKynyr kinda misses that open look, but he's earned a pass. Um...what just happened? Nash to Diaw, then his pass just kinda dribbled out of bounds? No one touched it? Really?<br /><br />(2:50) Tie game as Bell loses G-Knob on the back door. Bowen gets to know Skynyr intimately and gets popped for the foul. Nash turns it over again. Give it to Diaw on the elbow, Mike. Manu misses badly after he falls backwards for no reason, and we got our first Donaghy whistle. Maybe he was whistling his next foul? Time for more corporate manipulation of our brains. 44 all.<br /><br />Note to self: Do not get future daughter a pony. She wants a cell phone. Yeah...like I'm going to trust a teenage girl with a device that charges for every minute she opens her mouth to her friends. Replay shows that the whistle was called only when Amare secured the rebound, as Knob takes the stripe.<br /><br />(1:37) Suddenly, the Spurs are hitting 49% to the Suns' 48%. Diaw posts Finley, and the ball finds LB just in time for him to miss the three. Diaw rebounds the other end. Then spins, dishes to Amare who gets the bucket and foul. Number three for Fabio. I gotta say, I'm liking what I'm seeing from Le Boris tonight. This is good. Very good. Amaremisses the freebie, but we're tied until TD goes glass yet again. 22 in the first half? Are you serious?! Amare gets hit on the other end, and it's two for him.<br /><br />One of two for Stat, and his career FT% continues to dwindle. Good call! TD walks again! He's made a career out of that shuffle step, and he ain't getting away with it tonight. Imagine if TP were in there. Diaw slips and slides and scores easily. Suns regain the lead with under a minute. Then Duncan does it again. Bell drives in, and things are looking good. The idea, though, is to come out strong in the third. Nash rebounds Knob's miss, and Diaw misses the last shot. Check it out y'all. Suns lead 51-50 going into the half. Stay tuned for the half time report. Jey needs a break!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Halftime</span></strong><br /><br />Well, the Sun are holding their own. Can't say I like Duncan going off for 24 and 12 in the first freakin' half, but Amare's not doing much worse than KT did. It seems that Marion's defense is wasted without Parker in the game, as his usually spectacular weakside help is irrelevant with TD going glass every time.<br /><br />TC calls out the Suns' defense, which was good for a whole quarter. Diaw is the key to this game because he's the only guy SA can't defend in any way. He's too small for their bigs, too big for their guards, and his passing is tremendous in a half court game like this. He's off to a great start with 8-3-3, and I look for coach to use him a lot more in the secod half. LB's doing well compared to the playoffs, but he's missing too many open looks. Maybe the Spurs are still in his head, as a lot of his shots look short, which means he's rushing them.<br /><br />The rebounding is atrocious. The Spurs are +8 overall, and +5 on the offensive glass. This is NOT a good rebounding team, but the Suns are actually worse. We've only seen Skynyr for 6 minutes, and that needs to change as well. Nash has yet to score, but he's got 5 assists. He needs to take a little better care of the ball, though, as he has 3 turnovers already. It's not like he's been hounded too badly. All the mistakes are easily fixed, and the team just needs to come out swinging in the third quarter. A little more defensive activity, and the Spurs won't know what hit them. The Suns are just a step slow, which tells me their energy is down. Figures.<br /><br />Ginobili is almost nonexistent with his 2-9 shooting, and no one outside of Duncan is doing any real damage. Note to Shawn: Double fast and hard! Trust your teammates to rotate. If they don't, it's on them. There should be no reason the Suns lose this game if they just focus and play with some energy on the defensive end. Bottom line...slow Duncan a tad more, and this game is ours. He's the only one hurting us.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">3rd Quarter</span></strong><br /><br />Nash shoots a tech for some reason. Oh neat. It was on Bowen. Hill misses, but let's keep an eye on Shawn off the ball. He's just kinda standing there. Good job by Nash with the hard double, then takes the charge. Stat blows the pass to Hill. Good idea, bad execution. Suns half court offense looks lazy, and Nash misses his patented sideways fall away. Duncan can't get position on Amare, but Vaughn hits. Hill goes in and hits again. Think he might have been useful last year? Amare lets Vaughn go by. At least he boxed out. Bell misses another three, and here we go again. Good man defense by Stat! Tries to score over TD. Seems he's about an inch too tall for that maneuver. Nash finally hits the net, and we're tied again. Marion faces up Horry hard, and there's a foul?<br /><br />(7:18) More good D by Amare on TD. Nash's shot is way off. MARION HUSTLES and saves it to Nash. The Fresh Princess shoves Nash into Vaughn, and the refs screw him again. Duncan gets it alone inside, and Marion picks up another foul as he slaps the ball away. TD to the line. Odd no timeouts called so far. Duncan misses both.<br /><br />(6:04) Shawn gets the rebound, but the refs disagree and call it out of bounds on him. Hill fouls before the ball is inbounded, and no one but the uni-colored zebras understands why. One of two for Knob, and Bell secures it. NICE!!! Hill slips the screen, and avoids the charge by dishing to Matrix for the dunk. Hill swipes it from Duncan, and the defense is picking up. Still missing open shots. Horry falls down, cries about it, and gets T'ed up.<br /><br />QUIT CRYING YOU BIG BABY!!!<br /><br />(5:57) Nash hits the freebie. Ugly sequence. This isn't pinball! Nice hustle by LB, though. Boris misses the open jumper, then stops the break. Time for some more brainwashing.<br /><br />Is it just me, or has the game suddenly got really boring? Come on guys! Give me something to work with here! I'm not god or Michelangelo! I can't create a man out of clay!<br /><br />Leander reminds us how old the Spurs are, and no one cares.<br /><br />TD works on Diaw, who does a fine job according to me, not so much according to Jack Nies. Maybe he should watch for that forearm Duncan's throwing. Duncan breaks character and hits both.<br /><br />(2:53) Geez. Moving screen on Marion. Balki scores through everyone, and Bowen finally gets busted for riding Nash. LB looks indecisive with the ball. Amazing how often the Spurs foul while the Suns aren't shooting. Nash drains the rainbow through the bucket, and we're only down by one. Nash stops Balki from making it to the whole, and Barry decides that it's easier to move the feet than take the hit. That's a blocking foul, Rick Junior! LB gives us the two point lead, then somehow Balki gets away with the goal tend. Diaw passes up a lane shot, but it was a good pass. Bell's three, however, was not so good. Barry makes them pay, then LB still can't shoot long. 65-65.<br /><br />Suns are keeping it close in the third, which is better than previous match ups. But this is a Spurs team without Parker and TD's front court side kick, so this score should look a lot different. Credit the Spurs defense a little, but these are some open shots the Suns are missing. At this point, it's all in the head.<br /><br />5-15 for the Suns, 6-13 for the Spurs. Yikes.<br /><br />(1:58) Oberto taps Vaughn's miss to Hill, and we're in the red zone again. Skynyr's out there finally, LB HITS THE BUZZER BEATING THREE!!! Oh, look. Balki get's another late whistle, this time from Eric Lewis. Skynyr got nailed with a Balki elbow, and we're back in Donaghy territory. Two freebies, and the Spurs are down by 1, 68-67.<br /><br />(1:03) Diaw gets the tip! I'm telling you, he is key to these match ups. Seems he prefers the tough ones. YES! Barry saves it to Leandro, and Finley doesn't give him room to land. Foul on the Finster, MEEP MEEP to the line. Let's hope he's cured his free throw ills. 2 for 2, and we're happy in Sunsland as the Suns push the lead to five.<br /><br />Good defense on TD, and Barry takes and misses a 30 foot three ball. Suns rebound (YAY), and Hill hits another midrange jumper off the dribble. OMG!!! Vaughn finds a wide open Duncan, whose three inch vertical gets him stuffed by the rim...TWICE!!! Time runs out, and the Suns are up by seven going into the final frame. 74-67.<br /><br />Some blonde bimbo who can't act for crap is excited. She gets to buy shoes AND gets free tickets to a Suns game. I wonder if complimentary binoculars and oxygen tank come with that.<br /><br />I gotta say, I'm VERY disappointed in the advertisement selection on channel 45. It's like watching Nick at Nite for commercials. It's all about the rerun, baby.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">4th Quarter</span></strong><br /><br />(9:00) We come back to Balki cutting the lead to five. Finley hits a lengthy three, and this could be interesting. LB makes his beautiful leaner in the lane. Man, I can see Ginobili's bald spot from here. No three for Barry, but he gets the deflection on Leandro's shot. Ugh. Great defense by Skynyr wasted as the ball rolls to Balki in the corner for three, and it's a one point game. That was dumb. Hill just throws his arm into Barry, and the ref has no choice but to call it. Someone has to box out Duncan. The guy can't jump, ya know. Hill drives and Vaughn picks up his fourth. 77-76 dipwads.<br /><br />(7:47) Hill gets two free throws, and makes both to retake the lead. Skynyr does a great job keeping TD out of his comfort zone, and Marion picks up the miss. LB picks up a fade away, and the lead grows slightly. Skynyr gets schooled that time, and no one came to help. Diaw airs one out, and it may as well be a pass to Duncan. Pop takes no chances, but he does take a timeout. 80-79 Complacent bunch.<br /><br />I'll be honest...I'm bored off my ass. THIS is Spurs basketball. I hope we don't meet them in the playoffs. Not because I think we'll lose (I don't), but because I can't stand watching this borefest. I'd rather watch frogs mating.<br /><br />Oh, look, Balki knocks over Raja, but he's allowed. It's his world, ya know. Disgusting. DONAGHY!!!<br /><br />Amare and LB both pass up open shots, and it seems that D'Antoni has a plan to post Diaw. Amare looks unhappy, but it's his own fault for hitting Duncan on the arms. Now if only that consistency went both ways. Amare's so upset about the last foul, he just stands there as Nash passes him the ball. Good thing the refs bailed him out, as Nash gets fouled on the pass. See what I mean about expendable, folks?<br /><br />(3:20) LB hits a three, and I'm still bored. Diaw's the key. I'm telling you. He got that assist from the post. Stat rebounds Fabio's miss, but LB leaves the three about that many inches short. Can someone call a foul on San Antonio, please? Leandro didn't fall on his own, ya know. Nash decides that Amare isn't bringing it, so he scores on the screen and roll. Amare gets lost on the pick and roll, and Balki hits another three. Leandro's runner from the wing is a bit too strong, and Oberto picks up the air mail. Raja strips Balki, and we all hold our breath. Amare scores over Manu, and we're back up. Vaughn comes back with a three, and Mike D can't take it anymore. 88-87 Lunesta.<br /><br />Honestly...who needs Nytol when we have the Spurs?<br /><br />(1:55) Marion brings the ball up court. Nash drives the baseline and dishes around Duncan's back to Amare, who's promptly fouled on the dunk attempt. Still shouldn't have caused him to miss that one. Is it the knee? He hits one of two free tosses, and I'm fighting to stay awake. Hill blocks Duncan! Still asleep, though. Marion gets a second chance on that New Orleans shot, and it bounces, not once but twice and falls in. Duncan gets in low, but the refs decide that two travel calls on Duncan is a game limit. Instead, Marion gets called for reaching in. I dunno...maybe the head? They'll figure it out after the game when they review their calls and decide they were flawless, as usual. Somewhere, David Stern is smiling with his pants around his ankles, a bowl of cheetohs at his side, and a mysteriously orange penis. 90-88 Plasma Balls.<br /><br />For those who are wondering, it's the offensive rebounding. The Suns are winning everything else (FREE THROW SHOOTING, TOO!!! I HAD NO IDEA!!!).<br /><br />Duncan makes a couple of free throws in the clutch, and no one mistakes him for Shaq.<br /><br />(39.8)OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Nash dribbles and dribbles and dribbles, and suddenly finds Amare underneath and it's NASTY. Then SharkFin hits a three. Bowen looks like he just ate a lemon for breakfast after he's called for fouling Nash. I'd be surprised, too, if I were him. And of course, he draws the offensive foul on Amare. Weak call, but oh well. Amare pops the ball loose, Marion picks it up, a little movement as the break is broke, and Hill hits the open 15 footer. Nice. 94-93 US.<br /><br />That's the scrappy defense the Suns are supposed to be known for. Let's keep that up, as we try and hold onto this lead. No...I repeat NO THREES AND NO FOULS!!!<br /><br />PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE THAT ALL THAT IS HOLY IN THE CHURCH OF PURPLE AND ORANGE!!! PLAY SMART!!!<br /><br />Replay shows a possible foul on that Amare dunk, but it's Duncan, and he's Christ incarnate. So sayeth the Stern, so sayeth the flock.<br /><br />(17.4) Ginobili drives, throws it 40 feet in the air and hits. Amare gets the bucket on the other end, but it's waved off. Gee. I'm SOOOOO surprised. Funny how they call the foul quickly right there. I tend to agree with Thunder Dan on this one. He didn't dribble, he went straight up, and that's a continuation. They must have forgotten to send us the updated rulebook. Stat makes one to tie it. Then he makes the second for the lead, and Pocked-ovich wants to mull over his options. 96-95<br /><br />(9.9) Amare's out for defensive purposes, which makes you wonder. Skynyr is on Duncan. Great movement by the Spurs, but the Suns movement is better. Bowen clanks the three, and Hill secures the rebound. Spurs foul immediately, and Hill goes to the line to prove his worth. Sure enough, Grant earns his veteran's minimum, and it's a three point game. Pop's got 20 to talk. 98-95<br /><br />NO THREES!!! I RE-REPEAT!!! NO THREES!!!<br /><br />And if you foul, make sure they don't hit the shot.<br /><br />Yes, I'll admit. I jumped up and screamed when Hill got that rebound. I guess I'm awake now. OK...it was more of a yell a la YEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! But it's all the same when there's no gravity.<br /><br />Here we go. DEEWOW STEALS IT AND IS FOULED WITH NO ONE IN THE WAY!!!! A crappy free throw shooter, he sure did a number on the bald spot. Two freebies and the ball. Nice. He makes one of two, and they've got to get it to Nash.<br /><br />So they do, and they call the ticky tack touch foul on Balki the Balding Flopperella. Nash is money from the line, as they say. I say he's ice fucking cold as he misses the second one. No matter, though. Suns win. 100-95.<br /><br />Yes, that felt good, but we all know what everyone who hates us is going to say tomorrow. Time for another break (yes, typing at this fantastically furious pace is tiring in a strange heart attack way). Stay tuned for the post game, and some smart ass comments.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Postgame</span></strong><br /><br />Let the Spurs fan caveats begin. The Suns barely beat a short-handed Spurs team, and Duncan killed our front line, and we got waxed on the boards. OK. We've got that out of the way.<br /><br />That last one is certainly a problem, as Nash was the leading rebounder for the Suns with 8 rebounds. He and Hill both outrebounded Marion and Stoudemire, which makes me question Stat's commitment to defense. He wandered around aimlessly most of the game, but still managed 3 blocks. He only took 9 shots, but made 6 of them for 17 points. That won't get it done in the playoffs. He was sulking about his five fouls most of the night, and he needs to get over it and just be the nasty freak of nature that he used to be, sore knees notwithstanding.<br /><br />As I said earlier, Marion's defense is wasted in a game like this, as he has no one difficult to guard. His 6 rebounds might be excusable, considering the Spurs' penchant for hitting threes when Duncan is doubled. Without Parker to slow down, he's too far away most of the time to get any of those rebounds. Still, Grant Hill managed 7, and he was guarding Ginobili most of the night.<br /><br />Leandro had a nice game, although he took far too many shots. I can't say that any of them were bad, though, as most were clean looks from all over the floor. He just needs to forget what happened in the playoffs and just do his thing. With MEEP MEEP, it's all about confidence.<br /><br />I'm quite happy with Skynyr's minutes, though I think D'Antoni could find more than 6 per half. Come on...he was a defensive replacement for Stoudemire in the closing seconds. What does that tell you? I'm surpised to see that he only had 2 rebounds and one block, as I thought his defense was at least as good as Kurt Thomas'. Sooner or later, preferrably before April, Mike's going to have to figure out a way to work him in a few more minutes a half. Don't be afraid to bench Amare, coach, especially when he plays like he did tonight.<br /><br />Now you know why we picked up Grant Hill. It was obvious from the start that this was going to be the Grant Hill show, as D'Antoni was probably as anxious as we were to see how he would help the team against these flaming douchebags. His 22 points, 3 assists, and 7 rebounds are a welcome upgrade over James Jones, who some people still inexplicably miss.<br /><br />But the story of the game is Boris Diaw. 11 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and one VERY BIG STEAL...you remember...it was the strip of Ginobili on the inbounds at the end of the game that secured the win. This is the thrid game in a row that he's shown why D'Antoni defends him every time he has a bad game. It's that versatility and basketball IQ that will prove instrumental in finally dethroning the Spurs this season. He took 11 shots to get those 11 points, but both are better than the 0-fer he's been bringing this season. He can do anything he wants against San Antonio because they simply have no way to defend him. In a series against this team, he should be the primary facilitator, since Nash will be lucky to see an open passing lane. The Suns have to slow the game down against San Antonio if their shots aren't falling, and Diaw's post play is pivotal for that to work. Tonight showed us how true that is.<br /><br />That's it for tonight, as my wrists, fingers, and head are quite sore after not having done this in six months. Hopefully, I'll be in better shape on Wednesday, when we do this all over again for another "big" game against Dallas. The Suns will need to step up the energy level in order to win that game, but I won't complain, since the Spurs have a nasty habit of sucking the life out of anything that breathes. A tough win, to be sure, but it's a step in the right direction. This is a sign of things to come, folks. It may take a couple more months to put it all together, but this game showed us a lot of what this team can be come playoff time. Leandro's ability to break free for open looks is there. Grant Hill's midrange game is just what the doctor ordered. And Diaw will most certainly be DEEWOW in a series against the slowest, most boring, dirtiest team in the history of the NBA.<br /><br />Thanks for following along, and don't forget to tell your friends about Wednesday night!Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-51036191349407140122007-12-14T01:15:00.000-08:002007-12-14T08:51:17.843-08:00Panic Attack<blockquote>[W]here are all the people who said 'It’s OK if you lose some games early? Don’t work them too hard, don’t turn the screws too hard early.’ Where did those people go?<br /><br />- <a href="http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/104380">Mike D'Antoni </a><br /></blockquote><br /><p>Where, indeed.<br /><br />They are on message boards and blogs, in living rooms and bar rooms, watching from afar - their words muted by the much louder (hence more influential) voices of the valley's B and C reporters' (Bickley, Bordow, Boivin, and Brown; Coro) perception that there is panic in the streets of Sunsland.<br /><br />Do these people really represent the beliefs of Suns fans? Sure, there are fans wandering through the season in a haze of a 40-year title drought, and their nerves stand on the thinnest of precipices with the lingering memory of three straight playoff disappointments. There are also those out there who have written off the season long before it even started, wondering how the Suns can win it all in a league so oblivious to its own shortcomings (see: Donaghy, Tim; Stern, David; justice, in). These are the fans who see any sign of failure as justification of their beliefs that the Suns cannot and will not win a title, even in a hypothetical two-team league.<br /><br />The purpose of the media is two-fold.<br /><br />1. Question and critique the status quo that precipitates from powers standing on high cliffs overlooking the valley throngs. It is meant to challenge any person or conglomeration who attempts to usurp the freedom of the people for the benefit of personal gain. Unfortunately, the media itself is equipped with the same flaws and weaknesses as any human being on Clockwork earth, and tend to be open to manipulation (see: Iraq, War in; News, Fox).<br /><br />2. Document history and tie historical events to modern times. The media serves as a recording device that prevents our past from washing away with the passage of time. It is imperfect, to be sure, as the documentarians are human beings who bring their own biases and points of view to these events, but the general idea is that not all of them share the same views with each other. The assumption is that biases balance themselves into something close to objective fact (see: history, revisionist).<br /><br />Now, the very act of writing and posting my thoughts publicly places me in the pantheon of social, political, and cultural critics and historical human TiVos that have been largely responsible for shaping the attitudes and beliefs of our society as a whole, however small a part I may play. I speak not as loudly as the voices that Mike D'Antoni and his players most often hear, but certainly louder than anyone in a bar room, living room, or break room (by virtue of a larger potential audience). It's a strange place to find oneself, both speaking to and representing two sides at once.<br /><br />So who's panicking?<br /><br />Although some members of the media will take the slightest ripple in the tidal pool as evidence of an approaching tsunami (<a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/DanBickley/10654">Dan Bickley</a> and <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaolaBoivin/10142">Paola Boivin</a>), at least one (<a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/12367">Paul Coro</a>) has actually begun taking the time to step back and listen to concerns of the fans who haven't been loud enough for D'Antoni and Marion's ears. I guess that's the difference between a columnist and a beat writer - one's job is to relate the ongoing story line of failure and disappointment, the other's is to put it into a more current perspective. Both are valuable, and both are valid. </p><p><br />Someone is listening to the wrong story.<br /><br />Taking a more critical look at D'Antoni's question, I would say that he was questioning the media as much as he was the fans. After all, those people didn't drop off the face of the earth, nor did every single one of them do an about-face and join the bandwagon of freak-outs and cliff-jumpers. There have been no reports of mass spontaneous combustion.<br /><br />We are right here, Coach. We are with you all the way. We understand that losses and losing streaks will happen. We still don't care about the team's record through 23 games of the season. Our concerns have either not been represented adequately, or they have been completely misrepresented in the name of sales and marketing.<br /><br />How do I know? </p><p>I talk to them every day on message boards, in their living rooms, in bar rooms and break rooms. I am one of them.</p><p>Here is what we, the shielded masses, care about:</p><p>1. Defensive energy. </p><p>As far as I know, no one cares about consecutive losses. Games like the one in Minnesota happen, and we understand tired legs, aching backs, and flu-like symptoms. It was just the loss at home against Miami that bothered us. The guys had a day off, they got to sleep in their own beds and spend time with their families. They got to play in front of the home crowd - even though most of the lower bowl is empty at the start of EVERY third quarter. Yes, Shaq and Zo are huge. But they were on the second half of a back-to-back at the end of a long Western road trip. Our boys let us down by not putting forth the necessary energy on the defensive end to take the Heat out quickly and soundly. </p><p>It wasn't "just another loss" to us. It was an inexcusable loss, and one that points to an historical pattern of early season malaise that seems to show up throughout the season. We don't want to see that after three playoff disappointments, simple as that. It's not so much about looking ahead. It's about looking back.</p><p>2. Boris Diaw.</p><p>Seriously...what gives? One day he's right there with us, and then he's gone for two weeks. We don't like hearing the coach say that "he's fine" and that "he'll come around." We don't want to hear D'Antoni blame himself for not playing him enough or for shuffling him around. That's <strong>his own</strong> fault, not the coach's. </p><p>Boris proved to us against the Jazz that he is more than capable of finding his way in the Suns offense with Amare Stoudemire and Grant Hill in the lineup. He played well next to Amare against the Jazz in the fourth quarter, picking his spots to score and dish to near perfection. Like you, Coach, we don't care about his numbers. We care about his performance beyond the numbers. When Diaw chooses his spots like he did in that game, this team (in our completely unbiased and objective opinion, of course) is unbeatable, plain and simple.</p><p>(<a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/12/ex-lax-factor.html">In all fairness</a>, I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with every minute of Diaw's performance against the Jazz...if I hadn't made that clear already. One was quite pleased.)</p><p>3. Where's the bench?</p><p>I've given up on even caring about the bench anymore. In all honesty, I prefer seeing the top seven or eight players on the court an entire game. I don't like seeing constant stops-in-play and rotation shuffles. I'm in complete agreement with D'Antoni's philosophy here. </p><p>I would, however, like to see these guys get a chance when others are struggling. In baseball, position players get a day off every once in a while to keep themselves fresh later in the season. Their substitutes come in and do an adequate job of filling in, then it's back to normal the next day. The baseball season is almost twice as long as the NBA season, so that is not a practical practice. </p><p>But if Leandro is under the weather or his shooting elbow is hurting him, or if Raja has a bad tendinitis flare-up, what's the harm in bringing in DJ Strawberry or Marcus Banks for an eight to ten minute stretch? As we saw against the Jazz, Steve Nash and Shawn Marion are capable of carrying the team offensively so long as the defense does its job. I can't see how DJ would be a liability here, especially when the team was 4-17 from the three point arc anyway. And wouldn't a Sean Marks sighting do a number on Diaw if he decides to revert to his passive ways for a two week stretch? None could have been worse in the showing against the Heat, that's for sure.</p><p>I don't know. I'm just sayin'.</p><p>We understand that the team is going to lose games. It is not impossible to win all 82, but it has never been done before, and there is no expectation that it ever <strong>will</strong> happen. No reasonable fan is panicking at this point of the season. Really, is there ever an appropriate time to panic? Probably not, but December hardly would qualify if there were. All that any fan of this team wants to see is consistent effort to try and win, and consistent (read: HIGH) energy on defense. Sure, the season is a grind, but that is no reason to take a night off. </p><p>Mike, Shawn, Steve - please stop reading the paper. If you get curious and feel an insatiable desire to commit an exercise of self-torture, try to remember this one thing: What you read is not the whole story.</p><p><strong>Update:</strong> Nash reflects these feelings perfectly <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1213suns1214.html">when discussing Marion's energy</a> in the Jazz game.</p><blockquote><p>We've got to play with that energy and intensity we played with against everybody. It made the game fun. It made us feel like a team. It made us feel like we could do some things, and we have a future, so it was nice.</p></blockquote><p>Win or lose, that is all we ask. Win or lose, that was fun. Win or lose, just play.</p>Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-13832055661381944352007-12-12T08:35:00.000-08:002007-12-13T20:37:41.611-08:00Pride<span style="font-size:85%;">(Rated R for language, adult themes, and mild sexual content.)</span><br /><br />Can someone explain to me how, a month ago, the team could complain about the fans in the building, then come back home after a long road trip and lay THAT egg on them? And then say "no big deal"?!?! Do these guys really think they're playing for themselves? Is Nash the ONLY one who gets it?<br /><br />Steve Kerr needs to step down from his office, quit having meetings with management, walk onto that practice court, and reintroduce himself to his team.<br /><br />"Hi. I'm Steve Kerr. I own five...that's FIVE championship rings. I've played next to the greatest player in the history of the game. He punched my lights out in practice, but he was still my brother in arms. I played next to the greatest power forward in the game, as well as one of the greatest role players and greatest centers. I was also on a team that won an NBA record 72 god damn games! Ya know why we won that many god damn games?<br /><br />Because we expected to win every time we stepped onto the court. That included the regular season AND playoffs. We made no excuses for losing. We did not accept losses as part of the natural order. We took losses personally, as something WE did wrong, and we corrected them really fucking fast. Other teams may have played great against us, but we were better 87 times, and nobody...NOBODY questioned our heart, our fire, and our dominance.<br /><br />*whips out his diamond-encrusted gold hardware*<br /><br />See these? These are my CHAMPIONSHIP rings. I have FIVE. Everyone pull theirs out and show them to me.<br /><br />*everyone looks around and down at the floor, except Steve Nash and Grant Hill, who both look square into Kerr's eyes*<br /><br />I didn't think so.<br /><br />Next time I hear someone say it's a long season, I'm gonna fine you $25000.<br /><br />*Amare, Shawn, and Boris all clutch their wallets*<br /><br />Next time I hear anyone say, "they're a great team," another twenty five grand. And the next time you let someone come into OUR house and walk all over you, you'll be suspended without pay one game for every ring I'm holding right now.<br /><br />Have some fucking pride.<br /><br />*Boris hides in his locker*<br /><br />I don't care if it's Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Larry Bird walking onto that floor in their primes. If you don't play them with every ounce of your very being the entire time you're on that court, you're gonna be watching the next five games from the visitor's locker room.<br /><br />I'm Steve Kerr, and I'm an NBA Champion."<br /><br />Ya know? Just once, I'd like to hear that someone reminded these guys what it means to be a champion.<br /><br />They've been through the fire. Instead of tempered steel, we've got charcoal. Instead of a bunch of pissed off players with a huge collective chip on their shoulders, we've got this...<br /><br />"It's y'all overreacting,"<br /><br />"We just got to take one game at a time. Y'all be going ballistic when we lose. Like we can't lose games or something. I don't understand it. You can't expect a team to win every game. This is the NBA. People do have good teams."<br /><br />“Sometimes you all think we can’t lose. It’s just the regular season. It’s a long regular season. We have ups and we have downs.”<br /><br />"What are we, 16-6? The third-best record in the league? Y'all are blowing it out of proportion. I'm reading that shit in the paper, going, 'Wow.' I’m like 'What is that?’ We ain’t Superman. That game's over with. We lost. Deal with it. Suck it up. We play the Utah Jazz tomorrow night, that's who we got to think about right now."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1211suns1212.html">(Shawn Marion quoted on azcentral</a> <a href="http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/104269">and eastvalleytribune)</a><br /><br />...and this...<br /><br />“They did a good job, they had some timely baskets and some timely stops. It’s how you play the game, it doesn’t matter what the records are, you go out there and you play and they were the better team tonight.”<br /><br />-- Raja Bell<br /><br />“I don’t think so, I just think we need to have a little more activity. We just have to focus in a little bit more, and I think that’s about it. It is definitely a situation I think we can correct. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow in practice and go from there.”<br /><br />-- Amare Stoudemire<br /><br />“We are just not fast to the ball, we are not getting in to people. No legs, somebody had the flu or whatever, but we will cure that. We will get back. And when they are scoring all these points it puts so much pressure on the offense. And then I thought we looked jittery. Although we had nice moments, but 17 point third quarter. Just a little bit out of sync.”<br /><br />--Coach Mike D'Antoni<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nba.com/suns/news/quotes_071210.html">(From suns.com post game quotes)</a><br /><br />Honestly, does that sound like a team working on building a championship season?<br /><br />Third best record is good enough? Telling the media (vicariously the fans) to deal with it? Someone else was better? We'll see?<br /><br />A quick question for our coach - remember the last time Michael Jordan played with the flu? I do. He walked away with another ring.<br /><br />Of course, I realize that I'm being hypercritical, and that things probably will work out just fine in the long run. But we're supposed to be "enjoying the ride," aren't we? Well, as a fan, I have to say that I enjoy the ride a helluva lot more when my team is winning. I enjoy it even more when they play like they're the baddest bunch of no-good sons of bitches ever to walk across the plains into this sleepy western town.<br /><br />I've never played professional basketball. I'm no champion, and I never will be.<br /><br />I am, however, an observer of all things great and small. I have seen enough of The Discover Channel to understand the difference between predator, prey, and scavenger. To be more frank than beans - the Suns resemble the latter when they win, the second when they lose, and the former rarely if ever this season.<br /><br />"Early in the season" is not a reason or excuse for not trying to win every game. If a player is ailing or aching, let his own stat line show it. The other guys need to pick up that slack and let the record hide it for him.<br /><br />Communication, team work, and pride know no offseason, so how can none of those be present 22 games into the regular season?<br /><br />Steve Kerr - you're a champion. You explain it to them.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-4542941906927856532007-12-05T17:05:00.000-08:002007-12-05T17:46:36.520-08:00Best Big ManI saw this commercial last month, and went straight to YouTube to look for it. Unfortunately, it wasn't there. Then I forgot about it. Good thing our old buddy, Lupecita was on the ball! (By way of <a href="http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/">Basketbawful</a>, which is always a great read.)<br /><br />Best point guard, best big man ... best promo.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kSzrU1S1wv8&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kSzrU1S1wv8&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br />Tell me that shit-eating grin by Nash isn't the funniest thing you've seen on TV since the fourth season of the Simpsons.<br /><br /><br />And here's an all Suns version of the Nike 25 Hangar commercial.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pQLZ4TY79sY&rel=1&border=0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pQLZ4TY79sY&rel=1&border=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-17738983108715826842007-12-05T12:19:00.000-08:002007-12-05T15:25:19.657-08:00Ex-lax FactorOK. Diaw sucks. For the last season + 18 games there has been nothing but excuse after excuse for why Diaw is under-performing. The funny thing is, we had the same complaints about him his first year. We just forgot all that because he did so well against Dallas in the playoffs. The only reason he did that well was that we were down to six players, so he had no choice but to be aggressive. It's no coincidence that the only times he's played well this season were when Raja was out with injury and Amare sat down with foul trouble.<br /><br />Diaw has all the talent in the world, but he has no desire to use all of it. He's never comfortable shooting (from the field or the free throw line), he's afraid of contact, he doesn't hustle (that game where he got those two offensive rebounds in a row...the ball bounced right to him off the rim, he never went after it), and he seems to believe that he's the best passer on the team. Who in this league would pass a ball handed to them by Steve Nash? Only Boris is dumb enough to do that because he seems to think that a longer shot is a better shot.<br /><br />I don't care that it's ironic that anyone would be complaining about a guy who passes too much in a league built on selfish play. The truth, as I see it, is that Boris is being just as selfish by looking for the assist, which is obviously more valuable to him than points. He always passes because he wants that stat. It means something to him - so much so that he turns down perfectly good shots to try and get the assist.<br /><br />I only remember two of his plays from last night against Indiana.<br /><br />1. The refusal to get on the floor and grab a loose ball that had Mike D'Antoni yelling at him got him benched. Thank god for that, because D'Antoni's been apologizing for Diaw far more than any coach should defend any player not named Steve Nash.<br /><br />2. In the third quarter, with the shot clock winding down and Indiana making a run, Diaw received the ball just below the elbow on a feed from Nash. Instead of taking the shot with four seconds left on the clock, he passed it to the three point line where Leandro Barbosa (who was 2-8 shooting at the time) had just stopped, forcing LB to rush the long ball as the clock expired. Not surprisingly, he missed, and Indiana got the rebound.<br /><br />Diaw's play comes across as arrogant, as well as fearful. That is the only consistency about him, and it's time that D'Antoni recognizes his mistake and benches Diaw indefinitely, just as he's done with Marcus Banks. Diaw is hurting the team's offensive rhythm and on-court chemistry.<br /><br />As a fan, I'm fed up. I just can't take the excuses or the frustration anymore. I don't have a lifetime supply of Maalox at my disposal, so I'd just as soon turn off the TV when Diaw steps onto the court, as I had to last night when the Suns coughed up the lead in the fourth quarter. I can live with poor shooting nights from Leandro, Raja, and Shawn, especially when Stoudemire explodes for 42 points. The rest of the team proved efficient through the trio's cold spells, shooting 62.3% when taking away the combined 12-38 shooting of the Streak Squad.<br /><br />Those three were still aggressive, which is all it takes to get defenders to pay attention to a player. When it comes to Diaw, though, the Suns may as well be playing four on five because everyone in the entire arena knows that he won't shoot it, even when he's wide open.<br /><br />It's time for the excuses to end. He's had a year to figure out how to play with Amare. He's had a year to get in shape. And he's had ample time for his ankles to heal. If I were a lower bowl season ticket holder, maybe these words would carry more weight - I do not want to see Boris Diaw in a Suns uniform again until I can be assured that he will put forth 100% effort in helping this team win every time the Suns take the court.<br /><br />My hands have become blistered from hanging so closely to the frayed end of the rope for so long, and I'm letting go.<br /><br />Boris was supposed to be the Suns' X-factor because he brings so much versatility to the team. But X is a variable that cannot be known until the equation has been solved, and he has already proved not to be the correct answer. Whatever he can bring, he won't. Whatever he should do, he doesn't. His on-court attitude is far too laid back, even by Arizona standards.<br /><br />Boris Diaw is not the answer. He is the Unifying Theory of professional basketball - great if anyone could actually solve it, but nothing more than a really big headache for anyone who attempts to tackle the problem.<br /><br />Forget the Maalox. I need some Tylenol.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-82517264393473981542007-12-01T14:56:00.000-08:002007-12-01T18:42:43.898-08:00A November to DismemberThe first month and first sixteen games of the season have come and gone, and the long and painful offseason is now a distant memory. Somewhat ironic is the fact that we were looking forward to the season starting just to get our Suns fix, while many fans seem to be ready to <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1114sunsnb1115.html">bypass the whole grind</a> and get right back to the playoffs - where our misery as fans is usually rooted.<br /><br />Too early in the season to make any "bold predictions," there are still a few answers to some burning questions that we faced coming into this marathon, as well as a few new questions to ponder.<br /><br /><strong>Can't we all just get along</strong>?<br /><br />Honestly, so far this has to be the most uncomfortable season I've experienced in my tenure as a Suns fan. A veteran of countless message board wars, I'm used to having my loyalties challenged by fans of other teams, as well as those of this team who have never experienced the brand of cynical wit I tend to bring to my observations. Usually the questions die quickly. Then the Suns launched their own <a href="http://suns.planetorange.net/kickapps/service/displayHomePageExperience.kickAction?page=Homepage&as=9952">fan network site</a>. To make a long story short, the predominant fan type over there almost had me chucking the whole thing, just to avoid being associated with such rabble.<br /><br />For reasons too complicated for the subject matter of this platform, I won't get into the motivations of people uninhibited by the absence of face-to-face communication. Just know that the lack of eye contact and visual cues (body language) tend to embolden a person to say and do things that would be inconceivable during interpersonal interactions. Internet message boards are the talk radio of the new millennium. A person can say whatever is on his mind, however petty, trivial, or immature, without regard to repercussions because it is so easy to hang up on the caller. People want to be "who they really are" and their opinions to be expressed, if not validated, regardless how little substance any person has to support their beliefs.<br /><br />That's fine. As the saying goes, opinions are like assholes, and everyone else's stinks. All I ask is that those opinions be based on some semblance of reality and not mere wishful thinking and hope. Fans need to realize that there can be more to supporting a team than simply believing in your heart of hearts that they will overcome and win against all odds, and disagreeing about small aspects does not make one person any more or less a fan than another. Holy wars have been started over less. Don't believe me? Ask <a href="http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm">the Sunni and Shia Muslims</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Will Shawn Marion's trade request hurt team chemistry?</strong><br /><br />I can't believe this was ever a concern. Professional basketball players are not fans. They don't look at each other and think, "This is MY guy, he belongs to me and my team, and he'll never ever EVER leave me! If he wants to leave, then it must mean he hates being around me and doesn't love me and isn't loyal to me." Team mates are business associates that may or may not become friends in their employment environment. They are all on the same level relative to management and ownership, and they are all well aware of the implications of trade requests/demands.<br /><br />Every single one of them wants what is best for themselves, and with that comes the understanding that all are in the same boat and would probably do the same thing if placed in Marion's shoes. As the saying goes, "basketball is a business, and this is just business." Considering that Marion's request had everything to do with management/ownership and <a href="http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=6203">nothing to do with his business associates</a>, I don't see how anyone could have bought into the media hype that chemistry would be an issue.<br /><br /><strong>Will the officiating improve?</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_notebook_071110.html">Apparently not</a>. In fact (read: my opinion), the "quality" of officiating seems to have declined to even darker depths. That game in Miami was a major contributor (along with fan issues) to my self-imposed hiatus, as I just couldn't fathom 1) Amare getting called for fouls when he was taking elbows to the grill all night and 2) Amare getting ejected for demonstrating the disbelief any human being on the planet would display at such an egregious breech of both common sense and common courtesy.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_oDFeAbnyL8&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_oDFeAbnyL8&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />Though not the call in question, this is the same game. This is exactly what Amare had to deal with in that game, and for his trouble, Mark Wunderlich decided to send Amare to the training room involuntarily. And for reasons beyond my comprehension, this very same official worked the game last week when the Rockets came to town. Apparently, Wunderlich is a fan of the early-90s Knicks and <a href="http://www.chicagobears.com/tradition/hof-butkus.asp">Dick Butkus</a>.<br /><br />I'm not saying that the officials have targeted the Suns. All I'm saying is that the officiating is noticeably worse this year than previous years. I have seen it go bad both ways, including last night when Orlando came to town. Seriously ... JJ Redick gets a technical?<br /><br />And forget about transparency. We still don't know which of Amare's technicals the league rescinded from the Miami game. Well, we KNOW, but Stern and Co. haven't confirmed. With something so simple and so obvious, why the secrecy? One small chance to show us that things are changing ("We've rescinded Amare's second technical and fined/suspended referee Mark Wunderlich for not maintaining the high level of officiating that we, the league, require going forward..."), and they blew it.<br /><br />No. According to the league, <a href="http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-28-305/The-Salvatore-Side-of-the-Story---Crucified--in-the-2006-Finals.html">sitting Bennett Salvatore down to be interviewed by a blogger with two league axemen in tow</a> confirms transparency. As my friend, "Lou Reed" <a href="http://com1.runboard.com/baclockworkorange.f1.t297">pointed out to Henry Abbott via e-mail</a>, "this Salvatore interview reeks of a PR blitz by Stern & Company to try and deflect well deserved criticism." I won't get into the particulars of Abbott's belief that this was "an honest piece of journalism." Think about it - of all the NBA reporters, of all the legitimate sports media professionals, why was this interview thrown to a blogger? And why have two NBA representatives there to oversee the interview?<br /><br /><strong>How will the new additions fit in?</strong><br /><br />I'll answer that with my own question - how many times have you lost track of whether it was Marion or Hill guarding the oppositions best perimeter player? Even Tom Leander gets confused at times, especially on offensive rebounds and put-backs. When Matrix missed a break away lay up against the Clippers, and Hill came flying in for the put-back dunk, I thought for a split-second that the action occurred the other way around.<br /><br />After six games of around 37% shooting, Hill has taken off in the Suns' system. He seems to have found his groove, knowing when to play his midrange game and when to settle for the three (he really likes the corners, it seems). His shooting percentage has grown to a respectable 46.4%, and seems to be on its way to a hefty 48% for the season. And did anyone expect the defense? Going back to any chemistry questions, Hill and Marion seem to be long lost brothers. Their games are in no way similar, they look nothing alike, but they've become interchangeable early in the season. Forget Rashard Lewis. In the upcoming "first trimester reports" from reporters around the country, the free agent signing of the year will be Grant Hill, and that shouldn't change come season's end.<br /><br />Brian Skinner has been another pleasant surprise. It only took him a few games of limited minutes (coming off a minor injury suffered during the preseason) to blend right in with D'Antoni's style. Why Coach is so hesitant to use him more is beyond even <a href="http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0007553/">Marvin's</a> vast comprehensive abilities.<br /><br />Skinner averages 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, which seem marginal until we consider the 11.8 minutes of playing time he averages. To put that into perspective, Brian Skinner is 8th in the league in rebounds per 48 minutes at 15.7, which is the same as Tyson Chandler of the Hornets, and more than Carlos Boozer (Jazz), our own Shawn Marion, Kevin Garnett (Celtics), and Tim Duncan (Spurs).<br /><br />His blocks? Compare them to the likes of Dirk, Rasheed, Al Jefferson, the aforementioned Chandler, Pau Gasol, and Chris Bosh. Now consider that he averages about the same as all of them in a third of the time. To be sure, Brian Skinner is third in the league in blocked shots per 48 minutes. Think a front line of Marion (22nd BPG), Stoudemire (15th BPG, 13th BP48), and Skinner could shore up the lane? Speaking of which . . .<br /><br /><strong>Will D'Antoni use his bench, now that he has one?</strong><br /><br />It seems that the Laker game put a big scare in D'Antoni. It was only the second game of the season (with new parts and injured players, even), but it was enough to convince him to stick with his hard-to-crack circle of trust, regardless of the outcome. This despite the fact that his new bench played very well in that game, turning a 30+ point third quarter blowout into a more respectable 19 point loss.<br /><br />Now we find out that Coach Mike would rather <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1129suns1130.html">go with an injured Raja Bell</a> than look one seat further down his bench to give Marcus Banks another shot - the same Banks whom Mike promised more playing time if he kept playing as well as he did against Sacramento. Well, he never got another chance to play (four minutes of a game that the entire team played like crap in the first half is not sufficient, Mike). It makes one wonder what is going on behind the scenes that has a guy, signed by D'Antoni the GM to a long term deal, relegated so deeply in the doghouse.<br /><br />As a fan, I have to tell Coach to suck it up and play the guy. Whatever is happening beyond our view, YOU brought him here. Lie in the bed you made, and let the wins and losses come that way . . . not through your decisions to push an aging defensive specialist who has been feeling like he can't do the one job he was brought here to do. It's not fair to Bell, it's not fair to Banks, and it won't be fair to the fans once the playoffs roll around, and Raja goes down with another torn gastrocnemius.<br /><br />No, I am not joining the troll bandwagon and calling for D'Antoni's head. Nor do I agree with the assessment that long minutes during the regular season are the cause of problems in the playoffs. I am saying that refusing to use the bench when a player is already injured is risking all of those players' careers, as well as our chance at a title. An injured Bell is not better than a healthy Banks or DJ Strawberry.<br /><br />Every good amusement park ride has extreme highs, deep lows, and fast transitions in between. The excitement comes from not knowing what thrill lies behind the next corner and hilltop. The first time on any ride is the scariest and most gut-wrenching. It is only after we step out of the car and onto the platform that we can fully appreciate what we've just experienced. We've just gone over the first hill, which bottomed out against Golden State and Houston. Orlando proved to be a ride within the ride. There are still 66 more peaks to traverse and valleys to send our stomachs in three directions at once. There's no sense in riding on a broken wheel that could send us hurtling into the ground at 85 mph.<br /><br />Hopefully, we'll have a safe go, and the next roller coaster, the playoffs, will be just as intriguing and fulfilling as the current one should prove to be. Let's just hope the park management feels the same way.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-14527988378374387532007-11-16T12:56:00.000-08:002007-11-16T15:15:10.606-08:00Chico's Bail Bonds<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/16/sports/baseball/16bonds.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin">This</a> is a landmark case.<br /><br />Barry Bonds indicted on perjury and obstruction charges goes well beyond baseball, steroids, and home run records. Oh, no. This is a far more compelling drama than a mere <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2943095">betting scandal</a> or simple sports <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2007/news/story?id=2871615">controversial, series-changing</a> player suspension. This is a case where illegal drugs, America's hallowed historical past time, the American justice system, and hero-worship implicate every last living American in crimes against culture.<br /><br />We are compelled to pay attention to this story because EVERYONE has an opinion about baseball. Whether revered for its tradition or reviled for its pace, everyone in America recognizes baseball as a cultural commonality. This is why everyone has an opinion about Barry Bonds. Even casual baseball fans, people whose only contact with the sport is the five minutes at the end of the ten o'clock news, "hate" Bonds and want to see him strung up because he (allegedly) cheated. He soiled the records.<br /><br />Forget the fact that the second most hallowed record - the single-season home run mark - had already been the subject of controversy, not once, but twice before Barry Bonds came along in 2001. Forget the fact that Roger Maris hit his record-breaking 61st home run on the last day of a season eight games longer than Ruth's 60 home run seasons. And most importantly, forget the fact that three years prior, Maris' record was broken by a man now mired in this steroid controversy. That's not even mentioning Sammy Sosa.<br /><br />EVERYBODY knows who Barry Bonds is. He's that jerk who charges kids for autographs and starts fights in the dug out. He's that arrogant bastard who plays solely for the money, despite his pedigree. He's the angry black man earning more in one year than his father and godfather combined earned in their entire careers, making up for past sins of the white man.<br /><br />Real or not, that sums up the general perception of the reigning home run king. In mainstream terms, he is very easy to hate. Nothing like that OJ guy. So let's string him up.<br /><br />This case points to celebrity and race, and it points to our cultural belief of the qualities that comprise a hero, whether that man is a baseball player, a football player, a supreme court justice, or a president. This is a case of a white justice system persecuting a prominent black athlete.<br /><br />If Law and Order has taught me anything, it is that perjury and obstruction of justice are nothing more than prosecutorial knees to the groin. They are a last ditch effort to bring down an opponent who otherwise would not fall.<br /><br />Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury, though he committed no other crime. Men with a lot to lose tend to lie about trivial things when put under pressure. This is a biological fact, easily verified by talking to any woman who has or has had a cheating boyfriend. Clinton did nothing worthy of losing office, despite the best efforts of a strong Republican contingent to prove otherwise. They couldn't get him thrown out for adultery or real estate scams, so they tried to get him for lying about it.<br /><br />Unfortunately for Barry, he actually DID commit a crime. He broke a <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d101:HR4658:">now 17 year old law</a> intended "[t]o amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide criminal penalties for illicit use of anabolic steroids and for coaches and others who endeavor to persuade or induce athletes to take anabolic steroids, and for other purposes." At least, that's what the prosecution believes. They have a positive drug result from four years ago, and they've had it for four years.<br /><br />So why now? Why let his trainer sit in jail for a year? Even the LAPD had a strong case filled with tons of incriminating evidence (the knife, the gloves, the shoddy alibi) before they went after OJ. A die-hard conspiracy theorist might say that Bud Selig was behind the delay. They decided to let everything play out knowing full well that Bonds was toast. Now the Steroid era gets to come to a nice clean end, and Selig doesn't have to answer questions as to why it happened in the first place. History can forget that he enabled the situation, if only it can be resolved on his watch in the most memorably spectacular courtroom drama.<br /><br />Is Bonds really the fall guy for Bud Selig's Steroid era of baseball? Why not Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa? Why not Ken Caminiti? Hell, why not Jose Canseco? Here's a guy who openly admits to using steroids, is hated by the general population, and is willing to talk. Why is Jose Canseco any less credible a patsy than a record holder, a retired player, a pathetic comeback player, and a dead guy?<br /><br />Does it HAVE to be the black guy who speaks English?<br /><br />I have no doubts that the NAACP and ACLU will use this as case study for any future indictments against prominent black men, even if they don't come to Barry's defense. He DID violate the sacred trust of our most hallowed of events. You can bet that ROE V. BARRY will ultimately be one of the cornerstone cases that people point to when looking for answers to grand ethical questions. It will be compared to cases involving girls with names like Monica, Anita, and Nicole, though there are no women involved here. Just men.<br /><br />This is fascinating stuff. I can't wait to hear what Gloria Steinem has to say about this.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-35851817539008005442007-11-15T11:51:00.000-08:002007-11-15T16:32:17.034-08:00Fan DanceAt the risk of more bandwagon accusations, I feel I must comment on this whole "fan" issue making its way around the net and local talk radio. Unless you've been hanging by the wrists from iron shackles along a grimy Welsh granite dungeon wall for the past week, you have heard Mike D'Antoni's <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1114sunsnb1115.html">latest criticism of his "team."</a><br /><br />I say "team" because he is essentially calling out a vital member of the Suns team that has yet to show up. Fans thought it would be the Matrix who didn't show up this season, and they hoped that Boris Diaw would (both beliefs proved unfounded in reality, so far), but it is they who haven't bothered to bring their energy to the game. They are the fans at America West Arena . . . I mean US Airways Center.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/sunsgamer-CR.html">It all started innocently enough</a>. After the Suns thoroughly dominated the Knicks without even trying on Tuesday night (a game that I thought was awesome in every way because Amare was kicking ass), Coach, for whatever reasons, turned his critical eye from the players and placed it squarely on the 18 thousand-some odd fans who are privileged enough to see the games live.<br /><br />Almost daily a reporter from some paper or website from anywhere around the world asks him about his team's "sluggish start." His team is 6-2 with injury induced rotation shuffles. D'Antoni has been saying all along that the team isn't quite there yet - that they're still working out the on court chemistry with Grant Hill, getting him comfortable with his role. Amare has been in and out of the line up due to knee problems and a failed Wunderlich test, and now our designated 6th man is showing us why he should be in the starting line up instead of Raja Bell. The team is not anywhere near where it should be and will be in April, but the Suns are still winning. They've had conditioning issues in their two losses, both of which have come on the back end of a twin killing coming off a flight.<br /><br />The team is 6-2! Where was the team after eight games the last TWO seasons? The Suns started 3-5 last year and 4-4 in the year without Amare. The last time the Suns started 6-2 was 2004, otherwise known as year one of the Nash era. And fans aren't excited. Not the ones who are fortunate enough to attend games, anyway. Remember, D'Antoni called out the crowds, not the general fan base. This was my first reaction:<br /><br /><blockquote>Season ticket holders act all bad like their the greatest Suns fans in the world just because they can fork down the thousands of dollars to get them, then they make the arena look like an opium den when the Suns are absolutely manhandling a busted down Knicks team. The LEAST those people should have done was boo Isiah Thomas incessantly for being a perennial black eye (no racial pun intended) on the entire freakin' league. Those people in the lower bowl should be forced to give up their tickets to real fans...those of us who would stand the entire game screaming for every rebound, every deflection, and every 24 second shot clock violation the Suns force. Too bad for our players that the REAL fans can't afford tickets to see their team play every other night.</blockquote><br />The Suns arena crowd is more San Antonio than Oakland, or even Los Angeles. There have always been celebrities at Laker games, but why are they showing up at Suns games? Why are they drawing the yuppie Northeast Valley snobs instead of the people who absolutely love the team and would be standing up a full 48 minutes of regulation game time, letting our players know how much we appreciate them? When did Phoenix Suns basketball become <a href="http://www.moscow.info/theaters/bolshoi-theatre.aspx">The Bolshoi</a>?<br /><br />Perhaps the most inspiring scene of fan appreciation comes at the end of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097815/">Major League</a>, when the rag tag Indians rally from a run down in the bottom of the ninth for the division title. The die hard fans, the four guys sitting in the left field bleachers with the Tee Pee and the tom toms, the people who had supported the team, even as it bottomed out midseason were all there standing and cheering their team. They rode the roller coaster with their team, and this moment belonged as much to those fans as it did the players and manager. The fans had Municipal stadium rocking so hard that the quake began to spread.<br /><br />The Japanese grounds crew, who to this point had only said in their native tongue throughout the entire movie, "They're still shitty," pounded their shovels on the ground. Punks and yuppies arm in arm, banging bottles and beer mugs on the bars in front of them sent the shock wave through bars and homes throughout the entire city of Cleveland. The fans united in one thunderous explosion of team worship, and it all started with the few who were there from the beginning.<br /><br />That can't happen here because the yuppies cut in front of the real fans, and those Teleband wagoners need a televisible reason to have any kind of reaction. It's like they're sitting on set waiting for some "methical" director to yell, "ACTION!"<br /><br />The Suns are winning early, and the players are doing things worthy of praise. Stop waiting around for a championship that may never come. You had Amare playing like a defensive demon with four blocks and 12 rebounds, not to mention the fact that he literally exploded for 26 points. You had Steve "MVP" Nash collecting 12 assists as his team mates made more than half their shots. You had Leandro Barbosa and Shawn Marion matching each other's point production, as well as collecting five steals between them. You had Brian Skinner grabbing 7 rebounds in 18 minutes, not to mention his two blocks and three steals. Piatkowski made his first three of the season, and Boris Diaw is playing some nice post defense. And you had Marcus Banks . . . well, I can't defend you every time Banks.<br /><br />The point is, there was a ton of entertainment value in that game, despite any perceived lackadaisical play. So the Suns committed 19 turnovers. Big deal. They outrebounded the Knicks, and that should be plenty to cheer.<br /><br />I don't believe that Suns fans are "anxious," as <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/DanBickley/10654">Dan Bickley suggests</a>, "I believe a large majority of Suns fans need a serious dose of the two P's: patience and perspective."<br /><br />I believe that a majority of Suns fans HAVE those two P's. They should have one more P for having to be lumped in with the ignorant fans at the game who feel that paying money is praise enough. They're like bad tippers. They go to the most expensive restaurant in town, receive the best service they will ever get in their lives, are treated as French Nobility, then question the 15% gratuity added to the bill. They have no appreciation for the experience, and the only time they make noise is when they have a complaint.<br /><br />And Mike D'Antoni called them out. Good. There are plenty of other fans who will buy single game tickets when holders throw away their season tickets. The Suns need fans that understand that it's not about the money, it's about the once-in-a-lifetime experience of seeing the best team in the league play. The arena is a place for basketball fans - for Suns fans - not camera fans or "seen at the scene" fans.<br /><br />A fan is a part of the team, not "a paying customer."Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-58795468914957041582007-11-13T16:46:00.000-08:002007-11-13T22:36:22.543-08:00Crossing the Fourth WallOK, Suns fans, here's the deal. Some of you may have noticed that I've been neglecting my blog duties. As well, you message board patrons may note that I've been a little on edge lately. There's a good reason for it, and I felt it appropriate to share my epiphany with my readers.<br /><br />Today was a good day. I got my insurance card (finally), the pigeon landed after a long holiday layover, the Death Star arrived, and azcentral's own Paul Coro <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/10586">spoke to me</a>. Now, I wasn't sure why at the time, but upon reading my name in a column by PC made me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It felt surreal having someone speak directly to me through a professional blog on a corporate website, and then it hit me. Paul wasn't talking to me. He was talking to a person who really only exists online.<br /><br />It seems that I've been having an identity crisis of sorts, lately, and that response opened my eyes to what is really going on around here. The person writing is not the same as the person speaking (ambiguity intentional). I can actually distance and dissociate myself from the "character" I present online, thus separating myself from the iconic "Jey" (which, by the way, is not my "real" name).<br /><br />If <a href="http://suns.planetorange.net/kickapps/service/displayDiscussionThreads.kickAction?as=9952&w=57671&d=9285&d-1169404-p=1">certain people don't get it</a>, so be it. I am not going to change the identity that I so carefully constructed for satirical use in favor of "political correctness" (by extension, the opportunity to work more professionally).<br /><br />I've had my integrity questioned, my fanship challenged, my methods criticized, and my insanity "duly noted." And you know what? Fuck* you. The only reason anyone could ever get pissed off at anything I say . . . is that I speak the truth.<br /><br />You don't like my method for expressing my criticisms? Too bad. Focus on the problem, and don't worry about my attitude. There is no reason that a professional journalist should be speaking directly to a message board personality through his own corporate blog. It is highly unethical, as it shows how much you are forming your work based on external influences. You should be writing objectively - you should not be letting external biases creep into your work. You have enough of your own to worry about.<br /><br />You don't think I'm a good enough fan? Outdo me. I challenge you to do what I do every day to express my loyalty to the Suns. All any of you do is talk on a message board and write cheaply written first person pseudo-blogs. I put effort into my work. I educate myself in more areas of study for the purposes of informing and entertaining than any of you consider for your own careers. This is not just some dude with an opinion spouting off on the Internet. This is an artist perfecting his craft, and who can ever question that I've chosen the Suns as my canvas? When you've crawled in my skin for three days, then you can question and/or criticize me. Until then, keep your blindfolded cheer leading to your corner closets. I'm working here.<br /><br />To those who enjoy and appreciate the things I do in the name of Solar Redemption, thank you for your continued support.<br /><br />There is no Planet. There is only A Clockwork.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-47399441334579377582007-11-09T09:02:00.000-08:002007-11-09T13:19:08.685-08:00To Kill a Mocking Bird<blockquote>Now gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality. Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence that you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this man to his family. In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom Robinson.</blockquote><p>Justice can prove too nebulous a concept to properly define in any given context. It involves compromise, a removal of self-evident rights and wrongs to reach a conclusion that pleases no man. Justice is reliant on our faith in a higher power, a sense of equity amongst a grander scheme than we can conceive with human minds. Yet we so often fail to achieve justice because we remove that standard in favor of our own tendencies to favor what is best for us personally.</p><p>When a person says that he wants justice, he is really saying that he wants vindication for a wrong that has been committed against him. This is the great fault of our court system, that man is allowed to inject his personal feelings into the pursuit of something that he can never rightfully obtain. Justice is objective, and objectivity goes well beyond any one man's cognitive capacity. We are human. We are emotional. We are subjective. It is a law as natural as Karma.</p><p>This condition has led to the erroneous belief that justice is found by weighing what we assume to be right and wrong, balancing the opposing views via attrition. We believe that mutually negating circumstances will lead to a just conclusion, which is really nothing more than deciding whether more rights have been committed than wrongs, or vice versa. This is not justice - it is moral economics, wherein he who has the most evidential gold wins the case.</p><p>Only the bravest of men challenges his own instincts in pursuit of justice. Only the strongest of men stands up to the criticism and accusations that he has acted in self-interest, whether his self or someone else's. Only the wisest of men realizes the fruitless nature of the pursuit and admits failure upon completion of his argument. He need not apologize for this failure, as his cause is "good," if not entirely righteous. The only requirement is that he allow Truth to guide him. For this, no man can be accused of doing "wrong".</p><p>Aside from human nature, among the enemies of justice are ego, deceit, and hypocrisy. </p><p>Ego is a quality of man alone, and it is what prevents him from admitting fault in his own missteps along the path to justice. It also prevents him from considering all necessary information when determining a just course of action because ego, more than all other human traits, convinces us that the decision is ours and ours alone. It tells us that our minds are sufficiently capable of determining what is just, despite the intrinsic objectivity of justice. How else can man be so certain that his emotions are not guiding his decisions if not for that belief?</p><p>He does so through deception - both of others and of himself. The mask of objectivity is the greatest lie put forth by our judicial system. Deceit allows us the comfort of coming to conclusions that we can only hope are just, rather than those that actually are just. We have laws, and we have punishments for violating those laws. We assume that, because the laws were written with the best intentions of society in mind through processes involving much debate and input, they must in truth be objective. We lie to ourselves because to admit the truth (that these laws and punishments are in fact based on subjective beliefs of how a person "should" act in his society) is to accept that we are not in control. Man's ego, in essence, forces him to lie to maintain his sanity.</p><p>It is very difficult, if not impossible, to control those factors of the human condition. The best that most of us can do is to recognize when we are guilty of succumbing to the pull of our own nature, and do what we can to minimize the effects on our decision-making. Unfortunately for the cause of justice, man is much more likely to form grand inconsistencies in thought and behavior, taking comfort in short-sightedness instead of facing the discomfort of violating his own beliefs. Hypocrisy serves as a short cut through reason, and any challenge to such is most often dismissed as "sour grapes" or "beating a dead horse."</p><p>Interestingly enough, humans seem inherently to recognize the differences between justice and its opposite, though most are unable to articulate those differences. Instead of peeling back the rights and wrongs of a situation, people tend to pile them together, search for which is the last on top, and determine that as their justice or injustice. In general, man is unable to cut through the rights and wrongs because that would mean tossing aside their own beliefs of both. Man's personal "right" is his evidence, and to him, to toss it aside looking for the Truth is akin to cutting off his own arm in order to fit through a narrow door. </p><p>It is this inability to articulate that allows instances of injustice to fester through time. A person cannot be satisfied until that instance has been resolved, and it cannot be resolved as long as he and his opposition fall victim to their own egos, deceit, and hypocrisy. It turns into a tedious cycle of accusations and repetitive defense, and people would just as soon give up the fight than pursue justice to its resolution.</p><p>I am not suggesting that I am brave, strong, or wise. I am, however, suggesting that David Stern is none of them.</p><p>The judgements have been made, and the punishments have been served. It has become an academic argument that will continue to flourish until everyone involved learns as much as possible from it. No learning can occur as long as one man is allowed to sink into cowardice, avoiding the consequences of a rash, short-sighted decision that he made. There were many possibilities to consider before making any decisions on suspensions. To wit...</p><p></p><blockquote>Rule 12, Section VII(c) of the NBA Official Playing Rules says: "During an altercation, all players not participating in the game must remain in the immediate vicinity of their bench. Violators will be suspended, without pay, for a minimum of one game and fined up to $50,000.</blockquote><p>The rule does not say "suspended the very next game." It simply states, "one game."</p><p>That, my friends, is the injustice committed by David Stern.<br /></p>Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-14449278245055559892007-11-07T12:39:00.000-08:002007-11-07T13:09:46.965-08:00Consolation PrizeGuess who is <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1107allstar-ON.html">coming to Phoenix</a>.<br /><br />That's right. Der Kommissar will be in the Valley Thursday morning at 8:30 to announce that Phoenix will be the site of the 2009 NBA All Star game. All those who are surprised, please raise your hands.<br /><br />What? No one?<br /><br />Three instances of an event is enough to form a pattern.<br /><br />First, there is Las Vegas, a city devoid of NBA loyalties. The anti-gambling commissioner, who once said that Sin City would never see a franchise until the Casinos agreed to eliminate gambling on NBA games, decided that the 2007 All Star game would be a test case to see if Vegas could handle the responsibilities of holding NBA sponsored events. Other than a few NFL-player related scandals, the event went off without a hitch.<br /><br />Next, there is New Orleans, a city ravaged by mother nature two years ago. The city was on the verge of losing all interest in the NBA completely (not that they ever fully embraced their transplanted team), with speculation that the Hornets should just move to Oklahoma City permanently. Now that the new Seattle Supersonics owners are fighting the city of Seattle for the right to relocate to the City that's OK with you and me, the New Orleans potential fan base proved enough motivation to hold the game below sea level. After all, there is still a lot of healing to be done, and what better way to lift the spirits of a half million homeless people than to rebuild their city for more affluent families in order to put on a good show for the league?<br /><br />Now, we have Phoenix. We know the story. It's only become worse over time, as Stern suddenly became flexible with the rules when it came time to lay the hammer on his own people. Stern is coming to us for the first time since "the incident," after which he cancelled an appearance at a Western Conference Finals match up in favor of witnessing the "greatness" that was LeBron James and the Cavaliers.<br /><br />So let me get this straight. Stern basically robbed the Suns of its best opportunity to win a title last season, pissing off an entire state in the process, ran to the hills of Cleveland when he realized that his personal safety just may be in danger (in this laid back Western berg? Please!), and now is showing up with "glorious news!"<br /><br />Sorry, Dave, but I'm not buying it.<br /><br />I know he expects the announcement to begin reparations with the most disillusioned and disenchanted fan base this side of Dallas. His history of ego and narcissism speaks to that much clearly. But the All Star game is not a championship. It is a spectacle wherein players waste time and energy, risk their health, and are prevented from spending time with their families mid-season. This does nothing for the city of Phoenix or the fans of the Suns.<br /><br />We want redemption, not a fucking* carnival side show.<br /><br />Does he actually expect us to embrace his presence with open minds and forgiving hearts? Does he honestly expect that there won't be a thousand Suns fans lining 7th street waving signs, yelling obscenities, and (hopefully) tossing rotten eggs at his limousine as he makes his way to the arena?<br /><br />Please. If I had the means, I'd be at the front of the anti-Stern parade with a pair of binoculars and a loaded paint ball gun waiting for him to speed by the blocked off street. (I assume it will be blocked off, due to minor security concerns - such as a loyal fan with an air gun loaded with purple and orange paint balls.)<br /><br />Sorry, Dave. You've wasted any shot at forgiveness in this town. To every loyal Suns fan, you are the devil incarnate, and you have no business setting foot in the House that Black Jesus Built.<br /><br />Stay out of our city, keep your shiny token, and give us what we really want (other than your own head on a platter). We want a title, not an All Star game. The best that Stern can do is to keep his cronies out of our way as we march forward to that goal.<br /><br />To quote the always irreverent <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074174/">Tanner Boyle</a>: Hey, Stern! You can take your apology and your All Star game and shove 'em straight up your ass!Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-88081259549931139702007-11-07T11:00:00.000-08:002007-11-07T13:10:45.068-08:00What? Me worry?First, a caveat. It was the Bobcats.<br /><br />Now, to mollify that caveat. The Bobcats are better than the Sonics.<br /><br />This isn't about the Bobcats, or even the level of the Suns' competition tonight. This is about a Suns team that has a new starting lineup, a new bench, and one that hadn't played to expectations through two-and-a-half games. It is also a Suns team playing without its All NBA center, Amare Stoudemire.<br /><br />The defense that stymied the Cavaliers in the second half of Sunday's game continued for a full 48 minutes against the Bobcats. Charlotte did not shoot better than 50% in a single quarter, the closest they got coming in a 9-19 third quarter. The 'Cats shot 21-63 the rest of the time (33.3% for the mathematically challenged), including a fourth quarter that saw the Suns' bench empty. That was a 6-20 quarter for the young upstarts, a telling statistic given the Suns' recent history of Fitness Club failures.<br /><br />It wasn't just the scoring defense, though. The Suns had energy and intensity throughout the game. The Suns were everywhere, forcing 24 Bobcat turnovers, getting into passing lanes for play-disrupting deflections, and beating the Kittens on the boards most of the game. The Suns would have won the battle of the boards if not for a curiously laughable sequence, wherein Jared Dudley missed four consecutive tip-in attempts before finally getting a handle on things for a 10 foot straight-away jumper.<br /><br />Poor Raymond Felton. He was the most notable victim of the Suns intensity and tenacity, as his legs got tangled with Steve Nash's on a spin move in the lane. Initial X-rays and MRIs proved negative, so I'm hoping the young point guard recovers quickly. He was absolutely manhandled by the Suns, as the contender finally decided that there would be no easy layups. He and Matt Carroll might be having nightmares of Boris Diaw screens and Raja Bell defense between now and their next game in Phoenix.<br /><br />The Suns asserted themselves, for sure, and it seemed to start with Boris Diaw, who must have gotten the memo I sent about passing from the rim. The French enigma seemed to unravel the riddle of how to play facilitator along side the play making of Steve Nash, as Diaw took Nash feeds strong to the basket for 15 points, and passed to open team mates in rhythm to notch 11 assists. Now the question turns to whether he can take that intelligent, flexible, aggressive play to the court when Amare returns.<br /><br />Diaw's play was indicative of the team itself. The defense led to a smooth and consistent offensive game that should give Suns fans plenty of reason to remain optimistic. The team actually scored more points (59) in the two quarters that they failed to shoot at least 50% than they did in the first and fourth quarters (56 points, 54.8%). As with the defense, the Suns offense never relented to a scrappy Bobcats team that seemed to be playing more to prove that it could run with the Suns than actually beat them.<br /><br />That fourth quarter is probably the most encouraging, as the Suns elder statesmen rested the entire period. Only starters Boris Diaw and Raja Bell played significant minutes in the quarter, leaving the door open for Banks, Marks, and Barbosa to maintain a lead that dropped to 21 points before DJ Strawberry (7 minutes) and Alando Tucker (4 minutes) came in to finish the job, extending the lead to the game's final 32 point margin of victory.<br /><br />That performance by the younger, hungrier, and more athletic bench contrasts last season's <a href="http://www.nba.com/games/20061111/MEMPHX/boxscore.html">debacle against Memphis</a>, in which the Fitness Club coughed up a 34-point fourth quarter lead before the starters had to return and restore order, ultimately winning by nine points. Is it just me, or does 27-22 in favor of the Suns sound more promising than 29-7 against a team of reserves running around like headless chickens?<br /><br />My boy, DJ Strawberry (a.k.a. the Tasmanian Devil, a.k.a. Tazzy), went scoreless on one shot attempt, but his defensive presence is on par with his new mentor, Raja Bell - maybe even better with his young legs and solid ankles. Two steals in seven minutes is nice, even considering the competition. DJ takes his assignment very seriously, as if he's seen video of last year's reserves. The kid is a tough defender who never takes off a possession, and he plays like he should be the first option off the bench, if only for defensive purposes. My hope is that Coach Mike forgets last season and works DJ into the rotation more as the season continues.<br /><br />It could prove a difficult decision, though, as the entire bench has stepped up in the first four games of the season. On brutal road trips (four games in five nights), those players will prove invaluable in allowing the big boys to get some much needed rest, as well as allowing Stoudemire the patience to let his knee heal. No hurry, big guy -- the new guys have got your back.<br /><br />So what do we take from all this? If we're not allowed to panic after three, why should we be allowed so much optimism after four?<br /><br />1. The team is gelling much quicker than last season. It hasn't taken six months of banging our heads against a brick wall before Boris got the message. Grant Hill is finding his way in the offense, and is proving to bring something very few even considered - defense. And, of course, there's the bench play.<br /><br />2. Maturity. Amare Stoudemire <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1106sunsnb1107.html">is now a captain</a>, which speaks mightily towards his development as a player who is serious about winning within the team concept, as well as his ability to maintain a level head throughout adversity. Add to that Nash's even more fiery determination to redeem last year's injustice, Marion's ability to separate the business from the game, the continued development of Diaw and Barbosa, and this team is showing signs that it has indeed turned the corner.<br /><br />Remember, it is not all about what happens on the court and against which team. It is about attitudes and desires that make this team so fun to watch, so easy to love, and so hard to doubt. Through three games of erratic play and one game of absolute dominance without one captain and All NBA center, the Suns have shown that they understand their goals. They are not as caught up in the trivial matters of trade demands, lack of early season focus, and questionable durability as <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1106suns1106.html">some</a> <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaolaBoivin/10142">reporters</a> <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/DanBickley/10019">here</a> believe that Suns fans are.<br /><br />I have not worried for a moment whether or not the team would work its way into form eventually. Last season is still fresh in my mind, so how could I panic or think that there are holes to be filled? How could anyone? The only reason that I am so high on last night's win is that it justifies all Suns fans' belief that this team is ready, and that it will go far this season. Four down, 78 to go, and I'm just hoping that the majority of the remaining games look a lot like the one against Charlotte, competition be damned.<br /><br />This was Phoenix Suns basketball at its finest.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-72385668572876228782007-11-05T17:44:00.000-08:002007-11-05T19:09:01.158-08:00Playing Catch-UpI apologize for the lack of entries after the last two games. I was struck with a wicked bout of insomnia (again), and I never feel comfortable writing when I'm over-tired. My thoughts tend to be erratic enough without the detriment of sleep deprivations. Since the games are now officially old news, I'll just stick with some highlights of my thoughts.<br /><br />November 2, Suns vs. Lakers<br /><br />Talk about a classic train wreck. Normally, I would have turned that game off before half time, switching back every 15 minutes or so to check up on the progress of the game. I don't like watching ugly basketball, and that was worse than the Pistons/Heat affair that preceded it.<br /><br />Still, I couldn't get myself to turn away. I don't know what it was exactly, but I just found too much humor in seeing the Lakers hit every kind of shot imaginable in that game. At one point in the fourth quarter, Sasha Vujacic hit a three from the top of the arc, and I started laughing out loud. I guess that makes it a true laugher.<br /><br />But it was only the second game of the season, so what can I really criticize? I'm sure there's plenty, but I won't bother. Besides, Dan Bickley summed it up quite nicely <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/DanBickley/10019">in his blog</a>. I can only add this: The Suns are a true run-and-gun team. We take their conditioning for granted because they play so well starting in late November, and we tend to forget those first few weeks of the season, when they huffing and puffing their way up and down the court. It's a risk they take by embracing that particular style of play with a short rotation.<br /><br />As usual, give it time. Amare will heal, Leandro will find his outside touch (and free throw touch, for that matter), and Raja will shoot his way out of his usual beginning-of-the-season cold spell. Well, he will so long as he gets a chance to rest his ankle. Tendinitis is tricky, and only time and rest can fix it. The team will catch their wind. I stand by my <a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/10/bitch-is-back.html">preseason assessment</a>, and I won't be surprised or upset if the Suns start the season around .500 after the first couple of weeks. Remember, they're playing seven games in ten days to start things off. A few speed bumps and conditioning issues are to be expected.<br /><br />November 4, Suns vs. Cavs<br /><br />Yes, the first half sucked. Big deal. I'll admit that I wasn't too thrilled during the game, falling back on the new <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1112082/">"Treehouse of Horrors XVIII"</a> as a sanity saver. (I missed most of it, due to the <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1104sunsside1105.html">honoring of Jerry Colangelo</a> at half time and the second half resurgence, but what I saw looked much better than last season's crapfest. I especially dug the take on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356910/">"Mr. & Mrs. Smith</a>. What it had to do with Halloween, I do not know.)<br /><br />All digressions aside, that second half could not have been more picture perfect. The Suns outscored the Caves 65-47 in the half, doubling up the the James gang 58-29 over the last 18:21 of the game. What may be lost in the outcome is that it came with the regular six playing almost every minute of that time. Whatever gets the win, I suppose, but we can hardly blame D'Antoni for it, considering the 38 point on 37.5% shooting in the first half.<br /><br />I think, though, that Banks and Skinner took the fall for Boris Diaw's passive (to be inhumanly kind) play in the first half. Every time Nash got him the ball in scoring position, Diaw thought the best move was to kick it out? Did he forget who he was playing with? Sure, he finished the night with a great line (two steals and two blocks to go with his 50% shooting), but all that passing amounted to a whole THREE assists.<br /><br />Fortunately, someone had words with him at half time. The Suns would never admit as much publicly, but I'm more than certain that he got his ass chewed out for that first half performance by none other than Steve Nash. "When I give you the ball, you SHOOT!" The result was the aggressive 3D that won our hearts two seasons ago when he won the league's Most Improved Player award. Still, it shouldn't be that way. He shouldn't have to be reminded that he is not the primary play maker, that he is not a point guard, and that his job is to complement the other players on the floor, not to lead and feed them.<br /><br />That second half team defense was tremendous. Consider that LeBron James shot two free throws the entire game - both coming in the fourth quarter. Guess what folks, that was Grant Hill's assignment. I guess we can forgive his 4-12 shooting, since anyone's offense is going to suffer when he draws the toughest defensive assignment (see Marion's 7-17 guarding the much bigger Drew Gooden, and the 7'3" behemoth Cavs fans call "The Big Z"). Also consider the 22 turnovers the Suns forced, though LeBron James <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271104021">might disagree</a>, saying, "We had a few careless mistakes ... We had some unforced ones that were uncharacteristic of us."<br /><br />Note to the kid - "some" out of 22 doesn't account for ten Suns steals and two shot clock violations, as well as any charges taken by the Suns. Sorry, "King," but you need to give the Suns defense a bit more credit than that. <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1194255581284170.xml&coll=2">Citing the half time ceremony</a> doesn't cut it, either.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote>It was definitely long and something that we weren't used to, and we didn't know either. We came out to warm up, and we had to wait another 20 minutes, so it was definitely tough on us. But it's not an excuse. They did a great job in the third quarter of picking up the intensity.</blockquote><br />Correct. Not an excuse, as the Suns had to wait, as well. You could say that it was partly responsible for the Suns third quarter intensity, though. Really, do you think they wanted to lose in front of the man who bore the franchise and essentially built downtown Phoenix?<br /><br />Again, I digress. I've made <a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/06/i-didnt-vote-for-him.html">my feelings</a> on the matter known, already, yet I can't help but drive the point home every time the Suns meet the Cavaliers. Now if only someone would tell Gary Bender.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-51083256973973106832007-11-02T02:12:00.000-07:002007-11-02T06:37:25.842-07:00Take Me to Maxwell StreetMy family moved to Arizona from Michigan permanently during the summer of 1979. I was still five years old, and we had lived here when I was three, so it wasn't anything scary for me. Oddly enough, it wasn't the Phoenix summer that caused me to dislike living here so much, it was the winter time. Being so young, all my memories were of snow and white Christmases, and I pined every year for that rarest of miracles -- the snow storm in the Valley of the Sun. Of course, it never happened.<br /><br />When I was old enough, I saved enough money to move to Chicago. It wasn't Michigan, but it was the Midwest, and I had friends there already. It was a blustery mid-May morning when I arrived at O'Hare. My thermal speedometer had gone from 100 to 60 in a little less than five hours, and life was good. I spent the summer enjoying the weather, playing basketball, and experiencing all the gourmet pleasures my friend had told me about.<br /><br />Two words: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_Street_Polish">Maxwell Street</a>.<br /><br />I had never had a Polish on a bun before, and I have been addicted ever since my first bite of this pedestrian culinary masterpiece. A Maxwell Street Polish with a sack of greasy, soggy thin French fries and an ice-cold can of Coke (I have since switched to Pepsi) tops anything you'll find in any restaurant of any quality anywhere in the world. But it <strong>has</strong> to be from <a href="http://users.rcn.com/cowdery/jims.jpg">Jim's Original</a>, where the sausages are cooked on a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Polish%2C_Pork_Chop_%26_Onions.JPG">large metal grill</a> with onions and pork chops, soaking up the oil and flavor. Throw it on a bun with a few lines of mustard, and we're talking heart attack heaven.<br /><br />I moved back to the Phoenix area permanently July, 1998. I took a Greyhound bus, and arrived some time in the early afternoon. I stepped off the bus into 117 degree heat, and I was not thrilled.<br /><br />It was a long trip. I was tired, I was hungry, and I was in no mood to mess around. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a "Chicago" hot dog joint opened up in Tempe. I was ecstatic. I was excited. Anxious to share my glorious food find with my brother-in-law, I convinced him to go with me and share in the experience. He's from Toledo, and had never experienced a Chicago Polish, so it was an easy sell.<br /><br />This "Chicago restaurant" (a glorified hot dog stand in strip mall form, the name of which I have intentionally eliminated from my memory) did not grill their Polishes with onions. They did not grill them at all. I watched in horror as the man behind the counter pulled my purchase from a pot of boiling water, placed it on a bun, and loaded it into a wax paper bag with dry, crispy thick fries and handed it to me with a large wax paper cup of fountain soda.<br /><br />I won't go into all the gory details of eating a bland, watery Kielbasa with grocery store fries. I ate it, complaining about the method of preparation the entire time, and apologized to my sister's husband for wasting his time, money, and taste buds.<br /><br />Nine years later, the Suns open the season against the Seattle (Super)Sonics, and I'm left with the same feeling of "I'm starving, so I'll take it, but this is not how this should be."<br /><br />Excited as I have been for the new Suns season to start, I knew that it wouldn't be everything I remembered from the playoffs (controversy and results notwithstanding). The level of play, the intensity, the feeling that we were trying to accomplish something huge -- I didn't expect any of it. But it's Suns basketball, and we have ALL needed a fix for months.<br /><br />I won't go into all the gory details of watching a bland, sloppy game with preseason defense. Unlike the Phoenix faux Polish, the Suns game against the Sonics yielded at least some positive feelings.<br /><br />For starters, Amare Stoudemire is beginning to look like the Amare of 2004 again, despite his wind not having caught up with his ambition quite yet. The Suns went to him early and often, and he did not disappoint as he threw down two arena rattling slams, the second of which came on a <strong>moh-hoh-honsterous</strong> windmill as he flashed across the lane, passing two Sonic defenders before reaching across his body to throw it down -- HARD. He even managed to avoid committing his first foul for a full ten minutes, which has to be a record for him.<br /><br />The big question about Amare coming in, though, concerned his defense. Well ... he only had one foul in the first quarter. He had two in the second, but one of them was the offensive variety, and the other came off the ball (admittedly, I don't remember even seeing that foul). Some might say that Amare decided to let guys blow by him rather than reach in late. Well ... is that not an improvement over previous seasons? He still managed to record a steal and a block to go along with his 11 rebounds.<br /><br />And Nick Collison, who should be best remembered by Suns fans as snagging 21 rebounds in a Phoenix win last season (25.5 points on 22-31 shooting and 18 rebounds in two of the games against Amare), went off for a whopping 8 points and 7 rebounds in 33 minutes this time. It's not Defensive Player of the Year, but it's a step in the right direction.<br /><br />Speaking of the right direction - did I mention that Marcus Banks seems to have turned the corner a bit? I think <a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/10/its-our-time.html">I did</a>. I'll admit that I was not too thrilled with his performance in the first half, but three straight three pointers to account for 9 points in a 13-0 run that brought the Suns back from a nine point deficit late in the third quarter goes a long way to repairing bad memories. So I think I'll forget that first half. I'll take 12 points and one turnover in 14 minutes of playing time every night, though I would like to see a few assists in there, as well.<br /><br />On the opposite end of the three-point spectrum stands Grant Hill. I cannot for the life of me figure out why he took seven shots beyond the arc, but he did, missing all but one. He started his scoring with a pair of free throws that he received after being fouled while slashing to the basket. It was a great move, and he should have stuck with it the whole game because those were the only two free throws the Suns shot in the first half.<br /><br />Fortunately, someone talked some sense into him. He got back to his slashing ways in the third quarter, gliding beautifully to the basket twice in the second half to go along with one of his long-sought-after mid-range jumpers. I don't mind if he takes the occasional three once he gets comfortable with it in a game situation, but for the most part, I want to see the Grant Hill that brings the mustard to the picnic. Seriously...he scored 13 points on 12 shots while missing six three pointers. There's no reason that he shouldn't average five or six fouls shots a game. If we wanted to see a bunch of threes clanking off the front of the rim, the team would have kept James Jones.<br /><br />For the most part, I am happy to have had a taste of the sustenance that I've been missing for the last 5 1/2 months. For certain, there are improvements to be made, but we have another six months to worry about those. These are our Phoenix Suns, and they hadn't won a season opener in the Steve Nash Era, Part Zwei. I take what I can get with the full faith that the team will work itself into shape, just as it has every season for the last three years.<br /><br />And in doing so, they just may bring that rarest of miracles to the Valley of the Suns. I'm not going back to Chicago, so I hope it snows in Phoenix real soon -- preferrably in June.<br /><br />I'll take that over a Maxwell Street Polish every day of the week.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-32208696969745428112007-10-31T17:54:00.000-07:002007-11-01T13:34:04.140-07:00Woulda, Coulda, ShouldaFirst, <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/10/31/stern.knicks.ap/index.html">a word from the commissioner</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote>I'm not considering any range of disciplinary action, but my powers are very broad if I choose to exercise them.<br /><br />- David Stern</blockquote><p></p><p>Well, the Suns have yet to play a game in the 2007-08 season, but <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1030nbapre-predix1031box.html">the consensus</a> <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1030sunstnt.html">is already in</a>. They can't beat the Spurs. <a href="http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/100843">They're too small</a>. <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview2007/news/story?page=Experts-WestChamps">The "experts" agree</a>, mostly, that there's no reason not to pick the defending champs. That's <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/071025&sportCat=nba">the logical choice</a>, it seems.<br /><br />Fine. If the "experts" want to pick the Spurs by virtue of last year's title, who am I to argue?<br /><br />I'll tell you who I am. I'm the guy who <a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/04/this-is-your-mvp.html">relishes any opportunity to put the self-proclaimed experts in their collective place</a> because they too often pander to the league itself rather than exercise honesty (let alone journalistic integrity). Here we have a group of professional individuals who would sooner rewrite history than acknowledge it. This is the same group of individuals who whispered <span style="font-size:78%;">"hypocrisy"</span> just loud enough and long enough to claim that they did their jobs in exposing David Stern for the egomaniacal autocrat that he makes himself out to be.<br /><br />The people who pick the Spurs to win this year - more specifically, those who believe the Suns can't beat the Spurs - are forgetting something very important in their reasoning. The <a href="http://www.nba.com/suns/stats/2006/conf_semi_stats.html">statistics</a> do not support their argument in the least. </p><p>I like logic, so let's see how I do with it.</p><ol><li>The Suns out-shot AND outscored the Spurs in the series.</li><li>The Spurs outrebounded the Suns by only 10 -- FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES.</li><li>The Suns had only two more turnovers and one less blocked shot -- FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES.</li><li>The Suns were called for 10 fewer fouls, but the Spurs shot 14 more free throws.</li></ol><p>I don't consider myself a statistical nut by any means, but I do rely heavily on stats in order to get a good idea how games are won and lost. They are a handy tool, if somewhat imperfect. But a few things jump out in light of those bullets.</p><p>For starters, the Suns defended the Spurs shooting very well, holding them to 45.7% shooting for the series. Conversely, the Spurs allowed the Suns to shoot 47.4%. </p><p>Then we look at the possessions in rough terms (as I am in no mood to calculate a more accurate estimate - the inherent flaw being the arbitrary measure of free throw attempts in the equation). The Spurs grabbed 13 more offensive rebounds, stole the ball 16 more times, and committed two fewer turnovers in the series. That's an extra 31 possessions that yielded all of four more field goal attempts than the Suns. Of those four extra shots, the Spurs made six fewer than the Suns. That might be explained by the free throw disparity, if not for the fact that the Suns committed 10 fewer fouls.</p><p>Now consider the intangible evidence. </p><ol><li>The Suns annihilated the Spurs in game two, winning 101-81. </li><li>The Suns humiliated the Spurs in San Antonio in game 4.</li><li>The Suns lost game five by three points in the last three minutes shorthanded.</li><li><a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/07/foul-chart_3213.html">Game three</a>.</li></ol><p>Here's the thing - the Spurs never won a game by double digits. They also blew a double digit fourth quarter lead in game four at home. The Spurs won the controversial game three by seven points (I'm not going into that one again, as I've already spent countless hours breaking down that game).</p><p>OK. So the Suns were able to hang with the Spurs in that series. That's why the departure of Kurt Thomas will supposedly prove so detrimental to the Suns' chances this year. Of course, that is completely ignoring the fact that the great KT held Duncan to a measly 26.8 points and a minuscule 13.7 rebounds per game. </p><p>Some might argue - with a decent amount of validity - that the Spurs got a lot of help from suspect officiating in that series, at least in the third game. They certainly got a boost from Stern and his "rules are rules" stance on the suspensions of Amare and Boris for the aforementioned game five in Phoenix.</p><p>What was that about a logical choice?</p><p>But of course, "the better team won" and I should "stop whining about it!" For the record, I am over it as much as anyone in the Suns organization -- like <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/9639">Steve Nash</a>.</p><p></p><br /><blockquote>I'm not into worrying about what Stern is doing. I figure I'm not going to win that battle anyway. I've lost it in the past so why bother getting involved.<br /><br />If I let it, it'll distract me. I'll be pissed off all the time. And that's like every other week, a decision comes down that you don't understand. So just stay out of it. Bowen stepped on Amaré's ankle and kneed me in the balls. No suspension, whereas other guys...maybe less infractions get suspended on the first one. I'm not in the office. I don't know why they decide what they decide. Therefore, I'm not going to even bother to start judging their decisions because I don't get it. </blockquote><br />Sure, we're all over it as much as we can be. What's done is done, and there is no changing the past. Still, I find it rather telling that the former MVP is heady enough to allude to an apparent miscarriage of justice, especially in the face of Stern's new-found leniency when it came time to drop the hammer on the referees, without explicitly questioning the decision.<br /><br />Again, I'm not complaining about anything. I'm just pointing out pertinent facts that need to be considered when making our preseason predictions.<br /><br />The Suns as a team understand just how close they were to climbing the mountain in the 2007 playoffs. To a man, they will all say that they should have and could have won that series. It was just an unfortunate turn of events, to be politically correct. And to their credit, they believe they can win it this year.<br /><br />I have yet to see the annual D'Antoni quote that "anyone can win it" and that "there are a lot of good teams" who can beat any other team in a seven game series. If you pay attention, you will hear it in the words they so carefully choose when speaking with the media. They believe, so why doesn't anyone else?<br /><br />No one wants to question the outcome, that's why. What's done is done, and we can't change the past, so only the end result matters. The Spurs won, so they should be the favorites this year.<br /><br />Barnyard excrement.<br /><br />Those who cite those simplistic reasons for picking the Spurs to beat the Suns - should they meet in the playoffs again - are either ignoring history or are completely oblivious to the evidence available to anyone with an Internet connection, which all of them obviously have at their disposal.<br /><br />Being the pseudo-logician that I am, I do not buy into conspiracy theories. There is simply too much speculation and not enough tangible evidence involved in drawing such outlandish conclusions about a simple sports league.<br /><br />But that doesn't mean that I can't indict the professional media for corporate kowtowing. There is far too much money to be made in sponsorship deals and marketing campaigns for these "journalists" to question Stern's integrity - and by virtue of that, questioning the integrity of the league itself. After all, Turner and Disney have invested a fortune for the rights to carry NBA games and events. Why bite the hand they're feeding?<br /><br />That does not explain, however, our own local media's reticence to address Stern's hypocrisy or their reasoning for predicting another Spurs championship. I can't imagine why they would so easily fall in line with media entities that consistently disrespect Phoenix, its fans, and its teams.<br /><br />Remember how Dan Bickley and Scott Bordow fumed at the idea that David Stern would dare lay blame on the Suns assistant coaches for Amare's and Boris' game four actions?<br /><br />Neither do I.<br /><br />It didn't happen.<br /><br />If a journalist is asked by his editor to make his predictions, and he chooses the Spurs, then that's his prerogative. I won't argue it because there are good reasons to go the safe route. But when those reasons ignore the facts, I have to question what the hell is going on out there.<br /><br />Maybe I'm wrong about Stern. Maybe he isn't such a raving egomaniac out to usurp control of the league from its owners. Maybe he's absolutely right.<br /><br />Maybe his powers ARE that extensive.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Update:</strong> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&id=3088046">That rug is getting lumpy</a>. Keep sweepin', boys.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-25780097913880030802007-10-25T22:23:00.000-07:002007-10-26T11:50:01.780-07:00It's Our TimeI am not a fan of the Suns marketing campaign this season. I understand the idea behind Planet Orange - the tie-in to the science museum or whatever, embracing a population of fans outside Arizona, staying away from the "pressure" of an Eyes on the Prize billboard - but the whole thing smacks of cold and tentative thinking. It says nothing about the path the Suns have taken over the last three seasons (let alone the 36 seasons prior to those), and it doesn't speak to the sense of urgency and determination the team is sure to show us this season.<br /><br />It's Our Time. That's my marketing slogan for this season. Three words that say everything that every Suns fan already knows.<br /><br />1. We've been through hell, and we're not going back.<br /><br />2. We've been robbed of too many chances.<br /><br />3. We're not giving it away, and no one is taking it away. Not this time.<br /><br />4. We're not waiting to win anymore. We're taking this one, once and for all.<br /><br />I've been telling myself those things all summer long, trying to remain optimistic in light of the biggest travesty of (in)justice in Suns history. After watching the Suns in action tonight (sans Barbosa), that optimism has turned to pure confidence.<br /><br />Yes, it was "just a preseason game." But we learned a lot about this season's Suns in those 48 meaningless minutes of basketball. This was our first look at the new components of the team, and a lot of the question marks are now exclamation points.<br /><br />Amare Stoudemire.<br /><br />It was obvious from the start that D'Antoni's goal was to get Amare Stoudemire into the flow of the game as quickly as possible. Despite a few early miscues (three turnovers in his first five possessions), I have no doubt in my mind.<br /><br />He's back. No question about it, Amare showed the athleticism and at least flashes of the dominance that put him in elite status the first year of the Nash experiment. He also showed signs that he stuck to his word that he would improve his defense over the summer.<br /><br />Early in the first quarter, Stoudemire found himself guarding Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo tried to drive. Amare was there. Carmelo spun around to free himself. Amare was there. Carmelo went up for a shot. Amare was there. All in one sequence, Amare Stoudemire defended Carmelo Anthony better than anyone I've seen in the last four years. Stat was so quick on Anthony, he made Shawn Marion look like . . . well, Amare Stoudemire.<br /><br />Grant Hill.<br /><br />At the end of the season, the "experts" will be lauding Steve Kerr for pulling off the best free agent signing of the summer, forgetting that they ever downplayed it in light of the Kurt Thomas trade. Hill showed the quickness, finesse, and court savvy that made him a seven-time All Star.<br /><br />A few weeks ago, near the end of training camp, Mike D'Antoni posited that Grant Hill would take around 150 three pointers for the season, and would make around 40%. Hill was 1-2 from downtown (would have been 2-3 if not for the tip of his sneakers on the line). If those numbers pan out for the season, then D'Antoni will be called a prophet by the same "experts" that criticized his assertion.<br /><br />Marcus Banks.<br /><br />What can I say? We all wanted him traded last February, and the sentiment held throughout the off-season. It seems, though, that a year in D'Antoni's system under his belt just might pay off. He maintained his focus, didn't get called for any stupid touch fouls, and he kept the ball and himself moving on offense. He only took six shots from the field and made two, but one make was a three pointer in the flow of the offense, and one miss was a slashing lay up that spun off the side of the rim. We forgave Leandro for that last year in Utah, we can let a few of those slide with Banks.<br /><br />He also recorded the game winning assist, milking more than 20 seconds off the clock in the process. We didn't see that last year - at all.<br /><br />DJ Strawberry.<br /><br />Banks looked especially good when paired with the late second round rookie, who showed us all why he was so coveted by the Suns. He also showed 29 other teams why they were fools to pass on him 58 times. The kid can play defense, for sure, and questions about his poor shooting seem completely unfounded, as he shot 6 for 9 from the field, including 2 for 4 behind the arc (both of them long, high-arching rainbow bombs).<br /><br />Consider that his second three-ball turned out to be the game winner, and we can only conclude that DJ Strawberry is indeed the steal of the draft. Was I the only one who jumped out of his seat yelling "DEEEEEEE JAYYYYYYY" after that shot? (And we're expected to believe that <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/9477">GMs are better judges of league talent</a> than every day sports writers? Please.)<br /><br />As for his defense - believe the hype. DJ knows the meaning of "no easy baskets," as at least two of his five fouls were committed knocking a driving guard out of the air at the basket. The kid is certainly tough. To top it off, he had an amazing sequence early in the game where he guarded Allen Iverson - one of the quickest players in the league with THE deadliest cross over. As Amare did with Carmelo, DJ did not give an inch to AI. The current killer cross over became Iverson's fight for life as he tried to maintain his dribble with Strawberry covering like a wet blanket on a burn victim.<br /><br />The defense, the shooting, the passing, the toughness . . . I'm convinced. It is a personal tradition to choose one Suns player at the beginning of the season as my designated favorite for the year. In 2004, it was Amare Stoudemire. In 2005, it was Boris Diaw. Last year, it was Leandro Barbosa. DJ Strawberry earned the honors this year.<br /><br />Although the Nuggets put up a 66 point first half, mostly due to lackadaisical defense by the starters, there really isn't much to worry about on the defensive end. The Suns came out flat, which is understandable considering the magnitude of the meaninglessness of the game. The Nuggets seemed to be taking the game very seriously, though (Iverson and Anthony weren't even going to play, apparently, until they found out that TNT picked up the game).<br /><br />So the 12 point first half deficit didn't bother me, especially when the starters came out of half time with a completely different attitude. Suddenly, it was a game. It seemed as if they didn't take too kindly to the bench crew outplaying them. The starters were responsible for both double digit deficits in the half. And the bench (particularly Diaw, Banks, and Strawberry) were largely responsible for the recovery in between.<br /><br />Some question marks still have to be straightened out, though.<br /><br />Alando Tucker.<br /><br />He definitely has an inside game, but Alando Tucker is not ready for prime time with the Suns. Like Strawberry's defense, Tucker's shooting came as advertised. All of his points came underneath the basket, where he showed some nice moves, spinning and juking defenders out of their socks and onto his back. But that's not the Suns' style, even though the offense curiously went through his post-ups late in the fourth quarter. It may be a handy skill come playoff time, but Tucker surely won't be in the rotation when the games mean something. A year of working on his perimeter game (and that godawful jump shot) and absorbing all things Grant Hill, and he definitely has a bright future on the team. But this is now, and his place is on the bench.<br /><br />Sean Marks and Brian Skinner.<br /><br />We didn't get to see much of Brian Skinner aside from a couple of nice rebounds, a blocked shot, and his woeful free throw shooting. He at least seems to have a good attitude, cheering his team mates from the bench and giving congratulatory high fives going into time outs.<br /><br />I have to be honest...I'm not liking Sean Marks. The offense that I saw from him against the Nuggets didn't make up for the lack of defensive presence. He finished with eight rebounds, but none of them memorable. More on my mind are the moments that he forgot to box out or the times he got beat to the basket. The energy is there, but the results aren't.<br /><br />One key moment came in the fourth quarter, with the Suns holding onto a five point lead. Marks was on the floor with the smallest lineup possible (Banks, Strawberry, Tucker, and Piatkowski), and he ended up shooting a three from the corner that clanked off the side of the rim and ricocheted back to him. Unfortunately, he had already released, leaving Tucker and Strawberry to fend for the rebound. Not a good sign when the only big man on the floor is shooting threes and guards are forced to fight for rebounds.<br /><br />Yes, it was a preseason game. I know it. You know it. But the point of the preseason is to get the team in shape, as well as to work out the rotation. Aside from some sloppy first half play, the gang did alright.<br /><br />The team scored 116 points, and the high scorer was Grant Hill -- with 17 points. They also converted 26 assists, less than half of them by our main man and 3* time MVP Steve Nash. Ball movement and balanced scoring are the hallmarks of Mike D'Antoni's system, and this team looks to have a better handle on it than all of the previous teams.<br /><br />There were some negatives to the game, to be sure. The rebounding was mostly atrocious, but Amare and Shawn played a combined 41 minutes for the game. It did seem to pick up in the second half, though, when the Suns decided to turn on the intensity. And like the scoring, there was nice balance all around. As long as Marks stays closer to the paint, and Skinner stays healthy, the rebounding should be no worse than previous years. Hey...we're Suns fans. We should be used to it by now.<br /><br />For now, I'll be happy with what I witnessed during our lone televised preseason game this year. It was a good snapshot of what we have to look forward to this season, and I think the Suns are going to be a lot better than most people are predicting. Sure, many "experts" have the Suns <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-PhoenixPreview0708">winning the Pacific Division</a> (duh) and finishing among the top three in the Western Conference, but they all seem to stop there.<br /><br />We've not been given a chance to advance deep into the playoffs this year due to the loss of Kurt Thomas ("the only guy who did a decent job on Tim Duncan"). But the Suns aren't playing Tim Duncan for the title. They are playing 29 other teams, and will be facing the usual suspects in the playoffs - except the Lakers, who will be watching from the ESPN Zone in San Bernardino.<br /><br />I'll remind everyone that these same "experts" picked the Suns to claim the eighth seed and get knocked out of the first round in the 2006 playoffs. If that doesn't jog your memory, then I'll have to say that the Suns were a torn calf away from making it to the Finals that year. That team also did it without the services of Kurt Thomas. Now we have Amare Stoudemire, Grant Hill, an improved Marcus Banks and Leandro Barbosa, and my new favorite Sun, DJ Strawberry.<br /><br />Experts, indeed. Someone should remind <strong>them</strong> . . . It's Our Time.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1811732267511900302.post-51289254145031296472007-10-25T15:25:00.000-07:002007-10-26T14:11:16.267-07:00Red Stern<strong>10-26 Update:</strong> <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7377144">A more rational take</a> from *gasp* a corporate media outlet.<br /><br /><br />Stern told the truth about one thing. Regarding <a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/10/maos-time-for-change.html">the report</a> that six NBA referees were punished for violating league gambling rules, Der Kommissar insisted that it wasn't the case, that the investigation is ongoing.<br /><br />As it turns out, not six but ALL of the referees <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3079309">gave admitted to rules violations</a>, and not a single one of them will be punished. I repeat -- NOT A SINGLE PUNISHMENT IS FORTHCOMING!<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />"Our ban on gambling is absolute, and in my view it is too absolute, too harsh and was not particularly well-enforced over the years," Stern said. "We're going to come up with a new set of rules that make sense."<br /><br />Now, every Suns fan on the planet (Earth, not Orange) can look at this and wonder aloud with absolute validity, what happened to strict enforcement of the rules? Rules is rules, and they are not open to interpretation, let alone absolute dismissal. But here we are, facing a controversy that strikes the very core of the league's integrity, and suddenly the rules do not apply.<br /><br />Worse, they are "too absolute."<br /><br />I have made it clear in previous entries that I shy away from expletives on my blog because I am well aware that it is read by the professional media. That being the case, I want to set a good example and show them that it is OK to link to A Clockwork Orange if they so desire (this has yet to happen, of course, but still I hold out hope). But I have also made it clear that there are exceptions to the rule -- ANY rule. So here goes . . .<br /><br />Are you fucking kidding me?!<br /><br />A rule that cost the Suns their best shot at a title was said by Stern to be set in stone. It is not open to interpretation, and the only way to change it is if the owners tell him they want it changed, public outcry notwithstanding.<br /><br />It seems Stern fancies himself a clever man, as he chooses his words carefully. It "was not well-enforced," thus opening the door to act in a manner contrary to recent history. The "leaving the bench rule," after all, had precedent (<a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/05/conversation-over-beef-stu.html">though it wasn't needed</a>). Ten years of precedent. And it had been "well-enforced" consistently.<br /><br />Not to open that racial can of worms again, but exactly why is a rule governing an 85% black population so well-enforced, but a rule governing a (roughly) 70% white population not so well-enforced?<br /><br />I've been down the racial road too often recently, so I will leave that argument for someone less qualified to tackle (that's your cue, cosellout). I just wanted to throw it out there, since it just conveniently popped into my mind.<br /><br />Back to Stern's double-speak.<br /><br />"It's too easy to issue rules that are on their faith violated by $5 Nassau, sitting at a poker table, buying a lottery ticket and then we can move along," Stern said. "And by the time I got through and I determined going into a casino isn't a capital offense ... I'm the CEO of the NBA and I'll take responsibility."<br /><br />It's too easy to issue rules like that? What does that even mean?<br /><br />How about rules that are, on their faith, violated by natural human instincts, such as leaping to a team mate's side when he's been body checked into the scorer's table? Was that too easy? And since we're on the subject of his dictatorship, why did Stern not take responsibility for Robert Horry's game four actions and distribute justice...well...justly?<br /><br />I don't want to get into what I think about David Stern's thought processes, as they are <a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/05/stern-injustice.html">ugly and almost inhuman</a>, in my opinion. He cares more about protecting his ego than he does about the league of which he is the CEO (an inaccurate statement, to be sure). He blew up when Dan Patrick dared question his authority, and <a href="http://phan-x.blogspot.com/2007/05/prerecorded-lies.html">openly lied</a> to Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on Pardon the Interruption.<br /><br />In sum, I am not surprised in the least at Stern's reaction to the news that all of his referees are crooked. They may not have been "hanging crimes," but they were clear rules violations. I am also not shocked that a majority white population is allowed to determine the validity of these rules on his own, while a majority black population is constrained by "the letter of the law."<br /><br />What does surprise me is that players, coaches, general managers, and owners across the league aren't stopping in their tracks and saying, "Wait...what the fuck did you just say?" I'm surprised that they would let a man control their incomes with such singularity that anyone who questions his actions is destined to lose said income. This is, after all, a business. Teams are in the business of winning championships, because it is through championships that marketing deals are struck and ticket prices increase.<br /><br />Capitalist competition requires a level playing field wherein each entity has an equal shot at burying the competition, so long as its strategy is sound. A dictatorial leader (commissioner and CEO are NOT equivalent in the least) handing out arbitrary rulings that differentiate each entity within the capitalist structure serves the purpose, not of the league and its components, but that leader. Thus, market capitalism has become totalitarian socialism, where the society serves the purpose of the dictator, and any dissension is met with swift and blinding retribution within "the letter of the law," above which stands his personal security force. If they can't break the rules, then what's the point of even having rules?<br /><br />As I said in my last entry, it is no wonder that Stern has so excitedly cozied up to a traditionally dictatorial socialist regime in China. It seems that he has modeled the league in the image of Mao Tse Tung's red giant. Only one question remains.<br /><br />Which of us will stand before the tank?<br /><br />I humbly volunteer.Jeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151310645859530325noreply@blogger.com9