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  • Mar
    15

    Game 66, live: Suns (35-31) at Warriors (23-42)

    Filed under: Commentary;

    FOURTH QUARTER:

    ** Jon: I don’t have the time to print my whole response, but suffice it to say that I think you’re discounting Barnes’ advantage as a rebounder and neglecting to mention entirely that Barnes is a better 3-point shooter and a vastly superior passer than Maggette. I’ll stipulate that Maggette is a better individual scorer, but this team is already overloaded with guys who do that. Frankly, that’s the LAST thing they need out of that position.

    ** I know Shaq has become more durable in Phoenix, but why would you risk playing him in the final seven minutes of a game you lead by 24 points? Someone text Alvin Gentry.

    ** Over-the-head pass from Shaq for the 10-foot baseline fade. Dreadful.

    ** As a print reporter, I have to admit — I loved a game like this because it meant you could write your lead and not worry about having to change it when there was a late comeback.

    ** If the Suns don’t get to 150 now, I’m going to be frankly disappointed.

    ** And to think, there were people claiming that Robin Lopez was going to be a better pro than his brother. Oops!

    ** Leave it Randolph to provide the top highlight of the night for the Warriors, after finally being unchained in garbage time. Of course, if he’d dribbled it out of bounds, he would have looked like a fool, but that’s OK. The bar for a highlight has been set pretty low today.

    THIRD QUARTER:

    ** With Kelenna Azubuike starting the third quarter, that’s all we’re going to see of Wright and Randolph (except at the 5, backing up Turiaf). It’s too bad; I’d like to see Randolph especially (since he’s going to be best as a 3, according to Don Nelson) get a second chance at stopping Matt Barnes.

    ** Since Dallas lost earlier tonight, this is a HUGE game for the Suns. If the Warriors manage to come back and win this one — although Phoenix played last night — I will be legitimately impressed.

    ** Check that — we won’t even see Wright/Randolph backing up Turiaf, apparently.

    ** I don’t get the Suns’ zone against this Warriors lineup — Golden State has three good 3-point shooters (including Azubuike at the 4) on the floor, and Phoenix is not stopping Ellis in the least.

    ** That’ll be a one-game suspension for Jackson, and I don’t think it was any one thing, because you could see on the ESPN replay that Tony Brothers seemed to say, “It’s time.”

    ** Don’t forget that Tony Brothers was the guy with the late, late call in Washington that led to a post-buzzer technical foul on Nelson and cost the Warriors a one-point loss to the Wizards a couple years back.

    ** Are there seriously three minutes left in this quarter? Good grief.

    ** If the Suns top 150 points — and right now, they’re on pace for 161 — it’ll be the first time Golden State gave up that many since the 1990-91 season, when the Paul Westhead-led Nuggets hung 158 on them on Opening Night, and then an even 150 on Feb. 23.

    ** Going back to Matt Barnes, this is exactly the game where Matt Barnes (if he was still a Warrior) would have face-planted someone for a flagrant foul, just to send a message. And I can’t say it’s a bad thing.

    SECOND QUARTER:

    ** At this point, it seems like the Suns are willing to let Ellis attempt to dribble penetrate, and they’re not committing a second defender to stop him. I presume that at some point, when he proves he will score 40 consistently under those circumstances, they will have to throw a second man in, but right now, they’re staying home, and Ellis is never going to be a decent passer under those circumstances.

    ** Chalk up another frustration foul on Jackson, who is continuing to yap at the officials … and there’s the technical, not surprising. That’s his 16th T, which ordinarily would lead to a league-mandated, one-game suspension — but I believe one of the Ts falls under a special circumstance and is not counted toward the limit, so he’s now officially on the brink.

    ** Scotty: No doubt about it; it’d be nice if someday, someone got a stop.

    ** Fun facts with lack of defense: The Suns are on pace to set a new season-worst for points allowed by the Warriors (previous worst: 138 in the Thanksgiving weekend debacle against the Knicks at MSG). We’ll have to see how much they want to push it and run the score up in the meantime.

    ** And, as soon as I post that, the Suns clank three consecutive shots.

    ** 74-72 Suns at the half, without a shred of defense in the building. Cue Russell Crowe.

    FIRST QUARTER:

    ** Ronny Turiaf ducked into the lane to chase after his own missed J, and even though he got back in time to pick up the foul, it set up Shaq to draw that foul.

    ** Of course, going the other way, that’s got to be an offensive foul when Shaq hooks you with his left arm, no?

    ** Monta Ellis is looking great as a scorer for a second straight game. Now is the time to show that he can beat Steve Nash (because, seriously, the last time Nash stayed in front of somebody on D, he was playing in the WCC) and set someone else up on the dish.

    ** Jason Richardson’s saying to himself, “That guy wasn’t here the last time I practiced as a Warrior.”

    ** Gotta love seeing Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph working together on offense.

    ** The only thing missing from Randolph’s leaping rebound of his own missed free throw and putback layup was splitting his legs and jumping right over Steve Nash, VC-on-Weis style. That was absolutely sick.

    ** You can have the denuding of Chris Mullin, or dealing for a guy (Jamal Crawford) and then trying to drive him into leaving $20M on the table, but I think running Matt Barnes out of town may have been the worst decision driven by Robert Rowell in these last two years. You can say what you want about Jason Richardson being the heart of the We Believe team, but Barnes was its toughness, its enforcer on the court. And he was better as a small-ball PF than anybody else they’ve had there since.

    – Geoff

17 Responses to “Game 66, live: Suns (35-31) at Warriors (23-42)”

  1. Scotty March 15th, 2009 at 6:34 pm

    I love offense, but I hope the D picks up some here. This is kind of embarrassing.

  2. Luke March 15th, 2009 at 7:13 pm

    There is no way we will ever be as good as we can b with both Jack and Monta on this team. Monta isnt a pg and jack is just outta control and needs to be on a veteran team with an established superstar though. I would keep Monta and let him be the scorer that he is but you gotta have the forwards that willingly play off the ball and thrive in transition .

  3. Scotty March 15th, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    Terrible 3 by Monta, even worse pass by Davidson after he got the rebound

  4. Luke March 15th, 2009 at 7:46 pm

    The reason the Suns went zone even though they know we have shooters is that they know that we wont pass the ball enough to find them . They essentially played to the low IQs of Jack and Monta.

    and Jacks tech says it all.

  5. CazzieRussell March 15th, 2009 at 7:51 pm

    Hmmm, Nellie gone maybe we’ll see AR, BW & Rony in at the same time? Small ball ain’t workin’… Come on Mr Defensive Coordinator…do it…

  6. Chris Cohan March 15th, 2009 at 7:53 pm

    Good lord, the suck is EXTREME!

  7. Luke March 15th, 2009 at 7:53 pm

    Why are we so small now when AR ,BW, and Turiaf were the ones providing all the energy all game long….. especially with Shaq out ?

  8. Jon March 15th, 2009 at 7:57 pm

    Geoff:

    I have to disagree about Barnes- Maggette is a far superior smallball PF than Matt ever was. Defensively, Barnes might have brought a tougher mentality, but neither will ever provide the shotblocking and post-defense of a traditional PF and neither is particularly good at stopping dribble penetration after a switch.

    Offensively, however, Maggette is lightyears ahead of Barnes- while neither is a good ballhandler, Maggette is , as we know, more adept at drawing contact, creating shots, generating overall offense. I have to think that this advantage outweighs Barnes’ only edge, rebounding (and it’s a slight edge).

  9. CazzieRussell March 15th, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    What’s that saying in tennis “You have to change a losing game”…This lineup is pathetic, make a change Keith…show us something!

  10. CazzieRussell March 15th, 2009 at 8:06 pm

    Magette $8.3 mil. …Barnes $1.2 mil. …You decide?

  11. saltwatertaffy March 15th, 2009 at 8:12 pm

    anyone else have a headache?

  12. Jon March 15th, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    True, Barnes is the superior 3P shooter and rebounder, but recall that one of our greatest weaknesses last year was the overreliance on the three. Maggette’s ability to generate FTA is a more efficient way of scoring. Both are prone to poor decision making.

    Barnes and Maggette are both reserves, but different types of reserves. Barnes is an energy hustle guy, but Maggette can actually carry a second unit with his offense. I submit that a “Barnes” type reserve 3/4 is easier to find than a “Maggette” type reserve.

    In many ways, I think a better comparison to make is between Maggette and Harrington. Neither is a starting PF, neither is a PF at all, really. They are scoring forwards, except that Maggette is much more efficient. Al, on paper, brought the floor stretching ability to make three’s that one would think helps our offense, but all that did was exacerbate our streaky offense. When the 3’s fall, it was a rush offense; when they didn’t, we were completely helpless. A Maggette that gets his offense by attacking the rim is a more dependable source of offense.

    Crazzie Russel:
    If you want to talk numbers, how bout these:

    Jason Terry (seven starts all year); Manu Ginobili (four starts all year). Both make approximately $9M annually, and both have traditionally filled the role of 6th man. Both are asked to carry the offensive load on their respective team’s reserve units.

    While we are not the Spurs and Maggette is neither Terry not Ginobili, the comparison does give some perspective as to what a veteran 6th man capable of bringing 20 points off the bench consistently and effectively is worth. No team would expect Barnes to carry an offense, and there’s a reason why - he can’t create his own shot.

    As a tangent, Maggette really isn’t “overpaid,” and even if he were, it wouldn’t be by much. Look up Michael Redd, Jason Richardson, Richard Jefferson, and Peja Stojakovic. They’re all swingmen roughly the same age as Maggette.

    You will find that Maggette is cheaper annually than any of them, and his production compares favorably.

    Maggette is flawed, certainly, and I will definitely say the Warriors could have used their cap space this offseason differently (see: Presti, Sam; Prichard, Kevin) . . . but it’s high time to move past his problems and acknowledge that his production can be an asset to the team.

  13. Chris Cohan March 15th, 2009 at 8:40 pm

    Super Good.

  14. Bob March 15th, 2009 at 9:20 pm

    I’d love to hear from the few fans around who defended small-ball after that one.

  15. Kenny Seagle, Emperor of the North March 16th, 2009 at 12:19 am

    ummmm…. wut happen 2 brandan? pulled early, diddent hear wut happen–

  16. Could DunMurphy come back to the Bay? | Bay Area Sports Guy March 16th, 2009 at 1:28 am

    [...] –By the way, the W’s gave up 154 points last night. (48minutes.net) [...]

  17. justafan March 16th, 2009 at 2:08 am

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