Phoenix Suns win opener on the road

November 1, 2007 by Mike Olbinski

Yes, the Phoenix Suns won and that’s great.

But if I have to go all season banging my head against the wall watching us get owned on the defensive glass, I’ll go crazy.

Regardless, it was a good win for the Suns, who started off completely out of sorts, turning the ball over, looking rusty, awkward and generally unsure of themselves.

Thankfully, they rebounded to beat the Seattle Supersonics, 106-95 106-99.

A quick note about Kevin Durant. He’s good and can only get better. He has a sweet shot and can score the basketball. Put some size on that kid and watch him become a top 10 player in the game. I love seeing hype-ed up rookies come into the league and actually live up to it.

It’s hard to be critical of the Suns in anyway tonight. Yes, they came out bad and trailed most of the first half and the third quarter. Steve Nash had five turnovers early on, and it was apparent he was just off his game.

Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa were battling injuries and hadn’t played much this week, so you have that going against you. Besides, you can’t really take much into account during their first game. There are nerves, excitement and chemistry still needing to be built.

Marcus Banks was huge at the start of the fourth, taking the Suns from down nine points to up two by nailing three treys in a row. He caught on major fire.

After that, the team tightened up their defense and went to work.

Grant Hill showed a few glimpses of what he’ll bring: Slashes to the hoop and jump shots. He was off, but so was everyone.

Amare Stoudemire still suffered some foul trouble issues in the first half, but was fine in the second.

On a side topic, I have to say I like the new NBA rules about defensive players being able to jump straight up, with their hands up, take contact from the offensive player and not get called for a lame foul.

It sure made the game flow better, with less stops in play.

The Suns next face the L.A. Lakers Friday night, in their home opener.

Posted in grant hill, kevin durant, game recaps, amare stoudemire, steve nash, basketball, nba, phoenix suns