Suns vs. Heat 3/25

[TopGamer]

Unfortunately I dont think either of the PHX-Miami games this season would predict how these teams would play in a 7 game series.

In the first game everything went right for the suns, and in the second, everything went right for the heat.

I agree. I don't think either game is an indicator of which team is capable of winning the 7 game series. The Suns got a nice win on their floor and The Heat were able to do the same. The better team will be the one who comes out of the series (if we meet them) victorious. It probably doesn't mean much but when we won in January all of our starters were in double digits but we got only 8 points off the bench. This game we lost but we got more help from our bench but JJ had an off game.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

You can bring up his shooting numbers all you want, however he is a pure gamer.

I agree. Some players are just more mentally focused when the game in on the line, and Richardson sure seems to be one of them.

That he does. Personally, it is why I like the tandem of JJ and Q. Both are players that do more than just score. They have some pretty complete games actually.

The chances that both players have an off game is not good, and they tend to pick up for each other's deficiancis. JJ has the pure shot that Q does not, but Q has the heart of a champion and you have to feel good when the game is on the line and he has the ball.

 

[playstation]

if we play the heat again in this season, i'll be happy enough, because that means we will most likely have beaten the spurs and gotten to the finals. i'm just taking it as a loss in another game during the 5 game road trip. btw, when shaq praises you non-stop, you know you're pretty good, just ask the sacramento 'queens'

 

[jbeecham]

Refs are a joke. Couple of stupid calls but we still should have played better.

The only thing that really bothered me about the refs tonight was that they let Shaq stay in the lane all night long without calling 3 seconds at either end of the court. Other than that I thought they did a pretty good job. The Suns just had another really bad shooting night and made a lot of poor passes and turnovers.

 

[Chaz]

Horrible start but they battled all night.

That offensive rebound and put back by Shaq with three Suns on him was the nail in the Suns coffin.

Heat are a very good team. The Suns had too many turnovers and Miami shot to well from 3pt range for the Suns.

Still if they can beat Orlando tonight then 4-1 is a good road trip.


I was also frustrated with Shaq camping in the lane all night. I thought that the refs were ok overall, though I don't think the Miami fans would agree in the first half.

 

[cly2tw]

Wade was clearly tired by the 4th, that's part of the reason for our comeback, with tightened defense. Yet, Shaq picked up where Wade left. A couple of observations worth mentioning.

1. Wade is innnncredible! In one case, he was cornered by two Suns players at least one step away from the paint. For some inexplicable reason, Nash wandered away. Wade, without taking any step and with JJ(?) on his back, jumped into the paint, stopped in the air to avoid the other help-defender and banked in for 2.

2. JoeJ's attempt in the 3rd to "take over" or regain his confidence was one killer for our game. Anybody saw how WEAK he jumped attempting another patented 18-footer but got blocked without the ball even leaving his hands yet? When Q or Manu try to get out the funk, they do it by driving and drawing body contacts. When Joe tries it, he does it by trying to dribble around the parameter and shoot the 18 footer, making the offense stagnant. The burden of a contract season seems to weigh on him too much.

3. Amare got fouled before Wade blocked and hit the miracle 3 at the end of the 3rd. That's a 5 pts difference which could have changed the game outcome.

4. Amare needs to learn better how to draw fouls from the defender. With his accurate midrange jumpers, Shaq did step out to defend him. Shaq was reaching in his path when Amare intended to drive. But Amare pulled back in the last moment, seeing Shaq coming. Had he put the ball on the floor, it'd have been Shaq's 5th at the beginning of the 4th. That may have changed the outcome of the game too. But he is still young.

5. Besides Barbosa, I thought JimJ played very well. Had we played him more by benching Joe longer, it...


Despite the loss, I'm confident about our chance at a final's matchup with the Heats. Since we have more athletic players on average, we should be able to adjust in the series so as 1) to contain Wade to a satisfactory degree, 2) to have JoeJ shedding his hesitance and becoming more agressive, 3) to adjust better to cover hot hands like Jones last night.

But, I'm not convinced that Heats could pass by Pistons to reach the finals. Though younger and more focused Shaq, this year's Heats are not better than last year's Lakers, while with Dice instead of Okur and a better Prince the Pistons are better than before.

 

[sunsfn]

Somebody, anybody, on the suns team last night had to take a hard foul late in the 1st or in the 2nd quarter on Wade. They had to stop him and make him go to the free throw line. If they would have done that a couple of times it would have slowed him down considerably.

We do not have a big player that has toughness to come in for a few minutes in the first half and some in the 2nd half of a game and take some hard fouls for the team. D'Antoni should be looking for someone in the off season to come in and do just that. He does not have to play a lot of minutes but it can change the game. After a player does that, the whole team seems to play harder defense, and the players like Wade will be slowed down a lot.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Somebody, anybody, on the suns team last night had to take a hard foul late in the 1st or in the 2nd quarter on Wade. They had to stop him and make him go to the free throw line. If they would have done that a couple of times it would have slowed him down considerably.

We do not have a big player that has toughness to come in for a few minutes in the first half and some in the 2nd half of a game and take some hard fouls for the team. D'Antoni should be looking for someone in the off season to come in and do just that. He does not have to play a lot of minutes but it can change the game. After a player does that, the whole team seems to play harder defense, and the players like Wade will be slowed down a lot.

It seems to me that this ought to be JJacks role. He's a saavy enough vet to know who needs it and how to do it. He's also got the body to do it--at least for the 1-3 positions.

For the big guys, JakeV has been quite effective in the past in frustrated the opposition's bigs. He doesn't do it so much with hard physical play as with annoying physical play.