Ok, who expected the battle between two of the very best Western Centers would come in a Suns-Grizzlies game, raise your hands.
Just me? Great.
Both Marcin Gortat and Marc Gasol have been playing on an extremely high level. Gortat had a hitch, breaking his 9 game double-double streak in the gruesome loss to the Blazers yesterday, but so far he’s been the league’s most efficient player (with some help from Steve Nash, for sure) and one of the very top centers in terms of PER. Gasol, on the other hand, has been a defensive powerhouse so far in Memphis, while also providing some offence from the low post.
Strangely enough these two centers, Gortat, relying on other players (but now without an ability to score for himself when he gets the ball in the low block) and Gasol, a traditional back to the basket big man, represent the very elite of the NBA.
The question is, who will stop whom?
Gortat’s Synergy stats in the Low Post may not be flashy in the low post (0.76 points per play) but on the other hand, a lot of those come from players like Carlos Boozer just shooting rather lucky jumpers over him. When it comes to individual defence, believe me, the guy who went against Dwight Howard in practice every day is going to be pretty good.
Where Gortat has been struggling defensively is the pick and roll. Granted, he didn’t have a lot of opportunities (20) to defend it, but 1.05 PPP is still pretty atrocious. As time passes, and Gortat’s teammates don’t force him to pick both the roll man and the handler up. Yep, this happens.
Now, can Gasol stop Gortat? In 10 pick and rolls this season, Gasol managed to hold his opponents under 30%. But these roll men usually weren’t damn near perfect pick and roll players of Marcin Gortat’s ilk (remember, he executed almost 100 pick and rolls this season, scoring on 65% of the shots he took).
Now that we have the center(s) of attention figured out, let’s switch to the other important topic, namely: Will Grant Hill be able to stop Rudy Gay. Gay is the Grizz’s leading scorer and should try and have his way with the elder statemen of the NBA. Grant however has looked healthier and healthier with each game, which will probably mean an interesting battle of smarts vs athleticism. On both ends.
Finally, the Grizzlies final offensive weapon is Mike Conley who has been a pretty good playmaker for them. He’s pretty quick, too, so… Beware, Nash’s ankles.
And while these offensive weapons are rolled out, the 2 and 4 spots will be filled with quite the opposite breed of players. Ronnie Price and Tony Allen are expected to start for their teams, both obviously there for the defence. And in the frontcourt, alongside the great Western mountains, will be the struggling Markieff Morris and the probably-even-worse Mareese Speights. A matchup worthy of a facepalm.
Adam’s Suggestions:
With the lack of depth at Power Forward for the Grizz, the Suns should seriously consider rolling Hakim Warrick out early. His defence may be beyond pathetic, but so is Speights’ and the other Memphis PF’s offence.
Phoenix’s bench “depth” (depending on their ability to actually hit their shots) might be a key to this game. The Grizz don’t have much of that aside from O.J. Mayo
Give Josh Childress some time. Especially if it means less Bassy Telfair on the floor and more Jared Dudley point-forward plays.
Nobody played well, that’s the truth. The league leader in FG% settled at 30% from the field, Steve Nash played atrocious basketball, Grant Hill turned into a blackhole and the bench fielded a frontcourt that prompted John Hollinger to tweet this:
And it was true. The Suns were getting consistently burned inside, and Marcin Gortat couldn’t help much on D when on the court either, courtesy of Channing Frye’s “Oh, it’s a ball. Let’s just let it fall in without a hitch and whine later.”
The Suns lost by 39 points, Steve Nash was benched halfway to the third to live to fight another day, and there are no words that can describe how terrible this game was as a whole. The whole game was summarized with Bassy Telfair getting ejected for his second technical foul with seven seconds left. The funny thing is that I half expected Bassy to get ejected after he got his first tech.
Perhaps it’s time for Steve to reconsider his loyalty. And this comes from a guy that was understanding of his decision to stay.
I said no grades in the title, and I will keep that. If I did however give out grades, everyone would get an A. An A for “Absolutely No Effort Whatsoever”
Last time out, the Blazers lost to the Suns by 25 points.
Don’t expect a repeat.
As the Suns go for a ride to Portland the first time this season, not only are they showing epic slumping abilities (Gortat and Nash excluded) but they are also going to be getting extended wear and tear from Marcin Gortat in the first game of a back-to-back closing in Memphis.
Robin Lopez was suspended for the NBA’s answer to contempt of the court fines, which in this case meant, brushing shoulders with a ref and giving him a Sheedlike “get out of here” look. Sure, Gortat is rolling, but it would be nice to see him rested for a battle with Marc Gasol, who has a case for best center in the West right now.
The Suns will come in facing a team far away from the one they’ve beaten in Phoenix. And far away not in it’s composition, but in a) their rowdy hometown arena b) rest, as the Blazers are not on a wrong end of a back to back this time.
The Suns will have to watch their backs everywhere. On the boards, where Marcus Camby is sure to play ‘lil dominator, on offence where turnovers turn into baskets very, very fast, and finally on defence, where the Blazers can create mismatches everywhere. Expect a lot of Camby-to-Aldridge hi-lo alley oops, too.
The Suns, however must realize that Marcin Gortat (even against a defensive stud such as Camby) might just be their only option at this point. Everyone else (except for Steve Nash ) can’t get shots to fall at an acceptable rate, it’s scary, really.
Expect the Suns to be 6-12 after this one. All I’m gonna say.
If there’s ever going to be Robin Lopez biography, it’ll probably be entitled “Remember the 21 Point Game?”
Robin went from great to good to tragic in a matter of 19 games. And now he’s been ejected in the game against the Raptors, suspended for the contest against Portland and finally not offered a contract extension before Wednesday’s deadline.
I don’t think there’s anything that can tell a player “Hey, I don’t think you’re a big piece for the team’s future” than this?
The question ahead for Robin is whether anyone will find him a piece good enough to sign in free agency, long or short term. And the question for the Suns is whether you want “The Foul Machine” (as I like to call him) another chance, or whether you should move to greener backup Center pastures? My take is: Do it, if the price is right. If, however, someone is silly enough to offer more than $5-6 million per year, just screw it. You can get a much better deal for a much more consistent producer at the backup C than that. If however, the price is somewhere below that range, the Suns would be smart to take another, cheap gamble on the big man.
Whatever the case is with Robin, this might’ve been one of the worst weeks of his basketball life.
Oh dear, I feel like puking again.
The Suns lost to the Raptors, for the first time in Steve Nash’s second stint with the team. This was two days ago, and you’re getting my belated grades now.
Steve Nash and Marcin Gortat — A+
Gortat and Nash were great. As Always. Let’s get over it. Grant Hill — C+
AGAIN WITH THE TURNOVERS, GRANT. AGAIN WITH THE TURNOVERS. Ronnie Price — C
Ronnie played good defence and bad offence. Good ‘ole Ronnie Markieff Morris — D+
So, apparently the starting power forward spot is poisoned. Or something. Shannon Brown — C+
I’m utterly perplexed by Shannon Brown. The dude has a basketball IQ that could get him off a murder charge in a basketball court, and yet he manages to do just enough to keep his team in a game. The Suns wouldn’t have been in a position to win had he not been there. That’s just sad. Jared Dudley — C
A heavy-hearted C to Jared. He made hustle plays late in the game, got some steals… And yet he failed to make big shots in the clutch… And… Umm… I’m so sorry, Jared. Bassy Telfair — C-
Bassy comitted some turnovers this time, but he made some offensive plays. Bassy was Bassy, let’s leave it at that. Hakim Warrick — C
Hakim made a few nice dunks, put some balls in the basket and hasn’t done anything else. Channing Frye — C- So, those Power Forwards…
Michael Redd — D
CAN MIKE REDD MAKE A SHOT? CAN HE? OR IS HE STILL DEAD? Robin Lopez — F
Robin got ejected for brushing with a referee. Hell, he’s suspended. I’m going to write more on this later. That, and his unextended contract.
Welcome to the game where a South African born Canadian of British descent will destroy a Canadian team with only one Canadian on the roster.
Welcome to the game between the ever-hopeful Suns and the tanking Raptors.
The Suns may be on the wrong end of a back-to-back, but I doubt that the Bargnani-less Raptors will be able to do anything without their Big Man Shooting Guar. Even with Dwyane Casey’s defence the Raps are running, they’re below average on that end, and that should hurt them. Do you think Aaron Gray can stop Marcin Gortat?
Neither did I.
What can we expect from the Raps, though?
First off, Jose Calderon is a really good player. I mean, he’s a poor man’s Steve Nash, and I’m sure he’d do some damage with a good pick and roll or pick and pop partner (as he does with the injured Bargnani).
Secondly, the Suns will have to keep their eyes out on the Toronto rising star DeMar DeRozan. One of the silliest names in basketball has a bright future ahead, and while he’s inconsistent this season, he has a tendency to explode into good games. And hell, the Suns have a tendency to light the fuse though for those explosions.
But even if DeRozan is rolling, and Calderon is doing his best Steve Nash impression, I sincerely doubt the Raptors will be able to stop the Suns, if only because of the way Nash and Gortat have been opening things for everyone else. Something just tells me, many of the Suns might nail some open shots in their long awaited homecoming.
In the end, the Suns have not faced a healthy team in 6 games. And that’s a big advantage for them, one that they should capitalize on by evening the injury-series to a solid 3-3 record.
P.S. Leandro Barbosa will come to Phoenix tonight. Let it be noted, that we’ll always love him.
No Dirk, no problem for the Dallas Mavericks as they cruised to a 93-87 victory. Yes, it looks close on paper, but in fact, it wasn’t really so. The Suns mounted another late failed run giving us the good ‘ole: “Yea…. Nooooo.” Rollecoaster. So who performed, who underperformed and who hit someone in the face? Let’s see:
Marcin Gortat — A
Marcin gets an A. Sure his defence on Mahinmi and Haywood was lacking sometimes, but he also got at least one weak call against him, and his foul trouble caused him to be a little more pasive on D then he usually is. And even with that, he managed to gather 3 blocks and make a ton of good plays in help D. Also… 19 points 17 rebounds for god’s sake! Steve Nash — B
Usually Steve will top the list along with Marcin with A- to A+ grades. Yesterday, however, Steve just missed his shots. Going 2-9 from the field for 8 total points (he hit 4 free throws) and diming 11 times, Nash was running the offence well. But not as well a he could’ve been running it. Grant Hill — C+
Can someone tell me when Grant Hill turned into Michael Beasley? Grant would’ve had an A for his 19 point, 8 rebound performance, had he not had a near triple double. The last element of that triple double? Turnovers.
His 8 turnovers, most of which he comitted in the dumbest way imaginable to the average NBA fan (the jump pass) were a reminder that even when he’s rolling, Grant might be a little to old to be fullly rolling. Markieff Morris — C
Markieff pulled down 11 boards, scoring only seven points on 2-9 shooting. Eek. Especially that the one three he hit came when the game was decided. However, he guarded Shawn Marion as well as anyone could’ve. The problem with Marion was that he really didn’t care about the defence, making very hard shots. Ronnie Price — C-
I’m going to give Ronnie the benefit of the doubt and inflate his score a little, if only because he played good defence. He wasn’t good from the field, or anywhere else really, but he fulfilled his role pretty well other than the shooting. So that’s that. Shannon Brown — C-
I never know what to do with Shannon. Never. The guy is terrible at basketball, but he finds ways to help his team. This game would never be close without his high-volume heroics, back when he scored 8 straight points in the 4th. Still, he took the second most shots behind only Marcin Gortat while playing a mere 25 minutes. Gah. Jared Dudley — D+
Weak from the field, but making plays. Dudley may have had only one assist tonight, but he was passing the ball very well. He’d probably climb into B territory had he made the shots he usually makes. But he didn’t. Channing Frye — D+
Just as Dudley, Frye is here to make shots, but didn’t. Just as Dudley he made that up by hustling and doing other stuff, such as grabbing 3 offensive boards, doing all that in the 4th quarter. He may have missed a lot, but he tried. That’s the only reason why he’s not an D-, by the way. Sebastian Telfair — D
Bassy was surprisingly ok once again, even if he did get ejected for a flagrant 2. He created some shots, got to the line, and played alright on D. His 2 turnovers weren’t that terrible, and he kept playing off the ball for long stretches. That’s a Bassy I can tolerate, even if he plays slap-a-Beabouis regularly. Robin Lopez — F
11 minutes on the floor, and Robin managed to hit a shot, miss a shot, block a shot, and not grab a single rebound, while fumbling around a few sure ones.
LOOOOPEEEEEEEZ! Oh. And he had 3 fouls in 11 minutes. Shawn Marion — F—
He actually managed to hurt the Suns by scoring on his ow… Oh wait, he’s no longer a Sun? Dammit.
This isn’t going to be another friendly battle between Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, and it isn’t due to some bad blood between the two best international players of the last decade.
Dirk Nowitzki has been benched by Rick Carlisle, probably with extensive use of rational arguments, due to pains in his right knee and conditioning issues. Sounds a bit Grant Hillian to Suns fans, doesn’t it?
But, Dirk or no Dirk, the Mavs are an unpredictable — if less dangerous team. Lamar Odom, slumping or not is still always a danger to make some plays on offence, and playing first fiddle in the starting lineup along with Shawn Marion might just force him to do that. Then there are guys like Delonte West, who can just destroy a team out of a mixture of spite, swag, and a need for impress, and finally, there’s the Mavs reserve core that includes guys like Ian Mahinmi, and Jason Terry, who will be sure to provide a sudden spark whenever he joins his teammates on the floor.
Does this mean that he Suns don’t have a shot at the Mavs? No. Without Nowitzki, the primary defensive concern disappears. No impossible fallaways are going to break anyone’s heart today, and Nowitzki’s central role to the Mavs ball movement is almost always understated. The Mavs will be weaker, even if they are as deep as teams come.
The question is, can the Suns capitalize? They can do it if they do one thing:
ALL GORTAT EVERYTHING
This should actually be titled “All Steve Nash and Marcin Gortat Pick and Roll Everything” but you get my point. The Mavs are a terrific defensive team, but their two weakest spots seem to be post ups and pick and rolls. Granted, 7th in the league (according to MySynergySports.Com in pick and rolls isn’t bad, but it isn’t good enough for Marcin and Steve. Remember, Gortat got a 20-10 on the Mavs in his last game wearing his annoying splint. Now, he might just as well go out for thirty (or so my deluded Polish mind thinks). And with all that in mind, Dallas ranks 18th in defending post ups. It might be Dirk’s mediocre post defence speaking there, but it also might be Haywood’s and Mahinmi’s tendency to pick up personal fouls at ridiculous rates speaking (they both average 4+ fouls per 36 minutes, and both usually play around 20 per game. That 8 minute gap leaves weaker post defenders to come in, too.). Whatever the case, you got to give Marcin, who scored 24 points in Boston the other night a chance to dominate early on.
Another issue that the Suns bumped into last time out was rebounding. Fortunately, the Suns are much stronger on the rebounding side of things now that Markieff Morris is in the starting lineup. Channing Frye is not a bad at rebounding — he’s bad at box outs. Another factor is Marcin Gortat’s quest to grab every single rebound around him, coupled with a great motivation from Alvin Gentry. What is the motivation? “If you get 20 rips in a game, you can shoot some threes.” Fine coaching if you ask me.
And finally, one last thing. Please don’t tease Lamar Odom. In the first game, he went off on a good roll for the first time in the season just because Channing Frye absolutely disrespected his skills. Hopefully, that mistake can be avoided. Nothing is more motivating for a player like Odom than seeing a sub-par player dare you to shoot a three. It’s like a spitting in a man’s face. You don’t do it, unless you want to get hurt.
Alvin Gentry may have made the wackiest imagineable lineup change for the Suns.
It’s not that it was bad, especially the “putting Channing Frye on the bench” aspect of it, and it’s not that it was pointless. No, it was smart. Very smart, but nevertheless surprising.
The Suns have 3 guys who can play conventional shooting guard: Jared Dudley, Shannon Brown and Michael Redd. And you’d expect one of them to start every day, or at least until Wednesday you would.
Gentry made a lineup shuffle similar to that of Rick Carlisle in the Finals, going with a two point guard setup, giving Ronnie Price the starting spot at the 2.
And somehow, it worked out. How? Let’s see the effect on the players that are affected by this change the most: Ronnie Price
Ronnie is one of those pesky defenders that you hate to play against. He’ll pester you all around the floor and try and force some steals. That, and unlike many other pesky guys, he’s pretty smart with what he does on the floor, so he won’t gamble, and he’ll double well. Jared Dudley, as good of a defender he is, is more of a small forward and often gets beaten by quicker guards. The size is there but the lateral quickness is lacking. Then Ronnie fits the bill of a secondary ball handler very well, especially given that he has a pretty good thing going with Marcin Gortat on the pick and roll as well (seeing a pattern of Gortat doing well on the pick and roll regardless of point guard here?), giving the Suns another weapon there.
It should be noted, however, that Ronnie isn’t the main cause for the change made by Gentry, his presence in the starting lineup is more of an attempt at counteract the awkward bench play from the Suns. (And by awkward, I mean a lot of scoring but most of it coming by ways of widely understood ugliness). Also, apparently, Gentry wanted to… Free Sebastian Telfair. Which turned out to be a surprisingly good idea in Boston and New York, somehow. Jared Dudley
I think he was the main reason for the change. Jared is a typical spark plug, he comes in, makes a good play or two, gets his team (and the fans at home) rocking, and starts a fire. His relegation to the bench wasn’t a demotion as much as a promotion to the glorious role of the point forward. With Bassy and Shannon in the backcourt, Jared somehow turned out to be the most competent passer. As soon as Gentry realized that, he gave him the keys to the bench-Porsche in Boston, and Jared responded by giving him 4 assists in 21 minutes, most of which were pretty damn smart passes to cutting players.
Now, this might be a one game occurence, but nevertheless I like it. Jared has been working on being a secondary playmaker to Nash but with Hill in the starting lineup, he’d have trouble doing that. Against bench players, however, he has a chance to stand out and show his worth as a passer, a feat he accomplished in Boston. Markieff Morris
Morris had an unlucky first start in the NBA. He was sick and ended up going out of the game after a putrid 6 minutes. The second start wasn’t much better, either, particularly on the offensive side, where he committed turnover after turnover — evidence of unfamiliarity with starter’s plays and the raised level of competition that starting presents for sure. But with the elongated break the Suns are now having, I’m certain Markieff will bounce back against Dallas, especially that the team won’t have to worry about Dirk Nowitzki. What’s most important, however is that Morris seems a little more solid defensively than Frye, who really had trouble keeping opponents in front of him at times. With Markieff, Gortat has a little more comfort on the glass too. That definitely helped the Suns solve their rebounding woes in Boston. Shannon Brown
If the universe was ruled by NBA 2k12, Shannon Brown would be starting.
Good thing it’s not, though. Brown has been hellishly inconsistent for the Suns, giving my face the cringe-cringe-cringe-smile-smile-cringe-smile treatment. However it seems that Gentry is slowly bashing “get into the lane” into his head. If he does that more, my cringes might be a bit less cringy. Whatever the case, the bench is the only place I really enjoy seeing Shannon Brown on. Channing Frye
Channing has not stepped up after his benching.
At all.
I mean, his best role is as a three point scarecrow penalizing lazy scouts at this point. However, he does seem to be playing smarter basketball, taking less hard shots and such. I expect him to improve and provide a steady surprising strike in the second unit. However, until I see it, I won’t believe it. Sebastian Telfair
I guess Bassy did take his bench warming seriously, as he came back doing… Unbassy things. In the 20 minutes he played against Boston and New York (10 minutes each) he hasn’t comitted the turnover, limiting himself to playing solid defence. And that kind of performance I don’t mind from a guy who’s not even the playmaker on this bench unit. Michael Redd and Hakim Warrick
The poor guys just fell right back out of the rotation. Expect Hakim to put a lot of pressure on Channing, though, and Michael will probably start playing more minutes once he gets even more up to game speed. Josh Childress
Bahahahahahahahahahah.
Now, to end this, I’m really intrigued by the unit Gentry came up with in the endgame against Boston: Nash-Price-Dudley-Hill-Gortat was a solid unit on both sides of the ball playing good defence and good offence (including a HUGE Dudley 3 and Icicled free throws from Gortat).
Whenever another team has a small frontcourt, expect this unit to come out and try and do some damage.
That’s it for this post, however rest assured that I will keep observing these new lineups as time passes and sample sizes increase. Until then, however, Alvin Gentry gets a big “redeemed” stamp from me.
A mini-rivalry was formed last year between the Suns and the Celtics, largely in part to their two elite-level pests. But what we’ve seen in the first game was an event for the ages.
Kevin Garnett actually picked on someone his own size.
In other news, the Celtics lost once and won once back then. They won at home, where they’ll be facing the Suns tonight, the only time in this shortened season.
Rajon Rondo will sit the game out with a wrist injury, as reported by Doc Rivers, which will give the starting job to Avery Bradley. Steve Nash is going to have fun tonight, and let’s see how exactly.
The real magic in the matchup starts in the offence-defence game the Suns seem to have an advantage in. The Celtics are no longer the great defensive club they used to be (thanks in part to their Kendrick Perkins move) and their ever aging squad. Their pick and roll defence is ranked 14th in the league according to MySynergySports.Com (0.83 points against per posession) and against the best pick and roll team in the league (0.98 points per possession) it might be a problem, especially with Rondo out. Remember the first game against the Celtics last year? It was Marcin Gortat’s first big game, as he scored a then-career high 19 points. Now that he’s established himself, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sets a new one (his current is at 25).
Can the Suns stop the Celtics, though? The defence has fluctuated a lot for the Suns. They had 5 really good outings, followed up by 5 terrible ones, and now, in New York, they managed to have a good one. What do the Suns have to watch out for on D, then? Ray Allen, who will take one of the guards for a little spin in a game of tag. Allen will run around screens looking for a single open look and Ronnie Price, Jared Dudley and Shannon Brown will have to lock him down as much as they can. Which should be easier without Rondo to spoil the party with good passes.
The Suns should however avoid turnovers like fire. Rajon Rondo may be out, but Avery Bradley is still a pretty quick young guard and you don’t want Steve Nash trying to run him down in transition. Just take care of the ball in the half-court, mkay?
What’s the final predicament? It’d be good to annoy Kevin Garnett again. It’d also be good to abuse Avery Bradley, and it would be best if the Suns managed to ride their pick and roll prowess to some solid offensive flow, and hopefully a win.
There were a lot of dumb losses that shouldn’t have happened for the Suns recently, hopefully, this one will be one of those unexpected wins that boost a team’s spirits.
Side Stories
An Awkward Reunion
This day might be even weirder for Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus, long time Orlando and Suns teammates who have been separated by a failed trade with Toronto and subsequent buyout of the Frenchman. Watch for Pietrus to take this game personally. Ok, maybe not as personally as Kevin Garnett, but still, pretty personally.
Sold?
Pietrus was not the only former Sun to be dumped to the Celtics for virtually nothing. Rajon Rondo was traded to the Celtics just after the Suns drafted him with their 21st pick in the 2006 NBA draft for cash considerations and a 1st round draft pick from Cleveland that was later used to draft Rudy Fernandez who was subsequently traded to Portland. What a roller coaster. And now he’s sitting out. For once.
Yes, I will remind you of this glaring incompetence every time “Rajon Rondo” and “The Suns” are mentioned in one sentenced. Bummer, huh?
Hall of Fame Exhibition Game?
You could make a Future Hall of Fame starting five out of the veteran talent on both teams. Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett , Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Grant Hill are all Hall of Famers, the first 3 being sure fire first balloters, while Ray and Grant are second balloters at most. Whatever the case, we’re going to be seeing these 5 guys in Springfield very very soon.
Greg Stiemsma
Who? You ask. Greg Stiemsma is a D-League call-up Center who is incidentally a shot blocking machine. He’s currently averaging 1.6 blocks in 10 minutes of play. That’s 5.2 blocks per 36.
FanSided
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