Phoenix Suns vs. Washington Wizards: Regular season game 7 open thread
by Mike Prada on Nov 8, 2009 12:18 PM EST
in Game Threads
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PrintPhoenix Suns at Washington Wizards, Nov 8, 2009 1:00 PM EST
The Essentials:
Suns (5-1) vs. Wizards (2-4)
1:00 p.m.
Verizon Center
TV: CSN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
Notable very early Suns numbers this season
9th in expected winning percentage (.667)
3rd in pace (100.5 possessions per game)
4th in offensive efficiency/offensive rating (110.5)
22nd in defensive efficiency/defensive rating (106.6)
Notable Suns numbers last season
12th in expected winning percentage (.562)
4th in pace (96 possessions per game)
2nd in offensive efficiency/offensive rating (113.6)
26th in defensive efficiency/defensive rating (111.6)
Pre-game links
Bright Side of the Sun, SB Nation's Suns Blog
Valley of the Suns, Phoenix Suns Blog
Bright Side of the Sun preview
Valley of the Suns preview
Mike Jones pre-game blog post: Wizards going with another starting lineup
Wizards Insider: The other side: Suns
GameDay Suns
| Tonight's Projected Starters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Suns | vs. | Wizards |
| Steve Nash |
PG | Gilbert Arenas |
| Jason Richardson |
SG | Randy Foye |
| Grant Hill |
SF | Caron Butler |
| Amare Stoudemire |
PF | Fabricio Oberto |
| Channing Frye |
C | Brendan Haywood |
The Phoenix Suns come in today on a major upswing, having defeated the Celtics in Boston last Friday. They're 5-1, and like Indiana, they play really, really fast. The only difference is that they actually score efficiently while they play fast. With Amare Stoudemire and Channing Frye starting up front, they pose a ton of matchup problems for the Wizards' frontcourt. It'll be interesting to see who guards whom up there.
Flip Saunders said he's going with Randy Foye tonight in the starting lineup instead of Nick Young. Why Foye? "He gives us a little more offense and consistency when he's on the floor," Saunders said. Saunders clearly was referencing Young's shortcomings when he talked about the consistency Foye brings. Saunders also is going to start Fabricio Oberto because he says Oberto is one of the best pick and roll defenders the Wizards have, which makes him adept to help stop Phoenix's pick-and-roll attack. I'm a bit dubious there, but we'll see.
Other notes from Flip Saunders' pre-game interview session:
- Flip was asked about Gilbert Arenas' somewhat passive performance against Indiana. Saunders said that, against Miami, Gilbert pressed a bit because he was paired with some "defensive" guys, but he overcompensated a bit against Indiana. The key for Gilbert, Saunders said, is to remain aggressive and take open shots that he's given.
- Here's a line that shocked me. When Saunders was asked about Caron Butler, he kind of dodged the question and instead talked about how he looks at the team as a whole. When there was a follow-up question on how Butler specifically is trying to find his way in that offense, Saunders said "Because of the energy we had and the team we went with, we almost went with a totally different offense." I missed this in the interview the first time, but when I listened back on the tape, my head jerked back. Whole different offense? What? Why? What different offense? I really wish I had heard this the first time so I could have followed up on that. This is definitely something to watch today if things start to go bad.
- I asked Saunders what the single biggest key to improving the offense today. At first, he joked and said "Put the ball in the basket." Then, he said the other key was player movement and ball movement. "Move bodies, move the ball. If we do that, we'll get better shots. Right now, we're not moving our bodies and not moving the ball, so we're taking too many contested shots."
- Saunders said he hopes Antawn Jamison will be ready in a week. Jamison was shooting around before tip-off and was stroking a lot of jumpers. "The way he's shooting it, I could put him in today," Saunders joked.
- As for Mike Miller, Saunders said nothing's really changed. He said Miller's swelling on his shoulder needs to go down before he can play again, but once that happens, he'll go right in.
GO WIZARDS!
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They aren't running the offense at all
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Ya, but...
He is an awesome passer, maybe our best. That is very key for a player that can’t shoot and isn’t guarded.
by Manimal Smith on Nov 8, 2009 1:22 PM EST up reply actions
Phoenix's default play right now is "post up Randy Foye's man"
And Foye was talking about how how strong he was…
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Blatche is getting a big hand when he checked in
Not sure whether that’s because Oberto can’t do anything on offense. The crowd has groaned every time Oberto touched the ball.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
The Wizards finally ran a Hawk set on that past play
And it resulted in an open shot. Who knew?
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I really hope Flip adjusts and puts Brendan on Amare and Blatche on Frye
Frye is always open.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Why is Gilbert guarding Grant Hill in the low post?
That’s not a recipe for success.
Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.
I think it was a crossmatch in transition
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Still
I think there was plenty of time for someone to come over and provide some help. He just got left out to dry.
Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.
by Jake Whitacre on Nov 8, 2009 1:30 PM EST up reply actions
Seeing a lot of Gilbert/Caron screen and rolls
That’s been an adjustment by Flip. Interesting.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Maybe I shouldn't mention this, but...
They are calling carrying tighter this year, but Gil gets away with doing it every possession.
Yeah, but Arenas isn't the only one
A lot of players carry the ball. It’s just a part of the game now.
He is definitely our hardest worker
And you have to respect that.
by Manimal Smith on Nov 8, 2009 1:43 PM EST up reply actions
Andray is doing a really good job of keeping the ball higher this year
Brendan is too – wonder if someone worked with them on this over the off season.
Two hands, Caron
I hate when he does the one-handed thing. Such a bad habit.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
It works better when
You deploy it in spot situations – not every play.
Listening eddie?
by Manimal Smith on Nov 8, 2009 1:52 PM EST up reply actions
The ball's moving really well right now
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
He's good as a backup center
I don’t like him with Brendan Haywood. That really hurts you offensively.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Me too
Though I will say Blatche/Oberto seems to have pretty good chemistry.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Not that I know of
I think he just struggles against teams like this.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Hmm
I thought he was playing well. Drawing fouls and active on both ends.
Getting buckets since 2003.
by Icantfeelmyface on Nov 8, 2009 2:07 PM EST up reply actions
I did too
But he was also forced to cover Frye, and he didn’t look good doing that.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
No, Flip just rides good lineups
Unlike some coaches …
by Manimal Smith on Nov 8, 2009 2:06 PM EST up reply actions
They brought Gil back in for the final play
Then had Randy Foye be the guy to make a play? That’s odd.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Homerism?
Or is Phoenix really getting away with a lot. Those two charges did look like charges on replay.
First one was a charge, second one, not so much
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I thought Hill was outside the circle, couldn’t tell if he was moving. Only got one replay. You at the game?
Yeah
It was close – Hill was right there.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
They're definitely running the offense
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Caron really is not good at defensive recognition
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Hill
Really missed an obvious skip pass on that one.
Not so terrible
But their offense is starting to kill us.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Were gonna lose
This game is over. It’s sad but it’s true.
1. Can we get calls? Foye was clobbered in that last play in the 2nd.
2. Arenas needs to drive more and stop shooting bricks.
3. Defense???? Too many open shots.
5. Suns are in the paint why are we shooting Dominic McGuire jumpers?
I think Caron looks good today, let’s see if we can stregthen some things and get a win as of now it’s looking like a jump shot offense with nothing in the paint and shady defense.
by Unxpekted on Nov 8, 2009 2:42 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Oh Blatche can shoot his j’s though :)
by Unxpekted on Nov 8, 2009 2:44 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Phoenix announcers are really getting into gilbert arenas
and I cant blame them. Awful shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laydODN6xVk
I'm not a fan of the pull-up jumpers in transition
They can get that anytime they want. Why do that?
Wizards are officially the Washington Jumpers all we do is take jumpshots.
by Unxpekted on Nov 8, 2009 2:49 PM EST via mobile reply actions
We lost. I’m guessing we will be 20-60 this year. Certainly an improvement over last year, 5 more won games!!
Caps doing bad.
Redskins non existant.
Wizards go 20-60 for the year.
Yay!!!! If we only had Mike Ruffin
by Unxpekted on Nov 8, 2009 3:02 PM EST via mobile reply actions
It was a carry though
He stepped 500 steps there.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Oberto needs
to teach a class on flopping. That was a terrible acting job by Gil
I hope they play him more after this
Give him Stevenson’s spot in the rotation.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
GIl needs prozac
he looks depressed out there.
It could have been down to 2, Gilbert misses the easy layup against Nash. Brendan misses the free throws.
It always amazes me
That Nash can shoot from the hip and never get it blocked.
OY....
Down the tubes after getting back into it… Poor FT shooting by BTH killed decent momentum…
I can no longer judge this team until Jamison and Miller return.
Sucks eeeevery year waiting for a healthy team. I’m sock and tired of it to be frank.
by Unxpekted on Nov 8, 2009 3:29 PM EST via mobile reply actions
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