Washington Wizards vs. Phoenix Suns: Regular Season Game 25 Open Thread
by Mike Prada on Dec 19, 2009 6:01 PM EST
in Game Threads
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PrintWashington Wizards at Phoenix Suns, Dec 19, 2009 9:00 PM EST
The Essentials:
Wizards (8-16) vs. Suns (17-9)
9:00 p.m.
US Airways Arena
TV: CSN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
Notable Suns numbers this season
10th in expected winning percentage (.594)
5th in pace (95.1 possessions per game)
2nd in offensive efficiency/offensive rating (114)
27th in defensive efficiency/defensive rating (111)
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
Paul Coro's blog for the Arizona Republic
Wizards Insider: The other side: Suns
GameDay Phoenix
| Tonight's Projected Starters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wizards | vs. | Suns |
| GIlbert Arenas |
PG | Steve Nash |
| DeShawn Stevenson |
SG | Jason Richardson |
| Caron Butler |
SF | Grant Hill |
| Antawn Jamison |
PF | Amare Stoudemire |
| Brendan Haywood |
C | Channing Frye |
UPDATE: Pre-game audio of Flip Saunders, via Phoenix Stan at Bright Side of the Sun (who is credentialed).
Snowed in on a Saturday night? Me too! All the more reason to join us here for what should be a fun one, at the very least.
Phoenix is one of the surprise teams of the league, though a look at the advanced stats say the Suns aren't quite at the level we might think. They are just 10th in point differential and still are playing abysmal defense. HOWEVA, it's worth noting that the Suns have played an unbelievably difficult schedule early in the season. The Suns have played 17 road games and just nine home games this season (in a related story, the Lakers played 17 of their first 21 at home). Phoenix is 8-9 on the road, meaning they haven't lost at home yet this year. More home games later this year should help them maintain their pace.
I kind of doubt tonight will be the first loss for them. Our guys are probably tired -- Gilbert and Caron played well over 40 minutes against the Warriors, and Antawn Jamison played 36 while being banged-up. Going to Phoenix while they're rested after playing Golden State is also kind of cruel, and it's the last game of the road trip. These are all perfectly logical reasons for a major letdown tonight. But if there's anything we've learned about this season's Wizards, logic doesn't mean much. It would totally be the Wizards way to come out with a big performance tonight after they let up against a bad team like the Clippers or even the Kings.
Some reasons to be optimistic, though, since I'm sure you're all depressed your Saturday night plans went kerplunk with the weather:
- Nobody on Phoenix can stop Gilbert Arenas, except himself. Bright Side of the Sun suggests putting Jason Richardson on him. If that's the best you got, you're in trouble, so long as Arenas is actually aggressive and still relatively under control. Obviously, considering the ebb and flow of Arenas' season, not to mention a tough back-to-back, that's not a given. But if his aggression is there, he should have a big night.
- The Wizards played Phoenix relatively evenly earlier in the year, save for the opening stretches of the game, when the Suns posted up Randy Foye every possession and scored at will. Foye's no longer starting, so Phoenix can't do that anymore.
- Flip Saunders strangely started Brendan Haywood on Channing Frye and Antawn Jamison on Amare, even though Amare plays mostly inside and Frye only shoots threes. Assuming Flip makes the adjustment, that should help.
Some reasons to be pessimistic are LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU LA LA LA LA LA LA!!
GO WIZARDS!
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Comments
Want energy?
I’d give Arenas and Jamison the night off. Foye and Young can learn a lot from playing the Suns. Blatche can hold his own.
When is McGee going to see action? 2012?
funny
i was also contemplating flip resting the big 4 and playing the supporting cast the entire game. i’d try anything to try to get those guys going. odds are we lose this game either way.
but that’s probably just naive of me.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 19, 2009 6:23 PM EST up reply actions
We have so much snow...........
My car looks like a mini Van.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Caron played 46 minutes last night
look for NY1 to play more at SF tonight….
I also think JVM might get some minutes tonight… just a hunch
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Nah, not against Phoenix
Flip doesn’t trust him to defend p&r, and Phoenix is a heavy p&r team.
I bet we see Oberto before JaVale in this one.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
We may see Oberto early
especially if Blatche doesn’t step up….
But I think this game is going to be a blow out – (one way or the other)…
either:
A – Phoenix is overconfident, and Arenas goes off for 55 to lead the Wiz to a blow out win
OR
B – Wiz too tired from back-to-back, can’t bring enough energy… and JVM sees some run in the 4th quarter of a blow-out.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Good Luck Wizards
Nash sees the holes in our defense even before the game starts. Add that with our poorly we defend the three, and I see the Suns just salivating.
I’d take the OVER on the spread. But I never bet against my Wizards. It’s bad karma. Like Donaghy karma. Or something.
I’ve been quite wrong in the past though, if that counts for anything.
Go Wiz?
My swag was phenomenal.
Sixers just won in Boston, go figure
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
That's definitely on re-watch later on tonight or tomorrow while I still stay in
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Also, Kings-Bucks. Jennings vs. Tyreke
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Aaaand DeShawn starts again
Yippee.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Good start so far
Big 3 hitting shots early. Good D too.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Dumb shot Caron
Lucky Gilbert broke that pass up, that was terrible transition D.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Yeah
Or because of the general pace of the game. Too up and down.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I don't think it's JUST Stevenson's shot
The Wiz have taken a LOT of jumpers so far , early in the clock….
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Flip not liking all these long jumpers early in the shot clock
Look for him to “reign it in”
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
hmmm
Maybe that “long jumper” thing doesn’t count for Jamison
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Yeah that was a bad shot too
I mean, what do you do when everyone takes bad shots?
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
We are getting killed in transition again
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
doesn't mean Earl Boykins has to come in....
just try Foye at the 1. I mean you work on it ALL training camp
by SkinsWizStangs on Dec 19, 2009 9:27 PM EST up reply actions
The only guy driving the ball to the rim tonight is Butler
And he got stripped. At least he tried.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
kinda off topic but...
i just noticed that the bucks have kinda the same setup as the wiz but they look like a better team even though the wiz have better players
Same setup?
I don’t think so. They have a bunch of defense guys around Jennings and Bogut.
Really, they’re just so much better on D.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Boy
that sure looked like Jamison was pushed out of bounds there…
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
to me it seems
like we never go to the basket with any real authority on a regular basis (exceptions being McGee and Haywood).
Can we try something different on pick and rolls
Maybe switching once in a while?
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
It was a 3 point PHX lead...
when Boykins came in for Gil. It’s happened every game in the past two weeks….WE DESPERATELY NEED A BACKUP PG!
by SkinsWizStangs on Dec 19, 2009 9:34 PM EST up reply actions
Exactly..
It can’t hurt more then what Earl is given you.
by SkinsWizStangs on Dec 19, 2009 9:37 PM EST up reply actions
We have no strategy against him
We won’t switch, we won’t trap, what the heck are we doing against him? We’re trying to contain, but failing.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Hey - if they're not gonna call it
The Wizards should just start shoving guys out of bounds.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Considering how we're playing...
I’m not too worried we’re down by nine. Boykins really needs to sit. There has to be something Foye is doing in practice that is making Flip sit him. It’s absolutely reprehensible to sit a quality guard when another one of your guards is playing horribly.
Boykins in for the last 5 minutes – When he came in, Wiz were up 3, now they’re down 9
ESPN box score has Boykins with a -2
I don’t get it…
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Sorry
Wiz were down 3 when Boykins came in … so why isn’t Boykins -6 ?
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
That was a nice set
Didn’t work out, but I like Gilbert that close to the hoop.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I'd like it better
if it was Arenas, Young, McGuire, Dray and Haywood
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Wizards Offense = bunch of guys taking turns shooting long 2-point jumpers
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Agreed.
I really havent seen Flip’s “offensive genius” this year. Is it the coach or are the Wizards just that undisciplined??
by SkinsWizStangs on Dec 19, 2009 9:43 PM EST up reply actions
McGuire has to learn that a post-up to Blatche with three seconds left is not a good play
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Backup
Bruising big and backup pg are two big holes for this team
by forthepeople on Dec 19, 2009 9:43 PM EST up reply actions
my fantasy team has
stoudamire at power forward and haywood at center…….. shapow!
Haywood knows some posts moves, right?
I mean, we can at least run one or two plays through him, right?
You forgot "spin, fake drop step, fadeaway jumper"
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Game is played inside out
to be good we have to have plays for him.
by forthepeople on Dec 19, 2009 9:44 PM EST up reply actions
Phoenix sucks on defense
Come on guys, please try to score.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Wizards
have no offensive discipline or cohesion, I just finished watching the Jazz vs. Bobcats, and Utah looks so different compared to the wiz
HEY
NO around the back for Arenas on that free throw
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
theres nothing wrong with a 4th quarter collapse
if your up by 40
by Freedom Hurley on Dec 19, 2009 9:53 PM EST up reply actions
Are they?
I mean, Nash and Hill are oldies, but their bench guys are all young.
(Plus, they didn’t play last night).
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Yeah - but right now - he HAS to
No one else is doing anything…
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
i used to scream
every time the wizards scored on a fast break but now ……………….
Steve Nash=best shooter in the NBA
Discuss.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Well, yeah, most accurate
What other form of measuring shooting performance is there?
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I guess I can't argue with that logic
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
He's for sure a very good shooter, WHEN he's open...
Mike Miller, and guys like Gallinari in New York, and Matt Bonner in San Antonio are also deadly from outside if you leave them alone…
I was impressed with Curry last night…
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Yeah
I’m talking all-around though. I feel like Nash is great from everywhere on the court.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Ray's better from three
But Nash is better from midrange.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Not really
He’s fine shooting over big guys off the dribble. The Nuggets game from a few weeks ago is a good example of this.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
There's a difference
Between good shooters and good scorers. I would put Kobe and Gil in the “good scorer” category.
Jeez Gilbert, this is a little much
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Yeah - but Mike
without Gilbert scoring, this would be a 20-point blow out by now….
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
teams probably think the wizards
are the weak part of their schedule
the players are always getting injured
they are always laughing
and no one plays defense
by Freedom Hurley on Dec 19, 2009 10:12 PM EST up reply actions
i would say start a fight
but im not sure if we could do that without someone getting injured
by Freedom Hurley on Dec 19, 2009 10:13 PM EST up reply actions
Me neither
But can you review that? Wouldn’t it then be a dead ball.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
The NBA should out into getting a 4th ref. One who simply reviews all the plays at the table so they don’t have to stop the game for the regular refs to go to the table.
Just took a random look at the standings
The Wizards are only 1.5 games out of 8th, and 2 out of 7th. With the disappoint season we’re having so far, this is encouraging. Wish we could just string together a couple of good games. Thank goodness for a weak east.
by SkinsWizStangs on Dec 19, 2009 10:13 PM EST reply actions
Disappointing: No JVM.
Disappointing: Caron not shooting in rhythm.
Disappointing: Jamison moving away from the basket.
Disappointing: Hardly any Foye.
Disappointing: No defense.
Disappointing: No one taking it to the rim consistently.
by Craig_ on Dec 19, 2009 10:23 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
idk
maybe they need to play mad show some aggression
by Freedom Hurley on Dec 19, 2009 10:31 PM EST reply actions
You gotta wonder what Flip sees in Stevenson
that he keeps running him out there…
He’s just cannot hit a shot… he cannot drive… His defense, which used to be his saving grace, is really poor now. . . .
As a Coach – how can you not see all those flaws ?
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Jason Richardson just drifted way off Stevenson to get that steal
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
25 point lead
When does Flip put in JaVale McGee…?
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
why is he worried about mountain dew
when has a gambling addiction
by Freedom Hurley on Dec 19, 2009 10:43 PM EST up reply actions
Sit the Big 3
Let the bench try getting something done. Everyone’s tired.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
goaltending
is just a warm up for mcgeeee
by Freedom Hurley on Dec 19, 2009 10:45 PM EST reply actions
Phoenix hits 100 points with 1:27 left in the 3rd Quarter
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
I'm hating Boykins
he takes dumb shots, and the think that annoys me most is he never feeds Javale for the alley-oop. You can see Javale callin for it and it seems like Boykins sees him but just chooses to ignore him
Everybody started running before getting the ball
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Hey fans
Want to catch more of these Washington Wizards? Check out the season ticket plans…………….. Buck trying really really hard to sell an unsellable product.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
I'm about to post a premature new thread guys
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Can't we sub Dom in for Boykins?
I mean, the Suns have big guards, so how does this lineup helps us?
i'm still watching
i want to see foye at PG
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 19, 2009 11:20 PM EST reply actions
need consistent playing time
but I’m sure coaches will say it has to do with his performance in practice.
i so disagree with you
based on tonight’s evidence, mcgee doesn’t deserve to play. at all. for every block he gets he makes about 3 bad plays.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 19, 2009 11:35 PM EST up reply actions
Michael Jordan would have stunk if he got McGee’s minutes.
You’ve to play in the NBA to know what you are up against. You make adjustments, have a development plan, make progress, gain confidence, and then possibly become a good player.
Management needs to know who has the potential to invest the time and effort into. Obviously, it makes a big difference over time. It seems every team in the NBA except the Wiz are willing to invest time and effort to develop a young player.
bullshit
first off, michael jordan never stunk, that’s why he played.
second, jermaine o’neal. counterexample.
third, mcgee doesn’t seem to be adjusting as he makes mistakes, which is the heart of the problem.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 20, 2009 1:19 AM EST up reply actions
i remember when
i was so sure that foye should start over mike miller
now i forget foye is on the team
by Freedom Hurley on Dec 19, 2009 11:28 PM EST reply actions
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