Game Day: Hawks @ Suns - Let's improve that pick!

[Xylus]

The Lakers just went on a 29-8 run, and are currently winning 118-108.

[ShelC]

Lakers win. Kwame actually made soem key defensive plays down the stretch. Like usual tho, knicks just fell apart and tried their 1on1 stuff when the offense stalled.

[JediSkywalker]

I don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere on the thread (my apologies if it has been; I have not had a chance to read the board until now)-

I was at the Suns Townhall meeting tonight. It was very interesting. Among the many things that were discussed, couple of them stood out for me.

1.Kerr is scouting to see who are the top big men in college. According to him, it is not easy to find a 'big and skilled' player. At least he is looking.

2.Kerr communicated to the audience that it was Grant Hill who went to Dantoni and said that the team was playing well with Boris, so Dantoni should not worry about benching Grant, even though he was brought in as a starter. At that point the crowd erupted in a big applause.

Grant Hill is a class act.

BTW, Sarver has a pretty good sense of humor. Kerr was trying to be diplomatic (about Stern) and Sarver was saying exactly what he felt. It was hilarious.

[jkalldaway]

The suns gave up 26 offensive rebounds. Ouch. Can you imagine if they'd kept it to a reasonable number? We would have won by 50.

The other unbelievable statistic? The Suns blocked 19 shots. When was the last time we did something like that?

Franchise Record.

[SpecialSauce]

I don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere on the thread (my apologies if it has been; I have not had a chance to read the board until now)-

I was at the Suns Townhall meeting tonight. It was very interesting. Among the many things that were discussed, couple of them stood out for me.

1.Kerr is scouting to see who are the top big men in college. According to him, it is not easy to find a 'big and skilled' player. At least he is looking.

2.Kerr communicated to the audience that it was Grant Hill who went to Dantoni and said that the team was playing well with Boris, so Dantoni should not worry about benching Grant, even though he was brought in as a starter. At that point the crowd erupted in a big applause.

Grant Hill is a class act.

BTW, Sarver has a pretty good sense of humor. Kerr was trying to be diplomatic (about Stern) and Sarver was saying exactly what he felt. It was hilarious.

Thanks, Vash. I've never even heard of this townhall meeting. What is it and is it open to the public? Did they mention whether Boris in the starting lineup would continue, or if it was just until Grant got back into shape?

[v9]

Kerr communicated to the audience that it was Grant Hill who went to Dantoni and said that the team was playing well with Boris, so Dantoni should not worry about benching Grant, even though he was brought in as a starter. At that point the crowd erupted in a big applause.

I love Grant Hill.

[JediSkywalker]

Sauce,

I received an email from the Suns office about two upcoming townhall meetings. I opted for one (tonight's). I think they sent this email to all the season ticket holders. The number of seats was limited and these were given away on a first come first serve basis. I don't know if others from this blog were in attendance.

Your question about Boris- it sounded like a more or less permanent change, whatever 'permanent' means in sports. In any case it's not like Boris will be benched as soon as Grant becomes physically fit. Hill pointed out that Boris was playing much better as a starter. Sarver added that Boris is very sensitive and he needs a lot of positive feedback. Being a starter helps him mentally, while Grant is strong mentally. He can contribute regardless of where he is in the lineup. (I have paraphrased the comments; I was not taking notes, so I am typing from memory).

It was exciting to sit on the Suns practice court. I had never seen it before.

I enjoyed the meeting a lot. First, Sarver, Kerr and Rick each gave a small speech covering his area of expertise. Then it was open to Q&A for about 40-45 minutes. At the end they gave away some prizes (I did not win any).

The Q&A gave me a better understanding of the Suns organization. Some questions were not asked and/or tackled (e.g. the draft picks were mentioned, but somehow the Suns leadership sidestepped it). Sarver is keen on being financially successful and he is definitely not a long term planner (of course we knew that). Still, overall I felt much better about the team after listening to how they saw things. One question was about Banks and I thought Kerr was pretty honest in answering it (Banks has not really fit in, but he does a few things better than anyone else- e.g. how he played defense against Iverson).

[Superbone]

I want to win by 30, because that's what really good teams do. They blow out lesser teams.

There you go.

[Superbone]

The Childress/Barbosa is a big advantage for ATL, when both guys are playing SG. LB has only played 9 minutes so far - I wonder how much we'll see him tonight.

I think Barbosa did pretty well tonight. How about that sick reverse layup while flying under the basket?

[Superbone]

Big smiles. This is great to get off work and come home to read about. So who's the 9th we used? DJ or Banks? Great to hear about Diaw, and good to hear that Marion still has his 3 point touch. We just can't seem to get everyone going at once - when it happens its going to be insane. Barbs and Raja hitting 3s, Hill getting his rust off, and Diaw and Amare coexisting, when it happens, this team is going to be the league's nightmare

Every single person on the roster scored tonight. Wow.

[JediSkywalker]

Grant Hill appeared rusty in the first half but he did pretty well in the second half (16 points, I think).

[JediSkywalker]

Big smiles. This is great to get off work and come home to read about. So who's the 9th we used? DJ or Banks? Great to hear about Diaw, and good to hear that Marion still has his 3 point touch. We just can't seem to get everyone going at once - when it happens its going to be insane. Barbs and Raja hitting 3s, Hill getting his rust off, and Diaw and Amare coexisting, when it happens, this team is going to be the league's nightmare

Every single person on the roster scored tonight. Wow.

Was Alando Tucker not in uniform tonight? I had hoped to see him play. Is he back in the D-league?

[Superbone]

Big smiles. This is great to get off work and come home to read about. So who's the 9th we used? DJ or Banks? Great to hear about Diaw, and good to hear that Marion still has his 3 point touch. We just can't seem to get everyone going at once - when it happens its going to be insane. Barbs and Raja hitting 3s, Hill getting his rust off, and Diaw and Amare coexisting, when it happens, this team is going to be the league's nightmare

Every single person on the roster scored tonight. Wow.

Was Alando Tucker not in uniform tonight? I had hoped to see him play. Is he back in the D-league?

I'm not sure but he wasn't in uniform tonight.

[SpecialSauce]

thanks for the recap Vash

[JediSkywalker]

You're welcome, Sauce.

[Mori_Chu]

Suns lose tonight. Here's why:

...

Has anybody been keeping a tally of how many times Wormwood has predicted a loss, only for us to kick the other team's ass? Thanks for the good luck prediction, WW!

Wow, a 30-point victory. Fun to watch these games to see the end of the bench guys get minutes and hope they contribute. I really wish DJ had finished off that alley-oop. He still has trouble putting the ball in the basket. I was pretty pleased with how Marcus Banks played again. And I loved Diaw's game, especially how well he was finding Grant Hill when those two were leading the bench unit.

The only real downside for me was that Raja Bell (and our 3-point shooting in general, for most of the game) was way off. But hey, we won by 30+. I'll take it, I'll take it. Bring on the Spurs. What a team we've got here!

[Andy_S]

Kerr communicated to the audience that it was Grant Hill who went to Dantoni and said that the team was playing well with Boris, so Dantoni should not worry about benching Grant, even though he was brought in as a starter. At that point the crowd erupted in a big applause.

I love Grant Hill.

Wow, if that happened then it surpasses even what I previously thought about Hill's professionalism. I love having guys who just want to win, and win despite what it MIGHT mean for them personally.

[Andy_S]

The only real downside for me was that Raja Bell (and our 3-point shooting in general, for most of the game) was way off. But hey, we won by 30+. I'll take it, I'll take it. Bring on the Spurs. What a team we've got here!

There was not a downside to this game, if you ask me. Nothing is ever perfect.

[Antares]

Just like to say great game by the Suns! Amare was definitely a monster and was headed for a great double-double game if it were necessary for him to continue to be on the floor.

The Suns defense was really good and really stifled the Hawk's offense.

Let's hope the Suns carry this energy to the next game!

[Mori_Chu]

By the way Wormwood, you Banks hater: One could certainly make a case that Marcus helped us more in his 14 minutes than Raja Bell did in his 28:

Banks: 3-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 7 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1 TO, 0 BLK, 0 PF
Bell: 2-8 FG, 0-4 3PT, 4 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0 TO, 1 BLK, 2 PF

All I'm saying is that the guy is playing all right. Can we agree on that? He did not hurt us tonight. He played fine in the minutes he was given, especially when viewed as what he is, a backup combo guard.

[AlanS]

VT,

Let me give you a personal invitation.

When the Suns lose, you're on the team in general and, Mike in particular, like white on rice. But when they win, you're hardly heard from.

So I hereby invite you to the ATL game thread. That was the Suns' 14th win in their last 17 games, and a a**-whoopin' win at that. At the least, you can celebrate that the Hawks lost, which might cause them to mail it in for the rest of season.

Come holla at us, dude!

[Billyjoejimbob]

Grant Hill and Boris playing together with the 2nd unit was quite impressive. They seemed to be reading each other's minds. I hope Boris keeps this up now that he knows what his role is going to be, and I'm glad Grant is able to continue to contribute off the bench. They did what they were supposed to do. Bring on San Antonio, even though Parker is going to be out again.

[Wormwood]

Mori,

Banks played well last night. Hell, I was impressed with two of his plays: the out of bounds over the shoulder heave to Amare, and the alley oop to DJ.

However, we've seen him do well in one game, only to throw 5 stinkers in a row out there. I don't personally think it's going to change. I also see the defensive hustle, savvy, and effort out of DJ every game, whereas I see it maybe 50% of the time from Banks. I'd like to continue to find minutes for the young guy, especially considering he's got more upside, and a much better net +/- per 48.

And yes, because Banks and DJ almost never play with Nash, these numbers are comparable.

Now, if Banks puts 3 or 4 of these efforts in a row together, I'll re-evaluate my position.

[desertcoast]

gotta love Hill's professionalism and clarity.

Would Mike have made this decision without Grant's assurances ?
If not, than we really must appreciate Grant's instincts, unselfish attitude, and ability to step in an make *couching decisions when they're not being made



ah well, they're all on the same page and singing kumbaya...so it's good.



*er....coaching
couching decisions would require an entirely new thread

[Superbone]

...we really must appreciate Grant's instincts, unselfish attitude, and ability to step in an make couching decisions when they're not being made...

My wife makes all the couching decisions in my household.