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[The Stealth Fox]

I don't live in Houston or anything, but I picked this up on clutchfans.net

Go to sportsradio610.com and there's an interview with Van Gundy. He actually defends the spurs a little bit.

 

[Cloudy]

I don't know about that. I have been watching alot of Suns ball this year and he is playing out of this world. He makes everything look so effortless. Right now, I can't think of anyone else in the league playing on his level.

No one else has that kind of supporting cast. Has anyone on that team even smelled a double-team this year?

 

[Zep]

Warriors Coach Don Nelson indicated Wednesday that O'Bryant, the ninth overall pick last summer, probably would not be recalled from his assignment with the Bakersfield Jam before the NBA Development League season concludes April 14. Golden State would have three regular-season games remaining at that point.

O'Bryant, the only NBA lottery selection to receive the D-League treatment, is averaging 6.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in seven games with the Jam but has fouled out twice and shot just 40 percent.

``I told him if he goes down to the D-League and isn't a dominant player, there should be red flags all over the place, and he should be the first to notice,'' Nelson said.

``He's not only not dominating, he's not playing very well. He's a long-term project. I really liked him the first week of training camp, but I assumed there would be great progress. He hasn't gotten better one bit.

``I'd like to go to dinner with him, but I wouldn't like to put him in the game I'm coaching.''

coooooooooooooold blooded:lol

 

[jobber]

I don't live in Houston or anything, but I picked this up on clutchfans.net

Go to sportsradio610.com and there's an interview with Van Gundy. He actually defends the spurs a little bit.

Popabitch didn't want to coach in the all star game. Now that he's not, expect the Spurs to win 30 games in a row!

 

[Alucard]

Raps in first, once again. Woooooooooooo!

 

[negitoro7]

No one else has that kind of supporting cast. Has anyone on that team even smelled a double-team this year?

I think you're giving his supporting cast way too much credit. How good do you think Marion and Stoudemire are at finding their own shots? Have you seen how many brain farts and clumsy plays Amare STILL has when he has the ball? Or how much Marion disappears come playoffs time? You think Raja Bell is much of a consistent scoring threat?

 

[malek4980]

negitoro7 is right.

How does Nash do it!?!?!?!?

He turned Marion, a player who averaged about 20 points per game, and turned him into a player that -- averages about 20 points per game. Holy crap!

Now look at Raja Bell. In Utah he averaged 12 points a game in 28 minutes. Plays for the Suns and bam -- 14 points a game in 37 minutes. HOW DOES NASH DO IT?

Now that Joe Johnson is playing for the Hawks he must be averaging 2 points a game. I mean without Nash players turn to garbage. Just look at Dirk he got a whole lot worse once Nash left. Josh Howard hasn't developed at all without Steve.

 

[ph33nix]

negitoro7 is right.

How does Nash do it!?!?!?!?

He turned Marion, a player who averaged about 20 points per game, and turned him into a player that -- averages about 20 points per game. Holy crap!

Now look at Raja Bell. In Utah he averaged 12 points a game in 28 minutes. Plays for the Suns and bam -- 14 points a game in 37 minutes. HOW DOES NASH DO IT?

Now that Joe Johnson is playing for the Hawks he must be averaging 2 points a game. I mean without Nash players turn to garbage. Just look at Dirk he got a whole lot worse once Nash left. Josh Howard hasn't developed at all without Steve.

The 2003-2004 Phoenix Suns averaged 94.2 points per game.
The 2004-2005 Phoenix Suns averaged 110.4 points per game.


HOW DOES HE DO IT?

 

[Cloudy]

I think you're giving his supporting cast way too much credit. How good do you think Marion and Stoudemire are at finding their own shots?

They were both good enough to score 20ppg before he got there..

 

[Cloudy]

The 2003-2004 Phoenix Suns averaged 94.2 points per game.
The 2004-2005 Phoenix Suns averaged 110.4 points per game.

The 2003-2004 Phoenix Suns averaged 81.4 FG attempts per game.
The 2004-2005 Phoenix Suns averaged 85.6 FG attempts per game.

Faster pace (different coaching philosophy) = more shots = more points. Next...

 

[Kangu]

The 2003-2004 Phoenix Suns averaged 81.4 FG attempts per game.
The 2004-2005 Phoenix Suns averaged 85.6 FG attempts per game.

Faster pace (different coaching philosophy) = more shots = more points. Next...

4 more shots accounts for 16 more points! Damn those suns and their incesant 4 point plays!

 

[DMczaf]

Imagine the Suns with Steve Nash under Gundy...

"They call this **** basketball? **** this..."

 

[Alucard]

I just want to clarify something. Are you guys bashing Nash as a player, or the press who voted him as MVP? Regardless of how you feel about his MVP awards, you can't deny that he's an excellent player that any team in the league would be fortunate to have. He would probably also be the first to tell you that there are many other players who are deserving of the award.

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

He is a great player, but I will never, ever believe that a player that's only capable of playing on one end of the court deserves a MVP trophy, let alone two. Three would make a complete mockery out of the award.

 

[Kak.efes]

He is a great player, but I will never, ever believe that a player that's only capable of playing on one end of the court deserves a MVP trophy, let alone two. Three would make a complete mockery out of the award.

Prepare to be disappointed come April. If there's one year in which Nash truly deserves the MVP, it's this one.

 

[Karakand]

coooooooooooooold blooded:lol

Jim Harrick will turn the boy into a champion. No NCAA regulations for him to violate while doing it, either! :lol

I just want to clarify something. Are you guys bashing Nash as a player, or the press who voted him as MVP?

Nash is a good player playing on a good team with a system that plays to his strengths. He did not deserve the MVP last year. But whatever, it's not like he's going to get any championship rings with the Euroleaguers so I guess he deserves some notoriety before he retires.

 

[woodchuck]

it's pretty much inevitable that the Suns will end up with the best record in the nba.

Nash will win not only because of his stats(which I don't mind) and precedent(which I hate), but also due to the stupid logic that some people believe the MVP is "the best player on the best team".

 

[jobber]

it's pretty much inevitable that the Suns will end up with the best record in the nba.

Nash will win not only because of his stats(which I don't mind) and precedent(which I hate), but also due to the stupid logic that some people believe the MVP is "the best player on the best team".

TP (when he's not sick) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Nash

 

[Kak.efes]

Nash is a good player playing on a good team with a system that plays to his strengths. He did not deserve the MVP last year. But whatever, it's not like he's going to get any championship rings with the Euroleaguers so I guess he deserves some notoriety before he retires.

Are you actually dismissing the Sun's as contenders? You think they have no shot?

 

[985boi]

The Austin Toros of the NBA Development League put up with some unneeded Bull-loney when their now-suspended mascot lost his head -- figuratively and literally -- and nearly cost the team its game against the Colorado 14ers on Wednesday night.

The mascot, known as Da Bull, prematurely ran onto the court and hung from the rim with .4 seconds remaining, apparently to punctuate center Loren Woods' breakaway dunk that gave the Toros a four-point lead over Colorado.

While hanging from the rim, the Toros detailed in a news release Thursday, Da Bull collided with a Colorado player. At the point of contact, the mascot's head, to his horror, fell to the floor.
The Toros were assessed a technical foul. The 14ers' Von Wafer made the free throw, but Rick Rickert missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the score as time expired.

Da Bull was suspended for two games and assigned by the team to 50 hours of community service. A replacement mascot will perform in his absence; Da Bull is expected to return to duty Feb. 2 when the Toros play the Bakersfield Jam.

Austin's 101-98 victory came before a sold-out kids matinee at the Austin (Texas) Convention Center.

"I've never seen that in all my years of basketball," Toros coach Dennis Johnson said in a statement, "and I hope I never do again."


I gotta see the video of this. :lol

 

[Karakand]

Are you actually dismissing the Sun's as contenders? You think they have no shot?

It's not the Showtime Era anymore. If you can't play defense it catches up with you in the playoffs when people actually have time to scheme against you.

 

[Cloudy]

4 more shots accounts for 16 more points! Damn those suns and their incesant 4 point plays!

Is that really so hard to believe for a team that shoots more 3s than anyone since D'Antoni got there? I won't even go back to check the stats but it's quite obvious they would have shots more fts as well.

Why are some of you so brain-washed by the media to think Nash is the ONLY reason the Suns are dominant? It's the perfect combination of run-n-gun, great drivers/shooters/finishers and the inability to double off ANYONE on the squad that makes them so tough. The new "no defense allowed" rules don't hurt either...

 

[Cloudy]

but also due to the stupid logic that some people believe the MVP is "the best player on the best team".

That theory would make Marion the MVP of the Suns

 

[Kak.efes]

It's not the Showtime Era anymore. If you can't play defense it catches up with you in the playoffs when people actually have time to scheme against you.

Dude, you're talking about a team that's made the conference finals twice in the passed two years, only to lose to the spurs and mavs amidst a slue of injuries. Now that they're healthy, and clicking they stand as good a chance as anyone- if not moreso. I can't believe anyone would dismiss their ability to play playoff level basketball.

 

[Zep]

Dude, you're talking about a team that's made the conference finals twice in the passed two years, only to lose to the spurs and mavs amidst a slue of injuries. Now that they're healthy, and clicking they stand as good a chance as anyone- if not moreso. I can't believe anyone would dismiss their ability to play playoff level basketball.

Just hope they dont play San Antonio...They would decimate Phoenix in a 7gm series.

 

[Miguel]

Goddamn mother****ing shitty dish network crapping out on me because it's slightly cloudy!


EDIT: I mean overcast! I didn't mean to invoke KOnex!!

:lol

 

[AirBrian]

Dude, you're talking about a team that's made the conference finals twice in the passed two years, only to lose to the spurs and mavs amidst a slue of injuries. Now that they're healthy, and clicking they stand as good a chance as anyone- if not moreso. I can't believe anyone would dismiss their ability to play playoff level basketball.

I don't remember, but who else besides Raja was injured in the playoffs last year?

 

[BigBoss]

I don't remember, but who else besides Raja was injured in the playoffs last year?

Amare Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas.

 

[Kak.efes]

.. and they still managed to take the Mavs to six.

 

[jobber]

Just hope they dont play San Antonio...They would decimate Phoenix in a 7gm series.

Unless the Suns are exausted from the regular season, the Spurs would lose in 5.


I hope the Spurs are playing possum like Duncan did last season -_-


Normally, I would have more faith in my team but the bench (Beno, Horry, and Finley) SUCKS

 

[whytemyke]

ESPN's podcast just had Joey D ripping Chris Sheridan and ESPN for that brouhaha from last week. "There's no way you can come into town for one day and analyze my team like that. Sheed has always been a free spirit. Go back to Dean Martin and he'll tell you that. But just cuz Flip Saunders and Sheed butt heads occasionally doesn't mean they dont' totally respect each other."

I love Dumars :lol

 

[985boi]

By Scott Soshnick

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- National Basketball Association players who fake fouls might soon be penalized themselves, a league official said.

The NBA is studying how often feigned fouls, known as ``flops,'' occur and whether officials can consistently tell the difference between actual fouls and embellishments, said Stu Jackson, the executive vice president for basketball operations.

``They're really difficult to determine in real time. They're meant to fool an official,'' Jackson told reporters today. ``Are we going to be wrong more times than not? It's tough, but we're looking at it.''

FIBA, the governing body for international basketball, allows referees to impose a technical foul for flopping, a penalty that Jackson said the NBA is considering. Other sports, including soccer and hockey, also allow officials to penalize players who embellish fouls.

``We have so many more plays than you do in a football or soccer game and in a more intimate environment,'' said Jackson, who didn't offer a timetable for a decision.

Jackson met with reporters in New York to discuss the league's officiating program.

To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

 

[Kak.efes]

A lot of what the suns do in this years playoffs is going to depend Nash's conditioning, when they play back to back seven game series, he gets taxed in the later rounds. It'll be interesting to see how they handle the first and second round this year. If they end up limiting the games played there, watch out.

 

[Branduil]

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- National Basketball Association players who fake fouls might soon be penalized themselves, a league official said.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

 

[Trakdown]

Is that really so hard to believe for a team that shoots more 3s than anyone since D'Antoni got there? I won't even go back to check the stats but it's quite obvious they would have shots more fts as well.

Why are some of you so brain-washed by the media to think Nash is the ONLY reason the Suns are dominant? It's the perfect combination of run-n-gun, great drivers/shooters/finishers and the inability to double off ANYONE on the squad that makes them so tough. The new "no defense allowed" rules don't hurt either...

Much as I do like Nash- and I do think he will get the MVP this year- I'm of this mind too. They've got 7 players capable of going above 20 on any given night, they're all dangerous in their own rights. Shawn Marion, especially, is way overlooked by most people. The Suns have a great team, overall. I just don't think that makes Nash any less brilliant- he's been voted as MVP just as much by his peers than by the media.

 

[Flash]

agent zero going to the all star game!

East

C: Shaq
PF: Bosh
SF: LeBron
SG: Wade
SG: Arenas

 

[DMczaf]

T-Mac held off Iverson's ballot box cheating!! STARTER!

 

[woodchuck]

arenas barely made it. there must have been a huge surge at the end.

I like Tmac and all, but there's no way he should be starting ahead of Nash. The Canadians (and Germans) need to start voting.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

arenas barely made it. there must have been a huge surge at the end.

I like Tmac and all, but there's no way he should be starting ahead of Nash. The Canadians (and Germans) need to start voting.

who do you think voted for bosh?

also where is Nowitski?

 

[negitoro7]

Why are some of you so brain-washed by the media to think Nash is the ONLY reason the Suns are dominant? It's the perfect combination of run-n-gun, great drivers/shooters/finishers and the inability to double off ANYONE on the squad that makes them so tough. The new "no defense allowed" rules don't hurt either...

No, he's not the "only" reason the Suns are dominant. However, oftentimes when he lies down to get some rest, the Suns look like ****ing D-Leaguers. That's even with Marion, Stoudemire, Bell, Diaw and Barbosa on the floor.

I still think some of you are giving the supporting cast way too much credit. Do you honestly think substituting Nash for some other PG would still garner this kind of record? Stoudemire looks lost out there most of the time without Nash giving him easy dunks and alley-oop dunks (even when given the ball on a silver platter underneath the rim he still looks lost sometimes). On that note, once his bball IQ catches up to his athleticism, him and Dwight Howard will be absolutely sick.
And who cares if Marion had great stats in past regular seasons before Nash arrived? He used to disappear in the playoffs, he still disappears in playoffs. Difference is, the Suns now have a point guard that can also take over offensively and carry the team on his back (like what he did against the Mavs 2 years ago).

p.s. In addition to Marion, Q-Richardson also did absolutely
nothing in those playoffs 2 years ago.

disclaimer: I'm not saying Nash isn't overrated by the media though.

 

[Branduil]

They really need to take All-Star voting away from fans. Garnett, and T-Mac should not be starters, as great as they are. Replace them with Dirk and Nash.

 

[negitoro7]

T-Mac held off Iverson's ballot box cheating!! STARTER!

I like Tmac and all, but there's no way he should be starting ahead of Nash. The Canadians (and Germans) need to start voting.

Obviously out of the millions of Chinese voting for Yao, A LOT of them were also voting in T-mac.

 

[Flash]

:lol at smitch & brian hill being on barkleys allstar reserve list

 

[Karakand]

Dude, you're talking about a team that's made the conference finals twice in the passed two years, only to lose to the spurs and mavs amidst a slue of injuries. Now that they're healthy, and clicking they stand as good a chance as anyone- if not moreso. I can't believe anyone would dismiss their ability to play playoff level basketball.

Out of the last 10 NBA champions none have not been in the top half of the Association in at least 2 defensive categories.

Out of the last 10 NBA champions none have not been in the top third of the Association in at least 1 defensive category. (9 out of the last 10 NBA champions were in the top third in 2 or more categories. The 2001 Lakers are the only black sheep in the group.)

edit: SOURCE FOR GREAT JUSTICE

 

[Cloudy]

If AI had been a starter, T-Mac wouldn't have made the game and that's crap since AI didn't even start the season in the WC :lol

The guys getting screwed here are Okur (he might squeak in), Deron Williams (no chance) and Howard (out of a starting spot in the EC)

 

[jobber]

Out of the last 10 NBA champions none have not been in the top half of the Association in at least 2 defensive categories.

Out of the last 10 NBA champions none have not been in the top third of the Association in at least 1 defensive category. (9 out of the last 10 NBA champions were in the top third in 2 or more categories. The 2001 Lakers are the only black sheep in the group.)

edit: SOURCE FOR GREAT JUSTICE

I was thinking the 03 Spurs had one of the best defensive stats ever :\

 

[Karakand]

I was thinking the 03 Spurs had one of the best defensive stats ever :\

Top tenth of the Association in 2 categories and top half in another is still pretty good.

 

[Branduil]

Mavs are looking incredibly lethargic right now. They need to wake up.

 

[Branduil]

Holy crap I've never seen the Mavs shoot this bad.

 

[NomarTyme]

6 pts!:lol :lol :lol

Edit: Well it look like Dallas will actually hit double digits in the 1st qrt.