Suns Begin to Gel in the Turbulent West
The Suns continued their recent dominance with a controlled victory over Portland. Contrasting the Suns of earlier this season, Phoenix capped surges by the Blazers. The operated exceptionally well on the defensive end - perimeter defenders Bell and Hill directed the traffic to the middle where The Big Aristotle shut down all lanes (Roy’s 3 for 14 shooting can attest to this). Yet again Amare got into foul trouble, however, this is not to take away from some of his great one on one defensive skirmishes with Aldridge. STAT has really grown as a defender since the acquisition of O’Neal. Let me explain - STAT is the type of player that will get in his own head about not making “the big play” on the defensive end. Basically, if STAT doesn’t knock the ball fifteen rows into the stands it is seen as a failure in his eyes. By tonight’s performance you can really tell STAT is maturing on the defensive end. His rotations were crisp and his weakside help was on par with other dominant power forwards in the league.
If Shaq’s intensity toward Przybilla, as well as on the offensive end is any indicator of what he can do in the playoffs - then all the naysayers are going to have to renege alot of their earlier bad mouthing of the Suns and the trade. The Diesel looked like the Diesel of old. He got to the low post - calling, shouting for the ball. When he got it, he went up strong, sporting a few baby hooks as well as a thundering dunk. It should also be noted that the Suns three-point shooting is on the upswing. For awhile, both Bell and Barbosa were having trouble hitting their patented corner threes. This is not the case anymore. Though the numbers tonight (10-24) don’t necessarily reflect this, after seeing Barbosa hoist up three pointers at will, with no hesitation, is truly a positive sign. Many have pointed out my lack of commentary on Nash - and that is partly due to his excellence. After watching Nash in the Suns system for so long, I’ve become a bit spoiled. Make no mistake - his three-point / mid-range shooting and his picturesque passing is the heart of the Suns.
Tomorrow will be a great game to gauge the Suns. In past years, we’ve done fairly well on back to backs. However this year is completely different. The Sonics are a young team and if earlier games are any indication of their hungriness, then a break is not to be had tomorrow night.
