NBA 2009/10 Discussion

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Winnow
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NBA 2009/10 Discussion

Post by Winnow »

Best Record in the NBA: (tied with two teams they've already beaten)

Phoenix Suns 7-1

Celtics 7-1 (Only loss this season is to the Phoenix Suns)

Heat 6-1 (Only loss this season is to the Phoenix Suns)

Nash already has two 20 assist games this year.

I wanted to get this info in before anything changes! Phoenix vs Charlotte tonight.
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

Post by Canelek »

Early to say, but I like what I see in the West this season. The Blazers are starting to jel--look for Oden to have a big season now that he finally looks in shape and has dramatically cut his fouls via improved athleticism. Denver is also looking strong.

LA and PHO look really good as well. And I thought Nash was washed up!
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Suns destroyed Charlotte last night. Nash and Amares sat out the 4th Quarter but LA Lakers have had 4 days rest and the Suns have have very busy schedule. It's going to be a tough win if the pull it out over the Lakers in LA tonight.

MV3! Nash Didn't get his third MVP back to back, but if he continues his play, he'll pick up #3 this year.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/w ... ?eref=sihp
With youthful outlook and game, Nash continues to defy his age

Story Highlights

At 35, Steve Nash is playing like -- and getting the better of -- his younger foes
He's on a tear this season with 20-assist games against the Warriors and 76ers
Nash disputes the notion that his game slipped last season -- it was a style issue

Steve Nash is the grandfather who dances every dance at the family wedding. He is the millionaire who keeps showing up to work because he loves what he does. At 35, he continues to play like -- and get the best of -- the youngest point guards in the world's finest league.

His age? "It is irrelevant," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "Because first of all, the guy is in the physical condition of a 25- or 28-year-old. He feels like he can play until he's 40 years old. He loves the game and has a great feel for the game, and he's enjoying playing the way we play."

The Suns had no business opening the season 7-1 with a 37-year-old small forward in Grant Hill, a thinned-out frontcourt and a five-game trip through the East for their elderly point guard to navigate. Yet, they stand atop the West with their best start in nine years while Nash leads the league with 12.9 assists per game.

As recently as four years ago, Nash was winning back-to-back MVP awards, so he is ambivalent about compliments that he is now overcoming his age.

"A challenge?" he asked rhetorically. "I don't know if it's that, or if it's just another burden. I've had doubters since I was in high school. Once you finally think it's over, then they think you're too old. In some ways, I'm accustomed to it and I don't mind it -- it's just the way it's always been for me. That underdog mentality is just ingrained in me."

Last year, Nash heard whispering suspicions of erosion in his play. The 46-36 Suns were missing the playoffs for the first time in five years, and Nash's 9.7 assists and 15.7 points reflected a statistical decline. All of those numbers, he says, were reflections of a circumstance -- the half-court presence of ShaquilleO'Neal -- that was beyond his control.

"The way we played at the start of the year, we wanted Shaq down low and we wanted Amar'e [Stoudemire] on the elbows," said Nash, who found his driving lanes clamped off. "I don't care who you are, there's no room for anybody, so it really limited my opportunities. Teams saw it as an opportunity to trap every pick-and-roll I ran and get the ball out of my hands."

Instead of looking to escape Phoenix as a free agent in the summer of 2010 -- the yellow brick road for free agents -- Nash chose last summer to sign a two-year, $22 million extension with the Suns that will be paying him $11.7 million as he turns 38 in 2011-12. To see the renewal of his old self is to understand why he chose to remain with the Suns, based on his affinity for Gentry and an organization that (except for last year's brief deviation) has shared his commitment to team play in the open court.

Less understood was the Suns' plan to rebuild around a point guard in his late 30s in addition to Hill, who also agreed last summer to a two-year deal worth $6.2 million through next season.

"There's been a lot of criticism, from what I've seen, of, What are we doing? Are we going young? If we're going young, why would we sign Steve Nash? Why would we sign Grant Hill?" Suns general manager Steve Kerr said. "To me, it's a no-brainer. If you've got a bunch of young guys, you'd better have some experience and some mentors who can teach those young guys. The object is to win games. So to think that we could get better by trading Steve Nash for some young guys is ridiculous. We're talented enough to still be pretty good.

"How many point guards are there in the league that you would rather have besides Steve? He's still one of the best. Those guys are hard to come by. We never considered trading him."

The inspired enthusiasm, the absence of body fat, the wispy hair falling in his eyes -- all of this makes Nash the Iggy Pop of the NBA (albeit with the none of the off-stage baggage of the Godfather of Punk). It is wrong to say that Nash is playing now as if he treasures every moment on the floor, because he has always played this way.

"Other than the experiment where we played a post-up style," Nash said, "my numbers and my effectiveness haven't changed. I think it was a little misleading or nearsighted for people to feel that my level of play has dropped dramatically, or at all."

Because he wasn't ready to scale back his ambitions, Nash approached this season knowing he would need to prove himself all over again. He loves making that point with each flick pass off the dribble, with each Roto-Rooter drive down the baseline and out the other side, with each crosscourt floater or fallaway three-pointer.

"It's having a challenge in my life, having something to go to bed thinking about and wake up having to pursue," he said. "Without that, life can be difficult. Obviously, I have my family [with his wife, Alejandra, and their 5-year-old twins, Lola and Bella) which is the No. 1 priority, but they have their lives. So when they're busy doing their lives, I've got to get after something that I enjoy -- and challenge myself, too. More so than the love of the game is that I have a nice structure in place to challenge myself every day.

"Some days are hard, but for the most part I still love it. I love being one of the guys, I still love waking up and going to work and trying to get better every day and trying to prepare to play, and after I play try to recover and get ready to play the next game. It gives me something to set goals and challenge myself and be directed."

Already this season, he's gotten the best of younger rivals Baron Davis, RajonRondo and Gilbert Arenas. Nash has produced 20-assist games in wins against Monta Ellis' Warriors and Lou Williams' 76ers, while throwing 21 points of his own at Philadelphia to conclude the Eastern trip. The next challenge comes Wednesday when 24-year-old Chris Paul brings the Hornets to Phoenix.

This is the first Suns team in 19 years to score triple figures in its opening eight games. Of course, that pace can't go on all year. They're hitting an outrageous 47.1 percent of their threes (and 50.2 percent of their shots overall), and Hill is their leading rebounder with 8.6 per game. They are, in all kinds of ways, a team in transition. And over the next five months, their weaknesses up front and on the bench will begin to show.

Even so, Nash will continue to provide hope of defeating those challenges, and he'll overcome more of them than any soon-to-be 36-year-old point guard should. Simply because he makes it fun.
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

Post by Sylvus »

How are the Suns doing now? Have they been blown out by one of the worst teams in the NBA lately? :o
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

Post by Winnow »

Sylvus wrote:How are the Suns doing now? Have they been blown out by one of the worst teams in the NBA lately? :o
lets see....yep! Best record in the NBA!*



except for the Lakers by .5 game!
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

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S U N S U P D A T E !

In the last two games of 2009, the Suns beat both conference leaders (Lakers and Boston) and have swept Boston this year.

Goooo Suns!
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

Post by *~*stragi*~* »

suns update: fuck you suns, you jerks.
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

Post by Sueven »

Have the Suns broken their TNT losing streak yet?

The Sixers are pretty terrible this year. I was a huge fan of the Elton Brand acquisition; I'll admit that I was horribly wrong about that.

The Sixers are looking to do some trading. It's tough, because we really don't have much value to build around. We have Thaddeus Young, a talented forward who's struggled some this year, and Lou Williams, a talented but limited guard. At best, they could probably be starters on a championship team. We also have Andre Iguodala, who is good but too highly paid. Management wants to move Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert (duh) but nobody really wants them, so there's talks of a package with Iguodala. I really don't see the point in an Iguodala-Dalembert package. Brand's contract is significantly longer than Dalembert's, so if we don't ditch him, we'll still an albatross of a contract around any rebuilding attempts. What's the point of ditching your best player and a useful center for less than equal value if you don't gain any real financial flexibility out of it? I think we should package Brand with Iguodala, if we can, but otherwise we should keep Iggy on the team.

In the absence of the Sixers, I'm rooting for a few teams this year. I'd probably ideally like to see a Cavaliers-Suns finals, but I also am kind of rooting for the Jazz, the Thunder and the Lakers (so I can watch Kobe deep in the playoffs again). I kind of like the Magic, because I like Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson, and Dwight Howard is OK too. I was rooting for the Trail Blazers because I root for Greg Oden, but now he's hurt so I don't really give a shit.
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

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CHICAGO - The league sent gifts to the United Center for the Suns to enjoy if they won Tuesday night.

They sat in a pile untouched as each Suns player left the visitors locker room. The Suns were about as interested in "CLINCHED" T-shirts as they were in the achievement of clinching a playoff spot with Tuesday night's gritty 111-105 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

After becoming the league's hottest team with their first eight-game winning streak since November 2007, the Suns' 22-5 stretch of basketball finally is paying off in the Western Conference standings. With nine games to go, the Suns are in fourth place in the West, trailing third-place Utah by a half-game and second-place Dallas by a game. The Suns play at 10-64 New Jersey on Wednesday night.
Who's ready to jump on the Solar Express!!?!

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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

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Camby was a super deadline pickup for Portland. The top 3 teams in the west are pretty daunting though, even though Denver has struggled of late.
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

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Suns Beat three teams in a row they had to and took the 3 Seed in the West!

Grats Suns!


Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs

Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers

Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets
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Nuggets Tell Dying George Karl They Made NBA Finals

DENVER—During a visit to his coach's deathbed at Denver Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday, Nuggets All-Star Carmelo Anthony told a barely conscious, cancer-ridden George Karl that their team, which was eliminated during the first round of the playoffs this year, had advanced to the NBA Finals and was currently up 3-0 on the Cleveland Cavaliers. "Everybody's playing great, Coach, and the defense you taught us is completely shutting down LeBron," a tearful Anthony reportedly told the weak and gasping Karl, who mustered enough strength to nod his head and smile at the news. "Doctors say you're going to get better soon so you can celebrate with us at the victory parade. It's going to be—Coach Karl? Coach Karl! Nurse!"
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

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Where did that come from? Did Karl have a setback in the past three days?
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Image

Look at that wingspan and alien-like hands and fingers! It looks like he could wrap his hand completely around a basketball.
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Wade and Bosh to Miami. Guess we find out about LeBron tomorrow
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

Post by Gonzoie - Luclin »

I don't watch much basketball, but Dwayne Wade has been my favorite player since I saw him in the 2004 Olympics. I followed Miami on and off because of him. Now that I live near by I'm excited to see if LeBron comes down here. That would be a wicked trio and their best chance of getting a(multiple) championship(s).
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There goes the Heat's undefeated season!
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

Post by Canelek »

+1 for Portland with a confused Lamarcus Aldridge. What is with this guy early in the season? Hopefully, he will get his shit together...

Boston and LA looked really solid...

As for Miami, there is much assumption that they will be the best evah... I dunno, seen quite a few all-star style teams come up short.

Fuck you ESPN, once again, for turning professional sports into Reality TV. Assholes.
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

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Suns will suck this year. Major rebuilding needed. My entertainment will come whenever the Miami Heat lose!
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

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Suns' Steve Nash an anomaly among NBA shooting leaders

4 comments by Paul Coro - Apr. 9, 2012 08:00 PM

MINNEAPOLIS - If Steve Nash dunked more than never, he might be able to lead the NBA in shooting accuracy.

As it is, centers Tyson Chandler, Andrew Bynum, Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat and power forward Blake Griffin have nearly 600 dunks cumulative to help hold off the 38-year-old.

Nash's 54.0 percent shooting this season is the best clip of his 14-year career. It makes him the only non-post player besides LeBron James in the NBA's top 16 for field-goal percentage.

Opponents have trapped Nash more on pick and rolls this season in the past two months, prompting him to pass even more than usual. Nash's 11.1 assist average trails only Boston's Rajon Rondo at 11.2.

Nash has proven efficient from all ranges, shooting 70 percent inside 8 feet, 50 percent from 8 to 16 feet, 55 percent from 16 to 24 feet and 41 percent beyond 24 feet. Those shots often are coming off his own dribble. About 84 percent of his baskets are unassisted.

"He's incredible," Minnesota Coach Rick Adelman said. "He's been one of my favorite players to watch and coach against. We've had a lot of battles. The thing that I think people overlook in him is he's so efficient offensively. He's one of these guys you look at, and he's 90 percent from the free-throw line, he's 40-50 from 3s and over 50 from the field. That's hard to do. He does it year after year after year.

"I just marvel at him. He's actually kept this team going. He's actually willed them to stay in this race."
Go Suns!
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Re: NBA 2009/10 Discussion

Post by Chidoro »

How's that working out for the suns? It's been kinda quiet on the bball front and everyone knows i loves me some basketball
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