Rumors of the Phoenix Suns' demise appear to have been greatly exaggerated. The team has gotten out to a surprisingly scorching (ugh, sorry, it's just so hard to avoid doing this when discussing the Suns) start, with a 6-1 record that includes wins against the Heat, Wizards and Celtics--all on the road, no less. Big man Amar'e Stoudemire is back, healthy and motivated, role players like Channing Frye and Jason Richardson have stepped their game up considerably, and offensive architect Steve Nash looks looser than he has in years, a man once again in control of his own destiny. Team is dangerous.
Not exactly a bunch that the fledgling 3-3 Sixers should be looking forward to facing, especially one night after dropping a near-unwatchable contest in Detroit, right? Well, maybe, but maybe not. The Sixers have split their contests against the Suns both of the last two years, with Phoenix's fast-breaking style playing into Philly's own strengths as well. When the two teams met in Mexico this pre-season, the Sixers nearly ran the Suns off the court, hanging 39 on 'em in the first quarter and winning by 22. It could present a good opportunity for Philly to get its offense back on track. (Or a good opportunity to get blown out by 30 at home--guess we'll have to see).
One thing especially worth monitoring in tonight's contest: Elton Brand's minutes. Eddie Jordan has been cutting back on Brand's PT the last few games, and I can't say that I blame him--dude just looks lost out there, blowing putbacks, killing fast breaks and fumbling entry passes. At least a couple times a game, he makes me want to throw my remote at my TV in frustration. I don't know if it's still rust, or if he's just not the same player he was in LA (although I wish NBA TV would throw me an '06 Clippers game every now and then just to remind me what exactly it is we thought we were getting with this guy), but it's getting harder and harder to justify giving him starter's minutes over Marreese Speights, who at least is running the break well and reliably hitting open jumpers.
As always, tonight will be as much of a learning process as anything. I just hope the boys can at least put up three digits against the Suns tonight, to get some positive momentum going on the offense. Speaking of Speights, look for him to have a big game tonight, as he should be able to take advantage of a relatively soft Phoenix front line, and might get some easy looks in the frenetic rhythm of the game as well. He and Iguodala (who actually had a pretty stellar game in defeat yesterday) should be the keys to the Sixers' success.
7:00 tip from the Wach. Let's make it a cold night in Philadelphia.
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/11/in...
