link OAKLAND, CALIF. - In Mike D’Antoni’s perfect basketball world, statistics are thrown out the window and the players just play the game — even when the numbers do nothing but compliment his team. During the eight-game winning streak the Suns took into Monday, the five Suns who have started in Raja Bell’s absence have averaged between 21.3 points (Leandro Barbosa) and 16.9 points (Steve Nash). Amaré Stoudemire (18.9), Grant Hill (17.6) and Shawn Marion (17.3) all fit comfortably in between. Barbosa (39), Marion (25), Nash (30) and Stoudemire (29) have all had at least 25 in a game. “It won’t be like that all year — Amaré’s scoring will be better when he works himself into shape and Raja will score more than what he has when he’s 100 percent,” D’Antoni said. “But I fully expect nights when we’ll have the top seven guys all get over 15 points. That shows you the ball is finding the open man and everyone is capitalizing on the opportunities. Each night will present a different problem for us to solve, and we’re doing a good job.” NO BANKS The Suns played without guard Marcus Banks on Monday. Banks was in Las Vegas attending the funeral of his aunt, who passed away over the weekend. OFFENSE, ANYONE? Monday’s game featured the top two offenses in the NBA in Phoenix (108.5 points per game) and Golden State (107.0). And while the Warriors’ 5-7 start can be attributed to playing seven games without Stephen Jackson (suspension) and learning to play without the departed Jason Richardson, you can also throw in a bit of “Suns-itis” when it comes to working out the early-season kinks of a high-powered attack. “You can’t just roll the ball out and play this way,” D’Antoni said. “Those first few weeks are always hairy.” Golden State’s problems have been on defense, where the Warriors allow a league-worst 109.5 points a game and .476 shooting from the field (29th). The Suns had allowed only .444 shooting (13th in the league) before the Warriors went to work on them. 3-HEADED POINT GUARD Phoenix’s quickness and ball movement have been particularly evident when Nash, Hill and Boris Diaw have all been on the floor together — three players with great court vision and unselfish tendencies. “It’s like having three point guards on the floor,” D’Antoni said. “It’s good basketball and it’s going to get better. We don’t practice real hard and long, so all of the experimentation occurs during the games and a month or two from now I think we’ll really be humming. Those three are great, but everyone — Shawn moves the ball really well, and Amaré, Raja and L.B. — is really buying into the concept of just making the right play and getting the easiest shot. It’s starting to look seamless.” BONUS SHOTS The Warriors had a 77-point first half the last time they played Phoenix here (a 124-119 win last March 29) and almost matched it with 72 on Monday. And Golden State did it inside and outside — collecting 36 points in the paint while hitting seven of 14 3-pointers. The 85 points the Suns and Sacramento Kings combined for Wednesday in Phoenix (47-38 Phoenix) was the most scored in the first quarter of an NBA game since Nov. 10, 1990 — when the Suns and Nuggets put up 87 points (50-37) in the same game Phoenix tied a league record for points with a 173-143 win at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Nash, who turns 34 in February, went into Monday averaging 18.9 points on .549 shooting from the field — which are both a career-high pace.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> NO HAPPY BIRTHDAY Leandro Barbosa turned 25 Wednesday, but he wasn’t in a celebratory mood after missing 9 of 11 shots from the field and all three of his 3-point attempts. With Bell hurting, D’Antoni went with Barbosa down the stretch, but he was having his own problems. After starting the season in a shooting slump, Barbosa caught fire during Phoenix’s eight-game winning streak but is now struggling again. He’s missed 23 of 33 shots in the last three games and is just 2-for-13 from 3-point range. “I had a bad game, I was really slow. I couldn’t feel my legs all night and I was a reason why we didn’t run the way we like to do,” he said. “I’ve felt this way for a few games now, and I have to get back to helping the team more. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I know I have to be patient and I have to stay aggressive.” TUCKER GOES TO NBADL The Suns assigned rookie forward Alando Tucker, their first-round pick from the June draft, to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League. Tucker appeared in only two of Phoenix’s first 14 games, both late-game, blowout situations. D’Antoni said he wants the Wisconsin forward to get more playing time. Tucker averaged six points and one rebound in eight minutes. “We’re entering a stretch where we aren’t going to have a lot of practice days and Alando probably wouldn’t have much chance to improve,” D’Antoni said. “This way, he’s playing every day. And he’s proven to be more of a gamer than a practice player, so this should help him along even more.” Phoenix’s active roster now stands at 12, although Tucker could and would be recalled in the event of a long-term injury to another player. BONUS SHOTS Amaré Stoudemire, on the first losing streak of the season: “There is no need to panic. The Spurs were world champions last year, and I’m pretty sure they lost back-to-back games. We’re still in good shape and we’re still confident. ...” The Suns came into the game with the best fast-break point differential in the league (plus-7.5 points), averaging 19.6 points a game on the break while allowing 12.1. But the Suns were outscored 11-10 Wednesday by a Houston team led by a 7-6 center. The Suns are now 0-3 when failing to reach 100 points in a game. Steve Nash hit all three of his free throws Wednesday and is now perfect in all 44 tries — the longest streak in the league to start a year since Nash hit 41 straight to begin the 2005-06 season. Nash still isn’t halfway to the NBA record for free throws made (97 by Minnesota’s Michael Williams in 1993. SUN SPOTS Did you see that? After averaging 19 points on 56.5 percent shooting over the last seven games, Grant Hill tweaked his back in the first half and never got on track, missing six of eight shots and scoring only seven points in 29 minutes Player of the game: Yao Ming was the easy choice with 31 points and 13 rebounds, although the Suns allowed him to be more effective by playing the game as his desired pace. Unsung hero: Rafer Alston, a 25 percent 3-point shooter this season, made three of five Wednesday and his 15 points hurt when the Suns tried to collapse on Yao inside. Thumbs up: Shawn Marion not only had 18 points and nine rebounds, but was one of the only active Suns on both ends of the floor (five steals, four blocked shots). Thumbs down: Where have the shooters gone? With Leandro Barbosa again slumping and Raja Bell ineffective while working through a back injury, the targets for Steve Nash assist passes becomes limited.</div></p> Source: East Valley Tribune</p>
