Earlier this season I saw a lot of people lament about how Frye went to Phoenix and now he was supposedly good because he was in a running system. Well that isn't looking like such hot shit now is it? Frye is on the verge of being benched for Lopez,PHX has been blowing huge leads (Which is why I say you never want to be a pure running team.) Earlier this week I watched Phoenix play and Hubie Brown was announcing. He ripped on Frye all game for being a soft player, and even in one occasion, being posted up by a point guard. That is the "Don't squeeze the Charmin" soft Frye I know. IMO Phoenix won't make the playoffs this year. They can't win on the road, and they can't hold big leads. What is interesting to me, is it looks like they are playing a running system, but none of the players are in good enough shape to maintain it for the whole game. I saw Amare Stoudemire quit on several plays, not even making it past half court, almost just like Zbo used to do here. I know if I was a Phoenix fan, I would have been pissed watching it. http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStories.asp?lc=NBA&c=1&TEAM_ID=&PLAYER_ID=&hd=20100117#STORY_23687
Ya, they were overachieving early this season. But hey, they don't have a center either, and they're 24-17. Not bad.
Frye as a center never seemed like a very good idea to me, but as a stretch four off the bench who can hit volume 3 pointers at a 44% clip, on a very modest contract? I'm not sure where the Chan-man hate is coming from? He's no all-star but it's not like Frye is the main reason that team has trouble holding a lead. That team just isn't as talented as it used to be, running or otherwise.
Frye was a 3rd string power forward here and he's their starting center. They gave away Shaq and replaced him with Frye - and they are still on pace to win more games than last season. Yeah, Shaq is a shadow of his former self, but at 22.3 he had the highest PER on their team, He also led the team in Win Shares and Total Rebound%. They also fired Terry Porter because he wanted to play a slower paced, more disciplined style that included defense. They basically got what they wanted - a fast paced, high scoring team that doesn't play defense. I think most people were very surprised by their fast start and they are now playing more in line with expectations. They are who we thought they were. Replacing Frye with Robin Lopez isn't the answer when the rest of the team can't/won't play defense. BNM
If you disregard their start to the season, they are no where near on pace to make the playoffs. They got their ass kicked by about 30 points by Charlotte last night. Yes, that's right. Charlotte.
They are still playing above expectations. With Shaq gone (and replaced with Frye), Nash, Hill, etc. all another year closer to AARP eligibility no one expected them to be contending for a play-off spot this year after they missed the play-offs last season. Besides, Amare isn't making that big of a difference. In fact, I don't think he's making any difference at all. Amare played in 53 games last season. The Suns won 30 of those 53 games - which equates to 46 wins out of 82 games. So, last season, the Suns won at the same rate with, and without Amare. So, how does his production this season compare to last - it's about as identical as identical can get. His PER last season was 20.3. His PER this season is 20.3. Last season he averaged 21.4 PPG and 8.1 RPG. This season, he's averaging 21.0 and 8.8. Amare is not the reason the Suns are on pace to win more games this season that last. Neither is Channing Frye. The main reason is that Steve Nash has discovered the fountain of youth and is playing a the same level he did 3 and 4 seasons ago when he won back-to-back MVPs. BNM
With 11 teams in the West at 3 games above .500 or better, it won't take many losses to fall out of the top 8. Portland better watch their backs too. Memphis, Oklahoma and New Orleans have been coming on strong.
I see that Channing Frye did not start in their most recent game; I think that is the first time he came off the bench for them. And while talking about ex-blazers, looks like Sergio Rodruiguez has put up several consecutive DNP's.
Do you mean to tell me a point guard who can't shoot and turns the ball over isn't a valuable player? That's just crazy talk.
There's a reason why Sergio and Channing were let go. It's not like those two were picked on last year because we didn't like the way they dressed off the court... although I've heard Sergio dresses pretty bad.
Tyreke Evans has been back for a while and is going to win ROY. Kevin Martin is also back, so Evans is back to playing more PG. Beno Udrih is having a very good season backing him up. That makes Serio the 3rd best (anice way of saying "worst") PG on a much improved (mostly thanks to Evans), but still lottery bound Kings team. With Evans able to play both guard spots, they actually have a pretty good three guard rotation with Martin, Evans and Udrih. BNM
