Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes For news and notes...duh...It starts tommorow in Las Vegas vs. the Lakers.
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes The Suns fans who have been watching the game and watched him in Europe are very unimpressed. Apparently not a great passing guard and I guess he's making some mistakes, I don't know but he better shape up. We need him.Amare has 8 rebounds so far and I heard he had a nice block or 2. Most importantly, he's actually playing today. He's on his way back, baby!
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Nope, just listened to Al McCoy and was reading message board posts from Suns fans watching in the LA area.
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Pretty good game, and pretty close considering Kobe,Kwame,Sasha,and Mihm didn't play. Bynum played pretty well and Farmar did as well. I liked what I saw from both of them. Amare was a beast inside with some monster blocks and some nice dunks. Nash looked...different..with his new haircut I was happy to see Kobe hugging and talking to alot of the Suns players. It shows how both teams have put the past behing him. (except Raja)
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Raja didn't do anything and he said he wanted to put that behind him and move on.
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ASUFan22 @ Oct 15 2006, 09:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Raja didn't do anything and he said he wanted to put that behind him and move on.</div>I'm sure he does. that's not what I meant. I was saying that Raja didn't greet Kobe. No big Deal.
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Did Kobe greet Raja? Well I was a bit off on his stats or maybe it's just Yahoo but in 31 minutes Amare finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals, 2 blocks and 3 turnovers. Pretty good. Hopefully he isn't felling too much pain after 31 minutes.
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes S.T.A.T. lineAmar? Stoudemire played 31 minutes Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas, but D'Antoni was more interested in what he could do Monday. He liked what he saw."He played 30 minutes, and in here (Monday) he looks like a young pup," D'Antoni said. "He followed it up with another good day. He's got to keep getting better."Stoudemire was encouraged, too."Another good day in the books," he said. "Just another day at the office."Stoudemire said he would get a massage, treatment and put in a swimming workout."It's not bad," Stoudemire said of his stroke.So, is he ready to take on Tim Duncan, who was a swimmer before turning to basketball when a storm destroyed the pool in which he trained?"No, that guy's a bona fide swimmer," Stoudemire said. "I do it just to stay in shape."
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes I was hearing Stoudemire didn't have as much "explosiveness" or something like that tonight but he was decent. 4-7 for 8 points and 6 rebounds. He missed all his freethrows though. Nash had a decent game but that game with 7 turnovers. Barbosa was our best player for the 2nd time this preseason with 19 points, 3 steals with an assist and rebound. James Jones had a good all-around game 10-3-2 and 3 blocks but his percentages weren't great. Marion sucked, Bell made 2-4 3's....Banks was decent, I wish I could watch him and see for myself what he's like.And the Suns lost to the Clips by 11 at home.
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Diaw Content With Contract TalkWhile Josh Howard sounds peeved with his extension negotiations in Dallas, Boris Diaw is as content with his ongoing talks as you would expect with his personality. He may have good reason. A source familiar with negotiations said the prospect of a compromise appears stronger this week even though the parties were recently $10 million apart on a five-year deal. Diaw is seeking $50 million. Diaw said he is leaving that to his agent so he can focus on basketball. "I'm optimistic," Diaw said. "I don't know if it'll get done in the next two weeks. If it gets done, that's great. If I'm waiting another year (when he would be a restricted free agent), it's OK. It's OK because either way it's what I decided." -- Arizona RepublicNash Gets TechnicalSteve Nash received a technical foul Tuesday, an example of officials clamping down on players' complaints. Told it was for a vulgarity, Mike D'Antoni argued, "He's Canadian."-- Arizona Republic
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Hey Stat and others, you are allowed to post here and help me out. I'm busy but I know that in the last game the Suns dominated the Kings. At times they looked very sloppy, I read, but other times they looked in midseason form. Amare was just decent but he did have two blocks!
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Yeah, I was gonna post about the Kings, but I thought that you would. Ok, I will start posting the articles I find here.Barbosa Working To Become Complete PlayerBy Jerry BrownEast Valley TribuneOct. 18, 2006If there is one prevailing question at Suns training camp other than “When will Amar? Stoudemire be healthy?” it’s a query that has a consistently positive outlook. “Just how good can Leandro Barbosa be?”Coach Mike D’Antoni smiled, watched the Brazilian guard drop another practice jumper Wednesday and said, “Real good. Really, really good. It’s hard to take him off the floor as it is.”Barbosa’s still a bench player, still behind Raja Bell at shooting guard and, a month shy of his 24th birthday, still learning to master his incredible speed in the most positive direction.Now exclusively a shooting guard, Barbosa has blossomed offensively and become one of the most explosive weapons on the NBA’s top-scoring team. He became a go-to player when the Suns rallied against the Lakers in the playoffs last year and leads the team in scoring (18.6) while averaging 29 minutes so far in the preseason.“Taking him off the point turned him loose as a scorer. He’s going to become a 20-point-a-game guy very soon,” Suns guard Steve Nash said. “He’s a hard worker, he listens and he’s just getting better and better.”The Suns know what they have. Both parties are pleased with the five-year, $32 million contract extension they agreed upon this summer. Phoenix feels like it got a bargain, Barbosa is set for life, with riches he could have only imagined as a boy in Sao Paulo, Brazil.“I am happy to know my contract is done and that I will be here. I love my teammates and being in Phoenix,” Barbosa said. “But nothing has changed. I want to work hard, get better and learn as much as I can.”This fall, Barbosa’s focus is defense — improving his balance and anticipation skills and avoiding the foul trouble that so often is the only way the opposition can stop him from scoring.Working with assistant coach and personal mentor Dan D’Antoni for the last month, the two have pored over game films — watching Barbosa get tangled in screens and fall for the first move of opposing shooters.“To me, he should be one of the guys that help us shut teams down,” Dan D’Antoni said. “He’s long and quick and there’s no reason he can’t be effective on defense. He just has to be more aware. Instead of concentrating on what is, we want him to anticipate what’s next.”Barbosa is now more balanced on the floor — he used to lean forward more. His lateral movement has improved. More aware of telltale signs, he’s skating over and sliding under more picks, waiting for his man to commit, then using his quickness to catch up.“If he simplifies the game, less is more,” Nash said. “If his positioning and awareness is better, he’ll just fall into blocks and steals. Opportunities will open up instead of having to search for stuff.”On a team that is averaging 21 turnovers a game in the rag-tag days of preseason, Barbosa has more assists (13) and steals (11) than turnovers (nine), while committing only 11 fouls. Add that to his shooting (41.4 percent from 3-point range), and the minutes keep piling up.“Right now, his goal is to be our best defender, and he’s working his butt off,” Mike D’Antoni said. “And if he just gets to the next level . . . yeah, he can be really good.”One on One with Leandro<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>We sat down with L.B. after the Suns loss, and this is what he had to say:Leandro, you had a nice game tonight. Tell me what it means to have your career evolve like it has.Well, I'm just trying to do the best that I can. We didn't come like we were supposed to come, with a lot of energy. we didn't play well. But, you know, it's pre-season, and I'm glad that it's pre-season. We're gonna talk about this game tomorrow and figure out what we're gonna do so this doesn't happen during the regular season.There was some energy on the court tonight. Some guy wearing No. 10 had a ton of energy.(Chuckling) Oh yeah ... every time coach Mike D'Antoni calls my name, I go out there and try to help my guys and do the best that I can. To be out there on the court and have the team go up (in score). It's too bad we didn't do well today. But we have to keep it up and do well next game.You played a lot at the rim tonight, a lot of what Raja (Bell) usually does. Coming off the playoffs last year, the trip overseas and now the game tonight, you're getting up there, but taking some hard spills, too. I guess that's the price of getting up there. How does your body feel?My body feels great. I think I'm a little bit slow, but I still have time to get in shape and will be okay.A little bit slow by Leandro Barbosa's standards. That's saying something because you're considered one of the fastest guys in the league.I think I got a little bit fat, y'know, this summer (laughing). Maybe that is the reason. But our team really looks good. we have Marcus Banks, Amare Stoudemire's coming back and I think things are gonna be looking great.I think you might well be a pick for Sixth Man of the Year. Do you think coming off of the bench is going to help you get to that honor?Well, I know that my goal right now is get to the Finals and a championship. I think everybody has a dream and this is one of my dreams, so I think I will keep working for that. If it happens that I will be Sixth Man, I will be very, very happy. It's a dream, too, but my first dream is to go to the championship.What's your best position, do you feel? Point or the '2'?Whatever position Coach D'Antoni prefer I play, I will do the best that I can. If he want me to play power forward, I will do my best. I just want to play as many minutes as I can.</div>http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_18999.shtml
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Why do the Suns keep playing LA? They'll be playing both LA teams about 7 times in a month...it's stupid.
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Well Suns lost by 3 to the Lakers without Kobe or Kwame. I don't really care about losing to them now but from what I'm reading on the Suns boards it doesen't seem good. Last year's preseason gave me a lot of hope for the season because of how hard they were trying and they were doing really well but I'm reading that Banks and Barbosa have been ballhogs and the 2nd string guys aren't doing a good job at all at getting Amare into the game. Amare seems healthy I heard but he's just not getting touches. Our 3 point shooting outside of Bell and Nash seems to be pretty bad too. Forget 59 wins, I think this team will struggle in the first month getting Amare situated and finding out what Banks' role is going to be. And also getting used to that new ball. The beggining of the season will really test D'Antoni as a coach.
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes Suns lost to the Sonics to finish 4-4. Marcus Banks still struggling and I'm getting worried, but it sounds like Kurt Thomas has been doing very well. He finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds in that game. I heard he came back in better shape than he has ever been with us and more ready to play in our offense so I'm excited about that. Amare played well this game because he got more of a chance to play with the starters.The starting line-up to start the season will beNashBellMarionDiawKTAmare will be our 6th man until he's ready to log in starter minutes and I don't know when that'll be. Smart move easing him into it but Banks better step it up and get the ball to him more.
Re: Suns Preseason News & Notes A .500 preseason. Oh well, it's only the preseason, right? I say we get 50+ wins still.
