Kurt Thomas at Center takes away one of Phoenix's outside threats. I'll assume Diaw plays as well so Phoenix is down to three 3 point shooters on the floor. Dallas can help out more in the paint this way and like Rok said our center is the key to our defense and rebounding. Taking Dampier out of the series helps Phoenix.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>With Kurt in the line-up during the regular season Marion still got as many rebounds. With Kurt we won't let easy ones that we should have gotten get away.</div> Your don't play the same team in the regular season over and over though. Mavs are one of the top rebounding teams in the league. Kurt will take away rebounds from Marion that he would normally get. So I don't expect like you do, for Marion to get rebounds in the teens like he is now. Do you really expect Marion to get 16, 17 rebounds a game with Thomas in? And it's not about slowing the team down, no one is even mentioning that in the past 2-3 replies. He's not as fast as Damp as your making it out to be, and doesn't have the three point threat Tim Thomas has. So Damp doesn't have to go all the way out to the 3 pt line to guard him and I'm not afraid of Thomas being able to outrun Damp. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Without Kurt we were one of the softest teams with the worst rebounding and worst inside defense. He will only help.</div> You seem to forget Dallas is playing small as well, and if your going to play big with Thomas, Dallas can do that and be better. Damp is not only a better interior defender, he's the better rebounder and force in the middle. So say goodbye to your 120 pts a game when you won't be able to score inside like you have the past 3 games. And like mavsfan said, with Thomas in, your number of three point threats go down. So with the middle clogged and amount of three point threats down, you really expect to score 120?
I just thought I'd throw this article out there. The reason we brought Thomas in in the first place was so we wouldn't be as pathetic in rebounding as last year. Thomas is a good rebounder and we need him. We won't be scoring 120 anymore and everyone is tired. I think you are really underrating what he can do for this team. If he has his jumper going in he will really help us. Our offense won't get hurt by him and our defense improves. We lost the last two games because of fatigue and being lazy on some plays. Kurt changes that.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Time to give Kurt Thomas a chanceBy Scott Bordow, Tribune ColumnistMay 29, 2006Mike D?Antoni?s greatest strength as a coach is his vision.Where other coaches see failure, he sees possibilities.Take Boris Diaw. He was a bust as a backup point guard in Atlanta, but D?Antoni thought the 6-foot-8 Diaw might thrive as a high-post big man.Related LinksCommentaryD?Antoni was convinced, too, that playground basketball ? shoot first and think later ? would succeed in the buttoned-down NBA.But in the case of Kurt Thomas, D?Antoni is ignoring his own principles.D?Antoni reiterated Monday that he doesn?t see a great need to use Thomas against the Dallas Mavericks.His belief: It?s the Suns? offense that?s wheezing and coughing, and how can Thomas help Phoenix pick up the pace when he hasn?t played in three months?In addition, the Mavericks aren?t looking to their centers ? either Keith Van Horn or DeSagana Diop ? for scoring, so where?s the value in Thomas? interior defense??If Tim Duncan was out there running wild, he?d be playing,? D?Antoni said. ?If Elton Brand was out there running wild, he?d be playing. That?s his strength, defending those guys. But right now we?re playing the best guys on the floor.?D?Antoni also wonders if Thomas would be able to shake off the rust he?s accumulated. Playing him is a risk, and can the Suns gamble down 2-1 in the series??I just don?t know if we can afford to find out,? D?Antoni said.The concern is understandable, but it?s not like D?Antoni to look on the dark side. He needs to consider what Thomas can provide the Suns: Toughness, leadership and, most of all, an emotional lift.Phoenix will play its 100th game of the season tonight. No other NBA team has been on the court as often ? with so few players carrying the load.As a result, Phoenix is physically fatigued and emotionally spent.Steve Nash admitted as much after Game 3, when he said, ?I just think we?re out there with our shoulders slumped. We?re not fighting. We?re not smiling. We?re not playing with the necessary fire it takes to win.?Raja Bell went one step further Monday, all but accusing his teammates of cowardice.?I thought our energy level was pretty low for a game of this magnitude,? he said. ?When they made their run I thought we tucked our tail between our legs and let them run over us.?That won?t play well in the locker room, but isn?t that why Bell was brought here in the first place ? because he won?t back down from a fight?The Suns need that testiness, that spirit, and since Bell isn?t coming back until Game 5 ? at the earliest ? why not see if Thomas can pump some life into the team and the crowd?After all, he?s supposed to be made of the same material.?He would give us toughness, personality and experience,? Nash said. ?I just don?t know if he can keep up with the pace of the game.?What pace? The Suns have scored fewer than 100 points each of the last two games, and they had four fast-break points Sunday.Thomas isn?t the type of player who will wake up the Suns by doing something spectacular. But he?ll take a charge, grab an important rebound ? or knock a Mavericks player down when he ventures into the lane.Josh Howard got Dallas going in the second quarter of Game 3 when he committed a flagrant foul on Tim Thomas. It was hard-nosed, we?re-not-going-anywhere basketball, the kind of basketball that gets fans on their feet and shakes a team from its lethargy.The kind of basketball Kurt Thomas plays.?It might be a bad idea not to play him,? D?Antoni said. ?I just don?t know.?Then D?Antoni should ask himself a question:What?s the greater risk?Thomas playing poorly for a few minutes?Or the Suns losing this series without ever giving Thomas a chance?</div>We need to put him in the game even if it's only for 5 minutes to give Diaw or someone else a break. Dampier won't be running as well as Kurt. Kurt can play with our offense a lot better than Damp and has been doing so all year.
It would be more of a defensive series. Kurt Thomas hasn't played in 3 months as well so expecting him to all of a sudden be like he was before the injury isn't likely. Conditioning has got to be the biggest issue here. I think Dampier will be just as active as Kurt would be considering all the time he missed.
He won't be expected to be as good really. He's a smart player and a hard worker though and I think it would be smart to put him in 5 minutes for Diaw, who has really been overworked and Thomas can draw a foul, grab a couple of rebounds and pump up the crowd who has waited to see him play for a while. It would also be good to give him that time so by the end of the series or possible the next round he'll be 100%. He's been ready since Game 1 and has been practicing with the team for a while.
For spare minutes I don't see a big deal but don't expect a big impact from him. D'antoni is obscessed with offense so that shows the type of coach he is. Against other teams though I think Kurt Thomas would be more effective but not Dallas. Also Dallas could counter that move by putting Dirk at center which than Kurt Thomas couldn't play in the game.
Also Raja Bell is starting in game 4. I guess Dallas better play tough tonight since I could see the suns playing with a lot of energy. If Dallas can weather the storm like last game I think they take this game.
I just saw on the Arizona board I go to, and mavsfan does too, that Raja is on the projected lineup card tonight? Weird... I doubt he plays much today but it will be a big boost having him back for the rest of the series.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mavsfan1000 @ May 30 2006, 05:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Also Raja Bell is starting in game 4. I guess Dallas better play tough tonight since I could see the suns playing with a lot of energy. If Dallas can weather the storm like last game I think they take this game.</div>Beat me too it ***hole, lol. Did you find it same place as me?
Was Raja Bell injured? Seriously he looks like he hasn't missed a beat. Mavs lucky to be tied after the first quarter.
The Suns are SO BAD at finishing out quarters. They've done a horrible job in the playoffs at keeping their leads and it's cost them games.
79-67 Suns after 3 quarters. I'm very happy with the effort they are putting into this game, but it's also driving me crazy that the best free throw shooting team is shooting 6/13 in the most important game of the season.
This game is over. Man that was bad to watch, Dirk picked a sh*tty time to go cold. On top of it, Terry still has yet to find the rhythm in this series.
Well that was quite fun....heal calf, heal calf, heal! Diaw dunked over Dirk again today. He's going to have enough dunks so Stoudemire won't have to carry the load next year. :happy0144: Good think it was a blowout. Kurt Thomas needed some game time. I just loved that straight face he has during the game. No emotion, just a scary stare.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>He's going to have enough dunks so Stoudemire won't have to carry the load next year.</div> Do you guys run a tally of how many dunks each do or something?
No, lol. I'm just so happy he's finishing strong because he was so soft at the beggining of the year. He's learning how to finish now. His last dunk was very nice. I didn't think he would make it. All Diaw needs to do now is improve his jump shot a bit.
Yeah! Go Suns! I was very impressed with Bell, Barbosa, Nash, Marion, and Diaw. Great job Suns! Take the lead on Thursday in Dallas!
Congrats.. Suns you guys won this game by numerous non calls from refs, and once again flops from Raja Bell.I hope you feel confident...
Naw, it won't happen.Mavs are going to make it a half-court game.Dirk never has 2 bad games in a row.When Dirk scores 40 on Thursday it'll become a half-court game.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ballorama @ May 30 2006, 08:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Congrats.. Suns you guys won this game by numerous non calls from refs, and once again flops from Raja Bell.I hope you feel confident...</div>Calls went both ways, yes it did favor the Suns but not 20 points worth. I'm sorry but the Suns earned this. Dallas got the ref advantage for 2 games and the Suns got it for 2 games. I'm sure Dallas will get it in Game 5 although Raja's smart defense should cancel it out a bit. I won't feel very confident until we win Game 5 and have a 20 point lead with one minute left in Game 6. I'm always scared with the way our playoffs have been going.
