<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Suns enter tonight's home game against Portland seeking a 12th consecutive win and a reserve to dribble into the rotation and inspire confidence. In the wake of Kurt Thomas' elbow injury, coach Mike D'Antoni played only seven players Wednesday night in Houston. Only two other teams have employed a seven-man rotation this season: Golden State and New Orleans, both doing so twice. D'Antoni doesn't plan to stick with seven, but he refuses to insert someone just for substitution's sake. He has tried various combinations at different times with less than satisfactory results. "I'm not going to jeopardize this for them," D'Antoni said. "I'm just not going to do it. I don't think it's fair to Steve (Nash) and everybody else that works their butts off. If somebody can come out and earn (minutes), that's fine. But they have to be ready." Rotations depend on coaching style, injuries and depth. Dallas, San Antonio, Utah and the Lakers haven't used fewer than nine players in any game this season. The Suns, on the other hand, have played eight or fewer 11 times in their past 20 games. As a result, three starters average more than 35.5 minutes per game. In contrast, entering Thursday the Mavericks have only one with such a hefty workload and the Spurs don't have any. D'Antoni said he doesn't worry about his starters' minutes. Amar? Stoudemire is capable of playing more than his 30.1 when not battling foul trouble. He would like to keep Nash around 35 but doesn't hesitate playing him more in tight games. Reserve James Jones, D'Antoni said, could play up to 30 if necessary. "I don't like to experiment (during a game) when I'm down, even or up," D'Antoni said.</div> Source
If the Suns don't add some depth, there's no way they make it to the Finals. One big key to winning is being able to have some type of depth. The Suns don't have that, and if they don't get it, they'll be dead. That team will be completely exhausted come playoff time if he's having 7 players play 30mpg or so, and if you're tired in the playoffs, you're not winning.
You're right, thats where there weaker than teams like the spurs and the mavs.btw, has nash misplaced his razor recently or is it just me?
Once the playoffs start, most teams go to an 8-man rotation anyway. So the depth of the bench won't even matter once the playoffs roll around. Marion, Diaw, and STAT should be able to handle the 30+ MPG for an 82 game schedule, Nash may break down but he held up pretty well the last 2 seasons. The problem 2 years ago was the lack of a bench, they were playing Jim Jackson and Walter McCarty off the bench in the playoffs. Then Joe Johnson broke his cheek bone and it was over. Last year they had a decent bench throughout the season but by the time the playoffs rolled around Eddie House had lost his spot in the rotation and James Jones couldn't make anything. Also remember they didn't have Amare and Raja Bell was injured in Game 1 of the Dallas series and they still took it to 6 games. This year they have Amare back, Barbosa is playing out of his mind (he'd be 6th man of the year hands down if it weren't for Ben Gordon), James Jones has turned it on lately, as long as they can avoid a serious injury in the playoffs, I don't care how many minutes Nash plays during the season, I wouldn't bet against 'em. <div class="quote_poster">Pgballer17 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">has nash misplaced his razor recently or is it just me?</div> The players aren't shaving until the streak is over, though Nash has mentioned his is getting a bit out of control and he may shave or trim it. The trainer, Aaron Nelson, has a full grown beard already, if the streak goes on too much longer he may go ZZ Top. Some players like Boris Diaw are having trouble growing facial hair.
Well, Kurt Thomas is coming back at some point in time right? Don't they have Barbosa off the bench too? They have a good bench when comparing to other teams in the league, at least talent wise. D'Antoni is just saying he doesn't want to play guys who don't deserve it. Not many teams would complain about their 8-10th men being James Jones, Jumaine Jones, and Marcus Banks, and not every team consistently plays up to 10 guys every game. The Wizards only really play 8 guys each game themselves, the bench is AD, Hayes and Etan (Haywood before).
What about Jalen Rose? Have not seen him playing, i thought he is a great shooter and suits Suns very well but i have never seen him on the court.(Well i download games and havent downloaded much but havent seen him ..)
Rose played a few games after being signed but now just gets garbage time. I can't say why they don't play him, maybe he's not playing well in practice, isn't in good shape, whatever. Rumors are the Suns are going to cut him.
<div class="quote_poster">scorbutic Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Once the playoffs start, most teams go to an 8-man rotation anyway. So the depth of the bench won't even matter once the playoffs roll around.</div> Great point. If anything, these guys will be used to the minutes and ready to go more than other teams. Plus, if there's any group of guys that can handle it, it's the Suns starters. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">This year they have Amare back, Barbosa is playing out of his mind (he'd be 6th man of the year hands down if it weren't for Ben Gordon), James Jones has turned it on lately</div> These are possibly the biggest reasons to believe that the Suns are ready for a title. After being close the last two seasons if it weren't for injuries, Amare is back to form, Jones is shooting better than he has since arriving (in addition to his great defensive contributions), and Barbosa will probably win the 6th man considering Gordon has been forced to start more with injuries to other players. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Some players like Boris Diaw are having trouble growing facial hair.</div> That's just hilarious.
