Preorder Your Giricek Jersey!

Big surprise, Brent Barry will wait it out and head back to San Antonio. His outside shooting prowess would have been a nice addition to the squad but I'm more upset with Stern and the various transactions over the last month or so.

But that's a rant for another night. Lord knows if I get started my blood pressure will go through the roof and I'll be up all night plotting Kobe Bryant's untimely demise.

According to Coro and Jerry Brown, the alternative/backup plan to Brent Barry is Gordon Giricek. This depresses me to no end. It seems like the Suns are scrambling, like Mr. Shirley with Griswold in the office. "Get me somebody. Anybody. And get me someone while I'm waiting."

I understand another shooter is needed and that his defensive prowess isn't going to hurt but Jerry Sloan just about tore this guy limb from limb and dragged his carcass behind one of his tractors.

One can only hope his arrival sparks a scorching hot Jazz/Korver like run and in turn the refinement of the Shaq experiment.

Introducing...Linton Johnson

If you watched the Suns give up 115+ yet again last night, you surely noticed a #43 out there for a whopping 24 minutes. I'm still trying to figure out how this works.

Usually when a team signs a guy to a 10-day contract for no reason other than filling a roster spot, that player doesn't immediately get pt. Apparently, we're in the bizarro NBA, where coaches who never play their bench think it's a good idea to give a guy on a make good contract a bunch of minutes.

Yes, the result was decided when most of the minutes were logged, but DJ Strawberry and Sean Marks haven't earned mop up duty? I can't wrap my head around this.

Johnson is 6'8" and a versatile defender but to think for a second he can do what Marion used to is insane. More importantly, one player doesn't make a defense. Coaches do. Until Coach D decides to put more of a premium on defensive effort, nights like last night will be more frequent than we can handle.

Depantsed

The game isn't quite over yet but the outcome was decided almost before tipoff. Quite simply, the Suns didn't show up to play and the Pistons did.

Detroit executes very well on every play, on both ends of the floor. At this point, I'm not so sure they even need a head coach. With their core of Billups, Hamilton, Rasheed and Prince, they can run on autopilot.

The Suns, on the other hand, were stagnant on the offensive end and disinterested on defense from the start. There was a play in the 1st quarter with Diaw, Shaq and Nash on the left side, where Boris and Shaq just stood there looking at each other, having no clue what to do. This game has been awful to watch and has done nothing to abate the flu/cold that has grabbed a hold of me.

Ever play Arch Rivals for the NES? It's a great game. I still own it but rarely play it because against a certain friend of mine, I never stand a chance. He's the king of depantsing, he pulls those suckers down from any and all angles. That's the Suns against the Pistons today. Helpless. They've been completely handcuffed and in the process, embarrassed.

One can only hope this is just part of the process of integrating Shaq and not a sign of the Suns being totally overmatched against the well-oiled machine that is the Pistons.

Thank goodness for the Grizzlies.

Chippy Physicality

Nice win for the Suns tonight over a Celtics team that couldn't hit water falling out of a boat. Allen and Pierce weren't just missing, they weren't even close most of the time.

Can't imagine they'll shoot that poorly in their next meeting with the Suns but the Celtics looked overmatched tonight. They didn't have much of an answer for Boris, especially in the 4th quarter, and got killed on the boards. It's nice to be on the right side of that for a change.

Once the Suns made their second run to answer the Celtics surge, the game was never really in doubt.

Now that the game is over and the 4th quarter was incident free, I suppose I was getting a little more fired up than needed with all the elbows and pushing and shoving. Not sure if they intended to go after Amare from the opening tip like that or if the hole they dug in the first quarter did it, but it was a little much.



I know defense has been the Celtics calling card so far this year but there's tough D and then there's cheapshots. Perkins forearm shiver on Amare, to me, falls into the latter category. Regardless, it's good to see the Suns rise above it and battle fort he win.

Other notes:

-Boris had 10 total, 8 of which I think were in the 4th. Since I'm writing this right after the game, no one has a box score available, so forgive my estimates. His shot selection was perfect and he executed very well in the halfcourt.

-Amare was a beast again. Why he takes his jersey off right after the game is over, I'll never know. I'm guessing it has something to do with that Carly Simon song.

-the Suns have to stay away from those elbows. Raja got drilled by Shaq against the Lakers and now LB got split open by Pierce. I was surprised Raja played tonight, I didn't know that large an egg could go away that quickly.

-Sean Marks played in the first quarter and Coach D played 10 guys total. In other news, my neighbor's dog just opened a dating service for his fellow canines and the pussies that love them.

-1 of 2 Shaq. 1 of 2. Set your sights low and go from there.

Uncle Cliffy

Cliff Robinson has always been one of my favorite NBA players, both as part of those tough to hate TrailBlazers teams with Clyde, Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter and Duckworth, and of course as a high-scoring, 50-point dropping Sun.

What drew me to Uncle Cliffy? Look no further than the headband (and maybe the red and black color scheme of the Blazers.) In Cliff's heydey, NO ONE sported the headband. I'm sure there were a couple of guys here and there but Cliff was the trendsetter, the OG if you will. As his career wound down, the headband made a stunning comeback and now damn near every player has rocked one at some point or another in their career. Cliff shouldn't be forgotten if for no reason other than making the headband cool again.

Note to current NBA players: when you put the logo right between your eyes, it looks stupid. Very stupid.

So why this sudden reminiscing when there's a huge game against the Celtics tonight? I say why not.

Some quick, interesting stats from Cliff's career:
-He became the oldest player at 33 years of age and two months to register his first 50-point game
-Won NBA Sixth Man of the Year with a record 90.8% of the vote after he averaged 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and career-best 1.99 blocks
-Robinson was currently one of only two players drafted in the 1980s still active in the league in 2007,[3] with the other being Kevin Willis
-At 6'10", he is the tallest player to make more than 1,000 three-pointers
-arrested for marijuana possession and DUI in 2001...and failed a couple drug tests in 2005 resulting in a suspension.

That last note isn't all that surprising, at least not for me. You see, Cliff Robinson and I have some history together. Not really, but here goes...

When going outside for an early morning butt with a friend after waking up from an all night drunk at a friend's house in a shady part of Scottsdale, we noticed the nicest Mercedes Benz we had ever seen parked just two spots from our buddy's front door. With the awe-inspiring Benz having dropped our jaws to the floor, we were at first oblivious to the tall, skinny and very well-dressed man walking towards the Benz.

Suddenly, my buddy elbowed me in the side, mumbling something that sounded like "Cliff Robinson...Cliff Robinson." I looked up from the Benz and sure enough, there was Uncle Cliffy strolling towards us after exiting an apartment owned by a person who could be best characterized as "a lady of the night."

Instead of telling the two hungover and wake and bake idiots to get away from his car, he flashed a sly grin, said "good morning, fellas" and got into his Benz. After a quick wave he was gone, leaving us to go completely apeshit over having seen Cliff Robinson up close and personal, post-dirty-Scottsdale sex romp.

I don't know if Cliff was married at the time and I don't really care. Who am I to judge a guy who led the 1999 Suns in scoring? This was Uncle Cliffy, who along with Monster Mash, was my favorite Sun at the time. This sounds silly, but at that point in my life, seeing Cliff, in my element no less, was an all-time great moment for me.

Of course, he went and fucked up a good thing in Phoenix by getting arrested not far from where I saw him, resulting in Colangelo jettisoning him to Detroit, ushering in a rebuilding era...that's turned out pretty well so far.

Same Old Suns

130 points scored by the Lakers tonight. I hope you're all prepared for a swift first round exit and a championship run by either the hated Lakers or hated Spurs.

this post brought to you by angry, impatient Suns fans who cannot form coherent thoughts. Maybe they'll have their heads on straight tomorrow.

Can't.Stop.Watching.

This deserves its own post. Thanks, With Leather.

Mid Week Link Dump

-The wait is finally over, Shaq is playing tonight. It's going to be interesting to say the least. If he gives the team 20 minutes and 10 and 8 in his debut, we have to be happy. Remember, he's there to make the Suns bigger and stronger, not drop 30 and 20 as he did back in his heyday with the Lakers and Magic.

-One more reason to hate the Lakers, the soap opera nonsense that will be absolutely beaten into the ground every time these teams play each other. We know, we know, Kobe and Shaq and Phil participated in some sort of lemonparty gone wrong and they've bickered ever since. What else is there to examine? Far be it from the sports media to actually analyze the basketball game itself.

-Charles loves to talk. Nothing has changed and Suns fans shouldn't take what he's saying personally or as "hating." He's always been that way and always will be. The future governor of Alabama loves to hear himself talk.

-all of ESPN's NBA writers chime in on the second half in the Western Conference. Summary: everyone but Marc Stein has their heads firmly up the Lakers' asses.

-the All-Star Game sucked, and no one watched it. I would have tuned in for more than 3 minutes but the uniforms made it looks like there were four teams on the court. Hopefully that style will never make an appearance again. Simply awful.

-if you're not reading Eddie Johnson over at HoopsHype, you need to start. I don't agree with everything he writes but he does a great job carrying the insight he brings in announcing games to his writing. I always enjoy what he has to say.

It's a shame he and Thunder Dan get teamed up with Gary Bender, aka THE WORST COLOR COMMENTATOR IN THE HISTORY OF BASKETBALL.

-in last week's Sports Illustrated, Grant Wahl wrote an incredible article on the dribble drive offense being run right now by Memphis in the college ranks and a bit by the Nuggets in the NBA.

Really fascinating stuff, the piece really delves into the coaching side of basketball. If you enjoyed :07 or Less, I'd recommend taking the ten minutes or so to read it.

There's a rumor Your Face is a Sports Blog will have an exclusive postgame interview with Shaq tonight. Tune in Tokyo.

Channel 12 News DOESN'T Suck

I know, I know, sounds crazy, right?

Watch this if you haven't already. It's definitely worth a chuckle or too.

Especially if you watched Days of Our Lives every day your freshman year in college like I did. Screw you for judging me!

Entertaining but Shitty

It's fun watching a game where both teams refuse to play defense but it's frustrating as hell watching the Suns unable to get stops when really needed.

I'm exhausted after that game and I think I'll just leave it at that. I'm not sure I can write anything coherently right now, I'm still what can be described as unhappy.

Brutal stretch of schedule for the Suns, can't believe they need to fly home tonight and then match up with the Mavs just like that. The break will definitely be welcome, especially since the Pistons, Celtics and Hornets are all waiting afterwards.

I'm off to LA for the weekend and any posts until next week are doubtful.

GO SUNS!

A Message from Sean Marks

Hello there, everyone. I know most of you hardly know who I am, partly due to my hailing from New Zealand and mostly due to Coach D burying me at he end of the bench, but I thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself and let you know my thoughts on our recent trade for Shaq.

I originally played in New Zealand and transferred to California to get some Pac-10 balling in. Which was great. Except for those crazy hippie women with all the armpit hair. That's just nasty. After that I rode the pine for the Spurs and was Tim Duncan's bitch every day in practice.

This of course became tiresome so I figured what better way to assert myself then sign with the Suns? Practices are light, Amare can be pushed around every once in a while and Coach D whispered sweet nothings into my ear about my silky soft shooting touch and his big plans for me.

Clearly, things have not gone as planned. Besides the highlight becoming an American citizen, this year has sucked and sucked hard. Like I said before, Coach D has totally buried me.

And now, to top everything off, that jackass Kerr just traded for the one and only Shaquille O'Neal. So much for my cushy job in the desert. They've already had to reinforce the rims because his fatass pretty much destroys everything he touches. Including me and that dude with the crazy goatee.

Right, right, it's awesome that he's so huge and powerful. But I'm on the receiving end of those dunks and pushes and shoves and elbows. And did I mention the sweat? SO.MUCH.SWEAT. My life is now a living hell and I spend every moment of practice looking over my shoulder, wondering if the basket support is going to come down and snap me in half.

It isn't easy being the 10th man (thanks Eric and Alando.) There's a reason Pat Burke hated all of you by the time he left. I swear on every kiwi in New Zealand I'll go on a citywide killing spree if you start cheering for me to shoot a three every time I touch the ball when I actually get into a game.

Kerr and Coach D will get it first.

So Long, Farewell

It's very strange looking at the Suns lineup and not seeing Shawn Marion's name penciled in at the 3 or as has been the case since Coach D arrived, the 4. It's almost surreal checking out his Matrix 31 website and seeing him in a Suns uniform, knowing that we'll almost certainly never see him in purple and orange again.

I was planning on writing up a nice post with memories of big games and memories of Marion but something happened...not much came to mind.

On the surface one would think this is an indictment of Marion's game and does nothing but point out his shortcomings. I would argue just the opposite.

What makes Shawn Marion a great player is his overall consistency and all-around team play. My memory is admittedly fuzzy and not the best, but again, no one big shot jumps out as defining Marion's Suns career. His rebound and kickout to Tim Thomas is about the closest I can come to a play that sums up his Suns career.

When you stop to think of it, the play does summarize Marion's Suns career rather well. Let's face it, Marion's shooting form is unique at best, hideous at worst, so his game-winning opportunities have always been few and far between. Instead, the little things are why he certainly belongs and should be in the Suns' Ring of Honor upon his retirement.

I know of no other player who has the ability to bang with Lamar Odom down low one night but then match Tony Parker's quickness the very next. I know of no other player with a couple of tightly wound pogo sticks for leggs. Steve Kerr took care of one weakness on this team by adding The Big Saguaro...he now needs to fill not one, but two holes, with the departure of Marion. Defense and rebounding.

It's also important to look at the Suns' teams Marion played on. Clearly, he was most affective (and also asked to do the most) under Coach D, but the guy played for four different coaches and three different point guards in his time with the Suns. That's quite a bit of turnover in coaching and personnel but he's always been the constant, throwing down dunks, racking up the rebounds and playing the passing lanes.

For a walk down memory lane, click the links on Coach D's predecessors below. It's the squads from the years they were around.

Coaches:
-Danny Ainge
-Scott Skiles
-Frank Johnson
-Mike D'Antoni

Point guards:
-Jason Kidd
-Stephon Marbury
-Steve Nash

We've all heard this could be the end of an era for the Suns, as :07 or less basketball is being ditched in favor for the large and lumbering, loquacious one, (hooray alliteration) but that couldn't be any more incorrect. This is partly correct but we certainly do not know what the future holds for this team.

A different era ended when Marion was sent off to Miami. Nearly a decade of Suns basketball and again, the one constant was Marion. Jerry and Bryan Colangelo are now both gone, Backcourt 2000 was an abject failure, KJ made a cameo, Googs blew out a knee, Cliff Robinson was the man, etc.

So lets all forget the pouting that became apparent when Black Jesus and especially Nash arrived, and try not to think about that horrific shot that somehow went in 30% or some from 3-point land.

Let's recognize the guy for who is...one of the all-time great Phoenix Suns.

I count his name nine times. Nine times.

Peja Can Really Shoot

-He's silky smooth. Swish, swish, swish, all damn night. Give credit where credit is due, the guy hit a tough shot to win the game.

-Chris Paul is unreal. I'm not talking about the 42 points he dropped though. I'm referring to his play on the defensive end. He plays the passing lanes, he contests shots, he stays in front of everyone, and his hands are always active.

Take away his offensive abilities and he'd still always have a job. He is a difference maker on both ends of the floor.

-I just finished writing how great of a defender Chris Paul is...but 10 turnovers for Nash last night? His turnovers are usually when he takes calculated chances but a few last night were bad decisions, plain and simple

The Hornets defense and ability to force turnovers is what gave them the victory, they had more scoring chances in both overtimes.

-I'm often asked why I love basketball and the NBA. The game is dead, they're all thugs, other bullshit like that.

The game last night is exhibit A of what is great about basketball. Two teams going back and forth, giving it their all on every possession, never backing down.

What makes basketball such an amazing spectator sport is your emotion is constantly changing. I went from ecstatic to furious to inconsolable to amazed to satisfied to blown away to exhausted. No other sport brings all that to the table, especially in such a short period of time.

-Boris is a joy to watch when he's aggressive. I hate to keep harping on it, but his performance is usually the key to the Suns' success. When he plays with passion and fire, they're nearly unbeatable.

-I found the officiating to be atrocious last night. At least they were consistent.

-Marion is already missed.

I Need to Unburden Myself

This is the worst thing I've ever read.

My fellow Suns blogger would rather NOT have a championship? Isn't winning a championship the point?

It is for me. That's why I watch the games. I watch to see a winning basketball team, a team that will bring its first NBA championship home to Phoenix.

Is it worth it to sell the team's soul to the devil to finally hang a banner in the USAC rafters?

Yes. 100% yes. Do you know why? A CHAMPIONSHIP BANNER WILL BE HANGING IN THE ARENA. Look up there right now. Hmmm, what do you know? No championship banner. Of course it's worth it.

Is it a better option then moving Marion for a few other parts that would include an athletic big like Channing Frye or Johan Petro and another young player or two?

Channing Frye or Johan Petro or Shaquille O'Neal. I'll take the giant old fat guy.

Or my favorite option - standing pat and giving this team another run even if it means you lose Marion next year and end up with a ton of cap space to play with.

Now this makes about as much sense as sitting down to pee. Do you really think Marion was going anywhere? The guy was GUARANTEED $19 million. Even with being unhappy and pouting every once in a while, that's a ton of money to turn down, and more than he would have gotten on the open market.

Shawn Marion is one of the more unique players in the game today but don't forget the fact that he cannot handle the ball, is a subpar shooter and cannot create his own shot. No way he'd get more money on the open market.

Does a ring justify a $40 million millstone filling your cap space bathtub?

Again, yes. The answer is yes every time (unless the trade involves Kobe) if it means a ring.

And most importantly, is a ring worth turning the most exciting show on sneakers into...well into the Heat?

We have no idea what's going to happen. Why can't the Suns still be exciting? As Coach D said, the Showtime Lakers were pretty damn exciting and they had Kareem's old bones at the 5.

Last I checked, LB, Nash, Boris and Amare were all still very exciting players, no matter who they're playing with.

I still say no.

Then why bother even watching the team? Why bother being a fan? If you'd rather see them lose, you're not a fan.

It's one thing for someone to dislike a move but to prefer losing over winning is stupidity at its finest.

An Intriguing Possibility

Four posts in one day. Told you I had a lot on my mind. Let's see if it becomes a habit.

Think about this for a moment. Grant Hill and Shaq turning back the clock and running the two man game with Amare as a cutter and Nash waiting for an open three. Just throwing it out there.

Or how about Shaq sucking in a double team and kicking for a Raja 3 or an Amare jam down the middle of the lane.

Or how about this? Shaq mumbling through a speech at the Suns first ever championship parade.

I've officially arrived in Bonertown, AZ, I just passed the city limits and Chamber of Commerce sign. Like I said before, blind faith.

This is our team and for at least today, now is the time for hope.

Holy Shit, the Hornets are in Town?

Apparently, the Suns are playing a game tonight at the arena. I guess I have a one-track mind. Just ask my wife.

The Hornets have cooled off a bit, they've lost three in a row, their most recent loss coming at the hands of Utah. Deron Williams really laid the pipe to Chris Paul and took him down a notch or two.

I see similarities not only in Paul and Nash's game but in how they're attacked. Bigger guards really do a number on them, Williams' game from the other night being no exception.

Size matters? Let's hope so, Shaq is on the way.

Anyway, enough of the dick jokes. There's obviously a giant distraction hovering over the Suns right now but it can't be used as an excuse. Byron Scott's squad is on the ropes and DJ Strawberry all over Chris Paul would be a nice knockout punch. A win against the Hornets with a depleted team would be a huge morale boost.

Secret Weapon in the Battle with Shaq's Giant Ass

Oooooohhhh, you didn't know?

Steve Kerr is a mastermind. He'll get Shaq on minority owner Jenny's program and the Suns will stomp the rest of the league and bring home their first championship.

Finally, it all makes sense.

Blind Faith

As nearly the entire free world knows by now, Shaq will soon be a Sun and Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks will be playing for the Miami Heat.

What to think? Well, quite a bit. I've read and viewed so many different writers give their opinions on the whole thing, I can barely focus. Those in favor of the trade are few and far between, with the other camp consisting of people scratching their heads.

I fall mostly in the latter group, I'm still attempting to wrap my head around the whole thing. No matter how I think about it or write it out, the cons outweigh the pros.

However, I'm putting my faith in the team and Coach D. If Nash and Amare are all for it, I'm all for it. If Coach D pushed for the trade once he Kerr told him something big was in the works, I'm all for it. And if Shaq tells Nash (and thereby Suns fans) "he won't let him down," I'm all for it.

To make this work, here's what has to happen:
-Shaq makes a commitment to conditioning and staying in shape.
-Amare and Shaq coexist to ensure the chemistry problems supposedly leaving with Marion will never rear their ugly head.
-Shaq accepts his role as second option behind Amare, something he wasn't exactly thrilled about doing in Miami with Wade
-Boris anchors the bench and plays with fire
-Coach D busts his ass to make things work on both offense and defense.
-Sarver opens his checkbook further, as Shaq's contract isn't going anywhere
-Suns secure home court for the first two rounds of the playoffs. This must happen.

If the now Big Saguaro can be 75% the player he once was, this can work out surprisingly well for the Suns. Again, a lot needs to go right (more than I listed,) but I'm a realist. This doesn't decrease the odds for a Suns championship.