| 14 December 2009
Some call it pouting - some call it sulking.
The more sophisticated among us call it contemplating - or even meditating. But the truth is - we're upset.
Friday's defeat in Denver didn't have to happen. The Suns were up by 60-47 at half-time and the buckets were falling at nearly the fastest pace of the season. Despite having Carmelo Anthony on their side - Denver looked like it was a goner. And then the Suns fell victim to our bench - or should we say - the lack thereof.
Yes - Coach Alvin Gentry tried to eke some court time out of Robin Lopez but in just 3:46 minutes the 7-foot bumbler - who seriously looks like an overgrown version of The Simpson's Sideshow Bob character - committed 3 personal fouls while scoring zero points and looking terribly frustrated.
Why should we be surprised that RoLo was so out of sorts?!?
His performance on Saturday was a brief reprise of the 4:41 minutes he spent on the court during Friday evening's game against Orlando. In that appearance Mr. Lopez ran up five personal fouls in less than five minutes and barely knocked down 2 points. Those back-to-back RoLo performances are only useful if you're looking extra credit course in how not to play defense in the NBA. They also serve as a handy reminder of Robin's Las Vegas meltdown during summer league when he essentially fouled out in a handful of minutes.
But that non-scoring foul festival was just one of the benchwarmer failings that undermined the Suns along during Saturday's winnable game.
Please click "Read More" to continue reading--
The other was that on-again, off-again second string guard Goran Dragic.
Yes - we know he has a following amongst Suns fandom but - as we've said in other posts - the split personality of this second year player just doesn't do it for us. Sure - Goran has shown bursts of professionalism - but he remains visibly uncomfortable on the court during key moments of big games.
And his performance in Denver was a clear example of how bad Dragic has been when we need him the most.
Look at the numbers - just 4 points in nearly 17 minutes of play against Denver. Goran also racked-up 4 assists but Dragic's performance was below his season average of 6.5 ppg and most importantly - Goran didn't bring any spark to the offense and seemed visibly out of his element.
We wish Alvin Gentry luck as he tries to coach these two into playing a consistent NBA-style game so the Suns top-shelf starters can catch a breather during the course of a game.
See ya'.
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