| 12 November 2009
So the Suns romping over opponents large and small continued on Veterans Day as they notched-up a 124 - 104 win against the formerly good New Orleans Hornets that was even better than it sounds. The big news - yes really Big News - of the evening game is in the box score where eight Suns players hit for double digits in the scoring department.
Spreading the wealth was easy after the Suns pushed their fast paced offense to its limits with 40 points in the first quarter and a full 75 points at the half. Scoring better than a point every 20 seconds, the Suns blew away the 7-point spread from the oddsmakers and ended the first 24 minutes ahead 75 - 56.
Of course Coach Alvin Gentry put the big dawgs on the bench for much of the second half - Steve Nash, Jason Richardson and Amar'e Stoudemire relaxed a bit while each playing 26 minutes or less.
That gave Jared Dudley, Goran Dragic, Leandro Barbosa, and Lou Amundson an opportunity to have some fun. It also laid the groundwork for tonight's match-up against the world champion LA Lakers.
Please click "Read More" to continue reading--
Going head-to-head with the Lakers is like being out in the woods and reaching into a hole - you never know if you're going to get bitten. And that rabies can be a killer. But the Suns have their own snake bite this season and it's been fun to watch.
The Suns balanced attack and blistering 3-point barrages have puzzled opposing defenses including the NBA-leading Boston Celtics - they've allowed an average of less than 85 points per game but fell to our offensive prowess.
Despite having that scoring machine Kobe Bryant in their arsenal, the Lakers have hit a mere 37.6% from 3-point range - a number that isn't on the same court as the Suns league leading 47.4%. And the Suns have a better point scoring differential - 6.77 vs. 5.28 - meaning we have been beating our opponents by a slightly better margin than those guys from LA.
The Suns defense will surely focus on Bryant as they try to contain the 33.6 ppg average he brings to the court tonight. Nash - while being essential to the Suns offense - has been roundly criticized in the past for not being a big D player. That's why we're expecting J-Rich to get the task of guarding Kobe with maybe a little Channing Frye action thrown in from outside for good measure.
Plan on Bryant hitting for less than 30 points - it would be a mega accomplishment and could spell a victory.
We've been burning the oddsmakers all season by excedding the point spread in most of the Suns eight victories in this young season. That may explain why the Lakers are only 8-point favorites against our guys tonight.
As for us, expect a surprise as the Suns outperform the odds again and maybe pull off an upset.
See ya'.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
