| 22 March 2010
Okay vaunted may be a bit of a stretch, but anyone that still denies that the Suns defense hasn't made some serious progress since Gentry has taken over the squad, need not apply for anything more sophistaicated than putting the finishing touches my nephew's happy meal.
Any other time in recent history, the Suns scoring less than 65 points and shooting under 39% for three quarters, would be cause to pack it in and send in the bench for the last ten minutes because we're already down by thirty.
I'd like to say tonight's 93-87 win over Portland was a clinic in defensive prowess, but it's more realistic to use it as an example of how you let your opponent dictate the pace for the better part of three periods and still manage to win.
Clearly, the difference in this game was the Suns wearing their Mexican "Los Suns" uniforms.
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Okay, the jerseys might be a case of mistaken cause and effect. What is not mistaken is the defensive prowess it takes to shoot 4 for 22 in the third period and only lose the quarter by four points. The same deficit the Suns went into the fourth period with.
I have to admit, I love hearing stats like this going into the last period. If it's a close game, it makes me feel all the more confident that my Suns are going to win. A little bell goes off in my mind assuring me the Suns can't shoot that poorly two quarters in a row! In reality, I know the Suns and their statistics don't owe me anything and they could feasibly put up equally bad numbers in the fourth period, but tonight, I can take comfort that my little warning bell was right. The Suns sped up the pace of the game, Amare took several possessions into his own hands, Dudley scores all ten of his points in the last period, and the Suns continue to burn their opponents at the charity stripe, missing only two free throws all game.
Before I wrap this up, since I gave the east a nod for beating both Denver and Dallas yesterday, I suppose I have to do it again for today's games. The Atlanta Hawks beat San Antonio in overtime and the Indiana Pacers beat Oklahoma. I can only assume all the eastern conference teams read my last post and felt they still had more to prove. Well, they kind of still do...
Be that as it may, Phoenix is now in a tie in the loss column with Oklahoma for the 5th and 6th seeds, stepping ahead of the Spurs by one loss, while remaining one loss behind the fourth seeded Utah. If we're going to be moving up like this, we better hit that 3rd seed! I still don't want to play the Lakers in the second round.
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