Amare Goes MIA
On Saturday night, Chris Paul and his New Orleans Hornets strolled into the Valley of the Sun and handed Phoenix its fourth home loss of the season. Afterwards, Amare Stoudemire was visibly upset (he only took 11 shots), and called into question his team’s ability to focus and execute.
“We have to get it together. We’re a veteran team,” he said. “We should know our strategies; we should know what we’re doing and do it. Sometimes you mess up, but overall we should execute the majority of the time. If we do that and play hard, we can win almost every game. But if we don’t get smart about the game of basketball, then we can’t win.”
Yesterday, STAT didn’t show up for a team practice. GM Steve Kerr says that the star forward had an excuse, but it remains unclear if disciplinary action will be taken.
You know, for a team that’s leading their division and played quite well during what was arguably the toughest stretch of its schedule, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of happiness in Phoenix.
“You can’t win at this level if you don’t have great chemistry and you don’t pull for each other and if you’re worried about your shots or worried about yourself or making excuses or pointing fingers at other players,” Steve Nash said.
I’m but a lowly amateur psychoanalyst, but could the pressure of the last few years’ Playoff flameouts be getting to these guys? Discuss.
52 Responses to “Amare Goes MIA”
Jan.7 at 10:02 am
CoolWhip11 says:
The System!!!!
Jan.7 at 10:03 am
Tarzan Cooper says:
HAHAHAHAHAHA the spurs have turned them all against each other.
Jan.7 at 10:05 am
white hot eboy says:
I gues that whole fiction book that everyone raved about was a crock of sh*t.
Jan.7 at 10:06 am
white hot eboy says:
Mutoni, your last sentence is probably exactly correct.
Jan.7 at 10:07 am
t.dot dude says:
stupid boring spurs
Jan.7 at 10:12 am
Tarzan Cooper says:
really though, Amare has to do this, he has to let them know that its his team. he knows they cant win in the playoffs with a pg passing to (mostly open) jumpshooters all game. he knows he has to dominate inside in order to get to the finals. he knows he’s capable(05). are the suns close to being blown up?
Jan.7 at 10:12 am
TADOne says:
Sounds like they need some counseling sessions.
Jan.7 at 10:13 am
Boing Dynasty says:
personally i dont care if PHX ever wins anything. So i would appreciate it if they went back to throwing 3/4 court ally-oops every other possesion.
Jan.7 at 10:19 am
Art Vandelay says:
Message to everybody in Phoenix: Take a look at the current standings. Yes, you read it right - YOU ARE THE SECOND BEST TEAM IN THE WEST!!! Maybe they’re just jealous of how much attention Zeke and the Knicks get and think “HEY, don’t forget us!”…
Jan.7 at 10:20 am
Hisham says:
I agree with Tarzan. That seems to happen a lot lately. And speaking of MIA, Eboy, what the hell is going on down there? Did Shaq secretly already retire?
Jan.7 at 10:22 am
white hot eboy says:
I actually like the losing at this point, cause they’re setting up for a good lottery pick. Shaq sat on the bench last night in uniform and never moved, literally. Wade still looks half-assed in his playing too.
Jan.7 at 10:27 am
Captain America says:
The future of the Heat is Ricky Buckets and Mel Bount. As for the Suns, the competition has caught up with them.
Jan.7 at 10:28 am
Hisham says:
They’ll probably try to get it together and then just miss out on the last playoff spot, which will leave them with nothing. No top 5 pick, and no playoffs. I can’t imagine them tanking this season. That would be the worst way to go out for a team that won a chip 2 years ago
Jan.7 at 10:29 am
Ryan Jones says:
There’s an easy solution to all this. They should trade Nash for Steph.
Jan.7 at 10:31 am
white hot eboy says:
Hisham, as a person who actually watches EVERY miserable game, believe me, the season should be considered “thrown” at this point. Ryan, I like that trade scenario.
Jan.7 at 10:35 am
riggs says:
i want them to go back to their juvenile ways
Jan.7 at 10:39 am
Jared says:
Get Amare one of those Randy Moss deals where he gets to touch the ball on 75 percent of the teams plays.
Jan.7 at 10:42 am
Hisham says:
The little bit of pride the Heat had left went down with Alonzo Mourning’s knee, I know that much
Jan.7 at 10:50 am
rob stewart says:
The SUNS need a trade, somthing to shake them up a little. Maybe trade Raja and/or Diaw for a big man. Something needs to happen. Nothing major or minor, but something.
Jan.7 at 10:57 am
Hisham says:
The SUNS need to worry a little less. The decision to all of a sudden become a “serious” team takes them out of serious contention. When the Suns start to think about their shots and all that, doubt and fear will get in their heads. That will turn them in to the 2007 Mavs by playoff time. Worry about your defense, the rest is fine
Jan.7 at 10:58 am
Heri says:
I’m sure Chris Kaman would love to join them. Kaman, Amare, GHill, Nash and the Matrix would be a great starting five.
Jan.7 at 11:08 am
Jared says:
Kaman would not fit on this team, and i’m sure the clips would give up their franchise center who’s finally looking like the player they thought they were getting, for swingmen/role players
Jan.7 at 11:09 am
Tarzan Cooper says:
^^^^this fu(ker….the clips are not letting kaman go anywhere. dwade needs mike beasley
Jan.7 at 11:25 am
BETCATS says:
Henri that is the dumbest thing i ever heard. Why i am agreeing with Tarzan is beyond me but Chris Kaman is staying in Red and Blue
Jan.7 at 11:25 am
Navid says:
good for Amare… good to see some fire
Jan.7 at 11:33 am
Ill Will says:
Boo Friggin Hoo
Jan.7 at 11:34 am
Dark says:
Shoulda kept Kurt Thomas, somebody to do the dirty work inside when Amare’s in and play pick and pop with Nash when Amare’s out.
Jan.7 at 11:35 am
Dark says:
And can somebody explain what the big deal with this luxury tax is? (I’m a Knicks fan, go figure) Supposedly that’s why they traded away Sergio Rodriguez, who mighta been a good backup PG for them, and Rudy Fernandez a guy that basically shoots 3s and dunks (I wonder if he would fit in with the Suns . . .) I understand planning for the future, but Nash only has now to win; once he’s gone, the system’s done.
Jan.7 at 11:39 am
Gerard Himself says:
on a sidenote: M.I.A. is one of the most overrated new artists in 2007. Awful.
Jan.7 at 11:50 am
Jukai says:
Wahhh wahhhh wahhhh
Jan.7 at 11:55 am
Jukai says:
I’m just so tired of my Phoenix Suns this year. Why is a team second in the west (and constantly battling and taking first) constantly complaining? It appears they may never win an NBA championship, but damnit, they’re going to whine as much as they can along the way.
Jan.7 at 12:05 pm
FLUD says:
The Phoenix Gretskys.
Jan.7 at 12:06 pm
FLUD says:
*Gretzkys
Jan.7 at 12:06 pm
FLUD says:
Damnit.. Three words and I fook it oop
Jan.7 at 12:16 pm
Jared says:
this boards a mess, who gives a sh!t about the suns, bunch of babys. Whether it’s Matrix crying or raja bells mom huggin kobe, they play in one of the free-est systems, they don’t have to play defense, they win games, an the whole country loves them, what are they so miserable about? get it together grouch
Jan.7 at 12:17 pm
Joel O's says:
The regular season counts for squat with the Suns, honestly. They can have the best regular season record - which they have come close to for several years running now - but it’s all meaningless come the playoffs. The formula hasn’t changed - Nash, Marion, Amare, a point forward or two, one defensive stopper and a bunch of guards - and neither has the end result. Maybe they really should’ve shaken things up this summer.
Jan.7 at 12:33 pm
Jukai says:
Or maybe they all shoulda just learned to play team defense. Save Nash, every player on the team is extremely athletic and they should be able to figure out how to man up your opponent and get around screens, it’s annoying. This is mostly D’Antoni’s fault, all he does is run shooting drills, but he’ll never get canned. There’s no need to shake things up, it’s not like the teams a buncha flat-footed spot up shooters. They just have no game plans on the defensive end. And instead of doing something about it, they whine and don’t show up for practice.
Jan.7 at 1:06 pm
white hot eboy says:
That’s the first time I actually felt some sorrow for Jukai.
Jan.7 at 1:56 pm
Kevin says:
meh, i jus hope they are happy and clicking leading up to the playoffs.. when they have it going, i like their chances
Jan.7 at 2:10 pm
Ravi says:
Supposedly his kids were sick….hopefully that’s all it was.
Jan.7 at 2:17 pm
J-Bird says:
Im a big Suns fan, but im starting to get tired of these stories. I dont like the Spurs, but maybe the Suns should take their approach, stroll through the regular season, make some minor adjustments and peak at playoff time.
Enough with all the panicking and worrying.
Jan.7 at 2:38 pm
Kevin says:
^
Jan.7 at 2:55 pm
Allenp says:
Jukai, Nash is pretty athletic. I would put his athleticism on par with Raja Bell’s and Grant Hill’s for his position. Think about it.
Jan.7 at 6:04 pm
hursty says:
would Phx trade anyone for Andris Beidrins? hes a 4/5, i dont know if he starts for Gs or not. regardless hes an athletic big man the suns are looking for and can give Amare (boo hoo) and his knees a rest.
Jan.7 at 6:06 pm
Jonathan W. says:
The suns need to pick it up. -Jonathan
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/hoopsgrid/
Jan.7 at 6:35 pm
Tenorca says:
Best guess is the Warriors dumped JRich so they could secure Biedrins & Monta this summer. Plus, Biedrins gets about $15 an hour right now, so I don’t see it happening.
Jan.7 at 6:51 pm
Adam says:
Its not like they didn’t put up enough points vs. NO so Amare doesn’t need to be complaing about how things run offensively. I know people talk about how bad there defense is all the time, but that game it was horrible. I know STAT had 5 blocks, but alot of that had to do with the fact that nobody knew what they were doing on pick n rolls, and guys like Chandler and even Armstrong were WIDE open most of the game. Good thing Amare is athletic enough to come back and block it, but he should have picked those players up before they got in that position anyways. If he is complaining about D than its waranted. Anything else. I don’t want to hear about it.
Jan.7 at 7:34 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Biedrins is leading the League in field goal percentage–I don’t see the Warriors gifting him to the Suns.
Jan.7 at 10:13 pm
hursty says:
oh. thanks russ.
how do you analyse trade possibilities, (with the cap and salary). yao ming is shooting horrible something like 48% right now. hes gonna have to pick it up wuth tmac out indefinitely.
Jan.7 at 10:42 pm
jub_al says:
i agree with adam… that game against NO, especially while they had a 10+ point lead in the third quarter, the Suns seemed to have decided that they had the game in the bag and the rest of the game was garbage time… they barely moved on defense, and when they did move, they were running into each other and/or running after the same guy, leaving everybody else open… being a Suns fan, i don’t think i’ve ever felt so frustrated watching them play…
Jan.7 at 10:44 pm
jub_al says:
that said, they do have one of the best records in the league, and all this panic might be a little premature..
Jan.8 at 9:34 am
QQ says:
Yeah, one of the best records, but isn’t this getting old? The be-a-monster-in-the-regular-season-then-get-flamed-in-the-playoffs thing?