Trail Blazers

Suns

 Time: 8:00 pm MST

 TV: FSAZ

The last time the Phoenix Suns played the Portland Trailblazers, they ran Portland out of the US Airways Center in a 25 point drubbing. The Trailblazers will look to avenge their biggest loss of the season Friday night in the Rose Garden.

The Suns come into this matchup having lost 7 of their last 9 games. They ended their recent 5 game road trip with a 2-3 record, then lost Tuesday night in Phoenix to the Toronto Raptors in a game that saw Phoenix take a double digit lead in the first half before Andrea Bargnani and former Sun guard Leandro Barbosa led the Raptors back. In order to get a win tonight, the Suns will need to find the magic and defense that saw them grab back-to-back wins against the Knicks and Celtics on the road. They will have quite a challenge in front of them as they face a Blazers team which hasn’t lost at home to a Western Conference opponent so far this season.

Portland enters Friday’s game having just completed their first and only back-to-back-to-back of the season. They beat Sacramento on Monday in the Rose Garden behind Jamal Crawford’s season-high 26 points. They followed it up with another home victory over Memphis on Tuesday in which Marcus Camby had 22 rebounds. They ended their 3 game run Wednesday in a road loss to Golden State. In this latest loss the Blazers shot just 41%, a number reminiscent of their loss to Phoenix back on January 6^th. Portland had beaten the LA Lakers in Portland the night before and their fatigue from the back-to-back was evident from the start. Phoenix got out quickly to big lead and never looked back. The Blazers were hapless from the field in that game, making only 32.5% of their attempts.

This game will come down to which team has gotten its rest and used its off days effectively. The Suns may not be the Western Conference powerhouse they once were, but they can still catch a tired team sleeping and run them out of the gym if the opportunity presents itself. Both teams will need to bring all the stamina they can muster or this game could be very one sided.

[Read more →]

Is Marcin Gortat an All Star?

It’s a relatively simple question, but one without a simple answer. For any player being considered for the All Star Game, there are three factors in play: statistics, reputation, and popularity. In each of these categories, players compete against one another to determine who will represent their respective conferences in the game. Let’s see how Marcin stacks up in each of these areas.

Statistics

Gortat is at or near the top in most major statistical categories among Western Conference centers. His 15.4 points per game are third behind Los Angeles’ Andrew Bynum (16.1) and Utah’s Al Jefferson (18.3). He is a more efficient scorer than Bynum though, as his scoring per 48 minutes is higher. Gortat is dominating all his Western Conference competition at the center spot in FG% though. He is converting a blistering 59% of his field goal attempts. On the glass, Marcin is 11^th overall in the league at 9.9 per game and 15.5 per 48 minutes. He is unfortunately behind Marc Gasol and Andrew Bynum in boards per game. Perhaps the most telling statistic is PER. For the uninitiated, PER or Player Efficiency Rating, is a stat calculated by ESPN’s John Hollinger to rate a player’s per minute contributions. Gortat’s 23.18 PER is 13^th best in the entire NBA, third among all centers, first among Western Conference centers, and almost a point higher than his teammate Steve Nash (22.51). If any one statistic was going to make the case for Gortat as an All Star, it would be his PER.

Reputation

It may be because Marcin is one of only two bright spots on a usually sparkling Suns’ roster, but the big man from Poland has started to get some recognition around the league. After spending 3 ½ seasons as Dwight Howard’s backup in Orlando, Gortat has stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight. His play since coming to Phoenix has been spectacular, and he continues to improve. He has built a formidable rep on both ends of the floor, and though he may not be the caliber player of his former teammate Howard, he can certainly hold his own against the rest of the Western Conference centers. His main competitors for an All Star spot are Andrew Bynum, Marc Gasol, and Al Jefferson. Bynum has a strong reputation because he plays for the Lakers and has two rings, but he is also known for being injury prone and inconsistent. Marc Gasol’s reputation is on a high note as he just signed a big contract and is playing well despite the absence of his front court mate, Zach Randolph. Al Jefferson is still trying to establish his reputation in Utah as both he and his team have had some upheaval in recent seasons. Jefferson is playing very well to start off the year though. This category is most important for coach selection. The likely candidates are Scottie Brooks and George Karl based on their team’s record. Both coaches have seen Gortat play, so the question becomes, will his reputation and statistical production be enough to put him over the top of his competition in the mind of the coach? That remains to be seen. [Read more →]

PHOENIX — As painful of a season it’s been for the Suns, frustration hasn’t settled into the players or coaches.

Two ugly losses in a row and a three-game losing streak against sub-par teams in U.S. Airways isn’t keeping Phoenix distracted from working toward the near future. It doesn’t, however, help solve what exactly the more distant future holds.

Steve Nash will of course be at the epicenter of any moves the Suns make or don’t make. And while he has openly said he’s not one to demand a trade, you wonder what to make of his comments following the home loss to Toronto and then before heading off to play at Portland on Friday.

Dan Bickley believes it’s time for Nash to go a la Peyton Manning from the Colts, but Nash still remains firmly concentrated — if not slightly critical — of his current team.

“We’re definitely showing signs of inconsistency … we’re a team in transition, we don’t have a complete roster,” Nash said bluntly. “So we can’t expect to be at the top, but we can expect to improve. Just try to continue to improve every day and see how good we can get, and see if we can get on a roll enough at some point to get into the playoffs.”

Unlike Nash, head coach Alvin Gentry didn’t want to talk about the roster make-up.

“If I get the maximum effort … then I’ll take the results,” he added. “I’m not going to sit here and whine about what we don’t have. That does us no good.”

It’s natural that both the Suns coach and their leader have a straight-ahead mindset despite the team’s struggles. But it’s not a complete stretch to wonder if Nash’s admissions about the roster make-up — comments that weren’t going to be said during preseason — are a sign that the franchise point guard is getting antsy about the future. [Read more →]

While teams across the league went to great lengths to extend their 2008 draft picks, the Phoenix Suns decided to stay pat with Robin Lopez, opting instead to deal with his contract situation during the summer. At that time the Suns can extend a $4 million qualifying offer that would make Lopez a restricted free agency. The ValleyoftheSuns team evaluates Lopez’s contract situation in this edition of 3-on-3.

Did the Suns make the right move not extending Lopez now?

Michael Schwartz: Yes, because every move before the offseason should be all about preserving financial flexibility. The Suns basically punted the decision until the summer, when they will decide to extend a qualifying offer, sign him long term or let him go. Since the Suns may need that extra salary space, there was no reason to lock themselves into another role player before knowing the direction they will take during the summer.

Mike Schmitz: Absolutely. Marcin Gortat is playing about as well as any center in the Western Conference right now. The Polish Machine leads the NBA in field goal percentage, while ranking third among Western Conference centers in rebounding, second in scoring and fifth in blocked shots. With Gortat and blossoming rookie Markieff Morris, in addition to three years still left on Channing Frye’s contract, it makes no sense to commit to Lopez long term.

Ryan Weisert: Yes. Other than his 21-point explosion in the first game of the year, Lopez hasn’t shown enough to warrant an extension. He’s coming off some pretty serious injuries, and his play thus far would indicate he’s not the player he was. The Suns were right to preserve their cap space for next year instead of extending their backup center.

What would a fair contract for Lopez be?

Michael Schwartz: Lopez could be worth the $4 million qualifying offer for one year, but I would not match anything over the mini mid-level of about three years and $9 million, give or take a few million, on a long-term deal. He would be signed to be the backup center and thus he should be paid backup center money.

Mike Schmitz: Something around $3-4 million a year. The Suns would be crazy to give him Kwame Brown money, but something like $10 million over three years wouldn’t be out of the question. Active 7-footers are rare and any NBA coach will tell you that there’s no such thing as too much frontcourt depth. Even if he were to play 15-20 minutes a game, Lopez could give the Suns an interior presence while Gortat takes a breather. For the aforementioned price tag, that’s not a bad deal.

Ryan Weisert: A salary in the range of his qualifying offer for next season ($4 million) would be fair for Lopez. While he’s not a star, he’s still a 7-footer who can rebound, block shots, and hit his free throws in a limited role. Given his injury history, a contract of more than two years wouldn’t be advisable from the Suns’ perspective.

How should the Suns handle Lopez’s situation in the offseason? [Read more →]

Robin Lopez will sit against the Blazers on Friday for making contact with an official.

Suns center Robin Lopez was suspended today for one game for his contact with an official in the second quarter of Phoenix’s loss to the Raptors on Tuesday night. Lopez will serve his suspension Friday night in Portland.

Lopez reacted viscerally to what he felt was a foul on Andrea Bargnani when Lopez received the ball in the post and glared at referee Rodney Mott after being whistled for an unnecessary foul on the other end. At the next timeout, Lopez bumped into Mott while walking off the court toward the Phoenix bench. Mott attempted to get out of Lopez’s way, from the look of the video, but Lopez made no effort to avoid Mott and was immediately ejected.

While Lopez has seen his minutes per game drop to the lowest level since his rookie year, the Suns will feel the effects of this suspension. Without Lopez to back up Gortat, Phoenix will be thin at center against a Blazers team with one of the elite front lines in the game. Extended playing time for Gortat (playing just under 31 minutes per game on the season) isn’t a bad thing by any means; his play is at a career-best level currently, and his conditioning is a blessing in a compressed season. However, the Suns play again on Saturday night — when they’ll have Lopez back — against the Grizzlies and Marc Gasol. Fatigue for Gortat could become an issue.

The suspension will likely necessitate playing Channing Frye at center on Friday night to rest Gortat, potentially increasing the Suns’ reliance on Markieff Morris and Hakim Warrick at the power forward position.

Bad news, all in all, for the Suns and Lopez on the same day that the team chose not to offer an extension to their backup center.

PHOENIX — Much has changed about the Phoenix Suns since Steve Nash signed as a free agent before the 2004-05 season yet one constant had remained: the Suns always beat the Toronto Raptors.

Not anymore.

The Suns’ longest active winning streak over a single opponent was snapped Tuesday night in Toronto’s 99-96 victory after the Suns had beaten the Raptors 14 consecutive times. In so doing Toronto (5-13) also waived goodbye to a current eight-game losing streak.

Phoenix losing to a bad team at home has now become more the rule than the exception as the Suns have dropped games to 5-13 New Jersey and 6-10 Cleveland as well as a New Orleans team that has lost 14 of 16 since winning in the Valley on opening night.

“Disappointing, very disappointing,” Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said to open his postgame remarks.

It’s never OK to lose to a struggling team on a long road trip, but it’s understandable that the Suns were just tuckered out from their own five-game road trip that concluded last night in Dallas and saw them arrive in Phoenix in the middle of the night.

The Suns actually got off to a great start, opening the game by hitting 13-of-24 while limiting Toronto to 9-of-24 to spurt out to a 35-21 lead three minutes into the second quarter.

But the Suns shot just 44.8 percent the rest of the way and were outscored 62-44 in the middle two quarters before a late run fell short.

Gentry applauded the Suns’ energy in the first quarter but said the Suns didn’t play with the same defensive intensity in the second.

“We almost got into a situation where we were trading baskets, which is not a good thing,” Gentry said. “Then we struggled to score.”

Andrea Bargnani did not, however. Bargnani, who missed the previous six Toronto losses with a calf injury, exploded for 27 of his game-high 36 points in the second half and nearly outscored the Suns in the third quarter alone, losing it 19-18.

The Italian sharpshooter drilled 4-of-5 threes during his second half onslaught, which opened up driving lanes for him. Once he started scoring like that, the Raptors transformed into a different team.

“We gave him a little too much spacing,” Gentry said of the player largely defended by Markieff Morris. “We didn’t get in on the screen and rolls and show hard enough and get out quite quick enough. The guy is a hell of a player.”

Added Nash, “He was just too much for us.” [Read more →]