Matt Barnes is averaging 12.0 points, nearly double what he averaged last season with Golden State, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 29.3 minutes on the season.
Shaquille O’Neal has the second-highest field goal percentage (.599) in the NBA this season. Shaq is averaging 14.9 points and 8.5 rebounds in 27.5 minutes. He needs one block to pass Tree Rollins for 7th place on the NBA’s all-time blocks list.
Raja Bell is shooting a team-best .481 (37-77) from behind the arc (12th). Against New Jersey on Sunday, he scored 13 points (5-8 FG, 3-4 3FG) and had four rebounds.
Amare Stoudemire is averaging a team-high 21.7 points (12th in NBA), 8.0 rebounds (28th) and 1.3 blocks (40th). On Nov. 30 against New Jersey, he tallied 25 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
Steve Nash led the Suns in scoring for the second time over the past four games with 25 points and nine assists against New Jersey. Nash is shooting .512 (33rd) from the field, .436 (33rd) from three-point range and .922 (8th) from the line on the season.
UPCOMING GAMES
The Suns head to New Orleans to face Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler of the New Orleans Hornets at New Orleans Arena on Wednesday, December 3 for the first time since the Hornets took the Suns’ home opener on October 30, 108-95. Phoenix has lost five-straight to the Hornets following a stretch during which the Suns won 11-of-12 matchups. The Suns are 4-1 this season in the front end of a back-to-back set.
The Suns take on Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Thursday, December 4 for the first matchup between these two teams this season. The Suns have an advantage in the all-time series, 69-49. Phoenix has won five of the last nine games in the series and has split the last 14 meetings with Dallas.
Phoenix plays host to Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur of the Utah Jazz on Saturday, December 6. The Suns have a slight advantage in recent history, posting eight wins in the last 15 matchups. On March 7, 2008, Shaquille O’Neal became the 11th player in NBA history to reach 26,000 career points with a 20-point, seven rebound and two-block effort in the final meeting between the clubs last season.
The Milwaukee Bucks, featuring Richard Jefferson, Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut make their only visit of the season to the Valley on Tuesday, December 9. The Suns have won 31 of the last 35 meetings overall, including 20 consecutive wins at home to share the league’s longest-active home winning streak against a single opponent.
Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers host the Suns at STAPLES Center on Wednesday, December 10. These two teams have faced one another 206 times during the regular season, more than any other opponent in Phoenix history. On January 17, 2008, Steve Nash dished out a season-high 20 assists in a 106-98 win at STAPLES Center. Phoenix lost three of four contests last season, but the Suns have won 11 of the last 17 regular season matchups.
With five consecutive wins against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic, the Suns look to continue their winning ways against the Magic on Friday, December 12 at US Airways Center. Phoenix has won 10 of the last 12 meetings, sweeping the season series the past two years. On November 10, 2007, Leandro Barbosa tallied a career-high 39 points in a 106-96 victory.
Diogu now owns three video game consoles — PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii — and estimates that he owns more than 1,000 video games. And his love of gaming extends well beyond simply playing. Diogu’s college major is digital art and he continues to pursue a bachelor’s degree each offseason at Arizona State, with the goal of getting into the video game industry after his NBA career. Diogu is five classes (15 credits) short of his earning his degree.
At the end of the third quarter in Philadelphia, Chicago Bulls rookie point guard Derrick Rose unleashed a crossover on 76ers point guard Andre Miller that was so nasty I was forced to replay it 15, maybe 20 times.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Phil Miller) reports: Mike Miller’s 19-foot jumper to beat the Thunder on Friday was a feel-good moment for the first-year Timberwolf and his victory-starved team. But the 16 shots Miller took before that game-winner might have been even more significant. Miller hit eight of 17 shots in Oklahoma, and was noticeably more willing to assert himself at the offensive end. Along with a 10-for-19 night against the Spurs three weeks ago, it was just the second time since coming to Minnesota on a draft-night trade that Miller resembled the perimeter gunner he had been in Memphis. “He got into a nice rhythm and took some good shots,” said forward Craig Smith. “He can make them.” He can if he takes them, but that’s been the catch for Miller in Minnesota. The 6-foot-8 swingman is a career 46 percent shooter, and 40 percent from three-point range. But Miller has tried to work his way into the Wolves’ offense slowly this year, and has passed up shots he didn’t hesitate to try in his previous nine NBA seasons.
The Boston Globe (Frank Dell’Apa) reports: Larry Brown has returned to the area where his professional coaching career started. Brown, now leading the Bobcats, guided the Carolina Cougars in the American Basketball Association for two seasons (1972-74). But Brown nearly became a Celtics assistant two years ago. “It was very close,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “He said yes. That’s about as close as you can get. But, like I jokingly said, it was a Larry yes, not a sign-on-the-document yes. I knew what was going on, though. His wife’s parents were not doing well. He knew it was a tough decision. He said yes but he may not be able to do it. He just thought at the end of the day he needed to be at home. “He would be a great guy to lean on, he would have been great. I would have loved him. He is overqualified, that’s why I would have loved him. He’s a great mind, and the more you’re around him, the more you understand that.”