Phoenix Suns Blog – Page 84 – NBA Blog

Shaq and G-Hill want to buy Magic

The Sacramento Bee (Scott Howard-Cooper) reports: Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill want to buy the Orlando Magic. Not right now. Shaq has two seasons on his deal, won’t walk away from $20 million per, may play beyond that contrary to previous reports that 2009-10 is definitely his last, and Hill is in a contract year and interested in returning. He may not be done for a while either. But the Suns teammates are serious about this. At some point, probably soon after they retire, O’Neal and Hill, former Magic players who still make their permanent homes in a mega-money Orlando enclave, will talk with executives to see if the team is available. How serious? They have already talked about it together, a lot. They have already made their feelings known to CEO and president Bob Vander Weide, the son-in-law of owner Rich DeVos. They have, both report independently, already lined up additional investors.

Oct 21: Suns 86, Clippers 69

The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points in his second game back from an eye injury, Boris Diaw got six of his 14 points during a 57-second span to spark a pivotal fourth-quarter run, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 86-69 Tuesday night. Alando Tucker, back in the Phoenix lineup after missing three games with a tightness in his left hamstring, missed five of his first six shots and finished with 10 points in his first start of the preseason. Robin Lopez, getting his first start while Shaquille O’Neal had the night off, had five points and two rebounds before fouling out with 7:26 left in the game and Phoenix ahead 69-61. Chris Kaman had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers (4-2), who have two more exhibition games at Staples Center before their season opener on Oct. 26 against the Lakers.

Oct 20: Suns 111, Bobcats 108 2OT

For Phoenix, Shaquille O’Neal shot 6-of-10 for 18 points and 9 rebounds. Matt Barnes shot 8-of-16 for 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals but 6 turnovers. Robert Hite shot 6-of-11 for 14 points. Grant Hill had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists but 5 turnovers. Steve Nash didn’t play. Amare Stoudemire played just a bit, off the bench. For Charlotte, DJ Augustin shot just 4-of-20 but had 11-of-12 free throws for 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, but 5 turnovers. Jason Richardson shot just 5-of-14 for 15 points and 4 assists. Andre Brown shot 6-of-9 for 14 points and 8 rebounds. Emeka Okafor had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Adam Morrison scored 12.

Oct 17: Nuggets 94, Suns 91

The AP reports: As soon as he was introduced to an ovation that shook the teflon roof of the Carrier Dome, the night belonged to Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets. Anthony, who as a freshman led Syracuse to the 2003 NCAA championship, wowed his adoring fans with 14 first-half points and the Nuggets remained unbeaten in the preseason with a 94-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns… J.R. Smith had 19 points to lead Denver (4-0), Linas Kleiza had 11, and Anthony Carter finished with 10. Iverson had four points, four assists and five turnovers. Raja Bell had 15 points for Phoenix (2-3), Matt Barnes and Grant Hill had 13 apiece, and Robert Hite had 12, all during a fourth-quarter rally that fell just short, and Leandro Barbosa had 10 points. Shaquille O’Neal had four points and four rebounds in 12 minutes, while rookie Robin Lopez, the 15th overall pick in this year’s draft, finished with seven points and five rebounds.

Nash OK after sprain

Steve Nash sprained an ankle yesterday, but good news reported by the Arizona Republic (Paul Coro):

It sounds like Steve Nash is going to be just fine. Suns general manager Steve Kerr was called by head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson at halftime of Wednesday night’s 102-100 victory in Atlanta to let him know that Nash had suffered a mild right ankle sprain. Nash tried to continue and wants to practice today but the Suns aren’t going to let him do that or play on Friday. This is where the emphasis on resting Nash will come into play more this season. A year ago, Nash probably talks the staff into letting him play. This year, they will use any chance to give him a break and be safe at the same time. Plus, Goran Dragic could use the minutes and the practice situation of having the onus of running a game plan. You can see instincts in Dragic but he is still feeling his way around an overwhelming amount of new things.

Since it’s preseason and NBA league pass doesn’t operate yet, I still haven’t seen the new, slower Suns play yet. I will be at Celtics at Nets tonight, to see Boston’s bench go out it with all the young kiddies on New Jersey.

Oct 15: Suns 102, Hawks 100

The AP reports: Grant Hill made an 18-foot jump shot with 5.6 seconds left and the Phoenix Suns beat the Atlanta Hawks 102-100 in a preseason game Wednesday night… Raja Bell scored 18 points and Boris Diaw added 15 points for Phoenix. Steve Nash scored 11 points before leaving with a sprained right ankle with a little more than two minutes left in the first half… Flip Murray led the Hawks with 23 points, including 15 in the first half. Al Horford, starting at forward, had 15 points and six rebounds. Zaza Pachulia, starting at center, had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Haq-a-Shaq likely to continue

Shquille O’Neal misses lots of free throws. And he’s continuing to do so. Other teams often resort to fouling him on purpose, just to send him to the line so he can miss free throws. This will likely continue. Here’s the Arizona Republic (Paul Coro):

It has been more of the same from O’Neal at the free-throw line in the preseason, with eight misses in 12 tries. And it might be more of the same “Hack-a-Shaq” approach this season for the career 52.4 percent free-throw shooter. The NBA reviewed the rule allowing intentional fouls away from the ball without penalty until the final two minutes but did not alter the rule to protect a weakness. “I was fine with that,” O’Neal said. “It doesn’t work. It may work in a series, but it’s not going to get you to the championship. San Antonio tried it, but they went home a couple weeks after we went home. I just have to go to the line and make them pay. And I will. “The only thing I call cowardly is when you’re up by 10 and do it. That’s a cowardly move. I didn’t say nothing last year, but that’s a coward move. They should really do something about that. When you’re down, I can see using it as a strategy, but when you’re up 10 to 15 points, there’s really no need for that.”

Shaq should try shooting free throws underhanded while facing away from the basket. He could stand, facing the opposite side of the court, start shooting underhand aiming across the entire length of the floor, only continue the motion high up in the air, bouncing the ball off the ceiling at an angle that would aim it at the proper rim. All while the arena plays looney tunes music or the theme to the Benny Hill TV show. Hey, it’s just an idea.

–Jeff

Barbosa back to practice

The Arizona Republic (Paul Coro) reports: Leandro Barbosa returned to Phoenix at 10 a.m. today without anyone knowing until he walked into the locker room. He has been in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with his ailing mother since the start of training camp two weeks ago but her condition has improved.

The East Valley Tribune reports: Barbosa participated in the full workout Monday but is not expected to see action in preseason games until next week as he works to get his conditioning back and learns new coach Terry Porter’s new offensive and defensive schemes. His first action will likely be the Oct. 20 home game against Charlotte. Porter said Barbosa looked good Monday from a physical standpoint but has a lot of catching up to do.

InsideHoops.com editor says: It’ll be interesting to see the slower, more halfcourt-oriented Suns offense this season. I haven’t caught any of their preseason games yet. But with Shaq, Steve Nash and Grant Hill advancing in age, new coach Terry Porter figures the team should slow things down a bit. They’ll take advantage of O’Neal while he can still move a bit.

Oct 11: Nuggets 77, Suns 72

The AP reports: Whether it was the wind, the temperature or just a different environment to play in, the NBA’s first outdoor game in more than three decades was an offensive struggle. The Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 77-72 on Saturday night in the exhibition game billed as “NBA Outdoors!” at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Both teams struggled from the field and the free-throw line and combined to go 3-of-27 from 3-point range on a night when the temperature dipped into the 60s with some wind hitting the court by the end of the game.

Insidehoops.com Stat Notes: For the Nuggets, JR Smith (just 6-of-16) had 12 points. Mateen Cleaves (4-of-5) scored 11 off the bench. Nene (4-of-10) had 10 points and 7 rebounds. No other Denver players reached double digits. Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson didn’t play. For the Suns, Steve Nash (5-of-12) had 16 points, just 2 assists and 6 turnovers. Raja Bell (3-of-8) scored 9. Robin Lopez (4-of-7) had 8 off the bench. The Nuggets shot just 37.7%, the Suns just 33.3%. The Nuggets hit just 1-of-10 three-pointers, the Suns just 2-of-14. The Nuggets hit just 50% of their free throws, while the Suns connected on 69.2%. Rebounding was close. The two teams combined to dish just 15 total assists.

Oct 9: Suns 96, Jazz 89

The AP reports: Matt Barnes scored 21 points and Alando Tucker added 19 as the Phoenix Suns beat the Utah Jazz 96-89 on Thursday night… Raja Bell scored 11 points for Phoenix (1-1). Kyle Korver scored 16 points and Mehmet Okur had 12 points and eight rebounds for Utah, which opened with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday… Boris Diaw added nine points and eight rebounds for Phoenix, which outrebounded Utah 45-35, the second straight time Utah was outrebounded by double figures.