I got more records than the KGB

The Suns
10 questions about this Suns' season: Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune

Insight into Porter's playbook (now with muddled metaphors!)
“I’ve never been a big believer in having 10,000 plays and then wind up only running five of them,” he said. “I’m more of a believer in having just a few, making sure those plays have a lot of wrinkles and options.”
The Suns spent an hour ironing out the wrinkles on one such play in Wednesday’s morning session.
So are wrinkles good? Or bad?

Also from that article:
When the Suns broke the huddle under former coach Mike D’Antoni, they chanted "Suns!" Under Porter, that mantra has changed to "Defense!"
I'm cautiously excited about seeing how they do with this defense oriented approach.

More on Porter's defense and how players are adapting to it.

Nash is in favor of fewer minutes, but not fewer games.
"If I could miss 10 or 12 games and go to the Bahamas, that sounds good," Nash said. "If I have to stay here, I might as well play. But to shift the minutes around a little more and change our style just a little bit to preserve guys' legs ... I think that's possible."

I'm just ridiculously in favor of there being backups for Nash that might let Barbosa return to his natural position. The man just doesn't see the floor well, and that's ok. You'd never ask Nash to post-up, or Shaq to start jacking up threes, so why is it a problem if LB is a (really good) undersized shooting guard?

Speaking of Barbosa, he left training camp to be with his very ill mother in Brazil. My thoughts are with them.

Also in that article:
The players [ran] gassers for every missed free throw.... "I have to change that around because they didn’t run that many," [Porter] said. "There were too many free throws made."

Diaw poked STAT in the eye and now Amare may wear goggles for the rest of his career. It isn't serious, but he's just a cautious guy.

Also in that article: Barbosa hasn't set a date to come back from Brazil yet. The Suns do not expect him back before next week, at the earliest.

A fairly nay-saying look at the upcoming season. Some positive bits, but also featuring many phrases in the vein of as if his feet are nailed to the floor and collection of dinosaurs.


Other NBA
Photo from the Plain Dealer
Information about Anderson Varejao, his off season, and his ankle injury.
The injury also prevented Varejao from playing for Brazil in an Olympic qualifier. Surprisingly, he received criticism in his own country for sitting out the qualifier and rehabbing his ankle.
How is this surprising?

"What was tougher for me is the media in Brazil didn’t know what was going on," Varejao said. "I didn’t know why. Everybody started talking like I didn’t want to play for the national team. That was tough. Brazil is a soccer country. Basketball is not that big, so they didn’t really know what was going on."
No, really, I think that even if they had known why he didn't play for Brazil, they would have been disappointed. Especially b/c he played in the playoffs even with the sprain. And claiming that basketball fans around the world don't know about it when their favorite player is injured? Is shortsighted in the age of the internet.

Varejao said the ankle is still swelled a little, but not as bad as it was.
Which, aside from some questionable grammar, is both good and bad. Obviously.

The Spurs count their blessings and come up with three.

Lawrence Pedowitz's review of the NBA's referees has been completed. He found that Donaghy was the only ref who acted illegally. But, as Donaghy's attorney, John Lauro, points out: "If this had been an independent investigation we would have gladly cooperated," Lauro told ESPN.com's Mike Fish. "But we knew this was going to be a PR effort. ... It is a way that David Stern can say, 'I put nice little ribbon on this whole case and the only person that has ever done anything incorrect is Tim Donaghy.' That really was the whole purpose of the report."
I gotta say, I agree. I'm on the fence about if there are other refs who were fixing games or doing things that were worse than favoritism, but I don't trust Stern at all.

The Warriors' mascot is named Thunder. The new OKC team is the Thunder. Conflict!
"For the sake of not making things confusing, we're going to do something. We just have to figure out a good exit strategy."
He just might have one -- leave Thunder in China during the team's upcoming trip to Asia.
"He might get lost in the crowd over in China," Rowell said. "There are 1.3 billion people there."


General WNBA
Lauren Jackson will be a free agent and the Storm are bound and determined to keep her. Also, no matter what the title of the article says, she doesn't want to think about the issue yet.


WNBA Finals
You may be able to stop Nolan, but the Shock have more options than that. For instance, they have Taj McWilliams-Franklin. And other veterans like Katie Smith. Also, the awesomeness of Bill Laimbeer. But mostly, they have Taj.

Doris Burke's diatribes about how the Mystics are eeeeevil for trading Taj to a contender have been bothering me a lot during ESPN's coverage of the Playoffs. I'm glad that someone else put it into words. If I had tried, it might have come out as *keyboardsmash*

I would also add that the Mystics picking up a 8.3ppg/3.7rpg 22 year-old rookie center (in Humphrey) is a lot better for rebuilding than the Grizzlies picking up a 4.8ppg/4.9rpg 26 year-old center who has been playing professionally for 7 years (in Kwame Brown). So please don't even begin to compare this to the Gasol trade, Ms. Burke. Thank you.

Me like Sergei Federov

An all Suns edition in anticipation of Game Two tonight!

Nash was apparently sick with the flu in Game One, but he's better now. If it's the same strain as hit my friend L, it was the flu of near-death. I'm really impressed that he pulled off a performance like he did.

I think tonight can go really well, and will--as long as the Suns' bigs don't get in such foul trouble so early.

I know that the skills competitions on All Star Saturday aren't indicative of actual game ability, but it came as no surprise to me that Tim Duncan could make a three. Horror, yes. Surprise, no.

All season long, they've kicked butt at closing games. (46-5 when leading going into the 4th.) So what happened in Game One, and how can they avoid that kind of melt-down in the future?

The Suns have been nominated for the Professional Sports Team of the Year in the Sports Business Awards presented by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. That's a lot of words to say that a periodical (a magazine? a newspaper?) think that the Suns are a first class organization. In fact, they're the only NBA team nominated. Pretty cool.

Kurt Thomas really has joined the forces of evil, and calling a Spurs player "Dirty" is redundant. Just sayin'.

We (the Spurs) had to get through the Lakers. The Bulls had to get through Detroit, Detroit had to get through Boston. That’s always part of NBA history. If they don't get through the Spurs this year (*washes my mouth out with soap*), it won't be because of any mental block.

The best extended metaphor to describe this series in the history of ever. This made me laugh and laugh and then quote it at people. Here, let me quote it at you! A new nobleman, Steve Kerr, has armed the warriors with a new lance. Saint George's lance was named Ascalon, the Suns' lance is named Shaq.

Ok, ok--one non-Suns item. I'm rooting for the Caps tonight in their game 7 against the Flyers. How awesome would it be for them to get into round 2, when they weren't supposed to even get into the playoffs? *knocks so much wood for tonight's games*

It was a long walk in a slow rain and nobody tried to be John Wayne

The weird thing about the Suns' shortcomings after the trade (to me) is that Shaq seems to be a pretty terrible defender. I knew he was a good inside offensive presence, and I knew that he wasn't about to shoot the three--but I figured that he would be able to stop the opposition down low. So far I'm not seeing it.

Paola Boivin has an excellent list of things that need improvement for the team to start winning. I also worry that D'Antoni's not going to be coaching in AZ long after this season if things don't get better soon. Which is kind of unfair considering what he has done for the team.

(At left: D'Antoni is ready to box anyone who thinks he should lose his job over the difficulty post Shaq trade.)

In the "Free Throws" section of Coro's latest article for the Arizona Republic, he says that Gordan Giricek may play with the Suns as early as tonight against the Trail Blazers and that Tyronn Lue decided to go with the Mavs.

James Jones is realistic about his on-court performance, and I want to give him a hug. For a good part of the time I was there, I was inconsistent and had trouble with my shot.... Even though there were times I struggled and thought I was the worst player in the league, I guess people still felt I had value. He *was* inconsistent. He *did* struggle. But he was pretty far from the worst player in the league. He wasn't even the worst player on the Suns. Man, would I love him to still be in Phoenix.

Another piece of evidence that Steve Nash is awesome. I wonder how he is as a coach.

There is a witty way to link to this I'm sure, but since I can't think of it: the do-over between the Heat and the Hawks is happening on Saturday with the new rosters.

Sam Cassell should be winging his way to Boston today to sign with the Celtics. They're just so stacked. I bet this means that House gets fewer minutes. Thank goodness I just traded him for Bell in my fantasy league.

Arenas is going to practice today, but judging from his attitude and possible fear, don't expect him to play anytime soon.

Nowitski takes Kirilenko down. Everyone seems to be fine.

WNBA moves:
* Sheryl Swoopes joins Swin Cash as new additions in Seattle. This is huge. She won't play much, but having a player of that character and caliber on the bench and in the locker room is a big confidence builder. If the new coach is any good, the Storm is going to be amazing. She will be missed in Houston.
* The Sacramento Monarchs resigned Rebekkah Brunson and Nicole Powell.
* The San Antonio Silver Stars resigned Sophia Young and Shanna Crossley.
* The Mystics resigned Laurie Koehn. Now maybe they can play her. 46% career 3-point shooter? Amazing.

Cheryl Ford is up for a Nickelodeon Kids Choice award. My guess is that she won't win because she's up against the Williams sisters and Danica Patrick (all three very famous and popular), but I'm hoping that she does well. It's very cool regardless.

Some bigotry in Colorado high school basketball. Fun! I hope that gets changed.

I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee

It's not a huge win, but the Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies last night 127-113. It's nice to see a W after Sunday's game of doom. Interestingly, the Arizona Republic's recap almost seemed as though it were about a completely different game. A game in which the Suns played really poorly. Whatever. In a world in which the Suns can lose to Minnesota twice and Miami once, I'm glad for any win they get. Even if it makes for a frustrated Marc Iavaroni.

Tonight they play in New Orleans. It'll be interesting to see if Shaq can be of any help there, considering that they've been giving Nash and company fits this year.

Ok, so maybe we'll learn where Brent Barry is going today. If he decides to go with the forces of evil and becomes a Spur again, maybe we can get Sam Cassell. The Suns are getting so old, so quickly. Also, if it's Cassell in purple and orange, so alien-like.

This article isn't on the original page anymore from what I can tell, so that's an archived copy that ends prematurely. It's about how the Mavericks pick up of Jason Kidd is basically a statement of "damn, we should have kept that Nash guy around." I hadn't really thought of it that way, but it's very true.

Anderson Varejao is back to playing with the Cavs. But now that they've been completely overhauled, how will he fit in?

Libraries gave us power

The Suns beat the Mavericks last night. It was a pretty awesome game. I particularly enjoyed Hill playing D against Dirk decently for all of his playing time and the time that I noticed Shaq *finally* getting up to cheer for an Amare play.

The Onion's take on the Shaq trade. If I were still in my 20s, maybe I could sustain a burst of energy more powerful than the sun could emit over a 10-billion-year time period. But Steve Nash has to understand that I have a bad hip.

Steve Nash is made of awesome, but his shoes are made of scraps. I think this is super cool. I wonder how much they will cost. I'd be tempted to get some. Oh wait, never mind (scroll down). 100 bucks is crazy for that. Oh well.

Kobe won't have surgery. He won't do the 3-point shootaround, but he still might play in the ASG. My bet is that in the end this will really hurt the Lakers. Which, y'know, I don't really mind.

What do The Suns think about the potential Kidd to Dallas trade? They don't seem to care too much.

Information on the Devean George situation. I just don't really get how he gets to do this. Something about Larry Bird? So confusing. And he's the only one in the league? How is this different from Kobe's ability to block a trade? So many questions.

An article about the Mystics' center, Gillian Goring. I'm taking all of the information in here with a grain of salt. It's not a very well written article, and it seems to think that the NBA and the WNBA are the same. All the same, having an article that long on one of the Mystics whose name doesn't rhyme with "Weird" is pretty cool and definitely worth linking to.

Is he strong? Listen, bud.

First things first: LEANDRO BARBOSA HAS A BLOG. *ahem* Ok, now for the rest.

This is almost a week old, but I wanted to put it in here in case I wanted to find it later. Nash really really wanted to play with Shaq.

Yesterday I talked to someone who kept insisting that I had to hear what Shaq was saying about Bill Walton. But I couldn't find it anywhere. Tonight I found it, and it was worth the anticipation.

Any little crack in the armor can cause disruption. I don't want to be the crack in the armor. I want to be the extra coat on the metal. Boy, Shaq sure likes his extended metaphors.

The pluses and minuses of playing with Shaq and without Marion.

I have been (clearly) having the "can Shaq still play?" conversation with a lot of people lately. One thing that I keep bringing up is the amazing training staff at the US Airways Arena. I'm glad that this finally got addressed in the media with regard to Shaq. Now I feel less crazy. About that, anyway.

There's not a very good chance that Shaq will play tonight against the Warriors. He might play tomorrow against the Mavericks (though I doubt it). Most likely is that they would wait until after the All Star Break and have him play in the game against the Lakers. As an aside to this, I'm kind of pissed that he would find it funny to put down Erick Dampier by comparing his play to the WNBA. What is he, seven? "Hey, Dampier! Shaq says you play like a girl." WTF?

I'm so nervous about tonight's game. Apparently I'm not the only one. Facing the Warriors all depleted? Ugh.

While I'm not a Wizards fan, I do have an appreciation for them. I hope that Arenas coming back helps them, but I'm more eager to see Caron come back.

This is crazy. I wonder what he thinks of Donaghy. It's probably not safe for work or small children. Just a guess.

All Star Weekend from a WNBA perspective. Yay for Nikki Teasley being involved!

An interesting article on how women's college coaching is changing because of the WNBA.

A few videos:

Jeff Green misses a dunk in the Sonics @ Suns game on 2/8



Wally Szczerbiak calls a time out when his team doesn't have one, making the Suns glad that that rule has been changed since 1976.



A WNBA/The L Word fanvid that has a song that keeps getting stuck in my head (stupid Gwen Stefani). It's mostly up here to show my sister, but I think it's fun--so there.

One, yeah, it's the magic number

So now the magic number is one. Well unless the Spurs lose to the Mavs today. In which case the magic number is two. As in the number two seed clinched.

The game last night against Utah was so much fun. I love seeing them just take over a game. I also love when Barbosa is the top scorer off the bench.

I'm also amazed with Nash's 18:0 assist to turnover ratio. There's a math geek imaginary number joke to be made there, but I don't feel like thinking of it. The night before versus the Lakers it was 14:1. That's what I like to see.

It's what sets the Suns apart from the rest of the West. Everyone else gives something important to the team, but there is no other player like Nash in the NBA. There are other amazing 6th men (well hello, Manu), other versatile big guys (how are you, Dirk?), other 3 point sharpshooters (sorry, I didn't see you there, Jason), other guys who are even better at defense (use your words, Ron), but there is no other player like Nash at point. No one who is that deadly a shot, but has that kind of court vision and generosity.

I am in no way trying to say that the other guys are disposable, they very much are not. But they aren't on a different plane with their individual skill levels like Nash is.

One final note, and then today's edition of "How Many Games Does He Play?" In the game on Friday versus the Lakers, there was a brilliant camera shot in the fourth quarter that started with Raja grinning from ear to ear and then shifted focus to the foreground where Kobe was scowling. It was something I wish I had on tape. I don't know what I would do with it, but that was how beautiful it was--I just want to watch it again.

So, how many games does he play?

A quick post while he's away

Here I am watching Flip Wilson and eating a bowl of Steve Nash Wheaties before bed.

I thought I'd pop in and post something before this afternoon's game of stress.

On my way home from work this morning I stopped at CVS for something that I needed and (as I always do) checked out Slam Magazine. It's far too busy and overwhelming in terms of layout, but it's the only magazine that they have there that's dedicated solely to basketball.

In this issue (with Allen Iverson on the cover, meh) there's a page article about Candace Parker (!), a poster of Steve Nash (!!), and a three page article about Leandro Barbosa with pictures (who am I kidding, there isn't enough space for the exclamation points I want to use here).

So it came home with me. After I comb through it completely, some of those pictures may make their way to my walls.

This afternoon, if I can manage it without dying from the game, I'm making a Suns cake. It's gonna have blueberries and orange frosting. I thought about making cupcakes like these, but I decided to do this instead.

Dirk's back from his ankle injury and I'm a terrible person, because his recovery this soon makes me not happy.

Ok, one last thing before I go to sleep:
Dear cbs.com,
I know that the final game is tomorrow. What I don't know is what time it is. If you don't help me out, I probably won't watch it. I know I haven't been watching at all so far, but I'm kind of excited about a game between Ohio State and Florida.
Love,
me.

Oh my goodness, I'm going to bed before ESPN gives me a coronary about the game today. I'm gonna be a mess during playoffs.

Is there a game that he doesn't play? Really is there?

Insert title here

I don't have a lot to say about this one. The Kings really wanted it, and we seemed to want it a little less. The two shoulda-been-threes (one from Bell and one from Barbosa) didn't help, but they didn't lose the game.

Barbosa was just amazing. 17 straight points! A franchise record. They seem to be coming in 17s this year, what with that and the 17 game win streak.

I know I'm way late in saying this, but why is Ron Artest still in the NBA? If I worked at a store and hit a customer, I'd be out of there. What he did is no different. It makes me a little angry to see him on the court.

On a lighter note, I'm thinking about throwing my money away on Suns themed M&Ms. (I'd go through here, although I may just get purple and orange ones over here. The price difference is like 40 dollars.)

There's a lot that I could say about Kobe's historic run of points. (Like "blah, blah, blah" *eyeroll*) I was going to link to an article from The Onion that was entitled Bryant Mourns the Passing of the Ball, but since I can't find it enjoy this very relevant article instead.

I also liked what John Denton had to say over here. Although I have a very different conclusion. Namely that watching one player dominate is not good or interesting basketball. That it might help to get to the playoffs (I mean, they were already getting there), but it won't win you games when it really matters.

Also, the idea of giving Kobe MVP now? Ludicrous. The MVP trophy should be given to someone who helps the rest of the team play their best. An MVP plays with a team, not in spite of a team. The power of Nash and, yes, even Nowitzki is that they know how to play in their teams' systems to the benefit of the entire organization. Plus giving an MVP trophy to someone who has recently been throwing elbows and getting suspended? Should not be done. That behavior should not be rewarded or swept under the carpet.

I think I'll leave you with a picture from suns.com in a new series I'm calling, "Is there a sport Nash doesn't play?"