Suns lose at home to Sixers. Is it time to worry?
(AP Photo/Paul Connors) Andre Igoudala scored 32 points and led the Sixers to victory over the Suns, 119-114, their first win in Phoenix in six year. Philadelphia also got 25 points and 13 assists from PG Andre Miller.
The Sixers are running a hot streak (winning 9 of their last 12) but a team averaging 95.1 points per game was allowed to shot 58 percent from the field and score 119 by a poor Suns defense.
The Suns lost consecutive games at home for the first time this season and are 2-4 since Shaq joined them.
“This has nothing to do with Shaq,” D’Antoni said to the AP “This has something to do with urgency and playing with heart.” Which was one of the reason Shaq was brought in, anyway.
“We have to have some urgency and stop some people,” added Shaq after the loss. It can’t just become a shooting contest each time the Suns play, especially now that the Suns traded away their best defender in Shawn Marion.
Stoudemire led the Suns with 26 points (11-for-21 shooting) and 11 rebounds. Barbosa scored 22 off the bench, Diaw added 17 points (along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists) while Nash had 21 points and 11 assists.
The Suns tried to come back in the closing seconds, cutting the deficit down to 2 points (116-114 with 10 seconds left) but the Sixers were able to hold on as Green scored on a couple of free throws, before the Suns lost the basketball for good (18 turnovers in the game).
It’s quite clear not everyone in the Suns lineup is on the same page. But the Suns (39-20) need to stop the losing streak soon.
Just to give you an idea, a .500 record in the remaining 23 games could mean serious trouble. Phoenix is just 2 games back of the lakers and 3½ in front of the Nuggets who are currently out of the playoffs.
The Suns will now face a couple of tough games on the road in Portland (Tuesday, 8PM) and Denver (Wednesday, 7PM). They already sound like key games to me. What if….well, let’s just stay positive.
Yours truly, Steve Fan
PS Have a great Sunday.
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Posted by Steve Fan
Blogger and Steve Nash enthusiast. Don't get in his way, he'll MVP your ass.
http://sonsofstevenash.blogspot.com
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