(Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

A family friend was good enough to give me a ticket for last night’s Suns/Jazz game. As always, I had a great time. Unfortunately, much like my last trip to US Airways Center, the visit ended with an absurd bank shot, heartbreak, and plenty of traffic.

Once again, the Suns offense wasn’t an issue. The points came early and often, defense was an afterthought for both teams. Except for the 4th quarter that is. Leading by 9 with 12 minutes to go, the Suns looked to be in the driver’s seat. Instead of cruising through the finish line with a nice home victory over a very good team, the Suns and Coach D skidded off the road into a concrete barrier.

The Jazz sped by without as much as a neck crane.

Quite a bit went wrong in the 4th quarter. The Suns had no defense for Deron Williams on the pick and roll. Kyle Korver got some open looks. Turnovers once again reared their ugly head. Last but not least, Coach D went to the well again, opting for a three-pointer with 25 seconds left instead of a quick two when down by four (if LB makes it, all is well…to be fair, he did have a good look.)

There were definitely some positives to take away from the game. Shaq played rather well and Raja was lights out for most of the game. Amare was a beast on offense and abused anyone Jerry Sloan threw at him. Most importantly, Coach D inserted a new wrinkle into the offense, where instead of running Shaq on the pick and roll (which is a universally reviled idea,) he started him on the low post and initiated the offense on the opposite elbow. The motion of the offense eventually found the ball in his hands, in position to back his man down or find the open man.

Again, plenty went right for the Suns in this game, putting points on the board wasn’t a problem. However, once again, the lack of consistency, effort and basic strategy on the defensive end was their undoing. Mehmet Okur was left open behind the line far too many times and Deron Williams was hardly checked all game.

The game was of course entertaining and I wouldn’t trade seeing a game in person for the nicest home theater setup in the world, but the ride home wasn’t the most pleasant. Realizing your all-time favorite sports team is deeply flawed and in serious trouble is never a good feeling.

note: the last game I went to was last year against the Wizards when they first started rocking their gold/black pajamas. Arenas drilled a 3 from about five feet behind the line to win the game. Oh yeah, he was at the top of the key. That’s right, he BANKED it.

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