I hate Robert Sarver and the new-look Phoenix Suns. Last
night the Suns lost 112-97 to the Dallas Mavericks.  They did so despite 20 points and 10 assists
from Steve Nash - the former MVP’s second 20 and 10 game this season – and 4
points and 5 rebounds from Shaq. Shaq, supposedly the cavalry a franchise that
was forced to play shorthanded for years, has plenty of 4 and 5 games this
year.  Counting games he has sat out, and
you should count those games, because
his inability to play back-to-back is part of the Big Once-Was‘ game these
game, he’s had nine games with less single digits points and rebounds.

For years, Nash and former coach Mike D’Antoni were forced
to play shorthanded, but did that with flair and fun.  After a bad break (Joe Johnson’s injury) knocked them out of the 2006 playoffs the Suns decided
not to unload rather than reload.  I know
this has been written about ad-infinitum, so I won’t beat a dead horse too much,
but the Suns sold the rights to draft picks where they would have had Andre Iguodala (it was the Luol Deng pick, but from all accounts the Suns were enamored with AI2), Rajon Rondo, Rudy Fernandez, Kurt Thomas, and plenty
more.  Instead they played
with a seven man rotation, got knocked out of the playoffs on a couple of
flukes (the BS suspensions, the no-Amare year), decided the style couldn’t
work, and replaced the most innovative coach in the game with Terry Porter, a guy who doesn’t
seem like he can handle the floor, the locker room, or the clipboard.

Now they look awful.  Last
night’s 15 point loss was worse than the final score, and the team who used to be
the must-see NBA team got turned off
for a DVR’d rerun of the The Office.  ”Right now, we’re in a dark place,”
Nash told a group of reporters after the game, “We need to find a fighting
spirit. … I think that’s what we’re lacking right now.”  Fight is the last thing a
vintage Suns team would lack.  If they
got into a rut they’d just run out of it. 
Now, even with a team that has finally spent some money, they look old, slow, and
boring.  Their superstar forward wants
out, their superstar point guard looks defeated, and they’re on a four-game
skid that looks more like a crash than a pothole.

Worse, they’re boring, and to a team filled with guys who
remember what it was like to get out and run for seven seconds that must be
like taking a wild animal and putting it into a cut-rate zoo.  It’s time for them to cut their losses and
move on.  Build around Amare, he wants to be the man and should have the chance, and become a conventional team.  But don’t take the best fast break point guard in the world down as they do.  It starts now: FREE NASH.  

“For most people, Friday’s just the day before the weekend. But after this Friday, the neighborhood’ll never be the same.” – Craig Jones

Three lines on their world:

1. USC’s offensive coordinator is set to become Washington’s head coach

2. Missouri and Oklahoma get ready for what should be a one-sided Big 12 Championship

3. and 8th ranked Texas knocked off 9th ranked UCLA as they get set for a showdown with Nova

Three lines on ours:

1. Turns out Elton Brand is hurt, he’ll miss tonight’s game against AI and the Pistons

2. The Phillies may have made an offer to Derek Lowe
3. and the Flyers fell to the Devils in OT

Phillies, Birds, Sixers, Flyers and what everybody is talking about after the jump

EAGLES

Phil Sheridan says the Eagles and Giants is a true clash of style. READ

Paul Domowitch thinks a set rotation of wideouts helped McNabb on Thursday, and goes around the league. READ

John Gonzalez gets some more milage out of Plaxico Burress, isn’t invited to a get-together, and more. READ

Rich Hofmann says the problem is the players, not the play calls. READ

Paul Domowitch scouts the teams and picks the Giants. READ

Les Bowen picks the Giants. SKIP

Ed Barkowitz reports that the Eagles are conceding a loss (the opposite story would really be a get) and talks to Tom Coughlin about people wanting to fire coaches. SKIP

Bob Brookover’s notes report that Todd Herremans may actually start this Giants game, Westbrook missed another practice, and more. SKIP

Les Bowen looks at Kyle Eckel’s expanding role. SKIP

Ray Parrillo thinks the Giants have too many weapons to be handcuffed by the Burress incident. READ

Ed Barkowitz sits down with Kyle Eckel. READ

Don McKee looks back on the week. SKIP

Reuben Franks says this time the Birds realize the Giants can run the ball. SKIP

SIXERS

Phil Jasner looks at AI’s role on the Pistons. READ

Kate Fagan reports that Elton Brand will miss tonight’s game. SKIP

Tom Moore says everyone in the Sixers organization is unhappy with their start. READ

PHILLIES

Todd Zolecki thinks the Phillies’ flirtation with Derek Lowe might signal the end of the Jamie Moyer era. READ

Paul Hagen says the new guy (Amaro) has an old need (pitching). SKIP

David Murphy reports back from the party John Gonzalez was uninvited from. READ

John Gonzalez, Phil Sheridan, and Ashley Fox discuss SI’s Sportsman of the Year. SKIP

FLYERS

Ed Moran says that Brodeur’s injury ruined Gagne’s pregame ritual. SKIP

Sam Donnellon thinks 18-year-old Luca Sbisa is a man among men. READ

Sam Cardichi breaks down the all-star voting. SKIP

TODAY and MORE

A busy morning means a slow morning here, but we’ll be back with NFL picks and plenty more this afternoon.

As always, feel free
to email
with any questions, suggestions, comments or complaints.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 9:25 am and is filed under Morning Rounds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.