Phoenix Suns Drop Homestand Opener to Cleveland Cavaliers
In their first contest on their brief two-game homestand and their second game in three nights, the Suns got off to a hot start shooting the basketball in the first quarter, but that wouldn’t last and the Suns would fall to the Cavaliers, 101-90, in a battle between two teams trying to get to the .500 mark.
Like I have done in recent matchups, here is a rundown of the good and the bad from tonight’s game. Like it has been the case for most of the games this year, there were a lot more negatives than positives.
The Good
Steve Nash and Marcin Gortat continue to be the Suns two best players this season as both had another double-double on the night. Nash had 16 points and 15 assists, which was his second highest total on the season. Gortat had 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting and also added 10 rebounds. You kind of wish both would start shooting more with how successful they have been lately.
In his debut in a Suns uniform, Michael Redd looked good. Playing for the first time in essentially eight months, Redd had 12 points, knocking down 3-of-7 three-point attempts in a little more than 19 minutes of action. Expect Alvin Gentry to continue taking it slow with the veteran as he works to get his game legs back.
After a terrible effort in Los Angeles, rookie Markieff Morris returned to his normal self. He just missed out on a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds and drained both his attempts from behind the arc. Shannon Brown got in double digits for his fourth straight game and for the fifth time in his last six.
The Bad
The Suns continue to get creamed on the glass. Just two nights after getting dominated on the glass in Los Angeles, the same happen tonight as Cleveland had 47 rebounds to Phoenix’s 39. The Cavs did most of their damage on the offensive glass as they had 15 that got them 20 extra chance points. If the Suns count that down by half, they have a chance to win the game in the final seconds.
Cavs starting center Anderson Varejao did the majority of the damage with seven offensive boards, but five other Cleveland players had at least one. Tristian Thompson, who hasn’t played a ton of minutes in the early portion of this season, had three himself and guard Ramon Sessions had a pair too.
Phoenix continues to get next to zero production from the back end of their bench. Hakim Warrick’s lone two points both came from the charity stripe. Ronnie Price is not offering next to nothing on the offensive end and that means an increase in minutes for Nash. Robin Lopez is dangerously turning into a liability whenever he is on the floor. After scoring 21 in the season opener, Lopez has only 30 points in his last 11 games.
Up Next
The Suns will try to put this stinker behind them immediately as they have a home matchup against New Jersey tomorrow night from US Airways Center. The Nets are bad with a 2-9 record, having lost three straight, but nothing is a given with this Suns team.
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