I followed the first half of the Suns vs. Pacers game on ESPN GameCast last night, and after the first quarter was pretty disappointed. The whole idea Terry Porter (the new coach) was hanging his hat on was changing the teams concentration to the defensive end. He figured with top flight offensive talents like Amare, and the real 'Stevie Franchise', that the team would always be able to score enough to win, it was just whether or not they would be able to stop the other team from scoring. Well, after the first quarter last night the Suns 'O' looked good as they scored 27..but their defensive... well, they gave up 38 points. 38!!! Where was the D Terry?? It was nowhere to be found in the first half, as they were down 7 at the half, but they turned it around, and kept the Pacers pretty quiet in the 2nd half, which allowed the Suns to extend their lead, and win pretty easily. Although they were AWFUL defensively in the first half, their great OFFENSE saved them. It wasn't the way Terry Porter wants to win, but I know he will take any W he can get in his first year with the Suns.
The difference about last night's games from all the others was the absence of Matt Barnes. He apparently had a family issue, so he didn't play, but it showed how much the Suns rely on him to guard. Danny Granger, the 3-man for the Pacers, lit the Suns up for 23. Granger is a very very good player, but his night was made a lot easier having Grant Hill trying to stick him. Also, it affected the Suns depth. The depth of the new Suns is the main reason I really think they can compete this year, and Barnes is really the 'x-factor' in that department. Still relatively young, he can play a lot of minutes, and give more rest to older guys like Raja and Hill.
Regardless, the Suns have started the year 4-1, and have a good shot to keep this thing rolling. Now we just got to cross our fingers, and hope that the 'Diesel', 'Stat', and 'Stevie Franchise' can stay healthy.
