by
Brett PollakoffFiled under: Bucks, Cavaliers, Celtics, Jazz, Lakers, Magic, Mavericks, Nuggets, Suns, NBA Power Rankings, Thunder
The
Mavericks might be the hottest team in the
NBA, but the
Bucks might be the scariest -- especially for the elite teams in the Eastern Conference. Since dealing for scorer
John Salmons at the deadline, Milwaukee has won 10 of its 11 games, with the last two coming against the
Cavaliers and the
Celtics.
With their recent surge, the Bucks find themselves in the top 10 this week. As for everyone else? Read on to see where your favorites landed in this edition of our rankings.
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By Erik Spanberg Charlotte Business Journal CHARLOTTE — If Michael Jordan is the answer for an NBA rebound...
The Suns apparently are really serious about changing their reputation around the league.
First came the defense. Now comes the toughness.
The Suns got the win they wanted Saturday, beating the Pacers before taking five days off to rest up for the stretch drive. But the most vivid memory from the 1,900th victory in franchise history will be Channing Frye and Danny Granger trading blows after a third-period scuffle between Frye and guard Earl Watson.
Frye was ejected. Granger was booed loudly whenever he touched the ball for the rest of the game. And both teams are probably happy they are done with each other for the season.
"I was just setting a screen for Steve (Nash), and Earl swatted my hands away the first time and that wasn't a big deal," Frye said.
I know what you’re thinking at first glance, what kind of homer Suns blog is this?
But I give you Professor John Hollinger of ESPN Insider, who devised a rating system to rank players by adding...
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by Stephen Litel / @stephenlitel
Since his arrival in the NBA as the 29th pick in 2007, sitting on the bench has been more commonplace than seeing court action for Alando Tucker. After a stellar career at the University of Wisconsin in which he led the team to their first ever #1 ranking in the nation, as well as becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer, Tucker still finds himself looking for an opportunity for playing time in the NBA.
During his first two seasons, it is understandable that he was not able to break into the regular rotation for the Phoenix Suns. They were a team with championship aspirations and plenty of veteran players ahead of him in line. Yet, like a true professional, Tucker used the opportunity to watch some of the best players in the league up close during games, play against them in practice and learn from them.
“You know, there’s nothing that I really need to work on,” Tucker explains. “It’s one of those things in my situation since I came here—and really since I came to the NBA—is just getting the opportunity to get on the court for an extensive amount of minutes.”
“Coming from Phoenix and playing with Grant Hill and Steve Nash, those guys were always telling me how much they know I should be on the court,” says Tucker. “Then Steve would always bring up his career and how in his first couple years he struggled to get comfortable and it wasn’t until his sixth year that he started coming along. He told me that and that gives me confidence and then talking to Grant all the time. Hearing it from those guys, All-Star caliber players, telling me they know I can play in this league and it’s all about opportunity, things like that keep me going.”
A trade in late December brought Tucker to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the worst team in the Western Conference. As a bottom-feeding team, certainly Tucker would be able to see considerable playing time and showcase his abilities, right? That has not been the case, as Tucker finds himself behind players the Timberwolves continue to evaluate for their future with the team, such as Corey Brewer, Wayne Ellington and Sasha Pavlovic.
“Coming here, there are a lot of guys that play similar positions,” says Tucker. “As far as knowing the offense or doing anything wrong out there on the court, I don’t think it’s that. I talked to the coaches and they talked about everything that I’m doing well and he’s been trying to implement me more into the system. I feel really comfortable in practice, I feel really good in the things that I do well, but my mentality is to stay ready and always work hard.”
When things do not go your way, it is easy to slip into a depression and stop giving your best effort. However, Tucker learned from his veteran friends in Phoenix and, although difficult, understands what it means to be a professional in every way.
“That’s been the toughest part because, for me, I’m a fierce competitor,” says Tucker. “I always have been. I feel that if I’m outworking someone or if I’m doing really well in practice, that’s the time that I should be able to play. That’s one of the toughest things to adjust to being in the NBA, realizing that it’s a business. I’ve been doing that since I’ve been in the league and it’s not because of my work ethic. In Phoenix, they talked about it all the time because of the time I put in the weight room, the extra time I put into my shot and really, converted from playing around the basket at Wisconsin to a traditional two and be a slasher and shooter. I put in a lot of hours every day on my shot.”
Times of adversity show a person’s true character by the choices they make and the attitude they choose. Although welcomed by his teammates in Minnesota, Tucker continues to look back at his brief time in Phoenix and the lessons the veterans taught him through their own words and actions. Coming to the end of only his third season in NBA, the maturity Tucker shows is similar to that of a grizzled veteran.
“Control what I can control and that is how hard I work,” said Tucker. “That’s been my motto since I was in college and that is to control what I can and that’s always working hard and always staying ready. Steve Nash and Grant Hill are like my big brothers and that’s one of the things they’ve reiterated to me. Leandro Barbosa too. They’ve talked to me a lot about when I’m able to get a chance to showcase what I have because this league is about confidence. It only comes when you’re playing, so I just try to stay ready and try to stay a great teammate. I’m always encouraging guys, but at the same time, I work because I feel that my opportunity is going to come. I just have to find it somewhere.”
Recently, Kurt Rambis has given court time to Tucker while Wayne Ellington sits out with injury, but what does it mean for Tucker now that Ellington will be back? If he sits at the end of Minnesota’s bench for the remainder of the year unable to show his value to his current team, it may be best for him to move on to yet another team.
“You know, that would totally depend on the moves they make in the summer or if they have big aspirations for me here in the upcoming season. Of course, my agent will look into some things, but I’d love to come back. I love all these guys, they work hard and they’re trying to learn it all together. It totally depends on who they’re going to have here because I feel like I can play and that’s what I want to do. I want to be able to help a team, so if I can help this team out in any type of way from this point on, that’s what I plan on doing.”
Whatever happens for Alando Tucker this summer, one thing is for sure. He will handle it as a professional and with a great attitude.
PHOENIX — More than a year and a half ago, the San Antonio Spurs used the 45th overall pick in the NBA draft to select a 22-year-old Slovenian point guard who’d been playing professional...
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Phoenix forward Channing Frye and Indiana's Danny Granger have been suspended one game without pay by the NBA for their part in an altercation Saturday. The league punished Frye on Tuesday for throwing a punch. Granger was penalized for fighting with Frye in the final minute of the third quarter in the Suns' 113-105 victory.
by
Brett PollakoffFiled under: Pacers, Suns
Saturday night's
altercation between the
Suns and the
Pacers will have lingering consequences for both teams, the league said
in a release on Tuesday.
Channing Frye and
Danny Granger each received a one-game suspension, and several others were fined for their roles in the scuffle.
Earl Watson of the Pacers was fined $30,000 for "instigating and adding to the escalation of an on-court incident," while
Roy Hibbert and
Jason Richardson are each $25,000 lighter in the wallet for "adding to the escalation of an on-court incident."
Interestingly enough, Watson was the one that seemed to get things started, yet Granger, who came to his defense after Frye took it immediately to playoff level, was the one who received the suspension.
None of the Pacers' remaining games matter in terms of having postseason implications, so the suspension to Granger -- which will be enforced for tonight's game against the Sixers -- isn't really that big of a deal.
Frye's suspension, however? That one will come this Friday, when the Suns, who currently sit at fifth in the West, will host the conference's top-seeded
Lakers.
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Leandro Barbosa, the Suns speedy Shooting Guard has been medically cleared and will likely play for the first time in over 6 weeks Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Since losing Barbosa to injury on 1/22/2010 against the Chicago Bulls the Suns have gone 15-5 and moved up 2 spots in the Western Conference playoff race. On the other hand, earlier in the season Barbosa was out for 15 games and they only were able to muster a 6-9 record without him. Over recent weeks, the Suns schedule has been arduous and numerous Suns are battling fatigue and minor nagging injuries. Based on this alone, Barbosa’s re-addition to this team seems to be just in the nick of time. Or is it?
In the most recent stint without Barbosa in the lineup the Suns have consistently moved the ball with precision passing with has allowed for wide open opportunities for players like Jared Dudley and Channing (Paquiao) Frye. Although the “Brazilian Blur” has been blessed with a great deal of offensive skill, passing isn’t exactly in his vocabulary. The other question is where does he fit? The players off the bench dubbed “Planet Purple” thrive off of hustle and lock-down defense. Barbosa certainly is high energy, but his chances of stopping someone from scoring are slim to none. The other issue is whose minutes are going to be reduced as a result of Barbosa’s return? During Barbosa’s absence, Goran Dragic’s minutes were largely unaffected (19.9 minutes per game in February vs. 17.3 and 19.4 in January and December respectively). The answer to this question is that Jason Richardson’s minutes will be reduced from the mid-30’s to the upper 20’s, low 30’s. In my opinion, Jason Richardson is the most versatile scorer on the team. Everybody is aware of the statistic of when Jason Richardson scores more than 20 points, the Suns are 19-3. Having him on the court for even 5 minutes less a game can be detrimental to his scoring rhythym and being a streaky shooter we need Richardson to stay hot. If Barbosa could play point guard, Dragic could be shifted over to the 2 guard. However, Barbosa has consistently proven that he is not a point guard and plays with his head down a majority of the time. Therefore, a lineup consisting of Dragic and Barbosa is undersized on defense and will be prone to giving up easy baskets.
As the Suns head into the stretch run, the health of all of their major cogs is extremely important in obtaining home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, I simply don’t see Barbosa as one of these cogs and I truly hope Barbosa does not hurt the current dynamic that is helping this Suns team win.
Reactions from the Suns on news of Channing Frye being suspending and Jason Richardson being fines. Update from Steve Nash on his health
