Spurs-Suns Preview: Five Interesting Things About the Suns

As the Suns take to their home court Tuesday night to battle the San Antonio Spurs, there are plenty of story lines to keep track of.

Robin Lopez Has Made His Presence Felt…….Repeatedly

Over his past three games, Lopez has only played 12 total minutes. Doesn’t seem like that much for a guy who was a first round draft pick, but his “impact” on the court has been noticeable.

You see, the reason that Lopez has been so limited in his playing time has been because of his inability to play defense without flailing his arms around like a mad man. He had five personal fouls in five minutes against Orlando on Friday, with two points and two rebounds to show for his court time.

Then, against Denver on Saturday, he played four minutes, had three fouls…..and that was it. No blocks, steals, points, shots, anything. Just the three fouls were what he had to show for his efforts in that game.

If Lopez can’t begin to play more disciplined basketball, that seat that he occupies on the Phoenix bench might as well be emblazoned with his name: he will be there often.

Does This Team Really Miss Leandro Barbosa THAT Much?

In the seven games that Barbosa has missed with an injury (he is planning on being back around Christmas), the Suns have averaged 99.7 points a game and have gone 2-5 over that stretch.

In the 17 games that Barbosa was with the Suns, Phoenix went 14-3, and scored 100.64 points a game.

In essence, the absence of Barbosa has cost the team in the record column, but the team has seen it’s point production decline by less than a point over that time.

So what IS causing the Suns’ recent downturn? Is it the tough road schedule? Is it increased scouting on a team that took the league surprise? It’s a likely a combination of those two factors, but the absence of Barbosa hasn’t been felt as much as initially feared.

Unsung Hero of Saturday’s Game: Louis Amundson

Off the bench in the loss to the Nuggets, Amundson played 25 minutes, went 6-of-7 from the field for 12 points, added 11 boards, two assists, two steals, and four blocks.

Three of his rebounds were of the offensive variety, which accounted for 60% of the team’s total in the contest.

The only down-side was found in his foul total, where he racked up five infractions.

Did You See Amare Stoudemire’s Horrible Line from Saturday?

Stoudemire may have had eight boards in the game, but he only went 4-of-10 in the game and was a stout minus-20 in the contest.

Oh yeah, did we fail to mention that he turned the ball over seven times? Nash, a notorious turnover machine, had two giveaways in the game. This kind of indiscipline and lack of ball control have to drive Alvin Gentry crazy, and if Stoudemire doesn’t pick it up soon, his time in Phoenix could be running short.

The Lack of Offensive Rebounds Is, Frankly, Offensive

With 10.7 offensive boards a game, the Suns currently rank 21st in the league in that category. They are also allowing 13.9 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks them dead last in the Association.

The team’s last game is a perfect example of how a lack of offensive board presence can be a crippling blow to a team’s chances:

The Suns only managed five offensive rebounds in their game against the Nuggets. Denver is 25th in the league in offensive rebounds allowed per game with 12.1, and the Suns couldn’t even manage half of that. Who were the only two Suns starters to get an offensive rebound you may ask? Those two players would be Jason Richardson and Grant Hill. Amare was held off the boards, and so was Channing Frye.

Outside of Amundson’s three offensive rebounds, the Suns were pitiful on the glass in their zone, and that HAS to improve if they are to beat the gifted rebounding teams that exist up and down the Western Conference standings.

Tags: Amare Stoudemire, Channing Frye, Grant Hill, Jason Richardson, Leandro Barbosa, Louis Amundson, Phoenix Suns, Robin Lopez, Steve Nash