Suns Giricekmate the Kings

If you voted blow out you were right!  Another good win for the Suns.  Don't look now but that's 4 in a row.  The Spurs have dropped 3 straight, Utah and New Orleans both lost their last game, and the Suns find themselves 5th in the West. Things are getting interesting!

As the blog title suggests, Giricek is making some noise with the Suns.  He is settling in very nicely.  He brings some defensive toughness and an offensive aggressiveness that Planet Orange really needs. Mini props for now to Mr. Kerragious for making this deal, also this should show D'Antoni that his bench can't contribute or shine if they stay in the black hole known as the bench. 

The Fredstrom will be adding 2 new questions.  He better hear from you NCAA fans on this one!

The standings below do not reflect the results of the Laker/Rockets game currently in progress. (Rockets up by 15 at the half) Winner earns top spot in the West.

Extreme Makeover Blog Edition

Just a couple of new things for the newly upgraded Fredstrom's Blog. There will now be polls for the readers to vote on. Also The Fredstrom has added a link to freerice.com.

If you are a subscriber you will not be able to view the youtube videos in your email. Also the comments will not be accessible either. And trust the Fredstrom when he says that the comments are coming alive. The Fredstrom wants to strongly encourage you to check out the actual blog so that you can view and interact with the rest of Planet Fredstrom.

Technically The Suns Win!

Great game and great win! 14 lead changes 20 ties and 4 Techinicals!  The Fredstrom expects it from D'Antoni, but Nash? Hill? and Shaq?  That game was the worst referee job the Fredstrom has ever seen!  There were at least 5 foul calls that were only made after the shot resulted in a miss. These refs were on a 5 second live-tv delay. It was ridiculous!

Props to the Juicebox for predicting the Suns would win by 7.  He was close.  As mentioned in the blog before the San Antonio game, the Suns have gained some momentum and are showing some promising potential. Props also to the Suns bench: 14-24 from the field, much improvement from the Utah game.

More good news...the Suns next 3 games are totally winnable. Saturday vs the Kings, Tues. at Portland, and Wed. vs. Seattle.  Next Saturday should be a great game and an important one against Planet Deathstar.  This Houston/Phx could be a playoff preview.  The Fredstrom predicts the Suns will win the next 4 in a row including the Houston game. With only 3 games Thursday night there was not much movement in the standings.

Shaq Parts the Orange Sea

In case you missed it...the first video below was Shaq's first launch from Planet Orange Sunday against the Spurs.

Then Tuesday night Shaq was ready for takeoff again only to hit the brakes at the last minute. Watch this video and see the Suns bench completely scatter. They don't just run out of the way, they fall over each other into a pile at the end of the bench. It was hilarious! Check it out.


As far as the game goes. Just what the doctor ordered. A good win that allowed the starters to get some rest, important considering the Warriors come to town Thursday night. Not that the Cubs are a great shooting team but the Suns defense seems to have stepped up a notch. Good win...a little more momentum...the Diesel and Planet Orange are building speed as they shift into second gear. The Fredstrom will start attaching the current standings below as we head down the playoff stretch. Click to see full size.

Suns Win Big Despite "The Conspuracy Theory"

Out of all the games the Fredstrom has been to, the Spurs games feel so much different. There's losing to a better team, having an off night or whatever, but losing players due to foul trouble or having your momentum halted because of a flop call is getting really old. Spurs games are very hard to watch.

Every Spurs vs. Suns contest continues to amaze the Fredstrom. He knows the Spurs are good defensively but late into the 4th quarter Shaq and STAT combined for 10 fouls while Kurt Thomas and Timmy combined for 2 fouls. They don't play physical or anything.  Oberto running into Shaq's elbow was silly, Bowen's flop on Stat's screen was dumb, Parker bear-hugging Raja Bell drawing a double foul then later dragging Grant Hill to the ground in the post? Ridonkalous! And there were many other very suspicious calls.

Here's the good news..the Suns held the Spurs to 35% shooting, out rebounded the Spurs by 8, and held the Spurs to only 11 assists, Nash had 14 alone! The Suns are capable of playing big "D". Can they continue that intensity? With chances of slipping out of the playoffs possible, let's hope so.

The Fredstrom does need to call out Amare Stoudamire on his foul situation. It seems like every game he gets one or two dumb reach-in or over-the-back fouls. STAT only saw 32 mins. against the Spurs, that's not good. The Suns are going to need him out there for more time than that.

As was mentioned by the Juice Box...this is why the Suns decided to Go Diesel.  This is what the Big Saguaro was brought here to do; mainly help the Suns match up better with Planet Spuranus.  The Suns have beaten the Spurs 5 times in their last 22 meetings, one of those was with out Tony Parker and the others were playing pseudo-run and gun.  But on Sunday the Suns beat the Spurs playing their way.  Fredstrom wants to hear from the Juice, the Squirrel, and The Gabe on this one. Billy where you at?

Planet Orange Joining Pluto?

Um....Ah....Ok...Uh...Well...The light from Planet Orange is going dim.  Shaq goes for 20 and 7, Amare scores 37, Raja 19, and the Suns still can't get it done. Reason being? DEFENSE! You can't give up 126 in your home building and expect to win.  The Jazz shot almost 58% from the field, 45% from 3pt. land, and shot 40 fts. making 31 of them...OUCH! The Suns bench going 7 for 25 in 67 mins. isn't good either.

The Fredstrom believes the next four home games will make them or break them.  They face the Floppers on Sun. afternoon, then Memphis Tues., Golden State on Thursday, and Sacramento Saturday.  If the Suns can pull off some sort of astronomical miracle and win maybe 3 out of their next 4 that might just give them the momentum to secure a playoff spot, but the Fredstrom isn't hopeful. As of tonight they are 1.5 games out of 9th!  Even if they make the playoffs they have a terrible 4-13 record against the top Western teams.

 Planet Spuranus looks pretty strong right now despite their crying tendencies.  Did you see Babyvich's tantrum Thurs. night? Wow!  Planet Kobe is looking very good right now as well. Planet McGrady is going DeathStar - destroying all planets in it's path.  Planet Orange is quickly about to share the same fate as former ex-planet Pluto...only the top 8 make it in...the 9th one is cut-not counting as a real planet.

Suns Going to TV in "The Biggest Loser"

Britney Spears isn't the only one experiencing a meltdown.  The Suns have gone to Prime Time Network TV for a successful spot on the Biggest Loser.  They are 3-5 in their last 8.  They haven't gone 3-5 since Dec. 2007, and did it twice last season.  Last season those losses occurred without Steve Nash.  His assists are down by 6 a game, shooting % is down as well.  Steve doesn't seem to be able to score at will like he used to. Assists must be difficult when Shaq, Raja, Boris, and Leondro couldn't throw the rock into the ocean. Will someone tell the Fredstrom whatsa going on? (Oh, and let's not count blowing a 23 pt. lead over the Blazers to win by a couple of free throws a feel good win.)

The Fredstrom is feeling sick over this ugly brand of basketball.  He is actually looking forward to Spring Training and the Diamondbacks.  He never thought he would be talking like this but holy cow this is difficult to watch.  Watching the Suns of the Diesel era is like watching B.K. Kim in the 2001 World Series, or like watching the Spurs flop around the court with their pacifiers.....yeah it's that bad.

Sleeping with a sick sack,

The Fredstrom