Love Shaq Baby Love Shaq!

This is the reason that the Suns made this deal!  The Suns are 2-0 against the Spurs with Shaq and 3-1 this year against Planet Done-can! The Suns haven't done that in the Steve Nash era. Shaq misses 2 shots in 24 mins. adding up to 16pts. and 9 rebs. Head-to-head Shaq owns Duncan!  The Suns held the Spurs to only 34 second-half points!  

Not only did the Suns totally hand it to the Spurs, the Suns starters played limited minutes.  Props to Raja for holding Womanu to 8 points in 28 mins.  Tony Longoria had 15 in the first half and only 5 in the second.  Does the Fredstrom need to give props to D'Antoni for making defensive adjustments at half time?  The zone was working and the Fredstrom is glad that the Suns are feeling more comfortable with mixing it up defensively.

The Suns remain in 6th place. Houston and Utah continue to win games.  Again it is getting interesting.  The Suns are building some momentum that is giving the Fredstrom a feeling of confidence that he hasn't had in a long time.

Congrats again to the D-backs for taking care of business. It's good to see the guys on the bump holding other teams to just a couple of runs a game. 

Other questions to think about. Will the Suns destroy Houston again? Will they be able to hold off the Warriors on Monday night? How will the D-backs fare against the Rockies this weekend? Any predictions?

Would You Like Some Hot Sauce With Your Raja Bell Grande?

Holy cow!  If Raja can even do half of what he did tonight from here on out then the Fredstrom is really excited! Raja scores 15 in the 3rd to put the game into the ole' deep freeze. Amare didn't disappoint either with 28 pts. on what seemed like 14 dunks.

 And of course the Fredstrom has to talk about the play of his new favorite player- Oh My Gordon Giricek! M-V-G shoots 7-9 for 14 pts. in 21 mins. Did the Fredstrom not tell you? Overall it was a great team game, everyone played very efficiently- 7 players in double figures. The Fredstrom is glad that D'Antoni subscribes to his blog and played Giricek more minutes!

Let's talk about a busy night in the NBA. Utah hands it to New Orleans holding the Hornets to 66pts.  Dallas beats Seattle-who cares... The Lakers lose to Portand. Portland! Denver wins, and Golden Girls...Oh..The Fredstrom means Golden State wins as well.  The Suns remain in 6th, but gain a game on the Flake Show. The Fredstrom needs to be corrected about the Utah matchup if it happens.  Apparently if the Suns finish in 5th and have a better record than the Jazz then they will get home court.  That confuses the Fredstrom? Why give Utah the 4th seed then.  Squirrel- you know something about seeds. Juice you know about flack seed oil- straighten the Fredstrom up!

D-Backs Win Home Opener by Bringing the Whoopin Sticks!

While the Fredstrom calms down from his existential meltdown he would like to address the Arizona Diamondbacks!  They have started 5-2, hitting 16 homers (leading the majors), and their pitching staff (except Lyon) have looked stellar.  The D-Backs have won 4 in a row and look to continue the streak this week against the Dodgers and the Crockies.  The Fredstrom won't start posting the baseball standings for a long while, however, the D-Backs are 1st in the NL West and the Fredstrom is excited to not only see them play in person tomorrow, but to see how far they will go in the playoffs this year!  Any other areas you would like to discuss?

It's (almost) Playoff Time!

In lieu of our Suns less than inspiring play as of late, and also due to my total lack of knowledge pertaining to the Diamondbacks play, my hypomanic attention has turned to the NBA playoffs.

In efforts to supply the readers something to further discuss/argue about, I have compared each team likely to make the Western Conference Playoffs with the Suns playoff roster in efforts to predict a possible series outcome.

I give you the first annual Hypomanic Squirrel Playoff Prediction. Enjoy!

New Orleans Hornets
Good team, but inexperienced. Chris Paul has been on a tear recently, making any claim that he is not the rightful MVP a hard one to make. Regardless, I think placing Raja Bell in charge of guarding Paul with playoff-like intensity might rattle the point guard’s playmaking capabilities and halt the Hornet juggernaut to a standstill. Suns win 4-2.

Predicted Matchups
PG Chris Paul / Raja Bell
SG Morris Peterson / Steve Nash
SF Peja Stojakovic / Grant Hill
PF David West / Amare Stoudemire
C Tyson Chandler / Shaquille O’Neal

San Antonio Spurs
The reigning champs. Getting older as a team, but every bit as potent during playoff basketball. Once vulnerable to the Spurs “dirty” physical playmaking tactics, the Suns have displayed an ability to answer their toughness since the Shaq trade. While questionable officiating and foul trouble from Shaq and Amare may complicate success, I still see the Suns finally conquering last year’s demons. Suns win 4-2.

Predicted Matchups
PG Tony Parker / Raja Bell
SG Michael Finley / Grant Hill
SF Bruce Bowen / Steve Nash
PF Fabricio Oberto / Amare Stoudemire
C Tim Duncan / Shaquille O’Neal

Los Angeles Lakers
Ever since the highway robbery that was otherwise known as the Paul Gasol trade, the Lakers have been on nothing less than a tear. Tallying up wins on a consistent basis even with Bynum’s absence due to injury, many believe the Lakers are ready and poised for their first title since the dismantling of the Shaq/Kobe dynasty. Personally, I think this team poses the biggest threat to Phoenix’s first title. Regardless, banking on Bynum’s struggle to regain the momentum lost due to injury and the Lakers subsequent struggle to acclimate him into the offense, I’m staying loyal and picking the Suns in 7, 4-3.

Predicted Matchups
PG Derek Fisher / Steve Nash
SG Kobe Bryant / Raja Bell
SF Lamar Odom / Grant Hill
PF Paul Gasol / Amare Stoudemire
C Andrew Bynum / Shaquille O’Neal

Utah Jazz
Even with all of the buzz surrounding the Utah’s homecourt advantage, I still consider them a typical overachieving Jerry Sloan product. The Jazz play slow-paced, mistake-free, defensive-minded basketball, and any team that wants to win needs to plan on playing a grinding, tough-it-out, every-possession-counts series. While the Suns have shown considerable lapses in these areas throughout the season, they also have shown the ability to play mistake-free basketball. Playing the Jazz away, they are going to need a lot of the ladder, especially with Okur’s tendency to shoot the three at a high percentage. Still, I believe the Suns have the ability to sustain sufficient levels of focus in the playoffs in this mini-Spurs series preview. Suns win 4-3.

Predicted Matchups
PG Deron Williams / Raja Bell
SG Ronnie Price / Steve Nash
SF Andrei Kirilenko / Grant Hill
PF Carlos Boozer / Amare Stoudemire
C Mehmet Okur / Shaquille O’Neal

Houston Rockets
The most over-rated team in the Western Conference Playoffs. While Houston has supplied this years Cinderella feel-good story of the regular season, Hollinger’s pick for the NBA title will unfortunately go home quickly due to their personnel and style of basketball. If they survive long enough play the Suns, their up-tempo style will certainly lead to their demise. Suns win 4-0.

Predicted Matchups
PG Bobby Jackson / Steve Nash
SG Tracy McGrady / Raja Bell
SF Shane Battier / Grant Hill
PF Luis Scola / Amare Stoudemire
C Dikembe Mutombo / Shaquille O’Neal

Dallas Mavericks
The second most over-rated team in the Western Conference Playoffs. Since the Kidd trade, this team looks like an old, one-trick pony. Don’t expect yesterday’s loss to go unremembered if these two teams meet in the playoffs. Sorry Dirk, your team is way too soft to make any extended playoff run. Based on the premise that they score more than 9 points a quarter, the Suns win the series against Dallas in a snoozer, 4-2.

Predicted Matchups
PG Jason Kidd / Steve Nash
SG Jason Terry / Raja Bell
SF Josh Howard / Grant Hill
PF Dirk Nowitzki / Amare Stoudemire
C Erick Dampier / Shaquille O’Neal

Denver Nuggets
This young, talented group seems like it could give a great many teams fits in the playoffs. Utilizing the classic Iversen/Anthony one/two punch, the Nuggets would provide some defensive issues that the Suns would likely need to address. Where to place Nash and Bell the greatest of these concerns. Assuming that Bell and Hill are able to do an adequate job on the Nuggets two main (and only) scorers, the Suns win in a high scoring, low-defensive series, 4-2.

Predicted Matchups
PG Anthony Carter / Steve Nash
SG Allen Iverson / Raja Bell
SF Carmelo Anthony / Grant Hill
PF Kenyon Martin / Amare Stoudemire
C Marcus Camby / Shaquille O’Neal

There it is boys and girls. Feel free to discuss, criticize, and rip apart the picks as you see fit. Let me know what you think!

Hypomanic Squirrel Out!

The Fredstrom Wants Done-toni's Job!

The Fredstrom is calling for D'Antoni's job!  How can your team completely handle the Mavs for 3 quarters then totally collapse?  How can you only score 9pts in the 4th quarter? How can you not get any of your players an open look in the final quarter?  This isn't hockey D'Antoni, you have to play all 4 quarters. Where is that killer instinct?  The Suns looked so far from a championship caliber team today.

You played Oh My Giricek for 3 minutes and he scores 7pts, sinking 3 of 4. Giricek saw only 2 minutes in the 2nd half? Why? He is tough defensively and has been on fire from downtown. Between Grant Hill and Barbosa they combined for 63 minutes and 8 points?

Boris Diaw was doing a great job on Dirk for the entire time he was in the game, then Boris draws his 4th foul with 8 mins. to go in the 4th quarter and never came back.  Dirk then gets Shaq and Stat and takes them both?

Back to D'Antoni, let the Fredstrom ask you a couple of questions that he would like answers to.  Take the Suns roster over the last few years and ask yourself, "Would the Suns still be able to win 50+ games with any other coach?" Fredstrom's answer - "YES, easily." Next question, "How would D'Antoni's win/loss record look without Steve Nash?" Fredstrom's answer- "Maybe .500?"  Steve Nash is the coach of that team, you don't see D'Antoni calling plays or calling timeouts at the end of today's game did you?

His style of basketball may be fun to watch but it doesn't include defensive and isn't getting it done.  D'Antoni got completely out-coached today in his building by a team that hadn't beaten a winning team with Jason Kidd, the Mavs were 0-11 against winning teams prior to today.  Not acceptable.  Steve Kerr-get on your Blackberry and start making some phone calls for next year.

Let the Fredstrom give you a positive spin for today's meltdown.  The Suns move down to 6th place and could avoid playing Utah in the opening round, instead it would be the Lakers. Maybe that was D'Antoni's plan all along?

So that you don't have to picture Dirk taking it to the Suns, the Fredstrom would like to leave you with another image of Dirk to cement in your mind. Friends don't let friends drive dirk!

Planet Orange: Where beatdowns happen.

The Suns took care of business Friday night with a beatdown on the not so big but just bad wolves.  Planet Orange plays every player tonight- all of them scored. The Suns shot over 56% from the field including 53% from downtown.  The Fredstrom is a-lookin' and a-likin'. No Suns player played over 29 mins. in tonight's blowout which bodes well for them with a desperate Dallas coming to town Sunday morning. You don't want to be the first team with a winning record to lose to the post-Kidd Mavericks.

With 6 games left the Suns are holding steady in 5th place.  This is probably the worst spot for any team in the West to be in- facing the Jazz at home where they have the best home record in the entire league: 35-4.  The Jazz handed a beatdown of their own tonight but it was on the Spurs. The Jazz held the Spurs to 64 points total! Planet Orange wants no part of Planet Sloan.

New Orleans just keeps winning albeit a win over the Knicks is no big deal.  CP3 dropped 33 pts. and 15 dimes on the Knicks continuing to prove why he is the MVP.

The stinkin Lakers won tonight, not because of MVP hopeful Kobe, but because of Lamar Odom's 31. He and Gasol look very good together, not sure if Amare and Shaq can keep up with that. If the playoffs started today the Lake show would draw Houston...there's a free pass to the second round. As far as their remaining schedule goes, only 2 out of the next 6 are going to be a real challenge.  The Fredstrom doesn't see the Suns catching the Lakers.

Because Utah is guaranteed that 4th spot, the Suns have to catch San Antonio, L.A. or the Hornets.  The Suns have their work cut out for them. Can they do it? Your thoughts?

3 Hypersensitive Blind Mice Ref an NBA game

Well... The Suns only lost by a bucket (excluding a couple of free throws). Consider the following:

One of the worst refereed games The Fredstrom has ever seen and he's seen a lot of games! Thanks to Google for having pictures of the 3 refs from last night's game.

Suns playing back-to-back games (yes, so did Denver).

Suns played 7 players Monday night, Denver played 10. Their starters played 41 less minutes than the Suns Monday night.

Suns lost Raja Bell early in the 3rd quarter for laughing and playing defense.

Grant Hill didn't play again.

Suns played on the road and in the altitude of Denver.

Suns turned the ball over 7 more times than Monday and missed 12 free throws.

The fricken Nuggets shot 47 free throws, the Suns 26.

The Suns also had to play against the zebras. These refs were way too trigger happy. Chalk up another 4 technicals for our Nashty Suns. The Fredstrom can't be too disappointed considering the Suns gave that game away, they just can't do that any further. If they want home court advantage they have to go at least 6-1 from here on out.

The Suns stay in 5th unable to gain any ground on Planet Kobe. The Hornets and Spurs win to pull farther ahead in the West.

It's good to see the readers voting on the polls.  Don't look now but CP3 has caught up in the MVP race.  The Fredstrom couldn't agree more...see his take on the comments below from a previous post.  Weigh in!