Planet Orange Gets a Black Eye!

Should have been wearing these glasses player!

Okay so now Amare is out for 8 weeks because of an eye surgery...not good timing at all! Good news is that the Suns can still sneak into the playoffs and have him ready a week or so before they start.

Garnett is out for this Sunday's game and again other teams in the West are falling apart.  Sweet Lou and the rest of the bench will need to step it up, like really step on it- like J. Rich and his gas pedal with a 3 year-old in the back seat! Eat your carrots Amare! Get back quick!

If for some reason the Suns don't get far because of this eye-poke..that would be yet another spell of bad luck for our beloved Planet. From the Kareem coin flip, to the John Paxson dagger, to the Joe Johnson face break, to the Amare microfracture, the suspensions, and that darn Tim Duncan 3pt. prayer last year in the playoffs....man that was tough to bring up. The Fredstrom remains optimistic and wonders if you feel the same?

Planet Orange Burning Brighter?

Coach Poorter has been cast out like space garbage and Planet Orange is burning a whole light brighter.  The players are using words like "freedom" and "fun!" Yes, it is the PaperClips, and yes they are injured, and just a flat out horrible team, but the Suns look like they have just been released from Porterwitz- straight up running for their lives and the Fredstrom couldn't be happier.

The Suns body language is different, they are having fun again. The Suns are smiling more and there are plenty of high-fives to go around.  The Suns are communicating better on defense and it is showing.  They are mixing up the defense with a steady balance of man-to-man and zone.  Their points in the paint have been redonkulous not to mention their assist per game and shooting percentage.

Even though the games haven't been close, Gentry seems less afraid to play his bench than both Porter and D'Antoni, this should allow the starters, mostly Nash and Shaq to have fresher legs during those late 4th quarter minutes.  The Fredstrom likes!  You don't see Poopovich or the Phil panic and put their stars in with more than 8 mins to go in the fourth, they come in well rested and usually finish strong. The more the bench plays the more confidence they get-the better they will be-the more rest the starters will get, etc.  Shoot, Nash already looks 10 years younger...and his turnovers are way down, he just looks cleaner.

On the flip side whipping the Clips twice and even beating Oak City tomorrow doesn't mean a whole lot.  How will the Suns show up against the Celts on Sunday?  Will this team be able to move up into a 3, 4, or 5 seed in the West?  With the Hornets dumping salary, T-Mac out for the season, Manu and his health problems, The Oden's bone chips, and the underachieving Jazz, the Suns may just do it. Either way, it's fun to be a Suns fan again and it's exciting to see what the next thirty games will bring! Your thoughts?

Cards Come Up Short, But So Did the Steelers!

Wow! What a game!

The Fredstrom could talk about how this epic game looked a lot like the Suns v. Spurs in the playoffs.  He could touch on the face mask call that should have been off-setting or how the 100yd. interception TD return should have been a 99 yd. one.  How about the roughing the place holder call, while it didn't cost the Cardinals any points they did end up losing valuable time that would have helped towards the end of the game. But you can't cry over the refs, you can't leave the fight in the judges' hands. Make a stop, make Pittsburgh kick a field goal and tie it...or better yet, throw the ball in the first half like you did in the 2nd!  The Hurry-Up offense worked pretty well, wonder what the outcome would have been if it was used the whole game?

    But the Fredstrom digresses...

Congratulations for a great season!  It was a fun ride and they deserved to be there.  Now let's see if the Bidwell's dig a little deeper into their pockets to keep the core of this team together.  

Unfortunately the Arizona sports fan has to look forward to Planet Meltdown.  Hopefully Captain Poorter will get a clue or be jettisoned to the coaching junk yard.  Is it just the Fredstrom or does every picture of Coach Poorter look like he's either confused or no one's listening?

The Fredstrom especially likes the one with Dan Marjele (the other defensive specialist) where they look completely confused or the one with Porter just scratching his head!

Thank Goodness for the Cardinals!

Both the Cardinals and Suns have 2 things in common. 

1- They both score the same number of points per game!

2- They are both shocking the world right now.

Let's start with the bad news.  Amare Turnovermire STINKS!  Hang on the ball you inked-out freak!  "I'm going to play like a gorilla!" he says... maybe Amare's mom never took him to the zoo... cause every gorilla the Fredstrom has ever seen just sits around playing with their....anyway, moving on...

The Suns have so much talent but have no direction, no coach, no organization, and seem to have no clue what to do about it.  Let's start looking to move Amare now so that we can still get something for him before the end of next year when his inflated contract runs out.  

Matt Barnes is horrible!  Maybe the ink has run into his veins too causing blurred vision or something...because the hoop he is shooting at isn't the actual hoop!

Let's finish this post with some good news!  THE CARDINALS ARE PLAYING IN THE SUPERBOWL AND HAVE A DEFINITE CHANCE!

Other than playing in Glendale, Tampa is a great place for Kurt and Fitz to do their thing.  Heinz Ward has a busted MCL which really hurts the Steelers.  Coach Whisenhunt knows the Steelers really well and that has to be an advantage.  Vegas has the Steelers a 7-point favorite. Why because of their defense?  Carolina's defense wasn't half bad and neither was the Eagle's.  The Fredstrom agrees with Whis that the Cardinals have to get out to a quick start-which they did in the last 2 games, good thing cause the 2nd half has been a bit more scary.

Heck, after the Cards win the Superbowl they can throw some money at Fitzgerald or at least have him coach the Suns players on how to hang on to the ball! Honey-coated gloves need not apply!

Is the Suns window slammed shut and boarded up like an old convenience store? Will the Cardinals win the big game?

The Fredstrom always wants to hear what you have to say. Get to the blog and comment!

The Fredstrom Is Really Fired up now!

Holy cow!  Did you see the Suns v. Pacers game?  The Suns couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat!  UGLY!  For a second the Fredstrom had to rub his eyes, he thought he saw the word

"Mercury" across the chest of the Suns last night.

And then it happened... The Suns go from down 14 to up 2 with just under a minute to go.  Then, Indiana ties it and the Suns have the ball with 34 secs to go.  They have 1 full and a :20 sec timeout and decide not to use it.  (Remember that twice within the last month Roach Poorter designed an inbounds play that resulted in 2 wide open lay-ups for Grant Hill)  

Like clock work in clutch time the Suns stood around to watch Steve Nash exhausting himself only to get stuck and have to throw the ball to a completely covered man, Amare, who doesn't drive to the hoop but elects to take a 20ft. fade away...BUT wait! J. Rich pulls down the offensive rebound and takes an even worse shot! (You should have seen Coach Porter signaling for a time out! And you have to wonder why the players didn't call it or even look to the coach?)

Indiana gets the rebound with .09 to go.  They set up their inbound play and do the Suns use their 1 foul to give? NO! Do the Suns crowd the inbounder to get a look at their play and get called for the delay of game? NO!  Do they switch like they are supposed to? NO! Does the shortest Suns player defend the final shot? YES! Does the best player for Indiana get the ball? YES! Does Granger sink the shot? YES!  MADNESS I TELL YOU!

Are the Suns done? Yes!  Steve Nash doesn't look the same.  He looks over at Porter with both hands palm up as if to say "I dunno?"  Amare is looking a lot like Suns version of T.O. Poorter still doesn't know how to use his bench.  He is still running 8 men out their but is putting in his bench with under a minute to go in the first quarter? What kind of rhythm can they get into?  Have you noticed any other coach in the league substituting like Poorter?

If Pouty Nash is going to continue down turnover hill should the Suns trade him too?

They are a different team with a different coaching staff with a different system... and the results are worse...Yeah D'Antoni's teams didn't win any championships but they did have a chance because they made the PLAYOFFS!

Here lies Planet Orange

The Fredstrom would love to know what you think?  

Suns Next Mission: Play Like You Have Some Pride!

The setting Suns have a big problem. They can't beat a quality team, they can't even win a home game. They play with zero intensity, it's ridiculous. The Suns need to either go all out or make changes now so that the Suns fans don't have to watch this sinking ship all season!

In going with the "Mission" theme of Planet Orange, the Fredstrom has put together a list of suggested missions for the Sunsets.

Mission: Either Open That Closed Window and Blast Through it Or Make Some Changes!

Mission: Play Defense.

Mission: Win a Home Game.

Mission: Go Underneath the Pick and Roll.

Mission: Shut Amare's mouth.

Mission: Be one of the Top 8 Western Conference Teams.

Mission: Don't give the Ball Away 40 times per game.

Mission: Get an Offensive Rebound once in awhile.

Mission: Don't Give Up So Many Second Chance Points.

Mission: Run! 

Mission: Don't Play Steve Nash for the entire 3rd Quarter.

Mission: Don't Put Your Bench In With 1 Minute To Go In The Quarter.

If these missions fail then you have to trade Amare or fire Porter.  The Fredstrom can't believe that if the Suns win 30 games this year that Porter will keep his job and he can't believe that Amare would be happy staying with an imploding planet.  Get something for Amare while you still can.  Shoot maybe even trade Steve Nash while you still can... but who can you get for them?  What would you do?

FREDSTROM'S SUNS/LAKERS PREDICTION

The Fredstrom will make this short and sweet...Suns by 5 Thursday night!

Here's why:

1. Planet Orange will be one fired up biosphere! Gotta love that home court advantage.

2. Yes, the Fredstrom knows that the Lakers are the best team in basketball but the Big Cactus will be fueled up for this one.

3. The Fredstrom likes Matt Barnes on Kobe instead of Raja.

4. The Suns are going on 3 days rest. Lakers-2. That's good for the Suns old legs.

5. Suns are at home...Lakers score 10 less pts. per game on the road.

6. The Lakers are good but they have played 6 home games and only 2 on the road so far. Suns-5.

7. Considering the Suns have missed LB for 3 games, Nash for 1, Shaq for 1, and Barnes for 2, they have managed pretty well this year.

8. And most importantly, The Fredstrom hates the Lakers.

Here's a sneak peek of Thursday night!  What are your predictions?