NBA Update: Phoenix Suns hope to come back in the season against the Memphis Grizzlies
The Phoenix Suns weren’t done any favours in their early season schedule. Phoenix is the only team in the league that has played the first four matches of the season against the opponents, boasting of a 50 plus win record in the 2009-10 season. Having won
only one of the four games and off to the worst start this season, since losing five of the first six in 2006, the Suns come into the match hoping to improve their performance.
Match-up
In the past, the Suns have had an upper hand over the Grizzlies. Phoenix has prevailed in 13 of the last 16 meetings and leads the all-time matchup 43-14 losing to the Grizzlies just three times since Dec. 17, 2005. In the last season though, both the teams
split the four match series.
Phoenix Suns
The problem for the Suns this season though is the offensive prowess, which seems to have departed with the departure of Amar'e Stoudemire.
The combination with Stoudemire and Nash has been great in the last few years with the Suns winning the league’s scoring title in 5 of the last 6
seasons. The absence of Stoudemire though, has also affected the play of Steve Nash.
With Nash no longer finding the five-time All-Star forward at the receiving end of his passes, the Phoenix offense has faltered big time. Hedo Turkoglu, the man brought to fill in the big shoes of Stoudemire has disappointed thus far. Turkoglu is averaging
8.5 points per game and shooting a career-low 37.9 percent from the field. With Turkoglu and other forwards not coming to the party, Nash and Jason Richardson have had to carry the load in their previous encounters. Jason has scored at an average of 19 points
followed by Nash at 17.8 points and 6.8 assists per game.
Richardson though still believes that his team can bounce off a subdued start to the season. After leading his team’s offense in a 112-110 losing cause against Sacramento with 21 points he said
"We've just got to keep our heads up. We know this is not a sprint. It's a marathon. It's a long season. Nobody's got their head down. We've got a long way to go and every game we get better."
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies haven’t had the best starts to the season themselves. Memphis, suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of the Golden state warriors in their last encounter to go 2-3 down in the season.
Memphis offense though has been showing great agility all season with Rudy g*y leading the front. Rudy has scored 132 points in the last five games at an average of 26.4 points per game and he will be rearing to go against the Phoenix Suns. Mike Conley is
also in the groove this season for Memphis. He has scored 15.8 points and is making most of the play for the Grizzlies with an impressive 9.2 assists per game.
The problem with the Grizzlies lies in the defence though. They lack the athleticism, depth and length in that department and have been out boarded 253-202 in their last five games.
Their defensive woes have been aggravated due to the absence of all -star Zack Randolph who has sat out the last four games after suffering a lower back injury in the opening game against the Atlanta Hawks. The status of Randolph availability is still unclear
but the Grizzlies will be desperately hoping for his comeback.
Verdict
There is a lot of pride at stake for the Phoenix Suns, as they head into the match aiming to curtail a two match losing streak at the US Airways Center. The last time the Suns went 0-3 down at home was four years ago in 2005-06 season. The Suns will be going
all out to clinch their second victory of the season and will look to exploit the defensive weakness of their opponents. With so much at stake for both the teams, the contest is expected to be a dog-fight.
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