# Game Thread: Thursday, March 3 Phoenix vs. Detroit



## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

<center>







*vs.* 

*Phoenix Suns (43-14) vs. Detroit Pistons (35-19) 
America West Arena, Thursday March 3rd, 2005










Previous Meetings:* 

*http://www.nba.com/games/20050117/PHODET/boxscore.html *


*Projected Starting Lineups: *













































































*Reserves:*































































I am going to watch this game on TNT thursday. I hope we win. We lost last time we played them but we didn't have Nash. We should have Nash this time. If the Pistons keep it at their tempo, we are in for trouble. They are a great defensive team and we have to push the tempo to our favor.


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## DwyaneWade4MVP (Apr 1, 2004)

My prediction: 

Phoenix 109
-
Detroit 99


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## underhill_101 (Feb 22, 2005)

my prediction:

suns 106
pistons 97

amare 25/9/3
rip 21/6/4


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Is Nash playing?


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## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

KidCanada101 said:


> Is Nash playing?


Yup. Its said Nash is almost 100 % playing. I say

Suns 123
Pistons 100


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Suns will have Nash back and are well rested.

My prediction:

Suns 113
Pistons 102


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## Pejavlade (Jul 10, 2004)

Phx 102
Pistons 99

I dont really see Phx scoring that much vs Detriot considering they have been playing so well lately.


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## P33r~ (Nov 22, 2004)

KidCanada101 said:


> Detroit will be coming off back to back games on the road.


They will have a day to rest, the back to back game comes against Seattle AFTER versing you guys.

Btw if anyone should be listed as a key reserve it's Arroyo.


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

I'm looking forward to this game. The Pistons have been playing well and have a nifty 8-game winning streak going. Whattaya say the Suns break that streak and then on Friday the Sonics extend the Pistons losing streak to two games?

The Suns just need to play their game and do what they have been doing all season. If you guys are on, there is no way the Pistons can keep up with you. Make the Pistons play at your pace and run them into the ground. Tire them out so they will be exhausted when they show up at Key Arena on Friday.

G-Force


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## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

P33r~ said:


> They will have a day to rest, the back to back game comes against Seattle AFTER versing you guys.
> 
> Btw if anyone should be listed as a key reserve it's Arroyo.


Haha sorry forgot about Aroyyo. Thanks for reminding me.


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## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

*Suns eager to get back Nash, sense of urgency* 

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 2, 2005 12:00 AM 

The ideal situation for the Suns would be to slip into cruise control for the last 25 games of the regular season, keep winning, then rendezvous with 15 other teams in the playoffs while owning the best record in the NBA.

That first part is seemingly not an option thanks to Steve Nash's nagging hamstring injury and, to a lesser extent, the whispers heard since Sunday's in-your-face overtime loss to Boston. Some observers are suddenly wondering whether this team will be able to handle the increased on-court intensity as teams jockey for their postseason lives and seeds.

Coach Mike D'Antoni is not too concerned about either issue, especially the latter. advertisement 




"We slipped a little bit in our urgency," D'Antoni said Tuesday. "But that's normal for a long season, and that's normal when you're doing better than what most people expected. . . . We've got to get that edge back, and I think we will as we get closer to the playoffs."

Meanwhile, Nash scrimmaged with teammates for the first time in two weeks.

Though he said it went well, he stopped short of declaring his left hamstring ready for Thursday's game against Detroit.

"I don't want to promise too much, but I feel good about Thursday," said Nash, who has missed the Suns' three games since the All-Star break. "It felt pretty good today. I didn't do a ton, but I got through a practice."

Nash took part in about three-fourths of the workout and did some stretching and various exercises on the sideline when he wasn't involved with the scrimmage.

He said it was a challenge to not go full-throttle after having missed so much practice time.

"You try to forget about it (injury), but at the same time you have to be cautious," Nash said. "You can't come out here and be reckless and set yourself back. You have to be disciplined and try to find a good balance between letting yourself go and not being foolish."

D'Antoni said he wouldn't limit Nash's minutes if he plays Thursday.

Asked whether he planned to cut back starters' minutes in preparation for the playoffs, D'Antoni said: "Not really. I don't see that anybody's tired. I don't see that as a problem. I look at other teams, like when we played Dallas, (Dirk ) Nowitzki's got 42 minutes and (Michael) Finley's got 41. I got all my guys at 39, 38. I put them all on the same caliber as good players on other teams, and good players on other teams play 40 minutes."

The Suns remained interested in acquiring Gary Payton on Tuesday.

Aaron Goodwin, Payton's agent, did not respond to a telephone message, but Payton's return to the Boston Celtics, who traded him to Atlanta last week, seems likely.

Nevertheless, Nash said he'd like to see Payton come to Phoenix.

"He'd be a perfect fit for us," Nash said. "For him to come off the bench . . . I thought it would be terrific for us. I think we have a strong enough unit that our chemistry is OK, and one guy can't alter that."

Amaré Stoudemire agreed, but isn't waiting on the edge of his seat for the news.

"I think that would be a pretty good addition," Stoudemire said. "Whatever happens, happens." 

*http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0302suns0302.html *


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Good to hear Nash will make his return against the Pistons.


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## MLKG (Aug 25, 2003)

Should be an interesting game.

This will probably surprise people, but in the month of February the Pistons were the second best fast breaking team in the league- averaging 19.7 ppg on the run.


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

Let's bump this back to the top, above my superfluous game thread for tonight's showdown in the desert. And remember, tonight's game is on TNT, so let's show off in front of a national television audience. :greatjob: 

G-Force


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## ian (Jun 4, 2003)

Mike luvs KG said:


> Should be an interesting game.
> 
> This will probably surprise people, but in the month of February the Pistons were the second best fast breaking team in the league- averaging 19.7 ppg on the run.


Yep, and Larry Brown was happy, "this is what I've been saying all along... good defense leads to fast break opportunities" <- paraphrasing

I think Detroit will win. As nice as Nash has been playing, Phoenix being dominated on the boards in meeting #1 had nothing to do with him...

112 - 98


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

It's time for me to hit the road. I'll catch you all later, hopefully celebrating a thrilling victory.

G-Force


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## DHarris34Phan (Oct 28, 2004)

Marion with an elbow injury, back on the court tho... :banana:


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Yikes...just checked the game update and Nash, JJ, and Marion are a combined 8-31. Still it's only 66-59 so they're still in it.

On a postive note Q-rich is 4-5 from beyond the arc .


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## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

We are getting *KILLED* on the glass. Its disgusting to watch. Nash, JJ, and Marion are shooting horrible, and we have got nothing from our bench. Man this is just horrible how much more rebounds the Pistons have then us..:sigh: I give credit to the Pistons though, they are working hard.


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Sounds bad, but looks like the Suns came out on fire in the 4th.

Steve barries a 3!

98-94 with about a minute to go...


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

phew...Suns win 100-97. Outscored the Pistons 34-21 in the 4th quarter.

Solid win. :clap:


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

Whoooweeee, that was a huge win. The Suns turned it on in the fourth after getting spanked in the third. Nash stuck that three with about a minute left and then Sheed came back and hit his three. You gotta love scoring 34 in the fourth quarter against the Pistons' defence. Nice, very nice.

And now the Pistons get to make a trip to Key Arean to play my Sonics. Lookin' forward to that one; I'm gonna be there.

G-Force


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

This was a great win for us. The bench was huge. We need our bench to get experience in playing more in games just like this before playoffs. It will help us more when it comes time. Then we may surprise some people.


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Box Score 

Recap


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

dissonance19 said:


> This was a great win for us. The bench was huge. We need our bench to get experience in playing more in games just like this before playoffs. It will help us more when it comes time. Then we may surprise some people.


The bench really did get it down early in the fourth quarter and whittled away at the 10 point deficit. Then Stevie came in and the Suns hung on for a big win. Sleep well tonight, young Suns. But have a beer first to celebrate. You earned it.

:cheers:


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

G-Force said:


> The bench really did get it down early in the fourth quarter and whittled away at the 10 point deficit. Then Stevie came in and the Suns hung on for a big win. Sleep well tonight, young Suns. But have a beer first to celebrate. You earned it.
> 
> :cheers:



Thanks man. And have fun at the game tomorrow and good luck to your Sonics against them. Your team is fun to watch as well. I kinda go for the Sonics and hope they do well. They surely proved everyone wrong about "fading" which I knew they wouldn't. I hope for a Sonics-Suns playoff matchup. The first game Dec 17th was game of the yr to me. That'd be a fun series.


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## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

That was an awesome game with Nash stepping up in the clutch. I was yelling so loud my mom told me to be quiet or she was going to turn off the tv :laugh:


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Kekai23 said:


> That was an awesome game with Nash stepping up in the clutch. I was yelling so loud my mom told me to be quiet or she was going to turn off the tv :laugh:


 :laugh: 

Overall impressive victory. Hopefully they can carry the momentum into Portland.

Suns’ Rally Sinks Pistons


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## RedStripe27 (Apr 20, 2004)

Good win tonight. We got away with a few calls, but thats just how it goes. Glad to see Marion wasn't seriously injured. JJ and Marion were off most of the game (at least until the end). Barbosa played at the higher level that I think he's capable of -- protecting the ball and seeing the floor really well. We hadn't really had a major statement game in a while (Dallas was big, but not a statement). Beating a team like the Pistons has to help our confidence considering the type of basketball they play.


P.S. Solid new avatar Kekei---I can still hear Kings fans blaming the refs and the league for that one.


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## Lukasbmw (Jul 30, 2004)

One of the most important wins of the season. We proved even with an incredible defense, it is impossible to hold us off for all 4 quarters. 

We can play a slower game and still win.

Still, there is no excuse for being outrebounded like we were. Terrible. We really need to solve this problem...box the heck out!

We can now go 16-8 the rest of the way to finish with 60 wins and a shot at the best record.


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## DwyaneWade4MVP (Apr 1, 2004)

Nice win! in the fourth quarter we killed them!


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## Kekai (Jan 12, 2005)

RedStripe27 said:


> Good win tonight. We got away with a few calls, but thats just how it goes. Glad to see Marion wasn't seriously injured. JJ and Marion were off most of the game (at least until the end). Barbosa played at the higher level that I think he's capable of -- protecting the ball and seeing the floor really well. We hadn't really had a major statement game in a while (Dallas was big, but not a statement). Beating a team like the Pistons has to help our confidence considering the type of basketball they play.
> 
> 
> P.S. Solid new avatar Kekei---I can still hear Kings fans blaming the refs and the league for that one.


Yes both teams got away with a lot of fouls I think. Amare got away with that ridiculous non travel call lol. There was also a lot of hand checking by both teams that we both got away with. It was very physical and Im glad we showed that we can play tough too. I liked that DA played Hunter and Amare at the same time. Thats a good combo right there. Haha thanks yes my avvy is cool. That was a sick block by STAT.


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