Alvin Gentry said he'd play the bench more so Nash would be fresh in the fourth quarter.
Instead, the reserves let Nash keep their seats warm in the final frame.
Good thing, too, what with Grant Hill battling foul trouble and Jarron Collins battling a bad matchup with the quicker, longer Blazers' front line (he did actually contribute in Game 5).
The Suns' bench would be a great draw for college basketball fans -- they're quick, scrappy, emotional, and they love to get under the opponent's skin.
Except for Leandro Barbosa. He was almost over-apologetic to Martell Webster, who jumped over Barbosa and fell over his back in the second half. Webster trying to take personal insult with Barbosa putting a hand on his shoulder and making sure he was OK was almost comical.
Anyway, an interesting trend has developed with a team that once couldn't stay afloat once more than one sub entered the game: the reserves often pick up the pace/effort/scoring for the starters.
That hadn't happened through Game 4 in the series, mainly because Gentry wanted to shorten his rotation like most coaches do in the playoffs. It wasn't until ...
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Article written by Matt Petersen
2010 NBA Playoffs: Phoenix Suns’ Reserves Unleashed In Game 5 Rout
April 27th, 2010 by Matt Petersen Leave a reply »
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