December Player of the Month – Joey Peterson, Miami Heat – 37.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 block per game.
December Rookie of the Month – Antoine Bedard, Milwaukee Bucks – 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.2 blocks per game.
No trades (of worth) last month but I’m sure there is going to be some noise at the dead line.
It’s been a long time since the Lakers were anything decent and we keep it that way, smashing them 121-83. Ish had 28 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks while Harms added 25 points as we had 16 blocks for the game compared to LA’s zero. Nathan Gordon is back at PG and only had 13 points and 4 assists.
Phoenix Suns 24-8
Great. At practice Olaf and Ish have a go at each other but I don’t think it’s anything serious, just a bit of testosterone flowing around. I tell them to pull their heads in and I don’t think anything will come out of it.
His game didn’t falter as Ish put up 36 points and 9 rebounds as we get our revenge on San Diego with a 117-104 away win. Harms was a great facilitator with 20 points and 13 assists as the Riders only had Ryan Holcomb being any resistance with 32 points and 10 rebounds.
Phoenix Suns 25-8
Even though Harms was probably the best on the night with 21 points and 13 assists it was Roman who was the most damaging in our 120-96 win over Seattle. He went 10/14 for 24 points and held Peeter Petrauskas to only 7 points. Mitch Edwards led the Sonics with 21 points.
Phoenix Suns 26-8
Marques Jones for the Blazers had 25 points but there was no one else, especially James Jones who went 3/17 from the field as we beat my old team 104-92. Even though Ish had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Eric Owens made a big cameo with 13 points and 8 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
Phoenix Suns 27-8
Coach Jones decides to start Olaf at PG next to Harms which I’m not that happy about but it could work so I’ll allow it (not that I have much say in this). He only has 8 points and 5 assists as we don’t really have much guard depth behind him as Derek Whitworth has to play PG which isn’t in his skill set. We still win, beating the Neon without much fuss 108-92 as Ish was again our star with 28 points and 11 rebounds while Pin ripped 14 rebounds. Petrick Rancik is getting better and better and had 17 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
Phoenix Suns 28-8
Olaf goes back to the bench and he does well with 8 points and 4 assists (close to what he had last game) and we just get past the Magic 117-112. We didn’t play well and shot terribly from the line, going 30/49 to just beat a Orlando side that is missing Juia Henchoz with a broken ankle AND Pete Edgerson who is nursing a broken finger so to say we didn’t play well is putting it nicely. Brodney Smith and Jim Harris did the big lifting with 54 points while Ish had 35 points and 12 rebounds.
Phoenix Suns 29-8
As usual it was Ish leading the way with 29 points and 11 rebounds but Harms went 6/7 for 24 points and 11 assists and Derek added a surprising 22 points as we beat the Grizz 125-103. Brian Henry had 21 points but Adam Bell was stuck in foul trouble with only 5 points in 13 minutes.
Phoenix Suns 30-8
It’s the big match up as we go into Houston to battle against the 26-3 Rockets. So it was all the sweeter when we rout them 128-107 as our defenders did the damage. Arthimus Smallwood got his with 20 points and 5 steals but James Carroll went 4/12 for only 9 points and they need him to fire to be in the game. Ish was the reason, having 30 points and 9 rebounds while Harms put up 29 points and 7 assists as this was a non-event. We ARE the best team in the league and the Rockets better keep winning because we’re after them.
Phoenix Suns 31-8
In one of the best games I’ve seen from a bench player, Sam Russell destroyed the Golden State Warriors to lead us to a 120-80 win. Tip Rice and Pin played each other to a standstill with neither guy playing more than 20 minutes but that’s where Sam came in. Playing 29 minutes he had 26 points, 19 rebounds and 4 blocks in a worthy man of the match performance. Ben Angeli was the only Warrior in double figures with 19 points.
Phoenix Suns 32-8
How I was wrong. Olaf and Ish continued their feud and actually had to be broken up by Billy Warren, our assistant coach. I reef them into my office and tell them to ship up or ship out, I’m not adverse to trading superstars if they don’t play along. Surprisingly it was Olaf who left in a huff as he might be looking to go somewhere that has more minutes for him.
So I go looking to see if I can find a trading partner to get Olaf some more minutes. Even though he’s only 21 years old he’s ready for a starting position and I don’t want to stunt him, especially if he’s going to start getting pissy. I see that Miami are playing Gellies Haswell at PG, a 6’6” SF who has no passing abilities but I can’t find a good trade because they don’t have many assets I want. So I call up Denver.
Phoenix trade:
PG Olaf Milosz
SG Ross Woods
PG Nigel Sowder
C Eric Owens
Denver trade:
PG Du Yip
2044 1st round pick
2045 1st round pick
Winner – Denver. Milosz has been grumbling about playing time and Phoenix accommodate his request. He goes to a team where he’ll be the primary ball handler which will be great for his career. The two first rounders won’t be lottery bound while Yip will be a great addition to the bench of the Suns. It’s just up to Milosz now to make good on his opportunity.
I sign Ruben Sheffer, Slavi Drnovsek and Brad Harris to the team to fill out our third string. I did get the short end of this trade but if it makes him happy so be it. Geez, I must be getting soft in my old age.
Olaf doesn’t disappoint in his first game as a Nugget with 17 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds as they won against the Sonics. Good luck.
Our first game post Olaf was a comfortable 113-92 win over Memphis as Harms led the way with 26 points and 12 assists. Ish must be missing Olaf as he only had 11 points and 4 rebounds but he was going up against Adam Bell who had 14 points and 5 rebounds in the loss.
Phoenix Suns 33-8
Well that was unexpected. The falling Thunder wipe the floor with us as Zan Tepavac and Brandon Bailey demolish our big men with 62 points and 19 rebounds to lead the 114-98 win. I’m not sure what happened but you get these kinds of games every now and again so I’m not that upset. Roman led us with 22 points but Ish fouled out in only 12 minutes.
Phoenix Suns 33-9
It’s not a losing streak though as we wipe the floor with the Heat and their horrible guard depth 119-97. Ish was back to his best with 32 points and 12 rebounds while Harms also doubled up with 12 points and 15 assists. Everyone got at least 10 minutes of game time as the game was over after the first quarter with a score of 43-19. Cory Shivers had 31 points for the Heat but got no help as Joey Peterson, who is averaging 33 points and 9 rebounds on the season, played 9 minutes as a precaution for a back injury.
Phoenix Suns 34-9
I’m surprised that the Wolves aren’t better than 20-19 with Axel Rancik, Steve Howard and Derion Perez. They weren’t good against us with Ish having 32 points and 9 rebounds and Slavi (Drnovsek) added 12 points in 7 minutes to lose to us 115-99. Axel Rancik had 32 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds while Derion Perez added 25 points but the rest of the team was horrid, shown by Justin Marshall’s 1/14 shooting night.
Phoenix Suns 35-9
We go up against Olaf and the Nuggets in our next game and Harms showed exactly who is the top dog with 24 points and 14 assists while Olaf had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists as we won easy 111-98. Herb and Sam had 23 points together as we forced the Nuggets into 20 turnovers. Jarrad Prewitt had 20 points and 9 rebounds for Denver.
Phoenix Suns 36-9
In our last game of the month, Joey Peterson made up for his last game with 36 points and 10 rebounds while fouling out Pin in only 9 minutes. He also fouled out Sam in 20 minutes but at least Sam had 8 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks as we squeak out a 111-106 away win in Miami. Harms and Ish combined for 57 points as Peterson had Corey Shivers with 29 points but luckily we could keep the lead at the end.
Phoenix Suns 37-9
The Rockets are still leading the conference at 31-5 but we’re right behind them so I believe that we’ll overtake them by the end of the season. Dallas are in third place but they’re six games behind us. The Lakers are alright at home (10-9) but are horrid away from Staples (2-20) and are sitting on the bottom at 12-29.
The Pistons are just hanging on to the top spot in the East at 37-11 and are only on top because Orlando hasn’t played enough games at 33-10. Miami are light years behind those two at 27-20 while Atlanta have lost Michael McQuay and Jordan Williamson has a broken ankle so it’s no surprise to see them at 10-35.
Phoenix Top Points
Ishmael Faye – 24.6
Michael Harmon – 22.0
Romanos Demosthenous – 13.2
Phoenix Top Assists
Michael Harmon – 9.9
Du Yip – 5.2
Romanos Demosthenous – 2.2
Phoenix Top Rebounds
Pin-zhen Yuan – 9.1
Ishmael Faye – 7.9
Sam Russell – 6.3
League Leaders
Points – Joey Peterson (MIA) – 33.2
Assists – Mack Haston (SAS) – 12.8
Rebounds – Kurt Lewis (ORL) – 9.9
Blocks – Adam Bell (MEM) – 3.6
Steals – Arthimus Smallwood (HOU) – 3.3
Efficiency – Joey Peterson (MIA) – 32.2
Rookie Leaders
Points – Antoine Bedard (MIL) – 15.6
Assists – Antoine Bedard (MIL) – 6.4
Rebounds – Antoine Bedard (MIL) – 3.9
Blocks – Rahmeen Penney (WAS) – 0.7
Steals – Antoine Bedard (MIL) – 1.1
Efficiency – Antoine Bedard (MIL) – 14.9
Second Round of NBA Draft Prospects
1. SF Brandon Henry (High School), Senior, 6’7”, 217lbs
2. C Ely McDuffie (High School), Senior, 6’9”, 248lbs
3. C Cameron Gooden (Duke), Freshman, 6’10”, 259lbs
4. PF Kenny Boone (Kentucky), Sophomore, 6’10”, 228lbs
5. C Ben Webb (Texas Tech), Freshman, 6’10”, 258lbs
Thoughts – Henry is on top where he belongs and I expect him to stay there from now on. There isn’t much guard depth at the moment as there is only three guards in the top 25.