Suns Season Wraps Up With Win Against Sacramento
3 HRS AGO - And that’s a wrap, folks! With a 104-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns Expand
3 HRS AGO - And that’s a wrap, folks! With a 104-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns 2013-2014 campaign has come to a close. It was a closely contested game given the record differential between the opposing squads. The game was tied for much of it, and no team led by more than seven points. The rotations […]Suns Season Wraps Up With Win Against Sacramento - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
Suns face Kings in final regular season game
16 HRS AGO - The Phoenix Suns lost Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies who swept the series of four. The Expand
16 HRS AGO - The Phoenix Suns lost Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies who swept the series of four. The Suns fought hard to come back after a slow start in the first quarter but turnovers and poor shooting led to the final nail in the coffin for the Suns playoff chances. The bright spot for the Suns […]Suns face Kings in final regular season game - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
One. Game. Out. The story of Phoenix sports franchises in 2014.
20 HRS AGO - Over the past four months, all three major sports franchises in the Phoenix metro area have come Expand
20 HRS AGO - Over the past four months, all three major sports franchises in the Phoenix metro area have come up just one game short of the playoffs, an ignominious feat that no one wants to repeat.
It's been a frustrating four months in the Valley of the Sun for sports fans.
In late December, the NFL's Arizona Cardinals capped off a successful, nationally-praised 10-6 season with... an early vacation. The 10-win Cardinals set a standard for the most regular season wins without a playoff berth, missing the dance by one game.
Earlier this week, the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes capped off a successful season with a 37-30-15 record, good for 89 points and for their troubles they got an early vacation. They Coyotes missed the playoffs by two points, the equivalent of one win (each win = 2 points, each overtime loss = 1 points, each regular-time loss = 0 points).
A day later, the NBA's Phoenix Suns capped a successful, nationally-praised season with a loss to Memphis, ensuring they would be sent home on an Collapse
The 2013-2014 Phoenix Suns Season Was A Rousing Success -- Some Perspective With Your Morning Coffee
1 DAY AGO - How expectations changed after this night in October... Opening night in what will be remembered Expand
1 DAY AGO - How expectations changed after this night in October... Opening night in what will be remembered as one of the most fulfilling seasons of basketball in Arizona in a long while.
This morning as you are rubbing the sleep off your face and getting your morning coffee brewing, take a moment to appreciate what has happened this season. This year was supposed to be the bog of eternal stench for the Phoenix Suns coming off of the worst season in franchise history since the first season in franchise history.
By now you are awake enough to remember that last night the Suns were eliminated from playoff contention. While it is disappointing that the Suns fell short of the playoffs and will be back in the lottery for the fourth year in a row this season was a resounding success.
On all fronts.
Last season the team was leaderless after the leadership cut Alvin Gentry off at the knees and made him a lame duck coach before letting him go mid-season. It was a virtually impossible situation for Collapse
Suns Officially Out of Playoffs After Home Loss to Grizzlies
2 DAYS AGO - Despite all of the great moments and epic games of the Suns season, the adventure will sadly not Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Despite all of the great moments and epic games of the Suns season, the adventure will sadly not extend past Wednesday night. In their home finale, where the Suns were clinging to their last playoff hopes, they failed to grab a victory, losing to Memphis 97-91/ Memphis has now swept the Suns 4-0 this season. […]Suns Officially Out of Playoffs After Home Loss to Grizzlies - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
Going Gorilla: Can Jeff Hornacek still win coach of the year if the Suns miss the playoffs?
2 DAYS AGO - With only two games remaining Phoenix's tenuous chances of making the playoffs still hang in the Expand
2 DAYS AGO - With only two games remaining Phoenix's tenuous chances of making the playoffs still hang in the balance. Are Jeff Hornacek's chances of winning NBA Coach of the Year dependent on that outcome?
This article could just as easily be about how the Suns falling just short of the playoffs might affect their players chances of winning Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year awards or, in Goran Dragic's case, an All-NBA selection (or whether he finishes second or third team). I actually pondered over agglutinating all of these topics into one article, but in the end my blatant laziness hectic schedule swayed my decision to focus on the coaching award. If my workload was just a little lighter perhaps I'd be writing a more involved piece that included those other subjects.
Cause and effect.
I think it would be apocryphal logic to assume that the Suns making or missing the playoffs won't influence the sportswriters who vote on the award. With several other deserving candidates Collapse
Phoenix Suns Fan Appreciation Night Is Tonight
2 DAYS AGO - For the regular season home finale, the Phoenix Suns will hold Fan Appreciation Night at 7 tonight Expand
2 DAYS AGO - For the regular season home finale, the Phoenix Suns will hold Fan Appreciation Night at 7 tonight at US Airways Center. Phoenix play the Memphis Grizzlies in a crucial game for the Suns’ playoff hopes. Phoenix needs to win to have a chance at the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The first 8,000 fans Read More Collapse
Gamethread: Go Lakers!
3 DAYS AGO - I know this may feel like sacrilege, but the Phoenix Suns really, really, really need the Los Expand
3 DAYS AGO - I know this may feel like sacrilege, but the Phoenix Suns really, really, really need the Los Angeles Lakers to finish their home schedule with a win to give their fans a warm fuzzy for the summer... and help the Suns get closer to the playoffs despite losing two straight games.
The sitch
See, the Lakers play this little team called the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have the same number of wins as the Suns (47), but three games remaining vs. the Suns' two games.
Because the Grizzlies won the season series from the Suns, the Suns have to finish with MORE wins than the Grizz. That would require the Suns to win both of their remaining games, one of which is against the Grizz, while the Grizz lose at least two of three.
While the Suns can take care of one of those losses, someone else has to take care of the other.
The options are the Lakers and the Mavericks. But since the Suns dream scenario includes beating the Grizz, the Mavericks will have already sewn up the 7th seed before the Collapse
Suns Playoff Hopes Look Bleak After Loss to Mavericks
4 DAYS AGO - Despite the magical touch the Suns have this season, vastly exceeding expectations and being a ton Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Despite the magical touch the Suns have this season, vastly exceeding expectations and being a ton of fun to watch, the Suns number may finally be up. Their most critical game of the season, their Saturday match against the Dallas Mavericks, ended in a crushing 101-98 defeat. It was a back and forth for most […]Suns Playoff Hopes Look Bleak After Loss to Mavericks - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
Western Conference Playoff Report: April 12th
4 DAYS AGO - Blowing 21 point leads in the middle of a playoff race is bad for your health.
In the interest Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Blowing 21 point leads in the middle of a playoff race is bad for your health.
In the interest of full disclosure I avoided Bright Side like the plague last night after that game. In fact I still haven't gone through the game thread or the post game thread because I'm literally terrified to do so. Love you guys anyway.
But since I'm still sort of a masochist I went and saw the movie Draft Day with Kevin Costner. My review? It's exactly what you think but if you want to get a few laughs (its not supposed to be funny) and want to save a few bucks on a masters class in how not to negotiate - then draft day is for you.
Friday April 11th Key Western Conference Results:
San Antonio Spurs 112 Phoenix Suns 104 (Recap) - San Antonio played without Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, Phoenix played without Goran Dragic and the Suns blew a 21 point lead to lose a game they really should have had. It's almost as simple as that. Eric Bledsoe turned in a tremendous Collapse
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Final Score: Phoenix Suns and Archie Goodwin Beat Sacramento Kings 104-99
5 HRS AGO - The suns won their 48th and final game of the season thanks to their smoking hot rookie, Archie Expand
5 HRS AGO - The suns won their 48th and final game of the season thanks to their smoking hot rookie, Archie Goodwin, who scored 29 points off the bench in his first major NBA minutes of the season.
The Suns started out with their normal starting unit, save for Gerald Green replacing Goran Dragic, as expected. The first quarter began with both teams playing noticeably loose, almost in full exhibition mode. Miles Plumlee attempted a step-back fade-away jumper as the first shot of the game for the Suns...if that's any indication.
Gerald Green was the main scorer for the Suns through most of the first quarter, scoring the first nine points for Phoenix. Markieff came in first off the bench to replace Plumlee after about four minutes in. Then, about midway through the first, Alex Len got the call as the first rookie to check in, replacing Channing Frye. After that, it was Ish Smith who got the call to replace Eric Bledsoe with about four minutes left in the half. Still no Collapse
Phoenix Suns at Sacramento Kings Game Preview: Grand Finale
19 HRS AGO - Despite barely missing the playoffs, the Suns have had a tremendously successful season overall. Expand
19 HRS AGO - Despite barely missing the playoffs, the Suns have had a tremendously successful season overall. With the pressure now off, the Suns will play one last game, and give heavier minutes to the younger players before wrapping it up until later this year. Can they give us one more night of excitement?
What: Phoenix Suns At Sacramento Kings
Where: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, CA
When: 7:30 p.m. (PST)
Watch: FSAZ (Locally), NBA League Pass
Tonight, the Phoenix Suns (47-34) will take on the Sacramento Kings (28-53) in their season finale. Without the playoffs on the line, the Suns will sit Goran Dragic who has been playing on a sprained left ankle. Gerald Green will start in his place.
Although the rest of the first unit will start as usual, Paul Coro reported that the Suns will play their rookies more tomorrow as well, which certainly makes sense now that there's no reason not to.
As for the Kings, they will be without their star big man DeMarcus Cousins, who is serving a one-game Collapse
Morning Sunshine: Phoenix Suns News (April 15)
1 DAY AGO - This is our daily feature here at SunNGun where we scavenge the internet for recent stories Expand
1 DAY AGO - This is our daily feature here at SunNGun where we scavenge the internet for recent stories related to the Phoenix Suns organization and relay them to you, so we are the one-stop-shopping for all things Phoenix Suns. We’ll have it for you everyday, hopefully posted for you in the morning. The links to these full articles are […]Morning Sunshine: Phoenix Suns News (April 15) - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
Phoenix Suns reach big milestones in resurgent year
1 DAY AGO - Many of the Phoenix Suns players set personal milestones in a year they might finish with the most Expand
1 DAY AGO - Many of the Phoenix Suns players set personal milestones in a year they might finish with the most wins by a non-playoff team in league history, since instituting a 16-team playoff format.
Before we start rosterbating, let's review a few milestones the Suns reached this season, courtesy of the Suns stats guys who get to spend oodles of time finding this stuff.
If the Suns beat Sacramento on Wednesday, they would tie the Golden State Warriors (2007-08) for most wins by a non-playoff team (48) since the 16-team format was introduced in the 70s.
Overall, the Phoenix Suns have 4 of the top 6 all-time NBA seasons of most wins by a non-playoff team, including 46 in 2009, 48 in 1971 and 49 in 1972. Only two other teams make the "best of the bridesmaids" list at 46+ wins for non-playoff team: Seattle Supersonics (47 in 1972) and the Warriors.
Before you complain too much about the East being terrible, if they only picked the "top 16" teams to make the playoffs, rather than 8 per conference, Collapse
Final Score: Phoenix Suns lose last must-win chance, 97-91, to Memphis Grizzlies
2 DAYS AGO - The Cinderella season is over. After pulling into 7th in the West just five days ago, the Suns Expand
2 DAYS AGO - The Cinderella season is over. After pulling into 7th in the West just five days ago, the Suns lost three straight huge games and find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoffs. For the third game in a row, a Suns opponent solidified their playoff spot at the expense of the Suns.
The Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies played a playoff game tonight, and it went just like the last two times the Suns played playoff do-or-die games.
The Suns played their hardest and stayed right there into the final minute before giving up big buckets to the opposing team and failing to score on their end when they needed it the most.
The Suns took a 91-90 lead before Mike Conley made a three-pointer and then committed a turnover that resulted in Zach Randolph getting a breakaway layup to put the Grizzlies up four. Just. like. that.
The Suns couldn't close the deal while the playoff-veteran team could.
Game, Grizzlies.
Zach Randolph (32, 9) and Mike Conley (13, 7 with a big game-deciding Collapse
Morning Sunshine: Phoenix Suns News (April 14)
2 DAYS AGO - This is our daily feature here at SunNGun where we scavenge the internet for recent stories Expand
2 DAYS AGO - This is our daily feature here at SunNGun where we scavenge the internet for recent stories related to the Phoenix Suns organization and relay them to you, so we are the one-stop-shopping for all things Phoenix Suns. We’ll have it for you everyday, hopefully posted for you in the morning. The links to these full articles are […]Morning Sunshine: Phoenix Suns News (April 14) - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
Game Preview: Phoenix Suns (47-33) host Memphis Grizzlies (48-32) - Down but not out
2 DAYS AGO - It may feel like the Suns are just playing out the string after tough losses in Texas over the Expand
2 DAYS AGO - It may feel like the Suns are just playing out the string after tough losses in Texas over the weekend, but the Suns still have a chance to make the dance if they can beat the Grizzlies.
Hurtling toward the end of an unexpectedly thrilling season, the Phoenix Suns appear to have stumbled in the stretch run just enough to finish 9th in a race with only 8 winners.
Goran Dragic re-twisted his ankle just before the toughest games of the year, and the Suns just didn't have the horses to beat San Antonio or Dallas on the road over the weekend.
For the Suns to make the playoffs, they need the Mac truck called the Memphis Grizzlies to match their stumble. The Suns can cause a bit of a bobble tonight, but they need the Grizzlies to complete the fall on their own on Wednesday night against the Mavericks team with little to nothing to play for.
If the Suns beat the Grizzlies tonight, the 49-win Mavericks will finish no lower than 7th in the West. There is a small chance the Golden State Collapse
Phoenix Suns’ Playoff Options
3 DAYS AGO - With two games remaining in the season, the Phoenix Suns options for making the playoffs are Expand
3 DAYS AGO - With two games remaining in the season, the Phoenix Suns options for making the playoffs are limited. Kevin Zimmerman with Valley of the Suns explains those scenarios for the Suns. At 47-33, Phoenix trails the Memphis Grizzlies who are 47-32. If Memphis loses its final three games of the year and the Suns at least Read More Collapse
Recap: Dallas Mavericks Rally to Take Down Phoenix Suns, 101-98
4 DAYS AGO - That 4th quarter. It hurt to watch. Back and forth, back and forth. For the Expand
4 DAYS AGO - That 4th quarter. It hurt to watch. Back and forth, back and forth. For the first 8 minutes it was a tennis match with both teams exchanging buckets and staying within a point or 2 of each other. Then Dirk Nowtizki hit a 3-pointer. Then Monta Ellis scored off a Suns turnover. Then Devin Harris scored his first points of the game by hitting a bomb from deep behind the 3-point line. Just like that the Mavericks had a commanding 8-point lead with 3:03 to go.
But these Phoenix Suns? They don't stop. Maybe they can't stop. Eric Bledsoe (## points) went hard to the hole for 2 points. Then after a rare and merciful Monta miss (## of ## on the night), Markieff Morris nailed 2 clutch free throws. And the following play, the Bledshow continued with a steal and coast-to-coast fastbreak lay-in. Suns down by 2 with 1:15 to go in the game.
Bledsoe makes 1 of 2 free throws from a loose ball foul: 1 point Mavs lead, 52.7 Collapse
Morning Sunshine: Phoenix Suns News (April 12)
4 DAYS AGO - This is our daily feature here at SunNGun where we scavenge the internet for recent stories Expand
4 DAYS AGO - This is our daily feature here at SunNGun where we scavenge the internet for recent stories related to the Phoenix Suns organization and relay them to you, so we are the one-stop-shopping for all things Phoenix Suns. We’ll have it for you everyday, hopefully posted for you in the morning. The links to these full articles are […]Morning Sunshine: Phoenix Suns News (April 12) - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
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Morning Sunshine: Phoenix Suns News (April 16)
13 HRS AGO - This is our daily feature here at SunNGun where we scavenge the internet for recent stories Expand
13 HRS AGO - This is our daily feature here at SunNGun where we scavenge the internet for recent stories related to the Phoenix Suns organization and relay them to you, so we are the one-stop-shopping for all things Phoenix Suns. We’ll have it for you everyday, hopefully posted for you in the morning. The links to these full articles are […]Morning Sunshine: Phoenix Suns News (April 16) - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
Soldier Surprises Son at Phoenix Suns Game
19 HRS AGO - For most Phoenix Suns fans, Monday’s game was a night of anguish as the team was eliminated Expand
19 HRS AGO - For most Phoenix Suns fans, Monday’s game was a night of anguish as the team was eliminated from the playoffs. For 8-year-old Logan Bledsoe, it was a joyous occasion. Logan was called to the court for a contest at US Airways Center. His dad, Spc. Jamie Bledsoe of the California National Guard, walked on court Read More Collapse
Western Conference Playoff Report: April 15th
1 DAY AGO - All good things must come to an end.
I love the Phoenix Suns and I've loved the Phoenix Suns for Expand
1 DAY AGO - All good things must come to an end.
I love the Phoenix Suns and I've loved the Phoenix Suns for the last 25 years of my life.
Some of my happiest moments have involved watching Suns teams win 50+ games and compete for championships, so for me the 2012-13 edition of the Phoenix Suns was basically the beginning of a dark ages for my basketball fandom.
Last night as I watched the final seconds of the competitive portion of the Suns season tick away my wife asked me how I was doing. Without as much as flinching a smile came over my face and my response was direct and to the point - I feel great.
And there are so many reasons I feel great.
For one, those dark ages I referenced above? They ended almost as quickly as they started. I know a small faction of this community did think this was a good basketball team from the start - and bully for you - but the vast majority of us did expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 17-30 wins. Frankly I didn't expect the Suns Collapse
How Phoenix Suns Can Exceed Expectations Again
1 DAY AGO - With the Phoenix Suns eliminated from playoff contention, the team must focus on how to improve Expand
1 DAY AGO - With the Phoenix Suns eliminated from playoff contention, the team must focus on how to improve next season. “I think chemistry is very, very important,” Suns President Lon Babby told Dan Bickley. “But I also know from experience that if we brought back the entire group with no changes in personnel, it would be very Read More Collapse
Suns face Grizz in must-win game
2 DAYS AGO - The Phoenix Suns dropped a huge game against the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night – a game Expand
2 DAYS AGO - The Phoenix Suns dropped a huge game against the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night – a game that will haunt the Suns if they fail to make the postseason after coming so close. Dragić, who was playing on an injured ankle had a terrible game, shooting just 3 for 10 from the field and 0 for […]Suns face Grizz in must-win game - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
Western Conference Playoff Report: April 14th
2 DAYS AGO - Never trust the Lakers.
Back in the mid 1980s there was only one thing I loved more than van Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Never trust the Lakers.
Back in the mid 1980s there was only one thing I loved more than van surfing - and that was basketball. When I used to play my old coach (Coach Finstock if you're familiar) had just four rules for ensuring your life was cream cheese: (1) never get less than twelve hours sleep; (2) never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; (3) never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body; and (4) never, ever trust the Lakers to do anything good for you.
It was that 4th rule that was the most important.
To keep things as simple for all of us as is possible here is the way the Phoenix Suns can still make the playoffs:
Beat Memphis tonight.
Beat Sacramento Wednesday
Dallas beats Memphis on Wednesday.
Now most of us have become resigned to the fact that Dallas will have the 7 seed sewn up in that scenario and thus no motivation to play their starters signifigant minutes - if at all. Yet in a season Collapse
The Madhouse - Week of 4/14/2014
2 DAYS AGO - Welcome to the Madhouse! Bright Side of the Sun is an amazing and diverse community and it Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Welcome to the Madhouse! Bright Side of the Sun is an amazing and diverse community and it deserves a place where the tyranny of topicality does not rule. And that's what The Madhouse is. It's Bright Side of the Sun's place to talk about whatever you want, whenever you want: favorite TV shows, news from around the league or how it felt to be a Laker fan for a night. It's all fair game here. Collapse
Western Conference Playoff Report: April 13th
3 DAYS AGO - Suns blow another double digit lead as Dallas puts Phoenix playoff hopes half into the grave. Expand
3 DAYS AGO - Suns blow another double digit lead as Dallas puts Phoenix playoff hopes half into the grave.
Hey guys. So that was tough, huh?
After losing to the Mavericks last night the Suns playoff hopes are basically on life support. Barring a shocking Memphis loss to the Lakers tonight the only scenario that sees the Suns make the playoffs is this:
Suns beat Memphis on Monday night - something they haven't done all season even when Marc Gasol wasn't playing.
Suns beat Kings on the last day of the season.
Dallas beats Memphis on the last day of the season. This will likely be made 10 times more complicated by the fact that a Suns win over Memphis on Monday would clinch the #7 seed for Dallas so they'd have almost no motivation to roll Dirk Nowitzki or Monta Ellis out for any real playing time.
If like me you're a Cardinals fan you probably recognize that scenario as the basketball version of 'hope Mike Glennon can lead his 5 win Bucs to a win in the Superdome Collapse
Phoenix Suns look to rebound in huge game against Dallas
4 DAYS AGO - Just one day after suffering a loss at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, the Phoenix Suns will Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Just one day after suffering a loss at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, the Phoenix Suns will look to rebound against the Dallas Mavericks, who haven’t played since Thursday. The Suns currently sit in ninth in the Western Conference, but with a victory against the Mavericks, they will move up to 7th place […]Phoenix Suns look to rebound in huge game against Dallas - Sun-N-Gun - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Collapse
Game Preview: Phoenix Suns (47-32) versus Dallas Mavericks (48-32) - Let the play-in tournament begin!
4 DAYS AGO - Somehow, some way the NBA had the foresight to schedule a play-in tournament to win the last two Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Somehow, some way the NBA had the foresight to schedule a play-in tournament to win the last two playoff berths in the Western Conference. It starts tonight as the Phoenix Suns play the Dallas Mavericks in the Big D.
When was the last time three teams were basically tied for two playoff spots going into the final few games? Even more rare, when have those teams been scheduled for a round-robin play-in tournament?
The Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies all play each other in two of each team's last three games - the first of which is tonight when the Suns face the Mavericks in Dallas.
I will leave the details of the playoff scenarios for Scott Howard this morning. He can break down the possibilities while fans wallow in anger and depression over losing to the league's best team for the past 18 years on their home court last night.
Today is a new day.
And let me be the first to report that there is a 99.9999999999% chance Goran Dragic will start alongside Eric Bledsoe Collapse
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