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NBA Preview from The Sports Network
March 13, 2008
Golden State Warriors (40-23) at Phoenix Suns (42-22), 10:30 p.m.
(Sports Network) - A pair of teams battling for playoff positioning in the Western Conference meet tonight, as the Phoenix Suns welcome the Golden State Warriors to US Airways Center.
Golden State is 2-0 against the Suns this season, and has won three straight overall in the series. The Warriors have lost four in a row and six of their last seven at Phoenix.
The Suns are scheduled to host Golden State on April 14 in the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between the squads.
Phoenix has won two in a row and plays the fourth of a five-game homestand. Amare Stoudemire posted game-highs with 29 points and 13 rebounds, as the Suns crushed the Memphis Grizzlies, 132-111, on Tuesday at US Airways Center.
Raja Bell scored 20 points for the Suns, who improved to 5-6 with center Shaquille O'Neal in the lineup. Gordan Giricek and Leandro Barbosa poured in 18 points apiece off the bench, while veteran Grant Hill contributed 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the victory.
The Suns will host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday in the finale of the homestand. Phoenix is 23-10 at home this season.
Golden State attempts to extend its winning streak to four games against the Suns. Monta Ellis scored 33 points and Baron Davis contributed 23 points and 15 assists, as the Warriors continued to roll with a 117-106 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday at ORACLE Arena.
Stephen Jackson had 19 points for Golden State, which has won three straight and seven of its last eight games overall. Mickael Pietrus ended with 14 points and Andris Biedrins netted 12 for the Warriors, who remained a game behind Dallas for seventh in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Warriors, who have won two in a row as the visitor, are 18-13 on the road this season. They will host the Grizzlies on Saturday at ORACLE Arena.
Golden State is No. 8 in the Western Conference playoff race and has a 2 1/2 game lead over Denver, while Phoenix is the sixth seed and is just a half-game ahead of No. 7 Dallas.
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Injured Brockman agonizes on bench
Huskies star calls it 'the worst feeling ever' sitting through loss
By DAN RALEY, P-I REPORTER
March 13, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- For the first time in 97 basketball games at Washington, Jon Brockman didn't play. Didn't grab a rebound. Didn't stir Thursday night from the last seat on the Huskies' bench at the Staples Center.
Brockman put on a fresh uniform, but couldn't trade in his battered left ankle, forcing him to sit out the Huskies' 84-81 setback to California, an outcome that eliminated his team from the Pac-10 tournament.
"It was terrible," the junior forward said. "It was the worst feeling ever, sitting there on the bench. I wanted to run out on the court and check in."
Brockman, however, wasn't running anywhere. Limping was his only alternative, the only good news the fact he was moving without crutches for the first time since getting injured. Forty-five minutes before tipoff against Cal, the ankle he rolled completely over at Washington State was put through a series of tests and the determination was made that he was no better than 50 to 60 percent.
"I kept trying to convince myself I'd be all right to play," he said. "I did all I could and I still wasn't ready."
The most strenuous activity for Brockman, a second-team All-Pac-10 pick, came after the game. He was asked to do the postgame radio interview, letting his teammates off the hook.
They would rather have him on the floor. If there's a postseason game next week for the Huskies, Brockman bravely says he'll be ready for it.
"I'm not saying I'll be 100 percent, but I'll be able to play," he said.
MERCY KILLING: Oregon State finished its season with its 23rd consecutive loss, an 87-56 blasting from Arizona in the tourney nightcap, maybe telling school administrators once and for all the midseason firing of coach Jay John was a disastrous mistake. The team lost 15 in a row without him and was never competitive again, finishing 6-25.
Jordan Hill's 16 points led five double-figure scorers for Arizona (19-13), which faces Stanford on Thursday. Reserve Lathegn Wallace scored a game-high 19 to lead Oregon State.
TALENT SCOUTS: Tournament attendance received a healthy boost with 42 scouts representing 26 of the 30 NBA teams filling seats at the Staples Center, their presence greater than usual but really no mystery at all.
Mock draft Web sites have eight to nine Pac-10 players listed among their first-round selections, a majority of them underclassmen. The highest-listed players are Stanford sophomore forward Brook Lopez, rated third overall by www.nbadraft.net and potentially going to the Memphis Grizzlies, and Arizona freshman guard Jerryd Bayless, considered the third overall pick by www.draftexpress.com.
UCLA coach Ben Howland might the guy most unhappy over the abundance of scouts in the arena -- all five of his starters, all underclassmen, are listed among the draft's first 44 players by nbadraft.net.
P-I reporter Dan Raley can be reached at 206-448-8008 or danraley@seattlepi.com. Read his Foul Shots blog at blog.seattlepi.com/foulshots
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