Game Day: Nets (29-20) @ Suns (40-9), Tues 2/1/22

[AmareIsGod]

Payton had -14 so it's going to sound crazy saying this but he looked much more confident last night. Had some great assists and even played some good defense for stretches. Weird how that +/- works out sometimes.

[Indy]

Payton had -14 so it's going to sound crazy saying this but he looked much more confident last night. Had some great assists and even played some good defense for stretches. Weird how that +/- works out sometimes.

He did look better than usual, which I realize isn't saying much.

I think a lot of that confidence came from knowing he was going to get minutes no matter what. With no CamP or Shamet or Nader, we literally have zero backups that can play guard besides him.

[In2ition]

I agree that you have to give credit to Payton for a few plays, but overall it wasn't good from what I saw, and the +/- reflected that.

[specialsauce]

41 minutes for Paul. 39 for Booker.

WHY

Payton -14 in 13 minutes played.

I get it.

But it’s the regular season. We have bigger goals than winning every single regular season game.

Running them into the ground is just awful. Play Payton and take the L if you have to. Force James Jones hand if you really need the Ws.

[Shabazz]

Booker didn’t need to play the whole second half. He should have gotten his customary 4th quarter rest.

[Mori Chu]

41 minutes for Paul. 39 for Booker.

WHY

Payton -14 in 13 minutes played.

I get it.

But it’s the regular season. We have bigger goals than winning every single regular season game.

Running them into the ground is just awful. Play Payton and take the L if you have to. Force James Jones hand if you really need the Ws.

This is how I feel, too. We won't remember some random Nets game from February at playoff time, but we will remember if key players are worn out or injured when we need them.

[Mori Chu]

It's nice to see a game where all three of CP3, Book, and Mikal had good games. Mikal was so active on both ends. I can't remember the last time he had that many cuts to the basket for layups. And he played great defense, though Kyrie and Harden are both nearly impossible to stop.

You can just about pencil in Booker for an automatic 30 points every game. And he usually does it without feeling like he's hogging the ball or taking every shot. He's so talented. I don't get why people talk about CP3 as the Suns' potential MVP candidate; to me it's clearly Booker. The fact that he gets so little All-Star or MVP attention is sad.

It was good to have Ayton and Crowder back, though neither quite looked like himself. Ayton was okay but also looked a little lost. He had a few plays where he just forgot about his man (usually Blake Griffin) who would get an open layup behind him. But he also had some nice cuts to the basket and a few great dunks. I think he'll be fine after a few more games to get his rhythm back. I still think we're way deadlier with Ayton playing the bulk of the minutes at center than JaVale or Bismack, obviously. Crowder knuckle-balled some 3s and rushed others; his misses clanked harder off the rim than usual, which makes sense given his injury. Despite Jae being a very good defender, I think a team like Brooklyn is a tough matchup for him because all 3 of Harden, Kyrie, and Durant are not good matchups for Crowder to guard. They are all too fast for him, and Durant's also too tall and rangey. So Jae can hurt us in pick-and-roll situations. Bridges and Cam Johnson match up with their big 3 much better.

I actually didn't think Payton was too bad tonight. His shooting is awful, but I just want to see him manage possessions; I have low expectations for him at this point.

Irving was easy to forget about with all the anti-vax stuff, but man is he good. It's pretty scary to think about this Nets team with him, Harden, and Durant all healthy. Despite all their turmoil this season they may just be the best team in the East when healthy. Last time they played us, I think it was Bembry who impressed me. He was quieter this game and clearly had trouble on defense. But this time Edwards seemed to have really blossomed and did a nice job defensively as well as with his scoring. The Nets probably need more guys like that to step up outside of their big 3.

[Superbone]

Trophies aren't won in February. I am starting to wonder if we should be resting guys. Yeah, it's great to win every game but we need to ensure we have a lot left in the tank in June and July. The Warriors get that. They rest all their starters some nights. I hope it doesn't come back to haunt us.

[Split T]

Trophies aren't won in February. I am starting to wonder if we should be resting guys. Yeah, it's great to win every game but we need to ensure we have a lot left in the tank in June and July. The Warriors get that. They rest all their starters some nights. I hope it doesn't come back to haunt us.

Most our guys are young and can handle it. CP3 isn’t going to allow us to rest him.

[Shabazz]

Hopefully if we get the #1 seed locked up early we can give the vets some games off.

[Mori Chu]

Trophies aren't won in February. I am starting to wonder if we should be resting guys. Yeah, it's great to win every game but we need to ensure we have a lot left in the tank in June and July. The Warriors get that. They rest all their starters some nights. I hope it doesn't come back to haunt us.

100% agree. Playing your guys too many minutes to eke out a few regular season wins and then having guys be tired in the playoffs is classic "never won a title before" strategy. Got to save energy for later in the year.

[3rdside]

It's nice to see a game where all three of CP3, Book, and Mikal had good games. Mikal was so active on both ends. I can't remember the last time he had that many cuts to the basket for layups. And he played great defense, though Kyrie and Harden are both nearly impossible to stop.

You can just about pencil in Booker for an automatic 30 points every game. And he usually does it without feeling like he's hogging the ball or taking every shot. He's so talented. I don't get why people talk about CP3 as the Suns' potential MVP candidate; to me it's clearly Booker. The fact that he gets so little All-Star or MVP attention is sad.

It was good to have Ayton and Crowder back, though neither quite looked like himself. Ayton was okay but also looked a little lost. He had a few plays where he just forgot about his man (usually Blake Griffin) who would get an open layup behind him. But he also had some nice cuts to the basket and a few great dunks. I think he'll be fine after a few more games to get his rhythm back. I still think we're way deadlier with Ayton playing the bulk of the minutes at center than JaVale or Bismack, obviously. Crowder knuckle-balled some 3s and rushed others; his misses clanked harder off the rim than usual, which makes sense given his injury. Despite Jae being a very good defender, I think a team like Brooklyn is a tough matchup for him because all 3 of Harden, Kyrie, and Durant are not good matchups for Crowder to guard. They are all too fast for him, and Durant's also too tall and rangey. So Jae can hurt us in pick-and-roll situations. Bridges and Cam Johnson match up with their big 3 much better.

I actually didn't think Payton was too bad tonight. His shooting is awful, but I just want to see him manage possessions; I have low expectations for him at this point.

Irving was easy to forget about with all the anti-vax stuff, but man is he good. It's pretty scary to think about this Nets team with him, Harden, and Durant all healthy. Despite all their turmoil this season they may just be the best team in the East when healthy. Last time they played us, I think it was Bembry who impressed me. He was quieter this game and clearly had trouble on defense. But this time Edwards seemed to have really blossomed and did a nice job defensively as well as with his scoring. The Nets probably need more guys like that to step up outside of their big 3.

Hard disagree on Booker vs Paul - Paul goes to OKC and they’re back in the playoffs, Booker goes it’s a few extra wins.

That said, Booker does bring eye of the tiger mentality so there’s that to consider tho I still take paul.

[Indy]

Book is our best player and raises our ceiling. Chris is our MVP and raises our floor.

[In2ition]

You're on fire today, Indy.

[Split T]

Just now watching the game, Nets didn’t miss a shot in the first 6 minutes and they were losing by 7…that’s pretty crazy.

[3rdside]

Book is our best player and raises our ceiling. Chris is our MVP and raises our floor.

Pretty well said - along the same kind of lines as the LBJ vs MJ debate; if I'm starting a new franchise my first pick is LBJ by some distance over MJ. If I absolutely have to pick a missing piece to put my team over the top, it's MJ.

Book isn't MJ though and is more easily replaceable in this team - touch wood, but if I had to lose someone to injury this year it would be Booker and not Paul.

Without either we probably can't win but we're no chance if it's Paul.

[Indy]

Book is our best player and raises our ceiling. Chris is our MVP and raises our floor.

Pretty well said - along the same kind of lines as the LBJ vs MJ debate; if I'm starting a new franchise my first pick is LBJ by some distance over MJ. If I absolutely have to pick a missing piece to put my team over the top, it's MJ.

Book isn't MJ though and is more easily replaceable in this team - touch wood, but if I had to lose someone to injury this year it would be Booker and not Paul.

Without either we probably can't win but we're no chance if it's Paul.

We won both games Paul missed in the playoffs last year.

The two bad games Book had were both Ls.

[Split T]

I think losing Book would cap us as a 2nd round team. We could win a 1st round series without him, but that’s it. Losing Paul would make us much more volatile. We might lose in round 1 or we might go to the finals depending on how hot Booker got.