Game Day: Suns (58-14) @ Timberwolves (42-31), Wed 3/23/22

[Split T]

That was some game. Ya, the refs lost control. Minny really wanted that win. They were already beaten by the Suns twice and were at home and on a major winning streak and feeling good about themselves and their chances. Once again the Suns dismantled another team in the fourth quarter and sucked the life out of them. The wolves came out ferocious and by the fourth quarter were little lost puppies.

Anyone know what happened early? The Suns had 25 points. I think it was Booker who then got fouled and went to the line. He made the first free throw and the score stayed 25. He missed the second free throw and then the score went to 24. I’m like, how does that work?

This team is so bad ass.

They incorrectly credited the suns with a basket initially. Book made the shot, but they called the foul on the floor. So it was 28-23 when the foul occurred, score keepers changed it to 28-25. My guess is they left it at 25 thinking Booker would make both and correct their mistake. But then Booker missed the 2nd free throw and they had to change the score.

[In2ition]

I fucking love this team. It is my favorite Suns team ever.

Same. Living in Salt Lake City, it's fun to be a Suns fan right now. For some reason, Jazz fans are so bitter towards the Suns. And if you really want to get into an argument, just give an inkling that you think Booker is better than Mitchell. No one's ever going to be able to convince me of that!

I see that all over Twitter, too.

Honestly, who cares who you think is better? Like if you like Mitchell better, great. If you think Book is better, great! Seems like a weird thing to get upset about.

One player is in the same conversation with Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant. That should help your argument.

Just based on the age, though. Mitchell averages more points per game over his career than Book.

Are you being a contrarian in the Suns board? Lol, never change Indy, never change.

BTW, you are technically correct, since he came into the league 2 yrs older than Book did.

[In2ition]

Check out 25:25 if you want to see Bev trip up Book and 26:15 for Vanderbilt tripping Payne under the basket after Payne blocks his shot out of bounds.

https://nbafullhd.com/69093-2/

Good catches.

Did this one get brought up? What's he doing here?

[Shabazz]

Ayton is certainly doing just about everything he can to provide max value while not being able to be a primary initiator.

Defends the rim, plays very good post defense, can switch onto the perimeter and not get torched. He rebounds, he’s got incredible touch around the rim, he destroys switches now. Last night showed he can hurt you when you trap our guards. He even flashes that top of the arc 3 point shot.

Per-36 he’s 21/12 on a .668 TS%. I think we’ll always want him to be more aggressive drawing fouls or attacking off the dribble, but he’s just so so good at what he does do. I love that he rarely hesitates anymore. When he gets the ball in position, he goes up quick and his touch is elite.

I’ll never want us to force feed him, but I think we can run more stuff with getting Ayton the ball in mind. Outside of maybe a Cam Johnson corner 3 or a wide open lay-up, I doubt there’s a more efficient shot than an Ayton paint shot in our offense.

Agreed. I feel so much more comfortable giving Ayton the ball (in multiple spots on the floor) and letting him generate 2 points than I did at this point last year.

[bajanguy008]

[dragickingdom]

The point in the 4th quarter where Booker flexes at the crowd and yells out...I pictured him screaming "are you not entertained" in his best Russell Crowe voice.

[dragickingdom]

So I was listening to NBA radio at my job site waiting for the inspector to show up and they were talking about Chris Paul playing tonight. They then questioned why he didn't play last night and brought up the nasty/dirty play of Pat Bev. They said they were going to call EJ and get his thoughts.
Every time I think of Pat Bev at this point I picture the meme of him doing his flip dance all the way to Cancun.

[Split T]

Here’s the Vanderbilt trip mentioned earlier…I kinda hope we get them in round 1 and trounce them worse than we did the nuggets last year.

[dragickingdom]

The one thing I'm worried about is another broken nose and other injuries they could do out of frustration. The Nuggets didn't play dirty and had class even while being swept.
Do you think Pat Bev or someone else would bat an eye over seriously injuring Booker or Paul?

[djy2j]

Also how can you negate a technical foul with a traveling call.

The refs: Well he traveled first so Bennett tackling Booker never really happened

My eyes: Yes it the fuck did.

[Split T]

Also how can you negate a technical foul with a traveling call.

The refs: Well he traveled first so Bennett tackling Booker never really happened

My eyes: Yes it the fuck did.

Ya that was my biggest issue…I get overturning the foul call, but whatever the tech was for still happened…also calling that tech while we were on a fast break was ridiculous…let us finish the break first.

[rhylek]

[Flagrant Fowl]

Also how can you negate a technical foul with a traveling call.

The refs: Well he traveled first so Bennett tackling Booker never really happened

My eyes: Yes it the fuck did.

Ya that was my biggest issue…I get overturning the foul call, but whatever the tech was for still happened…also calling that tech while we were on a fast break was ridiculous…let us finish the break first.

That was some wild HS level officiating. The replay shown on the Wolves broadcast also made it hard to find why the technical was called. A couple of Wolves players were upset but they didn't do anything demonstrative.

[SunsRIt]

2 players in the NBA scare me when they play our team. Not for their basketball ability, but because they can become unhinged and injure any player at any time on purpose. Grayson Allen and Patrick Beverly. There is no place for them in the league.