Game Day (Preseason): Suns (3-1) @ Lakers (2-3), Thurs 10/19/23

[O_Gardino]

It's not that AD outplayed Nurkic, the problem is that the Sun were trying to force it. The Suns should have been trying to get AD out of the play instead of going right at him with Nurk. The Suns did get a lot smarter as the game went on, but that first stretch was brutal. What did AD have - 4 blocks in 3 minutes or something?

[JeremyG]

Forget the problems with Nurk’s offense. But can we admit that he is not a defensive anchor?

[ShelC]

We only went at AD because Book and Beal were out. And I don't know that that was the gameplan. I liked Nurk on the perimeter and if a few 3s can fall it'll draw AD out of the paint.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Have we talked about how AD ate Nurkic's lunch yet? 1-11? Woof.

Nurk shot 1-11 and had 5 fouls. I think these are the types of games where we'll miss the former center guy. Former guy was able to mostly guard guys like AD and Jokic 1:1. Nurkic was overmatched.

Able, Willing, and Actually do something, are three very different propositions. At least now the coaching staff can scheme properly knowing what kind of returns are expected, instead of having to roll the dice on what effort and effect they will get, almost on a quarter-to-quarter basis.

[Superbone]

Believe me, Vogel's plan is not for Nurk to go at AD one on one.

[bajanguy008]

[TOO]

Media says the Suns are top heavy with no bench. *shrugs*

[Charlie Smithy!]

Media says the Suns are top heavy with no bench. *shrugs*

The perfect metaphor for my body with cerebral palsy

[Split T]

Forget the problems with Nurk’s offense. But can we admit that he is not a defensive anchor?

I don’t think anyone believes he’s some sort of defensive anchor. We’re just hoping he can be passable

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Forget the problems with Nurk’s offense. But can we admit that he is not a defensive anchor?

You don’t need to waste energy pushing that Nurkic < Ayton, everyone is aware that in a vacuum, and under ideal circumstances, Ayton is the better player. Rest your soul on that.

Problem is, “ideal” is something that is not happening with Ayton, except for a few samples here and there. As I said in another post, you can’t successfully go game planning if one key cog is a complete unknown. After the trade, the team knows what they have, and what not (including projections on health availability) regarding the center position. Before the trade, counting on Ayton stopping AD was a gamble, and either you waste resources game planning against it in case he actually does it, or put yourself at total risk in case the kid wakes up on a paper tissue soft mood, plus the total disarray of adjusting on the fly, with the added bonus of alienating the kid if you bench him for his effort levels.

They are cutting the unreliable although superior player, in favor of the lesser but reliably known quantity. What a shame and a waste it is, but the kid brought it into himself.

You clearly can’t accept that this was a total “addition by substraction” trade, where the team tried to salvage the most posible value from a decision that was set to happen (shipping Ayton out)

And it’s ok if you keep believing the kid is the second coming but you will find more echo on a Portland forum praising him, because in this forum, once the game starts counting, he will be an afterthought for most of us.

[Kryptonic]

Forget the problems with Nurk’s offense. But can we admit that he is not a defensive anchor?

I don’t think anyone believes he’s some sort of defensive anchor. We’re just hoping he can be passable

And pass-able

[iLLmatic]

Forget the problems with Nurk’s offense. But can we admit that he is not a defensive anchor?

You don’t need to waste energy pushing that Nurkic < Ayton, everyone is aware that in a vacuum, and under ideal circumstances, Ayton is the better player. Rest your soul on that.

Problem is, “ideal” is something that is not happening with Ayton, except for a few samples here and there. As I said in another post, you can’t successfully go game planning if one key cog is a complete unknown. After the trade, the team knows what they have, and what not (including projections on health availability) regarding the center position. Before the trade, counting on Ayton stopping AD was a gamble, and either you waste resources game planning against it in case he actually does it, or put yourself at total risk in case the kid wakes up on a paper tissue soft mood, plus the total disarray of adjusting on the fly, with the added bonus of alienating the kid if you bench him for his effort levels.

They are cutting the unreliable although superior player, in favor of the lesser but reliably known quantity. What a shame and a waste it is, but the kid brought it into himself.

You clearly can’t accept that this was a total “addition by substraction” trade, where the team tried to salvage the most posible value from a decision that was set to happen (shipping Ayton out)

And it’s ok if you keep believing the kid is the second coming but you will find more echo on a Portland forum praising him, because in this forum, once the game starts counting, he will be an afterthought for most of us.

Let’s also not forget we got another piece coming off the bench in Grayson so it’s not a one for one.

[Flagrant Fowl]

We're doing the thing where we compare Nurkic to Ayton every time one of them has a bad game? Got it.

Don't get it twisted, AD would've eaten Ayton's lunch as well. Maybe he goes 4-11 instead of 1-11. Big deal.

[Superbone]

We're doing the thing where we compare Nurkic to Ayton every time one of them has a bad game? Got it.

Don't get it twisted, AD would've eaten Ayton's lunch as well. Maybe he goes 4-11 instead of 1-11. Big deal.

Who’s we? Only one person here keeping score.

[carey]

I didn't even bring Ayton up, for the record. I was just saying it was crazy how overmatched Nurk was.Although he also didn't get any calls when Ayton def got body on him a couple times. Really felt like a Lakers home game.

[JeremyG]

Forget the problems with Nurk’s offense. But can we admit that he is not a defensive anchor?

You don’t need to waste energy pushing that Nurkic < Ayton, everyone is aware that in a vacuum, and under ideal circumstances, Ayton is the better player. Rest your soul on that.

Problem is, “ideal” is something that is not happening with Ayton, except for a few samples here and there. As I said in another post, you can’t successfully go game planning if one key cog is a complete unknown. After the trade, the team knows what they have, and what not (including projections on health availability) regarding the center position. Before the trade, counting on Ayton stopping AD was a gamble, and either you waste resources game planning against it in case he actually does it, or put yourself at total risk in case the kid wakes up on a paper tissue soft mood, plus the total disarray of adjusting on the fly, with the added bonus of alienating the kid if you bench him for his effort levels.

They are cutting the unreliable although superior player, in favor of the lesser but reliably known quantity. What a shame and a waste it is, but the kid brought it into himself.

You clearly can’t accept that this was a total “addition by substraction” trade, where the team tried to salvage the most posible value from a decision that was set to happen (shipping Ayton out)

And it’s ok if you keep believing the kid is the second coming but you will find more echo on a Portland forum praising him, because in this forum, once the game starts counting, he will be an afterthought for most of us.

That's a lot of paragraphs about someone I did not mention and was not talking about.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Forget the problems with Nurk’s offense. But can we admit that he is not a defensive anchor?

You don’t need to waste energy pushing that Nurkic < Ayton, everyone is aware that in a vacuum, and under ideal circumstances, Ayton is the better player. Rest your soul on that.

Problem is, “ideal” is something that is not happening with Ayton, except for a few samples here and there. As I said in another post, you can’t successfully go game planning if one key cog is a complete unknown. After the trade, the team knows what they have, and what not (including projections on health availability) regarding the center position. Before the trade, counting on Ayton stopping AD was a gamble, and either you waste resources game planning against it in case he actually does it, or put yourself at total risk in case the kid wakes up on a paper tissue soft mood, plus the total disarray of adjusting on the fly, with the added bonus of alienating the kid if you bench him for his effort levels.

They are cutting the unreliable although superior player, in favor of the lesser but reliably known quantity. What a shame and a waste it is, but the kid brought it into himself.

You clearly can’t accept that this was a total “addition by substraction” trade, where the team tried to salvage the most posible value from a decision that was set to happen (shipping Ayton out)

And it’s ok if you keep believing the kid is the second coming but you will find more echo on a Portland forum praising him, because in this forum, once the game starts counting, he will be an afterthought for most of us.

That's a lot of paragraphs about someone I did not mention and was not talking about.

LOL, you didn’t create the “All things Ayton” thread either, but still have your finger prints all over it…. Indirect posting is not going to hide your agenda, but I take your omission to engage, not even in your usual nitpicking of a single line to twist it into a pro Ayton delusion, as a token of someone opening his eyes into the truth: the team is better off without Ayton.

You can keep up the lovefest for your guy and still acknowledge this, and if Ayton becomes valuable to Portland, well, happy ending for all.

[JeremyG]

Forget the problems with Nurk’s offense. But can we admit that he is not a defensive anchor?

You don’t need to waste energy pushing that Nurkic < Ayton, everyone is aware that in a vacuum, and under ideal circumstances, Ayton is the better player. Rest your soul on that.

Problem is, “ideal” is something that is not happening with Ayton, except for a few samples here and there. As I said in another post, you can’t successfully go game planning if one key cog is a complete unknown. After the trade, the team knows what they have, and what not (including projections on health availability) regarding the center position. Before the trade, counting on Ayton stopping AD was a gamble, and either you waste resources game planning against it in case he actually does it, or put yourself at total risk in case the kid wakes up on a paper tissue soft mood, plus the total disarray of adjusting on the fly, with the added bonus of alienating the kid if you bench him for his effort levels.

They are cutting the unreliable although superior player, in favor of the lesser but reliably known quantity. What a shame and a waste it is, but the kid brought it into himself.

You clearly can’t accept that this was a total “addition by substraction” trade, where the team tried to salvage the most posible value from a decision that was set to happen (shipping Ayton out)

And it’s ok if you keep believing the kid is the second coming but you will find more echo on a Portland forum praising him, because in this forum, once the game starts counting, he will be an afterthought for most of us.

That's a lot of paragraphs about someone I did not mention and was not talking about.

LOL, you didn’t create the “All things Ayton” thread either,

I did create it.

but still have your finger prints all over it…. Indirect posting is not going to hide your agenda, but I take your omission to engage, not even in your usual nitpicking of a single line to twist it into a pro Ayton delusion, as a token of someone opening his eyes into the truth: the team is better off without Ayton.

Not at all, just not going to let you bait me into a debate, but if you want to think that to help you feel better, go ahead.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Forget the problems with Nurk’s offense. But can we admit that he is not a defensive anchor?

You don’t need to waste energy pushing that Nurkic < Ayton, everyone is aware that in a vacuum, and under ideal circumstances, Ayton is the better player. Rest your soul on that.

Problem is, “ideal” is something that is not happening with Ayton, except for a few samples here and there. As I said in another post, you can’t successfully go game planning if one key cog is a complete unknown. After the trade, the team knows what they have, and what not (including projections on health availability) regarding the center position. Before the trade, counting on Ayton stopping AD was a gamble, and either you waste resources game planning against it in case he actually does it, or put yourself at total risk in case the kid wakes up on a paper tissue soft mood, plus the total disarray of adjusting on the fly, with the added bonus of alienating the kid if you bench him for his effort levels.

They are cutting the unreliable although superior player, in favor of the lesser but reliably known quantity. What a shame and a waste it is, but the kid brought it into himself.

You clearly can’t accept that this was a total “addition by substraction” trade, where the team tried to salvage the most posible value from a decision that was set to happen (shipping Ayton out)

And it’s ok if you keep believing the kid is the second coming but you will find more echo on a Portland forum praising him, because in this forum, once the game starts counting, he will be an afterthought for most of us.

That's a lot of paragraphs about someone I did not mention and was not talking about.

LOL, you didn’t create the “All things Ayton” thread either,

I did create it.

but still have your finger prints all over it…. Indirect posting is not going to hide your agenda, but I take your omission to engage, not even in your usual nitpicking of a single line to twist it into a pro Ayton delusion, as a token of someone opening his eyes into the truth: the team is better off without Ayton.

Not at all, just not going to let you bait me into a debate, but if you want to think that to help you feel better, go ahead.

The king of baiting calling it quits, oh Jeremy, you are losing yourself on the grief, but no worries, I felt better the moment the team sent “bruised ribs” packing, your Ayton “opinions” never moved my “feeling better” needle one bit.

[MightyMoog]

Why are we acting like we shouldn’t be expecting AD to do what he did. We all know he whines about not being a center. But he’s the third best center in the league behind Jokic and Giannis. At worst he’s the fourth, depends on your feelings about Embid.

Nurkic should look mediocre next to him. Ayton shouldn’t. Sad part is, they both do. Also, one makes twice as much as the other. So unless Ayton is averaging something close to 22 and 15 this year, Nurkic is going to be the better deal.