Game Day: Suns (7-5) @ Pelicans (2-11), Sun 11/22/15

[LazarusLong]

It's a game the Suns should have won.
Substitution patterns seem, at best, knee-jerk reactions to what NO was doing.
Small-ball rotations up front didn't help, because Davis and Anderson combined for, what, 60 points?

[Indy]

The slow starts beg the question of whether we should change our starting lineup. IMO, Keef doesn't really help us on either end as a starter at the 4 spot. When we put him at the 5, that helps our offense but cripples our defense. Of course, I'm in favor of leaving him out of the equation entirely.

I would really like to see us try TJ and PJ as starters at the 3 and 4 spots.

Anyone else notice how we were reacting to their lineup changes the whole game? We put Price on the floor to slow Ish Smith. We went without a center as soon as they took Asik off the floor. Why not make them react to us a little bit? And as if anyone wondered, Keef on AD didn't exactly work.

Overall, I was pretty happy with our effort. I'm in favor of moving Keef for another bench contributor and moving TJ into the starting lineup. Our guards, for all their positives, are streaky, and I don't think we do them any favors by telegraphing to the opponent that we are of course going to them every time down the floor. I suppose coach likes to go with PJ and Keef knowing that each of them can post up fairly effectively if a guard switches on to them in a P&R. That advantage ceases if we run TJ and PJ with the starters. IDK.

I have been really critical of PJ for a while, but he was the only front-court guy hustling early on. If we are going to keep Keef in the lineup, I would keep PJ in there (because Keef is doing nothing for us, and we need someone banging inside). If we are going to get Keef out of there (which I would be really ecstatic about), I think that I would put TJ at the 3 and John at the 4, having PJ come in off the bench to wreck havoc.

[carey]

Anyone else notice how we were reacting to their lineup changes the whole game?

Hornacek has always been reactive instead of proactive. It's one of his worst qualities as a coach actually.

[Nodack]

Cotton<flushes toilet>

[Mori Chu]

Watched this one on delay so didn't comment during. Weird lineups and sub patterns. Though Bledsoe was on his way to another amazing game but he must have been gimpy in the second half. I still really hate Morris and his awful shooting. Why didn't Chandler, or at least Len, play more? Also: <3 Booker. Great stat line for him. He's growing up fast.

[LazarusLong]

Cotton<flushes toilet>

yeah, Hornacek resembles Cotton the way Dan Quayle resembled JFK ...

[EDC]

[video][/video]

[carey]

He really is the next Klay Thompson. I'm glad he's been getting playing time. His stroke is so sweet you can even see it from the upper deck. It's fast, you can visibly see the rotation, and he shoots it with confidence. I want to say he'll be starting within 2 years but I don't know what we'd do with our 2 really good guards.

Who would you move of the Bledsoe-Knight-Booker threesome given that it's likely too early to tell?

Oh, I forgot to add, there were a lot of youngish guys running around with these 3/4 length Suns t-shirts with "Booker" and his number on the back. I'm wondering if they traveled down from Kentucky for the game? A couple of them even had orange Suns hoodies on. I was a bit surprised because I very, very rarely see Suns fans at the game and I've made most of them over the last 8 years.

[Indy]

He really is the next Klay Thompson. I'm glad he's been getting playing time. His stroke is so sweet you can even see it from the upper deck. It's fast, you can visibly see the rotation, and he shoots it with confidence. I want to say he'll be starting within 2 years but I don't know what we'd do with our 2 really good guards.

Who would you move of the Bledsoe-Knight-Booker threesome given that it's likely too early to tell?

Oh, I forgot to add, there were a lot of youngish guys running around with these 3/4 length Suns t-shirts with "Booker" and his number on the back. I'm wondering if they traveled down from Kentucky for the game? A couple of them even had orange Suns hoodies on. I was a bit surprised because I very, very rarely see Suns fans at the game and I've made most of them over the last 8 years.

Not Booker.

[ShelC]

I wonder if we just go small with Booker at the 3. We'd need to seriously upgrade at the 4 tho. But Bledsoe, Knight and Booker would be as good a trio on the perimeter as there is in the league.

[OE32]

Who would you move of the Bledsoe-Knight-Booker threesome given that it's likely too early to tell?

Fortunately, due to their contracts, there's no rush to move on from any of them. I like the idea of using the three of them in a steady rotation (each getting about 30 minutes) until we find a taker for one of Knight or Bledsoe - preferably summer after next, in exchange for a starting 4.

[ShelC]

I'd love to see KLove win a title and then be moved here. I just don't think the Cavs would be interested in Bledsoe or Knight with Irving onboard. But figure Knight or Bledsoe and Kieff for Love?

[Mori Chu]

I still think the Bulls are a better trade partner. They have a loaded frontcourt and a mediocre backcourt. The Cavs have an elite max-contract PG already and probably don't want another big-money tweener guard.

[Nodack]

Cotton<flushes toilet>

yeah, Hornacek resembles Cotton the way Dan Quayle resembled JFK ...

I don't think they resemble each other at all. I was just channeling Cotton.

I was really puzzled by us not playing our Centers too. Anthony Davis is obviously a beast. So quick and so long. He did kind of chew up Chandler a little bit when he played. I don't recall Len playing against Davis at all but, I could be wrong. We did slow him down offensively with our smaller lineup. The Suns were shooting lights out from 3's, but that number went way down when they tried to do anything near the rim because of him. I am surprised Hornecek bailed on Chandler and Len so fast. I am also surprised they did't go mid range more. The play at the end of the game where the Suns were trying to get off a three and Davis guarded two three point players at the same time and still got the block. A pump fake could mean a 3-4 point play when they are totally over playing but, insight is 20/20.

[djy2j]

We didn't sign Chandler for 60 mil to just throw him out there against the best center in the game

[Ring_Wanted]

Use Knight+ to acquire Cousins and Melo/Hayward. Keep Bledsoe, Booker, Chandler, Leuer.

Bam. Contenders.

If instead you blow it up, get Schroder next to Booker.

[pickle]

i just finished watching the game... long delay, i know, but here are my comments.

i read the stat line before watching, and knight shooting something like 5 for 18 was not a happy line for me. but when i watched the game, i saw that the first nine he missed, at least 5 or 6 were layups that he blew. is he considered a poor finisher? did the ankle sprain affect that at all? anyway, if he actually hit half of those shots, the percentages wouldn't look nearly so bad, so ... unless he's just a very bad finisher, i'm not *that* bummed by this line anymore.

some mentioned (was it mori?) that bledsoe had a monster first half and started playing poorly in the second. was his knee injury a factor perhaps? can't tell from the actual game, but it doesn't take that much to affect rhythm on a long outside shot.

the broadcast i saw had the NO announcers and i have a *lot* of respect for them. very fair, very knowledgeable. listening to them is a real pleasure.

ryan anderson was shooting out of his mind. we didn't really give him that many open shots. i don't think this was on our defense... could have been tougher of course but if he's channeling dirk, he's gonna make shots. we were reasonably effective in neutralizing him in the second half.

the rest of these comments... i am not trying to be an apologist, but i still think that kieff and hornacek aren't all bad. kieff has his problems. i feel like he loses focus when he's not directly engaged in the play, offensive or defensive. if his man doesn't have the ball, he tends to lose track of them and allow really wide open shots or back door cuts. but when he's actively defending his man who has the ball, he puts in the effort. there was a pretty good denial of davis in the later stages of the fourth, and he could have closed out harder on the three point shot by davis but he does stand an inch shorter with much shorter arms, and davis is not a knock out three point shooter... so he should shoulder a healthy chunk of the blame, but i think his effort (when he showed it) should be recognized.

i am not that surprised by the fact that chandler and len didn't play a lot of minutes, once i saw the game (when i read the box score, i thought for sure the two of them played on the court together, collided, and knocked each other out with concussions or something). with a big like davis, who is very mobile and can shoot the 20 footer, our center needs to come out and match up, which negates their ability to defend the rim anyway. and neither is particularly mobile laterally so they can be taken off the dribble by davis, so their defensive contribution is average at best in that situation. on the other hand, on offense, neither has a post game, and davis is long enough that he would be very disruptive in both the pick and roll and the pick and pop, so both of our centers would be net negatives on offense, whereas if we put a three point shooting 4 in there, at least we draw davis out of the paint and give guards more space to drive. rebounding was a problem, absolutely, but at least i do see the logic for the substitution pattern.

at the point of this writing i already know that we lost to the spurs. hopefully tonight i'll get some time to catch up on that game too. overall though, i hope both of our guards are healthy by time we meet golden state. i don't know if we can beat them, but i want to give that game a full shot to see where we are as a team against elite competition.

[ShelC]

Davis is a tough matchup. Chandler could hold him in the post but can't guard him on the perimeter. Len can't match up with him at all. We don't have that long 6-10 inside-out guy who we can throw out there. To be fair, not many teams do. But we're especially small at the 3/4 spots in terms of length and athleticism. PJ is 6-6, TJ is 6-9, Kieff is 6-9 and none of them blow you away athletically.

Perry Jones III is still in the back of mine. He showed some real flashes last year with the Thunder, then had knee issues and got cut in Boston in training camp. Not sure if there are bigger issues there, but he's a talent for sure. I'd be willing to take a flyer on him, generally speaking.

[Indy]

i just finished watching the game... long delay, i know, but here are my comments.

i read the stat line before watching, and knight shooting something like 5 for 18 was not a happy line for me. but when i watched the game, i saw that the first nine he missed, at least 5 or 6 were layups that he blew. is he considered a poor finisher? did the ankle sprain affect that at all? anyway, if he actually hit half of those shots, the percentages wouldn't look nearly so bad, so ... unless he's just a very bad finisher, i'm not *that* bummed by this line anymore.

some mentioned (was it mori?) that bledsoe had a monster first half and started playing poorly in the second. was his knee injury a factor perhaps? can't tell from the actual game, but it doesn't take that much to affect rhythm on a long outside shot.

the broadcast i saw had the NO announcers and i have a *lot* of respect for them. very fair, very knowledgeable. listening to them is a real pleasure.

ryan anderson was shooting out of his mind. we didn't really give him that many open shots. i don't think this was on our defense... could have been tougher of course but if he's channeling dirk, he's gonna make shots. we were reasonably effective in neutralizing him in the second half.

the rest of these comments... i am not trying to be an apologist, but i still think that kieff and hornacek aren't all bad. kieff has his problems. i feel like he loses focus when he's not directly engaged in the play, offensive or defensive. if his man doesn't have the ball, he tends to lose track of them and allow really wide open shots or back door cuts. but when he's actively defending his man who has the ball, he puts in the effort. there was a pretty good denial of davis in the later stages of the fourth, and he could have closed out harder on the three point shot by davis but he does stand an inch shorter with much shorter arms, and davis is not a knock out three point shooter... so he should shoulder a healthy chunk of the blame, but i think his effort (when he showed it) should be recognized.

i am not that surprised by the fact that chandler and len didn't play a lot of minutes, once i saw the game (when i read the box score, i thought for sure the two of them played on the court together, collided, and knocked each other out with concussions or something). with a big like davis, who is very mobile and can shoot the 20 footer, our center needs to come out and match up, which negates their ability to defend the rim anyway. and neither is particularly mobile laterally so they can be taken off the dribble by davis, so their defensive contribution is average at best in that situation. on the other hand, on offense, neither has a post game, and davis is long enough that he would be very disruptive in both the pick and roll and the pick and pop, so both of our centers would be net negatives on offense, whereas if we put a three point shooting 4 in there, at least we draw davis out of the paint and give guards more space to drive. rebounding was a problem, absolutely, but at least i do see the logic for the substitution pattern.

at the point of this writing i already know that we lost to the spurs. hopefully tonight i'll get some time to catch up on that game too. overall though, i hope both of our guards are healthy by time we meet golden state. i don't know if we can beat them, but i want to give that game a full shot to see where we are as a team against elite competition.

Very solid post, pickle.

[Split T]

Davis is a tough matchup. Chandler could hold him in the post but can't guard him on the perimeter. Len can't match up with him at all. We don't have that long 6-10 inside-out guy who we can throw out there. To be fair, not many teams do. But we're especially small at the 3/4 spots in terms of length and athleticism. PJ is 6-6, TJ is 6-9, Kieff is 6-9 and none of them blow you away athletically.

Perry Jones III is still in the back of mine. He showed some real flashes last year with the Thunder, then had knee issues and got cut in Boston in training camp. Not sure if there are bigger issues there, but he's a talent for sure. I'd be willing to take a flyer on him, generally speaking.

I worked with the byu team a few years back and had front row seats to watch Perry Jones III when Baylor played byu. It was probably one of his better college games, but I've been a fan ever since. He was hitting 3's, scoring the post, blocking shots, handling the ball all while being the biggest and most athletic player on the court. Not sure what his problem has been as he clearly has the talent