Game Day: Suns (2-4) @ Pistons (2-4), Sun 11/5/23

[Superbone]

And what’s the deal with Jalen Rose standing on the sideline all game long and acting like a coach? I’d be pissed if I had a seat behind him.

Oh, so that WAS Jalen Rose. I was at the game behind the Suns bench and saw him constantly getting up and moving around. I thought it was him but wasn't sure. It was like he thought it was all about him. Weird.

Good pic. Even shows the frustrated fan behind him also forced to stand up.

[Superbone]

I'm worried these heavy minutes/usage early on will take its toll on EG. We talk about KD, but EG is a real luxury and I'd hate to see him fade because we're relying on him so much now. We'd be smart to pull back on him if/when we're full strength. Allen I'm obviously less worried about, but we can't afford to lose EG down the stretch.

I don't know. He's built like a tank and hasn't seemed to slow down much. I feel pretty good about him and not too worried.

[Superbone]

[Mori Chu]

Detroit has a nice young core. It really all depends on if Cade can pop and become an all-star type leader for them. Duren is what we imagined Ayton to be and Ausar looks promising.

Yeah, they have a lot of nice pieces. To my eyes it looks like they could really use a couple of sharpshooters, though. They need more 3-point gunners to go with their young PG and bigs.

[Split T]

Cade/Sasser/Thompson/Duren…that feels like their starting lineup. Need to find that 5th guy. Monty doesn’t seem to like Ivey, moving him for a 4 that shoots the lights out would be huge for them.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Bojan Bogdanovic is injured on their bench. They'll get a lot of shooting when he returns but the problem is that it'll somewhat come at the expense of Thompson's minutes. Jaden Ivey can also shoot pretty well, but they've decided to start with Hayes next to Cade.

They really just need time to grow. If no one has a major injury and continues their development trajectory, this team will be quite good in a couple of seasons.

[Split T]

One of the bigger problems might be Monty playing two bigs…he flirted with that here but mostly stayed away from it. Seems like he’s doing a lot more of it in Detroit. That was one thing Monty did occasionally that I didn’t love. Bojan should take Stewart’s minutes, not Ausar’s.

Speaking of Ausar, would he go 2nd in a redraft? Maybe that’s a bit high, Miller has been good for Charlotte and Scoot still has a high upside, but I think he at least goes above his brother, no? I love him…haven’t watched a lot obviously…but I’m getting some Marion vibes with better playmaking. We’ll see if he can figure out the shot enough. I can see him being a 18/9/5 guy who plays elite defense and just fills a ton of holes. He’s a 4 stocks kind of guy too.

[Shabazz]

One of the bigger problems might be Monty playing two bigs…he flirted with that here but mostly stayed away from it. Seems like he’s doing a lot more of it in Detroit. That was one thing Monty did occasionally that I didn’t love. Bojan should take Stewart’s minutes, not Ausar’s.

Speaking of Ausar, would he go 2nd in a redraft? Maybe that’s a bit high, Miller has been good for Charlotte and Scoot still has a high upside, but I think he at least goes above his brother, no? I love him…haven’t watched a lot obviously…but I’m getting some Marion vibes with better playmaking. We’ll see if he can figure out the shot enough. I can see him being a 18/9/5 guy who plays elite defense and just fills a ton of holes. He’s a 4 stocks kind of guy too.

I saw someone compare him to Kirilenko and I liked that. He’s definitely of that Marion/AK/prime Gerald Wallace/Josh Smith mold. He’ll stuff the stat sheet with effort and athleticism and if he figures out offensive creation and shooting, he’s a star.

[ShelC]

I don't think he's quite Matrix, almost like a bigger/better version of Okogie. I saw someone mention Stacey Augmon, which is a nice throwback. He's got the all around game and makes an impact everywhere, but the offense is still rough. Maybe Ron Artest?

[Flagrant Fowl]

That's right, Stewart should go to the bench for Bojan, but like you said, it seems as if Monty is sticking with that lineup.

Ausar has quite a bit of AK47 in him. ('bazz beat me to it)

[Shabazz]

On the Pistons roster, they’ve made some bizarre decisions over the last few years. Having all of Duren, Beef Stew, Wiseman and Bagley doesn’t make any sense. They drafted primary ball-handlers 3 years in a row. And they had a ton of cap space this summer which they used in very questionable ways (taking on totally redundant Joe Harris and Monte Morris for some second round picks? Huh?).

[Split T]

I see AK47…he had some playmaking chops…Ausar is a better athlete(and not quite as big). I think AK would be a pretty great small ball 5 in todays game. Maybe a Marion/AK hybrid. I hope he learns to shoot or his ceiling will be pretty limited.