Phx-Suns.Net

Paul only needed for 24 minutes...

Suns 25-26 from the foul line.

Split T wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:49 pm

I know we don’t like Elfrid, but he’s having a very good game from what I’ve seen.

Who's "we"? I love Elfrid.

JeremyG wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:31 pm

Split T wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:49 pm

I know we don’t like Elfrid, but he’s having a very good game from what I’ve seen.

Who's "we"? I love Elfrid.

People who like good Suns basketball.

JeremyG wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:31 pm

Split T wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:49 pm

I know we don’t like Elfrid, but he’s having a very good game from what I’ve seen.

Who's "we"? I love Elfrid.

The board in general…I’d say greater than 95% of Elfrid posts are negative. My apologies if I’ve missed your pro-Payton posts

You guys follow Javale McGee on Twitter? Dude is a Grammy nominated music producer and seems to be really into NFTs. Had no idea!

https://twitter.com/JaValeMcGee

Nice win all around, good to see our starters get some rest.

Stix is super bouncy. It feels like he can get to the two handed dunk much faster than DA, and he was active on the offensive boards. Super sweet stroke from the line. When he tried those two consecutive threes, you can hear the crowd pulling for him. Didn't have a lot to complain about with his performance tonight, but it was a great opportunity for him to show something and he showed that he was nervous more than anything else. Oh well. Hope we have more of these blow out performances to give him more exposure. With time he can be a useful piece, just don't know if we have the time this year. Wonder how much we'll see this lineup with Stix and McGee both on the court.

Thrilled with Shamet and Cam J's performance. Cam P's hesitation in that third quarter when isolated against Bertans, which led to a desperation step back three in the corner from Cam J was not good. It doesn't feel like Payton is a great athlete by NBA standards. His outside shot is broken, we know that. Inside, he doesn't seem to have the elevation to play above the rim, nor the bulk to finish through contact, which makes him a bit of a liability on offense, even against second stringers. His defense is solid but he'll need to be more than solid on that end to make up for the offensive deficiencies.

I guess the Wizards were tired. Early season they caught a lot of teams by surprise with their depth, but today that depth was not apparent as nobody could generate anything outside of Beal. Second half of the game I watched with the Wizards' broadcast, and Drew Gooden was clearly disappointed with the state that the Wizards are in. I know it's a 4 game losing streak but that desperation felt a little unwarranted.

It looks like from the eye test DA blocked at least 1 to 2 shots, not sure why he didn't get credited with any.

How TF is Ayton not getting credited with blocks? I watched 5 minutes of the game. During that 5 minutes alone he blocked two shots. Right before the half he had an amazing block right after scoring on the other end. Seriously, what gives?

Remember when the Wiz were near the top of the East? Now they're .500 and probably falling below that soon. Not a bad team, but their early success was a bit of a mirage. Seem kind of too dependent on Beal's heroics. I thought Neto had a good game for them. They have some other decent pieces like Holiday and Harrell but most of their roster is C- grade players.

It's been a while since we had a win where our starters like CP3 could just rest at the end of the game. I loved the way both Ayton and McGee played. Our centers are a big strength for us. This was also one of Shamet's best games as a Sun; he shot 6-10 and had 16 points. Nice balance from the team scoring overall.

Stix had a rough shooting night, 1-7. There was one play where he had an open 3, missed it, we got the rebound and gave it right back to him, he shoots another wide open 3 from the same spot, and misses that one too. Oof. But I will say I liked how he hung around the basket and got offensive boards and got fouled on inside shot attempts. I do think he has talent and brings some good length and energy and defense, and I like his rebounding. I'm glad he's getting some minutes.

We are currently tied with the Warriors for the best record in the league, at 23-5. YSMF!!!

I feel like Neto is a guy who tends to hurt us. I remember he killed us in the bubble when he was on the Sixers.

Stix is definitely more comfortable playing inside or off the PnR it seems, but his court presence is still lacking. He doesn't look or play confidently IMO. I thought it was just due to a lack of playing time, so maybe he just needs more seasoning in general.

Love seeing Cam Johnson play well. Cam Payne and JaVale seem like basketball soulmates.

It was good that Crowder, Shamet, and Cam J all shot well from 3 last night, because everyone else were a combined 0-12 from 3.

ShelC wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:52 am

I feel like Neto is a guy who tends to hurt us. I remember he killed us in the bubble when he was on the Sixers.

When he was at the FT line last night, I said to my wife, "Wow, Neto!!!" She gave me a look.

ShelC wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:52 am

Love seeing Cam Johnson play well. Cam Payne and JaVale seem like basketball soulmates.

Cam loves throwing lobs to JaVale as he rolls to the basket. I think part of it is that Cam's lob passing isn't super accurate, but JaVale is like 8 feet tall so he can catch almost anything, so they connect a lot. I saw Cam try to throw a lob to Ayton last night that was like 2 feet too far ahead/high for him. I thought to myself, I bet JaVale would have caught that one, and that's why Cam threw it like that.

AmareIsGod wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 17, 2021 6:52 am

How TF is Ayton not getting credited with blocks? I watched 5 minutes of the game. During that 5 minutes alone he blocked two shots. Right before the half he had an amazing block right after scoring on the other end. Seriously, what gives?

The official NBA.com box score and play-by-play is now giving him credit for the block at the end of the first half, but that’s the only one.

Suns evolved a straightforward plan early on ... feed the post.
Harrell was the only halfway decent guy in the paint, and he gave away four/five inches to Ayton and McGee.
It also helped that Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope could only muster a total of 13 pts.

Split T wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:55 pm

JeremyG wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:31 pm

Split T wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:49 pm

I know we don’t like Elfrid, but he’s having a very good game from what I’ve seen.

Who's "we"? I love Elfrid.

The board in general…I’d say greater than 95% of Elfrid posts are negative. My apologies if I’ve missed your pro-Payton posts

I just like the fact that he plays more under control than Payne does, and is better at creating for others. I like more traditional point guards. The lineups with Payton at the point and Payne at the two may be worth exploring more.

Interestingly, Paul/Payne are a -45 in their 95 minutes on the court together and Payton/Payne are a +5 in their 84 minutes.

JeremyG wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 17, 2021 11:41 am

Split T wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:55 pm

JeremyG wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:31 pm

Split T wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:49 pm

I know we don’t like Elfrid, but he’s having a very good game from what I’ve seen.

Who's "we"? I love Elfrid.

The board in general…I’d say greater than 95% of Elfrid posts are negative. My apologies if I’ve missed your pro-Payton posts

I just like the fact that he plays more under control than Payne does, and is better at creating for others. I like more traditional point guards. The lineups with Payton at the point and Payne at the two may be worth exploring more.

Interestingly, Paul/Payne are a -45 in their 95 minutes on the court together and Payton/Payne are a +5 in their 84 minutes.

But Elfrid has the worst +/- on the team, and he is almost always playing against 2nd and 3rd units.

He's actually our only guy that has played in at least 150 minutes this season and has a negative +/-.

By the way, I *really* hate that Chris Paul is 2nd on the team in minutes played. He is only ~50 minutes behind Mikal.

Agreed, but unfortunately our backup PGs are not that good. Payne needs a connector next to him and misses having Saric with him or even Booker or Kaminsky to a lesser extent. Payton is just a disaster most of the time, and feels like he is there to let teams back into the games. The Suns just need guys to get healthy and more talent, which is a weird thing to say for the team with the best record in the league.

I feel like Payne and McGee have a good thing going together. Payne drives and lobs to McGee when the defenders come to him or he drives and makes a layup or he drives, the defense collapses on him, he misses and McGee is there for the put back.