Game Day: Lakers (2-8) @ Suns (5-4), Mon 11/16/15

[carey]

I think they actually played better without Kobe but then Len came in and did Len things on defense in the 4th Q. Basically game over after that.

[Mori Chu]

Great night for Knight. Is there any better feeling than beating the Lakers?

[da_suns_fan]

So the Lakers nearly shot 50/40/90 as a team (much better than the Suns) but were dominated on the boards.

Suns had 18 offensive rebounds.

[Nodack]

Always good to beat the Lakers no matter who is playing or what the score was. Bledsoe and Knight have been killing it. Len had a much better game. Teletovíc finally started to hit shots.

There are always a lot of Laker fans at the Suns home games. They make a lot of noise. They have gotten to go home losers the last 9 times in a row too.

That was a fun game. Eddie Johnson had a good comment when he said it takes a lot of teams a couple of weeks into the season to find their groove. The Suns seen to be finding their groove and having fun on the court. Maybe I'm crazy but, it seems like the whole vibe of the team is better without Morris out there. It's probably just me likeing the team a lot better without him out there.

[Nodack]

Steve Albert was throwing out some stats. The Suns are #2 in Rebounds, #3 in 3pt made, #1 in fewest turnovers.

[Sunsfan4life]

My one concern is Knight and Bledsoe are doing almost all the heavy lifting. We need a 3rd scorer in the worst way and, although nobody wants to admit it, t almost has to be Kieff. The only other guy capable of scoring consistatnly besides Kieff outsdie our starting backcourt is Warren.

[The Bobster]

Steve Albert was throwing out some stats. The Suns are #2 in Rebounds, #3 in 3pt made, #1 in fewest turnovers.

Coming into tonight's game the Suns were 21st in turnovers.

[JCSunsfan]

My one concern is Knight and Bledsoe are doing almost all the heavy lifting. We need a 3rd scorer in the worst way and, although nobody wants to admit it, t almost has to be Kieff. The only other guy capable of scoring consistatnly besides Kieff outsdie our starting backcourt is Warren.

Warren is doing that.

[AmareIsGod]

Keep Markieff far away from this team.

[JCSunsfan]

Hmm. If the playoffs started right now the Suns would be the 4th seed. Not expecting to be there at the end of the year but it's better than a sharp stick in the eye.

[Shabazz]

Maybe I'm crazy but, it seems like the whole vibe of the team is better without Morris out there.

The ball definitely has moved a lot faster in the last few games.

[Shabazz]

Interesting to compare Dragic's numbers to Knight's this year.

[Superbone]

Huertas is looking for Knight here in Brazil

That was a thing of beauty.

[Superbone]

Archie, Warren, and Len are all playing great right now. Suns by 15.

I was really happy for Len in particular. He got a lot of minutes tonight and produced.

[Superbone]

Knight 24/15/10

I wasn't paying real close attention to Knight's stats so I was amazed when I heard he had 15 assists in particular. First his career high and now his first career triple double. Not a bad first 10 games of the season for Knight. Let's see if he can get more consistent.

[Superbone]

So the Lakers nearly shot 50/40/90 as a team (much better than the Suns) but were dominated on the boards.

Suns had 18 offensive rebounds.

I was thinking how great it was to be on the other side of that. It seems like we came up with every loose ball. I remember so many years of frustration in the past where we couldn't get a defensive rebound.

[Nodack]

Steve Albert was throwing out some stats. The Suns are #2 in Rebounds, #3 in 3pt made, #1 in fewest turnovers.

Coming into tonight's game the Suns were 21st in turnovers.

Yeah, I sure did misunderstand him. I just checked it out at NBA.com and there are only two teams with more turnovers than the Suns.

[Nodack]

After 10 games I can say I am pleasantly surprised by the team.

Is Morris really hurt or is it one of those "turf toe" things? As much as I want him to play to move him faster, it sure does make the team more enjoyable to watch without him.

[Danimal]

For those who watched the whole game, can I ask how did D Russell look? Also goodwins stats have looked ok the last two games. How is his game play looking? Anything you have noticed with him lately?

[carey]

For those who watched the whole game, can I ask how did D Russell look? Also goodwins stats have looked ok the last two games. How is his game play looking? Anything you have noticed with him lately?

The one thing I noticed about Russel is that he suffers a little bit from that Kendall Marshall lack of quickness. He was garbage for the first 3 quarters but then hit some shots in the 4th but the game was already out of reach. Eddie made a quip that Russel thought the game started in the 4th Q. Anywho... Russel is a big time defensive liability right now. Just like Marshall was. His jumper is much better than Marshall's though. I think the comparison to Brandon Roy may be off the mark. I think they look like similar players in that they are both fluid with the ball, but Roy was much more athletic. The one Laker I was really impressed with was Jordan Clarkson. He's turned into quite a decent player. I didn't realize he is averaging 19 points.

Goodwin looked solid. He is playing under control. He had a bunch of Goodwin-like moves to the basket, hit a jumper, got to the line for 5 FTAs, and just looked pretty good. I know Price was playing well and they like his veteran influence in the 2nd unit, but it will be a shame if Archie's minues disappear when Price is back. I think he's played well enough to earn his rotation spot as the 3rd guard right now.

On a side note... take a look at the box score. Everyone that played (aside from Booker who checked in with 2 minutes to go) played 21-28 minutes except for Knight who played 41. I think we can win a lot of games if our 2nd unit is good enough to keep our starters fresh like that. Hornacek should give Booker some run to keep Knight's minutes down a bit, though you hate to sit the kid when he's got it going like that.