SL Game Day: Jazz #20 (0-3) @ Suns #13 (1-2), Wed 7/12/17

[bajanguy008]

It is a little thing but yet another post game interview and Josh first comment on the team is focus for next game should be on the defensive end

[AmareIsGod]

Josh Jackson highlights from today.

[youtube][/youtube]

[Indy]

Bender with a 2 point 2nd half.

That looked to be way more about Mike James doing way too much, and letting JJ do his thing. I wasn't upset with his play in the 2nd half. Chriss on the other hand. JFC

[Sunsfan4life]

Missed the game, but seems like Josh beasted and Bender with a Solid 18. Good to see.

[jonh]

It is a little thing but yet another post game interview and Josh first comment on the team is focus for next game should be on the defensive end

Not sure I follow. Would you rather have him comment on something else?

[TOO]

The 1st game I miss and JJ goes for 21/15? Mad about it.

[AmareIsGod]

Jackson shows flashes where you realize he could be savage in this league. His motor is constant.

[Superbone]

Effing ESPN has the Suns listed on their ESPN2 channel, but it wasn;t there. So my recording didn't work. f***.

Indy, Indy, Indy...

Time: 5:00 pm AZ (5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET)
Place: Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, NV
TV: NBATV

I wouldn't do you wrong.

[Superbone]

Announcers throwing shade on Jackson. One of them said something to the effect of "well, I would say that this is the right league that I would put Jackson in". What a compliment.

I think they meant the NBA homie

Sorry, I should have explained more--the announcers were discussing how the other players taken around Jackson had a pretty good shot to be stars and brought an elite skill. Their comment on Jackson was just simply that he would be an NBA player, implying that his ceiling was lower than the other players he was picked with.

That wasn't the impression I got while listening to that. They honestly weren't sure what kind of player JJ is going to become whereas the other players in his range are well defined. All D and little O? All around player?

I think that he has already shown that he is a hard worker and will be able to contribute in many ways. He has shown some offensive skills as well. He's going to be a slasher and he also has some finesse to his game.

[Superbone]

Difference between Chriss and JJ right there. JJ got a beautiful pass but couldn't finish so kept his dribble and took it back out, reset and drove in for a nice floater. Chriss would have gone up no matter what.

Yep, Chriss was forcing everything. And only 2 boards? Sad. He needs to get his head and body right.

[Superbone]

when we were trying to make sense of the Reed pick, some of us were saying hopefully he can be like Raja just going on the 3 n D scouting report. well getting to actually watch him that comp might prove to be a good one after all

I am so very much pleasantly surprised with Reed. He is just solid.

[Superbone]

It is a little thing but yet another post game interview and Josh first comment on the team is focus for next game should be on the defensive end

Not sure I follow. Would you rather have him comment on something else?

I'm pretty sure bajan appreciated that fact.

[carey]

We're going to have to wind up moving Warren aren't we? Possibly in a Knight dump before the season. Ugh.

[Nodack]

I don't have NBA league pass. I caught the last few minutes of the game eating at Popeyes fast food of all places. They just happened to have the game on. I read all the posts. It sounds like "JJ" kind of all around kicks ass already. Bender sounds like he is making an impact.

It sounds like Chriss is really starting to disappoint around here. I'll admit I was disappointed last year in his progress. He had his moments though. They were just a little too far between. I almost got the impression that he was holding back or deferring to others and that at some point he would break out of his shell and kick ass. He got so many T's, there must be a fire down there somewhere. It seemed like he kind of did break out of that shell a little towards the end of the season. The jury is still out ...

I am starting to get excited about adding another good piece to the puzzle/team in JJ. Is "JJ" the name everybody always called him or is that his new Suns nick name that is going around until they come up with his official Suns nick name like Thunder Dan, Socks, Flying Dutchman, Dragon, Horny, Brazilian Blur, Matrix or Sir Charles? How about "The Fro"?

[Nodack]

We're going to have to wind up moving Warren aren't we? Possibly in a Knight dump before the season. Ugh.

I really like Warren. You think we can't keep him and JJ? I'm all for getting out of Knights contract. I'm am not ready to give up on Warren. He looked like an All Star to start the season. Then the mysterious head injury and that took him out for awhile and he was just starting to round into form again.

[Shabazz]

Not to pile on Chriss, but if this is how he looks after training camp he should lose his starting spot. It's not like it was earned in the first place. I'd go with EB/DB/JJ/TJ/TC. Not a ton of 3 point shooting, but Chriss is unproven in that area as well. Maybe have Bender start over JJ or TJ.

[Ring_Wanted]

Not to pile on Chriss, but if this is how he looks after training camp he should lose his starting spot. It's not like it was earned in the first place.

Agreed.

[ShelC]

You guys can say what you want about him being 20 years old and this being SL, but I've seen enough to know Chriss is what some of us feared. He's an (OK) athlete, not a basketball player. He's got no feel for the post, no idea where he is when he's in the lane, no body control or balance when he has a defender on him. He doesn't even understand basic positioning or use of angles, so he's always in a bad position when he gets the ball and then tries some over elaborate move that usually results in a bad shot or TO. He posts up 18ft out and looks to face up with a dribble drive rather than setting up deep in the post and getting a good angle. Remember when Amar'e used to drive recklessly into the lane with no idea what he was doing? That's Chriss, without the freak athleticism to make up a for lack of fundamentals.

Sorry to be so harsh, but some guys have it and some don't. It's a feel thing. He's fine on dumpoffs and dunks, OK in transition, but I don't trust him to do anything with the ball on his own. And on top of that, he's not even crashing the boards or bringing any post D or shotblocking. And he flat out doesn't hustle and even gives up on plays. Last night his man drove on him, he tailed the play, the guy missed the layup and he turned and watched the ball fall off the rim, bounce, and another guy get the rebound for the putback. He was pretty much under the backboard when that happened but just stopped playing and watched. Can't have that.

On a more positive note, Legler was on ESPN just now talking up Josh Jackson. He's followed him a few years now and loves his competitiveness, defense (showed the block from last night), and improving offense. Says he raised the level of competitiveness of those around him and should be an all-star for years to come.

[Gladiator]

You guys can say what you want about him being 20 years old and this being SL, but I've seen enough to know Chriss is what some of us feared. He's an (OK) athlete, not a basketball player. He's got no feel for the post, no idea where he is when he's in the lane, no body control or balance when he has a defender on him. He doesn't even understand basic positioning or use of angles, so he's always in a bad position when he gets the ball and then tries some over elaborate move that usually results in a bad shot or TO. He posts up 18ft out and looks to face up with a dribble drive rather than setting up deep in the post and getting a good angle. Remember when Amar'e used to drive recklessly into the lane with no idea what he was doing? That's Chriss, without the freak athleticism to make up a for lack of fundamentals.

Sorry to be so harsh, but some guys have it and some don't. It's a feel thing. He's fine on dumpoffs and dunks, OK in transition, but I don't trust him to do anything with the ball on his own. And on top of that, he's not even crashing the boards or bringing any post D or shotblocking. And he flat out doesn't hustle and even gives up on plays. Last night his man drove on him, he tailed the play, the guy missed the layup and he turned and watched the ball fall off the rim, bounce, and another guy get the rebound for the putback. He was pretty much under the backboard when that happened but just stopped playing and watched. Can't have that.

On a more positive note, Legler was on ESPN just now talking up Josh Jackson. He's followed him a few years now and loves his competitiveness, defense (showed the block from last night), and improving offense. Says he raised the level of competitiveness of those around him and should be an all-star for years to come.

Unfortunately, he's exactly as advertised pre-draft. This from draftexpress mock draft (under weakness) rings so true today.

Where that tends to show up the most vividly right now is as on the defensive glass. At 4.1 rebounds per-40, Chriss ranks among the least prolific power forwards in NBA Draft history according to our database. Among first round picks, only Thaddeus Young (who played mostly SF in college) had a worse defensive rebounding rate in the draft's last 30 years.
Chriss almost never puts a body on opposing big men in an attempt to box out and prepare for loose balls coming off the glass, and his relatively small standing reach (measured at 8'9, comparable with most small forwards) didn't help matters much. In addition to his instincts, his motor here leaves a lot to be desired as well, as if at times appears he's operating at half speed, and far more focused on his work on the offensive end. Not surprisingly, that translates to the rest of his play defensively. He has the quickness needed to stay in front of nearly everyone he encounters, and the explosiveness to block a decent amount of shots, but lacks the fundamentals, discipline and consistent effort required to take advantage of that.
Opposing coaching staffs regularly targeted him in isolation situations, and found a lot of success doing so, as he would typically either commit a foul or give up a basket. Chriss was one of the most foul prone players in college basketball, being disqualified from 15 of his 34 games, and committing four fouls in ten others. Many of his fouls seemed highly unnecessary, particularly early in the season, and appeared to be almost entirely due to a lack of focus. In today's NBA, many teams want to see their power forwards being able to hold their own as small-ball centers, and it's not clear that he has the frame, length or reach to be overly effective at that.
One of the youngest players in the draft, not turning 19 until July, Chriss has quite a bit of innate talent that is easy to get excited about, but also some significant red flags on and off the court. He's a long ways away from reaching his full potential at the moment, with his inconsistent motor, approach to the game, and how emotional he appears at times.

I'd love for him to suddenly "get it" but I don't see it happening (would LOVE to be proven wrong, btw). I have higher hopes for Bender ... I feel there's a really good basketball player lurking inside him somewhere, we just need to coax him out.

[ShelC]

Well Chriss is Watson's pet project so he better light a fire under his ass. He's looking exactly like the type of player another team drafts high and you're like "Man, I'm glad we didn't take him". Ironically, he's the kind of player the Kings would've been drafted the past 3-4 years.

Bender can end up being "just a role player", which is fine. He's been playing the 5 in SL and I think that's the most likely position for him. Last night his shot was falling, he showed some post ability, and has a good knack for passing within the offense. He's not explosive and probably won't be a good rebounder. His game could actually model Okur's, so maybe that's why we added him to the bench.