Game Day (Preseason): Suns (0-0) @ Blazers (0-0), Tues 10/3/17

[ShelC]

I think Swanigan is already better than Chriss. He's a basketball player. Chriss was invisible last night and still looks small/plays small. Swanigan could be a Millsap/Draymond type.

Mike James is a baller, but after seeing SL and some of the comments about him, I wonder if guys actually like playing with him and the style of player he is. Ulis isn't ready for big minutes yet and won't be until he becomes a knock down shooter. He's gotta be able to keep defenses honest.

Still need to watch the 2nd half and see what Len did. Again, I like how Bender looks out there but he just isn't impactful on the stat sheet. If he could consistently hit the outside shot off pick and pop, it'd do wonders for his game. I also think we should try and run some offense thru him at the top of the key.

[The Bobster]

Len - 14 pts, 14 reb - all in the 2nd half.

[O_Gardino]

I only caught the 2nd and 3rd quarter, but here are my thoughts:

Bled picked right back up where he left off. He was very good in his few minutes.
Warren is the Warren we hoped to see last season. Still our best PF.
Ulis looked to me like the same Ulis, but a little more aggressive looking for his shot.
We needed it, because that second unit had a lot of guys who weren't ready to shoot when they caught the ball.
Chriss did rebound well, but was a 0 on defense. Kept the fouls down, but didn't really contest shots on the perimeter. I'm withholding further judgement until next summer.
Bender looked more confident, but wasn't much of a scorer. Great rebounder for us. He's not a 5. He's a good perimeter defender, but not a good interior defender. I hope we don't take 4 years to figure it out like it took us with Len. I'm withholding further judgement until next summer.
Lots more passing which was nice to see. We did a lot of passing to guys who were not open, and guys didn't always know what to do after they caught the ball. We will miss Reed and Williams in that regard.
Mike James is a very aggressive scorer. We will count on the rest of the team to move the ball when he is in, but the second unit really needed someone with a will to score.
Booker was MUCH better on defense. He was more aware of his responsibilities and contested shots much better.

[ShelC]

I actually have to watch the 2nd half later to see Len. I hope we don't get into a situation where he's a contract year player...puts up 12-10 this year and looks like he "gets it", only to fall off once he gets his 15mil a year.

[Mori Chu]

Len did look like a real big man out there. Bender and Chriss both were essentially no-shows. I think we may have whiffed that draft, with the exception of Ulis.

Mike James played well, but I am not sold yet. He doesn't seem to be a classic pass-first PG like I want running the team. Ulis has way better court vision and awareness. I'd much rather deal with the flaws in Ulis's game than those in James's, at least for now.

[ShelC]

You can't say we whiffed with Bender and Chriss because there was no one else there to take.

[Mori Chu]

You can't say we whiffed with Bender and Chriss because there was no one else there to take.

I don't mean, "We should have taken (Player X) instead of Bender or Chriss." I meant more that we just may not have found a key rotation player with those first-round picks. It does bring into question the decision to make the trade to get that extra first-round pick so that we could take both of them, but my recollection is that we didn't give up all that much to do it. I don't think of that draft as bad GMing/decision-making and more of a lost opportunity, since getting a top-5 pick is so rare. Between that draft and the Len draft, we don't have a ton to show for our recent top-5 picks, which is a bummer..

[O_Gardino]

You can't say we whiffed with Bender and Chriss because there was no one else there to take.

I don't mean, "We should have taken (Player X) instead of Bender or Chriss." I meant more that we just may not have found a key rotation player with those first-round picks. It does bring into question the decision to make the trade to get that extra first-round pick so that we could take both of them, but my recollection is that we didn't give up all that much to do it. I don't think of that draft as bad GMing/decision-making and more of a lost opportunity, since getting a top-5 pick is so rare. Between that draft and the Len draft, we don't have a ton to show for our recent top-5 picks, which is a bummer..

I still hold out hope for both of them, but ti's not "he'll be a star" hope. I hope that they will become good NBA role players. I also hope for a high pick this season.

[Split T]

Do we know why Jones Jr didn't play much?

[djy2j]

I think Swanigan is already better than Chriss. He's a basketball player. Chriss was invisible last night and still looks small/plays small. Swanigan could be a Millsap/Draymond type.

Huge Purdue homer, Swanigan fan, and I'll never be able to resist a post on here about him. I don't get why so many people passed on him. He's only 20, has succeeded at EVERY level, and has a Kobe Bryant work ethic. He's not a 6'11 PF. So what? He's got better than average speed for his position, has range, and can board.

[Ring_Wanted]

I think Swanigan is already better than Chriss. He's a basketball player. Chriss was invisible last night and still looks small/plays small. Swanigan could be a Millsap/Draymond type.

Huge Purdue homer, Swanigan fan, and I'll never be able to resist a post on here about him. I don't get why so many people passed on him. He's only 20, has succeeded at EVERY level, and has a Kobe Bryant work ethic. He's not a 6'11 PF. So what? He's got better than average speed for his position, has range, and can board.

And the guy can pass as well. He was a total steal at #26.

[Superbone]

I didn't know anything about him but I was totally impressed with his skill set.

[ShelC]

What were the red flags, if any? I thought there were medical issues with him?

[In2ition]

What were the red flags, if any? I thought there were medical issues with him?

Idk, but probably that he's not super long, tall or overly athletic. I think he's going to do very well for a long time. The Blazers weakness was their bigs in the past few years, but now that Leonard is knocking down outside shots, Nurkic looking fantastic and having the 2 good looking rookies that seems to be a problem of the past. The Blazers are going to be a problem for teams for a long time.

[Ring_Wanted]

They raped Denver and used wisely a pick acquired by taking a salary dump. If Leonard makes his threes he is a very interesting player (I wanted to but low on him). If Nurkic remains healthy (he has lost a lot of weight), their bigs rotation is pretty nice (way better than ours, for instance). Their problem is defense, although they have some bodies in Aminu, Harkless and Davis, plus Nurkic is an underrated defender. Anyway, they are very deep.

[Ring_Wanted]

What were the red flags, if any? I thought there were medical issues with him?

I can't remember anything serious injury wise. The buzz around the draft was that he was probably just another short banger, but that severely underrates his motor and skill.

[Split T]

I think the biggest knock on swanigan is the question of who he'll defend. Offensively he's a great fit next to nurkic, but a 4/5 combo of swanigan/nurkic would get eaten alive in today's NBA. Neither of those guys can step out and defend the perimeter.

[O_Gardino]

I think the biggest knock on swanigan is the question of who he'll defend. Offensively he's a great fit next to nurkic, but a 4/5 combo of swanigan/nurkic would get eaten alive in today's NBA. Neither of those guys can step out and defend the perimeter.

We didn't eat them alive.

[Split T]

I think the biggest knock on swanigan is the question of who he'll defend. Offensively he's a great fit next to nurkic, but a 4/5 combo of swanigan/nurkic would get eaten alive in today's NBA. Neither of those guys can step out and defend the perimeter.

We didn't eat them alive.

Well they did lose to us, and we don't exactly have many great bigs. That lineup won't be playable against most Western teams.

He's still a good prospect, I just think he profiles as a situational player. Bring him off the bench and let him feast on backups.

[O_Gardino]

I think the biggest knock on swanigan is the question of who he'll defend. Offensively he's a great fit next to nurkic, but a 4/5 combo of swanigan/nurkic would get eaten alive in today's NBA. Neither of those guys can step out and defend the perimeter.

We didn't eat them alive.

Well they did lose to us, and we don't exactly have many great bigs. That lineup won't be playable against most Western teams.

He's still a good prospect, I just think he profiles as a situational player. Bring him off the bench and let him feast on backups.

I agree with that. He'll be a fan favorite, though.