Game Day: Lakers (0-1) @ Suns (0-1), Fri 10/20/17

[Superbone]

Time: 7:00 pm AZ (7:00 pm PT/10:00 pm ET)
Place: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, AZ
TV: FSAZ, NBALP

Bounce back game? Charles Barkley guaranteed a Suns victory on TNT tonight.

Go Suns!!!

Dis • cuss

[Danimal]

Well the lakers weren't so great in their home opener either

Lopez just got destroyed on the boards. I guess that's a good thing considered how we got bullied on the boards last game
Few things are more frustrating than selfishness, turnovers, dumb fouls and of course repeated offensive boards

Hope warren plays well otherwise he will likely get benched and Chriss given the start. I'm not against warren being the main 6th man but rather id actually like to see Chriss earn minutes for a change. I just hate his body language. I mean he played on the same team as big sauce, just copy what he goddam does!

[Indy]

Well the lakers weren't so great in their home opener either

Lopez just got destroyed on the boards. I guess that's a good thing considered how we got bullied on the boards last game
Few things are more frustrating than selfishness, turnovers, dumb fouls and of course repeated offensive boards

Hope warren plays well otherwise he will likely get benched and Chriss given the start. I'm not against warren being the main 6th man but rather id actually like to see Chriss earn minutes for a change. I just hate his body language. I mean he played on the same team as big sauce, just copy what he goddam does!

I really hope that if we do bench Warren, it isn't for Chriss. He was by far the worst offender last game when it comes to attitude/effort on the court.

[O_Gardino]

Even Watson isn't going to start Chriss after 2pts, 1rebound, 2 TO, and 5 fouls in 12 minutes.

[Mori Chu]

The Lakers have some exciting young talent like Ball, but they're still extremely raw. They didn't look great in their season opener, and Ball especially was mediocre. I think he had 3 points, 4 assists, and 9 boards (!). I think we can beat these guys. The players will probably be fired up to try to redeem themselves after that historically awful opener the other night. I could see us getting a W here.

[Superbone]

From AZCentral:

Alex Len, who missed Wednesday’s game with a sprained ankle, is expected to return.

[Mori Chu]

Unpopular opinion incoming: Is Alex Len our second best player? Not in terms of future potential or whatever, but right now, today, on the court. Dis * cuss.

[In2ition]

Unpopular opinion incoming: Is Alex Len our second best player? Not in terms of future potential or whatever, but right now, today, on the court. Dis * cuss.

If you consider the team's preseason performance as truth of what the season is going to be, I would say yes. Hopefully the simplified responsibilities have unlocked a new and improved Len.

[O_Gardino]

Unpopular opinion incoming: Is Alex Len our second best player? Not in terms of future potential or whatever, but right now, today, on the court. Dis * cuss.

With how we played in the opener, I would definitely say that the DNP guys did less to hurt the Suns than anyone else.

[Split T]

Unpopular opinion incoming: Is Alex Len our second best player? Not in terms of future potential or whatever, but right now, today, on the court. Dis * cuss.

Who are you saying he is better than? I think Booker and Bledsoe are clearly better. Warren and Jackson probably are too. Len has played very well but I'm gonna wait till he shows up in the regular season.

[Ring_Wanted]

haha this is going to be a crapfest

[n4th4n]

Unpopular opinion incoming: Is Alex Len our second best player? Not in terms of future potential or whatever, but right now, today, on the court. Dis * cuss.

Who are you saying he is better than? I think Booker and Bledsoe are clearly better. Warren and Jackson probably are too. Len has played very well but I'm gonna wait till he shows up in the regular season.

I think Len is pretty clearly a better overall player than Warren. Warren still does very little outside of empty calorie scoring, unfortunately.

[n4th4n]

The Lakers have been tanking for longer than us, and have consistently picked higher than us over the last 3 years. That being said, who's roster/assets would you rather have moving forward? Breaking it down, I think I would take us.

Booker and Jackson vs. Ball and Ingram is frankly a fucking tossup at this point.

I think I would take our duo though. I love Ball, but I worry about his ability to be an impact player in the half court. He is slow for his position and doesn't do a very good job of breaking down his primary defender which means he is going to struggle to create for others when the game slows down. Ingram is really a nothing at this point and I don't know what he projects to do outside of scoring.

When you factor in that we have our pick this year and they don't, I think the overall balance shifts pretty heavily in our favor. That being said, I don't think either of our rosters are exactly a slam dunk moving forward.

[Ring_Wanted]

Unpopular opinion incoming: Is Alex Len our second best player? Not in terms of future potential or whatever, but right now, today, on the court. Dis * cuss.

Who are you saying he is better than? I think Booker and Bledsoe are clearly better. Warren and Jackson probably are too. Len has played very well but I'm gonna wait till he shows up in the regular season.

I think Len is pretty clearly a better overall player than Warren. Warren still does very little outside of empty calorie scoring, unfortunately.

Can't say I agree. When in form, Warren is an obvious plus with his efficiency and even started to give us some rebounds and to some, a bit of hope regarding his defense. The guy is a baller, just needs to be healthy.

I do believe at this moment, though, that Len is in better form (if the ankle stuff is nothing).

[Split T]

Unpopular opinion incoming: Is Alex Len our second best player? Not in terms of future potential or whatever, but right now, today, on the court. Dis * cuss.

Who are you saying he is better than? I think Booker and Bledsoe are clearly better. Warren and Jackson probably are too. Len has played very well but I'm gonna wait till he shows up in the regular season.

I think Len is pretty clearly a better overall player than Warren. Warren still does very little outside of empty calorie scoring, unfortunately.

Really? Are we basing this off preseason? Len was terrible last year. He provides rebounding and decent rim protection, but kills us offensively. And I'm not sure what you mean by empty calorie scoring. His scoring is pretty valuable.

[Ring_Wanted]

The Lakers have been tanking for longer than us, and have consistently picked higher than us over the last 3 years. That being said, who's roster/assets would you rather have moving forward? Breaking it down, I think I would take us.

Absolutely. I don't believe in Ingram as a star (or D'Angelo for that matter). That alone removes them imo. They won't have their 1stR this year or next one, as we know too well; Ainge has it hahaha.

I believe in Booker and Jackson.

There is a big risk that LAL bombs out free agency AND draft over the next two-three seasons.

[n4th4n]

Unpopular opinion incoming: Is Alex Len our second best player? Not in terms of future potential or whatever, but right now, today, on the court. Dis * cuss.

Who are you saying he is better than? I think Booker and Bledsoe are clearly better. Warren and Jackson probably are too. Len has played very well but I'm gonna wait till he shows up in the regular season.

I think Len is pretty clearly a better overall player than Warren. Warren still does very little outside of empty calorie scoring, unfortunately.

Really? Are we basing this off preseason? Len was terrible last year. He provides rebounding and decent rim protection, but kills us offensively. And I'm not sure what you mean by empty calorie scoring. His scoring is pretty valuable.

Rebounding and rim protection, both things Alex is excellent at, have a much, much larger impact on winning than Warren's high-efficiency midrange scoring. Honestly, the way Warrens scores hardly affect winning at all. His inability to spread the court probably holds our offense back more than anything else. I like Warren, but I am not sure he is a winning player as a starter. He has also failed to add anything to his game since he came into the league. He has simply become more comfortable doing exactly what he did in college.

I hate to be a wet blanket when it comes to Warren. But the question to ask is - yes he scores, but does he really make our offense better?

[Superbone]

The Suns have no excuse tonight with the Lakers coming into town on the second of a back to back. They had better show some intensity!

[carey]

One day the SNUS will become the SUNS again. Maybe not this year, maybe not in my lifetime. But one day.

[Superbone]

Rebounding and rim protection, both things Alex is excellent at, have a much, much larger impact on winning than Warren's high-efficiency midrange scoring. Honestly, the way Warrens scores hardly affect winning at all. His inability to spread the court probably holds our offense back more than anything else. I like Warren, but I am not sure he is a winning player as a starter. He has also failed to add anything to his game since he came into the league. He has simply become more comfortable doing exactly what he did in college.

I hate to be a wet blanket when it comes to Warren. But the question to ask is - yes he scores, but does he really make our offense better?

I disagree with a lot of that. He has added quite a bit since he came into the league. Notably his three point shot is getting better and his defense and rebounding have improved noticably. When his scoring is on, it makes a big difference in our offense. When he is, it seems like he makes 80% of his shots and keeps the other team reeling. If I remember right, he did that in our first preseason game against Portland.