Suns News: Week 8 12/4-12/10

[carey]

I'm sorry this thread is late. The Suns won tonight against the 76ers though! Booker is Gawd!

Last Week's Games

@ Chicago WIN 104-99
@ Detroit LOSS 131-107
@ Boston LOSS 116-111

This Week's Games

Monday, December 4th @ Philadelphia 7:00PM EST
Tuesday, December 5th @ Toronto 7:30PM EST
Thursday, December 7th vs. Washington 9:00PM EST
Saturday, December 9th vs. San Antonio 9:00PM EST

Suns Stories

Suns rookie Jackson seeing limited playing time: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 920461001/

Devin Booker putting up All-Star numbers for Suns: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 917755001/

Four NBA players are averaging at least 23.5 points, four assists and four rebounds per game while shooting at least 37 percent from 3-point range.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Devin Booker.

Suns do a lot of things right but still fall to Boston: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 915138001/

[jonh]

Good article:

https://hoopshabit.com/2017/12/05/phoen ... hise-star/

Devin Booker is currently the 2nd guard ever to average 23+ points on a .570+ TS% at 21-years-old or younger. Other one? Michael Jordan.

[Split T]

Carey, can I still your QOTD: Is Devin Booker an all star this year?

[Ring_Wanted]

Carey, can I still your QOTD: Is Devin Booker an all star this year?

Sadly, no. The West is crazy and if your team is not winning you have little chance. Paul George, for instance, is in real danger of missing it (I don't think Westbrook would be left out). Guys like Kawhi and Paul are/have been injuried, but even then there is not much room.

Among playoff teams: Harden, KD, Curry, Klay, Green (would leave him out), Aldridge, Jokic, Lillard, KAT, Butler, Gobert, Davis, Cousins. Then you have OKC and Griffin. Plus the aforementioned perennials but injuried.

If Booker wants to make the allstar, PHX needs to elevate from the pits.

Perhaps next season, if the draft is kind to us and a couple of moves are made, including a head coach that takes us from the worst of the league in defense.

Or if he averages 30.

[O_Gardino]

Carey, can I still your QOTD: Is Devin Booker an all star this year?

Nope.

Harden, Curry, + Westbrook are in for sure. Then you have Lillard and Butler who are tough to keep out. Then you have 2nd fiddles on winning teams Chris Paul and Klay. There is the outside possibility that LA fans vote in Lono Ball (I'll be pissed if that happens).

Now, the forwards are not as strong this year. Griffin and Leonard are out with injuries. Durant and Aldridge are likely in. Anthony Davis could be a forward. Draymond Green is probably on the roster somewhere. What about Paul George and Carmelo Anthony?

At center you still have Cousins, Jordan, Gasol, Jokic, Gobert, and KAT. I could see a situation where only Cousins makes it.

I thikn these guys are locks:

Harden, Curry, Westbrook. Lillard, Butler
Durant, Aldridge, George, Green, Davis
Cousins, KAT

That still leaves off a lot of very good players on teams with similar or more wins that the Suns. The only way Booker makes it in is if a couple of these teams under perform, and the Suns win a little more.

[ShelC]

I don't think Butler's a lock by any means. Booker's outplayed him for sure. Lillard is always underrated and some of his numbers are down but he's playing well.

[Split T]

I went through it.

At guard I think Curry and Harden are locks. Lillard looks very likely and I can't see Westbrook missing even though he's been pretty inefficient.

In the front court, AD, Cousins, and Durant are locks. Aldridge, Towns, and Jokic are probably in.

That leaves two spots for Draymond, Klay, Capela, CP3, Butler, George, Booker, McCollum, and Gobert.

Klay and Draymond - Unless warriors are absolutely crushing the league, which they are not, I can't see them getting 4. One of these guys is in.
Capela - Nice numbers, too reliant on harden and Paul. Not elite enough defensively.
CP3 - Probably hurt too much, numbers aren't earth shattering.
Butler - Not his best season, but he's good. Probably ahead of booker.
George - Would need to step it up individually or okc needs to turn it on
McCollum - 2nd fiddle to Lillard. Won't get in unless Portland goes crazy.
Gobert - He's back now, but he missed a few games and Utah did ok without him.

Green and Butler get my last two spots.

Booker is probably 14/15th on a 12 man list. Maybe an injury replacement if one of the guards decides to sit out at the last minute.

[Split T]

I don't think Butler's a lock by any means. Booker's outplayed him for sure. Lillard is always underrated and some of his numbers are down but he's playing well.

It's close. Booker has better offensive numbers but not by a ton. Butler is the better defender and Minny is a better team.

24.5/4.5/3.9 with .46/.39/.87
18.8/5.3/4.6 with .45/.38/.84

[O_Gardino]

I went through it.

At guard I think Curry and Harden are locks. Lillard looks very likely and I can't see Westbrook missing even though he's been pretty inefficient.

In the front court, AD, Cousins, and Durant are locks. Aldridge, Towns, and Jokic are probably in.

That leaves two spots for Draymond, Klay, Capela, CP3, Butler, George, Booker, McCollum, and Gobert.

Klay and Draymond - Unless warriors are absolutely crushing the league, which they are not, I can't see them getting 4. One of these guys is in.
Capela - Nice numbers, too reliant on harden and Paul. Not elite enough defensively.
CP3 - Probably hurt too much, numbers aren't earth shattering.
Butler - Not his best season, but he's good. Probably ahead of booker.
George - Would need to step it up individually or okc needs to turn it on
McCollum - 2nd fiddle to Lillard. Won't get in unless Portland goes crazy.
Gobert - He's back now, but he missed a few games and Utah did ok without him.

Green and Butler get my last two spots.

Booker is probably 14/15th on a 12 man list. Maybe an injury replacement if one of the guards decides to sit out at the last minute.

Not trying to pick a fight here, but Jokic is averaging 15 points in 29 minutes per game on a team that will be .500ish around the time allstar teams are announced. His overall game is really nice, but I just don't think he's a western conference allstar unless Denver goes on a win streak and he picks up his minutes.

[ShelC]

Ain't nobody playin' defense at the All-Star Game! Get Book in there!!!

[Split T]

I went through it.

At guard I think Curry and Harden are locks. Lillard looks very likely and I can't see Westbrook missing even though he's been pretty inefficient.

In the front court, AD, Cousins, and Durant are locks. Aldridge, Towns, and Jokic are probably in.

That leaves two spots for Draymond, Klay, Capela, CP3, Butler, George, Booker, McCollum, and Gobert.

Klay and Draymond - Unless warriors are absolutely crushing the league, which they are not, I can't see them getting 4. One of these guys is in.
Capela - Nice numbers, too reliant on harden and Paul. Not elite enough defensively.
CP3 - Probably hurt too much, numbers aren't earth shattering.
Butler - Not his best season, but he's good. Probably ahead of booker.
George - Would need to step it up individually or okc needs to turn it on
McCollum - 2nd fiddle to Lillard. Won't get in unless Portland goes crazy.
Gobert - He's back now, but he missed a few games and Utah did ok without him.

Green and Butler get my last two spots.

Booker is probably 14/15th on a 12 man list. Maybe an injury replacement if one of the guards decides to sit out at the last minute.

Not trying to pick a fight here, but Jokic is averaging 15 points in 29 minutes per game on a team that will be .500ish around the time allstar teams are announced. His overall game is really nice, but I just don't think he's a western conference allstar unless Denver goes on a win streak and he picks up his minutes.

He might not be but he is also averaging 10.6 boards and 4.6 assists and shooting 40% from 3. Denver is currently 4th in the west. Will they fall off? Maybe, but right now I took him over Gobert because gobert has been hurt and Denver is above Utah. That could easily change.

It looks like you took Paul George. I just can't justify two players from a sub .500, non playoff team on the all Star team.

We'll see how the next month or two plays out.

[Wally_West]

Booker is gonna be an all-star this year. Watch.

[O_Gardino]

Booker is gonna be an all-star this year. Watch.

I hope you are right. He is certainly getting the national attention.

[O_Gardino]

I went through it.

At guard I think Curry and Harden are locks. Lillard looks very likely and I can't see Westbrook missing even though he's been pretty inefficient.

In the front court, AD, Cousins, and Durant are locks. Aldridge, Towns, and Jokic are probably in.

That leaves two spots for Draymond, Klay, Capela, CP3, Butler, George, Booker, McCollum, and Gobert.

Klay and Draymond - Unless warriors are absolutely crushing the league, which they are not, I can't see them getting 4. One of these guys is in.
Capela - Nice numbers, too reliant on harden and Paul. Not elite enough defensively.
CP3 - Probably hurt too much, numbers aren't earth shattering.
Butler - Not his best season, but he's good. Probably ahead of booker.
George - Would need to step it up individually or okc needs to turn it on
McCollum - 2nd fiddle to Lillard. Won't get in unless Portland goes crazy.
Gobert - He's back now, but he missed a few games and Utah did ok without him.

Green and Butler get my last two spots.

Booker is probably 14/15th on a 12 man list. Maybe an injury replacement if one of the guards decides to sit out at the last minute.

Not trying to pick a fight here, but Jokic is averaging 15 points in 29 minutes per game on a team that will be .500ish around the time allstar teams are announced. His overall game is really nice, but I just don't think he's a western conference allstar unless Denver goes on a win streak and he picks up his minutes.

He might not be but he is also averaging 10.6 boards and 4.6 assists and shooting 40% from 3. Denver is currently 4th in the west. Will they fall off? Maybe, but right now I took him over Gobert because gobert has been hurt and Denver is above Utah. That could easily change.

It looks like you took Paul George. I just can't justify two players from a sub .500, non playoff team on the all Star team.

We'll see how the next month or two plays out.

Oh, he's very good. I just don't think they will still be 4th in the west, and I think OKC will figure it out and pass Denver in the standings by then. Let's hope Booker gets that spot.

[Split T]

Good article:

https://hoopshabit.com/2017/12/05/phoen ... hise-star/

Devin Booker is currently the 2nd guard ever to average 23+ points on a .570+ TS% at 21-years-old or younger. Other one? Michael Jordan.

We absolutely need to get Booker his pippen. I think it needs to happen within the next year.

Some quick thoughts:

Warren - nice player, will never be great if he can't shoot. Needs to spend the entire summer shooting 3's or I don't think him and Jackson can be on the same team. Warren also needs to learn how to pass. I've seen a few stats that basically show him as one of the worst playmakers in the NBA. He runs that ft line pick and roll with Chandler a few times a game and Chandler is always open for the lob and I can't remember the last time Warren made that pass.

Jackson, Chriss and Bender - Need to figure out what these guys are. All have actually shown more defensively this year than offensively. We need to play them and figure out how they fit alongside Booker.

Free agent class next year is pretty weak. James, Cousins, and George aren't coming here. That leaves DeAndre (please no) IT(would be funny) and guys like Will Barton, who I actually love, but he's a SG and hard to play him and Booker together defensively. Although Barton may be able to defend the 1.

What's our next move? How do we build this team around Booker?

[In2ition]

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_ ... phia-76ers

ESPN laid out their new Mock Draft. They have the Suns taking Bagley #2 and Trevon Duval #13.

I'm all for Bagley, but I'm worried that Duval has a little of the same problems that plague Ulis in that he really struggles to shoot. Although, Duval is much taller and more athletic. He is a pretty good passer right now though and does a great job running the Duke team.

[O_Gardino]

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_ ... phia-76ers

ESPN laid out their new Mock Draft. They have the Suns taking Bagley #2 and Trevon Duval #13.

I'm all for Bagley, but I'm worried that Duval has a little of the same problems that plague Ulis in that he really struggles to shoot. Although, Duval is much taller and more athletic. He is a pretty good passer right now though and does a great job running the Duke team.

I can only dream about moving up the lottery to get the #2 pick.

[bajanguy008]

https://twitter.com/bball_ref/status/938104484030447616

More Stats perspective

[JCSunsfan]

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_ ... phia-76ers

ESPN laid out their new Mock Draft. They have the Suns taking Bagley #2 and Trevon Duval #13.

I'm all for Bagley, but I'm worried that Duval has a little of the same problems that plague Ulis in that he really struggles to shoot. Although, Duval is much taller and more athletic. He is a pretty good passer right now though and does a great job running the Duke team.

I can only dream about moving up the lottery to get the #2 pick.

I would take Trae at #13. That would be an OK draft.

[JCSunsfan]

Good article:

https://hoopshabit.com/2017/12/05/phoen ... hise-star/

Devin Booker is currently the 2nd guard ever to average 23+ points on a .570+ TS% at 21-years-old or younger. Other one? Michael Jordan.

We absolutely need to get Booker his pippen. I think it needs to happen within the next year.

Some quick thoughts:

Warren - nice player, will never be great if he can't shoot. Needs to spend the entire summer shooting 3's or I don't think him and Jackson can be on the same team. Warren also needs to learn how to pass. I've seen a few stats that basically show him as one of the worst playmakers in the NBA. He runs that ft line pick and roll with Chandler a few times a game and Chandler is always open for the lob and I can't remember the last time Warren made that pass.

Jackson, Chriss and Bender - Need to figure out what these guys are. All have actually shown more defensively this year than offensively. We need to play them and figure out how they fit alongside Booker.

Free agent class next year is pretty weak. James, Cousins, and George aren't coming here. That leaves DeAndre (please no) IT(would be funny) and guys like Will Barton, who I actually love, but he's a SG and hard to play him and Booker together defensively. Although Barton may be able to defend the 1.

What's our next move? How do we build this team around Booker?

Warren is a great 3rd player or rotation player. If he is that guy, he can be traded for one. The most likely player in the league to play the Pippen role is Jackson. its there. He has the all around game, except shooting, at this point.

We need a pg. We are not running the triangle.

Needs to be these things in this order. 1. Facilitator. 2. Defender. 3. Shooter. 4. Driver.