Suns News: Week 19 2/19-2/25

[carey]

Welcome back for the... 2nd half of the season? I hate that it's called that. It's only the halfway point for the two teams that play in the finals. The Suns have already played 59 games. We'll all be put out of our collective misery after 23 more. Anyway, the Suns' task over the next two weeks is to avoid setting a franchise record for consecutive losses. They are currently at 7 and need to win 1 of their next 7 games. Luckily the Atlanta Hawks are 6 games away!

Last Week's Games

@ Golden StateLOSS 129-83
@ Utah LOSS 107-97

This Week's Games

Friday, February 23rd vs. L.A. Clippers 9:00 PM EST
Saturday, February 24th vs. Portland 9:00 PM EST

Suns Stories

Devin Booker wins 3-point contest, sets record: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 348885002/

Phoenix Suns at the All-Star break: Devin Booker headlines the 'What went right': https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 345498002/

Center of the Sun: After the All-Star Break it’s time for the Phoenix Suns to get back to business - https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2018 ... o-business

[Wormwood]

What I want out of the last 23 games of the season:

1. Let's see what sort of chemistry Elfrid Payton, Alan Williams, and Booker, and TJ Warren have together. Williams, Booker, and TJ are our core for the next two years. If Payton works well with them, signing him to a long term deal that looks like TJ's should be a priority.

2. More ping pong balls. This is the last year before the new draft rules kick in.

3. I want more time for Alex Len to gauge his actual worth this summer. I doubt he will re-sign here, but then again, there aren't many teams with cap room this summer. Suns could be in a great place to retain Payton and Len at bargain basement prices (and Goodness, I sure hope the Suns realize this and don't bid against themselves)

4. Bender and Chriss have had their chances. They both have been awful this years. If Alan Williams gets a lot of their minutes, I'm fine with it. On top of that, Williams strikes me as a mature personality type. He's one of those people you want to keep around.

[Mori Chu]

3. I want more time for Alex Len to gauge his actual worth this summer. I doubt he will re-sign here, but then again, there aren't many teams with cap room this summer. Suns could be in a great place to retain Payton and Len at bargain basement prices (and Goodness, I sure hope the Suns realize this and don't bid against themselves)

If we draft a big like Ayton, I think that'll spell the end of Len's time here. No way do we re-sign Len to real money if we have a young stud in front of him in the rotation. If we draft small, I would definitely want to at least reach out to Len to see if we can mend the relationship and talk about a contract.

[specialsauce]

How much more time does Alex Len really need to figure out what kind of player he is? He’s had what, 5 years and 3 head coaches? Come on guys, it’s time to give it up. He is what he is. Average at best, unreliable, and behind the times of the modern NBA.

[Mori Chu]

I just don't get why Williams has so much affection here when Len gets so little. Let gets his minutes yanked around, has no real big man coaching to help him improve, and is younger and healthier. Len averages 8.4 pts on .558 shooting and 7.7 rebs in 20 minutes a game. Per-36 those numbers are pretty good. If you actually started the guy and gave him consistently 30 minutes a night, said to him, "You're our center," rather than starting essentially a 40-year old corpse over him and refusing to even offer him a contract, I think his numbers would bounce up.

Ultimately it really isn't worth arguing about. The team has made its choice. The moment we let him become a FA we basically decided we were going to let him walk. He won't want to stay here. And the team is quite likely to draft a big man in this draft, anyway, so that's their plan at center.

I would love to see Len leave here and go sign at a slight discount on the Spurs. They would chisel him into iron and he'd become an awesome NBA center. I want to see him on a team that actually knows how to develop big men. I really think he has a lot of talent and can be special on the right team.

[Split T]

Do you remember last year when we benched Chandler and started Len? Len was completely outplayed by Williams and couldn't take advantage of the opportunity. No one thinks Williams is a even a starting center, but he's much more consistent than Len and that is what you want in a backup big. Len flashes from time to time, but he's not a great fit in the modern NBA and not a good enough traditional 5 to justify playing that style. I didn't even really want him here on the QO this year and I would have been upset had Williams been healthy.

[Split T]

https://twitter.com/Gambo987/status/965995295967514624

I liked Shaq in summer league. I think he'll be a good defensive player. He's a good athlete as well. Maybe a little small, definitely a tweener guard as he isn't a natural PG.

[Superbone]

We got Shaq!

[Charlie Smithy!]

That thread by duck44 back in the day:

"Trade in the works for Shaq!"

[Mori Chu]

Do we blame Sarver, Steve Kerr, or Mike D'Antoni for this?

[Shabazz]

That thread by duck44 back in the day:

"Trade in the works for Shaq!"

Ha. I remember that.

Remember that one poster who said he heard that Amare had a season-ending eye injury before it was public? The board chased him away with torches and pitchforks and he turned out to be right about the whole thing.

[Cap]

Is Spanish Ninja still alive?

[Charlie Smithy!]

Or Sherky?

[Mori Chu]

Which one was obsessed with the size of Shaq's ... "paq"?

[Superbone]

Fun Fact: The Suns have had 3 different players wear the #2 jersey this year.

[O_Gardino]

Fun Fact: The Suns have had 3 different players wear the #2 jersey this year.

All Point guards.

Bonus fun: #2 is now tied for the 3rd most worn number in Suns history. 16 players have worn #2 for us.

#4 and #10 - 19 players
#2, #14, #23 - 16 players
#8, #11, #25 - 15 players

https://www.basketball-reference.com/te ... mbers.html

[Superbone]

Fun Fact: The Suns have had 3 different players wear the #2 jersey this year.

All Point guards.

Bonus fun: #2 is now tied for the 3rd most worn number in Suns history. 16 players have worn #2 for us.

#4 and #10 - 19 players
#2, #14, #23 - 16 players
#8, #11, #25 - 15 players

https://www.basketball-reference.com/te ... mbers.html

Good stuff. I never would have guessed 4 and 10 were the most popular. I seriously can't think of any Suns off the top of my head that wore those numbers.

[jonh]

Anyone posted this yet?? This was not what Triano was saying at the beginning of the season:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 356710002/

Odds on him coming back next year? Prior rapport with the players +cheap contract==Suns Coach.

Gotta think they are above 50%, right?

[O_Gardino]

Fun Fact: The Suns have had 3 different players wear the #2 jersey this year.

All Point guards.

Bonus fun: #2 is now tied for the 3rd most worn number in Suns history. 16 players have worn #2 for us.

#4 and #10 - 19 players
#2, #14, #23 - 16 players
#8, #11, #25 - 15 players

https://www.basketball-reference.com/te ... mbers.html

Good stuff. I never would have guessed 4 and 10 were the most popular. I seriously can't think of any Suns off the top of my head that wore those numbers.

Me either, but guess what? There was a 10 on the roster earlier this season (DJJ) and there is a 4 right now (Chandler).

(I love completely useless trivia.)

[O_Gardino]

I wouldn't mind Triano for a 2 year contract. My feelings on him are the same as Payton. The dude isn't a game changer, but stability would be so nice for this team.