Game Day: Lakers (0-3) @ Suns (1-2), Wed 10/24/18

[Democritus]

It's very frustrating to get up at 5 A.M. in the morning to watch your beloved team get spanked by the team you hate so much. I'm so pissed right now. What a way to start the day. Thanks, Suns.

[Drewsprocket]

I've seen high school freshman with better defensive awareness than Ayton. It is so frustrating. He put up good numbers tonight, but they were all empty stats and his best run came against the Laker's D-Leaguers and scrubs. I really believe he is going to get better, but he is making such basic, no-brainer mistakes that it is hard to understand what is going on.

Ayton’s not the problem.

Part of it is reacting too slowly, but the large part is that the rest of the team is a defensive sieve. Anderson and Booker can't guard anybody and Bridges is about the only one on the team who has bee good so far through four games.

Sure, the rest of the team is a defensive sieve, but it's crazy that Ayton consitently doesn't even react to someone driving wide open to the rim when he is just a few feet away. It's not that he is reacting slowly, it's that he is a complete bystander to the play when he right there, just on the other side of the paint.

The suns gave up 20 second chance points, had 19 turnovers which led to 28 points for the lakers while the lakers took care of the ball. We can stomach being patient with Ayton while starting Anderson AND Canaan. It’s one thing if you have a great offense and you want to win 35-40 games with bad defense. The suns shouldn’t continue going on without a good point guard to help set the table and care for the ball.

[UglyTruth]

It sucks that we need a Booker injury for Bridges to actually get playing time.

F**k you Robert Sarver you piece of ****, we could've had Budenholzer but he withdrew from the Suns job after talking to your worthless *** on the phone.

Budenholzer's offense and system was exactly what I wanted the Suns to have not this stupid playground BS they're doing.

[UglyTruth]

Kokoskov has that old school mentality where he plays the vets the mins and will not give any to younger guys even though they are already better than the vets.

Stan Van Gundy has this same mentality along with few other coaches and I hate it.

Holmes should get every single minute of Tyson Chandler’s mins based on merit. And Warren/Bridges should get every single one of Ryan Anderson’s mins as well.

You was saying?

[TOO]

Kokoskov has that old school mentality where he plays the vets the mins and will not give any to younger guys even though they are already better than the vets.

Stan Van Gundy has this same mentality along with few other coaches and I hate it.

Holmes should get every single minute of Tyson Chandler’s mins based on merit. And Warren/Bridges should get every single one of Ryan Anderson’s mins as well.

You was saying?

[Ring_Wanted]

Kokoskov has that old school mentality where he plays the vets the mins and will not give any to younger guys even though they are already better than the vets.

Hornacek did this too and it was painful, especially with Warren.

It's one thing to get a raw kid that can't do anything consistently and another one to add a guy who clearly can do his thing from day one. That's why you are the coach, to build up from what's already there.

Yes, we all know most rooks are not going to come in as complete players, but Bridges can defend and make threes. That alone makes him more useful than 75% of the roster. We just can't afford to bury him.

[Ring_Wanted]

Maybe give it more than 3 games before we definitively say what sort of mentality Kokoskov has? Maybe? He is a new coach so it is not a surprise that he is defaulting to the vets early. We will see how the season plays out.

Of course, Kokoskov still has all his credit and time. But I don't want this situation to last 30 games.

[Ring_Wanted]

Just waive Canaan already and burn a first rounder for Beverley. This can’t go on. He can’t pass the ball into the post without a turnover.

Beware, Beverly is not looking good, to put it kindly.

[Shabazz]

What I would give for Ish Smith right now. Yeesh.

[Wally_West]

Maybe we should’ve tried to re-sign Elfrid Payton...

[Nodack]

Turnovers are a problem. Defense needs work. I think a lot of guys are going to put up career numbers against the Suns this season unless they can get it together.

Suns offensively are getting it done pretty good. Booker, Ayton and Warren are my top 3 in that order at this point in time.

Jackson didn’t look horrible. He had a pretty good all around game.

Booker with a hamstring pull? Please don’t turn into KJ2.

Crawfords debut was pretty good. I thought he was supposed to be our new starting point guard.

Stop the turnovers, block out, get back on defense. They aren’t that far off. They have a lot of talent. No need to panic.

[specialsauce]

Canaans defense is criminal.

I don’t want to see another minute of Anderson, Chandler, Crawford, or Canaan.

Please more Okobo and Bridges. PLEASE trade for a PG. I can’t watch this all year.

[specialsauce]

Jackson and Anderson for Kemba and Kaminsky.

[carey]

Jackson and Anderson for Kemba and Kaminsky.

I'm not ready to give up on Josh just yet and I'm not sure Kemba (as good as he is) fixes our PG issues. I'd rather have him than Canaan for sure but you have to consider the cost.

[Mori Chu]

I know we're 1-3, but I like watching this team a lot more than last year's. Last year we absolutely stunk on both ends of the court. This year at least their offense is not always atrocious. They still need a starting PG, but the flow is much better overall. Ayton is fun to watch, Booker is a stud, and some of the other guys (Warren, Ariza, Jackson) chip in nicely.

But the defense is just dreadful. They need to work on it more or something. They are just a complete non factor on that end of the floor.

Frankly I think the defense would get a lot better if they started Bender instead of Ryan Anderson. Say what you will about Bender, but he plays defense and knows what he is doing on that end. Ryno does not; he's one of our worst defenders, and that is saying a lot. Give Bender the minutes, give Bridges (also a great defender) more minutes, and so on.

Ayton's D is not so good right now. I hope they're working him with big men coaches who can help him improve in that area. About the best thing I can say is that at least he doesn't overly go for blocks and get in foul trouble. And he does get a decent amount of rebounds, and he gets the occasional block like tonight. So I think there are some pieces there for him to be a decent defender if he puts the work in.

I don't think the sky is falling yet. We'll have to keep being patient with this very young team. We probably still need one more trade or signing, but it may have to wait until some other teams give up on the season.

Start Bender at PF.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Jackson and Anderson for Kemba and Kaminsky.

And how many Suns first round picks?

[virtual9mm]

I know we're 1-3, but I like watching this team a lot more than last year's. Last year we absolutely stunk on both ends of the court. This year at least their offense is not always atrocious. They still need a starting PG, but the flow is much better overall. Ayton is fun to watch, Booker is a stud, and some of the other guys (Warren, Ariza, Jackson) chip in nicely.

But the defense is just dreadful. They need to work on it more or something. They are just a complete non factor on that end of the floor.

Frankly I think the defense would get a lot better if they started Bender instead of Ryan Anderson. Say what you will about Bender, but he plays defense and knows what he is doing on that end. Ryno does not; he's one of our worst defenders, and that is saying a lot. Give Bender the minutes, give Bridges (also a great defender) more minutes, and so on.

Ayton's D is not so good right now. I hope they're working him with big men coaches who can help him improve in that area. About the best thing I can say is that at least he doesn't overly go for blocks and get in foul trouble. And he does get a decent amount of rebounds, and he gets the occasional block like tonight. So I think there are some pieces there for him to be a decent defender if he puts the work in.

I don't think the sky is falling yet. We'll have to keep being patient with this very young team. We probably still need one more trade or signing, but it may have to wait until some other teams give up on the season.

Start Bender at PF.

When is the last time anyone said "WORD"? Well, it's appropriate here.

[Xylus]

Ayton's D is so far down on my list of concerns right now. No, he's not a good defender. But he has all the tools necessary to be a good defender, he seems extremely receptive to criticism from his coach and seems willing to improve. Ayton's D is not even on a Top 10 list of reasons why the Suns are struggling.

Our perimeter defense is just atrocious. It required almost no effort to blow by a Suns defender and get into the paint, forcing Ayton to choose between helping out or staying on his man. Regardless of his choice, it was 2-on-1. Booker looks like he's never played defense in his life. Ariza and Anderson are almost useless. Josh Jackson should be a good defender but gets caught looking the wrong direction far too often. Warren, meh. We need to clone Mikal and play him at the 2, 3, and 4 simultaneously. I felt like Ayton was the only one who really gave a shit in the 2nd half. He started playing with fire but by then it was too late. The Suns have to score 120 points just to stay competitive because the defense is so porous. We're an amoeba out there.

[The Bobster]

Canaans defense is criminal.

I don’t want to see another minute of Anderson, Chandler, Crawford, or Canaan.

Please more Okobo and Bridges. PLEASE trade for a PG. I can’t watch this all year.

The only thing that might be worse than Canaan's defense is his offense.

Or maybe Booker's defense.
Or Jackson's offense.
Or Chandler's mobility.
Or Bender's confidence.
Or Anderson's offense or defense.

Oh shit. We're screwed!

[Indy]

I realize we are only 4 games into the season...


2018-19:
1-3
107.0 PPG, 118.2 OPPG

2017-18
1-3
102.8 PPG, 125.3 OPPG

Progress?