Being a rookie is no excuse for being absolute trash on D. JJJ is playing passably on D for the Griz. Fking Robinson had NINE blocks tonight for the Knicks. WCJ has been awesome for the Bulls defensively. Even Bagley is TRYING. Bamba is overmatched but has the instincts to protect the rim. Ayton is worse than anything I have ever seen.
I just want to point out that Ayton is far more valuable to us than any of those other guys are to their teams.
We are trash when he sits. Both the offense and defense are significantly worse when he is off the court, believe it or not. He is the only guy on the team with a positive BPM. Literally the only guy. He has the best defensive BPM on in the top 9, the best defensive rating in the top 9, 3x the defensive win shares of any other player, and the attention he draws on offense gets open shots for his teammates.
So I don't mind that his mistakes keep him out of foul trouble. He's a rookie and he's going to make rookie mistakes. He can take chances on blocking shots and get into foul trouble or take chances on guarding his man and give up layups.
I hope that he can grow into a guy who blocks shots. But for now, I'm content that he clan play more minutes than the other guys you listed. Because if he played 25 minutes instead of 32, we would be losing these games by 30.
I couldn't disagree with this more. He already has bad instincts when comes to protecting the rim and help defense. This is just reinforcing bad habits. He needs to start learning now if he has any hope of ever becoming a passable defensive center. I would rather see him contest every shot and foul the f*** out in 20 minutes and adjust from there instead of this passive nonsense. We are already losing every game by 20. We need to do something to change the energy and temperament of this team.
Exactly! Rudy Gobert is the best defensive player in the world right now and even he struggled with foul trouble his first season. But that's okay because he showed the aggressiveness to go after and contest/block shots.
This p***sy s*** that Ayton is doing by getting out of the way when someone drives just to avoid fouls is just pathetic. It needs to stop.
"When we all think alike, nobody is thinking" - Walter Lippmann "Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." ~ Frederick Douglass
Ayton is by far our best offensive player, and is a top defensive player. The more he plays, the better the team plays. We need to keep him engaged and on the court.
Are you joking? There is a limit to even homerism. Jesus Christ, there's no way you've been actually watching any Suns games if you think he's a "top defensive player". You can say he might end up being one on day, sure, it's possible because he's so young and has great physical tools but to think that he is one right now is insane.
He meant Ayton’s one of the top defensive players on this team, not in the league.
Last edited by Cap on Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Ayton is by far our best offensive player, and is a top defensive player. The more he plays, the better the team plays. We need to keep him engaged and on the court.
Are you joking? There is a limit to even homerism. Jesus Christ, there's no way you've been actually watching any Suns games if you think he's a "top defensive player". You can say he might end up being one on day, sure, it's possible because he's so young and has great physical tools but to think that he is one right now is insane.
He meant Ayton’s one of the top defensive players on this team, not in the league.
The top of the worst defensive team in the league isn't saying much.
Ayton is by far our best offensive player, and is a top defensive player. The more he plays, the better the team plays. We need to keep him engaged and on the court.
Are you joking? There is a limit to even homerism. Jesus Christ, there's no way you've been actually watching any Suns games if you think he's a "top defensive player". You can say he might end up being one on day, sure, it's possible because he's so young and has great physical tools but to think that he is one right now is insane.
He meant Ayton’s one of the top defensive players on this team, not in the league.
The top of the worst defensive team in the league isn't saying much.
It’s really only an apples-to-apples comparison if you’re comparing him to other players at the same position, and the only one we have is Richaun, so I’m not sure Indy’s statement is true anyway. Holmes certainly plays D with more energy, which is something we sorely need on that end.
Holmes is a better defender, but he has only played 100 minutes all season. I meant of the guys that actually play, Ayton is our best defender. I know that Holmes and Bridges are better, but together they haven't been on the court as much as Ayton.
Of the guys playing at least 15 mpg, Ayton has our best offensive rating, and our best defensive rating.
You need to get Booker, Bridges, Holmes and Ayton out there. I don't know who the PG would be, maybe Crawford and just let him run PnRs. But Booker and Bridges spread the floor, Holmes crashes the boards and helps weakside, and Ayton floats around the perimeter taking jumpers for spacing (when Holmes is in). You can still run a double high screen with Holmes rolling and Ayton popping. It may not be a sustainable lineup because Holmes is probably best in short spurts but I'd give that lineup a try.
You need to get Booker, Bridges, Holmes and Ayton out there. I don't know who the PG would be, maybe Crawford and just let him run PnRs. But Booker and Bridges spread the floor, Holmes crashes the boards and helps weakside, and Ayton floats around the perimeter taking jumpers for spacing (when Holmes is in). You can still run a double high screen with Holmes rolling and Ayton popping. It may not be a sustainable lineup because Holmes is probably best in short spurts but I'd give that lineup a try.
I'd love to see that. the worst thing so far about Kokoskov's coaching is that he is so slow to make changes and try new things.
The league needs heroes, villains... and clowns. -- Aztec Sunsfan
Also, what does it say that we're getting blown out every night, have no talent at PF yet our 3rd yr, 20 yr old, 4th pick can't get off the bench? Is Dragan that useless? Has he checked out completely? Is Igor giving him tough love or just given up on him completely? Is Igor not under any mandate/pressure to play Bender now than McD is gone? Given our PF issues, you'd think Bender would at least be given a shot.
Bender just sucks. We didn't pick up his option, he's got no future here, no reason to develop him. So unless he produces on the court, there is zero reason to play him. Based on summer league and preseason, he will not produce on the court.
He looked worse this summer than he's ever looked. I'd be fine if he played, because we suck anyways and Anderson also sucks, but I don't care if he doesn't play. I'd just give those minutes to our wings. Let Warren/Ariza play the 4.
Also, what does it say that we're getting blown out every night, have no talent at PF yet our 3rd yr, 20 yr old, 4th pick can't get off the bench? Is Dragan that useless? Has he checked out completely? Is Igor giving him tough love or just given up on him completely? Is Igor not under any mandate/pressure to play Bender now than McD is gone? Given our PF issues, you'd think Bender would at least be given a shot.
Agreed, and I would ask similar questions about Daniels. As bad as our shooters are, why not give Daniels some burn?
Coach just doesn't know how to use guys who don't create off the dribble, and he doesn't experiment with the roster at all.
As bad as Anderson and Jackson have both been, it's tough to understand not even giving Bender a 6 minute run to see what he'll do. When we go with point-booker, why not throw Daniels out there to make some shots?
The league needs heroes, villains... and clowns. -- Aztec Sunsfan
He looked worse this summer than he's ever looked. I'd be fine if he played, because we suck anyways and Anderson also sucks, but I don't care if he doesn't play. I'd just give those minutes to our wings. Let Warren/Ariza play the 4.
Literally every veteran on this team except Warren looks worse than ever, and our star rook looks unmotivated. Igor should be digging through the bench like a homeless guy in a dumpster behind Panera.
The league needs heroes, villains... and clowns. -- Aztec Sunsfan
He looked worse this summer than he's ever looked. I'd be fine if he played, because we suck anyways and Anderson also sucks, but I don't care if he doesn't play. I'd just give those minutes to our wings. Let Warren/Ariza play the 4.
Literally every veteran on this team except Warren looks worse than ever, and our star rook looks unmotivated. Igor should be digging through the bench like a homeless guy in a dumpster behind Panera.
Sure, go ahead and play him. He's just not going to do anything
He looked worse this summer than he's ever looked. I'd be fine if he played, because we suck anyways and Anderson also sucks, but I don't care if he doesn't play. I'd just give those minutes to our wings. Let Warren/Ariza play the 4.
Is it worth even playing Ariza at the 4? I was just looking at our top two-man units. Ariza isn't in the top 10 for +/- and his net rating per 100 possessions is a -13. I am really not sure that Bender would be worse than Anderson or Ariza at the 4. (By the way, Ariza has only played 57 minutes at the 4 all season).
