Phx-Suns.Net

O_Gardino wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 6:09 am

Last night looked to me like Houston playing with an emotional desperation that they won't be able to maintain.

I won't harp on this a ton, but watching Clint Capela sit over half the game (you can't beat a good perimeter team playing a true center) just reminds me of how much I hate that we picked Ayton. Dude would be a huge liability in the playoffs.

Why do you think he’d be a liability...He’s not a perfect player by any means, but his ability to defend on the perimeter is actually one of his better skills. He’s also a better offensive player than Capela. It’s the no range on offense, defend the rim defensive anchors that struggle in the playoffs. Ayton is not that.

Ayton is not Embiid. He does not have the mentality to draw fouls and force the opposition to match up with him, and he doesn't have the defensive awareness to be a game changer on the other end of the floor.

O_Gardino wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 7:50 am

Ayton is not Embiid. He does not have the mentality to draw fouls and force the opposition to match up with him, and he doesn't have the defensive awareness to be a game changer on the other end of the floor.

I think it will come over time. I've seen a lot of players like this, and sometimes it just takes time for it to click and the light bulb to come on. I am hopeful that Monty will help him.

Today's version of Ayton absolutely would be tough to play in the playoffs. His defense is weak, and he doesn't have good outside shooting to space the floor. But he's young and he's learning. By the time we ever get back to the playoffs, he'll be a different player. I still don't think we should have picked him, but I want to be optimistic. He's still very good and valuable for us.

Ring_Wanted wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 1:10 am

Split T wrote: ↑

Mon May 06, 2019 9:20 pm

The warriors finally came alive there in the 4th...they need to play with that fire/urgency or I think the rockets win this series.

I wish GSW lost, but I don't have any hopes for HOU, though. Something will happen that will bail out GSW. Refs, injuries, choking, some miracle shot, whatever. This has all the same vibes than our battles against SAS.

I kind of feel the same way. I think the refs made a lot of bad calls in the first game and it got in the head of Houston. That's going to be tough to ultimately overcome as they lost a chance at either of the first two games because of it and could have really put the screws to the Warriors. That doesn't mean that they can't win this series now that's it tied up though. It just felt like if they got the right calls in the first game, they would have kept their focus on GS instead of being taken out of it in the second game. Very similar to what happened to the Suns when they used to play SAS.

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 8:38 am

Today's version of Ayton absolutely would be tough to play in the playoffs. His defense is weak, and he doesn't have good outside shooting to space the floor. But he's young and he's learning. By the time we ever get back to the playoffs, he'll be a different player. I still don't think we should have picked him, but I want to be optimistic. He's still very good and valuable for us.

Agreed. His on the ball defense is pretty decent, with the exception that he doesn't seem to understand that the player he is guarding may actually pass the ball for a score. He obviously needs to get better at this and his off the ball defense, where he just becomes ball focused and loses his man. Once he becomes better at this AND gets a player that can recognize and help him on the weakside(I'm thinking Zion or Clarke) the Suns interior defense and defense as a whole will improve exponentially, imo.

I hope you guys are right about Ayton.

O_Gardino wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 7:50 am

Ayton is not Embiid. He does not have the mentality to draw fouls and force the opposition to match up with him, and he doesn't have the defensive awareness to be a game changer on the other end of the floor.

I wasn't saying he is Embiid, but he's not Capela either. Just that there is hope for big men.

O_Gardino wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 7:50 am

Ayton is not Embiid. He does not have the mentality to draw fouls and force the opposition to match up with him, and he doesn't have the defensive awareness to be a game changer on the other end of the floor.

There’s a difference in being a mediocre player and being unplayable in the playoffs.Those things don’t make him unplayable. Centers become unplayable because they get isolated on the perimeter and can’t defend. That’s not Ayton’s problem.

Also, he’s just a rookie...very few rookies are playoff ready.

I forget whether I've already posted this, but it is lots of fun to watch our boy PJ Tucker playing 40+ impactful minutes in a big playoff series against the Warriors. He's really helping them and his toughness is showing on lots of plays.

Split T wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 11:08 am

O_Gardino wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 7:50 am

Ayton is not Embiid. He does not have the mentality to draw fouls and force the opposition to match up with him, and he doesn't have the defensive awareness to be a game changer on the other end of the floor.

There’s a difference in being a mediocre player and being unplayable in the playoffs.Those things don’t make him unplayable. Centers become unplayable because they get isolated on the perimeter and can’t defend. That’s not Ayton’s problem.

Also, he’s just a rookie...very few rookies are playoff ready.

Another way that they get exposed is if they can't stretch the floor from time to time. It helps that Jokic, Embiid, Lopez, Horford, Gasol, and Kanter can occasionally pull the opposing center away from the rim and space the floor. Right now, Houston with Capela isn't affected as much since Looney and even Bogut aren't great at spacing the floor, and vice versa, imo. That may change in the next rounds though, but we'll see.

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 11:21 am

I forget whether I've already posted this, but it is lots of fun to watch our boy PJ Tucker playing 40+ impactful minutes in a big playoff series against the Warriors. He's really helping them and his toughness is showing on lots of plays.

That's great for PJ and the Rockets, but it's also a bad sign when PJ Tucker is the x-factor for beating the Warriors, which I believe him to be.

I think the Warriors win the series in 6.

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 3:59 pm

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 11:21 am

I forget whether I've already posted this, but it is lots of fun to watch our boy PJ Tucker playing 40+ impactful minutes in a big playoff series against the Warriors. He's really helping them and his toughness is showing on lots of plays.

That's great for PJ and the Rockets, but it's also a bad sign when PJ Tucker is the x-factor for beating the Warriors, which I believe him to be.

I think the Warriors win the series in 6.

I don't think it is a bad sign at all. The series is tied 2-2. Nobody has lost a home game yet. And total points scored is 448 to 447. Have a hustle guy that fights for rebounds, has quick hands and a chip on his shoulder, and can hit corner 3s is the kind of guy that pushes you one way or the other. Tucker is exactly the kind of guy that helps a team when he is your 5th-6th best player.

Indy wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 5:17 pm

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 3:59 pm

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 11:21 am

I forget whether I've already posted this, but it is lots of fun to watch our boy PJ Tucker playing 40+ impactful minutes in a big playoff series against the Warriors. He's really helping them and his toughness is showing on lots of plays.

That's great for PJ and the Rockets, but it's also a bad sign when PJ Tucker is the x-factor for beating the Warriors, which I believe him to be.

I think the Warriors win the series in 6.

I don't think it is a bad sign at all. The series is tied 2-2. Nobody has lost a home game yet. And total points scored is 448 to 447. Have a hustle guy that fights for rebounds, has quick hands and a chip on his shoulder, and can hit corner 3s is the kind of guy that pushes you one way or the other. Tucker is exactly the kind of guy that helps a team when he is your 5th-6th best player.

...and knows it.

Indy wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 5:17 pm

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 3:59 pm

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 11:21 am

I forget whether I've already posted this, but it is lots of fun to watch our boy PJ Tucker playing 40+ impactful minutes in a big playoff series against the Warriors. He's really helping them and his toughness is showing on lots of plays.

That's great for PJ and the Rockets, but it's also a bad sign when PJ Tucker is the x-factor for beating the Warriors, which I believe him to be.

I think the Warriors win the series in 6.

I don't think it is a bad sign at all. The series is tied 2-2. Nobody has lost a home game yet. And total points scored is 448 to 447. Have a hustle guy that fights for rebounds, has quick hands and a chip on his shoulder, and can hit corner 3s is the kind of guy that pushes you one way or the other. Tucker is exactly the kind of guy that helps a team when he is your 5th-6th best player.

My point is that they need him to be the 3rd-4th best player, which means he needs to outperform his average every night.

Shabazz wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 5:37 pm

Indy wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 5:17 pm

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 3:59 pm

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 11:21 am

I forget whether I've already posted this, but it is lots of fun to watch our boy PJ Tucker playing 40+ impactful minutes in a big playoff series against the Warriors. He's really helping them and his toughness is showing on lots of plays.

That's great for PJ and the Rockets, but it's also a bad sign when PJ Tucker is the x-factor for beating the Warriors, which I believe him to be.

I think the Warriors win the series in 6.

I don't think it is a bad sign at all. The series is tied 2-2. Nobody has lost a home game yet. And total points scored is 448 to 447. Have a hustle guy that fights for rebounds, has quick hands and a chip on his shoulder, and can hit corner 3s is the kind of guy that pushes you one way or the other. Tucker is exactly the kind of guy that helps a team when he is your 5th-6th best player.

...and knows it.

The funny this is that I originally had that part in that sentence. But it was in the middle and make it sound weird. So I cut it. But you are 100% correct. He needs to know he isn't #2.

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 5:37 pm

Indy wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 5:17 pm

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 3:59 pm

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote: ↑

Tue May 07, 2019 11:21 am

I forget whether I've already posted this, but it is lots of fun to watch our boy PJ Tucker playing 40+ impactful minutes in a big playoff series against the Warriors. He's really helping them and his toughness is showing on lots of plays.

That's great for PJ and the Rockets, but it's also a bad sign when PJ Tucker is the x-factor for beating the Warriors, which I believe him to be.

I think the Warriors win the series in 6.

I don't think it is a bad sign at all. The series is tied 2-2. Nobody has lost a home game yet. And total points scored is 448 to 447. Have a hustle guy that fights for rebounds, has quick hands and a chip on his shoulder, and can hit corner 3s is the kind of guy that pushes you one way or the other. Tucker is exactly the kind of guy that helps a team when he is your 5th-6th best player.

My point is that they need him to be the 3rd-4th best player, which means he needs to outperform his average every night.

Harden, Paul, Gordon are clearly their top 3 in this series. Depending on the game, Rivers or PJ 4th. Unless you are talking just about defense.

Now that's the Raptors I've been waiting to see.

Here comes Monty, thank you Toronto.

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:Today's version of Ayton absolutely would be tough to play in the playoffs. His defense is weak, and he doesn't have good outside shooting to space the floor. But he's young and he's learning. By the time we ever get back to the playoffs, he'll be a different player. I still don't think we should have picked him, but I want to be optimistic. He's still very good and valuable for us.

He's Enes Kanter and you can play Kanter in the playoffs. I think he will be better than Kanter. His defense already improved greatly over the course of the year from abysmal to decent.