Are you excited for the ‘20-‘21 season?

Discussion of the league and of our favorite team.

Are you excited for the season?

Hell, yeah! I wish it started tomorrow!
30
97%
Meh. We didn’t improve enough.
1
3%
Nah, we gave out a bunch of crap contracts.
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 31

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Indy
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Re: Are you excited for the ‘20-‘21 season?

Post by Indy »

bajanguy008 wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:07 pm
Was idle online and decided to twitter search Book and saw these two gems posted recently

Super talented guy hitting 45 straight with no D can be debated if it's a big deal or not but my fav part is Rubio body language. It is just so funny to me as he literally didn't know what to do with himself and I was imagining if I was him waiting to shoot :)
My fav part is the look Milk gives at the end, which basically is him thinking, "so maybe I am not an NBA player..."

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Indy
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Re: Are you excited for the ‘20-‘21 season?

Post by Indy »

Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
Booker - He’s so good already, but the 1 big thing I’d like to see is his 3pt% jump back up to .383(his career high) or higher and for his 2pt% to stay high like last year. Smaller one, but I’d like his turnovers to drop a bit more as well. He can still get turnover prone. I went with under 3.5 a game(3.8 last year), but TO rate might be more appropriate. He was 14.9% last year, I’d like that under 13(Career low is 12.9).
Hard to nit pick with Book, but that 3P% needs to get back up there. I am hoping his percentage of pull-up 3s vs C&S goes way down, which should drive his 3P% way up. With Paul on the team, there is no reason for him to be below .375.
Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
CP3 - Honestly just want to see him stay healthy. I want games missed due to injury < 10. I think we’ll see his assists go back up a bit, that would also be nice.
Besides health, I need him to care and play with that chip like he did last year. He said a big part of that was proving the critics wrong. I hope the minimum hype around us doesn't get into anyone's head.

Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
Ayton - Here’s the big one as he could do so much for us if he made a few specific jumps. I’m not actually that concerned with his points/rebounds as I think he’ll get those regardless. I wanna see that his offensive game is becoming more dynamic and efficient.
I really don't care about his stats. I want to see him impact the game. He did that more than I expected last year from the defensive side. I want to see that continue, but also see him change a game on the offense by giving us a legit 2nd option (that many nights might be 3rd option due to CP3 and Book). But he needs to stay engaged like he is the 2nd option and not fade...

Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
My 3 stats to watch are assists, ft attempts, and pt %. He averaged 1.9 assists last year and I think I’d like that more in the 2.5-3 range. He’s got decent vision and more assists would show that he’s taking more initiative on offense. Likewise, getting to the line also shows more initiative and aggressiveness. He averaged 2.3 fta per game last year. That needs to be 4 minimum and preferably 5 or 6.
I think that would be nice, but I really care less about this than most of his game. I don't think getting him to create is where he will excel. He doesn't seem to be a quick-decision guy, at least not in this sense. I want us to find ways to get him the ball where all he needs to do is score. Like lobs or open 3s (or even long 2s if he is decisive about it). Catch and dunk or catch and shoot.
Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
Lastly, I want that 2pt percentage back up to the .590 he shot as a rookie(.553 last year). He does this by cutting out some mid range and adding more rim attempts. One interesting fact, his percentage in the 3-10 foot range dropped from 56% as a rookie to 41% last year. He takes 20% of his shots from this range, so another big area he can improve. I went strictly with 2pt percentage because I fully expect to see more 3’s this year which will surely bring his overal fg% down.
that 3-10 foot range is what happens when you settle for fade aways and off-balance shots and don't bother to dunk the damn ball.

Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
Bridges - Bring back Scrimmage Bridges! He’s not going to be a heavy usage player in this offense, or probably ever, but I’d like to see him more aggressive on offense at times. He flashed that in the bubble, specifically the bubble scrimmages. His usage rate has been in the 12 range his first two years, I’d like that to push up above 14. Still low, but shows he’s doing more with the ball. He’s a good finisher and smart passer, I think he can be helpful. Also, 3pt%, I want the hitch gone forever and to see the results with > .380 from 3.
YES

Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
Crowder - I think we know what we have with him. He only has 1 full season at higher than .343 from 3(.398 in Boston) I think that and the Miami run are more outliers than anything, but he should have good looks in this offense, so I’ll go 3pt % > .350
I am hoping his 'fluke' shooting season was more about him being in the right place at the right time, and we can duplicate that for him. With Paul and Book and Ayton feasting on shots from 15 feet in, I want to see him be wide open with his feet set. I think David Nash posted a shot chart of his time in Miami. It is almost exclusively 3s and <3 feet.

Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
Cam - He’s a pure shooter and I want us to take advantage of that. I want his 3pt attempts per 36 to be over 10(let them fly) and for him to shoot over 40% on them.
10 per 36 minutes? That would be like top 5 in the league.


Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
Saric - Give is Bubble Saric! He can take bench 5’s off the dribble and bully bench 4’s in the post. He increased his ft rate and assist rates in the bubble and that’s what I’ll be looking for. He took 2.7 ft per game in Philly. I don’t think he’ll get the same number of minutes, so give me 2.5(1.9 last year). He also had an assist rate around 14 in philly(10.8 for us). Give me 12.5. Lastly, need a little more bubble shooting than pre bubble. Give me > .370.
YES

Split T wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:20 pm
Moore - > 39% from 3(was 37 last year and 43 the previous 2 years)

Galloway - > 39% from 3(39.9 last year)

Carter- > 40% from 3(42 last year, also are we sensing a theme?) Will also add on Carter, I don’t want to see him play a single minute at the 1.

Payne - Tough one here. He’s not going to shoot 50% from 3 like he did in the bubble(career 34% shooter) but he did shoot .385 in a previous season. I’ll be happy if he’s at .370 or higher. Also we need a ball handler and offensive initiator off the bench. I’d like him to match his 3.0 APG in the bubble.

Smith - Not a lot of expectations here, just want him to hit shots when he’s in. Give me .360 or higher from 3. Hoping to be pleasantly surprised with how good he is.

Nader - Want to see less than 10 minutes per game. I don’t expect him to be a part of the rotation unless injuries hit, so give me some garbage time 4 minutes per game from him this year.

Jones - Just want 0 starts from him. If we have to rely on him for anything, we’re in trouble.

Motley - I got nothing here.

Alexander - Same here, just want to hear stories about how he’s impressing in practice. Or if the g league plays, want to see some fun stat lines. Some garbage time 3 pointers and solid D!
--It seems like we might be relying too much on guys playing out of their mind like they did in the bubble (scrimmage included) when half of our opponents were hurt or resting. :?

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Split T
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Re: Are you excited for the ‘20-‘21 season?

Post by Split T »

Maybe I went a bit high on Cam for 3’s, but he took 7.8 per 36 last year. He’s the guy we want to get the most looks from 3.

And ya we are kinda counting on that bubble performance being real to an extent. There are some signs that it was. Guys like Saric and Carter excelled in changed roles(bench 5 for Saric, strictly off ball for Carter) They should be able to continue in those roles this year, as opposed to starting stretch 4 for Saric and backup pg for Carter.

Cam and Bridges are young guys still adding to their game and getting comfortable playing in the nba. They are bound to continually improve. So their improvements aren’t surprising.

Cam Payne is the biggest fluke risk. He came out of nowhere to be a really good backup point guard. It’s just an 8 game sample, so that’s a big question mark. We did add solid vets like Moore and Galloway, so we have bodies to play if Payne was a fluke, though Payne is the only PG of the bunch. Would be really nice if he was good.

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Nodack
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Re: Are you excited for the ‘20-‘21 season?

Post by Nodack »

O_Gardino wrote:
Mon Nov 23, 2020 8:30 am
Nodack and bajanguy, we miss you in the summers. Glad you are both around and ready to for the season to start.
Not much happening in the summer usually, just endless trade scenarios. Zzzzzzzz. This summer seemed extra short due to Covid and the late NBA season, which was a bonus. Usually we make one or two trades. This off season we made a lot of changes. I didn’t even know who was on the team when I checked back. I’m just catching up with some of these new guys I am unfamiliar with. Some of you guys eat sleep and drink basketball and know every players stats in the NBA and college. Too deep for me. I keep up with the Suns and catch a few other games during the season but that’s it. I watch college B-ball when it gets to the sweet sixteen or later.

I am pretty stoked about the season. I probably say that every year because I’m such a homer but, this year we seem like we have a legitimate chance at making the playoffs and if that doesn’t get you a little excited after the drought we have just gone through I don’t know what will. Like everyone else I am looking at Ayton and his development as key to the future.

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carey
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Re: Are you excited for the ‘20-‘21 season?

Post by carey »

1 more day y'all!
Go Suns!

Og Snus!

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