Game Day (Preseason): Suns @ Jazz, Sat 12/12/20

[Indy]

It would have been nice to see Bubble Payne tonight.

[Indy]

I hate seeing Payne and Carter on the floor together.

The combo can work. Payne hasn't looked good tonight. And bad things happen when Carter dribbles. That is what I hate: Jevon Carter dribbling.

I think if Payne hadn't been so bad, you would have seen less of Carter trying to dribble. But yeah, I agree.

On the plus side, Ayton dribbled more than once tonight and didn't result in a TO!

[carey]

Welp, a little worried about the offense & a lot worried about the defense. Let's see what changes Monday.

[Superbone]

I hate seeing Payne and Carter on the floor together.

The combo can work. Payne hasn't looked good tonight. And bad things happen when Carter dribbles. That is what I hate: Jevon Carter dribbling.

I think if Payne hadn't been so bad, you would have seen less of Carter trying to dribble. But yeah, I agree.

On the plus side, Ayton dribbled more than once tonight and didn't result in a TO!

He’s still settling for the jumper though. I’d like to see him attempt a drive now and then or at least back his guy down.

[In2ition]

Payne was not...great tonight.

[Indy]

I hate seeing Payne and Carter on the floor together.

The combo can work. Payne hasn't looked good tonight. And bad things happen when Carter dribbles. That is what I hate: Jevon Carter dribbling.

I think if Payne hadn't been so bad, you would have seen less of Carter trying to dribble. But yeah, I agree.

On the plus side, Ayton dribbled more than once tonight and didn't result in a TO!

He’s still settling for the jumper though. I’d like to see him attempt a drive now and then or at least back his guy down.

I don't expect him to ever back his guy down. That just doesn't seem to be his game.

[INFORMER]

Payne was not...great tonight.

It's funny because I just looked at the box score and was shocked that he had a decent stat line. But watching the game, it was...payneful.

[INFORMER]

Welp, a little worried about the offense & a lot worried about the defense. Let's see what changes Monday.

I think the team is just a little behind schedule. They just started scrimmaging.

[Drewsprocket]

Interesting Jalen has played all his minutes at the 4 tonight

Jalen looks super small out there. Glad he can shoot. He’s gonna need a couple years to add that NBA muscle.

[INFORMER]

Interesting Jalen has played all his minutes at the 4 tonight

Jalen looks super small out there. Glad he can shoot. He’s gonna need a couple years to add that NBA muscle.

I felt he looked smaller too, but not in terms of muscle, but in terms of height. He just looked a lot shorter than in college. He has always been skinny. I did think his movement was more fluid though.

[Drewsprocket]

Interesting Jalen has played all his minutes at the 4 tonight

Jalen looks super small out there. Glad he can shoot. He’s gonna need a couple years to add that NBA muscle.

I felt he looked smaller too, but not in terms of muscle, but in terms of height. He just looked a lot shorter than in college. He has always been skinny. I did think his movement was more fluid though.

Yeah, like a skinny Horace Grant. But I think the skinnier you are it makes you look shorter. He needs like 20lbs of muscle before he’s banging down low. Still, he’s a solid player. Just needs time.

[Superbone]

Payne was not...great tonight.

It's funny because I just looked at the box score and was shocked that he had a decent stat line. But watching the game, it was...payneful.

I like this INF.

[Superbone]

Interesting Jalen has played all his minutes at the 4 tonight

Jalen looks super small out there. Glad he can shoot. He’s gonna need a couple years to add that NBA muscle.

Yep, I was thinking the same thing.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Positives:
Mikal, Cam, and Ayton didn't regress
Moore and Galloway are dependable rotation players
Jalen Smith won't be a bust

Negatives:
Cam Payne can't be relied on when Paul misses games
3 point defense needs to be a lot better
Ayton only drew one foul on the Jazz
Saric isn't going to be enough backup muscle in the front court

[Nodack]

It’s preseason game #1. Not going to make much out of anything. It’s just nice to see them again. So many new guys. We have to trim some fat by the first game don’t we or because of Covid are they allowing a bigger cushion?

[ShelC]

It’s preseason game #1. Not going to make much out of anything. It’s just nice to see them again. So many new guys. We have to trim some fat by the first game don’t we or because of Covid are they allowing a bigger cushion?

Yea I'm not overly concerned after the 1st preseason game. I thought Payne was a bit better as the game went on but the offense wasn't exactly fluid overall and guys either seemed to reluctant to shoot the 3 or too focused on putting the ball on the floor. I feel like Cam Johnson was maybe trying too hard to be a dribble drive/pull up threat and got injured on a bit of an awkward baseline drive. We can't have him and Bridges only taking one 3pt attempt combined. They're out there to shoot and spread the floor. Ayton and Book both looked the same.

Bench guys were decent but got outplayed/outshot by the Jazz who seemed to be hitting everything. Carter played too many minutes and seemed less effective. He needs to play balls to the wall for a short amount of time and then come out. Teams also know to run him off the line now. He'll be a change of pace, team-is-tired-we-need-a-boost guy this season.

I think Moore and Galloway will be steadier contributors on offense for Monty as they're known NBA shooters/scorers. The key will be sticking to the 0.5 offense with the subs or finding someone else to be a playmaker to get them their shots (Saric/Crowder?). They're not playmakers and you don't want them strictly going ISO all the time.

Jones and Nader can play in a pinch but I wouldn't trust them for consistent minutes over time. Nader can maybe fill in playing with better players, has a nice overall game but is still limited physically. You notice Jones' size on the floor but he tends to float around, doesn't really mix it up and is only a catch and dunk threat. He might do better with a PG like Paul than he did with the guards last night.

Stix looked solid, real nice looking shot and seemed solid defensively. Quickness looked good on both ends. His size didn't really stand out but I think he's long and skinny so maybe it doesn't show as well. Motley stood out with his energy and looked bigger than his listed 6-8. Bull-in-china-shop type of game, reminds me of Lou Amundson doing all the little things like setting good screens, fighting for rebounds, running the floor but no real offense. Wouldn't mind him sticking around as an energy guy and 6 fouls.

As a team, we've got to stay solid on defense and get out to shooters. Being too aggressive and pressing up defensively left guys scrambling and trying to cover for each other and the Jazz made us pay. Clarkson got hot early and then Niang, Williams-Gosss and Juwan Morgan got hot later on. Azibuike was also a handful for us. Like a bigger, poor-man's Zion out there with his size and athleticism. Interested to see how his career progresses.

[ShelC]

[ShelC]

DA some aggression











Langston's array of shots - C+S, stepback, running off screens hitting from all over the floor

[O_Gardino]

Not going o read too much into the game last night, but

LG was our best guard not named Booker.
I liked what I saw of Motley.
It looked like Payne was pressing.

[djy2j]

Nice to see Suns basketball again. Now I just have to figure out how to watch LP on ATT TV if that's even possible.

The poor three point defense was probably the only real gripe. We never really adjusted to them taking boat loads of threes and making boat loads of threes.

I liked that they came out and played hard. Unusual to see on a preseason game.

Man, that Golloway Moore bench combo is going to be fire this year.

I thought Damion Jones looked a little more like a basketball player than Diallo. I thought he showed a good feel for what he needed to do out there and I liked his energy.

I like that Book and CP are going to keep on Ayton to play with intensity. That will really elevate this team if they can increase his motor.