Phx-Suns.Net

Suns collectively got their daubers up down the stretch and won.
Career game by Kaminsky with 31 pts.

Suns won it in the post, with 45 pts. total from Kaminsky and McGee.
Nurkic and Zeller had just 10.

Loving our back up bigs!

SUPER MAX KAMINSKY NOW!

Sheesh, Frank. You’ve apparently found out a way to take all my hateful comments over the years and turn them into real, actual, respectable basketball ability. Hel probably end up with a “random” PED test. For good reason. What a game. Played well this year

3rdside wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:32 pm

ShelC wrote:We were something like 11-2 with Frank as our starting PF last season so we know he can play with this group. JaVale with 4 fouls in the 1st half is why he's not a reliable 30mpg player.

A little choppier with the other guys. Payne had a nice scoring stretch for us, Paul's looking for his jumper a bit more but Book and Mikal a little quiet and not a lot of flow offensively.

11-2? Damn.

More evidence that monty not playing frank in the finals was an increasingly large mistake.

Nah, the Frank we’re seeing wasn’t around in the finals. He got some chances in the finals and I remember him getting destroyed in game 3. He came back in probably game 6 and looked better, but nothing like what we’re getting now. I don’t know what has gotten into him, but he’s been awesome this year. We could have used this version for sure last year in the finals.

Do you think he always had this in him? Or did he make some serious improvements in the offseason?

FRANK!!! That is all.

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:36 pm

A defensive foul against Frank but a technical on CJ for the elbow to Franks head? Absolutely zero logic.

Especially when earlier in the game they changed a foul Book received to an offensive foul on him in the middle of making the call.

Gladiator wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 10, 2021 9:29 pm

Frank played unbelievable for what I saw. There was one play when we were up 6 (98-92 maybe) threw the ball to him in the post, he went to work and got a bucket one-on-one (something Ayton struggles to do, for all the other things he does much better).
A couple of minutes later we threw the ball to Frank in the post, he went to work, got double teamed and passed to an open Crowder for three. Beautiful to watch.
He’s obviously going to get shown up defensively amd athletically in certain match-ups but he is obviously a smart player.

He scored his career high tonight. I hope he got the game ball.

Split T wrote:

3rdside wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:32 pm

ShelC wrote:We were something like 11-2 with Frank as our starting PF last season so we know he can play with this group. JaVale with 4 fouls in the 1st half is why he's not a reliable 30mpg player.

A little choppier with the other guys. Payne had a nice scoring stretch for us, Paul's looking for his jumper a bit more but Book and Mikal a little quiet and not a lot of flow offensively.

11-2? Damn.

More evidence that monty not playing frank in the finals was an increasingly large mistake.

Nah, the Frank we’re seeing wasn’t around in the finals. He got some chances in the finals and I remember him getting destroyed in game 3. He came back in probably game 6 and looked better, but nothing like what we’re getting now. I don’t know what has gotten into him, but he’s been awesome this year. We could have used this version for sure last year in the finals.

Do you think he always had this in him? Or did he make some serious improvements in the offseason?

I’m trying not to be a hindsight hero but we needed height - any height.

Kaminsky has probably always had some game in him, I mean I can’t imagine he’s turned into something he never was before via a freak off season training program that we don’t know about.

As EJ keeps repeating and everyone knows, the guy was the ish in college so his offensive skills never went anywhere. Frank would hesitate and look uncertain at times and when you're not exactly athletic like Frank not making quick decisions run you in trouble.

I'm fairly certain Frank was getting those same pocket passes last year but he would then be looking to make the next pass to a cutter or the corner shooter. Not going up with much conviction and getting blocked at times, he surely isn't jumping any higher lol but yet his hook shot or floater not getting blocked ?!?
Maybe I'm simplifying but I always lean to the fact that with these guys it's so often just a confidence thing and we as fans usually are like Dude, you're in the League why you hesitating to shoot

Another point I would add, forgive the long one. Monty would always say Frank is like another "connector" so he comes in looking to bring that to the game. Whenever I think of Frank, most his good moments would be from the high post and making sweet passes to Mikal cutting with every once in a while he remembering that he could score lol. Everyone would be losing their mind that we have these bigs who always look to pass the ball when they're in the paint

Frank issue should always be defense (which apparently he did alot of foot speed stuff this off-season) but I hope he continues to play like Yea I know what to do with the ball in my hands

This was a really fun game to attend.

I was really surprised to see Mikal leading the team in assists at the half.

And man, McGee just can't control himself when it comes to fouling. Really makes you appreciate that part of DA's game.

3rdside wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:38 am

Split T wrote:

3rdside wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:32 pm

ShelC wrote:We were something like 11-2 with Frank as our starting PF last season so we know he can play with this group. JaVale with 4 fouls in the 1st half is why he's not a reliable 30mpg player.

A little choppier with the other guys. Payne had a nice scoring stretch for us, Paul's looking for his jumper a bit more but Book and Mikal a little quiet and not a lot of flow offensively.

11-2? Damn.

More evidence that monty not playing frank in the finals was an increasingly large mistake.

Nah, the Frank we’re seeing wasn’t around in the finals. He got some chances in the finals and I remember him getting destroyed in game 3. He came back in probably game 6 and looked better, but nothing like what we’re getting now. I don’t know what has gotten into him, but he’s been awesome this year. We could have used this version for sure last year in the finals.

Do you think he always had this in him? Or did he make some serious improvements in the offseason?

I’m trying not to be a hindsight hero but we needed height - any height.

Kaminsky has probably always had some game in him, I mean I can’t imagine he’s turned into something he never was before via a freak off season training program that we don’t know about.

Dude was the 2015 NCAA College Player of the Year with Wisconsin.

Yeah there is a reason he was taken several spots ahead of Booker. He just didn't live up to the hype.

Of course he can't score 30 points per night in this league. But that doesn't mean he isn't capable of helping a team win. He just didn't have much left at the end of last year. He had zero lateral quickness, and was blocked at the rim seemingly on 85% of his attempts. He had no strength when he went up. He just looked washed. Maybe that was because of how he felt and what he talked about last night.

He seems to have a renewed sense of self and energy. Good for him, and us.

Keep going to the rim Mikal!

Observation by Duane Rankin on AZCentral:

"...it's crazy seeing how the Suns consistently find Kaminsky on pick-and-roll and in the post.
That's not the case with Ayton.
So maybe Ayton needs to see what Kaminsky is doing to get the ball in those favorable areas as Paul has said Kaminsky is in the right spot 'every time.' "

LazarusLong wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:16 am

Observation by Duane Rankin on AZCentral:

"...it's crazy seeing how the Suns consistently find Kaminsky on pick-and-roll and in the post.
That's not the case with Ayton.
So maybe Ayton needs to see what Kaminsky is doing to get the ball in those favorable areas as Paul has said Kaminsky is in the right spot 'every time.' "

Exactly! Our centers last night took 28 shots, and everyone was cheering them on. Of those 28, only 1 shot wasn't a 3 or a paint shot. And those guys kept getting into a place where they were open and ready/willing to catch a pass.

Suns big men accounted for 45 pts, as mentioned earlier.
Frank consistently outmaneuvered the Portland centers -- Nurkic is huge and strong, but not particularly nimble on defense ...