Phx-Suns.Net

The Bobster wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 13, 2022 6:48 pm

There are very few players in the ballpark when it comes to matching up to Antetokounmpo physically - the Suns are lucky enough to have one in Ayton, but we saw how good Giannis was in the Finals. If you're a small team like the Warriors, he's going to eat you alive.

8. Cam Johnson, stretching his game

Johnson has been the league's most accurate high-volume 3-point shooter over the last seven weeks, having drained almost half his triples in that stretch. He has hit multiple 3s in 22 straight games, and scored in double-figures every game since Nov. 27. Yowza.

Johnson can pump-and-go past defenders, and keep the Suns' efficiency machine moving.

Still, Johnson is mostly an off-ball sniper. But amid injuries and virus-related absences, the Suns have let Johnson stretch himself. He's trying a few more mid-rangers, including pull-up 2s:


The results have been uneven. Johnson is shooting poorly on midrangers, and doesn't probe for assists or free throws. But against postseason defenses, you need as many guys as possible who can create something from nothing late in the shot clock. With Phoenix a good bet to earn a top-two seed, there's little harm in giving Johnson leeway.

Johnson's rim attempts are up a tick. He's a cagey cutter, with a knack for bullying smaller defenders on those plays. Johnson catches the ball on the move, lowers his shoulder, and keeps plowing until he's at the basket. (Johnson is shooting a tidy 70% in the restricted area.) That bulldozing becomes important when defenses stick bigger wings on Chris Paul and Devin Booker -- and stash smaller guards on Johnson.

Johnson might have only one "A"-level strength -- lights-out shooting -- but he has very few (maybe zero) glaring weaknesses. Perhaps the best compliment coaches can give a role player is never worrying about him when he's on the floor. Monty Williams would probably say that about Johnson.

Split T wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:52 am

10. Jarrett Allen's Zelda love affair

The release of The Legend of Zelda, with its gold game cartridge, was a landmark event for any child of the 1980s and early 1990s. Allen was born in 1998, but grew up playing subsequent versions of the Zelda series. He collects Zelda-related memorabilia; his favorite such piece, he says, might be his 3D printout of one particular shield.

Every time Allen scores, the Cavaliers' game operations staff plays a specific Zelda sound effect -- the jingle that (in the original) played when the protagonist uncovered some secret item or entry point. (Apparently that same sound -- or something very close to it -- has carried over into more recent Zelda iterations.)

That sound triggers a little hit of dopamine in my brain. I smile every time. It brings back the excitement of having discovered something new in that game -- once you blew in the cartridge enough times for it to load.

Allen first requested the effect with the Nets, when staffers approached players for suggestions. "It took me about 10 seconds to come up with the perfect one," Allen says. "Short and sweet."

Indy wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 14, 2022 4:28 pm

Same. And I know the exact sound they are talking about.

On a kind of similar note, I absolutely HATE the sound the Suns play after made FTs. It is the Windows sound that plays when you plug something into your USB. But it is very similar to the sound that plays when you unplug something from your usb or windows (inevitably) loses connection with it. As a former IT guy, that sound sends an instant hit of cortisol every time I hear it.