Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Discussion of the league and of our favorite team.
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ShelC
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by ShelC »

Solid post All-Star/CP-less start, all things considered. Some rough play throughout the game, which was a combo of no CP and some rust from the time off. Hoping we smooth things out when Book is getting his rest but until Payne comes back we really don't have a viable PG to throw out there. Holiday played well but is definitely more comfortable off the ball. If he can keep things simple and slow down a bit, the TOs should come down. Too often he was playing too fast and leaving his feet to pass which led to a bunch of sloppy TOs. I don't know if he takes all of Shamet's minutes but he's a threat.

DA and JaVale struggled inside. DA's always rusty after a break so it might take him another game or two. Plus our bigs tend to struggle against smaller teams. As nice as it is to have Craig back, we still have don't have that 6-10 240lb smaller center to matchup.

The Twins continue their ascension. Love watching them play off each other and I like seeing Cam on the ball more and more creating his own offense. Very excited to watch them during this stretch without CP.

Also a good job by Monty and the staff going with the bigger lineup that's played together rather than forcing Holiday into a starting spot. Better to lean on that chemistry to start and end the games than try to work a new guy in with 4 other regulars.

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Nodack
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by Nodack »

I have loved Holiday’s playing outside of his crazy passing/turnovers. He shoots great and defends great. His passing needs help.

And once again even without CP3 we destroy a team in the final minutes of the game.

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In2ition
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by In2ition »

I didn't watch the game closely, as I was meeting with friends, but I did notice a big early lead when the 2nd team was in. Unfortunately, there was a stretch where they had something like 5 TOs in 6 possessions, and OKC went on a 10-0 or more run. I remember Holiday being involved in a couple of those crazy passes and TOs. I'm glad he was good the rest of the game.
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Mori Chu
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by Mori Chu »

You could really see us turn up our intensity at around the 5:00 mark left in the 4th quarter. I think the guys have bought into the "winning time" concept and try to be true to their reputation of playing well at the end of games.

Ayton had a really disappointing stat line: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 5 TO in 30 minutes. I don't know why he disappears in games like this where the other team doesn't even have an impressive center. He should be feasting on an opponent like this. I guess it's better that he plays his best against big opponents like Embiid and Jokic, but why can't the guy get himself fired up to dunk all over scrubs like OKC?

I have crapped on Shamet as much as anybody, and he didn't have a great game, but it was good to have him back. And he did hit a few 3s that helped us out. It's going to be hard not to play Holiday instead, though, if he's going to keep playing like he is right now.

I'm surprised Biyombo didn't get any minutes tonight, given the opponent and the kind of lineups they were putting out. He seems to have fallen out of favor.

As for OKC, well, SGA is a lot of fun to watch. With him and Dort, they do have a few pieces they can build a team around. I also like Giddey a lot for them; he's just a clever and crafty player who makes a lot of smart plays and fills up the stat sheet. He had 15, 9, and 6 tonight; he just kind of sneaks in there and piles up those stats. Mann is showing some promise for them. And I can't help but watch in fascination whenever Poku is doing anything. They kind of have a sneaky fun little young core. They're years away from being good, and they need a few big injections of talent, but they're fun-bad rather than depressing-bad. And they have a thousand draft picks coming to them. They might be really scary in about 4-5 years if they make good decisions.

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Split T
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by Split T »

I do like Mann…He was one of my suns targets in the draft. He’s got elite on ball skills(ball handling, pull up ability) if he develops as a playmaker, look out. If not, he can be a dangerous 6th man type guy.

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pickle
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by pickle »

I don’t mean to always go against the grain but I really don’t think DA played that poorly last night except for a couple of botched passes. He played very good D and on offense I think it’s pretty clear that all our other guards combined don’t hold a candle to CP3 as a passer. He did a pretty good job sealing his man several possessions but our guards just couldn’t get him the ball, and I don’t remember more than one or two real attempts at a pick and roll. Similarly with McGee, he was left to fend on his own mostly except for two passes to him at the rim and there weren’t any hard drives to the basket that Payne used to make at least 4-5 times a game that he could clean up. And the Thunder packed the paint with 2-3 guys to deter them from offensive rebounds.

On defense both of our bigs played well, Thunder was just good/lucky with change of pace layups and super high off the backboard layups. We did have some issues losing players on back cuts. Hope that gets cleaned up and we win a few games with defense until the offensive chemistry comes together.

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Shabazz
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by Shabazz »

I would have liked to have seen him try and take Favors off the dribble. When they were matched up on the perimeter, he defaulted to his turnaround or a middy.

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pickle
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by pickle »

That’s true. But I think he’s not one to pick up a new trick and try it quickly. Maybe over the summer he will develop an off the dribble game. Right now he’s limited to shooting over people in various ways.

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Flagrant Fowl
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by Flagrant Fowl »

It wasn't just against Favors, he failed to take advantage of being matched up against 6'8" Isaiah Roby. I have patience with the mishandled passes due to Paul being out, but there's no excuse for him to be negated by a role player on a non-playoff team.
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Shabazz
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by Shabazz »

pickle wrote:
Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:23 pm
That’s true. But I think he’s not one to pick up a new trick and try it quickly. Maybe over the summer he will develop an off the dribble game. Right now he’s limited to shooting over people in various ways.
He had a stretch earlier this season where he was consistently attacking off the dribble, so it wouldn’t be new for him. It seems like every time he misses time he’s gotta build back the whole toolkit one piece at a time.

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Nodack
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by Nodack »

pickle wrote:
Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:04 pm
I don’t mean to always go against the grain but I really don’t think DA played that poorly last night except for a couple of botched passes. He played very good D and on offense I think it’s pretty clear that all our other guards combined don’t hold a candle to CP3 as a passer. He did a pretty good job sealing his man several possessions but our guards just couldn’t get him the ball, and I don’t remember more than one or two real attempts at a pick and roll. Similarly with McGee, he was left to fend on his own mostly except for two passes to him at the rim and there weren’t any hard drives to the basket that Payne used to make at least 4-5 times a game that he could clean up. And the Thunder packed the paint with 2-3 guys to deter them from offensive rebounds.

On defense both of our bigs played well, Thunder was just good/lucky with change of pace layups and super high off the backboard layups. We did have some issues losing players on back cuts. Hope that gets cleaned up and we win a few games with defense until the offensive chemistry comes together.
Ya, they tried to get him the ball early and those passes turned into turnovers. I am not entirely sure what was the blame but, let’s just say CP3 seemed to connect with those passes better. They will have to figure that out. No CP3. It’s point Book and Payton for awhile. Every team has it’s share of injuries. The Suns have enough depth to weather most injuries. We have plenty of bigs and forwards. We’ll just have to play big more for awhile.

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pickle
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by pickle »

Shabazz wrote:
Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:41 pm
pickle wrote:
Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:23 pm
That’s true. But I think he’s not one to pick up a new trick and try it quickly. Maybe over the summer he will develop an off the dribble game. Right now he’s limited to shooting over people in various ways.
He had a stretch earlier this season where he was consistently attacking off the dribble, so it wouldn’t be new for him. It seems like every time he misses time he’s gotta build back the whole toolkit one piece at a time.
I think he might have tried it once or twice a game but I would hardly call it consistent. Just don’t see it as part of his toolkit right now.

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pickle
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by pickle »

Flagrant Fowl wrote:
Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:34 pm
It wasn't just against Favors, he failed to take advantage of being matched up against 6'8" Isaiah Roby. I have patience with the mishandled passes due to Paul being out, but there's no excuse for him to be negated by a role player on a non-playoff team.
I’ll have to rewatch but I don’t think it’s worth the time investment, so I’m just going off my impression right now. I do remember him sealing smaller players later in the game and not getting the ball. I don’t think Favors is that physically imposing and he should’ve been able to dominate him as well. My general impression right now is just passing chemistry.

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LazarusLong
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by LazarusLong »

pickle wrote:
Fri Feb 25, 2022 7:50 pm
Flagrant Fowl wrote:
Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:34 pm
It wasn't just against Favors, he failed to take advantage of being matched up against 6'8" Isaiah Roby. I have patience with the mishandled passes due to Paul being out, but there's no excuse for him to be negated by a role player on a non-playoff team.
I’ll have to rewatch but I don’t think it’s worth the time investment, so I’m just going off my impression right now. I do remember him sealing smaller players later in the game and not getting the ball. I don’t think Favors is that physically imposing and he should’ve been able to dominate him as well. My general impression right now is just passing chemistry.
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pickle
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Re: Game Day: Suns (48-10) @ Thunder (18-40), Thurs 2/24/2022

Post by pickle »

Yeah but he’s also quite slow footed. If Ayton can’t take advantage of him I’d be somewhat disappointed.

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