Game Day: Warriors (6-8) @ Suns (8-5), Wed 11/16/22

[Split T]

10 seconds left in the first half and they were in the offensive set I was talking about Superbone. DA was set up behind the basket.

Thanks for the time stamp. I will go back and watch.

On this play it looks like a clear out for Booker to give him driving lanes. If Ayton’s man comes up to help, Ayton can sneak underneath him to get rebounding position. That would be my best guess.

[Superbone]

10 seconds left in the first half and they were in the offensive set I was talking about Superbone. DA was set up behind the basket.

Thanks for the time stamp. I will go back and watch.

OK, I see. Yeah, I think it’s just to give Book room to operate in the key. As soon as Book charges into the lane, Ayton runs to the rim for a rebound or play at the hoop.

[Wally_West]

[Superbone]

10 seconds left in the first half and they were in the offensive set I was talking about Superbone. DA was set up behind the basket.

Thanks for the time stamp. I will go back and watch.

On this play it looks like a clear out for Booker play to give him driving lanes. If Ayton’s man comes up to help, Ayton can sneak underneath him to get rebounding position. That would be my best guess.

Ha. Good analysis. I think we’re on the same page.

[Split T]

10 seconds left in the first half and they were in the offensive set I was talking about Superbone. DA was set up behind the basket.

Thanks for the time stamp. I will go back and watch.

On this play it looks like a clear out for Booker play to give him driving lanes. If Ayton’s man comes up to help, Ayton can sneak underneath him to get rebounding position. That would be my best guess.

Ha. Good analysis. I think we’re on the same page.

I’d be curious if it always results in a Booker iso…we’ll have to keep watching for it

[Superbone]

I did really enjoy your original post and game description, especially "I wouldn’t be surprised to see Klay Thompson crying again at the end of this one."

I nailed it other than Thompson’s tears.

[specialsauce]

DA engaged tonight. Mr Max is here

For a quarter.

TBF, engagement wasn’t a problem for most of the game. It was mostly just playing poorly.

True. He started off great and then his shot was just off. They did repeatedly go to him to start the 2nd half in spite of his struggles.

A dominating 7 rebounds

[Shabazz]

Props to Book, CP15, Mikal, Torrey, D-Lee and Jock. All were stars in their roles.

DA - 7 combined FRBS. This is his worst stretch as a Sun. As soft as he’s been on offense (can someone please teach him a drop step), his effort on D has been embarrassing. He half-contests every shot. He’s the opposite of a deterrent. I’m not trying to be a shitposter after a great win, but this is all of our worst fears playing out. DA deserves to be roundly criticized for saying his goal was to get a second contract, getting that second contract and immediately loafing while taking up 30% of our cap.

Saucy, they were looking for him nearly every time he had position. When they didn’t get it to him it was mostly because of Warriors in help position making it a dangerous pass (unlike some other games where they missed good opportunities). When they did get it to him with his back to the basket, it was a low EV play. I’m all for him working on stuff during the regular season, but it’s always that same jump hook. Let him incorporate a drop-step, a face-up and attack move, etc. 10 foot jump hooks over 6-3 guys aren’t prepping us for the playoffs. They’re playing into the other teams’ hands.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Some people stress so much over minutes and rotations but this stuff is way more important. A lot of teams are lead by coaches who can’t get their players anywhere near this level.

[ShelC]

[ShelC]

Really solid win for us coming off some tough losses on the road. Everyone had a bounce in their step and the activity level was where we needed it on both ends. Steph had that look and you knew after the 1st quarter he was going to have a big night, but it didn't look like anyone was going to be able to help him so I was fine with him going off so long as we kept everyone else in check. But the truth is, the Ws are in the beginning of the end stage and don't have the pieces on the roster anymore to support Steph. Klay is looking more and more human and isn't as effective as before, Dray is aging before our eyes and doesn't have the same impact on either end and Wiggins can't do it as a #2 every night. They're getting nothing out of Kuminga or Wiseman so they're left with end of bench guys Moody, Lamb, Green playing bigger roles than they should.

Payne's always our x-factor. When he's rolling, we're really dangerous. And when he's rolling, it lets Monty use a guy like Okogie more and more for his hustle and defense. Okogie's really a situational guy, but a super high level one who can disrupt things in a big way. Plays bigger than he is, can switch off on 3-4 different positions and make those momentum plays. Landale was huge off the bench and took advantage of his size well against the smaller Ws.

DLee with 9 and 8 and the only + player off the bench. Just a great pickup for us. Craig had a quiet but really good game. Didn't stand out too much to me but finished with 13 and 10 with three 3s. A lot of good matchups for him against the Ws and he took advantage. Generally, it looks like the bench is still settling in and Monty is still trying to figure out lineups and combos. Lee and Landale have been really solid, DWJ looks like he might be coming on and Okogie can work with other scorers and disrupt things defensively in spurs. Monty's got to be willing to mix and match tho even when we're healthy, if only to spell Book and Mikal so they're not averaging 35-40 minutes a game.

Good to see us smack the Ws but these aren't the same Ws of years past. They're in trouble unless they make a trade or Wiseman and Kuminga get it together and start contributing.

[LazarusLong]

Jordan Poole, averaging around 16 ppg off the bench, was MIA for the Warriors ... only 2 pts.

[LazarusLong]

I like Landale's work rate, but the vaunted three-point range has yet to come into play ... he's 3-25 for the season. Oof ...

[Mori Chu]

Fun win. I love the fast pace and back-and-forth play whenever we meet up with the Warriors. And I love that it is starting to feel like a genuine rivalry between the two teams complete with some trash talking and bad blood.

Cam Payne is having a great season; he's done an excellent job filling in for CP3 and just in general this year. Couldn't be happier with his play. We need it, too. Torrey Craig is also mostly delivering what we need in a mostly starting role. He has some quiet games, but he's been much better than the bad job he did late last season. In general most of our guys are playing well this season, other than Ayton and CP3. Even a lot of our random bench guys like Okogie, Lee, DWJ are contributing which is great. The guys seem like they're starting to develop better team chemistry, looking to pass to each other, playing better team defense.

As for the Warriors, wow, I can't remember the last time I watched them play and would basically forget that Draymond Green existed. He was really quiet tonight. A lot of their wings like Poole and Wiggins were also pretty quiet tonight. We have a good matchup against them with a lot of long athletic wings who can defend well like Bridges, Craig, Okogie, CamJ (when healthy), etc.

I can't tell whether the Warriors are just in a temporary funk or whether there are real deep problems with their team. It is starting to feel like the latter. They don't have anybody they can really depend on after Curry, and Curry can't carry the whole team for 82 games. And their payroll is out of controll with a huge luxury tax bill. It feels like they are missing some of the guys they let go, like Payton II and Otto Porter. And a lot of their next-generation young guys like Kaminga and Wiseman just aren't ready to carry any load.

I feel like I can already see what's going to happen. We are going to have another strong regular season and finish #1 or #2 in the West. The Warriors will flounder and struggle all year and will fall to #7 or #8. And then we're going to have to face these effers in the first round of the playoffs as our "reward" for such a good record. Just our luck.

[Split T]

DA - 7 combined FRBS. This is his worst stretch as a Sun. As soft as he’s been on offense (can someone please teach him a drop step), his effort on D has been embarrassing. He half-contests every shot. He’s the opposite of a deterrent. I’m not trying to be a shitposter after a great win, but this is all of our worst fears playing out. DA deserves to be roundly criticized for saying his goal was to get a second contract, getting that second contract and immediately loafing while taking up 30% of our cap.

The defense is so bad, to me it seems like he’s checked out on the team. He got his money but he felt disrespected in the process. I think he clearly wants to leave and I hope we move him. I’m beyond done. This has easily been his worst season for us.

[Furlanfufi]

DA - 7 combined FRBS. This is his worst stretch as a Sun. As soft as he’s been on offense (can someone please teach him a drop step), his effort on D has been embarrassing. He half-contests every shot. He’s the opposite of a deterrent. I’m not trying to be a shitposter after a great win, but this is all of our worst fears playing out. DA deserves to be roundly criticized for saying his goal was to get a second contract, getting that second contract and immediately loafing while taking up 30% of our cap.

The defense is so bad, to me it seems like he’s checked out on the team. He got his money but he felt disrespected in the process. I think he clearly wants to leave and I hope we move him. I’m beyond done. This has easily been his worst season for us.

And seems to me Booker and CP3 and the rest of the team grew tired of screaming ate him to be more assertive.

[TOO]

It's kind of incredible how much better Payne is as the starter. This team needs him in the worst way, especially since Ayton can't give the Suns more than a quarters worth of effort for a whole game. I'll be so glad when he's gone.

[Split T]

DA - 7 combined FRBS. This is his worst stretch as a Sun. As soft as he’s been on offense (can someone please teach him a drop step), his effort on D has been embarrassing. He half-contests every shot. He’s the opposite of a deterrent. I’m not trying to be a shitposter after a great win, but this is all of our worst fears playing out. DA deserves to be roundly criticized for saying his goal was to get a second contract, getting that second contract and immediately loafing while taking up 30% of our cap.

The defense is so bad, to me it seems like he’s checked out on the team. He got his money but he felt disrespected in the process. I think he clearly wants to leave and I hope we move him. I’m beyond done. This has easily been his worst season for us.

And seems to me Booker and CP3 and the rest of the team grew tired of screaming ate him to be more assertive.

Yep, feels a little like all parties know there is already an end game in the works. Wouldn’t be surprised if we already have something worked out and just waiting for Jan 15th. I guess at least Ayton showed up…Crowder couldn’t even be bothered to do that.

[INFORMER]

Let's see if DWJ's breakout game carries over. Sometimes guys break out because they're not on the scouting report and you can catch teams off guard. Ws will prob have him on the radar now.

I didn't really see it as a breakout game, but maybe that is just semantics. He got hot, but he was pulling up off the dribble and just launching 3s. I don't see that as something he could on any kind of regular basis. The catch and shoot stuff is repeatable, sure, but I don't think he displayed "game" that could be counted on. I think he showed glimpses of that in Indiana last year, but so far those flashes have been MIA here.

Need another strong game from Lee.

Ask and you shall receive.

Remember when Lacob said the Ws were "light years" ahead of everyone else? Well Wiseman's in the GLeague and Kuminga hasn't shaken up the league either. So teams miss on draft picks.

I think it is premature to call either pick a miss. Wiseman is 21 and has missed a year and a half due to injury and rehab. Kuminga didn't even play college ball; he took the G-League express route to the NBA.

[INFORMER]

Thank goodness they didn’t take Haliburton

And he was rumored to be in strong consideration for their pick too.