Game Day: Rockets (26-25) @ Suns (14-36), Thurs 2/4/16

[iLLmatic]

If it's a theme song BEFORE what carey posted then you are most certainly taking it waaaaay back.

[iLLmatic]

OE and JC drinking that dirt water thinking it's Kool-Aid.

[INFORMER]

OE and JC drinking that dirt water thinking it's Kool-Aid.

OE certainly is.

[Ring_Wanted]

Its not as miserable as it seems.

Could become true depending on what happens next draft, but at the moment the Suns are the clowns of the NBA.

On the court absolutely nobody is playing worse than Phoenix. Uncanny brand of dumb and ugly basketball particularly for a team supposedly with win now aspirations.

At the FO very few teams have screwed things up these past two years the way we have. Only the draft has been a bright spot.

Bottomless on the court, erectile dysfunction at the office; plenty of if, almost, etc.

As result on a meta level the franchise has lost all of its former respectability among players, fans and media. Since I've been a fan the Phoenix Suns have never been a laughingstock but they certainly are one now. Only the 76rs and Nets stink more than us.

[OE32]

OE and JC drinking that dirt water thinking it's Kool-Aid.

OE certainly is.

Tasty.

[JCSunsfan]

Its not as miserable as it seems.

Could become true depending on what happens next draft, but at the moment the Suns are the clowns of the NBA.

On the court absolutely nobody is playing worse than Phoenix. Uncanny brand of dumb and ugly basketball particularly for a team supposedly with win now aspirations.

At the FO very few teams have screwed things up these past two years the way we have. Only the draft has been a bright spot.

Bottomless on the court, erectile dysfunction at the office; plenty of if, almost, etc.

As result on a meta level the franchise has lost all of its former respectability among players, fans and media. Since I've been a fan the Phoenix Suns have never been a laughingstock but they certainly are one now. Only the 76rs and Nets stink more than us.

1. The draft has been excellent by anyone's standards.

2. Trades have been a mixture of good and bad. The Bledsoe and Goran trades were very good. The IT trade was meh. The Knight trade is still unknown depending on what happens to that Laker pick.

3. Free agency has been a disaster--mostly because of the misses and the consequences of those. But the weirdnesses of the Morri contract and trades is also a factor.

4. Injuries have played a big part in the present record. But this is how you tank. You let key players take extended time and heal. Develop the young players and not worry so much about w-l.

5. The big problem seems to be coaching and organizational atmosphere. We have not been able to create a system and environment that keeps players happy and productive. There just seems to be an atmospher of suspicion, distrust, and selfishness. Horny may have been part of the problem, but it also seems to be the temperament of the players assembled, and the way the organization is run internally. It is interesting that the mood you create within your organization is as important as the actual moves you make.

6. The system seems to be a problem. The two lead guard system doesnt seem to make either lead guard happy. They are usually both prima donnas that want the ball in their hands. The result of that is that the ball rarely finds its way to the bigs, and then they become disconnected offensively. That usually spills over into defense. I believe the two lead guard system could work, but those guards have to be pass first guards. It will not work with score first pgs.

So, who is at fault for this? Certainly Robert Sarver. The guy at the top is responsible for the organizational atmosphere. In fact, that is is primary responsibility.

McD, and this is the first time I am saying this, is also to blame. He seems to be very good at picking out talent and winning trades. He seems to have a weakness in knowing what combination of players will make a good team. But isn't this something you would expect from a person who has never been a player or coach? You cannot assemble a real basketball team like its a fantasy team.

It may be also that this is just the unhappiness that occurs during the rebuilding process. You have to make changes and keep churning until you get it right.

[Mori Chu]

I think the most urgent roster move they need to make in the offseason (I am assuming that Kieff will be gone by then) will be to trade one of Bledsoe or Knight. The two-chucker backcourt has failed. Trade one (probably Knight) and start Booker.

[Ring_Wanted]

2. Trades have been a mixture of good and bad. The Bledsoe and Goran trades were very good. The IT trade was meh. The Knight trade is still unknown depending on what happens to that Laker pick.

Bledsoe for Dudley was a steal and Gortat/Scola were ok as standard rebuilding moves, but the problem is a number of our big trades recently have been forced to the franchise due to lack of foresight. Dragic, Thomas and Markieff. Then you have Knight. Overall the credit built the first summer McD took over is eroding.

3. Free agency has been a disaster--mostly because of the misses and the consequences of those. But the weirdnesses of the Morri contract and trades is also a factor.

The past two summers have been a complete disaster in hindsight. Value/IT3+bait/Tyson have backfired badly. No way around it.

4. Injuries have played a big part in the present record. But this is how you tank. You let key players take extended time and heal. Develop the young players and not worry so much about w-l.

Sure but the problem is that even back to last season, and even with everybody fully healthy, the Suns have played the dumbest basketball I've seen in my life as fan. This year it's not only dumb, but also ugly as hell. It is absolutely mindboggling to get these returns when you are trying to win.

5. The big problem seems to be coaching and organizational atmosphere.

The organization is a clusterfuck. Who is more dysfunctional at the moment, and over the last two years? 76rs, Nets, Kings? Yeah, we are in that category now, which speaks volumes by itself.

6. The system seems to be a problem. The two lead guard system doesnt seem to make either lead guard happy. They are usually both prima donnas that want the ball in their hands. The result of that is that the ball rarely finds its way to the bigs, and then they become disconnected offensively. That usually spills over into defense. I believe the two lead guard system could work, but those guards have to be pass first guards. It will not work with score first pgs.

The system worked when one of the PGs was smart and had a high IQ and when there was a good stretch PF. That's what made Bledsoe-Dragic a viable option. The moment you insert two guards with compounded flaws, you are done. The FO let Frye go and thought Knight could replicate Dragic and it's failed miserably.

So, who is at fault for this?

Everybody has his share. The owner for being impatient and meddling. The GM for disregarding intangibles and focusing too much on 'value'. The coach for not being able to discipline people and for playing his vets too much. The players for their attitude. Clusterfuck.

[iLLmatic]

Only the draft has been a bright spot.

1. The draft has been excellent by anyone's standards

I'm still trying to understand why everyone herald's McD's drafting. Has he picked any player that was unexpected and this said player performed well beyond anyone's expectations? It's almost like he printed out the Draft Express mock draft and used it for a reference guide when drafting our players.

[Split T]

Only the draft has been a bright spot.

1. The draft has been excellent by anyone's standards

I'm still trying to understand why everyone herald's McD's drafting. Has he picked any player that was unexpected and this said player performed well beyond anyone's expectations? It's almost like he printed out the Draft Express mock draft and used it for a reference guide when drafting our players.

I just looked at the 2015 Draft Express mock draft and was very impressed with how accurate they were.

The 14 players picked in the lottery were all picked as lottery picks in the mock draft. They nailed Picks 1,4,5,7,8,9,11,12, and 13. Got Okafor and Russell switched up at 2 and 3. Then had Cauley-Stein, Winslow, and Payne mixed up between 6,10, and 14. They had Winslow at 6, Payne at 10, and Cauley-Stein at 14.

[Mori Chu]

I'm still trying to understand why everyone herald's McD's drafting. Has he picked any player that was unexpected and this said player performed well beyond anyone's expectations? It's almost like he printed out the Draft Express mock draft and used it for a reference guide when drafting our players.

I think that is a bit harsh. Basically every 1st-round draft pick McDo has made has turned out to be a useful rotation player. Booker, Warren, Len, Goodwin (did McDo draft him?). That's pretty impressive. Yes, there have been better players he could have taken in some cases. But all of those guys are very solid, could possibly be starters on a good team, and one of them looks like a bona-fide future star in Booker. I think our draft record is quite solid under McDo.

[Ring_Wanted]

I'm still trying to understand why everyone herald's McD's drafting. Has he picked any player that was unexpected and this said player performed well beyond anyone's expectations? It's almost like he printed out the Draft Express mock draft and used it for a reference guide when drafting our players.

I don't take picking players capable of sticking around for granted. You don't need to make an extravagant choice to miss, it can happen even among the kids projected in the same range. In our case only Ennis has been a waste, but we could be easily looking at Ben McLemore, Adreian Payne and Sam Dekker, plus a couple of guys out of the league already with the lower picks.