Game Day: Magic (18-20) @ Suns (14-23), Fri 1/10/20

[Flagrant Fowl]

Did Eddie really say that?

EJ is a real one.

[djy2j]

I had to laugh when EJ and Kevin Ray tried to sell us on how Kaminsky was playing well before he got hurt.

That was magical. I’m in sales and I wouldn’t even dare to try that. Huge pair of coconuts on those 2.

[djy2j]

Did Eddie really say that?

EJ is a real one.

I think we have next year’s winning billboard idea!
“Iginite the future. Time to rise! Man, fuck this!”

But really, I cant think of 3 better words that sum up what it feels like to be a Suns fan.

[djy2j]

Pretty spot on. I’ll take the W but this one was pretty gross.

Now that we got Baynes to curb shooting an someone please pass the note on to Ricky?

I think Cam needs a few G League games to get his confidence back up. His only asset is his shot and it’s simply not falling.

The Magic have vaulted to the lead for dumbest team in the league.

[djy2j]

Yeaaaaaaaah I dunno Eddie. Earlier you were the guy who tried to sell me a “Kaminsky was playing great before he got hurt.”

[ShelC]

Kind of at a loss after the lineup thing and watching this game. Great that we won, kinda sucks it was ugly and we needed Devin to pull us thru against a depleted Magic team.

Monty said afterward about the starting lineup that he wanted/needed Ayton as an "anchor" with the bench guys. Also said that Ayton is a starting center in the league but they need to work him in properly. All of that makes sense but so does wanting to get back to playing the way we were earlier in the year and maybe showing Ayton that nothing will be given to anyone. Ayton looked to me to be working harder in the first half when he got out there. His offense wasn't there early, tho the team offense looked smoother with him than in previous games, and I thought he was doing pretty well defensively. We'll just have to see how this all plays out. I still like Monty tho and have faith in him leading the team through all of this.

Even tho Bridges doesn't start, he's closing games. +17 off the bench making a difference down the stretch. I was never in the "Bridges is untouchable" camp and still think he's relatively expendable but there's no denying his impact in games. I wish he were a bit bigger to play the 4 tho. I love our SFs Oubre, Bridges and Cam, but we don't have that real faceup smallball 4 other than Dario. If Bridges were 6-9 he'd be near perfect.

Bottom line to me is that we need to start shooting and making more 3s. Cutting to the basket for layups and Book midrange shots are nice but we're exchanging 2s for 3s for stretches of games which leads to closer games throughout and tight wins/losses. For all the shooters we've added, our numbers have gotten progressively worse from 3 with Cam and Baynes cooling off and getting almost nothing from Bridges and Dario.

[AmareIsGod]

Bridges might not be 6'9 but his wingspan is longer than most guys that are 6'10. He just needs to and bulk of we're wanting him to play PF.

[O_Gardino]

I had to laugh when EJ and Kevin Ray tried to sell us on how Kaminsky was playing well before he got hurt.

He had certainly become the fan's whipping boy, but he was playing as well as anyone should expect.

In 22 minutes over the previous 22 games before the injury:
12/5/2.3 on 50% overall and 42% from 3.

[O_Gardino]

How about a huge defensive stop with Booker doing most of it?

That was an amazing possession.

For those who missed it, it was a Fourier / Vucevic pick and roll. Devin contained Fourier on the perimeter for several seconds before the pick came to help. Then he switched onto Vucevic and kept him out of the paint for what seemed like an eternity. Devin took all of Vucevic's concentration, so Rubio was able to sneak in for the steal.

[Split T]

Bridges has the length to play the 4 no problem. Did you see him still the pass to Vucevic while he was fronting him? He’s crazy long. I’m pretty ok with him playing the 4 now. There are certain matchups where we’ll be at a disadvantage on the glass, but those would be pretty rare. Especially if Ayton is rebounding like he’s capable of.

One other note, Baynes has been struggling. I like how the minutes were still tilted towards Ayton, even though he came off the bench. I wonder if matching Baynes up against bench units would help him get out of his funk.

Loved the closing lineup of Rubio-Booker-Oubre-Bridges-Ayton. I’m fine not using that as the starting lineup if we go to it regularly and definitely if we use it as our closing lineup.

[O_Gardino]

Guys - We are a lock for the playoffs. This team just finds ways to win. It took until March 6th 2019 to get our 15th win last year and we were 15-51, so we are two months ahead of schedule. Think about that. Two months worth of extra wins.

[O_Gardino]

Kind of at a loss after the lineup thing and watching this game. Great that we won, kinda sucks it was ugly and we needed Devin to pull us thru against a depleted Magic team.

Monty said afterward about the starting lineup that he wanted/needed Ayton as an "anchor" with the bench guys. Also said that Ayton is a starting center in the league but they need to work him in properly. All of that makes sense but so does wanting to get back to playing the way we were earlier in the year and maybe showing Ayton that nothing will be given to anyone. Ayton looked to me to be working harder in the first half when he got out there. His offense wasn't there early, tho the team offense looked smoother with him than in previous games, and I thought he was doing pretty well defensively. We'll just have to see how this all plays out. I still like Monty tho and have faith in him leading the team through all of this.

Even tho Bridges doesn't start, he's closing games. +17 off the bench making a difference down the stretch. I was never in the "Bridges is untouchable" camp and still think he's relatively expendable but there's no denying his impact in games. I wish he were a bit bigger to play the 4 tho. I love our SFs Oubre, Bridges and Cam, but we don't have that real faceup smallball 4 other than Dario. If Bridges were 6-9 he'd be near perfect.

Bottom line to me is that we need to start shooting and making more 3s. Cutting to the basket for layups and Book midrange shots are nice but we're exchanging 2s for 3s for stretches of games which leads to closer games throughout and tight wins/losses. For all the shooters we've added, our numbers have gotten progressively worse from 3 with Cam and Baynes cooling off and getting almost nothing from Bridges and Dario.

Completely agree with that part. After watching the last game when Ayton got 1 board in the second half; I just wouldn't reward that by benching the other guy. I don't mind mistakes, but DeAndre has to play with effort through the whole game.

[O_Gardino]

Bridges has the length to play the 4 no problem. Did you see him still the pass to Vucevic while he was fronting him? He’s crazy long. I’m pretty ok with him playing the 4 now. There are certain matchups where we’ll be at a disadvantage on the glass, but those would be pretty rare. Especially if Ayton is rebounding like he’s capable of.

One other note, Baynes has been struggling. I like how the minutes were still tilted towards Ayton, even though he came off the bench. I wonder if matching Baynes up against bench units would help him get out of his funk.

Loved the closing lineup of Rubio-Booker-Oubre-Bridges-Ayton. I’m fine not using that as the starting lineup if we go to it regularly and definitely if we use it as our closing lineup.

Baynes is a career 16 minute beast off the bench. Asking him for more than that is tough, but for now he has earned the starting spot . The team overall will be better when Ayton surpasses him.

[specialsauce]

Kind of at a loss after the lineup thing and watching this game. Great that we won, kinda sucks it was ugly and we needed Devin to pull us thru against a depleted Magic team.

Monty said afterward about the starting lineup that he wanted/needed Ayton as an "anchor" with the bench guys. Also said that Ayton is a starting center in the league but they need to work him in properly. All of that makes sense but so does wanting to get back to playing the way we were earlier in the year and maybe showing Ayton that nothing will be given to anyone. Ayton looked to me to be working harder in the first half when he got out there. His offense wasn't there early, tho the team offense looked smoother with him than in previous games, and I thought he was doing pretty well defensively. We'll just have to see how this all plays out. I still like Monty tho and have faith in him leading the team through all of this.

Even tho Bridges doesn't start, he's closing games. +17 off the bench making a difference down the stretch. I was never in the "Bridges is untouchable" camp and still think he's relatively expendable but there's no denying his impact in games. I wish he were a bit bigger to play the 4 tho. I love our SFs Oubre, Bridges and Cam, but we don't have that real faceup smallball 4 other than Dario. If Bridges were 6-9 he'd be near perfect.

Bottom line to me is that we need to start shooting and making more 3s. Cutting to the basket for layups and Book midrange shots are nice but we're exchanging 2s for 3s for stretches of games which leads to closer games throughout and tight wins/losses. For all the shooters we've added, our numbers have gotten progressively worse from 3 with Cam and Baynes cooling off and getting almost nothing from Bridges and Dario.

Completely agree with that part. After watching the last game when Ayton got 1 board in the second half; I just wouldn't reward that by benching the other guy. I don't mind mistakes, but DeAndre has to play with effort through the whole game.

Did he bench Booker when he went through his shit stretch? Or Kelly when he plays wild and shoots 6-18? No. Maybe for a few minutes, but not relegated to the bench. Ayton is our future. Instead of circling the team around him, he’s marginalizing him. What a clown.

[Split T]

There’s a difference in benching a player and bringing them off the bench. I don’t agree with bringing Ayton off the bench, but he still played over 30 minutes. He was still very involved in the game plan. Again, I’d start him, but his reasons do make some sense. He wants an offensive anchor for the 2nd unit.

[ShelC]

Baynes and Cam have hit the wall. Cam's played a lot of 4 so far too which might have taken a toll.

When there first was talk of Ayton and Baynes playing together, I naturally assumed Baynes would be the 4 and that they'd only use the lineup in specific instances/matchups. I still don't hate the idea, but not sure why Ayton was the moved over.

[specialsauce]

There’s a difference in benching a player and bringing them off the bench. I don’t agree with bringing Ayton off the bench, but he still played over 30 minutes. He was still very involved in the game plan. Again, I’d start him, but his reasons do make some sense. He wants an offensive anchor for the 2nd unit.

So bring Oubre off the bench.

Do the Lakers bring Davis off the bench?
Do the Blazers bring McCollum?

You don’t bench your second best player and #2 piece of your core.

[specialsauce]

If the Suns are going to marginalize him and force him to blend in with the team instead of the other way around, they should just trade him.

[Split T]

Baynes has been the 4 offensively...which isn’t great. Like Lowe said, 4’s can help on Rubio and get back to Baynes at the 3 pt line easier on the pick n pop. Baynes needs to be a 5 offensively and defensively. Ayton isn’t ready to be a 4 offensively. He’s not even hitting mid range shots very consistently, let alone stretching out to 3.

[Split T]

There’s a difference in benching a player and bringing them off the bench. I don’t agree with bringing Ayton off the bench, but he still played over 30 minutes. He was still very involved in the game plan. Again, I’d start him, but his reasons do make some sense. He wants an offensive anchor for the 2nd unit.

So bring Oubre off the bench.

Do the Lakers bring Davis off the bench?
Do the Blazers bring McCollum?

You don’t bench your second best player and #2 piece of your core.

That’s fair, you could bring Oubre off the bench. My guess is they don’t because Oubre has been starting all year. Ayton has only started a couple games.

You’re right that AD and McCollum start. But the Clippers bring Montrezl Harrell off the bench, they also bring Lou Williams off the bench. The spurs brought Manu off the bench practically his whole career.

Ayton is getting minutes, he’s played over 30 in all but 1 game. He’s closing the game on the court. He led the team in field goal attempts last night. He’s not being marginalized.

I feel like you want him to be AD or Towns or Embiid. He’s not there yet.