Game Day: Suns (1-1) @ Clippers (2-0), Sun 10/23/22

[Split T]

Wow
Well I just went to peep the box score before nitpicking at Book's game and am shocked to see only 3 TOs.....

I thought he coughed up the ball way too much so not sure how he only had 3. Feels like every time we play Clippers I get frustrated by how many times they poke away the ball on his drives or when he trying to keep someone on his hip.

Anyways
Yeah the array of shots especially that 1st quarter barrage was awesome

There were a few that got poked away that the suns recovered…definitely could have been more.

[Mori Chu]

Nice win. Various thoughts:

- Very concerned about the play of Chris Paul this season. His game sense and passing are as sharp as ever, but he can't shoot and has no real athleticism left.

- I think Cam Payne has his mojo back. He is still a limited and flawed player, but the eye test is just telling me that he is doing better with his shooting and his ballhandling and just overall play. That is very important for us and I'm happy to see it.

- Good to see a good game from Torrey Craig. I have been worried about him, and he has looked like a shell of his former self lately. Hopefully he will figure it out.

- I thought this was Cam Johnson's first good game as a starter. He had only 11 points but shot 4-6 incl. 3-4 from 3pt and just seemed sharp tonight.

- John Wall looked great for the Clips. What a nice bargain find for them. Wish we could have grabbed him, but we can't have them all.

- Kawhi looks sad out there. 20 min a game? He made no real impact whatsoever. Don't think the Clips are any kind of contender if this is the version of Kawhi that they're going to get. Maybe he is hoping to save himself and heal more for later in the season, but blech.

- It is amazing how consistent the Morrii are about going off against the Suns for huge games. They hate our franchise so much or something; it's almost guaranteed that they'll go off for 18-20 points every time we meet.

- It is so nice not to have Patrick Beverley on the Clippers any more. Hate that guy. (I know he played for the Wolves last year, but still, the memory is strong.)

[Wally_West]

One big positive so far this season is Book looks like he taking it to another level. I think he’s a safe bet for 1st team all nba and gut tells me he’ll be an undisputed top 10 player this year.

Tricky part is they consider Luka a guard…Luka/Ja/Curry/Dame

That’s a tough group.

I think if we’re a top 5 west team and he keeps average 30 or near 30, he’s going to get the nod but we’ll see.

[Split T]

Ya standings could be key. Problem is I think GS and Memphis will be right with us in the standings and Ja/Curry are bigger names. Luka is almost definitely getting one of the spots…the media love him and he’s set up to drop like 32/8/8 this year…even if Dallas is gonna be down in the play-in.

My guess is Luka/Curry/Tatum/Giannis/Jokic

Booker will snag 2nd team.

[The Bobster]

Good thing there's another 79 games to sort out this "All-NBA" stuff.

[Superbone]

Tonight we find out what the Suns are made of.

Skin and bones mostly.

And a surprising amount of water. Why do you think they say “wet like I’m Book.”?

[Superbone]

I just hope the guys have fun, that's really all that matters. Go team.

I think they did.

[Superbone]

Batum always kills us for some reason.

Not tonight.

[Superbone]

Landale is legit. He’s smart, skilled, and aggressive. I hope he can keep this 7th man spot.

Don’t tell Saucy.

[Superbone]

Lol at Kennard not thinking that was a foul

I loved how they showed the replay of him raking Landale’s face and him acting even more adamant that he didn’t foul him.

[Superbone]

I’ll get banned for this but Marcus Morris would be pretty good on this team.

Ya Morris the player would be the perfect 4 for us.

Guess we’re both getting banned

Harrison Barnes is a little Marcus Morris-ey, without the whole being a jerk thing. He’s still my favorite target and I still think Crowder makes sense for the Kings…They could use some toughness and Keegan Murray is gonna take Barnes minutes anyways.

Agreed but he’s having a pretty rough start

Although he might’ve checked out knowing it’s a matter of time before Murray takes his minutes.

Would the clippers be interested in crowder? Crowder and Craig for Morris would work.

OK, we let it go a few times but the ban stick is now out!

[Superbone]

Let’s not start this again.

[Nodack]

Suns win. Hold lead for the entire game. This Suns team plays defense.

[Superbone]

It felt like the rotations were the best this game. It helped to have both Johnson and Shamet available.

[ShelC]

[ShelC]

Nice response from the Blazers game. Book carried us, but the bench played pretty well with Payne looking good, Craig bringing some 3s and defense, and Landale bringing it again on both ends. CamJ is struggling with foul trouble - maybe due to starting and defending better players but I also think he's just getting knocked around by stronger PFs. He was money from the corner tho. Monty mentioned playing him in the mid 20s to keep him fresher...not sure how that will work out. I think Monty's seeing him struggle at PF but can't/won't put him back on the bench.

Mikal was a no-show offensively but was chasing around PG and Kawhi. He's just not the type of hunt shots on offense no matter how much we want him to be that type of player. DA was eh and settled for too many jumpers but we also didn't do much to set him or Mikal up for shots.

I don't think CP looks all that bad considering age and him clearly not being in shape. He's still moving well even if his shots are a bit flat and he's all over the place defensively (in a good way). I think he's very much taking a step back offensively, but we do need a legit #2 scorer next to Book now otherwise we risk burning him out. Book's taking on more of the offensive load, but I don't think this rate of play is sustainable.

We played really well but the Clips shot just as poorly. A lot of it was due to our defense but the Clips were pretty off too.

[specialsauce]

Landale is legit. He’s smart, skilled, and aggressive. I hope he can keep this 7th man spot.

Don’t tell Saucy.

Third center

[djy2j]

Hell yeah! Clippers pretty much dog walked from the tip. They didn't look focused at all. Ty Lue should have just fed Marcus Morris all game since he always plays lights out.

CamJ had really nice stretches at the beginning and end. The middle part, not so much. His defense has been a bit underwhelming.

My only Ayton complaint so far is that we heard all about how he worked on different offensive moves all offseason. Heard it from reports, heard it straight from him. But where are they? So far it's either take a quick jump shot or hesitate do some sort of juke then jump shot. It's the exact same limited arsenal he had last year.

[TOO]

Hell yeah! Clippers pretty much dog walked from the tip. They didn't look focused at all. Ty Lue should have just fed Marcus Morris all game since he always plays lights out.

CamJ had really nice stretches at the beginning and end. The middle part, not so much. His defense has been a bit underwhelming.

My only Ayton complaint so far is that we heard all about how he worked on different offensive moves all offseason. Heard it from reports, heard it straight from him. But where are they? So far it's either take a quick jump shot or hesitate do some sort of juke then jump shot. It's the exact same limited arsenal he had last year.

Same moves for twice the price. It's basically if the economy were a basketball player.

[In2ition]

Let’s not start this again.

Haha, right? Unfortunately, there is no stopping this, it has begun.