Suns News: Week 12 1/12-1/18

[SDC]

Well, to be fair I think Green does a good job of finding cutting big men and actually passing to them. But in general I get the point.

So I know this is only a few minutes into what will be a (very) short tenure with the Suns, but does anyone think that was a bad, or even mediocre, move by the Suns?

it wasnt a bad or mediocre move since the suns gave up little, but it was a little bit a pointless move since it doesnt address what the suns need at the bigs position.

If you're looking short-term, I actually think it addresses what we need at the position very well.

i am looking for the short term AND long term.
short term: make the playoffs
long term: get rid of one of the starting caliber PGs, because this flawed roster has no place in the suns future.

If you wanted a low-post option, you'd be looking at getting rid of our whole style of play. Kieff and Green are the two players they'll let post up.

[virtual9mm]

get rid of one of the starting caliber PGs, because this flawed roster has no place in the suns future.

I don't think too many people would disagree with you here.

[carey]

Another article on Gerald's weird missing finger: LINK

This time it shows that the Suns made up a weird foam finger that looks like Gerald's hand. Kind of odd.

[carey]

Inside the stats of the Suns' HYDRA: LINK

[OE32]

Inside the stats of the Suns' HYDRA: LINK

Reading that article made me think we'd be better off with a great defensive 2 at the back end of our rotation than with Gerald. I know Gerald gets us back into a lot of games, but using him regularly with this collection of fire breathers invites a lot of risk.

... Isn't Zoran supposed to be great defensively?

[Gladiator]

McDonough talking up the Suns' 3PG system. (True believer or pumping up their trade value? More true believer I think, so I won't be holding my breath for a trade to even out the roster)

“When all three of them are healthy and play, we’re 19-11 right now,” McDonough said about Dragic, Bledsoe and Thomas. “When they’ve been healthy and productive, we’ve won 2/3 of our games which is what the elite teams do.”

http://www.nba.com/suns/mcdonough-nba-t ... lay-faster

[INFORMER]

Is the motto of this regime going to be "when ___________ is/are healthy, we are _____________ "?

[LazarusLong]

Of course he will speak well of his guys. Only an idiot would trash the guys he's responsible for obtaining. So I wouldn't read to much into his comments. Corporate spin doctoring ...

[Nodack]

Current record 22-18. 2 bad losses to two teams clearly better than us.

I disagree. Losing on the road playing a good team and losing in double overtime isnt a bad loss to me. Losing by 30 with no overtime would be a bad loss. Losing in double overtime is painfull, but doesn't prove to me that they are clearly better than us. One bounce of the ball our way and we win. If we win does that mean we were clearly better than them? Losing in double over time on the road at the end of a road trip clearly means to me we are right there with them. Memphis has notoriously given us problems.

The Suns are 1 out of the last 11 games we have played in SA. They are very good at home and are also a team we notoriously have trouble with. Actually I think the Suns always freak out against the Spurs. They have some kind of mojo thing happening against us where we become timid sheep against them. As soon as we make a run against them Pop goes balistic on the refs and all the calls start going their way for some reason. They even caught Pop laughing behind one of his coaches two seconds after going ballistic on the refs.

The Wright trade. We got a good deal on him and hopefully he will add some paint presence. Too early to make any judgments on its success yet. I am not a fan of Plumlee, but since being demoted he has upped his game some and with Wright there to add even more pressure on him maybe Plumlee won't be a complete failure.

I am still on board with the three pt guard thing. The Suns always covet pt guards and like fast break basketball. I am enjoying it. It fits Suns fast break basketball. I know most of you hate it. To each his own.

[OE32]

What bothers me is the chucking, lack of cutting, lack of gritty offensive boards, the sloppy turnovers, not passing to Alex, not finding any time for the rookies.

After a day has passed after each bad loss, I like the team again. Which means I like them about 60% of the time.

[carey]

I disagree. Losing on the road playing a good team and losing in double overtime isnt a bad loss to me. Losing by 30 with no overtime would be a bad loss. Losing in double overtime is painfull, but doesn't prove to me that they are clearly better than us. One bounce of the ball our way and we win. If we win does that mean we were clearly better than them? Losing in double over time on the road at the end of a road trip clearly means to me we are right there with them. Memphis has notoriously given us problems.

Well, the way we shot ourselves in the foot with two technicals & then collapsed in double OT because we continued to ride that small lineup while we were being bludgeoned in the second OT means bad losses to me. They certainly weren't good losses and they exposed a big issue with our team. Namely maturity, leadership, and big lack of IQ.

[iLLmatic]

McDonough talking up the Suns' 3PG system. (True believer or pumping up their trade value? More true believer I think, so I won't be holding my breath for a trade to even out the roster)

“When all three of them are healthy and play, we’re 19-11 right now,” McDonough said about Dragic, Bledsoe and Thomas. “When they’ve been healthy and productive, we’ve won 2/3 of our games which is what the elite teams do.”

http://www.nba.com/suns/mcdonough-nba-t ... lay-faster

Is he implying the Suns are elite??

[iLLmatic]

We need to get this McD character a mic, I didn't realize he was this comical.

[iLLmatic]

For me it's safe to say the new car smell of Ryan McDonough has worn off.

[Cap]

McDonough talking up the Suns' 3PG system. (True believer or pumping up their trade value? More true believer I think, so I won't be holding my breath for a trade to even out the roster)

“When all three of them are healthy and play, we’re 19-11 right now,” McDonough said about Dragic, Bledsoe and Thomas. “When they’ve been healthy and productive, we’ve won 2/3 of our games which is what the elite teams do.”

http://www.nba.com/suns/mcdonough-nba-t ... lay-faster

No, winning 2/3s of their games on the season is what elite teams do, and they're rarely fully healthy for all 82. Winning 2/3s of their games when healthy is what .550 teams do, give or take.

Of course, McD realizes that, doesn't he? How can a stat head like him compare a "record when healthy" datum to a "record on the season" standard and claim he's comparing apples to apples?

[Ring_Wanted]

That lack of IQ and mental lapses is what kills me, especially when they turn into technical fouls. This team needs a true veteran leader.

[Ring_Wanted]

I don't pay attention to anything that comes directly from the owner or the GM.

[OE32]

I disagree. Losing on the road playing a good team and losing in double overtime isnt a bad loss to me. Losing by 30 with no overtime would be a bad loss. Losing in double overtime is painfull, but doesn't prove to me that they are clearly better than us. One bounce of the ball our way and we win. If we win does that mean we were clearly better than them? Losing in double over time on the road at the end of a road trip clearly means to me we are right there with them. Memphis has notoriously given us problems.

Well, the way we shot ourselves in the foot with two technicals & then collapsed in double OT because we continued to ride that small lineup while we were being bludgeoned in the second OT means bad losses to me. They certainly weren't good losses and they exposed a big issue with our team. Namely maturity, leadership, and big lack of IQ.

Maybe these are just growing pains? Something we can look back on and laugh at in a few years, when we're killing everybody?

Right now, I don't think IT was a short-term pickup. I think what we see is largely what we'll get for the next couple years, with the biggest variables being Dragic, Green, Goodwin, Ennis, and Warren. Hard to see how it'll all pan out. I think we intend to re-sign Dragic, but I also think he could be priced out of our range.

[OE32]

Most of you would have taken Nerlens Noel in the draft. Y'all got no right to be calling for the man's head.

[Indy]

Current record 22-18. 2 bad losses to two teams clearly better than us.

I disagree. Losing on the road playing a good team and losing in double overtime isnt a bad loss to me. Losing by 30 with no overtime would be a bad loss. Losing in double overtime is painfull, but doesn't prove to me that they are clearly better than us. One bounce of the ball our way and we win. If we win does that mean we were clearly better than them? Losing in double over time on the road at the end of a road trip clearly means to me we are right there with them. Memphis has notoriously given us problems.

The Suns are 1 out of the last 11 games we have played in SA. They are very good at home and are also a team we notoriously have trouble with. Actually I think the Suns always freak out against the Spurs. They have some kind of mojo thing happening against us where we become timid sheep against them. As soon as we make a run against them Pop goes balistic on the refs and all the calls start going their way for some reason. They even caught Pop laughing behind one of his coaches two seconds after going ballistic on the refs.

The Wright trade. We got a good deal on him and hopefully he will add some paint presence. Too early to make any judgments on its success yet. I am not a fan of Plumlee, but since being demoted he has upped his game some and with Wright there to add even more pressure on him maybe Plumlee won't be a complete failure.

I am still on board with the three pt guard thing. The Suns always covet pt guards and like fast break basketball. I am enjoying it. It fits Suns fast break basketball. I know most of you hate it. To each his own.

I think the general consensus was we didn't deserve to even be in a place to win the game, much less survive into the 2nd overtime. We were outplayed for about 50 of those 58 minutes. That was what made it look like they were clearly better. The best team doesn't always win, they just usually win.