Game Day: Warriors (13-14) @ Suns (14-12), Thurs 12/18/25

[O_Gardino]

Great play by Goodwin to close the game. I love that guy. I thought all 3 of the point guards played well despite not shooting well. We had 16 rebounds from short guys last night.

What's up with Dunns minutes? I thought he played well and could have handled 10 more minutes. He plays exclusively at PF now, and I just don't know why.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Dunn is too content with disappearing on the court. His best NBA skill is size with enthusiasm, and I don't think his ball skills or shooting will significantly improve until much later in his career if at all.

I worry the Suns overrate him, but I also don't think the rest of the league rates him highly so maybe it's moot. I think he's essentially a wing version Jalen Smith at this point.

[Mori Chu]

I had to miss the game due to family conflicts, but NBA.com has a nice recap:

https://www.nba.com/game/gsw-vs-phx-002 ... Recap=true

Looks like we got more of trick-or-treat Dillon Brooks in this one. Nice stat line (24 points, 7 reb) but a silly flagrant foul smacking Steph Curry needlessly in the torso late in the game. 25 points for Booker, coming on late in the game. Love seeing Goodwin on the floor in crunch time and making a play to secure the win.

Looks like Curry had a bad night, shooting only 3-13 (2-9 from 3) for 15 points. Other guys on the Warriors similarly struggled from 3: Post was 2-10, Moody was 1-7, Draymond 1-6, Melton 0-4. I have to assume it was a point of emphasis for our defense? What did you guys see? Love that we held Curry and their 3-point shooters in check; that's how you beat this team.

Side note: The Warriors are 13-15 and sit at 9th in the West standings. (We are 15-12, good for 7th.) The Warriors have to be one of the more disappointing teams in the league. After trading for Jimmy Butler last season they went on such a tear to end the season. I'm sure they hoped that momentum would carry over to this season, but it really hasn't. And they have the Kuminga situation hanging over them. They're pretty "all-in" to be stuck down in 9th. Reminds me a bit of our team the last few seasons, except that I think they still have some of their future draft picks.

[Mori Chu]

[ShelC]

Glad we got this one, would've been upset if we didn't. Our offense is really struggling and it feels like we've gotten away from the ball movement we had earlier in the year. Would like to see that reinforced so we're not getting as much IsoBook or IsoBrooks. Thought our defense was really good tho and we mostly kept their guys under control. Even tho Butler and Podz had good games, it didn't feel like they were dominating us. Another choppy game with a lot of back and forth, more ref nonsense and too many replays. Maybe that's the cost of playing the way we do?

Great game from Oso, this is the kind of team he matches up best with. Goodwin didn't shoot well but obviously still impacted the game. His effort level never changes. Good to see Book get back on track in the 2nd half, he looked more fluid and explosive so the shorts must've really been bothering him. Brooks is Brooks, he's got the magnifying glass on him now so he's gotta clean it up a bit.

[SunsRIt]

I’m really interested to know what prompted the review in the fourth quarter. Was it Curry laying on the ground whining or was it the Golden State Warriors who had no challenges pressing? Or did they look at it and say Dillon Brooks is involved so we have to review it?

[MightyMoog]

I think Dillon did that on purpose to highlight the hypocrisy of the league. He got hit exactly the same way by Lebron.

[Superbone]

[O_Gardino]

I still hate Dillon Brooks. I wish the media hadn't decided that he is the Sun's entire personality.

[Shabazz]

Dunn is too content with disappearing on the court. His best NBA skill is size with enthusiasm, and I don't think his ball skills or shooting will significantly improve until much later in his career if at all.

I worry the Suns overrate him, but I also don't think the rest of the league rates him highly so maybe it's moot. I think he's essentially a wing version Jalen Smith at this point.

He seems to be in his own head ever since he lost his starting spot. He looked like a much more confident player last year and I don't think Ott has done a great job empowering him like he has with others. His teammates don't seem to trust him in the corner as much any more as well.

[Nodack]

I was high on Dunn last year and was ready to dump Oso. This year Dunn has taken a step back and Oso has stepped it up.

I still hate Dillon Brooks. I wish the media hadn't decided that he is the Sun's entire personality.

Brooks has his intensity knob turned up to 11 at all times. He gets under the skin of everyone. I don’t think anyone wants to be guarded by him, which is a compliment to him. I knew he played intense defense. I didn’t know he was capable of the offensive numbers he’s been putting up. IMO he’s been the best player on the Suns this year. Love him or hate him. He’s getting the job done. Brooks has been getting under Oso’s skin on purpose? And Oso is now playing more aggressively and improving? They played a clip of Draymond Green saying Brooks brings up the level of play up on any team he plays for. He may go over the top sometimes like Draymond Green and get a lot of tech's. I would rather have a less talented guy that brings it every night as apposed to a superstar that just shows up and gets his numbers.

[Superbone]

I was high on Dunn last year and was ready to dump Oso. This year Dunn has taken a step back and Oso has stepped it up.

I still hate Dillon Brooks. I wish the media hadn't decided that he is the Sun's entire personality.

Brooks has his intensity knob turned up to 11 at all times. He gets under the skin of everyone. I don’t think anyone wants to be guarded by him, which is a compliment to him. I knew he played intense defense. I didn’t know he was capable of the offensive numbers he’s been putting up. IMO he’s been the best player on the Suns this year. Love him or hate him. He’s getting the job done. Brooks has been getting under Oso’s skin on purpose? And Oso is now playing more aggressively and improving? They played a clip of Draymond Green saying Brooks brings up the level of play up on any team he plays for. He may go over the top sometimes like Draymond Green and get a lot of tech's. I would rather have a less talented guy that brings it every night as apposed to a superstar that just shows up and gets his numbers.

Which is why the Brooks/KD swap alone is a win.

[Superbone]

The two minute report confirms the Moody foul call was correct. I went to the game with my Warriors friend and he didn't think it was a good call (obviously).

https://official.nba.com/l2m/L2MReport. ... 0022500378

[Mori Chu]

I was high on Dunn last year and was ready to dump Oso. This year Dunn has taken a step back and Oso has stepped it up.

I still hate Dillon Brooks. I wish the media hadn't decided that he is the Sun's entire personality.

Brooks has his intensity knob turned up to 11 at all times. He gets under the skin of everyone. I don’t think anyone wants to be guarded by him, which is a compliment to him. I knew he played intense defense. I didn’t know he was capable of the offensive numbers he’s been putting up. IMO he’s been the best player on the Suns this year. Love him or hate him. He’s getting the job done. Brooks has been getting under Oso’s skin on purpose? And Oso is now playing more aggressively and improving? They played a clip of Draymond Green saying Brooks brings up the level of play up on any team he plays for. He may go over the top sometimes like Draymond Green and get a lot of tech's. I would rather have a less talented guy that brings it every night as apposed to a superstar that just shows up and gets his numbers.

That's an interesting statement. Who is the Suns' best player this year? My immediate reaction was to think that Booker is much better. But Book is averaging only 25.1 ppg while Brooks is averaging 21.7, and Brooks has a lot of other qualities like defense and intensity and intangibles that Book sometimes lacks. I don't like Brooks's brain-fart moments and unnecessary techs, but he has undoubtedly lit a fire under the team and also irritated and bothered several of our opponents.

I sort of feel like Gillespie is the Sun I am most happy with this season, just in terms of pure net-positive play and greatly exceeding my expectations for this year. And others have had strong seasons, like Grayson Allen and Mark Williams. But your argument that Brooks is our best player this year so far has more merit than I would have thought.

https://www.nba.com/suns/roster

[Split T]

Brooks is an 80/20 guy…you have to put up with the 20% boneheaded stuff to get the 80% good stuff. I think it’s all or nothing.

[Nodack]

I was high on Dunn last year and was ready to dump Oso. This year Dunn has taken a step back and Oso has stepped it up.

I still hate Dillon Brooks. I wish the media hadn't decided that he is the Sun's entire personality.

Brooks has his intensity knob turned up to 11 at all times. He gets under the skin of everyone. I don’t think anyone wants to be guarded by him, which is a compliment to him. I knew he played intense defense. I didn’t know he was capable of the offensive numbers he’s been putting up. IMO he’s been the best player on the Suns this year. Love him or hate him. He’s getting the job done. Brooks has been getting under Oso’s skin on purpose? And Oso is now playing more aggressively and improving? They played a clip of Draymond Green saying Brooks brings up the level of play up on any team he plays for. He may go over the top sometimes like Draymond Green and get a lot of tech's. I would rather have a less talented guy that brings it every night as apposed to a superstar that just shows up and gets his numbers.

That's an interesting statement. Who is the Suns' best player this year? My immediate reaction was to think that Booker is much better. But Book is averaging only 25.1 ppg while Brooks is averaging 21.7, and Brooks has a lot of other qualities like defense and intensity and intangibles that Book sometimes lacks. I don't like Brooks's brain-fart moments and unnecessary techs, but he has undoubtedly lit a fire under the team and also irritated and bothered several of our opponents.

I sort of feel like Gillespie is the Sun I am most happy with this season, just in terms of pure net-positive play and greatly exceeding my expectations for this year. And others have had strong seasons, like Grayson Allen and Mark Williams. But your argument that Brooks is our best player this year so far has more merit than I would have thought.

https://www.nba.com/suns/roster

Yeah, Gillespie has been great. For me pretty much all of them have played above expectations except Dunn and maybe Booker. Booker is known to get in a little slump now in then. This year seems like he’s been a little off with his shooting.

[SunsRIt]

Brooks is an 80/20 guy…you have to put up with the 20% boneheaded stuff to get the 80% good stuff. I think it’s all or nothing.

So which is it? 80/20 or all or nothing?

[Split T]

Brooks is an 80/20 guy…you have to put up with the 20% boneheaded stuff to get the 80% good stuff. I think it’s all or nothing.

So which is it? 80/20 or all or nothing?

I’m saying you can’t keep just the good, you don’t get the 80 without the 20. He doesn’t have a dimmer switch, he’s on or off. So 80 and 20 or nothing.

[Wally_West]

80 percent of the time, he’s perfect every time.

[O_Gardino]

IMO folks are being too hard on Dunn. It's just a mid-season slump. But I also have had lower expectations for him than many here. When he was drafted, I read at least one scout calling him the worst offensive prospect he had ever seen. He still isn't a good on that end, but he's far from the worst. He makes good cuts, his handle is much better, and he has become a pretty good pocket passer.

If I had to guess at the cause of this slump, I'd say it's because he and Brooks play the same role. Brooks is obvs better, so when they are both on the court Dunn has to adjust and play a different role. He has to learn how to play that secondary role. AND he's learning to play PF this season.