Game Day: Heat (21-14) @ Suns (13-25), Fri 1/8/16

[Superbone]

Bookers 11-0 run was nice. Good loss. Young guys played well mostly. Kieff got his lunch handed to him again so that was nice.

By a former Suns approaching retirement, no less.

[djy2j]

Next box score will read: Morris DNP- Sad

[Indy]

Frustrates me that Booker only finishes with 16 after that.

He played a ton of minutes. He passed up numerous shots. He needs to be more aggressive.

True. He did take 17 shots though. How many would you be comfortable with him taking?

And don't say, "all of them," smart guys.

When Knight is shooting <40% by half-time, then 50% of his 2nd half shots should go to Booker.

And he did take 17, which is a good amount, they broke down like this:

1st: 1/3 from 2, 0/1 from 3.
2nd: 0/0 from 2, 0/1 from 3. (Needs to be more aggressive here)
3rd: 3/5 from 2, 1/3 from 3. (This feels about right for every quarter when Knight is sucking)
4th: 1/2 from 2, 0/2 from 3.


For the record, Knight was 5/13 (including 0/3 from 3) in the first half, 6/11 with 1/3 on 3s in the 2nd half.

[JCSunsfan]

Knight is still an asset that must be developed. For this teams future, it would be best for Horny to keep working on getting through to him. Do other players want to come play along side him? That is the ultimate test of pg effectiveness.

Steve Nash, Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd. Other players around the league wanted to be on their teams.

[Indy]

Do other players want to come play along side him?

Of course not. He doesn't pass them the ball unless he has to.

[Mori Chu]

[quote="JCSunsfan"Do other players want to come play along side him?[/quote]

Absolutely not at all. Nobody wants to play with a shoot-first "point guard" who waves you off when you're open and can't even run a basic pick-and-roll.

[Indy]

Do other players want to come play along side him?

Absolutely not at all. Nobody wants to play with a shoot-first "point guard" who waves you off when you're open and can't even run a basic pick-and-roll.

So I said basically the same thing, but on Booker's 11-0 run, Knight was the guy that got him the ball three of the four times, including a post up on Goran. And they were all decent passes (location and timing).

[carey]

So I said basically the same thing, but on Booker's 11-0 run, Knight was the guy that got him the ball three of the four times, including a post up on Goran. And they were all decent passes (location and timing).

Not only this, but supposedly his Bucks teammates really enjoyed playing with him and were crushed when he was traded. Take that fwiw.

Don't get me wrong. I still want out of the contract, but only if we can recoup a portion of what it took to get him here.

[Indy]

So I said basically the same thing, but on Booker's 11-0 run, Knight was the guy that got him the ball three of the four times, including a post up on Goran. And they were all decent passes (location and timing).

Not only this, but supposedly his Bucks teammates really enjoyed playing with him and were crushed when he was traded. Take that fwiw.

Don't get me wrong. I still want out of the contract, but only if we can recoup a portion of what it took to get him here.

So is that like a joint custody arrangement with whomever the Laker's pick turns into?

[carey]

So is that like a joint custody arrangement with whomever the Laker's pick turns into?

Smartass.

I'd settle for a young guy like Portis. An Oladipo. Maybe a pick in the 8-13 range.

[Mori Chu]

Knight might be salvageable as a starting PG if we could teach him how to play properly. Knight as a starting SG alongside Bledsoe is not acceptable IMO.

[JCSunsfan]

Knight might be salvageable as a starting PG if we could teach him how to play properly. Knight as a starting SG alongside Bledsoe is not acceptable IMO.

That's the thing about Knight, and I am sure that is what McD (the scout) saw when he traded for him. He has all the talent and skills. He just needs a little more discipline in his thinking. He is also known as being coachable. The good news is that he is young. The bad news is that he has had a number of NBA seasons to get it, and still hasnt.

[Indy]

Knight might be salvageable as a starting PG if we could teach him how to play properly. Knight as a starting SG alongside Bledsoe is not acceptable IMO.

That's the thing about Knight, and I am sure that is what McD (the scout) saw when he traded for him. He has all the talent and skills. He just needs a little more discipline in his thinking. He is also known as being coachable. The good news is that he is young. The bad news is that he has had a number of NBA seasons to get it, and still hasnt.

And two other teams gave up on him at the 1.5-2 year mark. You would hope an organization that drafted him so high, or one that traded for him so early in his rookie deal, would keep him if he was what they expected (young but coach-able, all the skills but just needs to put it together).

[Mori Chu]

I don't trust Milwaukee's player evaluation. They signed Monroe and traded for MCW, who haven't lived up to expectations. They got infatuated with the whole "every player is long and athletic and versatile" thing and forgot that shooting is an important NBA skill.

[JCSunsfan]

I don't trust Milwaukee's player evaluation. They signed Monroe and traded for MCW, who haven't lived up to expectations. They got infatuated with the whole "every player is long and athletic and versatile" thing and forgot that shooting is an important NBA skill.

Jason Kidd. Thats the answer. Anyone remember all those years of players going under the screens when guarding Kidd?

[pickle]

I don't trust Milwaukee's player evaluation. They signed Monroe and traded for MCW, who haven't lived up to expectations. They got infatuated with the whole "every player is long and athletic and versatile" thing and forgot that shooting is an important NBA skill.

At the risk of becoming a Knight defender, I will say this... Detroit's player evaluation prior to SVG was no peach either. Knight has his faults, but he does have the reputation of being a hard worker and a cerebral player, so assuming he gets that his style of play is not what's expected out of a point guard, I don't see why he wouldn't make an effort to improve. Of course passing is not something that's easy to pick up, but at least I have some hope. His defense, on the other hand...

[Indy]

Of course passing is not something that's easy to pick up, but at least I have some hope. His defense, on the other hand...

Those are some pretty key skills you need your PG to be great at if you want to be an elite team. I think his passing is average (which means I think it could suffice if we have the right players around him*), but his defense is just plan awful. I don't see it getting to "good enough" with coaching alone. It might get there if players start holding each other accountable, though.

*That begs the question: Is Knight the kind of guy you can "build around" or the type of guy you have build "around?"

[OE32]

I've come full circle on this. I'm currently in favor of keeping Bled and Knight. Wings that can shoot just aren't that easy to find. In two years, his contract will look like a steal. Eventually, I'd prefer him as a sixth man playing behind Bled and Booker. I think we'd be better off waiting for some success with this young team, which would elevate the trade value of Knight, Bled and everyone else.

The guy we should be looking to move is Chandler. But if someone puts an awesome, awesome young asset on the table, maybe Len. We only need one starting center. We have two. I think we could get a very nice first rounder out of Chandler, if not a proven young piece.

[Indy]

I've come full circle on this. I'm currently in favor of keeping Bled and Knight. Wings that can shoot just aren't that easy to find. In two years, his contract will look like a steal. Eventually, I'd prefer him as a sixth man playing behind Bled and Booker. I think we'd be better off waiting for some success with this young team, which would elevate the trade value of Knight, Bled and everyone else.

The guy we should be looking to move is Chandler. But if someone puts an awesome, awesome young asset on the table, maybe Len. We only need one starting center. We have two. I think we could get a very nice first rounder out of Chandler, if not a proven young piece.

Chandler is not seen as a good starting Center around the league. He is seen as a great C off the bench.

[Nodack]

And he is not getting any younger.