Game Day: Nuggets (11-16) @ Suns (12-18), Wed 12/23/15

[Cap]

Some more post game comments.

http://arizonasports.com/story/498849/m ... oach-suns/

The Nuggets went at Phoenix with a small-ball lineup with forward Kenneth Faried playing center. Phoenix didn’t settle in until Hornacek countered by putting small forward P.J. Tucker on the aggressive rebounder.

“Put P.J. on him and look what happened? We got back in the game. We need more of those guys who play like that,” Hornacek said, before later adding, “We got to get tougher guys.

Note the wording. Not "We got to get tougher," but "we got to get tougher guys." When a coach starts publicly blaming roster construction for a disappointing season, he's on his way out.

[Uncle_Gene]

Another 3-game losing streak ?

Changes need to come quick.

[TOO]

Yeesh, avoided spoilers just to watch that turd sandwich.. Randy Foye? Really? Embarrassing.

[Ring_Wanted]

Haha torched by Foye. From the creators of torched by Felton. Etc.

[iLLmatic]

A few thoughts:

- Biggest disappointment of the season, part 2: McDonough underestimated the fart cloud that is the Markieff situation. It's stunk up the entire season. From early chemistry issues partially due to Markieff not joining involuntary workouts to him not losing time despite dogging it early on, to this weird stretch where he's in and out of the rotation while we wait for an opportunity to trade him, I really believe this situation has sabotaged the entire season.

Anybody with a fuckin' brain saw this coming from a mile away, but noooo, our asshole GM who looks like the kid from the front cover of the Mad magazine had to be too smart for his own britches and keep Markieff on the team. The past 5 years have been a huge disappointment, this team has pretty much all but lost my interest. I check in here now after every game to see how we played but I don't think I've watched one game all year from start to finish. We are officially a bad organization, like how the Warriors and Clippers used to be. Dark times indeed.

[ShelC]

Yea I'm quickly losing faith in this regime. I haven't seen the video of the towel incident, if there is one, but if he threw a towel at Hornacek and Hornacek just kept on coaching and let him stay on the bench, then I'm disgusted. He should've sent his ass to the showers and our FO should've suspended him indefinitely until a trade is found. This isn't a "heat of the moment" thing like last year's blowout, which should have been handled differently as well. This is disrespect and like Bazz wrote, sabotaging the season. Our FO let his fester and tried to ignore everything hoping it would just go away and work itself out. Well it hasn't.

And even the statement about how the coaching staff will decide how to discipline Markieff just shows they're all pussies. Here's your decision: Fine him $20,000 and suspend him indefinitely. and if Archie's hanging and laughing with him on the bench, he can be included in the trade.

[LazarusLong]

"Note the wording. Not "We got to get tougher," but "we got to get tougher guys." When a coach starts publicly blaming roster construction for a disappointing season, he's on his way out."

Hornacek and McD need to take a long, hard look in the broken mirror, because these are their players -- this is the team they assembled. These results come from their flawed decisions.

Pot, meet kettle.

[ShelC]

To be fair, Kieff and PJ are Blanks and Babby's guys.

[LazarusLong]

McD has had the offseason and 30 games to get rid of Markieff. When Horry threw a towel at Ainge, he was gone in a week. This regime dithers too much ...

[ShelC]

Yea I think McD has the "technical" knowledge of being a GM but not the overall experience to deal with these kinds of situations. "Dithers" is a good description.

[iLLmatic]

McD has had the offseason and 30 games to get rid of Markieff. When Horry threw a towel at Ainge, he was gone in a week. This regime dithers too much ...

Love your posts LL! I would ask when our next meeting is but I don't want to put anyone through a shit show that this team has become.

[LazarusLong]

I've been to decades of Suns games. Last night was the first time I heard the crowd boo the home team so early in the game. It's probably happened before, but still ...

I liked Hornacek as a player, and he seems to be a quality person.
But's he's overmatched as a head coach, and Malone put on a coaching clinic last night.

[LazarusLong]

McD has had the offseason and 30 games to get rid of Markieff. When Horry threw a towel at Ainge, he was gone in a week. This regime dithers too much ...

Love your posts LL! I would ask when our next meeting is but I don't want to put anyone through a shit show that this team has become.

All the more reason to gather and drink ...

[Cap]

McD has had the offseason and 30 games to get rid of Markieff. When Horry threw a towel at Ainge, he was gone in a week. This regime dithers too much ...

Love your posts LL! I would ask when our next meeting is but I don't want to put anyone through a shit show that this team has become.

All the more reason to gather and drink ...

How about Saturday night, @Sacto?

[Sunsfan4life]

Good!!! Forget about a towel, throw a chair at him!!!! Hope he throws one back and they both get sent packing...

LOL! I didn't see the game but scanned through the post after I heard bout "The Towel indcident: The Next Generation" and this comment had be dying.

Trade deadline should be interesting....Suns have a bunch of movable pieces, they shouldn't cling to this "Hey lets make a run at the 8th seed because the botto of the west is a bit down" dream. Kieff's value is in the toilet but he's moveable and tucker, despite his limitations can still be a very useful piece for a contender, see what's out their for Bledsoe and Knight and Goodwin and be smart about it and go from there.

[SwingMan]

Regarding Morris and his overall effect to the team, a little food for thought:

Yeah, Markieff is clearly dogging it, throwing games and being a general pain in the ass to his teammates out on the floor. Dude's a poison pill that needs gone in a bad, bad way.

But, on the flip side, it's like these motherfuckers are so mentally weak, so emotionally fragile that they let themselves get manipulated by a certified punk. Coaching staff and GM, to boot.

They *all* need to stand up to the douchebag and tell him what's up. Hornacek did *a little* of that with the little "Ok, show me then" bit - now it's time for McDonough and the players to have his back on, *at least*, that as a starting point.

[Sunsfan4life]

I continue to say this, but I think the suns actually are very well set up for the future but they need to get lucky with a star. Warren,Booker,Len are 3 nice young pieces. Knight,Bledsoe,Kieff,Tucker,Goodwin all have value to other teams and they all are on pretty reasonable deals. Then you have our stock pile of draft picks and actually we've done decently well with picks in recent years.

The FO's 2 biggest blunders were the Knight for LAL trade which looked bad at the time and terrible now. The 2nd was the Chandler deal which, I mean they went all in for Aldridge, but they had to of known this was a very realistic scenario for an aging center. The Kieff sitch...I mean look if they were only getting garbage deals for him in the summer, then I'm all for them holding on to him but I probabaly would of kept him deactivated once they did so to begin with. Ala Jim Jackson in New Orleans when we traded for him years ago. This team was never going to be good without a low post game, it just wasn't happening so I'm not stunned that they are struggling.

Anyways....They have to make moves at the deadline, we're not talking about the sixers roster (lack of talent) or the Knicks of 2 years ago (a heard of bad contracts) We're talking about players that can help contenders or young players who may meet their promise if put in the right situation. As a Fan I see a roster filled with oppurtunity, but the suns have to embrace their young players and stop trying to shoehorn pieces into a roster that screams "PLAY THE YOUNG GUYS!"

[Sunsfan4life]

Regarding Morris and his overall effect to the team, a little food for thought:

Yeah, Markieff is clearly dogging it, throwing games and being a general pain in the ass to his teammates out on the floor. Dude's a poison pill that needs gone in a bad, bad way.

But, on the flip side, it's like these motherfuckers are so mentally weak, so emotionally fragile that they let themselves get manipulated by a certified punk. Coaching staff and GM, to boot.

They *all* need to stand up to the douchebag and tell him what's up. Hornacek did *a little* of that with the little "Ok, show me then" bit - now it's time for McDonough and the players to have his back on, *at least*, that as a starting point.

Theirs no doubt in my mind Mcdonaugh is and has been trying to trade him since the summer. I mean...If the best deals he's gotten is Corey Brewer and Terrance Jones(Expiring) then you could see why he's holding him closer to the deadline where More teams will get involved. I think if thats the best deal they get by then, he'll be dealt for that Po-Po Platter.

[SwingMan]

Regarding Morris and his overall effect to the team, a little food for thought:

Yeah, Markieff is clearly dogging it, throwing games and being a general pain in the ass to his teammates out on the floor. Dude's a poison pill that needs gone in a bad, bad way.

But, on the flip side, it's like these motherfuckers are so mentally weak, so emotionally fragile that they let themselves get manipulated by a certified punk. Coaching staff and GM, to boot.

They *all* need to stand up to the douchebag and tell him what's up. Hornacek did *a little* of that with the little "Ok, show me then" bit - now it's time for McDonough and the players to have his back on, *at least*, that as a starting point.

Theirs no doubt in my mind Mcdonaugh is and has been trying to trade him since the summer. I mean...If the best deals he's gotten is Corey Brewer and Terrance Jones(Expiring) then you could see why he's holding him closer to the deadline where More teams will get involved. I think if thats the best deal they get by then, he'll be dealt for that Po-Po Platter.

It's not so much about value at this point than it is about changing the culture of capitulation. If Morris has no checks, how the hell do think he won't continue doing what he's doing? What kind of example does that set for the rest of the team?

[EDC]

Yea I think McD has the "technical" knowledge of being a GM but not the overall experience to deal with these kinds of situations. "Dithers" is a good description.

I agree. I just hope Sarver will let McD work through this. The last thing I want is for us to be hasty and pull the plug on another GM just as he is getting his footing and learning from his mistakes. I think we took that route with Kerr.

The revolving door of GM's is a very bad way to run a franchise.