8. Stupid move by Monty to bench Ayton the last five minutes. Not only did it almost cost us the game with dumb plays by Jock, but it messes with Ayton's confidence, and like I said we're going to need him to win this series since Booker and KD cannot carry us by themselves for 4 out of 5 games. It might not have even been enough in this game if not for a couple of buckets by TJ in the clutch.
Ayton made two really bad plays right before he got pulled. He didn’t have it today. Ya Jock did also make a bad play almost immediately, but Ayton wasn’t doing anything tonight. His 1on1 defense against Jokic in the post has been fine. No issues there, but Murray cooked him quite a few times.
It wasn't just the turnover that led to a 3. He also gave up a 3-point play to Jokic. Either way, we probably weren't going to lose the game no matter what, though. I don't think Booker was going to let us lose tonight.
I think not benching him sends the wrong message that his play was ok. Maybe it hurts his confidence, but you can’t tell me that he played with as much energy as Jock. Go at least play hard like Jock if you wanna play.
You have to do what's best for the team moving forward, not worry about "sending the wrong message" to a player. Like I said, they need his confidence up, not broken, in order to win this series.
"I'm a Deandre Ayton guy."--Al McCoy, September 21, 2022.
I don’t have a problem with the 3-point play for Jokic. That was a tough shot by Jokic and I thought a weak call. Was it a foul? Maybe…didn’t seem like a lot. Jock puffed his chest out a touch, but he seemed to be in good position. It’s a foul Booker tries to get a lot without success. Though KD got the same call on AG in the 1st half.
So the guy making $30M this year needs someone to hold his hand.
No. You don't pay him $30M to bench him in the playoffs, though.
Are you guys all the sudden saying we don't need Ayton to win in the playoffs this year, after everyone was saying he was the key to a title?
I’d rather lose with Jock than lose with this version of Ayton. We’re losing either way. And if we’re gonna win we absolutely needed this game. Ayton no-showed it and the best move to win in this game was to bench him.
I do think it's gonna be nearly impossible to win without him…but letting him lose us this game is not the way. Get him out, win the game, then deal with any consequences later.
So the guy making $30M this year needs someone to hold his hand.
No. You don't pay him $30M to bench him in the playoffs, though.
Are you guys all the sudden saying we don't need Ayton to win in the playoffs this year, after everyone was saying he was the key to a title?
I’d rather lose with Jock than lose with this version of Ayton. We’re losing either way. And if we’re gonna win we absolutely needed this game. Ayton no-showed it and the best move to win in this game was to bench him.
I do think it's gonna be nearly impossible to win without him…but letting him lose us this game is not the way. Get him out, win the game, then deal with any consequences later.
See that’s where we disagree. You guys seem to be forgetting that he’s had bad games before and still made winning plays in crunch time. I certainly don’t think he was going to lose us the game. He had just secured a possession for us when Monty called timeout to take him out.
Those “consequences” could be way more important to the outcome of this postseason than leaving him in the game would have been.
"I'm a Deandre Ayton guy."--Al McCoy, September 21, 2022.
Ayton can surely bounce back but this surely was not his game. Felt like they sa8d screw it were going to win like we know how. They did not try to involve Ayton
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"Just like Neal Armstrong I went to space and now I'm back..."
Phew, what a win. Some thoughts: Obviously this was the most 2023 Suns win ever. We had enormous performances from Booker and KD and almost nothing from anybody else (no other Sun in double figures). But we did get good contributions from Payne, Warren, Landale, and even Shamet.
Warren is probably the single standout bench guy. 7 points on 3-7 shooting in 26 minutes. It's kind of sad that this is what passes for an awesome bench game on this team; that's how deeply shitty our bench is that we're hailing that as a great game. But I'll take it. I didn't like how he shot some of his FGs -way- short, like almost airball short. But he made a few big shots down the stretch for us and he contributed. I hope Monty plays him in Game 4.
Jock Landale had a really nice game, too. 6 points (3/3 shooting) and 9 rebounds in 22 minutes. He had some nice putbacks around the basket, he got his hands on several contested rebounds to give us extra possessions. And he just seemed to be fired up, angry, playing hard, seemed to understand the gravity of this game. Felt like a guy you could count on in a big intense playoff situation. Really happy with his game. Much is being made of benching Ayton down the stretch; it was the right call. He just wasn't having his best game. Leave the guy in who's having a hot night. But next game you still go back to Ayton and hope he has his mojo back. When Ayton is on, his ceiling is still much higher than Landale's. And Ayton is capable of playing very good defense on Jokic, which matters a lot.
I really appreciated what Shamet brought in this game. He made only 1 shot, but he played energetic and active defense on Murray. And he didn't really hurt us out there, made smart plays. I thought he totally did fine in his minutes, which is more than you can say for some of our guys.
As for the Nuggets, a few things stood out to me. For one, Murray seemed genuinely tired down the stretch. You could see him tugging his shorts and gasping for air. Which is weird, because isn't he used to playing with thin oxygen? Maybe it was the AZ heat. Or maybe it was the 41 minutes he played. Also we really held Aaron Gordon back in this game; he shot 3-13 and had only 9 points. That was big. KCP also had only 2 points and was basically a ghost. Outside of Denver's Big Three basically nobody showed up tonight, which was the difference. Their role players didn't deliver on the road.
I still think we're a longshot to win this round, but, if we get a W on Sunday it is anybody's series. Hopefully the guys rest up and get ready for another battle.
8. Stupid move by Monty to bench Ayton the last five minutes. Not only did it almost cost us the game with dumb plays by Jock, but it messes with Ayton's confidence, and like I said we're going to need him to win this series since Booker and KD cannot carry us by themselves for 4 out of 5 games. It might not have even been enough in this game if not for a couple of buckets by TJ in the clutch.
Ayton made two really bad plays right before he got pulled. He didn’t have it today. Ya Jock did also make a bad play almost immediately, but Ayton wasn’t doing anything tonight. His 1on1 defense against Jokic in the post has been fine. No issues there, but Murray cooked him quite a few times.
I think not benching him sends the wrong message that his play was ok. Maybe it hurts his confidence, but you can’t tell me that he played with as much energy as Jock. Go at least play hard like Jock if you wanna play.
I'm not sure who did Ayton wrong along the way and never taught him how to play with force. Idk if he's going for style points or is just genuinely afraid of contact or the rim? Are his hands too small or is it he holds the ball like it's an egg? Why is his first step so ungodly slow, that he can be wide open for a dunk and then blocked at the rim by Porter Jr? Idk what guard in the league hasn't knocked the ball out of his hands? I for one have zero confidence that he will get the job done if called on in the fourth quarter. It looked like he was trying to lose the game. It's probably not the case, but it feels like the Bugs are shooting like 90% on shots contested by Ayton.
"When we all think alike, nobody is thinking" - Walter Lippmann "Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." ~ Frederick Douglass
Landale played like a dog that had its favorite bone taken away. I like the attitude.
As for Ayton being benched down the stretch, I have no problems with it.
Gentry would bench Stoudemire in the latter stages of a game for lack of defensive effort.
As for desert heat impacting Murray, it was in the low 80s yesterday in Phoenix.
Book all by himself…Don’t look at the bottom tier though
Wow…. On both ends. Again, there’s a reasonable excuse for this.. ayton would be where book is if Monty had plays for him and got him involved as much as book does. Right? Lol
Books just unreal right now and couldn’t be happier for the guy. He’s proof that hard work, dedication and most of all LOVE for the game does pay off.
Fucking disgusting behavior. Unacceptable to say shit like that to another person.
What was it? Was deleted.
Same. Very intrigued. Was it Ayton being a bitch on the bench?
What is smallball? I play basketball. I'm not a regular big man. I can switch from the center to the guards. The game is evolving. I'd be dominAyton if the WNBA would let me in. - Ayton
