Western Conference Round 2, Game 3: Nuggets (2-0) @ Suns (0-2), Fri 5/05/23

[JeremyG]

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.

Wow, you were willing to lose the series last night in order to not break Ayton's confidence? Whoa.

No. You guys seem to be struggling with your reading comprehension.

[JeremyG]

I CANNOT WAIT to see Jeremy spin this Ayton performance.

6. He was fouled on most of his missed shots but did not get the calls, and had bad calls go against him for foul trouble again.

7. Did not get enough looks, especially early in the game they need to get him involved offensively and that usually gets him going. They are going to need him offensively in order to win this series, especially with CP3 injured, as Booker+Durant doing it all is not sustainable, which leads me to my final point...

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.

For 6, I agree that for playoff games where physical contact is more allowed, it doesn't seem to apply to Ayton for some reason. That doesn't help.

7 and 8 I do not agree on. Forcing the ball to Ayton has not worked for us. Have to get away from that and just let the offense flow. He needs to get his offense in the flow of the game. And Ayton deserved to get benched at the end, even with the mistakes, Jock's ability to play with force is what got us in the position we were in and still helped down the stretch. Hopefully, it serves as a wake up call for Ayton but I'm not sure his delicate mind will process it correctly. I can only hope.

He even admitted the other day that not knowing how they're going to call the fouls was messing with his game. I really think he is letting it get in his head like Book was talking about. At least Booker has been able (most of the time) to not let the lack of calls for him affect his game, but that's just insane the lack of respect he's getting, as perhaps the best player this postseason.

[JeremyG]

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?

You all are hilarious with your assumptions.

It was something unrepeatable that a fan said to Ayton from the stands.

[Superbone]

So, I saw the video of Ayton "visibly upset". GOOD! If he wasn't, I'd be even more concerned. I hope it wakes him out of his stupor. He saw what Landale accomplished with some effort and force. Come on, DA! Wake the F up! Bring it!

[Superbone]

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?

You all are hilarious with your assumptions.

It was something unrepeatable that a fan said to Ayton from the stands.

What was my assumption? I think you have your quotes mixed up. Mine was "What was it? Was deleted."

[Kryptonic]

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?

You all are hilarious with your assumptions.

It was something unrepeatable that a fan said to Ayton from the stands.

What was my assumption? I think you have your quotes mixed up. Mine was "What was it? Was deleted."

Same... but then again we're the reading/comprehension problems lol

[JeremyG]

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?

You all are hilarious with your assumptions.

It was something unrepeatable that a fan said to Ayton from the stands.

What was my assumption? I think you have your quotes mixed up. Mine was "What was it? Was deleted."

Huh? I quoted AIG...?

[JeremyG]

So, I saw the video of Ayton "visibly upset". GOOD! If he wasn't, I'd be even more concerned.

Agreed. People complained when he didn't want to be in the game during the game 7 blowout. And then they complain when he's upset he's not in the game.

[JeremyG]

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 have no idea how this post is being misinterpreted to mean that I wanted the Suns to lose this game or the series.

But since it is...let me break it down:

1. I bolded "the best move to win in this game was to bench him" and said I disagreed.

2. I said he's had bad games before where he still made winning plays in crunch time.

3. I said "I certainly don’t think he was going to lose us the game."

4. I said the consequences of benching him "could be way more important to the outcome of this postseason than leaving him in the game would have been." Obviously, we had to win the game so I didn't mean losing the game and obviously the outcome of the postseason is not going to be good if we lose the series, so how was I saying we should have risked losing the series to help Ayton individually?

I literally can't believe I am having to explain any of this.

[AmareIsGod]

This has to be the most ad nauseam topic dominAyton every gameday thread. It's so ridiculous watching him struggle in so many ways this far into his career after a max deal.

This game yesterday was incredible. In what universe does Kevin Durant score 39 points shooting the way he did? He figured out other ways to get points and help control the game by aggressively drawing contact near the hoop. Devin Booker continues climbing the ranks towards the discussion of top three players in the NBA. His fire, his passion, his motor. He can get his shot anywhere he wants and he goes all out on defense. We're very lucky to have such a gifted and competitive player on this roster. He could have bad-mouthed the organization so many times and tried to get out of here when things were tough but he stuck with it and look where he's at today.

[Superbone]

I literally can't believe I am having to explain any of this.

Us either for a lot of things you say.

[Superbone]

What was it? Was deleted.

Same. Very intrigued. Was it Ayton being a bitch on the bench?

You all are hilarious with your assumptions.

It was something unrepeatable that a fan said to Ayton from the stands.

What was my assumption? I think you have your quotes mixed up. Mine was "What was it? Was deleted."

Huh? I quoted AIG...?

Read your post. You quoted more than AIG. And as far as I know, AIG alone isn't referred to as "You all".

[AmareIsGod]

Same. Very intrigued. Was it Ayton being a bitch on the bench?

You all are hilarious with your assumptions.

It was something unrepeatable that a fan said to Ayton from the stands.

What was my assumption? I think you have your quotes mixed up. Mine was "What was it? Was deleted."

Huh? I quoted AIG...?

Read your post. You quoted more than AIG. And as far as I know, AIG alone isn't referred to as "You all".

I do have a God complex. So I mean, I kind of speak for most when I have an opinion.

[Cap]

Warren: 26 min, 3-7 FG, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 to, 7 pts
Shamet: 25 min, 2-4 FG, 2 reb, 0 ast, 1 to, 4 pts

Such similar stat lines, such different games.

[Split T]

I still feel like Shamet was pretty good last night. He made Murray work. He doesn’t bring a lot of offense, but last night was his best game in the playoffs so far.

[Nodack]

I am a Sun fan. I want them all to do well. Ayton has been a disappointment. I want him to do well. He was the #1 pick. He thinks he is a max contract player. He’s not playing at that level. Booker is a max player, Jokic is a max player. According to that graph Ayton is the second worst player in the playoffs and Booker and Jokic are 1 & 2. Ayton had the deer in the headlights look during the last game. He left the locker room early to avoid the press. He has to hear the talk. He has to know he isn’t living up to expectations. He is the perfect physical specimen to be a dominant center in the NBA. I watched Jokic guard a guy at the three point line and when a shot went up he sprinted to the hoop and got the rebound. I watched Ayton guard Murray in the mid range area. Murray went around him to the hoop and missed the shot and then Jokic got the rebound. Ayton never moved from the spot where Murray drove around him. He just stood there. Guys drive around one of our guys at the three point line and there is Ayton there to pick them up except Ayton doesn’t bother moving to get in their way and just watches them go by. The effort is just not there.

Obviously Ayton knows he isn’t cutting it at this point since he left the locker room early to avoid questioning. I am hoping he does some soul searching and brings some effort in the next game. I am hoping he is pissed off and physical. Monty has held his hand enough. Time to grow up and grow a pair Ayton. You wanted the max deal. Earn it like Booker does.

[Cap]

I still feel like Shamet was pretty good last night. He made Murray work. He doesn’t bring a lot of offense, but last night was his best game in the playoffs so far.

It’s also Warren’s best game in the playoffs so far. The parallels continue!

[Split T]

Yea Warren was a revelation…he did some good stuff in the regular season too, so surprised he lost his spot in the rotation

[AmareIsGod]

I still feel like Shamet was pretty good last night. He made Murray work. He doesn’t bring a lot of offense, but last night was his best game in the playoffs so far.

It’s also Warren’s best game in the playoffs so far. The parallels continue!

In about a 20th of the total amount of minutes.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Obviously we're all glad his last two shots went in, but basically everything TJ put up looked awkward and front rimmed. His head was in the game everywhere else though, which was definitely needed.