Game Day: Raptors (22-9) @ Suns (9-23), Thurs 12/29/16

[EDC]

Even when PJ does something good I can't stand him.

[The Bobster]

This looks like it'll be Chandler's 8th straight game without blocking a shot.

[TOO]

There ya go Book. Enough with all the jumpers.

[Cap]

This looks like it'll be Chandler's 8th straight game without blocking a shot.

Nope!

[Cap]

Knight played 8:56, his lowest of the season.

[Superbone]

Will Bender have some decent playing time for the third game in a row?

Magic 8 Ball says.... Doubtful.

I think he'll get his 12 minutes at the minimum.

Look at that. Bender with 10 minutes in the first half alone.

And then none in the 2nd half.

[Superbone]

Wow. Who would a' thunk? We beat the second best team in the East. That Len block was a huge highlight. Quality minutes from Ulis. Good to see Booker get his groove back in the 4th quarter. Another very solid game from Bledsoe.

[Superbone]

Knight played 8:56, his lowest of the season.

And we got one of our biggest wins. Coincidence?

[Cap]

Knight played 8:56, his lowest of the season.

And we got one of our biggest wins. Coincidence?

His four briefest appearances of the season:

8:56 tonight vs TOR, 8-point win (Knight -3)
14:36 12/23 vs PHI, 7-point win (Knight -8)
15:47 12/11 vs NOP, 1-point loss (Knight -14)
16:44 11/9 vs DET, 7-point win (Knight -3)

So, 3-1 when Knight plays less than 17 minutes, 6-22 otherwise.

Yes, that's cherry-picked and doesn't mean much. But we've all known for a while that we're a better team when he doesn't play.

Even when he is in the game, the possessions in which he doesn't touch the ball tend to be better than the possessions in which he does. I have no stats on that, it's just my impression.

[Shabazz]

I feel like every game we get one of three Eric Bledsoes

1 - Solid all-round PG Bledsoe: Leads the team, finds the right balance of scoring and distributing, plays at the right pace.
2- Lackadaisical Bledose: Sloppy with the ball. Has a hard time finding energy. Lots of dumb turnovers.
3- Bled on PCP: Plays out of control. Drives into the paint with no purpose. Tries to prove something at the expense of the team.

Today was a little from category 1 and a little from category 2.

[UglyTruth]

Will Bender have some decent playing time for the third game in a row?

Magic 8 Ball says.... Doubtful.

I think he'll get his 12 minutes at the minimum.

Look at that. Bender with 10 minutes in the first half alone.

Bender with a whooping 11 mins total for the game.

F**k Watson man.

[carey]

I just watched the 2nd half after not being able to see the game last night. Some thoughts...

-Bledsoe is our best player and should have a lot of value around the league. He does not possess the clutch gene so if it's tight in the last moments of a game you better hope you have a closer on your team. I think Sacramento should try and make a big offer for him to pair with Boogie. I know they stupidly traded away picks already but if you could get 2 picks and an asset like WCS (who hasn't been very good so far, I know) then you probably should do it.

-I'm not worried about Booker. His shot isn't falling right now but I've not seen a 20-year-old Sun play with the intellect and patience that he has maybe in all my time as a fan. He makes passes and takes shots generally in the flow of the offense that most guys that young can't make yet. That being said, there are the occasional times where you see him force it a bit and I see a couple times per game where he gets his shot blocked because he hasn't quite created the space he thinks he has. This will come with time as he learns the speed of NBA defense and also learns individual players tendencies (and his own.) Book also looked pretty good on defense. He was staying in front of his man and several times I saw him contest missed shots at the rim. He does have a long way to go but I don't think he's a lost cause. He may not have the tools elite defenders have (crazy wingspan & athleticism) but let's not completely write him off on that side of the ball just yet.

-As an aside, watching Booker out there is also why I think Bender will be very good in the future. He also plays with patience and sometimes you'll see him do something really smart out there uncommon for someone his age. His shot looks good and as he gets comfortable and stronger he's going to be a real problem for teams to account for.

-Warren's defense really has improved. I also enjoyed his possession at the end of the 3rd Q. That's his game.

-The alley-oop from Bledsoe to Chriss at the start of the 4th Q was a thing of beauty just because of how far the lob was and how rare Bledsoe makes those passes.

-The Len block on Siakam was a thing of beauty.

-At 7 min left in the 4th you thought the Raptors were coming. They were hitting 3s and we were hitting or missing 2s.

-That 3 by Ulis was huge. We were up 6 and he pushed it to 9.

-The Bledsoe pass to a cutting Tucker was great. I know Tucker often tries to do too much.

-The league needs to change the rules about the foul you get by kicking out your legs wide and initiating contact. It's dangerous and stupid.

-Booker gets the ball with the shot clock winding down way too much. He hit that 3 in the 4th with no time on the clock but I don't like that he has to do that as much. Our offense should work to get him better looks. Moments later Tucker gave it to him with 1 second left and he had to launch a 3 because Tucker refused to pull the trigger on his open 3 and instead passed it to Booker for a contested 3. Silly.

[djy2j]

Didn't even realize there was a game last night. Looks like it was ugly though. Glad Ulis got some time. and also glad there was a Brandon Knight trade rumor blurb on the hoopshype rumor page today. Yay!

[Cap]

Will Bender have some decent playing time for the third game in a row?

Magic 8 Ball says.... Doubtful.

I think he'll get his 12 minutes at the minimum.

Look at that. Bender with 10 minutes in the first half alone.

Bender with a whooping 11 mins total for the game.

F**k Watson man.

But meaningful minutes, and for the third game in a row. That's Watson making progress. And Ulis had an even bigger role.

[JustWinBaby]

I thought we moved the ball pretty well last night and Booker's shot selection was the best in recent memory. We actually had twice as many assists as the Raptors 20 to 10.
The best news was that Knight's minutes were limited. He really is hard to watch. I like most want to see more of Bender but was pleased to see Chriss get more minutes.

Not to take away from a rare Suns victory but how in the world are the Raptors the 2nd best team in the East? We are 30th in the league in assist % the Raptors are tied for 28th with the Lakers and they only had 10 assists last night. They really do not seem good at anything. They have 2 what I consider good players in Lowry and DeRozan but I really have no interest in either for the Suns. I really do not see their overall talent a whole lot better than our team. I guess the key to their success is that they have the most efficient offense in the league and don't turn it over. Maybe that is because the have great one on one players and don't pass the ball. I don't get it but Casey deserves a lot of credit for getting this group to be the 2nd best team in the East. I also think we caught them in the middle of a brutal road trip.

[sunshoopjunky]

-Bledsoe is our best player and should have a lot of value around the league.

I agree. His value will continue to increase toward the trade deadline. The landscape of the 2018 free agency, the youth in the league at the point guard position, the draft being PG heavy this year, could be the perfect storm for us.

That being said, there are the occasional times where you see him force it a bit

I know I have said this before but I feel like he is not only being coached to force it, but also somewhat marketed to force it. The thing that made me happy to watch Booker play last year was the "coaches kid" smart play he had. The way he impacts a game has changed. I don't have time to look at the numbers or video but my guess would be that if you looked at the games he had last year where he scored 10 points or less and compared them to the games he had this year at 10 points or less there would be a dramatic efficiency deference. Just a feeling I could be way off. I guess ultimately I am not worried about Booker as much as I am about the idea that if a when a great opportunity comes around we have a history of screwing it up.

-As an aside, watching Booker out there is also why I think Bender will be very good in the future. He also plays with patience

I did not want us to draft Bender. I am glad we did now. I think the patience he plays with comes from the fact that he has played pro ball for years.

-Booker gets the ball with the shot clock winding down way too much.

It's like we play a hodge podge of basketball. We run the screen weave at the top but the ball still really does not seem to pick up life. Is like a super restricted motion offense manned by the wrong players. With conditions that result in people being forced to be go to players in the possession. I don't understand it. I thought it was because we were trying to see what we have in summer league then it continued. It seems like we play 2 or 3 different types of opposing styles of basketball. Either run the motion and free it up. Let the ball find the man that needs to shoot it and stop over coaching. Or slow it down and play more like Memphis did in 14 and 15 rely on our defense and play "boring" basketball. I guess what I mean is by this far into the season we should not be experimenting with direction we want to go. It is very hard to hit a moving target and can wreck fragile mental egos of some millionaires.

[3rdside]

The landscape of the 2018 free agency, the youth in the league at the point guard position, the draft being PG heavy this year, could be the perfect storm for us. I .

With our pick and the lakers pick there's nothing stopping us - NBA title hoooooo!

Oh yeah. We don't have the lakers pick anymore.

I could probably do this one to death, so I won't - if we can trade Bledsoe and tucker for a high lottery pick then I'm satisfied, and McD probably earns a(nother) stay of execution with the make up trade.










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[Ring_Wanted]

It's like we play a hodge podge of basketball. We run the screen weave at the top but the ball still really does not seem to pick up life. Is like a super restricted motion offense manned by the wrong players. With conditions that result in people being forced to be go to players in the possession. I don't understand it. I thought it was because we were trying to see what we have in summer league then it continued. It seems like we play 2 or 3 different types of opposing styles of basketball. Either run the motion and free it up. Let the ball find the man that needs to shoot it and stop over coaching. Or slow it down and play more like Memphis did in 14 and 15 rely on our defense and play "boring" basketball. I guess what I mean is by this far into the season we should not be experimenting with direction we want to go. It is very hard to hit a moving target and can wreck fragile mental egos of some millionaires.

We drive to the basket, run a lot and launch many tough/hero shots. Our three point game sucks, but nothing stinks more than our passing. The mimicks we use to get there are basically the same many others run, like that wave of screens at the top.

Still the same ugly and dumb game we've endured since the end of 13-14.

We all know who are the common denominators.

[sunshoopjunky]

Oh yeah. We don't have the lakers pick anymore.

I could probably do this one to death, so I won't - if we can trade Bledsoe and tucker for a high lottery pick then I'm satisfied, and McD probably earns a(nother) stay of execution with the make up trade.










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[sunshoopjunky]

I really think there may be a play for a star soon. I think another will move by the deadline. Then another between the lotto order and the end of the draft day. I think we have the assets to get 2 of them. If we get the correct 2 then we have a shot at a star in 2018 free agency.

If we can do the above without losing one of Booker/ Warren
And without losing one of Bender/Chriss
Without losing our 2017 1st round pick
Without losing the protected Miami 1st pick
I am ok with anything.

From that perspective Bledsoe and PJ should be worth way more then draft picks.