Game Day (Preseason): Suns (1-0) @ Kings (0-2), Thurs 10/10/19

[Nodack]

Nobody got hurt and the game didn’t count. It’s a win.

[SDC]

sad that the suns cant get decent 9-10 minute highlight clips. no full games available for rewatch.

[ShelC]

Pretty much all of our flaws/weaknesses were shown last night. We're going to struggle with athletic/energy bigs. Ayton, Saric, Frank and Baynes aren't exactly high flyers. Watching Holmes bounce around for rebounds and dunks was annoying.

Offensively we couldn't get anything going. Part of it was the refs blowing the whistle on almost every single play throughout the game but we didn't establish anything - rarely saw Ayton in the post, no PnRs, don't remember many set plays for Book other than ISOs. We tried Saric in the post a bit, Oubre slashed wildly to the basket and was bailed out a bunch of times and was able to get to the line. But nothing flowing.

We made it a point to add shooters to the roster but if they can't get open what's the point? Now we're lacking slashers, tho Oubre in the starting lineup should help on the wing opposite Book. Still, not many attacking players who can get their own shots which should be of concern and the bench unit looks like it'll be lacking firepower if shots aren't falling.

The good: Ehhhhh, no one got injured? Bridges was probably the best thing about last night. He locked down on anyone he was on. They couldn't breathe, much less dribble. Jerome added some good minutes running point and the offense picked up a bit when he was out there creating for others and himself. Shot 1-6 but added 4 assists and 2 steals. Matched up well with Bogdanovich. Jerome (+6) and Bridges (+1) were the only two with a positive +/-.

The bad: Everything else. 31% shooting, outrebounded by 16 and just outplayed all around.

This actually might be the best part of last night's game:

[ShelC]

I really hope he's checking certain players out because Jerome shouldn't be playing the 2 opposite Carter and Kaminsky shouldn't be playing PF with Baynes. He's going to be abused by every PF in the league.

I don't think we have a lot of other options. I kind of like the combo of Carter and Jerome and they seem to complement each other well. Carter is the smaller, quicker defensive PG and Ty can help run the offense/spread the floor. And Frank...we don't have another backup PF besides Diallo, who really offers nothing. Frank and Baynes are our backup bigs. I was thinking Dario might be a good fit with the 2nd unit so he can get more scoring chances and give the bench a boost. I think he's a guy who needs the ball to be effective which is why he's out of sorts with the starters.

[Indy]

I think I made the right choice by going to bed instead of watching the 2nd half. I still don't get how a guy as big and strong as Ayton can play 23 minutes and only get 3 boards.

[Cap]

And Frank...we don't have another backup PF besides Diallo, who really offers nothing. Frank and Baynes are our backup bigs.

It wasn’t that long ago we were depending on Anderson, Ariza, Bender and Chriss. At this point I’ll happily take a season of a Kaminsky-Baynes second unit.

[O_Gardino]

Lecque enters with 3:55 remaining.

He played a very promising 4 minutes. I'm going to enjoy rooting for the kid.

[O_Gardino]

I really hope he's checking certain players out because Jerome shouldn't be playing the 2 opposite Carter and Kaminsky shouldn't be playing PF with Baynes. He's going to be abused by every PF in the league.

Tyler Johnson didn't play last night, and I think most nights he'll be in the lineup. When he's out, or if we trade him mid season, we don't really have a backup 2.

Diallio is our only true backup 4 and he has stunk so far. Monty has to let guys audition for those minutes. I assume the backup 4 on most nights is going to end up being Oubre.

[O_Gardino]

I really hope he's checking certain players out because Jerome shouldn't be playing the 2 opposite Carter and Kaminsky shouldn't be playing PF with Baynes. He's going to be abused by every PF in the league.

I don't think we have a lot of other options. I kind of like the combo of Carter and Jerome and they seem to complement each other well. Carter is the smaller, quicker defensive PG and Ty can help run the offense/spread the floor. And Frank...we don't have another backup PF besides Diallo, who really offers nothing. Frank and Baynes are our backup bigs. I was thinking Dario might be a good fit with the 2nd unit so he can get more scoring chances and give the bench a boost. I think he's a guy who needs the ball to be effective which is why he's out of sorts with the starters.

I wonder if Saric / Oubre / Jerome can fit together and create enough scoring while Booker is out.

[Mori Chu]

This one was tough to watch. Oubre stunk it up. Didn't like the look of his shot at all; I hope his hand will be better soon. Seemed like nobody could hit anything all night. I think my #1 takeaway from this pair of games is that I like Ty Jerome a lot as backup PG; very encouraged by his play.

[ShelC]

It'll be interesting to see how the bench shakes out. I think Monty wants a 10 man rotation but it looks like Johnson, Carter, Jerome, Bridges and Cam can all contribute in different ways, not to mention Frank and Baynes getting theirs upfront.

I really like Jerome as the main ballhandler but Carter's an NBA player with his hustle and defense. I think his jumper can improve too - it's not broken and he hit some good shots last night. He's just not as natural a playmaker as Jerome, more of a stop and start/penetrate and kick guard.

[O_Gardino]

Here's a couple of miscellaneous notes from last night, for what they are worth.

Cam got DESTROYED on defense for the first few minutes of the game, but he adjusted and played much better defense as the game went on. He still wasn't locking guys down, but he saw the plays coming and moved around better. He actually ended the game with good rebounding #s, a steal and a block.

Loved watching Lecque attack.

Jerome struggled with the physicality of the Kings on his first few possessions, but then he found ways to keep out of those overly physical situations.

Okobo was much more willing to probe the defense while dribbling than he was last year or even in summer league. I didn't see him back up to the half court line even once.

I think Saric was a bright spot even though he missed some shots. I thought he made good decisions of when to shoot and when to put the ball on the floor. He'll be much better if we can get our spacing worked out.

I'm really curious about the dynamic between Igor and Ariza on the Kings. Any bad blood left from last season? I know I still have a grudge against them both.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

I'm really curious about the dynamic between Igor and Ariza on the Kings. Any bad blood left from last season? I know I still have a grudge against them both.

It’s not that hard actually, both are long time Pros and they also can blame it to the shitty situation they were put on last year and sweep under the carpet any real offense the did to each other. It’s not even a high profile re encounter like Mike D and Amare in NY.

[Superbone]

I'm really curious about the dynamic between Igor and Ariza on the Kings. Any bad blood left from last season? I know I still have a grudge against them both.

What's your grudge with Igor? He just wasn't the leader a head coach needs to be. It wasn't his fault McDonough couldn't see that.