Game Day: Suns (8-10) @ Hornets (8-13), Mon 12/2/19

[LazarusLong]

What an intense battle of Who wants it less?

[The Bobster]

I was about to write a very nasty post, but we won. So I won't.

Great 1st half with defensive energy and passing on offense. We lost all the offense in the 2nd half as our jumpers weren't falling and Saric and Kaminsky just couldn't maintain inside. On the one hand, you felt like we didn't deserve to win because we gave up the lead. But then, we were down 3 bigs and were forced to go with Frank and Dario.

I actually don't hate Dario at the 5, the problem is we don't have another 4. I really like our depth on the perimeter but it clearly doesn't help on nights like these when we're light up front. Jerome played really well I thought, I forgot how good he can be for us. Carter was also pretty good in 9 minutes, while Tyler Johnson and Okobo didn't get any time. Diallo for sure would've helped tonight so hopefully he and/or Baynes can get back.

The problem with Saric of Kaminski playing at center is that neither can close down the lane at all defensively.

[Robot]

You guys remember when the Suns organization banned this board because we posted a photo of Frank Johnson with a dildo? This team is quite a ride.

-R

[Split T]

Well Oubre with 2 3’s, a steal, a block, and the defense on an air balled 3, all in the last minute. Does he get a whole win share for that minute?

[Shabazz]

I'm not going to freak out about the losses or near losses when we're missing our starting, backup and 3rd string center and forced to stagger Kaminsky and Dario as rim-protectors. Of course our interior D is going to suck.

The shooting is definitely a concern for a team that focused so much on improving it this offseason.

[Mori Chu]

Oubre was the player of the game. Huge 3 at the end to get us the win. It's also quite nice to have Rubio back. His shooting was bad tonight, but he gave us 13 assists. Ty Jerome looks great; I love him. Fills the stat sheet: 4 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, all in 12 minutes. I just like the way he plays. He has good court vision, and I liked his floater in the lane.

God I'm so glad we didn't sign Scary Terry Rozier. That is just not the way a PG should play IMO. 13 points and only 3 assists. I didn't know that Marvin Williams was still in the league, but apparently he's the leader of the Hornets. It took me a while to figure out who the old bald guy was who kept beating us inside (Zeller).

If you're Coach Williams, you're happy to get a W, but you've got to be frustrated with the way we gave up our early lead and let them get up by 5 with a few minutes left. I was watching and thinking, are we really going to give THIS game away? I know we had some guys injured, but we can put up a better effort than this.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401160935

[Superbone]

I just finished watching the first half. I never would have believed you that we would be up 20 with Booker only taking 4 shot attempts. The 4th on a layup after a steal with 2 seconds remaining. Also, Jerome looked really good in his debut.

[djy2j]

Very impressed by Ty Jerome. He looked like he belonged out there and knew what to do on offense. Hoping his return spells the end of regular minutes for Tyler.

Officially irritated with Booker. At the end of the game Kelly did what we all thought Booker should have done, take over. Not sure what’s going on in Devins head but I don’t like it. He’s always deferring to lesser players and a lot of the shots he does take are dumb. He’s been a mystery to me so far.

The box score won’t reflect it but Kaminsky was brutal out there tonight. Just brutal. I’m at the point where every jump shot he takes I assume is a miss. Every layup or dunk will get blocked.

[djy2j]

Side note: anyone else feel oddly about how we overhauled our training staff in the off-season in favor of computers and gimmicky analytics and now every player injury seems to take longer than normal to heal?

Jerome with an abnormally long sprain, Rubio with the back spasms, Now Baynes can’t seem to get right. I just find it odd. Have to see if it continues.

[Superbone]

I was about to write a very nasty post, but we won. So I won't.

I was PISSED when they blew that first half lead. Then just when Charlotte got their biggest lead of the game of 7, the Suns closed it out with 12 straight.

[Superbone]

I was about to write a very nasty post, but we won. So I won't.

Great 1st half with defensive energy and passing on offense. We lost all the offense in the 2nd half as our jumpers weren't falling and Saric and Kaminsky just couldn't maintain inside. On the one hand, you felt like we didn't deserve to win because we gave up the lead. But then, we were down 3 bigs and were forced to go with Frank and Dario.

I actually don't hate Dario at the 5, the problem is we don't have another 4. I really like our depth on the perimeter but it clearly doesn't help on nights like these when we're light up front. Jerome played really well I thought, I forgot how good he can be for us. Carter was also pretty good in 9 minutes, while Tyler Johnson and Okobo didn't get any time. Diallo for sure would've helped tonight so hopefully he and/or Baynes can get back.

The problem with Saric of Kaminski playing at center is that neither can close down the lane at all defensively.

And Kaminsky is like watching molasses when he makes his moves to the hoop. He got his shot blocked on many of his attempts.

[Superbone]

Well Oubre with 2 3’s, a steal, a block, and the defense on an air balled 3, all in the last minute. Does he get a whole win share for that minute?

Thank god for Oubre. BYOE!

[carey]

I was about to write a very nasty post, but we won. So I won't.

Great 1st half with defensive energy and passing on offense. We lost all the offense in the 2nd half as our jumpers weren't falling and Saric and Kaminsky just couldn't maintain inside. On the one hand, you felt like we didn't deserve to win because we gave up the lead. But then, we were down 3 bigs and were forced to go with Frank and Dario.

I actually don't hate Dario at the 5, the problem is we don't have another 4. I really like our depth on the perimeter but it clearly doesn't help on nights like these when we're light up front. Jerome played really well I thought, I forgot how good he can be for us. Carter was also pretty good in 9 minutes, while Tyler Johnson and Okobo didn't get any time. Diallo for sure would've helped tonight so hopefully he and/or Baynes can get back.

The problem with Saric of Kaminski playing at center is that neither can close down the lane at all defensively.

And Kaminsky is like watching molasses when he makes his moves to the hoop. He got his shot blocked on many of his attempts.

I don’t enjoy watching him play. His basketball IQ is pretty good but his dumb slow body betrays him. He’s a free block or steal for the defending big whenever he drives and we all know he’s not hitting his 3s. The team should have figured out how to sign someone.

[Flagrant Fowl]

RE: Ty Jerome

I didn't see the whole game, but I happened to be focused on it when he checked in for the first time. His energy was fantastic, as one would expect to see for his first NBA minutes, but I was impressed with his ability to play under control while being very active. IMO, the two fouls he picked up were very Hey, Rookie moments by the officials.

It's clear that his hoops IQ is very high and he can battle with the average NBA player, but I want to see what happens when the league gets a book on him and starts deliberately targeting him on defense. Offensively, he's as advertised. He's a very capable ball handler and passer, and I think he can complement Javon Carter well for end of the bench guard depth.

[SunsRIt]

I was about to write a very nasty post, but we won. So I won't.

Great 1st half with defensive energy and passing on offense. We lost all the offense in the 2nd half as our jumpers weren't falling and Saric and Kaminsky just couldn't maintain inside. On the one hand, you felt like we didn't deserve to win because we gave up the lead. But then, we were down 3 bigs and were forced to go with Frank and Dario.

I actually don't hate Dario at the 5, the problem is we don't have another 4. I really like our depth on the perimeter but it clearly doesn't help on nights like these when we're light up front. Jerome played really well I thought, I forgot how good he can be for us. Carter was also pretty good in 9 minutes, while Tyler Johnson and Okobo didn't get any time. Diallo for sure would've helped tonight so hopefully he and/or Baynes can get back.

The problem with Saric of Kaminski playing at center is that neither can close down the lane at all defensively.

And Kaminsky is like watching molasses when he makes his moves to the hoop. He got his shot blocked on many of his attempts.

I don’t enjoy watching him play. His basketball IQ is pretty good but his dumb slow body betrays him. He’s a free block or steal for the defending big whenever he drives and we all know he’s not hitting his 3s. The team should have figured out how to sign someone.

I think Amare is still available. Maybe he could teach Ayton how to attack too.

[Nodack]

The Suns almost died by the jumper. Without any centers left I’ll take any win.

Last year we had no PF’s. Bender didn’t count. This year we have two PF’s, but no Centers now. I know we will get them back sooner than later but geesh!

Ty Jerome looked pretty good in his debut. We seem to have the guard situation under control with almost a glutton of extra point guards now.

They will have to limp through some victories until they get to full strength again.

[Superbone]

Heh. Oubre has a different handshake for every player including Milk:

[LazarusLong]

"I think Amare is still available. Maybe he could teach Ayton how to attack too."

Amar’e Stoudemire signed a deal to play for Fujian Sturgeons in the Chinese Basketball Association several weeks ago.

[ShelC]

I was about to write a very nasty post, but we won. So I won't.

Great 1st half with defensive energy and passing on offense. We lost all the offense in the 2nd half as our jumpers weren't falling and Saric and Kaminsky just couldn't maintain inside. On the one hand, you felt like we didn't deserve to win because we gave up the lead. But then, we were down 3 bigs and were forced to go with Frank and Dario.

I actually don't hate Dario at the 5, the problem is we don't have another 4. I really like our depth on the perimeter but it clearly doesn't help on nights like these when we're light up front. Jerome played really well I thought, I forgot how good he can be for us. Carter was also pretty good in 9 minutes, while Tyler Johnson and Okobo didn't get any time. Diallo for sure would've helped tonight so hopefully he and/or Baynes can get back.

The problem with Saric of Kaminski playing at center is that neither can close down the lane at all defensively.

And Kaminsky is like watching molasses when he makes his moves to the hoop. He got his shot blocked on many of his attempts.

I'm not unhappy with him on his drives and his sneaky flip shots and baby hooks across the lane. He makes those consistently and has the size to get those shots over other players. It's when he's caught under the basket looking for a putback or needs to finish strong over the defense that it's an automatic block or TO. Unfortunately, that's what he's being asked to do now. But much like the 7SOL Suns teams, we're not necessarily small because of Frank at center IMO, we're small because we're playing a Cam Johnson or Kelly Oubre next to him at PF. If we had a Holmes type of big off the bench to play next Frank in this kind of situation, maybe Frank/Dario wouldn't look as bad up front.

The key to everything tho is getting Baynes and Ayton back. We're not thin up front when healthy so we just need to weather this.

[bajanguy008]

Well Oubre with 2 3’s, a steal, a block, and the defense on an air balled 3, all in the last minute. Does he get a whole win share for that minute?

Thank god for Oubre. BYOE!

Did you watch the Hornets feed, they kept mentioning BYOE cuz Dell Curry said he heard Oubre saying it in pregame. My dude #shhhh
It was interesting listening to Dell as a former sniper, obviously not the scorer Book is but he seemed quite puzzled about Book. He's not being aggressive , he seems hesitant were comments he made a couple times