Game Day: Suns (9-8) @ Mavericks (8-11), Sat, 1/30/2021

[Split T]

Just finishing up my rewatch...that Paul to Ayton lob with about 1:30 left was the highest I’ve ever seen Ayton go up to catch a lob. He doesn’t usually get up to get those. Was good to see. Ayton was pretty good in this one...I’m starting to feel pretty good about DA.

Also, when was the last time we saw Ayton just take the middy? He doesn’t really take it anymore, another good thing to see.

[Superbone]

Now, we just need consistency from Ayton. He shouldn't have to get a stinger or get mad to play well.

[Split T]

The play I was talking about

[Shabazz]

Just finishing up my rewatch...that Paul to Ayton lob with about 1:30 left was the highest I’ve ever seen Ayton go up to catch a lob. He doesn’t usually get up to get those. Was good to see. Ayton was pretty good in this one...I’m starting to feel pretty good about DA.

Also, when was the last time we saw Ayton just take the middy? He doesn’t really take it anymore, another good thing to see.

He took one yesterday against WCS. He missed. I thought he bailed out the D with it.

The fact that that was his only one is a big development.

[Charlie Smithy!]

Just finishing up my rewatch...that Paul to Ayton lob with about 1:30 left was the highest I’ve ever seen Ayton go up to catch a lob. He doesn’t usually get up to get those. Was good to see. Ayton was pretty good in this one...I’m starting to feel pretty good about DA.

Also, when was the last time we saw Ayton just take the middy? He doesn’t really take it anymore, another good thing to see.

How you feeling about that trade as of right now?

[Charlie Smithy!]

Now, we just need consistency from Ayton. He shouldn't have to get a stinger or get mad to play well.

Worst comes to worst, we can just hire someone to (slightly) beat him up before every game.

[INFORMER]

Crowder red hot. 8 points already in the 1st qtr.

Can we please drop the Ariza comparisons now? He also hit a killer 3 to help seal the win.

No offense to whoever said it, but that was a dumb comparison from the jump.

Ariza got paid and mailed it in. Crowder has games where he misses shots, but the effort is always there.

Ariza was hyped as to quintessential veteran that just knows how to play, playoff tested, and tough that the Suns just had to add. Crowder was billed the same way. The Ariza signing blew up in the Suns face because he quit and he wasn't really that good to begin with (what has he done since being traded?). Crowder will never quit, but his value on the court hasn't been there. He hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been good either.

[INFORMER]

Chris Paul....what a god.

[INFORMER]

Also, when was the last time we saw Ayton just take the middy? He doesn’t really take it anymore, another good thing to see.

I'm fine with his shooting the middy when it is there. He just needs to make it.

[Shabazz]

Crowder red hot. 8 points already in the 1st qtr.

Can we please drop the Ariza comparisons now? He also hit a killer 3 to help seal the win.

No offense to whoever said it, but that was a dumb comparison from the jump.

Ariza got paid and mailed it in. Crowder has games where he misses shots, but the effort is always there.

Ariza was hyped as to quintessential veteran that just knows how to play, playoff tested, and tough that the Suns just had to add. Crowder was billed the same way. The Ariza signing blew up in the Suns face because he quit and he wasn't really that good to begin with (what has he done since being traded?). Crowder will never quit, but his value on the court hasn't been there. He hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been good either.

I disagree. Crowder has been exactly as advertised. I think the production has matched the contract value.

[Split T]

Just finishing up my rewatch...that Paul to Ayton lob with about 1:30 left was the highest I’ve ever seen Ayton go up to catch a lob. He doesn’t usually get up to get those. Was good to see. Ayton was pretty good in this one...I’m starting to feel pretty good about DA.

Also, when was the last time we saw Ayton just take the middy? He doesn’t really take it anymore, another good thing to see.

How you feeling about that trade as of right now?

Haha, I’d still do it...but if Ayton keeps playing like this all season, I might change my mind. A long term backcourt of SGA/Booker would be really fun.

[Superbone]

Crowder red hot. 8 points already in the 1st qtr.

Can we please drop the Ariza comparisons now? He also hit a killer 3 to help seal the win.

No offense to whoever said it, but that was a dumb comparison from the jump.

Ariza got paid and mailed it in. Crowder has games where he misses shots, but the effort is always there.

Ariza was hyped as to quintessential veteran that just knows how to play, playoff tested, and tough that the Suns just had to add. Crowder was billed the same way. The Ariza signing blew up in the Suns face because he quit and he wasn't really that good to begin with (what has he done since being traded?). Crowder will never quit, but his value on the court hasn't been there. He hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been good either.

I disagree. Crowder has been exactly as advertised. I think the production has matched the contract value.

Yeah, totally confused by INF’s statement. The last sentence is just flat wrong. Take this game for example.

[specialsauce]

Can we please drop the Ariza comparisons now? He also hit a killer 3 to help seal the win.

No offense to whoever said it, but that was a dumb comparison from the jump.

Ariza got paid and mailed it in. Crowder has games where he misses shots, but the effort is always there.

Ariza was hyped as to quintessential veteran that just knows how to play, playoff tested, and tough that the Suns just had to add. Crowder was billed the same way. The Ariza signing blew up in the Suns face because he quit and he wasn't really that good to begin with (what has he done since being traded?). Crowder will never quit, but his value on the court hasn't been there. He hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been good either.

I disagree. Crowder has been exactly as advertised. I think the production has matched the contract value.

Yeah, totally confused by INF’s statement. The last sentence is just flat wrong. Take this game for example.

IMO Crowder and Cam provide very similar contributions on the court, and what they don’t provide (athleticism, physicality) is a glaring hole on this team. Crowder seems redundant just like Ariza was and we would have been better giving that spot to a player like TT, Wood or Serge Ibaka.

There’s no question his attitude and worth to the team is much better than Ariza, but then again that’s not saying much.

[Indy]

Crowder red hot. 8 points already in the 1st qtr.

Can we please drop the Ariza comparisons now? He also hit a killer 3 to help seal the win.

No offense to whoever said it, but that was a dumb comparison from the jump.

Ariza got paid and mailed it in. Crowder has games where he misses shots, but the effort is always there.

Ariza was hyped as to quintessential veteran that just knows how to play, playoff tested, and tough that the Suns just had to add. Crowder was billed the same way. The Ariza signing blew up in the Suns face because he quit and he wasn't really that good to begin with (what has he done since being traded?). Crowder will never quit, but his value on the court hasn't been there. He hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been good either.

I disagree. Crowder has been exactly as advertised. I think the production has matched the contract value.

I think he has been exactly as expected, but not as advertised. I think he is performing to his contract and doing what many of us expected him to do. But the Suns sold him as a "starting PF on a Finals team!" and while that is technically true, he isn't a top 10 PF in the league, which is what they made it sound like when signing him.

[Drewsprocket]

Can we please drop the Ariza comparisons now? He also hit a killer 3 to help seal the win.

No offense to whoever said it, but that was a dumb comparison from the jump.

Ariza got paid and mailed it in. Crowder has games where he misses shots, but the effort is always there.

Ariza was hyped as to quintessential veteran that just knows how to play, playoff tested, and tough that the Suns just had to add. Crowder was billed the same way. The Ariza signing blew up in the Suns face because he quit and he wasn't really that good to begin with (what has he done since being traded?). Crowder will never quit, but his value on the court hasn't been there. He hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been good either.

I disagree. Crowder has been exactly as advertised. I think the production has matched the contract value.

I think he has been exactly as expected, but not as advertised. I think he is performing to his contract and doing what many of us expected him to do. But the Suns sold him as a "starting PF on a Finals team!" and while that is technically true, he isn't a top 10 PF in the league, which is what they made it sound like when signing him.

He was as good as a player as we could get at the 4 spot and clearly in some ways an upgrade from Oubre sans the athleticism and flashy plays. Crowder is a 3 and D who can cover a big better than avg. And yes he’s a good vet to have in the playoffs. We’re gonna have to grown our own top PF if we want one. Because the talented likes of Sabonis, or long range hitting Collins/KP/Harris or the bullyballing Gianns/Zion/Siakim are hard to come by. AD is straight up a God on the court. Suns just need a guy who can switch and not back down. I consider Crowder tough in a pinch. He makes big plays on D and grabs a board when you need just not with any volume. I’m satisfied with our wings. I def could see Jalen Smith become a starting pf in a couple years.

[Mori Chu]

Crowder struggled in his first 8 games or so. But he has been better for the past few weeks and I've been content with him overall.

Arguably the biggest knock on him is the redundancy and overlap with guys we already have such as Cam Johnson. But on a lot of nights Can doesn't look quite ready, so it can be nice to have a heady vet to play a similar role.

Opportunity cost wise, signing Christian Wood would probably have been better. But hindsight is 20/20 and it's not clear he would have wanted to come here to be a backup.

The Crowder signing certainly makes more sense in conjunction with the Chris Paul trade. Those two play well together, a pair of vets who know how to play. With Booker out, our core has mostly been Paul, Crowder, and Ayton, with others like Bridges and Cam showing up in some games.

[Shabazz]

It wasn’t Crowder or Christian Wood. It was Crowder, Saric and Jevon or Christian Wood and some minimum players.

[The Bobster]

It wasn’t Crowder or Christian Wood. It was Crowder, Saric and Jevon or Christian Wood and some minimum players.

And people are making an assumption that Wood would have been willing to sign here or that an offer wasn't made to him.

[ShelC]

Crowder isn't so redundant with Cam and Mikal because of his bulk and strength. He's much more of a physical defender which is something we lacked at the 3/4 with Mikal, Cam and Kelly. Jae is what he is. I don't think he was sold as a top 10 PF in FA or a piece to get us over the top, but more a versatile, veteran defender who can hit the 3, guard most 4s and just played a key part in a Finals run. He's a plug n play glue guy. There's realyl no reason to complain about the contract or production at this point.

[O_Gardino]

When have we ever needed a reason to complain about a player?

He streaky, and he's having a nice little run right now.

Over the last 4 games, he's averaging 15.4p/5.2r/2.2a/1.4s in 31 minutes while shooting ~.419 from 3 and .933 from the ft line.

The 5 games before that were pretty brutal, shooting .212 from deep and .275 overall. But during those games he picked up his production in rebounds, assists, and steals.

I hope he gets a little more consistent as he finds his spots in the offense while teams realize that he's often the best guy to double off of.