Suns News: Week 12 (1/2 - 1/8)

[Shabazz]

Always thought we'd be full strength by the end of January, "ramp up" going into All-Star and then hit the ground running after All-Star break and hopefully hit our stride towards the end of the year/playoffs.

We have a 5 game road trip at the start of February, could go 4-1 or 3-2 at worst - Boston, Detroit, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Indiana. Wish we could've started with Detroit instead of flying to Boston, then Detroit and then to BK. Just unnecessary extra travel. But that's a big road trip for us before coming back home to the Kings and Clips before the break.

What? You lost me here. That's a tough road trip. I'll be happy if we don't go 0-5. But maybe that's recency bias. Hopefully, we'll have a healthy Book and Cam Johnson by then. Also, are we ever going to get Major Payne this season?

He's busy touring in his college basketball accolade tour. I'm worried that when he's healthy, he'll be more Payne from last season than this one.

Other than his good stretch earlier this season, he more-or-less has been.

[Shabazz]

Everyone's got these arbitrary dates they're throwing out there expecting something to happen. The only date that matters is Thursday February 9th at 3 pm EST. And even then, Jones may not have the approval from whoever makes the final call on any trades.

It’s not arbitrary. It’s when Ayton is trade eligible.

I’m really hoping he’s not waiting until Feb 9th. The season may be lost by then (unless he’s self aware enough to pivot). Continuity and internal development aren’t saving this season.

[Superbone]

It’s Jan 15th. I guess anyone that thought James Jones had something up his sleeve was giving him too much credit.

It's a range, right? Not all deals happen on day 1.

[Shabazz]

It’s Jan 15th. I guess anyone that thought James Jones had something up his sleeve was giving him too much credit.

It's a range, right? Not all deals happen on day 1.

Right. But there have been some people out there speculating that the reason Jones hasn't done anything was because he was waiting for this date so that Ayton could be part of any moves. my point was just that that's not the case.

[ShelC]

Not arbitrary, but in a sense meaningless. You don't make a deal on day 1 unless it's the deal you absolutely want (like an Ayton-Siakam swap or something) and you're sure a better deal won't come along later. And other teams with assets won't be looking to make a deal now anyway because they can wait out better deals on their end if teams (like ours perhaps) begin getting desperate towards the deadline and start upping the ante.

And the season won't be lost in 2-3 weeks. There's like a 5 game difference right now between the 4th spot and the 14th spot. We're not sitting at 10 or 13 wins.

[Split T]

It’s Jan 15th. I guess anyone that thought James Jones had something up his sleeve was giving him too much credit.

It's a range, right? Not all deals happen on day 1.

Right. But there have been some people out there speculating that the reason Jones hasn't done anything was because he was waiting for this date so that Ayton could be part of any moves. my point was just that that's not the case.

It means he didn’t have something already worked out, but it doesn’t mean he’s not holding Crowder to package with Ayton.

[Split T]

Don’t look now but we aren’t even a play in team anymore. We’re tied with OKC for 11th

[Shabazz]

Gents, I think we're all on the same page about both what it means and what it doesn't mean.

[Mori Chu]

Gents, I think we're all on the same page about both what it means and what it doesn't mean.

Yup, all on the same page. It means it's time to #FireMonty #MontyOUT !!

(jk)

[bajanguy008]

I guess most expected an increase in scoring without Book which is fair
What's surprising here is that I thought he was being much more inefficient/struggling than these numbers reflect



Feel free to give opinions on these stats
Your expectations vs the reality

[Split T]

I’ll double check, but I assume the last few games have made up for the first few that were rough

[In2ition]

In his defense, he looked exhausted with nagging nicks & bruises.

[Split T]

He’s 18/5/5 on 58/50/88 shooting(.638 TS) with 1.5/.75 stl/Blk over his last 4

Over the previous 10(does include the 4 minute game book played against Denver) he is 13/3/4 on 37/34/89 shooting(.504 TS) with .7/1.1 stl/blk

[ShelC]

Consistency has been a bit of an issue, but he's shown improved ballhandling and pullup ability. I think he really has to force himself to play that kind of role and go after his own offense because it's not natural, but the improvement has been visible.

[bajanguy008]

He’s 18/5/5 on 58/50/88 shooting(.638 TS) with 1.5/.75 stl/Blk over his last 4

Over the previous 10(does include the 4 minute game book played against Denver) he is 13/3/4 on 37/34/89 shooting(.504 TS) with .7/1.1 stl/blk

Ok bud
Thanks for additional lil more context

[Superbone]

Consistency has been a bit of an issue, but he's shown improved ballhandling and pullup ability. I think he really has to force himself to play that kind of role and go after his own offense because it's not natural, but the improvement has been visible.

Hopefully this experience of being "the guy" will help him in the long run.

[carey]

At what point do we start having serious worries about our training/medical staff? Booker is cleared & comes back for the Christmas day game only to play 4 minutes and reinjure himself. Cam Payne comes back only to reinjure in his second game back after playing 18 minutes a couple days before. Then he's out another month?

[Drewsprocket]

At what point do we start having serious worries about our training/medical staff? Booker is cleared & comes back for the Christmas day game only to play 4 minutes and reinjure himself. Cam Payne comes back only to reinjure in his second game back after playing 18 minutes a couple days before. Then he's out another month?

I think a lot depends on the team culture driving training, game, and medical decisions. Not that I carry the insider information but my gut seems like the Suns culture relies heavily on player and coach biases. I think we’ve seen CP3 get away playing far too many minutes last regular season.

[ShelC]

I think the team has always been extra cautious around injuries and I also think Book pushed it on Christmas Day and came back earlier than he should've. Now they're being that much more cautious because of re-injuries.

CamJ got injured on November 4th and the timetable was 1-2 months, he's at 10 weeks now and is expected back soon after this 4 game trip.

[Flagrant Fowl]

It’s Jan 15th. I guess anyone that thought James Jones had something up his sleeve was giving him too much credit.

It's a range, right? Not all deals happen on day 1.

Right. But there have been some people out there speculating that the reason Jones hasn't done anything was because he was waiting for this date so that Ayton could be part of any moves. my point was just that that's not the case.

If we believe the ownership situation is somewhat affecting Jones’ ability to deal Crowder, I can’t imagine a realistic scenario for him to deal Ayton.