Game Day: Suns (1-0) @ Lakers (0-1), Thurs 10/26/23

[Furlanfufi]

Vogel (and Young) should find some plays that do not involve KD being triple teamed and shooting anyway.

[TOO]

Didn't get to watch but it sure seems like KD went off and just ran outta juice. Unfortunate, but good to build on I guess.

Box score says Nurk was butt cheeks. Boo, but to be expected after showing his ass last week to AD lol.

[wpmiller42]

Ugh, definitely gave this one away.

[JeremyG]

KD needed to be more of a playmaker at the end there instead of forcing up shots.

[Wally_West]

This a 10+ point win with either Book or Beal. Probably 25+ if they both play.

[Superbone]

KD needed to be more of a playmaker at the end there instead of forcing up shots.

Yep, there should have been some easy shot opportunities with KD being double and triple teamed.

[Wally_West]

Missing Book and Beal, 11 point 4th and lakers only beat us by 5 lol

[Wally_West]

+1

[Furlanfufi]

Our offense should be better and more fluid. Yuta was open a lot with the 2nd unit and didn't get the ball, Grayson Allen has to wake the fuck up and as a team we passed to no one too many timea.

[Split T]

We needed someone to make a shot. We had a few looks, guys just missed. Probably could’ve tried Yuta or Metu(who shot really well in preseason).

There was also some just not knowing each other very well. Guys not being in spots they are expected.

[Vladimir_Taltos]

It doesn't seem like we're using our depth sufficiently. With 2 starters out, we played only 4 off the bench and those mostly in limited minutes. It seems like we might have benefited from spreading the love a bit further...

VT

[bajanguy008]

Haven't watched the 2nd half yet but just so I'm understanding
The No D Suns have held Warriors to 104 and Lakers to 100 in two games on the Road.....

Interesting

Man a short-handed win would've been sweet

[bajanguy008]

Wow
After cooking in the 3rd and giving us a 12pt lead to start the 4th, KD had to come back in around the 9min mark....

Seemed like inevitable he might run outta gas in the 4th

We are still getting to know each other and although all preseason the role players have said the Big 3 encourages them to be aggressive
It seems like everyone was caught up in deferring to KD

[Shabazz]

I thought it was a poorly coached 4th quarter. The offense was stuck in mud, there was no movement and while the KD-at-center lineup Vogel tried was good in theory, it shouldn’t have been with him + 4 smalls if two aren’t credible floor spacers. That lineup was both too small and didn’t give Durant the space he needed to operate, so it got beat up on both ends.

KD has to take it on himself to generate food looks for others too, not just himself as Book did last game.

Definitely got You-suck, Jerkic and not Dominirkic tonight. He was out of sorts on both sides of the ball.

[ShelC]

Postgame videos and quotes

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[ShelC]

Well that sucked. Too many TOs, too much ISO, KD ran out of gas, and 11 pts in the 4th qtr. Frustrating to give that one away and Vogel and his staff have to come up with some plays to space things out and get our shooters looks. Some of the TOs came from it being a new team, some just came from the Lakers crowding KD and guys standing around watching. We can't rely on one guy to play 40 minutes and do everything if one or two of the Big 3 is out. That's the fear with this team and that's what happened in this one. It's early in the season so nothing to panic about obviously but it just sucks to lose that game.

In general I didn't think anyone played particularly poorly tho EG was a -27. He couldn't seem to get himself open in the 2nd half after a solid 1st half getting into the lane. I thought Nurk was pretty solid in the 1st half but had his foul trouble. Allen is still invisible for some reason, not sure what's going on with him. Thought Little and Yuta gave some good minutes, Eubanks was fine. Just need the 2nd unit to come up with some offense on their own and that's on the coaches. If there's no PG out there, there's got to be some motion and more ball movement.

[AmareIsGod]

Our offense hasn't looked good through 2 games.

[Split T]

EG was the sacrificial lamb that had to play all the non-KD minutes. I thought Allen was ok today. Probably more of a typical game for him. He just had some really good games in the preseason and reset expectations I think. 6/6/4 isn’t bad. Only 6 shot attempts….I think that has to do with Goodwin and Gordon running the offense and not Beal/Booker.

As much as I like Goodwin, he also ran out of steam I think. Or just having him on ball for 30 minutes is too much. He’s not advanced enough as a playmaker for that. He works better next to Beal or Booker imo. He ended up taking 15 shots, too many of which were jump shots.

Okogie was great, played his role real well. No complaints.

Eubanks and Nurkic weren’t good. AD is a tough matchup. I think this will be a rough game for them going forward. Ultimately though we just need Booker and Beal back. Nurk and Eubanks can get eaten alive all they want on defense as the Lakers will get torched even more.

I think a lot of our turnovers right now are just not being familiar with each other. A lot of passes to spots where no one is at. Those will clean up with time. I hope at least one of Booker/Beal is back for the home opener in Utah.

[Nodack]

Reggie Miller made the same comment about spacing. They were supposed to be spotting up on the three pt line and they kept sagging in destroying spacing and KD would pass to an open spot on the floor where no one was but was supposed to be.

That 4th quarter killed them. Nobody could hit a shot and Vogal was forced to bring in KD earlier than I think he wanted to. KD was out of gas and needed that break.

Early in the season and missing a couple of big pieces. Lots of new guys and a new coach. It will take a little time to gel properly.

[Split T]

Okogie and Goodwin are great but I’m not sure they should play together unless two of the Big <=3 are out there. These are things we’ll learn as the season goes on though.