Thanks. Turned it on for the last 2:30. James Jones bought 200 tickets for the fans. Lot's of kids having a ball.
Suns win! Suns win! They tried to give it away but won anyway.
That's what I was going to write. What a waste of my time. Dude missed 6 of 8 FTs and then they fouled the Clippers with 0.7 seconds left on a three attempt. Three made FTs and the ball game is over. First lead of the game for the Clippers since the opening minute.
Daxter Miles shoots 2-8 from the FT line in the last minute and Northern AZ loses 121-120.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695
Lecque left the game early with a leg cramp after scoring 14 points, Harper played well with 34 points. No mention of the terrible free throw shooting that lost them the game -
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695
Hopefully Harper is helping/mentoring Lecque a bit on and off the court. He's another savvy 4 yr college vet with a ton of experience and some maturity (hopefully). Would be great if we paired them up for that reason so we don't see another one of our young guys falter due to immaturity or not having a good support system.
Lecque has 21 points in their preseason game and has shot the ball well from the 3-point line, so I think it's very encouraging. He needs to get stronger, but you can say that for most 19-year-olds coming into the league.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695
Lecque left the game early with a leg cramp after scoring 14 points, Harper played well with 34 points. No mention of the terrible free throw shooting that lost them the game -
They were up double digits with 2:30 left when I started watching and had led the entire game other than the first minute. The broadcasters said they were up 23 at one point.
I don't like the "1 free throw for 2 points" rule. It doesn't really save that much time and (especially when we're getting so many reviews now which eat up any time they might save) and it just feels like tinkering with the basic structure of the game.
At leas the 3-point shot had been tried in several leagues (ABL, ABA, Eastern League) before being adopted. This rule just seems so contrived.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695
I don't like the "1 free throw for 2 points" rule. It doesn't really save that much time and (especially when we're getting so many reviews now which eat up any time they might save) and it just feels like tinkering with the basic structure of the game.
How’s that work in the stats? If you hit one FT for 2 points, does it count as 2-2 FT? Or do they introduce new stat categories for free throw points scored/attempted to parallel free throws made and attempted?
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25
I don't like the "1 free throw for 2 points" rule. It doesn't really save that much time and (especially when we're getting so many reviews now which eat up any time they might save) and it just feels like tinkering with the basic structure of the game.
How’s that work in the stats? If you hit one FT for 2 points, does it count as 2-2 FT? Or do they introduce new stat categories for free throw points scored/attempted to parallel free throws made and attempted?
Answer: neither. Points is no longer a category that can be calculated from the other values in the box score. That feels weird.
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25
They aren't going to change that rule for actual NBA games. The (arguable) benefit of saving a few seconds after some fouls isn't worth the cost. The players like the few seconds to rest, and having multiple points on one free throw is weird. It'll make it more beneficial to do a Hack-a-Player strategy because the first FT is more likely to be missed due to lack of rhythm, so they'll get 0 points for the trip to the foul line.
The rule they really need to change is that on any foul, the team that was fouled should have the option to choose the free throws or to just take the ball out of bounds. That would make the end of games much faster and avoid the constant fouling to prolongue the game
The rule they really need to change is that on any foul, the team that was fouled should have the option to choose the free throws or to just take the ball out of bounds. That would make the end of games much faster and avoid the constant fouling to prolongue the game
They’d just foul again on the inbounds pass.
If you want to eliminate intentional fouls, give the fouled team the option to dribble out the shot clock and turn it over. If the shot clock is off, this means a foul would end the game.
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25
The rule they really need to change is that on any foul, the team that was fouled should have the option to choose the free throws or to just take the ball out of bounds. That would make the end of games much faster and avoid the constant fouling to prolongue the game
They’d just foul again on the inbounds pass.
If you want to eliminate intentional fouls, give the fouled team the option to dribble out the shot clock and turn it over. If the shot clock is off, this means a foul would end the game.
They may foul, but they’d foul going for a steal. Otherwise the team would just keep taking the ball out of bounds.
The rule they really need to change is that on any foul, the team that was fouled should have the option to choose the free throws or to just take the ball out of bounds. That would make the end of games much faster and avoid the constant fouling to prolongue the game
They’d just foul again on the inbounds pass.
If you want to eliminate intentional fouls, give the fouled team the option to dribble out the shot clock and turn it over. If the shot clock is off, this means a foul would end the game.
They may foul, but they’d foul going for a steal. Otherwise the team would just keep taking the ball out of bounds.
Go for the steal, don’t get it, foul, try again. Honestly, I’d rather watch the free throw parade. When the only penalty for fouling is “try again,” the fouls are going to come in bunches. Think it through.
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25
Booker is shooting .55/.53/.93 Efficiency has been off the charts, TS% of .67. We knew his efficiency would go up with an actual pg, but this has been unreal. He obviously won’t keep up that number all year, but there is a very real bump there.
Speaking of actual PG’s...not only is Rubio increasing the efficiency of our other players, but he’s been pretty good himself. He’s basically at 13/9/7 and while his shooting isn’t great, he’s hitting at career high levels. .42/.37. Not sure if it will keep up, but we don’t ask him to shoot as much as Utah did, so it might. Being freed up to play make more and not stand in the corner and watch Mitchell has been very good for him. He’s having the best year of his career so far.
Has Baynes been the most improved player this year? His minutes will drop when Ayton returns, but he looks legit. The shot was there in the World Cup and it seems to have staying power. He’s at 47% from 3. He’s blowing away his career highs in scoring and assists, even accounting for minutes played. He’s top 10 in most all encompassing advanced stats like WS and BPM.
Oubre is doing what he did last year for us, with better efficiency so far. Very pleased with him.
Tyler and Cam are both hitting 41% of their 3’s off the bench. Tyler is solid and looks like he’ll see an expanded role over the next few games with Carter being benched. Cam can shoot, he also cuts well off the ball, makes the right pass, and his defense has been fine. He’s a solid rotation guy.
So 6/9 rotation guys are doing what I hoped or better. We still have room for improvement though with Saric/Kaminsky and Bridges. Mostly I just want those guys to hit their shots. I’m fine with what else they’ve been doing in the court. Bridges has been great defensively, has stepped up in the boards, he just forgot how to shoot and that’s frustrating. Saric has been solid defensively, moves the ball. His shooting hasn’t been bad, he’s at 33%. Just would like that to be more like 37-38%. Kaminsky has just been awful as a shooter. No other way to put it. He just needs to be better.
Ayton is 1/3rd of the way through his suspension. Even if we just play .500 ball over the remaining suspension games, we should be 14-12 or 15-11 when he returns. Primed for a legit playoff run. With the way we’ve been playing though, 16/17 wins is very obtainable. This is a great team that seems to be exceeding even our most optimistic posters expectations. It’s gonna be a fun year!
I’d start Lillard and Kawhi over Booker and Harden. Then I’d drop Porzingis and Murray and add Jokic and Ingram. Though I imagine Paul George will take the Ingram spot in time.
