Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
I love Bridges, but he’s not Marion yet. Marion wasn’t a traditional star, but he was a top 15-20 player in the nba for a few years. He even got mvp votes in 05-06.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
I love Mikal, but Marion was better than Bridges on both ends of the floor. Bridges is a better shooter, but that's about it. Marion's rebounding was exceptional, as one example. And his athleticism was leaps and bounds above Bridges, literally.
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Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
Marions defense was always extremely overrated IMO. He had Kelly Oubre D- for the steals and the blocks. But his on ball D was average to me.
Mikal is an elite on ball defender
Mikal is an elite on ball defender
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
strong disagree there. He was playing mostly against front court players, and wasn't going for the steals and blocks. They had him guarding guys like Elton Brand and Dirk in the same playoffs.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
He was also a huge reason Dallas upset Miami in the finals. His defense on Lebron was excellent.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
I feel like I'm being quoted out of context here. I specifically mentioned that he's a Marion-type in the sense that he isn't able to create offense for himself. I did not at any point compare his overall impact to Marion at his peak, so no, I'm not insulting Marion.
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Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
I just never felt like he shut anyone down. He played hard and scrappy but nobody ever feared him. He don’t have a Mikal Jail
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
That is a twiiter thing. If that existed back that then there would have been plenty of matrix-themed memes of a similar fashion.specialsauce wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:32 pmI just never felt like he shut anyone down. He played hard and scrappy but nobody ever feared him. He don’t have a Mikal Jail
And like Split said, his defense on Lebron is one of the key reasons the Mavericks won a ring.
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Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
Shawn Marion averaged 2.0+ steals and 1.0+ blocks for seven straight seasons.
Let's see Mikal do that once before we start putting him in the same defensive category as Marion.
Let's see Mikal do that once before we start putting him in the same defensive category as Marion.
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Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
Absoolutely. It is crazy that Marion never was named to the all defense team. Playing on generally bad defensive teams really punished him, the same way Duncan never was named DPOY because the Spurs had many defensive savants plus Pop.Indy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:57 pmThat is a twiiter thing. If that existed back that then there would have been plenty of matrix-themed memes of a similar fashion.specialsauce wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:32 pmI just never felt like he shut anyone down. He played hard and scrappy but nobody ever feared him. He don’t have a Mikal Jail
And like Split said, his defense on Lebron is one of the key reasons the Mavericks won a ring.
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Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
Very true that Twitter and the video breakdowns of our players these days really put their strengths and weaknesses under a microscopeIndy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:57 pmThat is a twiiter thing. If that existed back that then there would have been plenty of matrix-themed memes of a similar fashion.specialsauce wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:32 pmI just never felt like he shut anyone down. He played hard and scrappy but nobody ever feared him. He don’t have a Mikal Jail
And like Split said, his defense on Lebron is one of the key reasons the Mavericks won a ring.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to misquote you. I don't think Bridges is good enough to be a third wheel though.pickle wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:20 pmI feel like I'm being quoted out of context here. I specifically mentioned that he's a Marion-type in the sense that he isn't able to create offense for himself. I did not at any point compare his overall impact to Marion at his peak, so no, I'm not insulting Marion.
Free Agency
DeMar Derozan for the minimum!
PG: Jordan McLaughlin, Killian Hayes, Kris Dunn, Spencer Dinwiddie, Monte Morris
C: Mo Bamba, Andre Drummond, James Wiseman, Goga Bitadze, Jay Huff
DeMar Derozan for the minimum!
PG: Jordan McLaughlin, Killian Hayes, Kris Dunn, Spencer Dinwiddie, Monte Morris
C: Mo Bamba, Andre Drummond, James Wiseman, Goga Bitadze, Jay Huff
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
I guess we are getting a little technical here. I agree that he won't be a third wheel, but that also kind of depends on how we define third wheel. On this team today, I'd say it's easily arguable that he's the third most important player, with Ayton and Saric closely behind him. But I would not dump the ball to him in crunch time and ask him to make a play, whereas I can see even Ayton becoming that if he played a bit more physically, and Saric has been obviously impressive with his decision making whether he's on the block or at the 3.INFORMER wrote: ↑Mon Mar 15, 2021 4:37 pmI'm sorry, I wasn't trying to misquote you. I don't think Bridges is good enough to be a third wheel though.pickle wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:20 pmI feel like I'm being quoted out of context here. I specifically mentioned that he's a Marion-type in the sense that he isn't able to create offense for himself. I did not at any point compare his overall impact to Marion at his peak, so no, I'm not insulting Marion.
I will say though, Bridges has improved his ability to put the ball on the floor once opposing defenders close out on him. Not quite the same as handling the ball and using dribble moves to create space to shoot or pass, but it's a start. I sometimes get the sense that his long inspector gadget arms are a net negative for his ball handling as he doesn't generate enough power on those dribbles. Maybe I'm reading into it too much.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
Third wheel = 3rd best player on a championship caliber team.
I don't think that is Bridges.
Free Agency
DeMar Derozan for the minimum!
PG: Jordan McLaughlin, Killian Hayes, Kris Dunn, Spencer Dinwiddie, Monte Morris
C: Mo Bamba, Andre Drummond, James Wiseman, Goga Bitadze, Jay Huff
DeMar Derozan for the minimum!
PG: Jordan McLaughlin, Killian Hayes, Kris Dunn, Spencer Dinwiddie, Monte Morris
C: Mo Bamba, Andre Drummond, James Wiseman, Goga Bitadze, Jay Huff
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
So what do you call a 3rd best player on a non championship caliber team?
And are the Suns not championship caliber right now (tend to agree) or is Bridges not the 3rd best player on this team (tend to disagree)?
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
The Suns look like a championship caliber team, but we'll see. And certainly there are historical outliers. Even last year, the Lakers won it without that third wheel. It usually was a different guy every night: Rondo, Kieff, KCP, Kuzma.pickle wrote: ↑Mon Mar 15, 2021 5:55 pmSo what do you call a 3rd best player on a non championship caliber team?
And are the Suns not championship caliber right now (tend to agree) or is Bridges not the 3rd best player on this team (tend to disagree)?
But generally speaking, usually the third best player on a championship team (and most contenders) is better than Bridges.
Free Agency
DeMar Derozan for the minimum!
PG: Jordan McLaughlin, Killian Hayes, Kris Dunn, Spencer Dinwiddie, Monte Morris
C: Mo Bamba, Andre Drummond, James Wiseman, Goga Bitadze, Jay Huff
DeMar Derozan for the minimum!
PG: Jordan McLaughlin, Killian Hayes, Kris Dunn, Spencer Dinwiddie, Monte Morris
C: Mo Bamba, Andre Drummond, James Wiseman, Goga Bitadze, Jay Huff
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
I have been a Suns fan for over 30 years, and it has really damaged my psyche, so I actually don't think we are a championship contender at all.
Most contenders' third best players may very well be better than Bridges, but I do think that if we take one player out of the lineup and gauge the impact on the team, Bridges is the third most impactful because of his ability to defend the opposing team's best wing/guard while still able to play extremely efficient offense. He still has room to grow and as perhaps my favorite player on the team right now I definitely root for him to do that.
I get the Lakers scenario but I don't think that's what we have.
Most contenders' third best players may very well be better than Bridges, but I do think that if we take one player out of the lineup and gauge the impact on the team, Bridges is the third most impactful because of his ability to defend the opposing team's best wing/guard while still able to play extremely efficient offense. He still has room to grow and as perhaps my favorite player on the team right now I definitely root for him to do that.
I get the Lakers scenario but I don't think that's what we have.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 3/8-3/14
3rd best player on each contender:
Lakers: Schroeder
Clippers: Ibaka?
Bucks: Jrue or Middleton
Nets: Kyrie
76ers: Harris
Jazz: Conley
Heat: Dragic
Nuggets: MPJ
Suns: Bridges
Bridges isn’t the worst of those guys. I think he could pass as a 3rd guy. Helps if 4-8 is solid, which I think is the case for us.
Honestly those top eastern teams have the best 3rd pieces.
Lakers: Schroeder
Clippers: Ibaka?
Bucks: Jrue or Middleton
Nets: Kyrie
76ers: Harris
Jazz: Conley
Heat: Dragic
Nuggets: MPJ
Suns: Bridges
Bridges isn’t the worst of those guys. I think he could pass as a 3rd guy. Helps if 4-8 is solid, which I think is the case for us.
Honestly those top eastern teams have the best 3rd pieces.
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