Game Day: Jazz (30-17) @ Suns (36-9), Mon 1/24/22

[pickle]

I thought Payton played well in his limited minutes tonight, but he was going up against third string bigs tonight. If he attacked the rim with even Whiteside there waiting I’m not sure it ends as well. He also missed that one little bunny in the lane. But overall I thought he was positive on the floor.

Shamet continues to play very hard on defense and tho he doesn’t have that stopper reputation he’s still a useful piece that doesn’t hurt us terribly besides missing shots. I was frustrated with him today but I’m not calling for us to move him. He just needs to take some time to get his head right.

I wanna say Biyombo will re-sign with us for less if we don’t flame out early in the post season as he obviously appreciates the chemistry on this team. Hope we can also retain JaVale for no more than we are paying him this year to retain our depth.

Feels like Stix is being hidden a bit so others don’t come with a big offer sheet this off-season. For Wainright to get off the bench before him, that’s hard to understand.

[bajanguy008]

I heard her and honestly was tuning her out
Thought she was trolling trying to throw ppl off with the shot clock so didn't realize this lol

[bajanguy008]

Yea this was cool especially as I think he had missed the two before the airball also

[Flagrant Fowl]

I also think Jalen Smith's sudden absence from the rotation is puzzling. As others have said, it's possible he's in the doghouse, which seems unusual given his general demeanor but we don't know what's going on within the team, or there's a trade pending down the line.

I believe the latter is more likely and if I'm drawing up a scenario in my head, they have the framework of a deal set, but the Suns trade partner is slow playing for a better deal from another team or the Suns themselves. I came to this idea based on the Suns not wanting to risk Smith picking up an injury and nixing the deal altogether.

Feels like Stix is being hidden a bit so others don’t come with a big offer sheet this off-season. For Wainright to get off the bench before him, that’s hard to understand.

I find this scenario very hard to believe. This team is on a title run so I can't envision them intentionally handicapping themselves in this way for the short term, especially in situations like this game against Utah.

[Nodack]

Whatever it is, it’s puzzling.

[The Bobster]

Monty really, really, REALLY must not like him at PF.

[djy2j]

To me Stix has looked bad unless it’s in starter type minutes. He seems uncomfortable in any other role. Maybe Monty feels the same so he sits him

[Mori Chu]

Got the W. I don't really care that it should've been a blowout or whatever just because the Jazz backups were playing. Sometimes a wounded animal is more dangerous. They played hard, with nothing to lose and were knocking down their shots. It's the NBA. I don't think we were playing poorly or taking them lightly. I think we treated it like every other game and turned it on in the 4th when we needed to. They actually had better percentages than us, we just took about 20 more shots.

Book carried us early, CP carried us late. CP is literally in midseason form right now, putting up his best numbers on the season in January. He really knows how to pace himself thru the season. Earlier in the year he was dragging a bit, the shot wasn't falling and he was working himself back after the long playoff run. Now, he's a well oiled machine.

Javale with 6-9-2 (should've been 3 blocks) and Bismack with 16 and 13 in 31 minutes. It seems like Monty is content to start Javale and then just give Bismack starter-type minutes off the bench (not unlike starting Frank last year at PF for 15-18mpg and then playing Crowder more off the bench). Biyombo plays better with more minutes - he's a game flow type of guy whereas Javale is pure energy for shorts stints. Biyombo is probably still a low-end starter in the league. I do worry now he'll get some offers in the summer that we might not be able to match.

Cam Johnson looks better with each start. Love seeing his overall development and even tho he's still a bit undersized at the 4, he's always solid on the boards and inside defensively.

I didn't think Elf played terribly but I think we also limited his touches mostly by putting him with CP or Book and having him off the ball. Had a few nice cuts and made his layups. He's a like a PG/ballhandling Bo Outlaw or something. Nothing outside of 3 feet. Shamet is broken right now. Nothing looks like it's going in and he's out there just to give guys a breather. I still haven't fully given up on him, but this one could backfire on Monty going after one of his guys.

Our consistency on both ends is impressive. We don't waver when the other team is hitting 3s or taking the lead. Guys don't start jacking shots or gambling on defense. It's what separates us from other teams, even the good ones in the league.

Nice post. I agree with just about all of it. We really look like a championship-caliber team right now. You're absolutely right about CP3 pacing himself. He had a stretch with a lot of 11-and-8 games where he just kind of let the game come to him and didn't take many shots or assert himself much. But in a lot of our recent games he's scoring much more, looking for his shot more, and turning it up a notch in the 4th when it's time to secure the game. You can really see why we are so good in the clutch this year: Book and CP3 anchoring and steadying the offense, and almost all of our main guys are plus defenders: CP3, Book (slowly starting to be recognized for his improved defense), Bridges (all-defense), Crowder, Ayton, Cam Johnson, JaVale, just about everybody in our rotation knows what they're doing on defense. We don't really need to hide anybody on that end. Most of the guys who I think of as minus defenders are guys like Shamet, Payne, and guys who don't play such as Saric, Kaminsky, Nader.

This was one of Elfrid Payton's better games. He has a low ceiling, but a game like this does show that if you understand his strengths and limitations, you can use him situationally. I do worry a lot about our bench backcourt right now since both Payton and Shamet are not guys you can really count on to give you anything night to night.

We are so blessed to have the platoon of big men we've acquired recently. McGee was an early-season hero, and then we had the stellar stretch by Stix, and now we're seeing the Biyombaissance. We have really needed some big man depth, and now, boy do we have it. Funny thing is that now the thing I worry about the most on our team is our 3-point shooting, which has been kind of hit-and-miss recently. But with this team I am not worried about it. We have plenty of sharpshooters, and they'll find their rhythm.

The various injuries we've had are worrisome, but now is a good time to get little 4-6 week injuries that can be fully healed in time for the playoffs. As long as we take care of our guys and keep our starting backcourt healthy, the sky's the limit.

[LazarusLong]

Monty really, really, REALLY must not like him at PF.

Stix reminds me somewhat of Tim Perry.
Perry was a great athlete, who, like Jalen, played center in a controlled college offense.
The pace of the NBA was a jolt to him, and it took Perry several seasons to adjust.
Perry also was a center in college who was slotted as a 4 in the NBA.
The adjustment was painstakingly slow.

Stix has shown he's OK at center, but is lost when it comes to reacting more on the perimeter.
The problem is Stix doesn't have the lower body/leg strength to battle over time in the middle.

[ShelC]

Here's the Biyombo missed FT and crowd reaction

[Indy]

It was really cool to watch. Kind of like how the entire crowd erupted the game before when Book finally hit a shot at the end of the game. The crowd is so much more into the game than the have been the last decade (can't blame them). Phoenix is a basketball town.

[Mori Chu]

That was a great clip. In a sense it's just some little throwaway moment in a regular season game, but that's the kind of thing that shows a player that a fanbase loves and supports him.

[pickle]

Mori I don’t know why you think Shamet is a minus defender. He doesn’t have the stopper reputation so he gets called for shit fouls but everything I see is great effort and solid footwork. He doesn’t have great size but he’s not a net negative on that end.

[pickle]

Feels like Stix is being hidden a bit so others don’t come with a big offer sheet this off-season. For Wainright to get off the bench before him, that’s hard to understand.

I find this scenario very hard to believe. This team is on a title run so I can't envision them intentionally handicapping themselves in this way for the short term, especially in situations like this game against Utah.

I also don’t think it’s likely. That was much more wishful thinking than anything else.

[Indy]

Mori I don’t know why you think Shamet is a minus defender. He doesn’t have the stopper reputation so he gets called for shit fouls but everything I see is great effort and solid footwork. He doesn’t have great size but he’s not a net negative on that end.

Yeah, I haven't seen anything below average defender from him, and none of the analysts I listen to/read have talked about him being a minus defender.

[Mori Chu]

My bad. The eye test was telling me he isn't a great defender, but I admit that I didn't look at any numbers and was probably biased by how I already don't like the way he's playing. I shouldn't have assumed he was a bad defender. I am very happy with our defense overall as a team.

[Split T]

He’s just a small defender…don’t want him getting switched onto bigger wings that like to bully their way to the rim…I think he struggled a bit with Wiggins

[Indy]

He’s just a small defender…don’t want him getting switched onto bigger wings that like to bully their way to the rim…I think he struggled a bit with Wiggins

Yes but Wiggins is nearly a 50/40 guy this year scoring over 18 per game. Most everyone is struggling with him.

[Nodack]

Google - In the NBA, shooting guards usually range from 6' 2" (1.88 m) to 6' 6” (1.98 m)

Shamet 6’4”

[pickle]

He’s able to put up a fight against most 1s and 2s but in the modern NBA it’s all about switchability and Split was just saying he isn’t able to guard bigger wings like Wiggins who stands 6’8.