Game Day: Suns (33-29) @ Hornets (20-43), Wed 3/1/23

[Split T]

He’s basically the perfect 4 for any team in history haha

[Superbone]

I just smiled every time he just shot over everybody with that silky jumper.

[Shabazz]

2 thoughts on the Hornets (INF’s Dream Team):

JT Thor is long as hell, but I’m not sure of one thing he does at a plus level.

How bad does James Bouknight have to be that he can’t see time on this crap team?

[Flagrant Fowl]

AFAIK, Bouknight's crap attitude has kept him from getting minutes on this crap team.

I think Dennis Smith Jr. can contribute to a winning team next season so I'll be interested to see the offers sent his way this summer. I'd love him as a third PG/fourth guard.

[Mori Chu]

I watched it on DVR delay so I couldn't comment until now. It was fun to see KD out there. The 23 points is only so-so for him, but, he shot 10-15 and really let the game come to him; I liked that a lot. And he drew a lot of attention and was undoubtedly the reason some other guys got better looks. Booker had a great game and seemed to benefit from having KD out there offensively. And KD made several nice defensive plays. He's a sneaky good defender, super long and usually in the right position to carefully contest shots without fouling. He's good.

Chris Paul had a bad game. He shot 1-8 and every shot just looked off the moment he pulled up. Especially embarrassing was one layup he went for on a fastbreak where the defender caught him and blocked it against the rim. Father time, shades of Reggie Miller being blocked by Tayshaun Prince. Okogie had a rare bad offensive game; his shot just wasn't falling. Our bench was also pretty bleh tonight, other than Craig who had a nice game off the bench. Landale in particular seemed like he could do nothing right.

Ayton had an interesting game: 16 points on 7-10 shooting and 16 rebounds. He made a few mistakes, bobbled a few passes, but he played fine overall I thought. Kind of expect a lot of nights like this from him going forward, under 20 points but efficient, gobbles up rebounds, plays good defense. I think a defense with Ayton, KD, Okogie, and our guards is pretty darn good. Even washed-up CP3 is still pesky in passing lanes and generally does the right thing.

I do think CP3's bad play this year is making me worry that it'll be an uphill battle for us to get a title. It's going to be tempting for other teams to just overplay Book and KD and dare guys like CP3 and Ayton and Okogie to beat them. Will they be able to? I don't think I trust any of those guys in a tense playoff game. I agree with the earlier comment that it's a shame CP3 didn't have one more great year left in him; this team with non-washed CP3 would probably be a title team, but with this version of CP3 I think a smart team will be able to scheme against us.

[INFORMER]

AFAIK, Bouknight's crap attitude has kept him from getting minutes on this crap team.

I think Dennis Smith Jr. can contribute to a winning team next season so I'll be interested to see the offers sent his way this summer. I'd love him as a third PG/fourth guard.

Bouknight wasn't even that good of a draft prospect.

Smith Jr. still can't shoot; that has always been his issue. Also struggles at running a team smartly/efficiently. The Suns will likely be looking to fill the team with minimum contracts, but I think they can do better than him.

[INFORMER]

2 thoughts on the Hornets (INF’s Dream Team):

Ha

[INFORMER]

Shout out to JeremyG:



And happy Durant Day everyone.

[Flagrant Fowl]

AFAIK, Bouknight's crap attitude has kept him from getting minutes on this crap team.

I think Dennis Smith Jr. can contribute to a winning team next season so I'll be interested to see the offers sent his way this summer. I'd love him as a third PG/fourth guard.

Bouknight wasn't even that good of a draft prospect.

Smith Jr. still can't shoot; that has always been his issue. Also struggles at running a team smartly/efficiently. The Suns will likely be looking to fill the team with minimum contracts, but I think they can do better than him.

I think both can improve under the right structure. I love his defensive impact which is why I think he'd be a good addition to the Suns guard rotation.

[ShelC]

Postgame Quotes and Videos

Spoiler: show/hide

[carey]

What was up with Booker last night? Several possessions where he was 100% locked-in on cooking DSJ.

[Flagrant Fowl]

He did it to Oubre and Rozier too. All of those guys are talkers, and there was the “taking it kinda personal” stuff from Oubre in the pregame quotes.

[carey]

He did it to Oubre and Rozier too. All of those guys are talkers, and there was the “taking it kinda personal” stuff from Oubre in the pregame quotes.

I see. I think it’s just a bit rare to see him dribble & break a defender down to score on him over & over. It felt like something was going on.

[AmareIsGod]

He did it to Oubre and Rozier too. All of those guys are talkers, and there was the “taking it kinda personal” stuff from Oubre in the pregame quotes.

I see. I think it’s just a bit rare to see him dribble & break a defender down to score on him over & over. It felt like something was going on.

He also might have been trying to impress his new father out there.

[bajanguy008]

Yup
Re: Book and the one v one stuff

I referenced this vs Clippers when he stunk up the joint
When guys get physical with him I still thinks he gets too caught up in that. Against Clippers it resulted in some bad shots and a poor night, tonight he was getting more shots to drop but yeah it's clear that he's always wanting to prove a point to those type of defenders

So there's obvious Pros n Cons to that mentality but hey

[bajanguy008]

Happy to see KD out there and looking like himself

I'm more intrigued about the defense as obviously our offensive peak can be special but I think our D can also be noteworthy with certain lineups

The others didn't really have the best nights but that team isn't very good so never expected us to be threatened last night
I was surprised to hear Charlotte was on a 5-game win streak

Oh and I was looking forward to EJ chuckling all night and saying "That's just ridiculous man" but when I saw Meyers-Drysdale I gladly switched to Hornets broadcast

[Kryptonic]

Happy to see KD out there and looking like himself

I'm more intrigued about the defense as obviously our offensive peak can be special but I think our D can also be noteworthy with certain lineups

The others didn't really have the best nights but that team isn't very good so never expected us to be threatened last night
I was surprised to hear Charlotte was on a 5-game win streak

Oh and I was looking forward to EJ chuckling all night and saying "That's just ridiculous man" but when I saw Meyers-Drysdale I gladly switched to Hornets broadcast

Drysdale is like the female bill Walton of commentary…. Not a fan either.

[In2ition]

She's better than Doris Burke, imo. Burke acts like she birthed each and every one of the Laker's players or Warrior's players. It's disgusting how much love she gives them while ignoring the other team.

[Split T]

Well you can hear Doris Burke and Eddie Johnson on the Lowe Post today if you want to listen to Zach’s pod

[INFORMER]

She's better than Doris Burke, imo. Burke acts like she birthed each and every one of the Laker's players or Warrior's players. It's disgusting how much love she gives them while ignoring the other team.

I haven't noticed any undue adulation for either team, but in general, I think she is one of the best color commentators. She knows her stuff, and she isn't caught up in trying to be cute or funny; it's just straight basketball analysis.