Game Day: Suns (22-17) @ Grizzlies (25-11), Sun 1/11/15

[djy2j]

I'm late to the party but...

There were plenty of things we could have done differently. To me Isiah not getting the ball over was the nail in the coffin. Do we need to trade him? No. Am I against it? No.

I don't think this years David West does much for us. He's super slow on his 2 bad knees.

Outside of that what team really has anything that helps us? The Sixers, Celtics and Knicks have pretty much gutted their rosters already.

Bledsoe for Amare and assets? What assets? The Knicks have none.
Cap room does nothing for us right now. Don't forget that big name free agents arent coming to Phoenix unless we start winning more.

Let's wait a bit before we condemn the BW trade. Hes a quick athletic big man that can score. Outside of what I felt was crappy defense tonight I thought he showed some flashes. We gave up 2 second rounders for him.

[djy2j]

This was a tough loss but we played shitty all game and had enough gas to pour on the flame right at the end to come back. We have played the most road games out of any team. These guys are a little mentally tired it seems.

[Mori Chu]

i think it's beginning to dawn on some here that the celebrated brandon wright trade did little to alter honry's 4th qtr rotation or his penchant for microballing it in the last 5 minutes of the 4th.

He's played one game with probably almost zero practice time or time to learn our roster, our plays, ... to say nothing of Hornacek learning his game and skills and how to integrate him into our rotation. Patience, padawan.

[SDC]

I don't think this years David West does much for us. He's super slow on his 2 bad knees.

i dont know if west can defend bigs, but he plays big and that's two inside scorers for the suns (the other one is markieff).

and it clears the log jam at PG (that in itself is a plus)

plus west is expiring IIRC.

[Mori Chu]

The good thing is no-one's over reacting to a double-overtime loss on the road to a very good team.

Haha, this is a good point. We need to take a breath and step off the ledge. I myself was upset, but I don't think we need to necessarily gut the team or make huge changes because of one loss. I would embrace a trade if I thought it could help our team, but I don't like most of the potential trades people are throwing around right now.

The thing that really bums me out about this team is that at some fundamental level I just don't think they play NBA basketball the "right way". I watch a Spurs game from time to time and they just share the ball and play together. I watch the Warriors and they mostly do the same. It's a team, they work together, they make each other better. These Suns mostly don't do that. Every single game has so many bad shots jacked up, so many open cutters ignored. I really don't understand that on a team that supposedly has 3 point guards. Somehow none of them ends up playing like a PG in the end.

The only one of them who is even close to a true PG, Dragic, is being played almost exclusively at SG which minimizes his effectiveness. That is depressing. He'll probably leave us after this season, and worse, he's right to do so. His impact on a team like Houston, who will use him properly, will be much greater than it is here.

[Superbone]

Tucker steals the game!!!

And IT gives it right back.

[Superbone]

Theyre not winning in 2OT. That was our shot.

IT blew it.

Good call.

[Superbone]

Have we won a game in OT this year?

No. 0-4.

[Superbone]

The good thing is no-one's over reacting to a double-overtime loss on the road to a very good team.

[EDC]

To be fair almost every "overreaction" has been discussed on this forum for awhile now. It isn't anything new.

Watching this garbage one on one basketball takes it out of you.

[Gladiator]

The thing that really bums me out about this team is that at some fundamental level I just don't think they play NBA basketball the "right way". I watch a Spurs game from time to time and they just share the ball and play together. I watch the Warriors and they mostly do the same. It's a team, they work together, they make each other better. These Suns mostly don't do that. Every single game has so many bad shots jacked up, so many open cutters ignored. I really don't understand that on a team that supposedly has 3 point guards. Somehow none of them ends up playing like a PG in the end.

I completely agree with this point about the current Suns. It's infuriating how many times we go 1on1 instead of moving the ball around and getting a good shot.

However, looking at the big picture: I didn't expect us to make the playoffs this year, but we are in at the moment despite all the road games and wins we've thrown away. So as bad as it seems night to night sometimes, we're probably about where most people thought we should be, or maybe even slightly in front.

We also have a fairly young roster, a second year coach and a relatively new GM. There's plenty of room for growth and improvement even before we look at trades.

On that note, I'm happy for the Suns to make a trade, but it needs to be with a view to challenging for a title in 2-3 years, not with making the playoffs this year. So for me it's a no to David West, as much as I like him as a player. Also no fire sales just to clear out cap space. I'm all-in on Alex Len but would listen to offers for anyone else.

Mostly, I'd like the coach to show a bit more faith in his bigs in the 4th quarter, and scrape out some time for our rookies, Warren in particular. A tighter rein on some of the stupid stuff that goes on would be good as well. There's a fine balance between playing with freedom and playing dumb. We've toppled over to the wrong side of that equation.

[Superbone]

When the Suns play team ball, they're very tough to beat. Unfortunately, they rarely play team ball. That's on coach. Sit 'em down if they refuse to pass the ball.

[Gladiator]

To be fair almost every "overreaction" has been discussed on this forum for awhile now. It isn't anything new.

Watching this garbage one on one basketball takes it out of you.

I agree with the frustration, but not with some of the trades being thrown around. Or the vitriol of the Wright addition after one game

[Gladiator]

When the Suns play team ball, they're very tough to beat. Unfortunately, they rarely play team ball. That's on coach. Sit 'em down if they refuse to pass the ball.

Absolutely

[EDC]

Ah. SDC is just trollin.

[Superbone]

Ah. SDC is just trollin.

Something different.

[SDC]

On that note, I'm happy for the Suns to make a trade, but it needs to be with a view to challenging for a title in 2-3 years, not with making the playoffs this year. So for me it's a no to David West, as much as I like him as a player. Also no fire sales just to clear out cap space. I'm all-in on Alex Len but would listen to offers for anyone else.

the three pg lineup is not the future of baskeball. i doubt many gms will follow mcdo's lead.

[Nodack]

Overreact.net

Lol

[Cap]

This team is frustrating as hell. Last season's surprise overachievers are now underachieving, and we're understandably losing confidence in the coach. With the talent on this roster, we feel we should be considerably better than 22-18.

I think Mori nailed it. They're just not playing the "right way," and we're tired of games being lost to foolishness. Damn, IT's turnover could show up on Shaqtin a Fool, it's embarrassing. And if Bledsoe's basket interference had been called, that would have been another candidate.

Also, Bledsoe surprised us all by getting a $70M contract last summer, and so far he's not exactly living up to it.

It's not a particularly fun time to be a Suns fan.

Oh, the fun is another disappointing thing. The 3 PG idea was fun in theory, promising 48 minutes of balls-to-the-wall action, but it hasn't worked out that way. The offense is stagnant. The only exciting thing about this team is the young potential of Alex Len. Nothing else about the team is right.

[SDC]

This team is frustrating as hell. Last season's surprise overachievers are now underachieving, and we're understandably losing confidence in the coach. With the talent on this roster, we feel we should be considerably better than 22-18.

I think Mori nailed it. They're just not playing the "right way," and we're tired of games being lost to foolishness. Damn, IT's turnover could show up on Shaqtin a Fool, it's embarrassing. And if Bledsoe's basket interference had been called, that would have been another candidate.

Also, Bledsoe surprised us all by getting a $70M contract last summer, and so far he's not exactly living up to it.

It's not a particularly fun time to be a Suns fan.

Oh, the fun is another disappointing thing. The 3 PG idea was fun in theory, promising 48 minutes of balls-to-the-wall action, but it hasn't worked out that way. The offense is stagnant. The only exciting thing about this team is the young potential of Alex Len. Nothing else about the team is right.

you omitted one factor in your excellent post: mcdo

he kept all the picks instead of parlaying them into something better.

he drafted ennis, signed IT (not bad in itself but combined with bledsoe's resigning, shudder...)