Game Day: Thunder (41-18) @ Suns (35-25), Sun 3/3/24

[specialsauce]

I'm so tired of KD being on ball. He's awful.

I want him in actions for a quick drive or J. Getting it at the 3 point line is a disaster

[Mori Chu]

Glad we came back to get a lead in the 2nd half, but basically this is the same old shit for this Suns team. Horrible offensive execution, asking random PFs and Cs to bring the ball up and initiate the offense, bad passes out of double teams and midcourt pressure, turnover after turnover. We are so easy to beat. I think this team's ceiling is currently a 1st round playoff exit. Nice game by Nurk with the 31 boards but otherwise we sucked.

[AmareIsGod]

Vogel isn't the answer. Unfortunately, the rest of the coaching staff look like they're hanging out for the ride. Nobody seems to get fired up from Vogel through the assistants and our players carry the same demeanor on the court. Such a limp dick team out there every night.

[AmareIsGod]

But Nurk. 31 rebounds?? Damn

And they threw it away.

Just like they threw away Bol Bol's career night. That's the problem with a bunch of guys that don't give a fuck on the court. You'll get one or two every night that try to carry the team while everyone else plays half assed sloppy basketball on both ends of the court. Embarrassing.

[wpmiller42]

I'm surprised we don't run more "point-Nurkic" kind of sets when we only have 2 of the 3 available between Book, KD, and Beal. It's harder to double team away from the ball, and if they tried to double Nurkic or send a guard out on him, I think he would be savvy enough and tall enough to easily see where the mismatch or open man is.

And for as much grief as Book gets for being double-teamed, he's way better than KD at handling it.

[SunsSince92]

I'm so tired of KD being on ball. He's awful.

I want him in actions for a quick drive or J. Getting it at the 3 point line is a disaster

Same here, he either turns the ball over with a lazy pass or waits for the double team and gets trapped.

I don't know why we haven't tried using Grayson as a facilitator more. He had that game where he had 14 assists which suggested there might be something there. He also has a lower turnover rate than KD. Maybe start with Nurk, Royce, KD, Beal and Book and bring Grayson off the bench to run the offense for the second unit?

[ShelC]

I would start Royce and bring Allen off the bench to pair with KD as a facilitator and dribble drive threat. But the fact remains, we're 60 games in and still have the same issues. So either the coaching isn't effective or the players aren't executing. Teams have been blitzing our guys all year and we haven't been able to make them pay for it so it keeps happening.

[bajanguy008]

Was coming on to reiterate the "We're good when we get ball movemnt" point I made during the game and to reference Grayson as you guys did

Yes he has missed a fair amount of jumpers recently but what impressed most of us early in the season was his dribble drives

So when he isn't getting chances to attack closeouts I feel is a good indicator that the ball wasn't moving enough

[The Bobster]

I think roster construction is their biggest problem, but I don't think Vogel has done a very good job either.

Which leads to the question - Who does Ishba replace first - the GM he inherited from Sarver or the coach hired with his approval?

I don't see either one of them as the answer for this team being a title contender.

[SunsSince92]

I think roster construction is their biggest problem, but I don't think Vogel has done a very good job either.

Which leads to the question - Who does Ishba replace first - the GM he inherited from Sarver or the coach hired with his approval?

I don't see either one of them as the answer for this team being a title contender.

I'd sooner get rid of Jones than Vogel at this point. Yes, he's landed us KD and Beal but he's made some pretty bad roster moves outside of that and forsaken our future for it. Vogel hasn't been as effective as I hoped he'd be but I do think he's been dealt a bad hand with the injuries and poor roster construction.

[TOO]

I think roster construction is their biggest problem, but I don't think Vogel has done a very good job either.

Which leads to the question - Who does Ishba replace first - the GM he inherited from Sarver or the coach hired with his approval?

I don't see either one of them as the answer for this team being a title contender.

This. Been in this train for quite awhile, I just don't see how you can keep either of them.

[Shabazz]

I'm so tired of KD being on ball. He's awful.

I want him in actions for a quick drive or J. Getting it at the 3 point line is a disaster

Same here, he either turns the ball over with a lazy pass or waits for the double team and gets trapped.

You see the difference between how Booker handles these doubles and how KD does. As soon as Booker sees it coming he either attacks or gets rid of the ball, which should set up an advantage. KD has been allowing the double to come and then trying to beat it off the dribble or with a panicked pass. He’s an all-timer who is acting like he’s seeing these coverages for the first time.

[Superbone]

Everybody knows when they’re trying to get the ball to KD. Makes it easy to defend.

I wish they would make KD the last resort; the "emergency" option at the end of the clock.

Get the other players used to actually running plays

That would be smart.

[Superbone]

Same shit, different game. Congrats to Nurk on 30 boards. Playoffs are about matchups and he could be a difference maker in a playoff series, especially against a team like OKC that doesn't have much size on the interior. On paper I'm not as scared of them in a series, but we just can't get out of our own way on the court. We need to find a way to keep KD off the ball and counter those doubles. Not sure why Thad is getting DNPs when he was supposed to be a key pickup for us in the frontcourt.

And what about those league worst 4th quarters? Hopefully, Booker plays the entire 4th in the playoffs. You would think the Suns would adjust during the regular season, but no!

[Superbone]

But Nurk. 31 rebounds?? Damn

And they threw it away.

Well, Nurk literally threw it away after procuring that 31st rebound. He didn't help his own cause.

[Superbone]

Vogel isn't the answer. Unfortunately, the rest of the coaching staff look like they're hanging out for the ride. Nobody seems to get fired up from Vogel through the assistants and our players carry the same demeanor on the court. Such a limp dick team out there every night.

Well, apparently Fizdale did get fired up and got the team to wake up and take the lead before they remembered it was the 4th quarter so they were obligated to play horribly. But Ishbia is paying WAY too much for this coaching staff for the team to look like this night after night.

[Superbone]

I'm surprised we don't run more "point-Nurkic" kind of sets when we only have 2 of the 3 available between Book, KD, and Beal. It's harder to double team away from the ball, and if they tried to double Nurkic or send a guard out on him, I think he would be savvy enough and tall enough to easily see where the mismatch or open man is.

And for as much grief as Book gets for being double-teamed, he's way better than KD at handling it.

Yeah, I love how KD waits until it's way too late and he is swarmed. NOT!

[Superbone]

I think roster construction is their biggest problem, but I don't think Vogel has done a very good job either.

Which leads to the question - Who does Ishba replace first - the GM he inherited from Sarver or the coach hired with his approval?

I don't see either one of them as the answer for this team being a title contender.

I had high hopes for Vogel but he sure hasn't shown me much.

[TOO]

I think roster construction is their biggest problem, but I don't think Vogel has done a very good job either.

Which leads to the question - Who does Ishba replace first - the GM he inherited from Sarver or the coach hired with his approval?

I don't see either one of them as the answer for this team being a title contender.

I had high hopes for Vogel but he sure hasn't shown me much.

Honest question, why?

[Superbone]

I think roster construction is their biggest problem, but I don't think Vogel has done a very good job either.

Which leads to the question - Who does Ishba replace first - the GM he inherited from Sarver or the coach hired with his approval?

I don't see either one of them as the answer for this team being a title contender.

I had high hopes for Vogel but he sure hasn't shown me much.

Honest question, why?

You'd have to ask Frank.