Game Day: Suns (9-2) @ Kings (6-5), Wed 11/13/24

[Superbone]

Anybody else think about how we could have drafted Fox but went with Josh Jackson instead every time we play the Kings? Just me? Talk about a whiff!

[Gladiator]

Agreed Booker needs to get rid of the ball much sooner. He has a habit of waiting for the double team and getting trapped in awkward spots on the floor. Better to give it up, reset and get the ball back when you are on the move and hopefully one on one

[In2ition]

Anybody else think about how we could have drafted Fox but went with Josh Jackson instead every time we play the Kings? Just me? Talk about a whiff!

I'm the same exact way and it drives me nuts. I was saying the same thing to my oldest while watching the game last night.

[Superbone]

Crazy how teams can't just reduce other stars to role players, it only happens to Booker. We never seem to olay a team and eliminate their star player. Stars find ways to score. He's just not a superstar. He peaked two years ago

Booker is not who you think he is.

[In2ition]

Honestly, I think Book has been getting better over the years, even this year. It's a small sample size, but he's been up and down, somewhat because of illness.

[Split T]

i agree with most of these assessments. Most superstars have at least one attribute you can't fully negate. Size, strength, agility, speed, smart under pressure, defensive ability. KD, for example, can always fall back on his length to get off a good shot. Booker has a little of many skills but he can be contained. He has to be hot for us to get our money's worth out of his supermax salary.

When he's hot he does look like a superstar. But, imo, he's a star not a 1. Book was 1b with CP3 because CP3 made everyone better. With KD, Book's a solid 2. On team USA, he was valued as a starting role-player. A solid 5

I agree with this…the key to me though is that the actual number of true superstars in the league is maybe 8…and that’s if you still count KD, Lebron, and Curry who have all lost some of that superstar ability to completely carry a team. Book is one of those guys just outside that can look like a superstar at times, but you really need to nail all the other parts of the team. I’d put Jayson Tatum in this category. He won a title, but he’s not a superstar either imo. He won a title because his team was absolutely loaded.

[TOO]

Booker is the Suns version of Paul George. There are days where he can destroy and entire team alone and then there are days where you wonder how this dude even starts. I've made my peace with it.

[bajanguy008]

I think we played quite well under the circumstances tbh
The final score looks terrible but with all the flaws and lapses we played em tight for 3 quarters then ran out of steam. Talent, back to back, whatever you wanna call it I still saw a few positives

The only one who didn't look ready for minutes and lost out there (Nurk is Nurk smh) was Lee and it was a clear indicator of preseason vs real games because Kings were very aggressive and he seemed unsure of himself

Yes on to the Kings D
Overall like I said I think we were alright, clawing back multiple times but the issue is why we were getting down. The Kings are giving me some Clipper vibes in being very handsy on D and I just hate when we seem rattled in high intensity games, looking for a whistle. You just have to be able to play through that stuff at times.

This post is getting a little long.....
Book and the double teams. Yes in theory it is an obvious blueprint for defenses going forward but as some have said, this is normal for Elite guards in the league. "pickle" mentioned manipulating the double teams and I agree as Book only split it once with his dribble. He has a tendency to back up when the double comes and I get that he's holding it for the roll man relocating to the FT line but aggressive traps with high hands been deflecting that pass too much. The other thing he only did once was go away from the screen when the big sold out by showing he was ready to double.

My other issue with this whole double team thing is it's always easier to trap the player at the top. When Book was our default pg that made it easier for defenses cause he had the ball all the time. With Tyus here to initiate I don't see enough actions where Book gets the ball curling to the basket or going down hill
Our main set Book is the second person getting a screen away from the ball but then he catches it on the wing stationary or comes closer to the top to create a better passing angle for Tyus. Then from there Nurk or whoever comes and screens and the double team trap is just waiting so it's almost no different than if he brought up the ball himself

Anyways
Apologies guys, I'm afraid to hit submit here lol #armchaircoach

[Mori Chu]

Anybody else think about how we could have drafted Fox but went with Josh Jackson instead every time we play the Kings? Just me? Talk about a whiff!

Every time I watch the Kings play, my wife says, "Is this the team where you always complain that the Suns could have drafted their two best players but didn't?" I rant about Fox AND Sabonis every time I see them play. (WE COULD HAVE FUCKING HAD BOTH OF THEM!!! WE PASSED ON FOX FOR FUCKING JOSH JACKSON!! WE PASSED ON SABONIS NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE, TO GET DRAGAN BENDER AND MARQUESE CHRISS!!!)

[Furlanfufi]

Anybody else think about how we could have drafted Fox but went with Josh Jackson instead every time we play the Kings? Just me? Talk about a whiff!

Every time I watch the Kings play, my wife says, "Is this the team where you always complain that the Suns could have drafted their two best players but didn't?" I rant about Fox AND Sabonis every time I see them play. (WE COULD HAVE FUCKING HAD BOTH OF THEM!!! WE PASSED ON FOX FOR FUCKING JOSH JACKSON!! WE PASSED ON SABONIS NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE, TO GET DRAGAN BENDER AND MARQUESE CHRISS!!!)

We could have traded Ayton for him too.

[pickle]

Don’t. Just don’t. I love Tyus but we could have had Luka, Tyrese, SGA, Fox, and Jamal Murray. Let’s not do this again.

[Kryptonic]