Game Day: Hawks (26-18) @ Suns (13-31), Sat 1/23/16

[Superbone]

Wait, that's a real quote?

[Shabazz]

Seems like he may have been joking (per Coro).

[Mori Chu]

Ugh, if he really said that and meant it, I lost every ounce of goodwill that the game and win gave me. If he honestly just blew off the play and never had any intention of running it ...

[SwingMan]

Context, people - and bandage your knees, while you're at it.

He likely meant that he knew he wasn't going to run the play once the switch was made on the Len pick and Goodwin saw that Len rolled back in the paint with Schroder fronting him with weak side help backing. Once he saw he had Sefolosha on skates, instinct kicked in and he took the game.

Fuck Knight and his shit-for-brains and fuck Bogdanovich's treading water - use him as incentive to get Knight the hell out of here. With the ups & downs of playing time the last 3 years combined with the work he keeps putting in culminating with last night's performance, he's earned that 3rd guard slot, IMO.

[youtube][/youtube]

[OE32]

Context, people - and bandage your knees, while you're at it.

He likely meant that he knew he wasn't going to run the play once the switch was made on the Len pick and Goodwin saw that Len rolled back in the paint with Schroder fronting him with weak side help backing. Once he saw he had Sefolosha on skates, instinct kicked in and he took the game.

Fuck Knight and his shit-for-brains and fuck Bogdanovich's treading water - use him as incentive to get Knight the hell out of here. With the ups & downs of playing time the last 3 years combined with the work he keeps putting in culminating with last night's performance, he's earned that 3rd guard slot, IMO.

[youtube][/youtube]

And here I am agreeing with Swingy. It's beautiful to see how winning can bring people together.

[Ring_Wanted]

Just keep Bogdanovic, please. Will help in the shooting and IQ areas. Anyway, getting rid of Knight shouldn't have to cost an asset, and if it does I am simply not interested. You are probably not selling him as a starting PG, but as a scorer off the bench he could make a difference for the right team.

Btw, I absolutely loved Len-Chandler together. Wanted to see Hornacek give it a try since preseason and although he has used it some minutes here and there before, tonight was the first game I've seen it given a large look and it was nice. Len is promising with his face to the basket. On D, Horford made some midrage shots against him in the 1stQ but that's what he does and his totals were poor anyway. On the other hand, against smaller forwards like Scott he gives up too much quickness but it's nice to see overall positive impact.

[SwingMan]

Just keep Bogdanovic, please. Will help in the shooting and IQ areas. Anyway, getting rid of Knight shouldn't have to cost an asset, and if it does I am simply not interested. You are probably not selling him as a starting PG, but as a scorer off the bench he could make a difference for the right team.

Btw, I absolutely loved Len-Chandler together. Wanted to see Hornacek give it a try since preseason and although he has used it some minutes here and there before, tonight was the first game I've seen it given a large look and it was nice. Len is promising with his face to the basket. On D, Horford made some midrage shots against him in the 1stQ but that's what he does and his totals were poor anyway. On the other hand, against smaller forwards like Scott he gives up too much quickness but it's nice to see overall positive impact.

Yeah, Bogdanovic will help - he'll help logjam the 2 and help push Goodwin back a notch yet again. For what Knight does on the court in relation to his contract, we most certainly need to attach an incentive for teams to take him - hell, it might take even more to sweeten the take.

This Chandler/Len pairing might be telling. Says that Len might need an enforcer-type to pair with to be successful - or that he needs his hand held more until he's ready to stop over-thinking on the court.....

[jkalldaway]

Or, Swing, maybe he can be a 4.

[SwingMan]

Or, Swing, maybe he can be a 4.

And what happens after Chandler leaves/retires - we draft a 5 to pair with Len?

[Cap]

Context, people - and bandage your knees, while you're at it.

He likely meant that he knew he wasn't going to run the play once the switch was made on the Len pick and Goodwin saw that Len rolled back in the paint with Schroder fronting him with weak side help backing. Once he saw he had Sefolosha on skates, instinct kicked in and he took the game.

Dunno. As JCSF points out, this is a little familiar.

During Saturday’s ugly 88–58 blowout loss at Tennessee, reporters covering the game overheard Calipari yelling “I can’t coach you!” to freshman guard Archie Goodwin as he headed to the bench. During a timeout late in the game, Coach Cal didn’t even speak to his players in the huddle. His rationale? “I’m not wasting my breath here,” he said afterwards. “(They’re) not listening.”

“We have a couple of guys who aren’t real coachable,” he also said. “You tell them what to do and they do their own thing.”

BTW, would it be possible for you to express a difference of opinion respectfully, without shots at other posters like "bandage your knees"? TIA.

[SwingMan]

Context, people - and bandage your knees, while you're at it.

He likely meant that he knew he wasn't going to run the play once the switch was made on the Len pick and Goodwin saw that Len rolled back in the paint with Schroder fronting him with weak side help backing. Once he saw he had Sefolosha on skates, instinct kicked in and he took the game.

Dunno. As JCSF points out, this is a little familiar.

During Saturday’s ugly 88–58 blowout loss at Tennessee, reporters covering the game overheard Calipari yelling “I can’t coach you!” to freshman guard Archie Goodwin as he headed to the bench. During a timeout late in the game, Coach Cal didn’t even speak to his players in the huddle. His rationale? “I’m not wasting my breath here,” he said afterwards. “(They’re) not listening.”

“We have a couple of guys who aren’t real coachable,” he also said. “You tell them what to do and they do their own thing.”

BTW, would it be possible for you to express a difference of opinion respectfully, without shots at other posters like "bandage your knees"? TIA.

That's a euphemism for knee-jerking, which has been a .net staple for as long as I can remember - no disrespect intended at all. But, in today's hyper-sensitive climate of safe-zones and such, I can maybe see why something like that might ruffle a few feathers.

That said, you're talking about an upset coach reacting in the moment of a bad loss - for all we know, Calipari might've been yelling that at the whole damn team at that particular moment, as indicated by this section from above: " During a timeout late in the game, Coach Cal didn’t even speak to his players in the huddle. His rationale? “I’m not wasting my breath here,” he said afterwards. “(They’re) not listening.”.

What's more, there's not one instance where Calipari is quoted as singling Archie out - pure speculation on yours, JC's and others' parts.....

[OE32]

This Chandler/Len pairing might be telling. Says that Len might need an enforcer-type to pair with to be successful - or that he needs his hand held more until he's ready to stop over-thinking on the court.....

Yeah I don't think that's a good read at all. I'm assuming you watched the game. The difference was that Len was able to close out on shooters and contest shots without having to worry about protecting the paint at all times. I saw his mobility come into play more. And because he was nimble enough to stay with 4's, his overmatched opponents were unable to post up, and their jump shots were all contested. Tyson had the same freedom because Len was there. That is all to say that when there were two rim protectors on the court, the bigs were free to challenge the perimeter while never giving up the interior - and it was truly transformative for our defense.

[SwingMan]

This Chandler/Len pairing might be telling. Says that Len might need an enforcer-type to pair with to be successful - or that he needs his hand held more until he's ready to stop over-thinking on the court.....

Yeah I don't think that's a good read at all. I'm assuming you watched the game. The difference was that Len was able to close out on shooters and contest shots without having to worry about protecting the paint at all times. I saw his mobility come into play more. And because he was nimble enough to stay with 4's, his overmatched opponents were unable to post up, and their jump shots were all contested. Tyson had the same freedom because Len was there. That is all to say that when there were two rim protectors on the court, the bigs were free to challenge the perimeter while never giving up the interior - and it was truly transformative for our defense.

I watched the game, but after closer viewing of different highlights, I indeed stand corrected - they do compliment each other surprisingly well. Now, let's see how durable they can be - and how they adjust/react to scouting reports on them as a twin towers tandem.

And if Len continues to adjust on the fly as opposed to over-thinking.....

[OE32]

This Chandler/Len pairing might be telling. Says that Len might need an enforcer-type to pair with to be successful - or that he needs his hand held more until he's ready to stop over-thinking on the court.....

Yeah I don't think that's a good read at all. I'm assuming you watched the game. The difference was that Len was able to close out on shooters and contest shots without having to worry about protecting the paint at all times. I saw his mobility come into play more. And because he was nimble enough to stay with 4's, his overmatched opponents were unable to post up, and their jump shots were all contested. Tyson had the same freedom because Len was there. That is all to say that when there were two rim protectors on the court, the bigs were free to challenge the perimeter while never giving up the interior - and it was truly transformative for our defense.

I watched the game, but after closer viewing of different highlights, I indeed stand corrected - they do compliment each other surprisingly well. Now, let's see how durable they can be - and how they adjust/react to scouting reports on them as a twin towers tandem.

And if Len continues to adjust on the fly as opposed to over-thinking.....

[carey]

You can't get away with pairing Len & Chandler for long stretches. We already have some serious offensive issues right now. Starting Goodwin-Booker-Tucker-Len-Chandler or even just playing them major mjnutes means your only major scoring threat is a 19-year-old.

[OE32]

You can't get away with pairing Len & Chandler for long stretches. We already have some serious offensive issues right now. Starting Goodwin-Booker-Tucker-Len-Chandler or even just playing them major mjnutes means your only major scoring threat is a 19-year-old.

Strongly disagree. Len's size gives him an advantage against opposing PFs. That mid-range jumper becomes very easy to shoot, and the post game also comes easier. I don't think Leuer gives us much/any more from that position, and the difference on the defensive end is so large that Len is an improvement over Mirza and Keef as well. I think putting Alex at the 4 gives him a better chance to develop his offensive game. I hope we stick with it the rest of the season.

[carey]

Strongly disagree. Len's size gives him an advantage against opposing PFs. That mid-range jumper becomes very easy to shoot, and the post game also comes easier. I don't think Leuer gives us much/any more from that position, and the difference on the defensive end is so large that Len is an improvement over Mirza and Keef as well. I think putting Alex at the 4 gives him a better chance to develop his offensive game. I hope we stick with it the rest of the season.

Disagree with all of that. Len can't hit anything consistently yet. Mark me down as saying it will be a disaster if coach leans on the duo for heavy minutes together. Not that it matters. The team is a disaster no matter who plays.

[OE32]

Strongly disagree. Len's size gives him an advantage against opposing PFs. That mid-range jumper becomes very easy to shoot, and the post game also comes easier. I don't think Leuer gives us much/any more from that position, and the difference on the defensive end is so large that Len is an improvement over Mirza and Keef as well. I think putting Alex at the 4 gives him a better chance to develop his offensive game. I hope we stick with it the rest of the season.

Disagree with all of that. Len can't hit anything consistently yet. Mark me down as saying it will be a disaster if coach leans on the duo for heavy minutes together. Not that it matters. The team is a disaster no matter who plays.

Cool! A true disagreement among educated fans. And since we're not dealing with hypotheticals, we're likely to see our competing hypotheses tested!

[Cap]

If we were healthy, Bleds-Booker-Tucker-Len-Chandler with AASE and Mirza/Jon/Keef (depending on match ups) as the first guys off the bench might be interesting.

[Mori Chu]

I just don't think Len has the range to play the 4, nor will he acquire it.