Game Day: Suns (0-1) @ Thunder (1-0), Fri 10/28/16

[Mori Chu]

Knight to Minny for Rubio so that we have a real distributor and then ship Len, Tucker, Bledsoe and a pick or two for Cousins. Rubio, Booker, Warren, Cousins, Chandler with Ulis, LB, Chriss and Bender off the bench.

I would make that Rubio trade with zero point zero hesitation. I really wish we could find a way to get Rubio and then have a Rubio / Ulis PG rotation. Having two pass-first PGs like that would be a dream.

[Nodack]

I got home from the gig a 2:30am and stayed up until 6 am watching it. It was a great game to watch other than watching Westbrook's layup drills all night. I can't believe we couldn't slow him down whatsoever. When Nash used to kill teams, other teams would automatically double him every time he touched the ball and force somebody else to handle it. That seemed to work well. When you know exactly what he is going to do every play over and over and you can't do anything about it you are failing.

I wanted the rooks in late in the game. Everybody was tired and it was showing in the play. I know you want to stick to the big guns late in the game but, I think fresh legs might have turned the tide.

Overall it was a pleasant surprise. The Suns led 98% of the game in Oklahoma. There is hope.

[Shabazz]

Why did we have Knight covering Westbrook so much this game? That goes double for crunch time? Why not Bledsoe? I know there aren't many guys that can cover Russ, but Knight offered 0 resistance.

He's infuriating to watch on offense. It's crazy that he considers himself a point guard. He rarely looks for teammates and his handles are trash.

[AmareIsGod]

As much as I like to pile on Knight, I do have to give him credit for putting up a huge volume of forced shot attempts. At least there's that.

[Shabazz]

As much as I like to pile on Knight, I do have to give him credit for putting up a huge volume of forced shot attempts. At least there's that.

You're shortchanging his terrific ability to drive into traffic and fall down.

[Superbone]

I got home from the gig a 2:30am and stayed up until 6 am watching it. It was a great game to watch other than watching Westbrook's layup drills all night. I can't believe we couldn't slow him down whatsoever. When Nash used to kill teams, other teams would automatically double him every time he touched the ball and force somebody else to handle it. That seemed to work well. When you know exactly what he is going to do every play over and over and you can't do anything about it you are failing.

I wanted the rooks in late in the game. Everybody was tired and it was showing in the play. I know you want to stick to the big guns late in the game but, I think fresh legs might have turned the tide.

Overall it was a pleasant surprise. The Suns led 98% of the game in Oklahoma. There is hope.

Good point. They should have doubled him and got the ball out of his hands to end the game. Make somebody else beat us.

[Mori Chu]

I'm not very impressed with the "let Russ get a triple-double with 50 points" game plan by our brilliant head coach. I know it's mostly to Westbrook's credit, but any good coach would throw a double, a different defender, SOMEthing at Westbrook. We made zero adjustment on him.

[carey]

Having Knight guard him whenever Knight was in the game may be the dumbest coaching decision I've seen in a long time. Sorry, Coach W.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Rookie players... rookie coach... dumb happens... and will continue to happen...

But consider that if we had pulled out the win, the note would be, that OKC is a one man show that you can beat by letting Westbrook get his and shut down the rest, like those Kobe teams between Shaq and Gasol. As a matter of fact, is not a bad theory to test, by baiting him with Knight into exhaustion, personally, I would have picked to go for double teaming him with different sizes, lenghts and players all night long, using all the 6 fouls on him by players like Barbosa, Williams, then Bender and Knight. If Westbrook wants to keep charging fullspeed into the lane, make him pay for it, taste the floor now and then and get his 50 from the line.

[Split T]

It did take Westbrook 44 shots to get his 50, that's not efficient

[O_Gardino]

I think priority #1 should be moving Knight. I bet Philly would take him. They desperately need a PG, especially now that Embiid is proving to be such a stud.

Philly is also quietly shopping Okafor. Would we want him?

Who says no to a Knight + Len for Okafor trade? Wildly unequal salaries in terms of the cap, but Philly is way under the cap anyway. Maybe they throw us in some salary ballast like Nick Stauskas. Thoughts?

O.k. so the problem with trading with the 76ers is they literally have no one making any f*** money. So it's really hard to match salaries. However since we're both under the cap there's likely some magic to be made. Len and Knight for Okafor and Gerald Henderson and I'm thrilled.

We give Gerald the backup 2 guard minutes. Ulis takes over the bakup PG minutes and Okafor immediately starts at C.

Bledsoe/Ulis
Booker/Henderson
Tj/(Bender)/PJ
Dudley/Chriss/Bender
Okafor/Chandler

Our offense becomes significantly more dynamic with a post scorer starting.

I'm late to the party, but I thought teams under the cap could take on as much salary as they want, as long as they stay under the cap. It's only teams over the cap that have to worry about matching.

[carey]

I'm late to the party, but I thought teams under the cap could take on as much salary as they want, as long as they stay under the cap. It's only teams over the cap that have to worry about matching.

Still true.

[O_Gardino]

I'm late to the party, but I thought teams under the cap could take on as much salary as they want, as long as they stay under the cap. It's only teams over the cap that have to worry about matching.

Still true.

In that case, the main difficulty in trading Knight for Okafor is getting Colangelo to do it. I don't think JC makes that trade.

[Superbone]

I'm late to the party, but I thought teams under the cap could take on as much salary as they want, as long as they stay under the cap. It's only teams over the cap that have to worry about matching.

Still true.

In that case, the main difficulty in trading Knight for Okafor is getting Colangelo to do it. I don't think JC makes that trade.

JC is no longer working for the Sixers. Did you mean BC?

[O_Gardino]

I was with family during the game, so I didn't comment here. But I did see the game, and wow.

We would have won if:
Booker had just made one more shot
or we kept going to Warren
or lineups were managed better
or if we did better rotating on defense
or or or

If I was a Thunder fan, I would be pissed to go to OT against the Suns, and I would be pissed to see Westbrook celebrating after. I would be so angry that the team has dropped from contender to "just glad to pull out a close win against the Suns."

I hope Knight leaks some information detrimental to Clinton's presidential campaign. OK, that's too harsh. But I hope McD has this phrase taped on his bathroom mirror: "Never again trade for a guy who stars on Shaqtin a Fool."

Booker had another bad game, but another game that I think can be a learning game for him. IIRC, he scored our last bucket in regulation and out first 6 points in OT. He has stud material, he just needs to learn to defend and to clear his head and focus when he shoots.

I don't think Chandler got a rebound in the 4th or OT. He was in good position, mostly, but had no bounce. Old, or just out of shape?

I love TJ Warren. Let's see what he can grow into. I think he is a great 2nd or 3rd option on a championship team.

[O_Gardino]

I'm late to the party, but I thought teams under the cap could take on as much salary as they want, as long as they stay under the cap. It's only teams over the cap that have to worry about matching.

Still true.

In that case, the main difficulty in trading Knight for Okafor is getting Colangelo to do it. I don't think JC makes that trade.

JC is no longer working for the Sixers. Did you mean BC?

I didn't know that. I thought they were both in Philly.

[Cap]

I'm late to the party, but I thought teams under the cap could take on as much salary as they want, as long as they stay under the cap. It's only teams over the cap that have to worry about matching.

Still true.

In that case, the main difficulty in trading Knight for Okafor is getting Colangelo to do it. I don't think JC makes that trade.

JC is no longer working for the Sixers. Did you mean BC?

I didn't know that. I thought they were both in Philly.

They are. JC stepped down from Chairman of Basketball Operations, but is still with the franchise as a Special Advisor. (I'm totally guessing, but that sounds like a part-time position of no formal authority that nonetheless comes with a lot of clout because of who he is.)

[Superbone]

Still true.

In that case, the main difficulty in trading Knight for Okafor is getting Colangelo to do it. I don't think JC makes that trade.

JC is no longer working for the Sixers. Did you mean BC?

I didn't know that. I thought they were both in Philly.

They are. JC stepped down from Chairman of Basketball Operations, but is still with the franchise as a Special Advisor. (I'm totally guessing, but that sounds like a part-time position of no formal authority that nonetheless comes with a lot of clout because of who he is.)

I sit corrected. Well, technically. JC wouldn't be the one making the trade.

[sunshoopjunky]

It is very hard for a young team to lead wire to wire. We almost did, away, against a team tough team. With that said Watson needs to manage momentum better. Knight is not playing like a 6th man to me. I think that Booker is facing a good old fashion case of the rookie wall. I think it is compounded by his scouting report and new role as starter. Rather have him going through it now early. I saw a moment in the game where JD and him bumped on the court. Booker looked back and JD was already off the court. It also seems like JD is yelling a lot on the sidelines. I don't think he means anything by it JD seems like an awesome down to earth guy. Just excited and competitive. Something to watch tho. JD may have a history with us but he is new to the players here. Len seemed like he felt more comfortable out there tonight. I am not a fan of Len and Chris sharing the floor until Len plays like a vet. TJ mid range game reminds me of Grant Hill. Overall our timing is still off but we have but some amazing stretches of offense and amazing stretches defense together. I think Watson need to play with the rotations more. I would also like to see us work inside out more if the initial break does not allow foe early offense. Good game but we missed a chance to win one we were not supposed to.

[Mori Chu]

My best guess about Booker is that it's some combination of rust (season just started) and the fact that teams are scouting him out and focusing more of their defense on him. I often miss the little nuances from possession to possession, but I think I remember that in the Golden State game, they ran some little traps and moves to stop Booker from getting where he wanted to go. I didn't notice them doing that with any other Suns players. So I think he is facing a much tougher and more focused defense this season from our opponents. I have faith that he'll figure it out.