Game Day: Suns (3-9) @ Pacers (6-6), Fri 11/18/16

[ShelC]

Call me crazy, but I feel like Chriss is Watsons "guy" and gets PT, and Bender was the FO's guy so Watson is less interested.

[specialsauce]

Sometimes the shot goes. Remember how great Jimmy Jackson was the year he was traded to the Suns, and the next season his shot deserted him?

I remember. It was after a summer where he ditched the preseason or whatever because he was 'a veteran'. In this case, Tucker has also missed his warming up due to the injury. The hustle is great but without a shot he is 15mpg material.

Yeah, overseas maybe

[Mori Chu]

Tucker had a messed up back. That's going to heavily affect any player's shot. Even Nash struggled with his shooting when his back wasn't right. All that said, I don't see why he got the most minutes on the team. Coaches seem to fall in love with him and love having him out on the floor. Need to keep finding minutes for all the young guys.

[Mori Chu]

I forgot to mention how impressed I was by Alan "Big Sauce" Williams. 15 points and *15* rebounds! Wow. What a great story for that guy; works his ass off and willed his way onto this roster, and then to have a game like that. Great to see.

I do wish we had more star power on this team, but it's nice to have a roster where literally 7 guys can be in double-figures in scoring on the same night (Len, Booker, Williams, Dudley, Ulis, Knight, Barbosa).

[djy2j]

Still can't believe how much of an impact Williams and Ulis made. Ulis had a noticeable fan base when he checked in and did anything good. Not sure why. I don't believe he's an Indy product.

Ulis needs to be the back up PG to some extent. He needs to be out there.

Suns bench was loud every time Williams grabbed rebound number 10 on up. He fed off that energy also. Those guys genuinely like each other. Real refreshing to see.

Not sure why Indy is such a cesspool for germs but I remember Knight being sick last years game and now Warren gets sick. I was sick earlier in the week and i rarely get sick.

I don't know what/if anything is wrong with Beldsoe but I think I'm officially done with him. He didn't bring it. He consistently doesn't bring it. He's a talented player but he's not a leader and isn't reliable and he's a below average passer and play maker. I'm sure he works hard but his destiny is a 3rd best player on a team. I'm ready to move on.

The Pacers are in a dark spot right now. They are a poorly constructed team that plays even worse, George or no George.
Fans here in Indy are getting very leery of Larry. I don't think he's got much time left in a key role for the Pacers.

[carey]

Still can't believe how much of an impact Williams and Ulis made. Ulis had a noticeable fan base when he checked in and did anything good. Not sure why. I don't believe he's an Indy product.

One state over in Michigan just outside of Detroit. But he played for Big Blue Nation and they are everywhere.

[djy2j]

Good info. There was a noticeable Kentucky crowd but I didnt hear a peep out of them for Beldsoe or Knight. Booker got some pop during the starting line ups but Ulis's pop was by far the loudest. I also felt like every Ulis shot was going in

[UglyTruth]

Call me crazy, but I feel like Chriss is Watsons "guy" and gets PT, and Bender was the FO's guy so Watson is less interested.

Could be that but I honestly also wonder if Bender would be getting playing time if he was black. Or if we didn't have a black HC.

[LazarusLong]

Or it could be because of his experience as an NBA player, seeing can't-miss overseas prospects like Dark Milicic or Nikoloz Tskitishvili, drafted as teenagers, fail to fulfill their alleged potential?

[carey]

Or it could be because of his experience as an NBA player, seeing can't-miss overseas prospects like Dark Milicic or Nikoloz Tskitishvili, drafted as teenagers, fail to fulfill their alleged potential?

Aren't there just as many American teens drafted on potential that didn't make it?

[UglyTruth]

Or it could be because of his experience as an NBA player, seeing can't-miss overseas prospects like Dark Milicic or Nikoloz Tskitishvili, drafted as teenagers, fail to fulfill their alleged potential?

Aren't there just as many American teens drafted on potential that didn't make it?

Yeah but let's just bash on the Euros instead.

[Nodack]

Isn't there a game today with the 76ers? I see no game day thread.

[INFORMER]

Call me crazy, but I feel like Chriss is Watsons "guy" and gets PT, and Bender was the FO's guy so Watson is less interested.

Could be that but I honestly also wonder if Bender would be getting playing time if he was black. Or if we didn't have a black HC.

I don't think it is a skin color thing, but as LL alluded, I do think it has something to do with Bender being a Euro prospect; coach probably doesn't have as much confidence/respect in/for him as he would an American prospect.

[Cap]

Or it could be because of his experience as an NBA player, seeing can't-miss overseas prospects like Dark Milicic or Nikoloz Tskitishvili, drafted as teenagers, fail to fulfill their alleged potential?

Yes, it's possible he'll fail to fulfill his alleged potential. Does DNPing him make that less likely?

[Superbone]

Isn't there a game today with the 76ers? I see no game day thread.

You're going to have to give me a break, Nodack. I played poker until 2:30 am at a friend's house and then drove home and watched the game. Didn't get to bed until after 5 am.

[Superbone]

This game was a treat for anybody that missed it. The Suns played their best by far this season. They came out with a lot of energy and the ball was really moving. The best I've seen in a long time from the Suns. Knight played fantastic but got in a little foul trouble and then Ulis came in and was a joy to watch. Since Chandler was at his mom's funeral, Len started and played well but then Williams came in and was a beast! They could not keep him off the boards. He snuck in for numerous offensive put backs. Tucker was Tucker and played pretty well but continued his struggle from three. Dudley was doing a little bit of everything and was a real glue guy. Booker was solid as usual and was shooting well.

Like I said, our most complete game of the season and I hope to continue to see them play like last night. That was fun!

[Mori Chu]

Isn't there a game today with the 76ers? I see no game day thread.

You're going to have to give me a break, Nodack. I played poker until 2:30 am at a friend's house and then drove home and watched the game. Didn't get to bed until after 5 am.

No Game Day thread?? That's it; I'm cutting your salary in half, 'Bone. Don't ever let this happen again!

(Thanks for all the great work you have done posting these threads. You are awesome.)

[Superbone]

Isn't there a game today with the 76ers? I see no game day thread.

You're going to have to give me a break, Nodack. I played poker until 2:30 am at a friend's house and then drove home and watched the game. Didn't get to bed until after 5 am.

No Game Day thread?? That's it; I'm cutting your salary in half, 'Bone. Don't ever let this happen again!

(Thanks for all the great work you have done posting these threads. You are awesome.)

Thanks Marty. And super thanks for running this site!

[Shabazz]

Call me crazy, but I feel like Chriss is Watsons "guy" and gets PT, and Bender was the FO's guy so Watson is less interested.

I get the same impression. It's certainly not based on play as Bender's been better than Chriss, but he seems to have a much tighter leash.

After he had a very good performance, Watson said he had to find a way to get him more time. The next game, Bender got yanked after 100 seconds because of a bad pass and foul and was benched the next game.

[Superbone]

Neither of the two are doing very well tonight. Bender came in and immediately made a couple mistakes. Chriss is trying to do too much and forcing up shots against double and triple teams.