Game Day: Suns (9-22) @ Spurs (25-6), Wed 12/28/16

[The Bobster]

What Booker has done this year is pretty close to what he did last year as a starter.

Entering last night's game -

2015-16 - 34.1 Min, .412 FG%, .302 3P%, .850 FT%, 17.4 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 3.5 Ast
2016-17 - 33.1 Min, .411 FG%, .329 3P%, .816 FT%, 19.2 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 3.2 Ast

There were a lot of expectations and assumptions based on some standout games, but so far those expectations are proving to be unrealistic. He's still only 20.

[Superbone]

Thanks for putting it in perspective, Bobster.

[TOO]

Can we officially call this season a sophomore slump for Devin Booker?

I hope so! As long as his rookie year wasn't a fluke.

So anointing a 19 year old as the next great one is a bad idea...?? Go figure.

Depends on the 19 year old. Some live up to the hype, some don't.

It'd be nice if ours did, even better if all 3 do.

[Danimal]

The offense looked a little more varied at times but we reverted to old ways in the end.
We really need to TJ to reach his potential for this team to go anywhere. The game is much better to watch with him in there.
We almost seemed surprised in the 3rd when we had the lead and started playing out of control. Pushing the ball hastily and making turnovers
Tried to force too much with the guards, especially booker in the 4th.

As indicated in that lovely Brightside article on the suns offense, booker seems to be having to create way too much. Wish we would play him more like a Ray Allen for more spot ups, not Kobe. Our guards shoulder too much of the offensive, either by design or by their own choice and when they struggle we have no chance of victory.

I don't see we don't try and get the ball quickly to TJ or Bender the ball quickly in semi transition after a score when they are playing the 4. TJ is great attacking the hoop one on one and bender should be able to drive past larger 4's with his ball handling. The guards can spend the rest of the shot clock dicking around the 3pt line

I really hope these past two games give the team more confidence in Bender. Many times he wide is open and doesn't get the ball. I know that's not uncommon with our guards but hopefully it can improve. thanks to Earl for giving him some good minutes of late

[Sunsfan4life]

Watson needs to go. Whatever, I'm all for taking ur lumps this yr and getting either Fultz or Ball to run point for the next 10 years, but There was no reason whatsoever to have Bender glued to the bench up until now. The last two games have shown he's ready to atleast compete and have atleast some success.

[Ring_Wanted]

The last two games have shown he's ready to atleast compete and have atleast some success.

This was clear since the start of the season. He may not be a complete player at the moment, and he is so weak, but you can count on his defense and you can put him at the corner waiting for a three (and if he gets enough space, he is capable of putting the ball on the floor and create some). Chriss, in comparison, is way more of a liability.

[djy2j]

Only watched the first half of this one which apparently was the correct approach.

Ball movement seemed much improved and I am glad Bender played well. Still think he should start over Chriss but not a huge concern to me as long as he plays.

Warren needs to start over Tucker. It won't happen but I have to say it. Also, Tucker missing that lay up made my night. What a dufus.

[JustWinBaby]

What Booker has done this year is pretty close to what he did last year as a starter.

Entering last night's game -

2015-16 - 34.1 Min, .412 FG%, .302 3P%, .850 FT%, 17.4 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 3.5 Ast
2016-17 - 33.1 Min, .411 FG%, .329 3P%, .816 FT%, 19.2 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 3.2 Ast

There were a lot of expectations and assumptions based on some standout games, but so far those expectations are proving to be unrealistic. He's still only 20.

Interesting

However I see it a different way. Prior to becoming a starter last year and I believe that was after Knight went down with Bledsoe already on the IR he was shooting a fantastic % from the field. That was also when Hornacek was still our coach. When Hornacek left he was inserted in the starting line up he became our offensive machine and we all loved it. However he currently appears to be more like Brandon Knight than the raw kid we drafted. At the beginning of last year when he was getting only spot minutes he let the game come to him and never if ever forced shots and the ball never got stuck in his hands. I loved it. Now it appears that he has become a chucker like most everyone else on our team with the exception of Bender.

I blame this squarely on Watson and his coaching staff. I was actually surprised and happy in the first half last night. Our offense looked as good as it has all season. The players were moving as well as the ball. Unfortunately Booker seemed to be the one player really forcing up shots. It seems as though Booker did not get the memo and our coach did nothing about it.

Hopefully Watson emphasizes to everyone that sharing the ball is not a bad thing. We are last in the league, and we are not close to the 29th spot, with 13.7 assists per game.

A real surprising stat which I think points out how inefficient Booker and our other players have been is the current PER ratings for our team. Below are some of our players league wide rating.

39th - Bledsoe
95th - TJ Warren
121st - Len
155th - Chandler
159th - LB
165th - Knight
198th - Booker

I was shocked to see how far down this list Booker was. I love the guy and based on what I saw early last year I expected him to turn out to be one of the most efficient players in the league. Is it Booker or is it the coaching staff. It is obvious that none of our players are very efficient but I really believe all these guys have above average talent.

The top five assist team in the league are: Golden State, Milwaukee, Boston, Houston and San Antonio.

[Cap]

We are last in the league, and we are not close to the 29th spot, with 13.7 assists per game.

18.5 actually, but you're correct about it being last in the league.

[Shabazz]

Only watched the first half of this one which apparently was the correct approach.

Ball movement seemed much improved and I am glad Bender played well. Still think he should start over Chriss but not a huge concern to me as long as he plays.

Warren needs to start over Tucker. It won't happen but I have to say it. Also, Tucker missing that lay up made my night. What a dufus.

It's absurd that we're still starting Tucker. I think we're 4-12 in games that he starts. But he had those good two games against Melo and Davis, so let's ignore everything else.

I think Dudley should be playing over Tucker as well. I hope Duds wasn't pushed out of the rotation.

[Cap]

I think Dudley should be playing over Tucker as well. I hope Duds wasn't pushed out of the rotation.

Of course he was. Getting Bender into the rotation necessarily means pushing somebody else out. We might have preferred that it be Tucker than Dudley, but why quibble? Does it matter? The point is that those minutes are finally going to Bender, and not to a veteran who isn't in the team's long-term future.

[Ring_Wanted]

I was shocked to see how far down this list Booker was. I love the guy and based on what I saw early last year I expected him to turn out to be one of the most efficient players in the league. Is it Booker or is it the coaching staff. It is obvious that none of our players are very efficient but I really believe all these guys have above average talent.

It's the whole franchise/team/roster. Booker has a role now as an alpha dog and is taking a lot of bad shots. Why? Because he must. Usually there is very little talent around him so deferring is hardly an option. His PGs won't feed him or won't make good passes. Lots of selfishness around him. Many times he gets the ball with the clock winding down and has to jack up a hail mary. Also, when it is not his night, he is still encouraged to keep trying.

It's really a perfect storm, but I am not worried. I care more about dynamics and learning than %s, given his age and potential. I don't think he'll get spoiled and in the end, let's not forget he doesn't have the physical gifts of a Kobe Bryant. Craftiness and smarts are his best traits, although his elevation when he shoots makes him look like Ray Allen at times.

[Shabazz]

I think Dudley should be playing over Tucker as well. I hope Duds wasn't pushed out of the rotation.

Of course he was. Getting Bender into the rotation necessarily means pushing somebody else out. We might have preferred that it be Tucker than Dudley, but why quibble? Does it matter? The point is that those minutes are finally going to Bender, and not to a veteran who isn't in the team's long-term future.

I like the way Dudley complements the other players on our roster when he plays. He's unselfish, our best 3 point shooter and probably the only player on the roster that makes a concerted effort to get Len involved.

[JustWinBaby]

We are last in the league, and we are not close to the 29th spot, with 13.7 assists per game.

18.5 actually, but you're correct about it being last in the league.

Sorry about that.

I got that number form the Hollinger team Stats on ESPN.

It is called Assist Ratio. Basically % of possessions that end up as an assist.

[carey]

The offense looked a little more varied at times but we reverted to old ways in the end.
We really need to TJ to reach his potential for this team to go anywhere. The game is much better to watch with him in there.
We almost seemed surprised in the 3rd when we had the lead and started playing out of control. Pushing the ball hastily and making turnovers
Tried to force too much with the guards, especially booker in the 4th.

As indicated in that lovely Brightside article on the suns offense, booker seems to be having to create way too much. Wish we would play him more like a Ray Allen for more spot ups, not Kobe. Our guards shoulder too much of the offensive, either by design or by their own choice and when they struggle we have no chance of victory.

I don't see we don't try and get the ball quickly to TJ or Bender the ball quickly in semi transition after a score when they are playing the 4. TJ is great attacking the hoop one on one and bender should be able to drive past larger 4's with his ball handling. The guards can spend the rest of the shot clock dicking around the 3pt line

I really hope these past two games give the team more confidence in Bender. Many times he wide is open and doesn't get the ball. I know that's not uncommon with our guards but hopefully it can improve. thanks to Earl for giving him some good minutes of late

I agree with you. More Allen and less Kobe for Booker. I'm not saying he isn't capable of it, but it should not be his primary function on this team. He can handle the ball and pass as good as any of our guards but I don't feel like he's quite ready for the team to primarily run the offense through him. As it is he's pressing fairly heavily and I think they should relieve some of that pressure by spreading the ball around.

[Danimal]

I think Dudley should be playing over Tucker as well. I hope Duds wasn't pushed out of the rotation.

Of course he was. Getting Bender into the rotation necessarily means pushing somebody else out. We might have preferred that it be Tucker than Dudley, but why quibble? Does it matter? The point is that those minutes are finally going to Bender, and not to a veteran who isn't in the team's long-term future.

I like the way Dudley complements the other players on our roster when he plays. He's unselfish, our best 3 point shooter and probably the only player on the roster that makes a concerted effort to get Len involved.

Totally agree with this. Dudley looks to setup others and takes good shots when they are there. I wake up every day hoping for a Tucker trade. I don't want Dudley starting , just playing steady minutes of the bench with the young guys because he is a good influence on them to play the right way.

[Ring_Wanted]

Entertaining dumping Dudley is foolish. He helps in creating a pro culture and his game is still more than respectable. A ton of teams should desire an in shape Dudley, even at his price.

We have a number of players we need to rid ourselves of, but Dudley is not one of them.

[Superbone]

Entertaining dumping Dudley is foolish. He helps in creating a pro culture and his game is still more than respectable. A ton of teams should desire an in shape Dudley, even at his price.

We have a number of players we need to rid ourselves of, but Dudley is not one of them.

+1

[O_Gardino]

I think Dudley should be playing over Tucker as well. I hope Duds wasn't pushed out of the rotation.

Of course he was. Getting Bender into the rotation necessarily means pushing somebody else out. We might have preferred that it be Tucker than Dudley, but why quibble? Does it matter? The point is that those minutes are finally going to Bender, and not to a veteran who isn't in the team's long-term future.

That's what I was bitching about all summer. <Gets back on soapbox.> There is no reason on a team this bad should have the "good problem" of too many mediocre veterans. McD talked at the beginning of the season about how it's a good pressure to put on the coach, but I think it's bad teambuilding. Get 10 guys who can play night in and night out and the rest of the guys are dudes you can count on for spot minutes here and there.

[O_Gardino]

I think Dudley should be playing over Tucker as well. I hope Duds wasn't pushed out of the rotation.

Of course he was. Getting Bender into the rotation necessarily means pushing somebody else out. We might have preferred that it be Tucker than Dudley, but why quibble? Does it matter? The point is that those minutes are finally going to Bender, and not to a veteran who isn't in the team's long-term future.

I like the way Dudley complements the other players on our roster when he plays. He's unselfish, our best 3 point shooter and probably the only player on the roster that makes a concerted effort to get Len involved.

Agreed. He's the kind of guy who makes the game easier for the young dudes.