Game Day: Suns (14-29) @ Raptors (28-15), Sun 1/22/17

[AmareIsGod]

Absolutely. Maybe it just took time for him to mesh with this new team. He's really leading the team and playing like a PG lately. Dominant tonight.

His passing has been much improved. His 3 is falling. He's great finishing at the basket. The plan is actually working. I don't think it's too late to make a run, but the Pelicans and the Nuggets are in this fight with us.

...and the Kings and the Wolves and the Blazers and the Mavs.

Long term, I think making a run for the playoffs is the wrong move for this team. If 8th-seed-and-down in the West wasn't such a dumpster fire this season, it wouldn't even be an option.

What's the suggestion then? I think the players and coaches, as humans that are competitive and stake a large part of their overall satisfaction with life on their success in basketball, would prefer to beat the other team on the court and make a run at the playoffs. Should they just revert back to playing bad basketball like they were earlier in the year or let the process take course as it has which has led to a much more competitive and entertaining team that is building chemistry through success and familiarity.

Trade Tucker and Knight. More minutes for Len. Let the chips fall where they may.

That's obvious. But now you're talking about GM stuff (and assuming we can get value without taking on garbage) in return as both are turning a corner into positive contributors to the team. I'm not opposed to getting rid of Knight, absolutely. In the meantime, coach has to work with what he's got and it seems to be slowly working as all of the players are buying into the system, it would seem.

[UglyTruth]

Bledose was terrific today.

Absolutely. Maybe it just took time for him to mesh with this new team. He's really leading the team and playing like a PG lately. Dominant tonight.

His passing has been much improved. His 3 is falling. He's great finishing at the basket. The plan is actually working.

The plan is working? You know he's one knee injury away from being done for yet another season right?

Once Bledsoe suffers his next meniscus injury, he will be the worst contract in the NBA. He'll be worse than Mozgov and Noah because at least those guys don't have the kind of knees that Bledsoe does.

I love the way Bled's playing but if the Suns don't try to sell high on him and think he can be their future PG, then they deserve what's coming for them.

[AmareIsGod]

Bledose was terrific today.

Absolutely. Maybe it just took time for him to mesh with this new team. He's really leading the team and playing like a PG lately. Dominant tonight.

His passing has been much improved. His 3 is falling. He's great finishing at the basket. The plan is actually working.

The plan is working? You know he's one knee injury away from being done for yet another season right?

Once Bledsoe suffers his next meniscus injury, he will be the worst contract in the NBA. He'll be worse than Mozgov and Noah because at least those guys don't have the kind of knees that Bledsoe does.

I love the way Bled's playing but if the Suns don't try to sell high on him and think he can be their future PG, then they deserve what's coming for them.

Has his knee been acting up or giving him problems? I missed the news or injury report. Or is this just a guaranteed assumption that is going to occur soon based on his history?

There is joy in this world if you look for it. Not everything has to be doom and gloom, especially in sports as fans.

[UglyTruth]

Bledose was terrific today.

Absolutely. Maybe it just took time for him to mesh with this new team. He's really leading the team and playing like a PG lately. Dominant tonight.

His passing has been much improved. His 3 is falling. He's great finishing at the basket. The plan is actually working.

The plan is working? You know he's one knee injury away from being done for yet another season right?

Once Bledsoe suffers his next meniscus injury, he will be the worst contract in the NBA. He'll be worse than Mozgov and Noah because at least those guys don't have the kind of knees that Bledsoe does.

I love the way Bled's playing but if the Suns don't try to sell high on him and think he can be their future PG, then they deserve what's coming for them.

Has his knee been acting up or giving him problems? I missed the news or injury report. Or is this just a guaranteed assumption that is going to occur soon based on his history?

There is joy in this world if you look for it. Not everything has to be doom and gloom, especially in sports as fans.

If Bledsoe suffers an injury every other year, is it too much to think he's gonna suffer an injury again?

And I gave up on joy in the world after the most recent election.

As for the Suns, yes they definitely have a lot going for them in terms of the youngsters but that doesn't make Bledsoe's insane, and I mean absolutely insane, injury concerns go away.

On the RealGM Trade forums, there are fan bases who won't trade even a late lottery 1st rd pick for Bledsoe because of his knee problems and they think he's one knee injury away from being Derrick Rose. Just a reminder that we netted a late lotto pick even for Markieff Morris.

[OE32]

Bledose was terrific today.

Absolutely. Maybe it just took time for him to mesh with this new team. He's really leading the team and playing like a PG lately. Dominant tonight.

His passing has been much improved. His 3 is falling. He's great finishing at the basket. The plan is actually working.

The plan is working? You know he's one knee injury away from being done for yet another season right?

Once Bledsoe suffers his next meniscus injury, he will be the worst contract in the NBA. He'll be worse than Mozgov and Noah because at least those guys don't have the kind of knees that Bledsoe does.

I love the way Bled's playing but if the Suns don't try to sell high on him and think he can be their future PG, then they deserve what's coming for them.

Has his knee been acting up or giving him problems? I missed the news or injury report. Or is this just a guaranteed assumption that is going to occur soon based on his history?

There is joy in this world if you look for it. Not everything has to be doom and gloom, especially in sports as fans.

+1

[Superbone]

Bledose was terrific today.

Absolutely. Maybe it just took time for him to mesh with this new team. He's really leading the team and playing like a PG lately. Dominant tonight.

Yeah, watching him tonight, I said to myself, we just saw him hit his prime right before our eyes.

[JustWinBaby]

If Knight somehow becomes productive this team could be pretty good. I am not talking a big factor, just not an anchor on their ass.

I know we all hate on him but he is one of our more talented players. Unfortunately he has been playing like shit. However he does not seem to be a problem in the locker room and I doubt that he will bring anything of value at this point. So as much as I hate to say it I think we should ride with him at least through the end of this year unless we get a gift from someone.

[LazarusLong]

Great game by Bledsoe.
As for Chriss not playing more, he had 4 fouls and was 2-7 from the floor. Oof ...

[UglyTruth]

This must have been Knight's best +/- game of the season.

[Mori Chu]

I don't think we are going to be trading Bledsoe any time soon. The front office just likes him too much and likes the idea that he is the "leader" of the team (whether it's consistently true or not).

Even if he eventually suffers some horrible injury, he'll do it as a Sun and force us to draft his replacement later.

[OE32]

This must have been Knight's best +/- game of the season.

Two straight solid games, two straight games playing exclusively as a 2 on both sides. On offense, that means concentrating on getting his own shot. On defense, that means guarding twos and not having to apply full court pressure.

It's been... very different. Much better. If his value truly is in the basement, (1) it's probably not the best time to deal him, and (2) maybe now he's more amenable to coming off the bench for us on an extended engagement. I'd prefer to try to make this work as of today.

[Indy]

This must have been Knight's best +/- game of the season.

Two straight solid games, two straight games playing exclusively as a 2 on both sides. On offense, that means concentrating on getting his own shot. On defense, that means guarding twos and not having to apply full court pressure.

It's been... very different. Much better. If his value truly is in the basement, (1) it's probably not the best time to deal him, and (2) maybe now he's more amenable to coming off the bench for us on an extended engagement. I'd prefer to try to make this work as of today.

He wasn't playing exclusively as a two both games, though. He was regularly bringing the ball up the court while the PG watched. That isn't what a two does.

[OE32]

This must have been Knight's best +/- game of the season.

Two straight solid games, two straight games playing exclusively as a 2 on both sides. On offense, that means concentrating on getting his own shot. On defense, that means guarding twos and not having to apply full court pressure.

It's been... very different. Much better. If his value truly is in the basement, (1) it's probably not the best time to deal him, and (2) maybe now he's more amenable to coming off the bench for us on an extended engagement. I'd prefer to try to make this work as of today.

He wasn't playing exclusively as a two both games, though. He was regularly bringing the ball up the court while the PG watched. That isn't what a two does.

Maybe I missed that. NBALP was giving me trouble last night. But I noticed that even playing with Booker, in the half court, Knight's been off the ball. We often have our 2 bring the ball up the court. IDK. Maybe I'm wrong. Let's see what we do going forward. Notably, Barbosa, rather than Ulis, has been moved out of the rotation for Knight.

[In2ition]

I was happy with Knight's play last night. If he can build off that, and take what the defense gives him, makes the extra pass, and tries not to force things, he might build up his value again.

[OE32]

I was happy with Knight's play last night. If he can build off that, and take what the defense gives him, makes the extra pass, and tries not to force things, he might build up his value again.

I don't even want him making the extra pass. Just stay out of situations where he's likely to turn it over, and stick to guarding twos unless there's a switch.

[In2ition]

I was happy with Knight's play last night. If he can build off that, and take what the defense gives him, makes the extra pass, and tries not to force things, he might build up his value again.

I don't even want him making the extra pass. Just stay out of situations where he's likely to turn it over, and stick to guarding twos unless there's a switch.

There was a play towards the end of the game where he tried to force it into Tucker, and I think it was turned over. Eddie Johnson said that he can't try to make an assist with every pass. That's what I mean, like Eddie said, he should have just made the safe pass back to Bender at that moment and had the ball reversed.

[Indy]

I was happy with Knight's play last night. If he can build off that, and take what the defense gives him, makes the extra pass, and tries not to force things, he might build up his value again.

I don't even want him making the extra pass. Just stay out of situations where he's likely to turn it over, and stick to guarding twos unless there's a switch.

There was a play towards the end of the game where he tried to force it into Tucker, and I think it was turned over. Eddie Johnson said that he can't try to make an assist with every pass. That's what I mean, like Eddie said, he should have just made the safe pass back to Bender at that moment and had the ball reversed.

Exactly. It was interesting to hear the exacerbation in his voice when he said it too. Bender had a very easy, open angle to get the ball down to Tucker in the low post where he had a mis-match. But instead, Knight forced it in from his angle, and it was a TO.

[In2ition]

Yeah, it felt like the exacerbation from his voice had to do with him just praising his play only to then see him make a boneheaded play.

[Nodack]

Obviously the Suns are coming together as a team. Bledsoe with an awesome game. He's one game from a season ending knee injury? The entire NBA cast is potentially one game away from a season ending injury on any given night. That's just pessimism.

Everybody hates Tucker but, we don't win the last two games without his defense that some here seem to think sucks.

What is the deal with Warren? Did we ever find out what the mysterious head injury was? Obviously whatever that head injury was did a number to on him. He looks good physically. Maybe he just needs a lottle more time to get his mojo back.

We will never be satisfied with the direction of the team here. We are all armchair GM's that obviously know a lot more about basketball than the real GM's do. We spend every season complaning about trades and the lack of trades. About who's getting playing time and who isn't. It's what we do. "If the don't trade so and so I am done with this team forever." " We should be playing the rookies 40 minutes a night and make everybody else sit the game out." "We should play the best players and try to make the playoffs because it would be good for the team." "We should lose as many games as possible to ensure the best pick possible. We aren't going anywhere in the playoffs anyway." "Let's trade away all our best veterans so we won't be tempted to play them taking away time from the rookies."

My motto in life is don't obsess over things you have no control over. This is entertainment. How could you not be entertained by the last two games? How can you not be proud of their progress? There may or may not be a trade mid season. I won't lose any sleep either way.

[Indy]

My motto in life is don't obsess over things you have no control over.

So you would say, that despite following the team closely for decades, you do not obsess over the Suns?