SL Game Day: Suns (1-0) @ Mavs (1-0), Sun 7/9/17

[Big Jake Little Jake]

Good stuff Tskaldidis. What exactly was he pouting about? Not getting the ball? Getting pulled? Ugh. Hate to hear this stuff, but not shocked.

Hard to say. Might have just been the lack of calls. Though at one point he definitely said that someone "won't pass it." Didn't catch the name, but pretty sure it was that backup PG. I don't think that was what got him all worked up though.

It was great to see Booker get in the huddle and give a bunch of pointers to Josh Jackson.

Also, saw Big Sauce try to tell Chriss to make some move under the basket. The next play, Chriss tried like an under the basket shot and missed and Williams kind of shook his head. Pretty funny.

[ShelC]

And for bigs with all this supposed athleticm, I just don't see it. Never really saw it with Chriss even on his dunks but these past two games both guys are playing below the rim. No explosion from either of them, which is troublesome.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Hey guys, don't worry about it. I just put up 28 points with Chriss coming off the bench in game 7 of the the 2018 WCF on 2K17.

[Mori Chu]

We should have given Bender some of those Chriss minutes. Shouldn't have let Chriss think he had the starting 4 spot locked up already. He should be constantly working and fighting for that spot.

[O_Gardino]

I'm experiencing a lot of groupthink with my take on the game, so I'll keep it short.

I thought Chriss and Jackson both looked like they just didn't quite have it physically, like maybe they were out too late or something. Jackson was able to play though it, but Chriss didn't.

I'm still trying to like Chriss.

Jackson is exactly what we thought we were getting so far. Very active on both ends, lots of hustle, great work on the break, some good passes, and the only negative is that he lacks some polish. I really hope he can tighten up his dribble a bit, because that will make him much more dangerous.

Bender still has a ton to prove. But the #1 thing for him will be to start making open shots. IMHO he needs consistent minutes this season to prove he belongs. We might lose some games, and he might prove that he does not belong. But we need to play him and let him have the chance to show it one way or another.

Reed was very good again, in terms of p[laying within himself and making good play son both ends. At one point I was begging the TV for Reed to take over.

James has the good kind of fire. You could see he was upset after Jackson and Chriss missed those dunks and just kind of took it on himself to do more.

You can see that Dallas has been playing together for a longer, and they looked very well coached. For all of Smith's reputation as an iso player, Dallas as a whole moved the ball and made good team plays. They just looked like a team.

[JustWinBaby]

Well that is shocking stuff for me. I wasn't going to over react to some of his behaviour in the first game and I was coming to post that he is slow to the ball and getting beat on the boards. I have the tv on mute so didn't even hear Watson but how can a 2nd year 20yr old player be fat in the face and outta shape, I really thought it was gym size and as I type this him not being able to get to that alley oop is a telling sign also

Yeah, even saw a little belly on him in person.

My hope is that Coach Watson has got directly in Chriss's face about his conditioning and not just for the TV cameras. After all that is supposed to be Watson's strongest point, building a family atmosphere. Coach you owe it to your family to correct this problem.

This is why I thought last year that we should have signed Amare to a minimum contract. I wanted him for one main reason and that was to motivate guys like Chriss to get in shape and stay in shape. You can say what you want about Amare but he was never out of shape. I expect Dudley maps out where all the Taco Bell's are located and I just don't see Chandller as the leader some claim. The issue really falls in the coaches lap at this point.

I still think Amare could be used somehow in this organization if he is willing. He also brings some swagger and is generally liked by most fans, or so I believe.

[EDC]

I still think Amare could be used somehow in this organization if he is willing. He also brings some swagger and is generally liked by most fans, or so I believe.

Yeah, he is liked as long as he is getting 10 rebounds a game. If that drops to 9.5 then watch out all hell is about to break loose.

[The Bobster]

Welcome to schizophrenia.net!

[Superbone]

You can see that Dallas has been playing together for a longer, and they looked very well coached. For all of Smith's reputation as an iso player, Dallas as a whole moved the ball and made good team plays. They just looked like a team.

Yep, they had the week in Orlando together and it showed. I said the same thing at the game. It would have been nice if we didn't wait until the second half to put the effort in. I expect better focus and intensity to start tomorrow.

[In2ition]

You can see that Dallas has been playing together for a longer, and they looked very well coached. For all of Smith's reputation as an iso player, Dallas as a whole moved the ball and made good team plays. They just looked like a team.

Yep, they had the week in Orlando together and it showed. I said the same thing at the game. It would have been nice if we didn't wait until the second half to put the effort in. I expect better focus and intensity to start tomorrow.

The role players had a week, but Yogi, DSJ, and Finley-Smith didn't play in Orlando. And their best big man was Christian Wood in Orlando. So we can't give them too many excuses.

[O_Gardino]

You can see that Dallas has been playing together for a longer, and they looked very well coached. For all of Smith's reputation as an iso player, Dallas as a whole moved the ball and made good team plays. They just looked like a team.

Yep, they had the week in Orlando together and it showed. I said the same thing at the game. It would have been nice if we didn't wait until the second half to put the effort in. I expect better focus and intensity to start tomorrow.

The role players had a week, but Yogi, DSJ, and Finley-Smith didn't play in Orlando. And their best big man was Christian Wood in Orlando. So we can't give them too many excuses.

There's no excuse for our effort. But Dallas does deserve the compliment on their ball movement and communication on defense.

[JustWinBaby]

Welcome to schizophrenia.net!

If schizophrenia.net was where folks appreciated players and coaches for what they did on the court rather than look for every little flaw to make a negative case on everyone that they did not like, count me in. These are the same people that create "Fake News" to back up their claims, while ignoring the real facts.

These same posters should be extremely disappointed in todays Phoenix Suns. We have been so irrelevant for 7 years there is no one to blame. MDA is gone and so is Amare. They booed Steve Nash for leaving and many said good riddance. They don't even blame him anymore for signing with the enemy. The Matrix wanted too much money and was selfish. These same folks think that not signing Amare to a contract extension was pure genius. These are same folks that have bought into Sarver's plan and that some miracle will happen in 2020. His plan means we will have a chance at a championship sometime in the next decade. Not very encouraging in my book.

Those of us that enjoy being entertained by fun basketball an enjoyable personalities are a dying breed. I actually could care less is we ever win a Championship, I just want this team to be part of the conversation. At this point we are not close.

My question remains - in what decade with the Suns next be in the playoffs?

[Indy]

They booed Steve Nash for leaving and many said good riddance.

They both booed him and were happy? This is the same group of people?

[O_Gardino]

They booed Steve Nash for leaving and many said good riddance.

They both booed him and were happy? This is the same group of people?

It's the schizophrenics, so yes and no. It is(n't) the same group of people.

[Indy]

They booed Steve Nash for leaving and many said good riddance.

They both booed him and were happy? This is the same group of people?

It's the schizophrenics, so yes and no. It is(n't) the same group of people.

5/7

[INFORMER]

These same folks think that not signing Amare to a contract extension was pure genius.

Nah, just common sense.

[EDC]

We could have had two more years of Nash and Amare. It was worth the money. Plus on top of it all we could have used our amnesty on him if needed instead of Childress.

It was stupid to just throw away a good thing. Especially considering the garbage we signed later.

Looking back you have to consider it a mistake. Just like trading Shawn was a mistake.

[INFORMER]

Just like trading Shawn was a mistake.

Trading for Shaq was a mistake.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

We blew it horribly with the post Amare signings, there no doubt about it, but that is not evidence for judging the Amare departure. Is like blowing in a Vegas weekend spree your performance bonus, it doesn't prove that you shouldn't be awarded your bonus, you burned it, but you earned it. Or like crashing your brand new car one week out of the dealer doesn't mean that you were wrong taking the best deal among two dealerships. And we can keep on cases where a bad final outcome does not mean a particular previous choice was wrong.

[Mori Chu]

Hooray! Let's rehash 2010!

(I approved of the trading away / letting go of all of Marion, Amare, and Nash. I didn't even mind Shaq being on the team. And we got a handsome haul for Nash. I don't like what we did with the cap space freed up by letting Amare go, but that is a completely separate issue.)