Game Day: Suns (2-4) @ Nets (3-4), Tues 10/31/17

[Nodack]

Awesome game. Sure you want to pull your hair out sometimes. Those are the good ones. One team leading from start to end. That's boring. Talk about a game of runs. I was pretty proud of them all. Booker kicked butt with 30 points heading into the 4th quarter. I expected him to come in in the fourth quarter and try to dominate. Instead Warren with 5 fouls goes on a scoring tear along with James. Jackson didn't have a great game. Lots of rookie teaching moments. He seems to get his shot blocked a lot. Everybody gets to be a rookie once.

Mike James? Who is this guy again? He didn't have just one good game. He's been playing the PG position pretty damn well in a string of games. He supposedly kicked butt in pre-season as well. Devon Booker said "Why isn't this guy playing for for team?" in the pre-season. He feels lucky to just have a job and here he is starting and succeeding. Certainly teams have been able to scout him by now. He's succeeding because he has talent. That's freaking cool.

The Suns rebuilding reminds me of the stock market crash during the great recession. It just kept going down and down and you wondered if it was ever going to go up again. Then it seems to bottom out and eventually start to climb again and except for a few hiccups just keeps going up and up. I feel like the Suns have just reached a pivotal moment in the rebuilding process after the firing of Watson. The start of the season was them bottoming out. Since the coaching change they have been playing a lot better. I can't help but think it only gets better from here on out.

[Superbone]

https://twitter.com/sbordow/status/925478659791736833

Happy to say I'm safe and glad the team wasn't affected. I was on the streets when all the emergency vehicles were making their way to the attack. We were trying to go to a movie in Brooklyn and the subways were just crawling along. Finally got off very early and took a Lyft and still missed the movie. Found out it was a terrorist attack while in the Lyft. Worst terrorist attack in NYC since 9/11. And I went through the 9/11 museum a couple days ago.

Glad to hear your safe. How was the new stadium? Have fun in NYC.

Thanks Nodack. The arena is very nice. I'm having a blast so far. I've had amazing experiences every day since I got here. I've already seen the 9/11 memorial, heard Arturo Sandoval at the Bluenote, saw the Mingus Big Band, saw some stand up comedy at UCB with surprise guest TJ Miller, and the Suns at Barclays Center with their blown lead and come from behind victory. Pretty amazing stuff. Oh, yeah. And I've eaten some very good food! All this and I'm only half way through my trip.

[Nodack]

Awesome Superbone!

[Ring_Wanted]

Very nice game to watch. DLo kept coming at us and tortured Mike James for parts of the game. He scored many tough shots, including stuff on Booker, who gave a good effort on defense. RHJ and Spencer D. were a problem too, but the Nets just don't have a lot of talent.

For PHX, Booker answered DLo with catch and shoot and pull ups, plus some playmaking for others (he is starting to develop a nice chemistry with Chriss although it didn't show this game) but had a couple of sloppy passes to baseline cutters, which explains the innecessary 4 TOs. Other that that and a couple of heat checks, a highlight reel in offensive fundamentals by Armani, including a number of basket that cut BRY's runs.

There was a point where Jackson and Len/Chandler almost lost us the game, but the team recovered. They give us rebounding but have too many limitations to make a solid rotation against most teams. Chriss did not hustle for defensive rebounds and that was a big part of BRY's comeback.

Mike James keeps being solid and compatible with Booker. Ulis turned the ball, which is rare but he gave the Suns a change of pace when they needed it and his pull up from the elbow is beautiful. Troy Daniels scored a much needed basket right after Triano put him, which to me was a questionable move at the specific moment but this managed to stop another run by BRY. Triano called for time outs when he had to and his rotations didn't seem messy for the most part.

TJ keeps doing his thing and this time he contributed nicely on the boards, including one timely putback.

Special mention for Bender, who keeps being solid on defense and even displayed his wide array of skills, including a beautiful layup. With that defense, Bender's floor is above bust (relatively speaking since he was selected #4).

Refs tried to make this as close as possible, with some pretty questionable calls that bailed out BRY, but at least they didn't stole anything from us on the other side of the court.

[Superbone]

Nice post Ring and nice avatar!

About Booker, his work ethic is excellent. I got in the arena an hour early and he and Dudley were working on their shots with staff. Three pointer after three pointer. He'd work on his catch and shoot moving sideways as well as straight on. He rarely missed. He also worked his free throws for a bit.

[Cap]

If we continue to play better without Bledsoe than with him, does that hurt his trade value?

[djy2j]

NIce win. Thought we were going to piss this one away but they stepped up when they needed it most.

Love Bender's defense. On the contrary I hate what Chriss has/hasn't been doing. I just don't see anything that tells me he should get a whole lot of PT. I think he should come off the bench and if he shows energy and poise then give him more minutes in the 2nd half but if he doesn't I'd rather see Dudly or Peters out there. Chriss is just garbage right now but he's still young so there's hope. He needs to show by the end of the year that things are clicking for him else we need to get something for him while he still has value.

I don't know how we can put Chandler out there all season. He's just a body at this point. I can't see anything he does well. His reputation is the only thing earning him minutes out there. If Williams weren't hurt it should be Len and Williams with Chandler DNP.

Mike James is for real. He still makes a few dumb plays from time to time but he gets it and hes a gifted scorer. This was a huge pick up for the Suns.

I haven't been impressed with Troy Daniels. He misses alot of open shots and hasn't provided much D. He's a placeholder at this point.

[Superbone]

If we continue to play better without Bledsoe than with him, does that hurt his trade value?

Could you have imagined that 8 games in we would have a chance to get to .500 on the season after those horrendous first 3 games?

[Superbone]

I don't know how we can put Chandler out there all season. He's just a body at this point. I can't see anything he does well. His reputation is the only thing earning him minutes out there. If Williams weren't hurt it should be Len and Williams with Chandler DNP.

He does one thing well and that is rebound the ball.

[AmareIsGod]

I don't know how we can put Chandler out there all season. He's just a body at this point. I can't see anything he does well. His reputation is the only thing earning him minutes out there. If Williams weren't hurt it should be Len and Williams with Chandler DNP.

Are you going blind or not following the games? Or do you just have something against Chandler? He's 35 years old, averaging almost 10 rebounds per game (9.7) with a 12.27 PER. He had 13 boards last night. You want to just have him ride the pine with DNPs but seem to be oblivious to the fact that he's rebounding like a madman, offensive glass included, and providing a positive net gain on the team, all in 24 minutes per game. This doesn't even go into the things he does on the bench from a leadership perspective. If you watch him during timeouts or during the game when he's on the bench, he's constantly talking to the younger players and pointing things out. On defense, he's yelling and communicating to players to set them up and to call out screen and for help when needed. The only thing I can complain about is his inability to switch quickly to help on penetration in the paint.

I just don't get the Chandler hate. It's been fantastic having him and Len taking turns crashing the boards.

[O_Gardino]

I'm with AIG on this one.

[Split T]

Ya, I'm pretty happy with Chandler. He's not a great finisher or rim protector anymore but he's a smart defender and great rebounder. I wish he'd teach Chriss how to set a screen and be a lob threat on the roll.

[Ring_Wanted]

Sorry guys, I don't see Chandler giving us any defense, smart or otherwise (actually I hate how he doesn't put his arm up when facing opposite players, especially non-bigs). Rebounding is nice but not enough. If we had Sauce I'd want him to have Chandler's minutes.

[JCSunsfan]

I don't know how we can put Chandler out there all season. He's just a body at this point. I can't see anything he does well. His reputation is the only thing earning him minutes out there. If Williams weren't hurt it should be Len and Williams with Chandler DNP.

Are you going blind or not following the games? Or do you just have something against Chandler? He's 35 years old, averaging almost 10 rebounds per game (9.7) with a 12.27 PER. He had 13 boards last night. You want to just have him ride the pine with DNPs but seem to be oblivious to the fact that he's rebounding like a madman, offensive glass included, and providing a positive net gain on the team, all in 24 minutes per game. This doesn't even go into the things he does on the bench from a leadership perspective. If you watch him during timeouts or during the game when he's on the bench, he's constantly talking to the younger players and pointing things out. On defense, he's yelling and communicating to players to set them up and to call out screen and for help when needed. The only thing I can complain about is his inability to switch quickly to help on penetration in the paint.

I just don't get the Chandler hate. It's been fantastic having him and Len taking turns crashing the boards.

Chandler played a great game last night. His defense and rebounding were very good. I would love him to continue to do well. I would not mind moving him at the deadline to a team needing center help for a playoff run. It would be good for him and we might get something out of it.

[Mori Chu]

I have mostly liked what I've seen from both of our centers, Chandler and Len. They are both giving us a lot to start the season. It's rare that I feel like we don't really have any weakness at the center position.

[djy2j]

Sorry guys, I don't see Chandler giving us any defense, smart or otherwise (actually I hate how he doesn't put his arm up when facing opposite players, especially non-bigs). Rebounding is nice but not enough. If we had Sauce I'd want him to have Chandler's minutes.

The rebound numbers are nice but slightly misleading. His vocal leadership is very nice. I do feel like when there's a battle for a rebound he usually doesn't come up with it. I guess what I am most disappointed in is his defense. He's a step late on rotations and gets beat on alot of pick and rolls. I think we could do worse out there with someone else for sure but other than getting rebounds that come directly to him and an occasional alley-oop I'm not seeing much else he physically adds on the court.

[O_Gardino]

Sorry guys, I don't see Chandler giving us any defense, smart or otherwise (actually I hate how he doesn't put his arm up when facing opposite players, especially non-bigs). Rebounding is nice but not enough. If we had Sauce I'd want him to have Chandler's minutes.

The rebound numbers are nice but slightly misleading. His vocal leadership is very nice. I do feel like when there's a battle for a rebound he usually doesn't come up with it. I guess what I am most disappointed in is his defense. He's a step late on rotations and gets beat on alot of pick and rolls. I think we could do worse out there with someone else for sure but other than getting rebounds that come directly to him and an occasional alley-oop I'm not seeing much else he physically adds on the court.

He's old. He can't move and recover like a younger guy, so he struggles in the pick and role, and even under the rim, he mostly just picks a spot and lets guys try to shoot over him. The rebounds look easy, because he puts himself in position to get them rather than challenging a shooting and risk getting blown by for a dunk.

[In2ition]

Does anyone know exactly how different individual defensive numbers are created? If you want to create an easy open oitside shot for your 3 pt specialist, just run a PnR with the man Tyson is guarding. I was wondering how this was affecting the defensive numbers of his teammates.

[Ring_Wanted]

Sorry guys, I don't see Chandler giving us any defense, smart or otherwise (actually I hate how he doesn't put his arm up when facing opposite players, especially non-bigs). Rebounding is nice but not enough. If we had Sauce I'd want him to have Chandler's minutes.

The rebound numbers are nice but slightly misleading. His vocal leadership is very nice. I do feel like when there's a battle for a rebound he usually doesn't come up with it. I guess what I am most disappointed in is his defense. He's a step late on rotations and gets beat on alot of pick and rolls. I think we could do worse out there with someone else for sure but other than getting rebounds that come directly to him and an occasional alley-oop I'm not seeing much else he physically adds on the court.

Agreed (although I hear dj too). Contested rebounding % is always worth a look to see if there is any stat-padding going (which I don't really condemn, just like what's going on). Take the game against Was as example. Chandler had 0 defensive rebounds, because it was Chriss and Warren who were grabbing the gimmes (they had grown man rebounds too).