Game Day: Lakers (3-0) @ Suns (2-1), Mon 10/28/24

[Kryptonic]

RISE UP TEAM TRADE NURK!! BY DAYS END WE WILL BE SHOUTING IT FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF CAMELBACK

I'm pretty sure you can just copy/paste this before every game.

[AmareIsGod]

I love talking Suns with all of you guys. That is all. Happy Tuesday. I have a lot of hope this season!

[pickle]

I watched the two Laker games back to back after work yesterday ... due to time zone issues I generally cannot watch live unless the game falls on a weekend, so I get to know the final score before I start, but I had no idea about the early deficit that we fought back from so that was nice. Some random thoughts, with thoughts on the previous loss mixed in.

• Nothing that hasn't been said before, but Nurk has been a problem. I still remember watching him during his rookie season when he showed amazing agility for a 7 footer, and I had high hopes for him and was disappointed that the Blazers traded for him without putting up too much. And here we are... Nurk doesn't seem to attack the game with intensity, takes too many plays with this nonchalance that is affecting the outcome, including those lazy passes and weird flicks at the basket.
• I wasn't panicked watching the Suns claw back from that 26-8 deficit as I already knew the final outcome, but watching the team dig in was nice. This was not a pretty game to watch, but I'm glad we clawed back. Not super thrilled with having to rely on our stars for so many minutes, but I'll give it a few more games before panicking.
• As a Suns fan I naturally pay more attention to bad calls and missed calls hurting the Suns, but all in all I think this home game was called fairly -- feels like a similar number of missed calls for both sides. It was pretty obvious this threw the Lakers off. Fuck the Lakers.
• I said the same about Terrance Mann in the Clippers game thread, as I really want to root for Austin Reaves, very interesting story, but god damn it's annoying to watch him get the respect of prime Jordan from the refs. He is obviously very smart with foul baiting, but whomever says he gets free throws as part of his game is clearly biased or blind, or both.
• Having said that, the Lakers definitely attack the paint way more than we do. This is a real problem for us as we don't really generate easy points or put opposing players in foul trouble in order to disrupt their defensive rhythm.
• I share the comments from others that Booker is tentative. I can't tell if it's because he's still in Olympics role player mode or if he wants to adjust to Bud's new system or what. One thing I do notice is that he has less lift than usual when he rises up for shots.
• KD also feels like he's less crisp. This is why I don't want Suns players to play the Olympics. But I guess it matters less for KD because he's just so tall and long. But watching him labor for shots is not pleasant.
• Beal has clearly bought in to whatever role we ask of him, and watching him be competitive on defense against LeBron who has 5 inches and 80 lbs on him is incredible. Of our three stars he has the best ability to get into the lane and create havoc, but any time we have a big on the court not named Durant, he invariably clogs it up in there and there isn't much space to operate.
• In terms of offense, I tend to focus on the positives. There are several possessions in either game where the ball movement clearly generated better shots. Bud is known for address the low hanging fruits, and to some extent I see that effect on this team in that our players have clearly been empowered to shoot the three, and all three stars are making an effort to fire away from three more. It's not what's natural for them though so it looks more clunky, but I have faith that they'll adjust and the offense will look a bit smoother in a month.
• Our depth for players over 6'6 is a real problem, and our defense and rebounding is a real problem, which is why I wasn't bothered by whichever pundit pointing out that our defense is a weakness in one of the early season news threads. It's amazing that we managed to play solid D against a Lakers team with both AD and LeBron on the court at the same time with a lineup of all 6'6 or under players, but this is reason enough for me to think that we have a second round exit ahead of us.
• But I really do love me some Ryan Dunn and Royce O'Neale.
• Look forward to Grayson Allen getting back into the rotation more and launching more threes.
• Fuck the Lakers.

[TOO]

That was a nice presentation. B+

[O_Gardino]

Also, it was really cool to meet SunsRIt and his lovely wife tonight!

It was cool to meet you too, it’s always nice to put a name and a face to a moniker.

Did you see his super bone?

Stop it.

What? TOO just assumed you brought your trombone to the game. Didn't you sit behind the Lakers bench and "womp womp" every time they missed a free throw?

[Superbone]

Also, it was really cool to meet SunsRIt and his lovely wife tonight!

It was cool to meet you too, it’s always nice to put a name and a face to a moniker.

Did you see his super bone?

Stop it.

What? TOO just assumed you brought your trombone to the game. Didn't you sit behind the Lakers bench and "womp womp" every time they missed a free throw?

That would be fun. Just need a trombone and a plunger.

[Superbone]

RISE UP TEAM TRADE NURK!! BY DAYS END WE WILL BE SHOUTING IT FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF CAMELBACK

I'm pretty sure you can just copy/paste this before every game.

It wouldn't have played well after the Dallas game.

[bajanguy008]

Way late to the party here but just wanna give kudos to Plumlee


Looking forward to some more entertainment. Basically everyone is doing their thing except a couple I'm a little surprised by Plumlee. Guess I haven't been watching him because the last image I have of him was being very aggressive and a pain in our ass on the offensive glass in Suns v Clips playoffs .

Above was my thoughts during preseason
He still seems like he's chilling at times but this game he was all over the glass, had more pep in his step so I'm glad to see that kinda performance can still happen

[Mori Chu]

I was skeptical of Plumlee but so far he's been everything we wanted from Eubanks last year. Mostly smart play, plays within himself, doesn't care about touches or shots or points, sets hard screens, swallows up some rebounds, swings the ball quickly when passed to, can finish occasionally at the rim.

[specialsauce]

He's been fantastic